CD REVIEW LIST - ARCHIVE

I read that this disc existed in some magazine like NYLON months before I ever acquired a copy.
I just couldn't remember the moniker that Polvo/Helium guitar/bass boy Ash Bowie was going under.
Finally, my friend Bobb (who knows and sees all) found me a copy at Aquarius in San Francisco, and it
was worth the wait. As a fan of those twisted de-tuned Polvo guitars, I was curious to hear what Ash
would do outside of the band context. This CD is comprised of what sounds like home recordings that
are everything from distorto pop to microtonal acoustic instrumentals with much in between, and with
our man Ash playing all the instruments and doing some vocals. Perhaps it's not too surprising that a
lot of this sounds like Polvo, making me think that at their best Polvo was totally "Ashen" (sorry).
That Chinese-ish banjo stuff that emerged on later Polvo albs is here, so are the doubled vocals, the
eccentric guitar parts, and the rough-hewn beauty - represented here on tracks like "Grief Mechanism".
I like scrapbook-like albums like this, and anyone who digs Polvo will dig this - and maybe some other
people, too!

Anyone who's heard me for a period of more than 7 years knows that I could barely play a lick without the
influence of this man and his acoustic nylon and 12-string guitars (and his marvelous compositions).
This album is a fantastic example of all that makes Ralph the wonderful musician he is - especially after
his last solo effort for ECM (what was that one called? I've put it out of my mind) which kind of worried me
because it was pretty, well, not happening. This album, however, from the solo version of the title track
(always a fave when Oregon plays it), to the series of little improvs, to his interpretations of "Gloria's Step",
and "Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat" is cause for celebration. If you can resist the opening 12-string piece,
"Solitary Woman", then Ralph's just not for you.

I promise that every album mentioned here won't be a guitarist's, but hell, I really do LOVE guitar music!
This man came to my attention when I saw him on a video cassette that I got from Daedelus, the discount house.
Somehow I had missed him (hearing Bhatt and Kabra for years), and what a find this man is! He rocks!!
Besides his amazing phrasing and melodic invention (common among scary Indian classical players...),
he adds some chording and fingerstyle to his improvisations with great effectiveness. Has this man ever played
in L.A.? I've got to catch up....

Sure, this is a record with many of my friends - and favorite musicians - but I'm writing about it because I'm
afraid that if I don't no one will ever know it exists (these 9 Winds releases are ELUSIVE buggers!). Briefly, this
is the followup to composer/trombonist John Rapson's amazing record featuring Anthony Braxton and an L.A.
ensemble (it was on Sound Aspects, don't even know if it's still in print) wherein Mr. Rapson composed pieces
around computer-edited fragments of duo improvs between Braxton and himself with thrilling results (and it's a
GREAT sample of cornetist Bobby Bradford's playing as well). This time John had Wayne Peet (his technological
partner-in-crime, as it were) record the now-departed genius of drums Mr. Billy Higgins solo and in duet with
stalwart jazz bassist and expressive wildman Roberto Miranda so that he could later edit and compose around this
rich raw material. There are two ensembles, one from L.A. (with Mr. Bradford returning, plus Bill Roper, Vinny Golia,
Kim Richmond, etc.), and one fron Iowa City (where Rapson has taught jazz studies for years). The record is much
less compositional than I expected (John can REALLY write and arrange!), and, owing to the man who inspired
the work, it's more direct and grooving than its oblique and super-modern predecessor. A pleasant surprise is the
soloing of the Iowans, particularly the clarinet of Bob Paredes and the trumpet of Brent Sandy. There, I've thrown
down the gauntlet, now go find this brand new disc! Billy Higgins recorded all his tracks with his foot in a
cast, so what's YOUR excuse?!?

I guess this is out-of-print now, but it's one of my favorite recordings by this master of Armenian music on
the duduk (a kind of flute). Hell, any one of Mr. Gasparyan's recordings is worth hearing - I own several.
But this one, licensed by Opal/Warner Bros. from Russia's Melodiya label, is so damn beautiful and so damn SAD,
and it features ZERO rhythmic dance material (not that I don't love those as well!). G.E. Stinson played this for me
many years ago, and I finally got a copy about a year ago. This music is crucial to my life at this point, that's all
there is to it. Point of interest: while on tour with Gregg Bendian's Interzone this year he played me some new
recording by some new hot duduk player that blew me away. Gregg, you wacky Armenian-American, if you read
this, gimme that name!!

