Lucky Psychic Hut

ICP box-set

2012-01-31T19:20:00.005+01:00

Yesterday I received a rather angry comment by someone claiming to be "Han BennInk". I contacted Bennink's manager Susanna von Canon, who replied that it well might be Han, who is touring the US right now. She received an e-mail from Bennink, where he expressed concerns about free downloads of old ICP material. The reason is that a complete box set of all ICP albums is in the stage of planning. Thrilling news indeed!

Therefore I took down all posts and links to any of these albums. I guess everyone will understand.

Sincerely,
Lucky

Paul Schwarz featuring Bernd Konrad - Sali (1985)

2012-01-27T00:10:00.000+01:00

[LP: Creative Works, Switzerland, 1986; #CW 1003]

Paul Schwarz: church organ
Bernd Konrad: baritone-, soprano- + sopranino saxophones, bass clarinet, enigmatic voices

Side A

1. Chinatown (11'53)
- dedicated to Roman and Paul Polanski -

2. HaMaKo (take 2) (6'58)
- dedicated to Hans Koller -

3. Dedications (5'44)

Side B

1. New Africa Sali (6'49)
- dedicated to the children of Africa -

2. HaMaKo (take 1) (7'07)
- dedicated to Hans Koller -

3. Epilogue (7'46)
- dedicated to Thelonious Monk and Marion Brown -

total time: 46'17

All compositions by Paul Schwarz, exc. A3 by Paul Schwarz + Bernd Konrad.

Recorded on December 1985 at Musikhochschule, Stuttgart, Germany by Tonstudio Bauer, Ludwigsburg.
Engineer: Johannes Wohlleben.
Cover concept, design + layout by Bernd Wendt.
Cover photograph by Tom Doch.
Liner photography: K. W. Meyer zu Uptrup (B. K.), H. Kumpf (P. S.).
Produced by Mike Wide + Juergen Abi Schmitt.

vinyl-rip + scans [ MP3-192kb/s, 67 MB | FLAC, 247 MB ]

[re-up] Morocco: Berber Music - A Marriage in the Eastern High Atlas (1973)

2012-01-27T00:05:00.001+01:00

Maroc: musique berbère - un mariage dans le Haut-Atlas oriental
[LP: Vogue, France, 1975; #LDY. 28.029]

"[...] There is a season for moussems (Saints festivals), weddings, circumcisions, and seasonal harvests that traditionally occur in the late summer months. This is a time of ilhwa (play) as opposed to temmara (hard manual labor). It is uncommon for collective music to formulate naturally in the 'off' or work season, though people are apt to make music wherever they are individually. (Katherine E. Hoffman, Generational Change in Berber Women's Song of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 46, No. 3 (Autumn, 2002), p. 535)

Music accompanies all of the festival season in predominantly in collective forms. Individual performances are kept 'in check'. Through active participation of a chorus of singers whenever a bride is singing poetry on the way to her wedding, or an itinerant musician is singing love poetry over an ahidus (large collective dance of the Atlas), or a rais (plural rways, Chleuh professional musician) is singing over an ahwash (dance of the Sous and High Atlas), music still remains communal despite some soloists. In the dances, many of the dancers also play the allun (tambourine). A large number of drummer-dancers secure the power into the hands of the collective. These are but a few examples of where one performer stands out in a generally active public.

musicians chickhat (as on tracks B4+5)

Sometimes the participation in the collective dances is treated as if it were work because participation is necessary. This phenomenon occurs during the festival season in the village celebrations, where the leader of the laâmt (group of musicians of a village), elected for the season, has the power to fine those absent without good reason save pregnancy, orthodoxy, or sickness. Nonetheless, the large dance may arrive unsuspected. Possibly excited by the musical instigations of just one with a drum and all may fall together into the grand spectacle at any moment. Should it stop however, there is a problem and long discussions may hopefully start the music again.

The system of music of the Berber regions of Morocco elevates it to a status higher than that of entertainment, for entertainment would be solely for those who do not participate, or do not know the music (outsiders). It is a chance for social interaction or the remedy of intra- or intertribal problems. However, those that participate do so for a number of reasons. Tribal pride is important, but Aydoun also mentions 'des signes magico-religieux' (Ahmed Aydoun, Les Musiqes du Maroc. Editions Eddif et Editions Autres Temps Janvier 2001, p. 90). Even the 5 beat rhythms of the ahidus have rapport to the hand of protection against evil. The music has a utilitarian and spiritual value which outweighs its aesthetic value, for the small numbers that stand and observe only are few and probably outsiders from or émigrés visiting from the city.

What hurts this utopian picture of collective song and dance is professionalism. Bernard Lortat-Jacob observes that collectivism is hard to escape, and its opposite, individualism, is promoted by professionalism. Professionalism is the modern way out of the collective system for musicians. It is compatible with modern life but not with tradition:

Professionalism would require relationships incompatible with the traditional social and economic structures based on low specialization, in which a dependable mutual aid system is preferred to transactions with money. It seems only natural that there should be no professional musicians in this context... [...] (Bernard Lortat-Jacob, Community Music as an Obstacle to Professionalism: A Berber Example. Ethnomusicology, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Jan., 1981), p.88)"

(from Stefan Santiago, Amazigh History and Culture, final paper, 2009 @ Facebook)

viola and tambourine (as on track B2)

Side A

Ahidus hayfa (1'52)
Ahidus amssad (3'55)
Song (izlan) (2'40)
Tambourine + oboe (5'03)
Poem (tamdyazt) (2'52)

Side B

Tamawayt (2'27)
Ahidus "of Ayt Lahssayn" (2'34)
Ahidus "of Ayt Lahssayn" (repeat) (3'49)
Song (izlan) (2'27)
Song (izlan) (2'54)
Dance amssad (1'49)
Dance hggwa (4'23)

total time: 36'45

Recorded by Bernard Lortat-Jacob (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Département d'ethnomusicologie du Musée de l'Homme, Paris).
Recorded in Tounfite, High Atlas, Morocco in 1973.
Technical realisation by Jean Schwarz, Département d'ethnomusicologie du Musée de l'Homme.
Photos by Bernard Lortat-Jacob (cover photo: Ahidus hayfa, as on track A1).

vinyl-rip + scans [ FLAC, 251 MB ]

[re-up] Steve Beresford - Eleven Songs for Doris Day (1985)

2012-01-27T00:00:00.001+01:00

[10": nato/Chabada, France, 1985; #OH7; CD-release in 1994]

"Clever cats have always thought it possible to make sarcastic remarks about Doris Day without incurring people's wrath, yet she is one of the most popular artists of film and song. She's often been treated with disdain as a harmless virginal being, though in her time she's partnered some of the most seductive figures of the screen as well as major jazzmen.

So although Miss Lucky Charm has vanished from film- and music-lovers' memories today, she's still with us in the universe of Steve Beresford, who harbours an eternal, unflinching passion for her. Here he performs several classics of the heroine of 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (perfect, as Hitchcock used to say); there are also two songs that pay tribute to her without any pillow talk.

