Funny Rat

[Chalupa]

I just want to say how much I love this cd by Perry Robinson, Nobu Stowe, and Andrea Centazzo, The Soul in the Mist, for me, this is the best jazz release of the year. Robinson is very creative in his clarinet playing, and it's nice to hear him since his is under recorded for so good a player. Nobu Stowe piano playing is unique and understated, nice touches, kind of a minimalistic style, but very effective. Centazzo wrote all the music played and adds his percussion style to move things along. It's just beautiful, thoughtful music, that is worth hearing.

WOW! When did that come out?? I saw that line up last year and was very impressed.

[Chalupa]

Holy crap they released the Philly show!! Gotta get that pronto. Thanks for the tip.

[king ubu]

Another note (as the regulars on this section would probably appreciate it): who here has heard/picked up the reissue of Gwigwi Mrwebi's Mbaqanga Songs? It's post-Blue Notes, pre-BoB material (with early versions of some BoB tunes), but the points of reference here are a little oblique... it might fit in with some of Masakela's work (the post-Jazz Epistle scene), as it is certainly along the lines of afro-pop--but the energy level here is a lot closer to Pukwana's Spear albums. It's a beautiful set that always sits just this side of tipping out...

I *finally* got this one yesterday from Honest Jon's. I've only played it 3 times but I'm loving it. Thanks for the recommendation.

Yeah - this is a nice one! Lots of great Dudu. And some fine Caribbean drumming!

I'm glad y'all dig this one, because it's about as far on the periphery of Funny Rat territory as any Funny Rat-interest album could be. It's interesting to consider just how advanced some of the folks on this album were at that time (Dudu, Chris McGregor, Ronnie Beer), recording what is for all intents and purposes a specialty pop album. Having listened to the Brotherhood, the Blue Notes, and Dudu and Chris's leader work, Mbaqanga Songs is so inside it's outside ( :rsly: ).

Holy crap, too bad I had to read the rat again tonight... just sending in an order for the Gwigwi and the first two of the "London is the Place" comps - wanted the second of those for a while... the other two look good as well (the Ethiopian!), but I thought I'd proceed chronologically...

[brownie]

Looks like te Ayler Records has new music released every week by now.

Latest addition is

Drake / Gahnold / Parker

The Last Dances

aylDL- 075

William Parker, b

Hamid Drake, dr,

Anders Gahnold, as

1. Oh Shit 12:48

2. Slow Dance 11:49

3. Bow Dance 23:09

4. Dusk 12,36

Total time: 60:30

Recorded at Flash Music Studio, Stockholm , Sweden on April 15, 2002

#1 and #4 composed by Gahnold. # 2 and #3 composed by Parker (centeringmusic/bmi),

Drake (Smiling Foreheads/BMI) and Gahnold (STIM/ncb)

Recording by Göran Freese. Mastering by Per Ruthström

Cover art by Åke Bjurhamn. Layout by Stephane Berland

AYVI system with photographs and videos (code 0443255)

Free downloading:

To get these releases for free, or any of our Download – On ly (DL) releases which you’ll find at our DL catalogue at: http://www.ayler.com/dls.htm (Note: 3 pages!), for review/radio air play, please send us an e-mail and we will send you a link.

If downloading is not possible, we will send you hard copies.

ayler@ayler.com

www.ayler.com

[AndrewHill]

I am not familiar with Hopscotch releases.

I wasn't either. I just picked up Cooper-Moore and Assif Tsahar's "Tells Untold" on Hopscotch, which is a label I've never heard of before, and was amazed at how many releases they have from artists like Hugh Ragin, Hamid Drake etc. Their website looks pretty nice www.hopscotchrecords.com which is sprawled along the bottom of the paper sleeve. Looks like a pretty cool label.

[clifford_thornton]

Owned/run by Assif Tsahar. Definitely some strong releases in the catalog.

[Bright Moments]

why did this thread die?

[7/4]

why did this thread die?

Look to see who contributed the most and see when they were here last.

It's too bad this thread wasn't split up into individual threads about each artist...

[Bright Moments]

this was a thread that i loved to read- even though i did not participate in often. so much was said about artists i had never heard before. i hope it will be revived!

[7/4]

this was a thread that i loved to read- even though i did not participate in often. so much was said about artists i had never heard before. i hope it will be revived!

Oh yes indeed. There's a whole non-mainstream Jazz world that really never gets any discussion, mostly because no one knows about it, you really have to be an insider to be hip to it...

[Chuck Nessa]

this was a thread that i loved to read- even though i did not participate in often. so much was said about artists i had never heard before. i hope it will be revived!

Oh yes indeed. There's a whole non-mainstream Jazz world that really never gets any discussion, mostly because no one knows about it, you really have to be an insider to be hip to it...

Let's find those folks.

[7/4]

That's right Chuck.

I just thinking how this thread is kinda old and we now have some folks here who could comment on this material but may have never known about the Funny Rat thread.

[Chuck Nessa]

If they don't wanna come, nobody's gonna stop 'em.

[Peter Johnson]

Please don't stop. I know little about this music, but love watching, listening, and learning. Keep the posts coming, please.

[clifford_thornton]

Anybody heard Joe Giardullo's Red Morocco (Rogue Art, 2007) ?

One of only two large ensemble recordings by this very interesting saxophonist (he's got some great solo discs). Listening to it right now.

[king ubu]

A sad reminder that JAW and Chaney left... D.D., too - he just vanished...

