John B Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 (edited) On the cover of Points and Slashes - that look curiously similar, I'm guessing intentionally, to a a work by a contemporary, 20th century, painter (I can't seem to recall the artist's/work's name but perhaps someone will). ← According to Jon, on another board, the homage is to Lucio Fontana. Edited June 2, 2005 by John B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 (edited) I just placed an order for 6 CDs - looking forward to hearing them. ← My Potlatch order is only two CDs (the new Sowari trio and the Agnel/Marchetti/Noetinger) - there are less than six Potlatch CDs missing in my collection... And finally, I finalized my (first) order from Anatoly Vapirov in Bulgaria. Eight CDs/CDRs are en route from the Black Sea to a little town in Upper Franconia... Edited June 2, 2005 by Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnhrtg Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Yes, that's him, John. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Hommage to fish gills? -_- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Martin: Can you give up more details on ordering from Vapirov? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 (edited) Martin: Can you give up more details on ordering from Vapirov? ← Tony, this is the story so far: I sent Anatoly an e-mail listing the CDs I wanted to order. Anatoly replied within less than a day specifying the exact amount he asked me to pay for the CDs and for postage/packaging. He lowered CD prices a bit since I placed a large order and since I told him about the high bank charges for a money transfer from Germany to a non EU country. I agreed to his terms and he supplied all relevant data for the transfer (again, within less than a day). About four days after I transferred the money, Anatoly sent another e-mail, saying that he phoned his bank and got confirmation that his bank account will be credited with the amount I transferred. A few days later (last Tuesday) he sent off the CDs (by air mail) which he guesses should arrive here next week. We'll see... I am sure Anatoly is well aware of how complicated the procedure of ordering CDs from him is. Unfortunately, Bulgaria is not a PayPal country (yet). Even Portugal ain't - I ordered some Creative Sources CDs a few weeks ago and had to pay by bank transfer, too (but without the horrendous bank charges and without having to take fright at customs' unrelenting hands). Edited June 2, 2005 by Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Thanks Martin! Very king of you to supply all that information. Stupid question: I have zero business sense but why can't there be at least one North American and one EU distributor? Mr. Nessa? Can you impart some knowledge in this area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 3, 2005 Report Share Posted June 3, 2005 Hommage to fish gills? -_- ← Tetuzi Akiyama and Günter Müller during the recording of Points and Slashes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Lucio Fontana, Spatial Concept-Expectation, 1965. Oil on canvas. Milwaukee Art Museum, Gift of Jane Bradley Petitt. **************************************** Nothing substantial I can add to the discussion of fish gills, but this may broaden your general knowlegde a bit: **************************************** Now back to ratty business... On Friday evening, I attended the first night of this year's Taktlos festival in Zurich (the Basel edition, I learned, was cancelled due to some timing issues). First on the menu was "Day and Taxi", a trio around swiss sax player Christoph Gallio, including Marco Käppeli on drums and Chrisian Weber on bass. Then came the duo of Ikue Mori & Zeena Parkins. I left before the third and last set started, "Kammerflimmer Kollektiv". It seems I did not miss out on anything grand. Day & Taxi play a often composed, and always structured music, many of the pieces are short (some only half a minute). Yet there is room for freedom in there, there are parts where the instruments are playing freely. Gallio has a nice big sound on alto, at some points screaming and overblowing in a hymnical way reminding me of Ayler. On soprano he has quite a big sound as well, though he never plays that "overboarding". His soprano reminded me of Lacy. Also his tunes/compositions reminded me of Lacy at times, with their twitches and jokes, their very difficult simplicity. This fellow can certainly play! (Even though he looks like an office worker or something.) Weber, on bass, is becoming sort of a mainstay in Zurich, it seems. I've heard him with pianist Chris Wiesendanger at last year's Unerhört festival, and he also appeared with Jason Kahn's project (including Steinbrüchel and Günter Müller and others) on Sunday (I was only there on Friday, alas. Sunday would have featured Fred Frith in a trio, and Saturday was Sandell, Gustafsson/Thing/VDMK, Borah Bergman). Weber - back on topic - has an amazing technical ease, he can probably play it all. But at some moments, or