Deb'bora, Tony Coe and Terry Day are the soloists in this first version of his brilliant band created to perform the singer's repertoire plus the titles dedicated to her memory."

(Les Allumés du Jazz)

Steve Beresford @ the European Free Improvisation pages

Steve Beresford: piano, euphonium, melodica, vocals on A1, A3, B4, backing vocals on B1
Deb'bora: vocals on A2-5, B1, B4-6, backing vocals on A1
Tony Coe: tenor & soprano saxophone, clarinet, backing vocals on A1
Terry Day: drums, alto saxophone on B2+B5, vocals on B2, backing vocals on B1
with the participation of the Andalusian Dog on B1

Side A

I Was There (Brenner, Beresford) 3'16
Secret Love (Webster, Fain) 2'53
Let it Ring (Edwards, Duddy) 3'57
Serenade in Blue (Gordon, Warren) 4'28
Sentimental Journey (Green, Brown, Horner) 3'27

Side B

The Black Hills of Dakota (Webster, Fain) 2'23
It's Magic (Cahn, Styne) 3'06
Que Sera, Sera (Livingston, Evans) 0'58
At Last (Gordon, Warren) 3'53
I'm Beginning to See the Light (George, Hodges, Ellington, James) 2'02
Back in Cincinnati (Brenner, Beresford) 3'53

Recorded on July 31, August 1 & 2, 1985 by Daniel Deshay at Studio nato, Chantenay-Villedieu.
Cover illustration and design by Pierre Cornuel/Sara Moerdijk. Photograph of Steve Beresford by Caroline Forbes.
Produced by Jean Rochard.
"Steve Beresford thanks Jane Root a lot."

Download [ vinyl-rip | mp3-320kb/s, 81 MB ]

Al Neil - Boot + Fog (1979-80)

2012-01-25T21:53:00.007+01:00

[LP: Music Gallery Editions, Canada, 1980; #MGE 33]

"Al (Alan Douglas) Neil. Pianist, composer, visual artist, author, b Vancouver 26 Mar 1924. He studied with Glenn Nelson and Jean Coulthard but, save for some lessons with Wilf Wylie, was self-taught as a jazz pianist. Drawn to bebop by recordings of Bud Powell, et al, he began playing in Vancouver clubs in the late 1940s with his own groups and as a sideman to other musicians. Neil was a central figure in the 1950s and early 1960s at the Cellar, a musician-operated Vancouver club, where he accompanied such US jazzmen as Carl Fontana, Art Pepper, and Sonny Red. He was seen in performance at the Cellar with the saxophonist Glenn MacDonald and the bassist Don Thompson in the NFB's In Search of Innocence (1963). A Neil quartet from this period (Dale Hillary, alto saxophone; Lionel Chambers, bass; Bill Boyle, drums) was heard with the poet Kenneth Patchen on the LP Kenneth Patchen Reads with Jazz (1959, Folk FL-9718).

Briefly inactive, Neil returned to music with a trio (Richard Anstey, bass; Gregg Simpson, drums) in 1965, introducing the freer and more personal - if not, eventually, wholly eccentric - performance style that would characterize his music over the next 20 years. In a review of the limited edition LP, The Al Neil Trio Retrospective: 1965-1968 (Lodestone lr-7001), released in 1976, Richard Baker (Coda, Feb 1977) observed that Neil's music from this period 'sounded strange even to ears already accustomed to Ornette [Coleman], Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra. Neil derived as much from John Cage, Alfred Jarry, the I Ching... as from any trends in free jazz or, for that matter, bop... [D]evelopments during the intervening years make it difficult to realize what a departure these performances represented at the time'.

Music has shared Neil's attention with writing and visual art. His writings, which are often of a semi-autobiographical nature and recount some of his experiences as a musician, include poems, a novel (Changes, Toronto 1975; London, Ont, 1989), and a collection of short stories (Slammer, Vancouver 1980). In the visual arts he organized multimedia performances in the 1970s and turned to mixed-media collage in the early 1980s. Most of his infrequent concerts/readings/installations during the post-Cellar period have been in gallery settings, eg, at his own Sound Gallery and Motion Studio (1966), the Vancouver Art Gallery (1968, 1972 - as part of the one-man show West Coast Lokas - and 1989), the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto (1969), Museum of Modern Art, Paris (1973), and the Coburg Gallery, Vancouver (annually, 1984-7). He also gave several concerts in Vancouver during the 1980s at the Western Front, where a show of his collages, 'Origins: Celtic Series,' was mounted on the occasion of his 65th birthday.

Neil's collaborators in the 1970s and 1980s included the percussionists Simpson and Howard Broomfield (the latter for the LP Boot and Fog, 1979, Music Gallery Editions MGE 33) and the bassists David Lee, Lisle Ellis, and Clyde Reed. A second Neil retrospective, Selections: 3 Decades, produced by Lee, John Oswald, and Alex Varty, was issued on cassette by Lee's Nightwood Editions in 1991."

(from The Canadian Encyclopedia)

more info:

Al Neil website @ Vancouver Art in the Sixties
conversation with Bill Smith, 1970 @ Vancouver Jazz
interview, 1972 @ Rick McGrath's homepage
biography by François Couture @ allmusic
biography + photo gallery @ Jazz Street Vancouver
improvised music in Vancouver @ Point of Departure

Al Neil: piano, vocals (A3, B1+2), pre-recorded tapes (A3, B1)

with
Howard Broomfield: percussion (B1)

Side A

Ruby My Dear (Thelonious Monk) 7'25
Grease Lightning (Neil) 8'40
Stonehenge (Neil) 6'12

Side B

Euclid (Neil) 10'25
Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen) 5'58
Meditation (Neil) 4'28

total time: 43'07

Recorded 1979-80 in Toronto, Canada (?).
Edited by John Oswald.
Cover photo by Carole Itter.
Lettering by Al Neil.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-320kb/s, 100 MB | flac, 149 MB ]

thanks to Nick for this contribution!

african fiesta @ 45tours on vita 1963-5 docteur nico 04

2012-01-24T03:19:00.010+01:00

Here's the final installment of the Nico Vita story, just in case the end of days has come. The closing track, from a YouTube post, is a mystery. Nico discographer Alastair Johnston thinks it's probably African Fiesta Sukisa, formed in the wake of Nico's split with Rochereau. Whatever the case, it's killer. Hopefully the good Docteur's Sukisa 45s will appear here at the Hut as the dust settles.

docteur nico african fiesta @ 45 tours
the far from complete vita singles 1963-5
part 04 - vita 76-128