This CD was pretty much overlooked because the band, a trio of instrumental madboys from the San Fernando
Valley, broke up almost as soon as it was released. It was also overlooked becuse it's creative, courageous,
and from L.A. (and on a tiny label to boot). Well, the band, which I enjoyed 'live' numerous times, is gone,
the label is kaput, but you can still dig this music if you can dig up this disc. The Uphill Gardeners (who reign as
the only band I ever officially interviewed for a mag that folded right after I turned in the transcriptions -
is there a discernable pattern here?), managed to be simultaneously brainy and rudimentary, bratty and adorable,
minimal yet complex. With prolonged blasts of LOUD feedback, dinky little grooves and dinkier Casio keyboards,
metaloid low-tuned gargoyle riffage, and kraut-esque dryness, there was no one like them. I like to start the CD
with track 3 ("Dreaming of a White"), dig the break on amplified 45 rack, then kick back to the beligerance of
"Negative Grimace", and the epic minimalism of "A Gentle Reminder of Our Boys Who Gave Their Lives in the War",
and on and on. Then go up to tracks 1 and 2 - if you dare, that is. These guys, Jarrett (guitar), Bobb
(bass and keebs), and Nigel (drums, casio, cymbal rag) have gone on to other bands (Young People,
The Polar Goldie Cats/The For Carnation/Boy Crazy, and Godzik Pink, respectively), but this is a great
document of what are, for me, some great memories of some fully rad music played by guys barely out of
puberty. Start digging!

Right, another OLD record. These guys have worked hard since this first record was released in '94 and
have built up a great following. Along the way, their music has changed, they lost a few bass players,
and they've become less guilty of the tag of a "Sonic Youth soundalike" band. Steve Shelley, who released
this record and their fab 2nd (and full-length) one, gave me this disc 7 years ago and I don't give a shit if
people dismiss it as imitation SY - I still love listening to it! And one can hear a markedly sophisto harmonic
thing that Amadeo Pace brings to the band - he and his twin brother Simone being Berklee dropouts in good
standing - which brings in elements of Brazilian and European pop and lounge music. Sneer if you will,
but when Kazu goes off on "Astro Boy" I do, too - every time since that first listen.

Wow! A real pop record! Well, not really... I'm sure there are many people out there for whom a little Bjork
goes a long way, and I'm one of them! Sure, her records are always inventive, at times variously moving,
grooving, adorable, and technologically fascinating. She's a kind of visionary! But after awhile....
Anyway, the fact that Zeena Parkins is all over this drew me to it. It's amazing! So BEAUTIFUL!
I won't go on and on - Bjork's vocal mannerisms can still wear me to a nub, but when a piece like "Undo",
which reduces me to tears with poignantly reassuring and otherworldly worldliness and masterfully realized
sonic lusciousness, comes along I must defer. Too good! And the CD single has 2 amazing non-LP tracks
as good if not better than some of the album :" Generous Palmstroke", co-written by Bjork and Zeena,
was a highlight of the (AMAZING) 'live' show, and "Verandi" is like Asian pop gone into seriously warped
psych-rave territory.

OK, so this is another bit of propaganda, but this is also another record that I've not stopped listening to.
That I adore the criminally-unheralded Goldie Cats is no secret. Tom Grimley and I helped these instrumental
muffins record their first (self-titled) disc for Ecstatic Peace! years ago. It was the least I could do!
But without going into endless descriptions of their indescribable 2-guitar/bass/perc THING, let me just attempt
to direct you to this CLASSIC and virtually invisible release from many moons ago. It was their second, the last
with guitarist Silla. It's beautifully packaged,
sounds great, and I listen to it.

Gregg Bendian brought this along on tour, and I was unaware that this had been released with new old stuff.
Henry Kaiser told me that this stuff was already on the "Bitches Brew" box, but many of us in this life cannot
go around buying such pricey items. Besides, I'm not one of those people who wants to hear every outtake,
every archival burp and fart that the artist, in his or her lifetime, never intended you to hear. But this disc,
already one of my favorite records, is fantastic with the new (old) stuff. Interzone had played in Baltimore when
Mr. Bendian's copy of this started oozing through the P.A., and not only did "Great Expectations" and "Ife"
just sound better than ever to me, the beautiful drone of"Recollections" caused me to look at my brother Alex
as we simultaneously exclaimed, "What IS THIS?!?" Well, we learned. Later, in the van, we cranked up
"Go Ahead John", and, as it bounced insanely all around (Teo Macero's GENIUS mix of Jack DeJohnette's
spasmodic groove), I couldn't help but reflect upon the truly visionary elements of this music, of these sessions.
I know it's all been said before (well, not by Stanley Crouch and his ilk), and one would think that after playing in
TWO Miles tribute bands that I'd be over it a bit, but this music changed me forever, for the better, because it's
subtle and unpredictable mastery of jazz + pop sonics and forms along with elements of TOTAL FREEDOM -
which is what I'm all about, and this music defines that - and a bunch of other cool shit, to, of course. It's all of
our music at this point. All you've got to do is listen...