rather, pretty often, it seemed like he was playing so concentrated that the music could not really breathe... even more so compared to Gallio, who - even if playing with the tightest possible control - always seemed to spill over with expression. Drummer Marco Käppeli is the oldest of these three, and also quite well-known around here. He played very well, for sure. After a short break and much electronic installing, on came Zeena Parkins and Ikue Mori. Parkins wearing extravagant clothes, a bit of a diva behaviour (but very likeable), Mori like a pillar of salt (don't know if this metaphor is working in english, don't know anything better to describe), not moving, not chaning her facial expression, no nothing... the embodyment of the problematic aspects of any live setting in which someone sits behind an i-book and no one has any idea what she does... The concert was pretty weird, I found, but not bad at all. The mix of actual instrumental performance (though when Parkins switched to her electric harp, her gestures were visibly pulling sounds from it, but those sounds were often electric-guitar-like and not visibly related to the instrument, either) and electronics was a strange thing to watch and hear. Also the question arose if this music is indeed better suited for recordings that you can visit again and again (I like their "Phantom Orchard" disc on Mego quite some, but I needed a few listens to know). Now I'm hoping for a radio broadcast of these concerts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Thanks for the reviews, Flurin. Sounds like the shows were interesting but maybe not spectacular. Just out of curiousity, what color lightbulb was used during the Parkins / Mori set? (Aren't these EAI-ish performances usualy performed in near-darkness? ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Thanks for the reviews, Flurin. Sounds like the shows were interesting but maybe not spectacular. Just out of curiousity, what color lightbulb was used during the Parkins / Mori set? (Aren't these EAI-ish performances usualy performed in near-darkness? ) ← No, rather normal stage lightning. I assume they had no "concept" and the guys from that place did the lightning, nothing special at all. We had a bit of discussion after the Parkins/Mori set, what one could do to make the "electronic" part more appealing in a live setting. Actually, no, not appealing, but rather more experience-able. Seems some guy developped a tactile interface (rather than the clichéd blue light coming from the computer monitors). Another thing would be to have sort of a webcam showing you what the person in front of the notebook does (not that you would understand anything, but if this would be projected at the back of the stage, you would at least see that the person does anything). Indeed nothing spectacular that night, but Gallio was good and Mori/Parkins were, yes, "interesting" (even though I consider this a stupid word that allows one to not make a judgement...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 An afterthought: ...and Mori/Parkins were, yes, "interesting" (even though I consider this a stupid word that allows one to not make a judgement...) ← This may indeed be the case with eai live "shows" (another word that does not fit, there is nothing such as a show): for me, these settings are not easy to judge, not even simple to tell if I liked it or not. Mostly it's irritating... (But that again may be the case because I haven't seen many comparable shows... and because I want to be open and not fall back on clichéd judgements) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chaney Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 How loud / quiet was the Parkins / Mori set? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 How loud / quiet was the Parkins / Mori set? ← never very loud, but loud enough, and pretty quiet at moments. Could have been a little bit louder during the loud parts, but sound was pretty ok, all in all. I think the guy who did the mix may have been Martin Pearson (the fellow who does a lot of Swiss Radio broadcasts - among them the Taylor Willisau set released on Intakt -, and did the last few Jarrett discs for ECM, too). When I saw Supersilent at this same festival, several years ago, it got almost painfully loud towards the end - I was happier with it not being *that* loud, for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Just out of curiousity, what color lightbulb was used during the Parkins / Mori set? (Aren't these EAI-ish performances usualy performed in near-darkness? ) ← When I saw Keith Rowe and Fennesz live last year the stage was quite dark, with only minimal lighting to allow each musician to see his instruments. The venue was intimate enough to allow us to see, fairly easily, what Rowe was doing to create the sounds emanating from his guitar. When Fennesz was using his laptop there was almost no movement from him. I'm not so interested in seeing what the performers are physically doing in a performance such as