01 76a Camalée
02 76b Kiboloso
03 77a Exhibition Dechaud
04 78a Mambo Hawaiienne
05 78b PB Zonga
06 79a Imana ya Daring
07 81a Au Complet
08 82a Libala nde bisengo
09 82b Naleli godee
10 100a Amartes
11 100b Minge Rumba Fiesta
12 101a Amasco rwe dima
13 101b Makila eyina nzoto
14 103a A Mimeza
15 103b Worriend
16 104a Indicatif African Fiesta
17 104b Nkulu Mobongisi
18 105a Asi Tu Viere
19 105b Molangi Ya Malasi
20 106a Foti Ya Ye
21 106b Le Chant de Malory
22 107b Calabosso
23 108a Sukisa
24 108b Tabalissimo
25 109a Cubana na Vis-a-Vis
26 109b Pablito
27 110a Café Rio
28 110b Majolina
29 111b Jaloux Jaloux
30 113a Carolina Carolina
31 114b Mama Ida
32 123a Kele Ya Nini Saka
33 123b Pablo Gonzales
34 128a Omeli Mavi na Tonga
35 xxxx Kamulanga

cd and vinyl and downloads @ various bitrates

african fiesta @ 45tours on vita 1963-5 docteur nico 03

2012-01-23T11:44:00.010+01:00

Another day, another download account. On a wing and a prayer.

docteur nico african fiesta @ 45 tours
the far from complete vita singles 1963-5
part 03 - vita 51-75

01 51a Natiya Zuwa Tina
02 51b Seis Linda Cubana
03 53a Ivi
04 54a Ya Gaby
05 54b L'Age Et L'Amour
06 55b Mwama Wa Mamu
07 56a Rochereau Pascal
08 57a Fiesta Kombo Ya Sika
09 57b Tozali Kozila
10 58b Contentieux Belgo-Congolais
11 59a Mama Egee
12 59b Maria Chantal
13 60a Lucie
14 60b Nadie No Puede
15 61a Santa
16 61b Tokei Koyekola
17 63b Mi Amore
18 64a Fiesta Na Milano
19 64b Mwana Ya Tabu
20 65a Sawa Ayaka Mozemba
21 65b Sey Sey
22 66a Madina 2
23 66b Nakokoma
24 67a Ba Bill Oye
25 67b Nin'zi
26 68a Mukala
27 68b Natali Yango Pamba
28 70b Guantanamera
29 71a Na Landa Baninga
30 71b Tosa Mpe Banga
31 72a Merengue President
32 72b Me Voy A Cantar
33 73a Biantondi Kasanda
34 73b Lolita
35 74a Domingo O Sabado
36 74b N'Daya Paradis

cd and vinyl and downloads @ various bitrates

Lucky Channels

2012-01-14T01:01:00.014+01:00

Channel 1 (74'09)

Channel 2 (63'16)

Channel 3 (77'50)

Channel 4 (79'22)

Channel 5 (80'03)

Channel 6 (77'36)

[6CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2012; #032]

Music compiled by Lucky in six channels, then sorted by chance, and finally selected and assembled into single files by Lucky.
Cover parts from an old postcard of Maison Kammerzell, Strasbourg, ca. 1890-1900 (from the Library of Congress).

A project for open ears.

Download [ mp3-192kb/s, 621 MB ]

Milt Franklyn + Treg Brown - More Road Runner Scores (1959-1962)

2012-01-09T21:29:00.009+01:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2012; #031]

Music and sound effects for the Warner Bros. cartoons directed by Chuck Jones.

"Milton J. Franklyn (September 16, 1897, New York – April 24, 1962, Los Angeles) was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons.

Franklyn moved from New York to Salt Lake City at the age of three, where he went to high school and finished one year at the University of Utah. He was also the state junior tennis champion in Utah for six years. The next two years were spent at the University of California, Berkeley, then he began a term at Pennsylvania University when he was called to service in World War One. Franklyn did not serve overseas; he trained as a naval officer for three months and then the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. He returned to Berkeley to finish his education.

As Franklyn could play a number of instruments, he joined a band in San Francisco and for the next few years played at the Palace and St. Francis Hotels. He began his own nine-piece orchestra, known at various times as the Peninsula Band, the Super Soloists, and the Merrimakers, and appeared in San Mateo (1926 to June 1927), where he also owned a music store; San José (1928 to January 1929), where he was Master of Ceremonies and wrote revues for the California Theatre before moving on to Fresno and Oakland. For two years he was emcee with Fanchon and Marco at Fox West Coast in San Diego; musical director and emcee with Paramount Publix Corporation, travelling to Seattle, Denver, Houston and Toledo, and finally worked on the Loew's circuit in Providence, Rhode Island and New York City from 1933 to 1935. Franklyn quit vaudeville to go to Hollywood in 1935 and spent a year doing occasional work.

In early 1936, he joined Warner Bros, as music arranger to Carl Stalling, becoming music director in 1953. The first cartoon with Franklyn credited as a composer was Bugs and Thugs, released in 1954, though Franklyn estimated at the time his 599th cartoon for Warners was Past Perfumance. Franklyn always composed his scores at home early in the morning; he only went to the studio to watch the 30-piece Warner Bros. Orchestra record the music or to view the finished cartoon. Among the songs Franklyn is said to have composed with director Chuck Jones and writer Michael Maltese is The Michigan Rag for the 1955 cartoon One Froggy Evening, featuring Michigan J. Frog. However, the ASCAP database lists only Maltese as the composer. He became the sole composer in 1958 upon Stalling’s retirement. [...]"

(Wikipedia)

Hot-Rod and Reel! (1959) 6'12
Wild About Hurry (1959) 6'37
Fastest with the Mostest (1960) 7'04
Hopalong Casualty (1960) 5'53
Zip 'n Snort (1961) 5'42
Lickety-Splat (1961) 6'23
Beep Prepared (1961) 5'47
Adventures of the Road-Runner (1962) 26'03
Zoom at the Top (1962) 6'34

total time: 76'15

Original music composed, orchestrated and conducted by Milt Franklyn (1897-1962).
Sound effects by Tregoweth "Treg" Brown.
Coyote voice by Mel Blanc, archive sound of Road Runner by Paul Julian.
Additional voice characterizations on #8 by Dick Beals and Nancy Wible.

For info thanks to Dave Mackey's Warner Bros. Cartoons Filmography and Title Card Gallery and the Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
Compiled + ripped from the cartoons by Lucky.

Download [ mp3-128kb/s, 71 MB ]

More info about Carl Stalling and Treg Brown at my first post of Road Runner scores.

Krtek - Music for the Mole cartoons of Zdeněk Miler (1963-70)

2012-01-03T18:18:00.005+01:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2012; #030]

"The Mole (in the Czech original called Krtek, or Krteček (little mole); Slovak Krtko; German Der kleine Maulwurf; Hungarian Kisvakond; Polish Krecik; Finnish Myyrä) is an animated character in a series of cartoons, created by Czech animator Zdeněk Miler.