ALWAYS-AT-THE-READY DEPT.:

Scott Amendola had never heard these records. The ECM junta had, for some ungodly reason, taken
FOREVER to re-issue these, the first 2 records by drum genius Paul Motian as a leader, on CD. When, at my
urging, he ordered them, he also got copies for me. What a gent! Now I can give my thrashed old vinyl
copies a rest! Briefly, these are two of the most influential records on yours truly ever. The interaction between
Mr. Motian and Charlie Haden here is non pareil in rhythm section singularity, oddness, brilliance. Sam Brown's
guitar is understated, obliquely satisfying in both electric and nylon-string modes. Paul's writing is, as always,
simple yet effective - successful as the launchpad for ensemble improvisation and as great melodic stuff that
affects the heart. I could write a treatise on these records - on the lace-like intertwining of Brown's and
Paul Metzke's guitars on "Tribute", on the mesmerizing theme-and-variations perfection of Keith Jarret's duet
with Paul on the "Conception Vessel" title track, on the earthshatteringly unique and marvelous bass and drums
duet at the beginning of the rendition of Ornette's "War Orphans", of the plaintive beauty of Carlos Ward's alto on
"Sod House"... I have no objectivity left about this music. AND, all of Paul Motian's recordings (most of which
after this period and a great Trio with Charles Brackeen, featured a guy named Bill Frisell on guitar...) stand as
YET MORE EXAMPLES of great drummer-led groups/sessions. Chick Webb, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Tony Williams,
Shelley Manne, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motian...enough said.

BLASTS FROM THE PAST:

Well, one can see that a lot of my listening these days is centered around
music that is hardly new, but here's some old stuff to consider:

For some reason had a recent phase of listening to this record - one I bought when it was new! I ALWAYS
loved Neil. When I was 13 I wanted to BE Neil. And, sure, now he's a legend, the "godfather of grunge", blah blah.
And sure, he's made some fascinatingly terrible records - not just classics! That's why we LOVE him!
But unless I'm living under yet another rock, this record seems top have never gotten much play with the
hyperbole police. And it's not ALL great (I never did like "I've Loved Her So Long", for example), but this record
has moments of truly visionary songwriting, arranging, AND guitar layering. The weird tones: tiny, nasal-y fuzztones,
twangy, supercompressed Gretchtones. The arrangements: by Jack Nitzsche, Ry Cooder, and Mr. Young at their
most inventive. And the songs: most of them come in at under 3 minutes! And the best songs, "The Loner"
(the single back then), "I've Been Waiting For You", and OH YEAH, "The Old Laughing Lady" - one of the most
amazing bits of atmospheric and visionary (my favorite word tonight) songwriting EVER, in my opinion - are LUSCIOUS!
And QUIRKY! OK, there's the lame stoned-out-acoustic-balladeer-gone-off-his-nut trial of "The Last Trip To Tulsa"
to get through (actually, it's last, so you can skip it REALLY EASILY), but remember: this is NEIL YOUNG!
His imperfections are what we love about him!! Anyway, check out his first record, done just after The Buffalo
Springfield and just before "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (I know you've heard THAT one).

I got a BAD hankering recently, while out of town, to hear a bunch of my childhood favorite "psychedelic" hit songs.
Realizing that I didn't have any of this stuff on CD (there aren't turntables in vans yet), I scoured Amoeba
in Berkeley and wound up with this most obvious of obvious choices. In the 70s, I felt that Lenny Kaye's "Nuggets"
double album comp was overrated. Now, here I am with a CD put out by the label owned by the same guy in whose
record store I heard the orig! Anyway, it has almost everything I'd been pining for: "Psychotic Reaction", "Seven and
Seven Is", "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)", "Talk Talk", "Pushin' Too Hard"... If they could have added the
Yardbirds' "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", The Rolling Stones' "We Love You", and The Beatles' "I Am The Walrus"
or "Strawberry Fields Forever", they would have almost completely encapsulated the aesthetic, the magic and
mystery of my early teen sonic fixations (OK, a few album tracks by The Byrds, like "Mind Garden" or "Change Is
Now" would have to be included). Once again, there's little or no objectivity here. Suffice to say that, 1) I think
the stuff still sounds better on vinyl - just THICKER, more sensuous, and 2) It really holds up for me. Listen to
those disenfranchised vocals, gutterfuzz guitars, and thudding pud drums on The Music Machine's "Talk Talk"
- and that COOL STRUCTURE!! The INCREDIBLE instrumentation/production on the Electric Prunes'
"I Had Too Much to Dream..." (session pros?), the astonishing pubescent, bi-grooved, chicken-scratched and
fuzz-thatched brilliance of The Count Five's cry of male caucasian alienation on "Psychotic Reaction"...
Sure, you think I'm kidding! But this stuff is the FOUNDATION for my tiny life.
Sometimes you CAN go home again...