this. I prefer to lose myself in the total sound being created without worrying about who is doing what on stage. This is the opposite reaction than I have to a rock concert or traditional jazz concert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 I've never listened to many recordings by Marion Brown as a leader, but I will have to make sure I do. I'm listening to Marion Brown Quartet (ESP) right now and I am very impressed. The track "Capricorn Moon," in particular, is fantastic! Highly recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Just out of curiousity, what color lightbulb was used during the Parkins / Mori set? (Aren't these EAI-ish performances usualy performed in near-darkness? ) ← When I saw Keith Rowe and Fennesz live last year the stage was quite dark, with only minimal lighting to allow each musician to see his instruments. The venue was intimate enough to allow us to see, fairly easily, what Rowe was doing to create the sounds emanating from his guitar. When Fennesz was using his laptop there was almost no movement from him. I'm not so interested in seeing what the performers are physically doing in a performance such as this. I prefer to lose myself in the total sound being created without worrying about who is doing what on stage. This is the opposite reaction than I have to a rock concert or traditional jazz concert. ← I know what you mean. When I saw that Supersilent set, it worked like this perfectly - maybe that has to do, in the end, with the perception of the music in the audience, and with the quality of the performance, itself? Something else: I found it pretty distracting that they played "tunes" of 4-8 minutes lenght, instead of more of a seguing thing. The applauding all the time, plus the usual chatter, did not help any in getting into a "flow". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 6, 2005 Report Share Posted June 6, 2005 Never heard anything by the Revolutionary Ensemble, but heard a lot about them as being one of the most interesting improv groups of the '70s. Looks like something of their output is finally avaialble on CD: (from the DMG newsletter): REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE - The Psyche (Mutable 17514) Featuring Leroy Jenkins on violin & viola, Sirone on double bass and Jerome Cooper on drums & piano. The legendary Revolutionary Ensemble were one of the most influential and distinctive units to emerge from the late sixties avant jazz scene here in lower Manhattan. Their six albums (in seven years) are nearly impossible to find, often sell for big bucks and have never been reissued unitl now!?! Leroy Jenkins, who moved here from Chicago and was a member of the AACM, was one of the first avant jazz string soloists. 'The Psyche' captures the adventurous spirit of free jazz as it evolved during the late sixties/early seventies and was recorded & released in 1975. 'The Psyche' consists of three pieces, the side long "invasion" which evolves organically, swinging in the first part with some great bent violin playing and later followed by a long, turbulent and free-flowing piano solo from their drummer Jerome Cooper with Sirone's inventive bass weaving wonderfully underneath and commencing with another strong, cerebral solo from Leroy's powerful violin and Jerome's equally inventive mallets swirling around him. 'The Psyche' captures the turbulence of the times, the angry, frustrating vibes of the US after the end of unjust war in Viet Nam. All three members of the Revolutionary Ensemble went on to play with other pioneers of jazz - Leroy with Muhal, Sirone with Blood Ulmer and Jerome with Cecil Taylor. It is truly a joyous occasion to have one of classics of avant-jazz available once again. Word has just arrived that the Revolutionary Ensemble will reunite and play their first gig in nearly thirty years at the Vision Festival this coming May - whoa! Will wonders never cease!?! "One of the key albums in my LP collection...finally on CD! I'm in heaven (again)!!" - Mannylunch ← If you have not already done so I highly recommend giving this disc a listen. Very, very strong material. I'm going to have to track down more of their recordings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Dye Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 (edited) Been a while since I posted in 'The Rat' Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra - ONJO doubtmusic 102 I happened to download a copy of this (bad, bad! ) just to satisfy my curiosity. I had seen Yoshihide's name listed in a number of posts here and at Jazz Corner. I absolutely love this CD. I'm going to have to order it from Jon soon. It has a wonderful mix of varied styles and sounds. Very new and fresh to these ears. Edited June 7, 2005 by Jim Dye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Never heard anything by the Revolutionary Ensemble, but heard a lot about them as being one of the most interesting improv groups of the '70s. Looks like something of their output is finally avaialble on CD: (from the DMG newsletter): REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE - The Psyche (Mutable 17514) Featuring Leroy Jenkins on violin & viola, Sirone on double bass and Jerome Cooper on drums & piano. The legendary Revolutionary Ensemble were one of the most influential and distinctive units to emerge from the late sixties avant jazz scene here in lower Manhattan. Their six albums (in seven years) are nearly impossible to find, often sell for big bucks and have never been reissued unitl now!?! Leroy Jenkins, who moved here from Chicago and was a member of the AACM, was one of the first avant jazz string soloists. 