It was first to be seen in 1956 in Prague, when Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon about how flax is processed. He wanted a strong Disney-influence to the cartoon by choosing an animal for the leading role, and decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film called "Jak krtek ke kalhotkám přišel" ("How the mole got his pants") was released in 1956, and the cute main character won itself an enormous popularity in many Eastern European countries as well as Germany, Austria, India and China. Production for further episodes started in 1963 and since then, around 50 episodes have been created.

The first episode of the cartoon was narrated, but Miler wanted the cartoon to be understood in every country of the world, so he decided to use his daughters as voice actors, reducing the speech to short non-figurative exclamations in order to express the mole's feelings and world perception. They also became the bottleneck of the creation process as they were the ones who got to see the whole film first, thus Miler was able to decide whether the message of the movie was able to get to children or not. [...]"

"Music plays an important role in the cartoons, since the characters almost never utter more than emotional sounds, the most common of which is "Hello!". The original series' music uses acoustic and electric musical instruments, rather than synthesized ones."

(info from Wikipedia)

Czech composer Miloš Vacek

Wiliam Bukový (1932-1968) - Krtek a autíčko (The mole and the car) (1963) 14'27
Milan Kymlicka (1936-2008) - Krtek a raketa (The mole and the rocket) (1966) 8'39
Luboš Fišer (1935-1999) - Krtek a tranzistor (The mole and the radio) (1968) 8'14
Miloš Vacek (b. 1928) - Krtek a žvýkačka (The mole and the chewing gum) (1969) 7'27
Miloš Vacek - Krtek a zelená hvězda (The mole and the green star) (1969) 6'59
Miloš Vacek - Krtek v zoo (The mole in the zoo) (1969) 6'11
Miloš Vacek - Krtek zahradníkem (The mole as gardener) (1969) 6'56
Miloš Vacek - Krtek a ježek (The mole and the hedgehog) (1970) 8'36
Miloš Vacek - Krtek a lízátko (The mole and the lollipop) (1970) 8'11

total time: 75'40

Music and sound effects for the Mole cartoons of Czech animator Zdeněk Miler (1921 - 2011).
Compiled and extracted from the cartoons by Lucky.

Download [ mp3-128kb/s, 70 MB ]

Lucky presents: The Collage in Music (1952-97)

2012-01-02T15:12:00.005+01:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2012; #029
- first posted @ Border Music and Art of the Mix, 2007]

"As technology allowed more sophisticated manipulation of sound in the studio, musique concrète evolved towards cut-up, collage and montage techniques that mixed found sounds and electronic sounds (and sometimes conventional instruments). The musical score did not disappear, but became the music itself. Musique concrète moved, de facto, closer to the aesthetics of jazz and rock music, in which the composer 'is' the performer. [...]"

(Piero Scaruffi)

See also Chris Cutler’s article about "Plunderphonia" at his homepage, and “Blue” Gene Tyranny’s article "Short History of Sound Art" (pdf @ the Diapason Sound Art homepage).

Audio collages on the web:
- Detritus.net
- Some Assembly Required
- Ubuweb

tracklist:

André Hodeir "Jazz et Jazz" (1952-60) 3'08
James Tenney "Collage #1 (’Blue Suede’)" (1961) 3'24
The Beatles "Tomorrow Never Knows" (1966) 3'00
The Mothers of Invention "Brown Shoes Don’t Make It" (1967) 7'32
Tom Zé "Toc" (1975) 2'59
The Residents "Swastikas on Parade" (extract) (1976) 8'27
Christian Marclay (plays with the records of) "Jimi Hendrix" (1987) 2'54
M.A.R.R.S. "Pump Up the Volume (Radio Edit)" (1987) 4'11
Negativland "The Perfect Cut (Rooty Poops)" (1989) 2'21
Dave Soldier "Matarile" (1993) 5'39
John Oswald "Blur" (extract) (1993) 1'59
Bob Ostertag "The Man in the Blue Slip" (extract) (1994) 4'04
David Shea "Screwy Squirrel" (1994) 1'35
Milk Cult "Urine, the Money" (1994) 3'36
Django Bates "New York, New York" (1995) 4'52
David Slusser "Hip Replacement" (1997) 5'39
Rik Rue "More Than Less" (1997) 3'58

total time: 69'18

Compiled by Lucky.
Cover art from Max Ernst’s collage novel "La femme 100 têtes", 1929.
Dedicated to the German music journalist Karl Lippegaus, who made a radio feature on this subject in the late 1990's, where he presented most of the featured tracks.

Download [ CD-rips | mp3-192kb/s, 95 MB ]

african fiesta @ 45tours on vita 1963-5 docteur nico 02

2011-12-17T15:00:00.006+01:00

Here's the second act, whatever I've got from Vita singles 26-50. The usual superlatives apply. Favorites here include Eleki Ndelo, Nella Negrita and Mamu Wua Mpoy. So enjoy. 01.1 here. Likers of my listenings might like my lookings as well. Thanks, all.

docteur nico african fiesta @ 45 tours
the far from complete vita singles 1963-5
part 02 - vita 26-50

01 26a Ma Kulutu
02 27a Africa Jazz Lipopo
03 27b Mobembo Eleki Tata
04 28b Matulekele
05 30a Mwasi Ya Bangando
06 30b N'Soso Pembe Na Lipopo
07 31a Madina
08 31b Nalembi
09 32a Eleki Ndelo
10 33a Nella Negrita
11 34b Libaku Ya Nguma
12 35a Ah! Congo
13 35b Amicale Lipopo
14 36a Mamu Wua Mpoy
15 37a Mirielle Mwana
16 39a Olingaki Nde Ngai
17 39b Rythi Mboka Muzungu
18 40a Batu Ya Congo
19 40b Donde
20 41b Prosabel Boyoma
21 42b Ndima Maloba
22 44b Paquita
23 46a M. Felie
24 50a Celibataire Niongo Te
25 50b Aura Moreno

cd and vinyl and downloads @ various bitrates

I Wayan Sula + I Dewa Gede Adi Kusuma Triananda - Master and Pupil. Balinese Gender Duets (2011)

2011-12-17T11:33:00.003+01:00

"Gender is a traditional Balinese and Indonesian ten brass-bar metallophone with bamboo echo chambers under the bars, an instrument which normally forms part of a larger gamelan orchestra. Gender is more rarely played as a duet of two instruments with the two players sitting face-to-face. That is the case here: these are two music lessons (tracks 1-8, 9-13) of master and pupil as a duet, running through the same core repertoire twice, mostly sacred music for tooth-filing ceremonies."