What a score! I was shopping for old Chico Hamilton stuff w/ Gabor Szabo and ran across this.
The story behind this session is so fantastic that it should be a movie of the week. Buy the disc
and learn, as I did. Suffice to say that this session, containing Eric Dolphy's first recorded solos,
was given up for lost until a test pressing accidentally shipped by Pacific Jazz ended up in a
record store in Brighton, U.K., where it was bought sort of by mistake. The reason it never came
out is that Dick Bock thought Dolphy's playing was too wild - but dig - he sounds so INSIDE (for him)
and so beautifully Parker-inspired! And, in some way, very Ellingtonian. His alto solos on "In a
Sentimental Mood" and "It Don't Mean a Thing" are worth the price of the disc alone, and his beatnik
flute, Bb clarinet (no solos on the latter), John Pisano's guitar work, etc., etc, make this a MUST.
Never did find the stuff w/ Szabo and Fred Katz I was looking for...

And speaking of Duke, this solo piano recording will get anyone through the toughest or most jaded
of times. Is Duke Ellington still underrated as a pianist?! Well, it's recordings like this that should
have silenced these idiots long ago. The beauty of the renderings of "Melancholia", "Passion Flower",
"Reflections in D", to name just a few, is timelessly elegant and (of course), harmonically visionary.
And profoundly influential. The drummer in my old Trio, Michael Preussner, has been obsessed with
Duke for years. He would say that Duke Ellington had to have been the coolest guy to ever live.
Who could argue??

It's been blowing my mind for 2 years now not just that hardly anyone seems to know that Saccharine
Trust are playing again, but also how AWESOME they sound....NOW! TODAY! This is the long-awaited
disc of the new lineup on which Jack Brewer and Joe Baiza show - again - why they are such a significant
creative force. Rounded out by Chris Stein on bass and ubiquitous L.A. drum whizkid Brian Christopherson
on drums, this CD sounds great, has great lyrics/poems, and is still strikingly original and vital in a period
of stale, soundalike rock band music. They're trying to get this album licensed for release stateside, so
labels with taste and vision TAKE NOTE!

Another long-awaited release, this time from what anyone who knows me knows is perhaps my
favorite local combo (besides the Don Preston Trio...). This is the third CD from this miracle of
originality and of survival. And it's the first document with Silla's guitar replacement, Cuppa
(AKA Bobb Bruno, of The Uphill Gardeners, The For Carnation, and PUSS fame, among others).
Somehow, the Polar Goldie Cats manage to be completely, consistently themselves while also
changing and growing. All descriptions of their instrumental 2 guitars/bass/drums music have
fallen short. This album is perhaps more minimal/repetitive than the previous discs ("Polar Goldie Cats"
on Ecstatic Peace! and "Polar Panty Ass" on Detector, respectively). Cuppa and Lednam have
(like so many) gotten more into the effects pedal side of things here, and as such this record has
some subtle timbres that are new to their sound. Enough said. Buy all of their records and see what
you think. And they'll probably tour the West coast with Unwound (Fall 2001), so check them out!
More on the Polar Goldie Cats in my "In Praise Of..." column SOON.

I wrote a bit about Icelandic guitarist Jensson when I wrote about Jim Black's CD a few months
back. At the time, I knew nothing about him - didn't even know he was Icelandic! Well, upon
reading this column (isn't the Internet just grand sometimes?), he wrote to me and later sent me
some further examples of his and his Icelandic colleagues work. I liked everything he sent
(hmmm...I still owe him some of my stuff...). This disc is a collaborative improv recording with 3
other gents, and it's very "chamber music"-esque. Jensson's own disc, "Kerfil", seems very inspired
by the New York scene, and has a lot more energy and edge (and saxophones). The real surprise
was his duo with bass guitar virtuoso Skuli Sverrisson, which is a minimal/ambient/industrial welding
of virtually unindividuated sounds, like an even subtler, more vague version of my duo stuff w/
Devin Sarno. So I really appreciated hearing the music, and I really relate to these musicians'
stylistic plurality. Thanks, Hilmar! It turns out, tangentially, that my friend (and Singers/L.Stinkbug
drummer) Scott Amendola went to the Berklee College of Music with Mr. Jensson.
Like to hear a class reunion!