I'm less and less listening non-mainstream music as has been discussed in this thread (the same was the case even more so with JAW), but I still attend live concerts mostly in this direction (or free jazz or whatever you want to call it... just stuff that would have most org-posters running away screaming).

Here's the mail I got a few days ago from Potlatch:

New Potlatch release is available :

Nouveauté Potlatch :

***********************

Jean-Luc Guionnet (alto saxophone, organ) and Toshimaru Nakamura (no input mixing board).

Map (Potlatch P108)

Toshimaru Nakamura is regarded as one of the most prominent musician from the electroacoustic improv scene in Japan, and he has been involved in a lot of much acclaimed recordings with Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, Taku Sugimoto, Tetuzi Akiyama, Axel Dörner, eRikm, Keith Rowe.

Jean-Luc Guionnet is tirelessly exploring the nature of sounds in many genres including electronic composition, sound installations (with Eric Cordier, Eric La Casa), free improv (with Hubbub, saxophone quartet, Pheromone) or free jazz (Return Of The New Thing, The Fish).

In Map, he met a new challenge not only on saxophone but on church organ too. Both musicians create extreme situations and reach highest summits of musical tension and intensity.

Recorded on march 17th, 2007 at Montreuil (France) and on july 20th, 2007 at la Collégiale Sainte-Croix, Parthenay (France).

***********************

Jean-Luc Guionnet (saxophone alto, orgue) et Toshimaru Nakamura (no input mixing board).

Map (Potlatch P108)

Musicien parmi les plus productifs de la scène électronique japonaise, Toshimaru Nakamura, aux collaborations remarquées avec Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, Taku Sugimoto, Tetuzi Akiyama, Axel Dörner, eRikm, Keith Rowe, confronte son approche à celle de Jean-Luc Guionnet. On retrouve cet infatigable explorateur de sons, non seulement au saxophone alto, mais aussi à l'orgue. Ils atteignent ensemble les plus hauts sommets de l'expression musicale.

Enregistré en mars et juillet 2007 à Montreuil et à la Collégiale Sainte-Croix de Parthenay.

***********************

http://www.potlatch.fr

I'm not familiar with these two (Guionnet may be on some live show I have, though), but the Potlatch label is a fine outfit - it has been discussed in this thread before, and I posted some about it on my blog last year:

http://ubu-space.blogspot.com/2007/06/potl...sale-order.html

http://ubu-space.blogspot.com/2007/06/potl...-2007-sale.html

[paul secor]

this was a thread that i loved to read- even though i did not participate in often. so much was said about artists i had never heard before. i hope it will be revived!

Oh yes indeed. There's a whole non-mainstream Jazz world that really never gets any discussion, mostly because no one knows about it, you really have to be an insider to be hip to it...

I used to read the Funny Rat thread, but rarely contributed to it. I had a problem with certain musicians - "non-mainstream", as you put it - being isolated from the rest of the music. I try not to listen to music in that way, and I think it would be a good thing if and when people had something to say about "non-mainstream" musics, musicians, or labels, they would post their comments in normal fashion, rather than posting them in an isolated thread. I think that's happened to some degree since the Funny Rat thread has faded, though some musicians who were mentioned in F.R. seem to be ignored now. The Funny Rat thread may have begun with good intentions, but it became a kind of insiders' club, with a limited group of people talking with each other. At least, that was my take - not a good thing for the music, imo.

[clifford_thornton]

Well, on Bagatellen and I Hate Music, the erstwhile label and other Rat-esque musics seem to be discussed regularly.

I mean, a lot of lowercase improv and things like that really fall well outside the interests of most people on this board.

[jon abbey]

yep, there's been some discussion of that Guionnet/Nakamura record on IHM, Chaney posts on IHM occasionally also.

parenthetically, Toshi Nakamura is one of my few favorite musicians in the world right now. his duo with Keith Rowe would get my vote for preeminent improv combo working today. I remember someone telling me after a show in 2003 that it's a shame more of their shows weren't documented so people could compare them, a la the classic Coltrane quartet.

anyway, I'm always happy to talk about EAI, here or anywhere else, but IHM might be the place for it these days (tons of discussion on Euro free improv stuff also recently).

[7/4]

I'll see ya over there, I have a bit of reading to do once I land.

.

[AndrewHill]

Owned/run by Assif Tsahar. Definitely some strong releases in the catalog.

Found this one in the used bin today for $5

[AndrewHill]

And after one spin so far, this is definitely a strong and wild outing; which when compared to Tells Untold with Cooper-Moore, its hard to believe that this is the same guy. A word for Parker and Ibarra too, who play excellently throughout.

Edited March 28, 2008 by Holy Ghost

[clifford_thornton]

I may have that one somewhere - can't recall if I kept it.

It's funny, when I interviewed Sunny, I'll be damned if he could pronounce Assif's name - it was always "whatever the cat's name is..."

[Nate Dorward]

Caught that trio (Tshar/Parker/Ibarra) live about the time of the CD's release.

Uh, it stunk.

[randyhersom]

I enjoyed Assif Tsahar's solo release Ayn Le-Any. Downloaded it from eMusic, so I didn't get the audacious Nirvana Nevermind thirty years later cover art. It's on Hopscotch.

Other recent ratty pleasures: Dennis Gonzalez Live at Tonic: Dance of the Soothsayer's Tongue, Noah Howard - Black Ark, Cecil Taylor - Algonquin, Trio M - Big Picture, and the Braxton Iridium set. Also been getting into Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy's pop interpretations.

I strongly tend toward American free jazz artists who emerged in the 60's and 70's (I started listening to them about 1975), although Evan Parker may be my favorite musician right now.