(Dave Sez)

I Wayan Sula, master: gender
I Dewa Gede Adi Kusuma Triananda, pupil: gender

Selasa (5'19)
Rebong (3'30)
Sulendre (3'33)
Bendu (6'07)
Alasarum (5'56)
Mesem (5'33)
Musik penutup (closing music) (7'22)
unknown (5'07)
Selasa (5'42)
Rebong (7'12)
Mesem (6'30)
Bendu (7'48)
Musik penutup (closing music) (2'17)

total time: 71'56

Recorded live in digital stereo (with a TEAC VR-20) at Rumah Putu Panca, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, with kind permission of the artists and our host.
1-8 recorded on January 2011, 9-13 on February 2011.
Recorded and mastered by Putu David-san (Dave Sez), whose services are free of charge, as are those of the musicians, the host and the occasional dog and motorbike.
Your appreciation would encourage the artists and engineer to continue providing recordings free of charge; please leave a comment if you have liked this.

Download [ mp3-320kb/s, 168 MB ]

thanks to Dave Sez (with kind permission), who dedicated this to bloggers @ Holy Warbles and Madrotter, with thanks for the encouragement.

Loverly Play World Wild Music (1987)

2011-12-12T19:11:00.005+01:00

[CD: ITM, Germany, 1988; #979.019
- LP originally released in 1987; #ITM 0019]

"Born February 24, 1948 in Edinburgh, Scotland, vocalist Maggie Nicols (or Nichols as her name was written in former days) has worked on almost every kind of project. At the age of 15 she left school and started to work as a dancer at the Windmill Theatre. Her first singing engagement was in a strip club in Manchester at the age of 16. About that time she became obsessed with Jazz and started singing with revolutionary bebop pianist Dennis Rose. From then on she sang jazz standards and originals in pubs, clubs, hotels and in dance bands with some of the finest jazz musicians around. In the midst of all this she worked abroad for a year in 1966; as a dancer and hostess in Greece and Iran with the Jon Lei Dancers followed by a six month engagement as a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.

In 1968, she joined John Stevens' Spontaneous Music Ensemble with Trevor Watts, later joined by Johnny Dyani and Carolanne Nicholls (no relation), and the group performed that year at Berlin's 1st improvised music festival, Total Music Meeting with guest musician Johnny McLaughlin. In the early 70s she began running voice workshops at the Oval House Theatre (one of the most important centres for pioneer fringe theatre groups). She both acted in some of the productions and rehearsed regularly with a local rock band, Octuin. Shortly after she became part of Keith Tippett's magnificent fifty piece band "Centipede" which included Julie Tippetts, Zoot Money, Phil Minton, Robert Wyatt, Dudu Pukwana and Alan Skidmore. Julie, Phil and Maggie got together with Brian Ely and formed the vocal group 'Voice'. Around this time, Nicols also began collaborating with the Scottish percussionist Ken Hyder, (who had recently moved to London) and joined his band 'Talisker'.

By the late '70s, Maggie became an active feminist and co-founded the group OVA. Not long after, she started the Feminist Improvising Group, with Lindsay Cooper. She also organized Contradictions, a women's workshop performance group that began in 1980 and dealt with improvisation and other modes of performance in a variety of mediums including music and dance. Over the years, Maggie has collaborated with other women's groups such as the Changing Women Theatre Group, and even co-wrote music for a prime-time television series Women in Sport.

Maggie has also collaborated regularly over the years with pianist Irene Schweizer and formidable bassist Joelle Leandre, including tours and three recordings as the trio Les Diaboliques. In addition to this is her ongoing collaboration with Ken Hyder. The duo incorporates elements of the traditional tunes of their shared Scottish background into jazz improvisations in their most recent project, Hoots and Roots Duo . Other projects for Nicols have included a duo with pianist Pete Nu, a singing duo with her daughter Aura Marina, a trio with Caroline Kraabel and Charlotte Hug, a duo with pianist Steve Lodder ("The Maggie Nicols Songbook") as well as Light and Shade, a project with lighting designer Sue Neal. Furthermore she has been involved with many other groups, such as the acapella group Inspiration (formerly Brixton Youth), Trevor Watts' Moire Music, Very Varied, The Lewis Riley Quartet, No Rules OK, Pulse, Gush and Al Dente with Lindsay Cooper, Elvira Plenar and Michelle Buirette

Maggie Nicols has performed internationally for several decades, for instance at the Zürich and the Frankfurt "Canaille" festivals and Moers, Grenoble,Mulhouse, Vancouver and Victoriaville Festivals. She has also given solo performances at the Moers Music Festival, the Cologne Triennale, and a number of other creative and improvised music festivals. She has worked with a great many improvisers from all over the world including drummer Günter "Baby" Sommer, British musicians,soprano saxophonist Lol Coxhill, guitarist John Russell, Dutch trombonist and violinist Annemarie Roelofs, the Australian Relative Band (with Jim Denley), tuba player Pinguin Moschner, and prolific songwriting bands Loverly and Cats Cradle.

Vocalist Maggie Nicols has been an active participant in the European improvisational community since joining the Spontaneous Music Ensemble in the late '60s. As a co-founder of the Feminist Improvising Group, she has also worked to further women in improvised music, dancing and other creative arts not only by example, but through workshops and extensive collaborating."

(from the Maggie Nicols homepage)

Maggie Nicols: voice, whistle, percussion
Terry Day: alto saxophone, percussion, voice
Paul Jolly: soprano-, alto-, tenor- and baritone saxophones, clarinet, flute
Mel Davis: piano, percussion, voice
Tim Powell: Fender bass, percussion
Chris Puleston: drums, percussion

Loverly (music: Davis; lyrics: Day, Nicols) 5’10
Mexicali (m: Davis) 1’54
Makam (m: Powell) 6’24
Fifties (m: Davis) 3’17
Dear John (m+l: Day) 3’08
Fela (m+l: Davis; other lyrics: Nicols) 6’31
Apartheid (m: Davis; l: Davis, Nicols) 5’44
Are You Ready? (Nicols) 5’21
Tipsy (m: Powell) 2’15
Yoruba (m: Powell) 4’39
Albert (m+l: Day; poem melody: Nicols) 6’43

total time: 51'06

All arrangements by Loverly.

Recorded at Pyramid Studios, Luton, England.
Recording engineer: Peter Ely.
Cover painting: Terry Day.
Produced for ITM / Ulli Blobel Schallplatten, exc. 5+11 for Nato Records, and 8 for Alissa Publishing.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 74 MB | flac, 283 MB ]

People in Front of Groups - Easy-Listening Bandleaders and their Music (1955-72)

2011-12-09T00:00:00.010+01:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #028]

Les Baxter - Simba (1955) 2'39
Ray Conniff - Wagon Wheels (1956) 3'16
Stanley Wilson - Pinchak Knife Fight (Malaya) (1957) 2'34
Stan Kenton - Machito (1958) 2'53
Esquivel - Fantasy (1959) 3'10
Robert Drasnin - Voodoo (1960) 2'54
Bob Moore - Hot Spot (1961) 2'21
Bert Kaempfert - Mexican Road (1962) 2'19
Laurie Johnson - Twango (1963) 2'33
The Mike Sammes Singers - The Surrey With the Fringe on Top (1964) 2'38
Herb Alpert + The Tijuana Brass - Spanish Flea (1965) 2'06
Marie France + Peter Thomas Sound Orchester - Monster (1966) 2'20
Brigitte Bardot + Serge Gainsbourg - Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 4'12
101 Strings - Re-Entry to Mog (1968) 3'27
Walter Wanderley - Baião da Garoa (1969) 3'32
Les Reed Orchestra - Man of Action (1970) 2'19
Burt Bacharach - Wives and Lovers (1971) 6'01
Antonio Carlos Jobim + Claus Ogerman - Matita Perê (1972) 7'14

total time: 58'28

Compiled by Lucky.
Cover source photo from a 1971/72 Telefunken product catalog, taken from Wegavisions HiFi Archiv.