My first hearing of Ms. Scheinman was on the Scott Amendola Band's CD. Her band on this record
is pretty much Scott's band minus woodwinds, and a superb band it is. This is a fantastic 'live'
recording, and while I can't claim to love every composition on the disc (some of it's a bit
Newgrass-fusion-y for me), there is a fresh and original quality to Jenny's writing and playing.
The band features Dave MacNab on guitar, Todd Sickafoose on contrabass, and Scott Amendola
on percussion, and I think it's an especially fabulous Scott record - check him out!! Anyway, young
Jenny moved to Brooklyn, and I'm looking forward to see/hear what she's gonna do.

Portland's own Mr. Blakeslee is a great trumpet/flugelhorn player and jazz composer who I've
had the pleasure of playing with (and eating fine foods with) over the years. He and his combo
are from Portland and Vancouver B.C., so it's no surprise that they're all underrated and
little-recognized. But that doesn't stop Mr. Blakeslee, who keeps on releasing fine recordings
at a prolific rate. This one might be my favorite so far, and it features fine interplay between
former Angelino (and fellow unrecognized genius leader/composer) Michael Vlatkovitch on trombone,
along with Clyde Reed on contrabass and Dave Storrs on drums. The record is decidedly "free jazz",
but with structural considerations that recall the most modern of the "cool school" sessions (such
as those of Shorty Rogers with Shelley Manne, Bob Brookmeyer with Gerry Mulligan, etc.), as well
as the feel of Blue Note-era Grachan Moncur and Sam Rivers stuff. I know that comparisons suck,
but I'm trying to say that there is a classic quality on this session that warms me to the tips of my
toes. Worth scouring the 'Net or a decent record shop for, for sure, 'cause I don't think you'll find
this at Tower.

This was an accidental discovery - I've been listening to Bream's albums "20th Century Guitar"
and "70s" for, well, 20-something years now. I went with my dad to hear him at UCLA in 1973
(?) where my dad, upon spying an empty seat in the first row, sent me down to sit for the second
half - the guitar half - of the recital. Hearing him play Britten's "Nocturnal after John Dowland"
was life-changing, let me tell you! So imagine my delight upon seeing that here he has revisited
the piece (as well as Frank Martin's "Quatre Pieces Breves") 20 years later, and also investigated
Leo Brouwer, Toru Takemitsu, and Witold Lutoslawski. Without getting to carried away, let me just
say how much I've always loved Bream for his playing (it lacks the sterile pristineness of his
colleagues and antecedents while still possessing beautiful tone and expressivity), and I especially
love him for persisting in playing both modern and early music (on the lute). Britten's "Nocturnal..."
still rules, as does shimmering harmonic beauty of Takemitsu's "All in Twilight", and these are just
two facets of this timeless recording.

I've got to stop going to record stores when I'm poor, 'cause I keep finding classic reissues that
I never knew existed, and then I MUST have them. Here's another one: I thought I had all the Paul
Desmond sessions with Jim Hall, but this one escaped me. Of course, I can enjoy Mr. Desmond
without Jim Hall - he's one of my favorite players of all time. His melodic purity and invention are
so logical yet so crushingly beautiful...but his quartet sessions with the great Jim Hall seem to be
among his finest. This is a reissue of a mostly '64 date, has some real '60s kitsch like "A Taste of
Honey" and "Hi-Lili, HI-LO" (OK, I dig these tunes...) rendered timelessly and effortlessly swinging
by these giants of music (Gene Wright or Gene Cherico on contrabass and Connie Kay on drums round
out the personnel). Check out "Angel Eyes" and the Rodgers and Hart title track to really dig what
was billed when this album was released as "torch songs 'sung' by sax". I truly regret that i never got to
hear Paul Desmond live. I also regret that his long-rumored autobiography, "How Many Of You Are
There In TheQuartet", was merely that - a rumor started and perpetuated by the ever-witty yet profound
alto saxophone giant. Because it seems like he had a lot more to tell us before he died.

Anyone who knows me probably knows how much I love this band. Scarnella has played shows
with them, and their albums and concerts are always much-anticipated in our household. I first heard
them when working on the Geraldine Fibbers' "Butch" session because Steve Fisk had just finished
working with the band on "The Curtain Hits the Cast" (which may still be my favorite of theirs),
and he played it for me. Low's music is not wild, it's not avant-garde. In fact, it's almost traditional.
It's very, well, white. So why do I like them so much when I pay little or no attention to so-called
"slow core" bands? Because their music is voiced, orchestrated in such effective and affecting ways.
Their lyrics are minimal, to-the-point, oblique, genuinely poetic. Low can move you to tears and
sometimes you aren't even sure why. That said, I picked up their newest while in San Francisco
a few months back, and it's certainly one of their best. Tracks like "Whitetail", "Embrace", and
"Medicine Magazines" are not only classic Low, they have sonic and musical ideas that are new
to the Low sound (Steve Albini did a great job). "Sunflower", "July", and "Whore" go for more grand
post-Beach Boys, post-Walker Bros. ideas, largely with good results (though "Whore" kind of falls
flat for me somehow). Anyway, Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker's pure and gorgeous voices, those
intriguing and affecting lyrics.......And I think Alan is a GREAT guitarist in terms of this music.
He and bassist Zak Sally's ability to voice harmonies and dynamically shade the simple directness
of this generally stark material cannot be understated. OK, go buy the alb.