'The Psyche' captures the adventurous spirit of free jazz as it evolved during the late sixties/early seventies and was recorded & released in 1975. 'The Psyche' consists of three pieces, the side long "invasion" which evolves organically, swinging in the first part with some great bent violin playing and later followed by a long, turbulent and free-flowing piano solo from their drummer Jerome Cooper with Sirone's inventive bass weaving wonderfully underneath and commencing with another strong, cerebral solo from Leroy's powerful violin and Jerome's equally inventive mallets swirling around him. 'The Psyche' captures the turbulence of the times, the angry, frustrating vibes of the US after the end of unjust war in Viet Nam. All three members of the Revolutionary Ensemble went on to play with other pioneers of jazz - Leroy with Muhal, Sirone with Blood Ulmer and Jerome with Cecil Taylor. It is truly a joyous occasion to have one of classics of avant-jazz available once again. Word has just arrived that the Revolutionary Ensemble will reunite and play their first gig in nearly thirty years at the Vision Festival this coming May - whoa! Will wonders never cease!?! "One of the key albums in my LP collection...finally on CD! I'm in heaven (again)!!" - Mannylunch ← If you have not already done so I highly recommend giving this disc a listen. Very, very strong material. I'm going to have to track down more of their recordings. ← I have that one, but haven't listened to it for ages. Played it a few times and decided it's not for me. By the way, CDUniverse lists another RE CD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon abbey Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Been a while since I posted in 'The Rat' Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Orchestra - ONJO doubtmusic 102 I happened to download a copy of this (bad, bad! ) just to satisfy my curiosity. I had seen Yoshihide's name listed in a number of posts here and at Jazz Corner. I absolutely love this CD. I'm going to have to order it from Jon soon. It has a wonderful mix of varied styles and sounds. Very new and fresh to these ears. ← yeah, this is a good one. you should grab it soon if you want it, we're running low again. only us and DMG (who I'm selling them to) have it in the US, and ours are much cheaper (I believe $18 vs. $22). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon abbey Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 also, between the time I last posted and now, we just got the third title on doubtmusic, which is a solo Mats Gustafsson disc, on baritone sax, titled Catapult. same thing as the other doubtmusic titles, we've got them for $18 US (not listed yet, but Chris will have them within the hour, so you can order ASAP), DMG will list them on Friday for $22... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Dye Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 yeah, this is a good one. you should grab it soon if you want it, we're running low again. only us and DMG (who I'm selling them to) have it in the US, and ours are much cheaper (I believe $18 vs. $22). ← Order sent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 (edited) I had seen Yoshihide's name listed in a number of posts here and at Jazz Corner. I absolutely love this CD. I'm going to have to order it from Jon soon. It has a wonderful mix of varied styles and sounds. Very new and fresh to these ears. ← Then I highly recommend you grab a copy of this one, too: AMG review here. Quite different than the one you mentioned, which I also really enjoy, but a great live performance by a smaller unit of his. Supposedly one of these groups (I'm not sure if it the quintet or the big band) has recorded a cover version of Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch. I'd love to hear that when it is released. Edited June 7, 2005 by John B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon abbey Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 Supposedly one of these groups (I'm not sure if it the quintet or the big band) has recorded a cover version of Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch. I'd love to hear that when it is released. I think it's close to the same personnel as the big band doubtmusic disc, I believe it's the next release on that label. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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