Download [ various sources | mp3-192kb/s, 85 MB ]
thanks to the original uploaders!

Cornemuses de France / Bagpipes of France (1977)

2011-12-06T00:01:00.001+01:00

Les Cornemuses - Groupes Regionaux
[CD: Planett, France, 1991; #242027 - original LP's released under the title "Cornemuses de France" Vol. 1 + 2 by Discovale, France, 1977; #WM11 / WM12]

"French bagpipes cover a wide range and variety of styles of bagpipes and piping, from the Celtic piping and music of Brittany to the Northern Occitan's cabreta.

The Center-France bagpipes (called in French cornemuse du centre or musette du centre) are of many different types, some mouth blown, some bellows blown; some names for these instruments include chevrette (which means "little goat," referring to the use of a goatskin for its bag), chabrette, chabretta, chabreta, cabreta, bodega, and boha. It can be found in the Bourbonnais, Nivernais, and Morvan regions of France.

A distinguishing factor of most French bagpipes is the placement of the tenor drone alongside the chanter rather than in the same stock as the bass drone.

In the northern regions of Occitania Auvergne, we find the (generally) bellows blown cabreta, and in Limousin the mouth blown chabreta. The cabrette is much played in areas of Paris where Auvergnats tended to settle; this bagpipe is in most cases played without a drone, and together with an accordion. The chabrette, while having a similar name, is a quite different pipe, with a triple-bored bass drone played across the player's arm rather than over the shoulder. The form of the chabrette chanter appears similar to early oboes, including a swallow-tail key for the lowest note which is placed under a fontenelle.

The Occitan names also refer to the goat. In the Occitan region of Languedoc, and especially in the Montanha negre (Black Mountain) area, the bodega is played. This is a very large mouth blown pipe made from the skin of an entire goat. In Gascony, a small mouth blown bagpipe called boha (from bohar meaning "to blow") is used."

(Wikipedia)

CORNEMUSES DE FRANCE, Volume 1
(Auvergne, Berry, Bourbonnais, Limousin, Nivernais)

1. L'Adrienne (Auvergne) (1'36)
Bernard Blanc: bagpipes (cabrette)
Jean Blanchard: accordion

2. Chant des livrées (Berry-Bourbonnais) (1'53)
Mic Baudimant: bagpipes (grande cornemuse bourbonnaise)

3. Branle des Guillannées (Morvan) (1'34)
Mic Baudimant: bagpipes (cornemuse "13 pouces")

4. La sabottée (Berry) (1'37)
Bruno Dumontet: bagpipes (cornemuse "16 pouces")

5. La courte paille / Il est bien temps (Bourbonnais) (2'51)
Frédéric Paris: bagpipes (cornemuse "16 pouces")

6. Bourrée de Fontfrin (Berry) (1'48)
Mic Baudimant: bagpipes (musette "13 pouces")

7. Marche de Saint-Junien (Limousin) (2'51)
Eric Montbel: bagpipes (chabrette)

8. Bourée d'Ardentes (Berry) (1'32)
Mic Baudimant: bagpipes (cornemuse "16 pouces")
Frédéric Paris: hurdy-gurdy

9. Je ne veux plus garder les vaches / Bourrée de Couquignotte (1'56)
Bernard Blanc: bagpipes (cabrette)

10. Bourée à Ragot (Berry) (2'18)
Mic Baudimant: bagpipes (musette "13 pouces")

11. La belle s'y promène (Marche) (1'42)
Jean Blanchard: bagpipes (cornemuse Béchonnet)

12. Scottish du père Moreau (Berry) (2'21)
Mic Baudimant: bagpipes (cornemuse "16 pouces")

13. La petite veste rouge (Nivernais) (0'50)
Frédéric Paris: bagpipes (Cornemuse "18 pouces")
Mic Baudimant: vocals

14. Partons chers camarades (Limousin) (2'30)
Eric Montbel: bagpipes (chabrette)
Jean Blanchard: violin

CORNEMUSES DE FRANCE, Volume 2
(Bretagne, Gascogne, Vendée, Alsace-Lorraine, Languedoc)

15. Jean Beaubois - Quand le maître revient du marché (Languedoc) (2'10)
16. Philippe Grellier + Jacques Micheneaud - Suite montagne (Basse-Bretagne) (6'35)
17. Alain Cadeilhan - Cançon de la hialaire / À l'entourn de ma maison / Débat mon pé (Gascogne) (2'36)
18. Jean-Pierre Bertrand - La courante du pays de Mont (Vendée) (1'27)
19. Le Folk de la rue des Dentelles - Une jeune fille se leva de bon matin / La fiancée hongroise (Alsace-Lorraine) (1'16)
20. Alain Cadeilhan, Jean Blanchard, Bruno Dumontet - Suite de rondeaux landais (Gascogne) (2'24)
21. Charles Alexandre - Le pauvre soldat (Languedoc) (1'17)
22. Kevrenn de Nantes - Gwendal (Bretagne) (2'00)
23. Charles Alexandre + Jean Beaubois - En revenant de noces (Languedoc) (2'31)
24. Jean-Pierre Bertrand - Suite de branles maraîchins (Vendée) (1'46)
25. Charles Alexandre - Mélodie de la région d'Angles (Languedoc) (1'46)
26. Le Folk de la rue des Dentelles - Que le ciel me vienne en aide (Alsace-Lorraine) (2'04)

total time: 55'23

Vol. 1 (1-14) recorded at Chateau du Plaix, Lignières en Berry, France, July 5-7, 1977.
Vol. 2 (15-26): recording location and date unknown.
Recording engineer: Willy Wenger.
Produced by André Benichou and Willy Wenger for 7 Productions.

Photo of bagpipes on top comes from the cover of the LP "Cornemuses" by Jean Blanchard and Eric Montbel [Hexagone, France, 1980; #883 038].
Information collected from many sites on the internet by Lucky, no specific information in the CD-booklet, not on involved artists, recording locations and dates, earlier issue, etc.
Note: the 3 sec. silence at 3'30 on #16 is like that on the CD.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 81 MB | flac, 378 MB ]

Further listening: Last year I posted Trio Cornemuse's 'Berry-bourbonnais' (Silex, 1992), thanks to Miguel. Holy Warbles posted 2 excellent French bagpipe albums on Silex (thanks to Miguel, too), while Miguel himself posted more on his own blog Toro y Loco.