I'm really trying to know more about Mr. Feldman. There's so much to hear, seemingly of varying
quality in terms of performance and recording quality. My brother gave me this one, and it really blew
me away, mostly because I had never heard "Rothko Chapel" without surface noise. And the performance
and recording here seem especially incandescent. Leave it to the Germans and Austrians! Anyway,
I'm constantly amazed and challenged by the genius and scope of Feldman's work - a true sonic
visionary. And incidentally, his writings are delightful.

ALWAYS-AT-THE-READY DEPT.:

I think you'd have to search far and wide for a better "post rock" microtonal dronefest than this
album from 1996 by New Zealand's Thela. Lord knows, I've been listening to it since it came out,
and for me it fills a niche that I'm always looking to fill. Super-minimal but not dry, subtly microtonal,
empty but sort of loud-sounding, virtually "rock" but mostly devoid of steady tempo, this seems like
the only logical way to follow all that post-SY, post-Slint music (as opposed to what's generally
being done, not to name any names). And Dean Roberts is, alone and on other projects, a really
interesting artist - not just a "guitar player".

The chamber music from this beautiful film is decidedly "modern", but has a singularity to me
that makes it stand out not just as a soundtrack, which it functions as beautifully, but as music for
music's sake. The use of harp and strings continues to intrigue me, and it is, I fear, becoming
INFLUENTIAL. Besides, I just dig listening to it! And, though I love Debussy and, to a lesser extent,
Chopin, for all of you home programmers, the original music alone possesses a nice ambience even
though themes repeat - maybe BECAUSE they repeat.

BLAST FROM THE PAST:

When things are getting stressful and you think you can't take another note in your life, there are
some albums that just, well, MAKE EVERYTHING SEEM OK. For me, this is one of those. This is Alice
before the electric organ and strings records, when she was still focused on her minimal harp excursions
and the piano. The droning vamps on this album, along with the crucial participation of Pharoah Sanders,
leave me with only one complaint when the last track is done: it's just not long enough! I could live in
this space for at least another hour. Also recommended:"Ptah: the El Daoud", with both Pharoah and
Joe Henderson.

w/ Lisle Ellis (bass) & Scott Amendola (drums), this disc by Vancouver pianist/bon vivant Plimley is
inventive, sensitive, and wide-ranging as this trio runs the "free/composed" gamut. A lot of you out
there in cyberspace probably don't know about Paul Plimley, and, in fact, had the estimable (and
affable) Mr. Amendola not laid this on me i may never have caught up with it! But check it out, the
sound of supreme technical command of music all in the service of real music-making. What a score!!!

By now you should all know that Zeena rules, that i think she's unbelievably fabulous, etc. But somehow
i had missed this one -- a solo alb not too dissimilar to her (superb) Atavistic one, but with the addition
of some acoustic and overdub work. And, this may be my favorite! Her Tzadik albs (w/ ensembles)
feature her writing, her keyboard work & her amazing, really original sisters -- highly conceptual works.
This just sounds to me like pure Zeena Parkins: super-rad harp playing, sound-conjuring genie. A must!

This is a compilation CD that came highly recommended by the good folks at Aquarius Records in
San Francisco. It's music recorded on the streets of Vietnam cities and has everything from Casio
Disco to unreal guitar "blues" (track 9) like you couldn't imagine. This is one startling CD and, at
times, humorous disc that makes one re-evaluate much about sonic culture.

Another compilation album, this time of groovy Ethiopian jazz combos from the late 60's and
early 70's. My friend Chas played this while we were eating mountains of breakfast up in S.F., and i
had to go to Aquarius and cop (turns out it's another of their favs as well.) Almost all of the tracks here
are modal groove tunes with a decidedly "Arabic" scale content. Most feature horns, piano (some
beautiful tremelo-laden Wurlitzer electric), nasal fuzz guitar, jazzy guitar, and some wah-wah, with loose
and luscious rhythm sections. And the disc just goes and goes, creating a mood that is both somber
and festive. Some of the artists include main architect Mulatv Astatqe with Tekle "Huket" Adhanom
& others.

This giant of new music, contrabassist Scodanibbio, is another musician whose work is technically
non pareil yet all about the sound itself. Decidedly minimal, this four-part work unfolds gradually,
unveiling sonorities you will probably not readily associate with the good ol' "doghouse." A big thank
you to Tom @ New Albion for this one! I had scribbled Stefano's name down after seeing him by
chance (on a bill with Gregg Bendian solo percussion works) -- he had blown me away!
Alluring and challenging.

I saw this trio in NYlast June (after Thurston, Zeena and i did an hour of playing @ Tonic.) As opposed
to that set, this disc features short, more compressed free pieces. The sound of the disc is amazing
(though those super-digital powerbook cascades can really make your ears itch!) There is less of Kim's
guitar than was evident at the Tonic show (her guitar had an amazingly odd wang bar that looked like an
old crank-style coffee grinder which broke about 5 min. into the set!), but one constant is Kim's
super-minimal vocal freestyling. This is an oblique yet satisfying listen, and it sounded great in
G.E. Stinson's car. And DJ Olive, in my humble estimation, totally rules! More on him some other time...

NOSTALGIA RUSH OF THE MONTH:

Sure i've got the vinyl, but i saw this 'used' @ Poo Bah and had to get it. For some damn reason i hadn't
listened to "Crossings," once my favorite record (in 1972!), in years. But when i listened to
"Sleeping Giant," "Water Torture," et al, tears welled up in my eyes. This music has had a major
impact on me. This sextet was also a formative 'live' music experience for me (at age 17). There just
isn't time for me to go into this. Sure, you can play the "Fat Albert Rotunda" session at your next party,
but the music from "Mwandishi" and "Crossings" is timeless, absorbing, visionary. Eddie Henderson,
Bennie Maupin, Julian Priester, Buster Williams, Billy Hart, Patrick Gleeson -- heavenly.

ALWAYS-AT-THE-READY DEPT.:

I don't know the story on this young Japanese koto virtuoso but this disc is like a companion to me.
I'm going to research some things and write more about this music (along with that of Bay Area koto/
movement diva Miya Masaoka) in my "In Praise Of" department soon...

When Jim was in town he gave me this disc, which is essentially Chris Speed's band under the leadership
of the elfin giant, Brooklyn rhythm kingpin Mr. Black. With Speed on tenor saxophone & clarinet,
Hilmar Jensson on E-guitar, & Skuli Sverrisson on electric bass, there is a surprising intimacy and
simple beauty that emerges on this disc. After Jim's tenure with complexitymeisters like Tim Berne
and, at times, Chris Speed, I am impressed that this disc possesses a crystalline ballad sensibility
reminiscent of Paul Motian's bands plus the expected groove factor minus any generic posturing. Anyone
who digs the whole comp/prov/rock/jazz/free multibag should like this. Guitarists: Mr. Jensson doesn't
really assert much identity on this session, which is mostly given over to a group concept of playing.
Uses of repitition, minimalism, modal explorations are compelling. There's one track on here that has a
fuzzed-out riff that reminds me for some reason of the first Squirrel Bait record (!) -- or maybe the
Drop Nineteen (!!). Boss.

I remember Wally from when he lived in L.A. back in the 70s. But after returning to the South, Mr. Shoup
has been up in Seattle for years now blowing free alto with passion and commitment. This is a 'live'
record from a gig in Cambridge, Mass. last year. The sound quality is a bit distorted, but have no fear,
the music, mostly pretty intense, cuts through. Wally Shoup has an approach that reminds me of
free players pre-AACM dryness. At times Ayler-esque, his screaming is modulated with a strong and,
at times, folkloric melodic sense. I dig him! Mr. Moore grows every second in confidence as a free
improvisor. Here he goes from cathartic walls of feedback to neo-Cageian toggle switch 60 cycle hum
experiments and it all works well. This is my first hearing of Toshi Makihara, and he has that stream of
controlled energy and texture that pushes things ever forward. Bonus: solo Thurston track that has his
strumming style stark and beautifully simple for us all to enjoy.

Another 'live' document from the latest edition of Shakti, whih features the amazing Indian electric
mandolin player U. Shrinivas. This superlong CD is worth it for 2 tracks alone: "Maya" & "Anna"
(burning and poignant, respectively). There are some silly sounding R&B-ish riffs poking through the
Indian fabric here, but if you're as damaged by Mr. McLaughlin as i am, you can only celebrate the fact
that he's in excellent form here, and in a killer band. U. Shrinivas must be heard -- he's hard to describe.
His little bounce of delay is delightfully kitschy, but his phrasing, note choices, and the way he takes
his time and really develops his ideas make him incredibly compelling. Chopsters: this is it -- time to
dig in or give up! (Thanks to Henry Kaiser for making sure i didn't miss this one.)