La Chavannée - Cotillon (Bourbonnais) (1991)

2011-12-06T00:00:00.002+01:00

[CD: Silex Mosaïque, France, 1992; #Y225203]

"La Chavannée
Folk group based in the Château du Plaix led by the bagpipes, melodeon and clarinet of Frédéric Paris. These well-respected musicians have released a dozen recordings over twenty years, mostly the fruits of their research within the old county of Bourbonnais. They also run a yearly folk festival as well as regular concerts, dances and workshops.

Cotillon (Silex Mosaïque, France)
One of many beautiful recordings by the most consistant of groups from Central France, essential for its tasteflu arrangements using all the standard instruments of the area."

(from 'World music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Vol. 1', Rough Guides Ltd., 1999)

For an english interview with Frédéric Paris visit l'Accordéonaire blog.

La Chavannée, Courcouronnes festival 2003: "Maxou" Heintzen, Marc Peroneille, Patrick Bouffard, Frédéric Paris (photo by Jean-Luc Matte, from Avalanche Compagnie)

La Chavannée
Frédéric Paris: diatonic accordion, clarinet, flutes, vocals
Eric Elsener: bagpipes (14 + 16 inches), cornet
Manu Paris: bagpipes (20 + 23 inches)
Jean-François "Maxou" Heintzen: hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes (16 inches)
Patrick Bouffard: hurdy-gurdy
Marc Péroneille: hurdy-gurdy
Eveline Paris: vocals

1. Les visiteurs (Manu Paris, J.-F. Heintzen) (2'37)
2. - Là-bas dans la Prairie
- Le Pont (Frédéric Paris)
- Vous autres jeunes gens (4'00)
3. - Branle de Montifaut
- C'est une jeune chèvre
- J'ai des bas blancs (3'14)
4. - Cotillon (François Chauvon)
- Fanfare
- Bourée (Jean-Joseph Mouret, ca. 1730) (4'39)
5. - La Chabrillan
- La Beauvoir (4'58)
6. Les deux frères (2'20)
7. La chasse à la bécasse (3'05)
8. - La Bobine (Patrick Bouffard)
- Entre-deux (Eric Elsener)
- Les vignerons (4'14)
9. - Cibi (Marc Péroneille)
- Fifine (trad., Frédéric Paris) (3'55)
10. - Scottisch à Virmoux (trad., Frédéric Paris)
- Ma cousine Clementine (J.-F. Heintzen) (4'18)
11. L'Infidele (1'43)
12. - Baillez-li
- Savez-vous (3'30)
13. - Mon habit n'a qu'un bouton
- Ou sont donc ces amats? (3'31)
14. L'oubli (J.-F. Heintzen) (2'40)

total time: 48'49

All compositions are traditional, exc. where stated otherwise above.
Arrangements by Frédéric Paris and the Chavans.

Recorded by Alain Cluzeau, assisted by Andé-Louis Guimmard + Miguel Carreno at Studio Acousti, Paris, on February 18-20, 1991.
Photos by Daniel Fresquet.
Design by Patrick Archaux.
Produced by Silex et eclats de Silex, Montreuil.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 73 MB | flac, 300 MB ]

Michel Waisvisz - Crackle (1976-77)

2011-12-04T00:00:00.005+01:00

[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1978; #77.1 / ҒМР, Germany, 1978; #ЅАЈ-14]

"Michel Waisvisz is a composer/performer of live electronic music, who has developed new ways to achieve physical touch with electronic music instruments. Sometimes this is done by literally touching the electricity inside the instruments and thereby becoming a thinking component of the machine.

He was amongst the first to play with synthesizers on stage and very early developed and performed using gestural controllers. He also is the inventor of the CrackleBox and The Web and other instruments based on touch interaction. Together with Frank Baldé he has designed live performance software like LiSa and JunXion.

Beside the solo performances and the composing for music theatre he has collaborated with a great variety of musicians and composers: Laurie Anderson, Steve Lacy, Jan Werner (Mouse on Mars), Truus de Groot, Najib Cheradi, Hans Tutchku, Moniek Toebosch, The Nieuw Ensemble, DJ Spooky, Willem Breuker, The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Maarten Altena, etc.

Waisvisz was one of the first organisers of electronic sound festivals in Holland and The Touch exhibition, with electronic music instruments that can be played by the visitors, is traveling regularly through Europe.

He leads the STEIM foundation in Amsterdam where performance artists from music, theater, dance and new media art, and DJ's and VJ's, work to develop their personal electronic instruments.

Waisvisz is the founder of 'Physical Philosophy' a science where axioms are replaced by physical objects.

He also advocates that artists, in order not to have their work being polluted by the generic typicality's of the aplied tools, appropriate their tools and instruments by modification, or even complete custom builds. Waisvisz in the seventies introduced the slogan: 'If you don't open it, you don't own it'. In this realm he also more recently instigated the OIK (Open It Kit) project at STEIM. Nowadays this statement is at the root of the work philosophy at STEIM: music makers are encouraged to also play an important role in the design and building of their authentic live electronic performance instruments.

Waisvisz has made works and performances in a variety of musical scenes from starting as an independent student to working in the avant garde of new music as well as in more popular venues"

(from the Crackle homepage)

Michel Waisvisz on his Crackle box
(photo by Hans Pattist, extracted + altered from the back cover)

Michel Waisvisz (1949-2008): Crackle synthesizer, exc. 2.3 modified Putney VCS 3 synthesizer, 2.1b mouth organ, 2.1c modified spring-board build by Hugh Davis

Side 1

1. À Cheval (3'14)
2. Dutchjazzcircus (6'33)
3. Crackles (2'34)
4. Steve's Pipe (5'39)
5. First Dancesteps (1'51)

Side 2

1. a. De brug gaat open
- b. Berliner Neustadtlament
- c. Stradivrarius (13'23)
2. 4 Narrow Escapes (6'20)
3. One for the Road (0'23)

total time: 39'57

All compositions by Michel Waisvisz.

1.1 recorded on January 15+16, 1977 at Studio Steim, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
1.2, 1.3, 1.4 recorded on July 12-22, 1977 at Studio Fylkingen, Stockholm, Sweden;
1.5 recorded on October 13, 1976 on board of M.S. Clacor, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
2.1a, 2.1b, 2.1c, 2.2 recorded on November 7, 1976 live during the 'Tоtal Muѕic Mееting' at the 'Quartiеr Latin', Berlin, Germany;
2.3 recorded on August 10, 1976 at Studio Steim, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Engineered by Michel Waisvisz, exc. 2.1a-c, 2.2 by Jоѕt Gеbеrѕ.
Cover design by Michel Waisvisz.
Back cover photograph: Hans Pattist.
Produced by Michel Waisvisz and Jоѕt Gеbеrѕ.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 56 MB | flac, 194 MB ]

thanks to Nick for yet another contribution!