Addendum: this album is dedicated to the memory of Ustad Allarahka. When did he die?? Guess i'd
better start reading the newspaper again. If there's a heaven, you know he's in it, smiling and trying to
throw Tony Williams off time. He and his buddy Ravi changed my life forever. Thank you.

Here's the Godlike visionary Mr. Hall in a great 'live' quartet sesh from the Regattabar (?), also in
Cambridge (see Wally Shoup). You must all know by now that i love Jim Hall. Who doesn't ?! If anyone
wants to know why these guys are so damn great, just listen to "All Across The City." Simply put,
it's the shit! The alb has all the trademarks of Mr. Hall's discs: a clever blues with a tricky theme,
a light yet inventive Latin tune, a freer piece or two, a beautiful ballad...only complaint: the disc weighs
in at 60 minutes, and i wanted more! Also, Mr. Hall's ever-expanding use of his whammy pedal as a
harmonizer has kind of gone from charming to of mild concern for me. But who cares -- we're dealing
with a true genius, for God's sake!

San Francisco/Oakland ex-Splatter Trio guitar torturer Boisen gave me this new disc, which has a bunch
of guitarists and drummers improvising in various combinations and them being treated to a sound
reworking with studio technology by Boisen, who is also an engineer. The results are quirky and enjoyable,
especially to any of you Fred Frith fans out there, i think, because this man freely embraces not only
Mr. Frith's many extraordinary techniques & textures, but it also evinces a bit o' the Rock occasionally.
At times oblique (most of the time!), and at times moving (the opening statement), this is a good disc
by an underrated guitar innovator.

Gregg couldn't believe i had missed this one (seesh! i feel like i'm missing practically everything these
days), so he laid it on me only recently (i think it's been out for 5 years or so). Gregg loved this sesh,
and i can see why: the monolithically influential and prolific Mr. Bailey sounds really comfy and inventive
in a manner which delights me to hear. From duets with vibraphone/drums to ones with just a hand
drum (!), the give-and-take here is quite enjoyable -- more so by far for me than hearing the more
cranked-out Derek albs of late. In fact, Mr. Bailey's volume pedal only rarely brings the amp into the fray,
and the balance of acoustic/electric is near perfect. Well, maybe i'm not wholly objective, but i think all
of you Derek-Bailey-is-God-Euro-improv-rules folks better check this one out!

Bought this one from Mr. Eskelin at his gig here with his fabulous trio in my little neighborhood last
weekend. It's his trio (Andrea Parkins on accordion & sampling keyboard and Jim Black on percussion)
plus Erik Friedlander on cello and Joe Daley on tuba, and it's another great Eskelin project. The cello
& tuba really add a lot, the writing is unpredictable and, at times, quite soulful. And for all of you Jim
Black fans out there, it's a great drum record. Sometimes the constantly superb tenor playing wears
me out after awhile, and i'm sure Mr. Eskelin will bristle when i say that moments on this disc remind
me (in a good way!) of Tim Berne's Sanctified Dreams band a bit. Well, it's good. That's all that matters.

BLAST FROM THE PAST:

Around 1974, i used to listen to this record almost every day -- a position held by few guitar records
(Allman Bros. "Live @ Fillmore," John McLaughlin "Extrapolation," and Ralph Towner's "Trios/Solos"
are a few others from this general period). So it was with some trepidation that i slipped this on the old
turntable recently, fearing the swirl of the round-toned notemeister might catch me in a heavy swirl
and send me into a deep and disturbed reverie. But all my fears were unfounded as the first super
technical yet grungily-spirited sounds of this Philly quartet resounded in my ears for the first time in
some 20 years! As the superclean burn of Mr. Martino's endless streams of eighth notes danced like
sparks from an arc weld, it struck me that these guys were, as i always suspected, having a blast!
The raggedy Rhodes of Eddie Green, the distorto overattack of Tyrone Brown's Fender bass, and the
super splashy and swinging drums of the great Sherman Ferguson make this happy, burning, inventive
jam disc as fresh now as it seemed to me (the know-nothing 19 year old) then -- especially now that
electric piano is "in" again. Maybe i'll track down the CD, 'cause my album is pretty thrashed.

ALWAYS-AT-THE-READY DEPT.:

When i get rich i'm just going to buy the whole Tzadik "New Japan" series. This is an album of chamber
music (kotos, harpsichord, viola de gamba, sho) that my brother Alex turned me onto. Thanks, Alex!
'Cause this music, microtonal and intimate/eloquent, has obsessed me now for over a year. The koto
pieces are my favorites. More on this when i know more. (Those damn Tzadik packages give me massive
eyestrain!) Beautiful in the extreme.

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