Guus Janssen - Tast Toe (1981)

2011-12-03T00:00:00.000+01:00

[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1981; #81.7]

"On the left a pile of black, on the right a pile of white sticks. It takes a while before you begin to realize just what is depicted in the illustration of the Guus Janssen tast toe (Guus Janssen takes hold) LP. Black, white, elongate; not merely sticks...

Yes, of course. The keys of a piano.

The illustration offers a perfect metaphor for Janssen's music. Something taken apart, then reconstructed in a new way, the basic premise at the centre of the vast majority of Janssen's work.

Innocence goes hand in hand with sophistication. He does not rebel against traditions but always approaches them via a detour. The order in his music always takes an unexpected form, and is so painstakingly prepared that listener is caught unaware and often inwardly amused. This talent alone, the gift to be humorous with tones, makes Janssen's work unique in contemporary composition. But there are even more reasons for labelling him as the Dutch Haydn.

Janssen is one of the few musicians active in both improvised and composed music. Yet his compositions are anything but notated improvisations, and his improvisations, however impromptu, are remarkably concentrated and bear witness to sense of form.

His recycling of 'worn out' chords, ragged progressions of tones, and his predilection for tinkering with the instruments could be labelled deconstructivism, were it not that such a pretentious term would ill-suit the playfulness of his music. Moreover, this deconstruction is just the very beginning. The constructive element that follows is every bit as important, if not the most important of all. [...]"

(from Frits van der Waa, "Guus Janssen: the construction of ramshackleness", 1994; translated by John Lydon)

(photo from the TryTone homepage)

Guus Janssen: piano

Side 1

Blokken (4'53)
1:2 (6'53)
Dik (4'53)
Uw trefpunt (2'05)

Side 2

Bakkum (7'55)
Rood, weel en bla (4'20)
Zeven knoesten (6'54)

total time: 37'53

All compositions by Guus Janssen, exc. 2/1 by Maarten van Regteren-Altena.

1/1 recorded on June 26, 1981 at Bimhuis, Amsterdam.
All other pieces recorded on June 23, 1981 at Concertgebouw, Amsterdam during the Holland Festival.
Recording engineer: Dick Lucas.
Cover by Emo Verkerk.
Photography by Sjef Janssen.
Produced by Guus Janssen and Maarten Altena.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 52 MB | flac, 154 MB ]

a double thank-you to Nick for this contribution!!

Helmut "Joe" Sachse - Solo (1988)

2011-12-02T00:00:00.001+01:00

[LP: AMIGA, German Democratic Republic, 1989; #8 56 425]

"Helmut Joe Sachse (born 1948 in Mittweida) started out in the East German jazz scene, with whose representatives he almost without exception played. Later he also performed with other international musicians: Carmell Jones, Leo Wright, Mighty Flea Conners, Charlie Mariano, John Tchicai, John Marshall, David Moss, Peter Brötzmann, Tony Oxley, Jack Bruce, Han Bennink and Albert Mangelsdorff. From the nineties onwards he began to incorporate standards - including those from rock music - into his repertoire. His characteristic art of playing has brought him labels such as the Jimi Hendrix of jazz guitar or the high priest and wizard of electric guitar. The Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper eventually named him as Germany’s greatest unknown guitarist. In 1990, his two solo records were awarded the Goldene Amiga (‘Golden Amiga’)."

(from the Doppelmoppel page on Conny Bauer's homepage)

Helmut "Joe" Sachse: guitar, flute

Side 1

La Fiesta (Chick Corea) 6'13
Ballade für Kurt Tucholsky (Sachse) 1'56
Skurrile Geschichte für Ephraim Kishon (Sachse) 4'32
Sorcery (Keith Jarrett) 3'36
Schraubenzieher-Tango für Jaroslav Hašek (Sachse) 3'04
Minimal für Christian Morgenstern (Sachse) 3'09

Side 2

Blues für Karl Kraus (Sachse) 4'17
Well, You Needn't (Thelonious Monk) 4'17
Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington) 3'12
Flöten-Sounds für Rainer Klis (Sachse) 3'24
Walzer für George Bernard Shaw (Sachse) 7'29

total time: 45'09

Recorded September 12-15, 1988 at AMIGA-Studio, Berlin.
Music and sound direction by Gerd Puchelt.
Sound engineered by Kay Lautenbach.
Produced by Jürgen Lahrtz.
Cover photo by Stephan Tomm, other photo by Otto Sill.
Design by Karl Groß.
Dedicated to Frank Fanselow, a long-time friend of Sachse, who died too early.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 72 MB | flac, 322 MB ]

Moniek Toebosch - I Can Dance (1977-81)

2011-12-01T00:00:00.005+01:00

[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1981; #81.8]

"Moniek Toebosch

Born 1948 in Breda, the Netherlands / lives and works in Amsterdam

Moniek Toebosch was born into an artistic family. Her father was a composer, pianist and organ-player; her elder sister became a ballet dancer, while another sister turned out a flutist. Moniek set out on her educational odyssey, starting with the Sculpture Department of the Breda Academy of Fine Arts, then shifted to the Musical Academy only to return to the Fine Arts Academy some time later. This time it was fashion that captivated her. Yet, her graduation project was a 16mm film, since by the end of her studies she already worked with Frans Zwartjes, the future father of the Dutch experimental cinema. As for the mercurial Toebosch, she was to be a pioneer of Dutch performance art, with her interdisciplinary works uniting the practices of theatre, music, performance, video and sound art."

(biography from the Moscow Museum of Modern Art homepage)

"[...] Christine Jeffrey, Julie Tippett, Maggie Nicols, Tamia, Annick Nozati, Moniek Toebosch represent important stages in the development of modern jazz (or the legacy of jazz music), a reconsideration of the voice, an authentic approach allied to that which drove the heralds of European free music - Evan Parker, Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink, Willem Breuker, John Stevens, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Maarten Altena - a significant disruption! The women affirmed other than as object of desire, but as part of the sound and political material.

Christine Jeffrey was on the first ECM production, Tamia impressed the minds at Châteauvallon with the Michel Portal Unit in 1972, Julie Tippett (formerly Julie Driscoll, beautiful white soul sister) experimented at the beginning of free music with John Stevens, Carla Bley or Keith Tippett, Maggie Nicols vocalized with Johnny Dyani, Dudu Pukwana and the Feminist Improvising Group (who were only established among those they represented), Annick Nozati, transforming the process of predecessors with her own experience; Moniek Toebosch dramatized, ironically, with the spirit which is so special in Dutch jazz. [...]"

(Jean Rochard, 12/2010 @ Le Glob, the nato blog
- translation attempt by Lucky with the help of gidouille)

photos in Moniek Toebosch's book "Als Zodanig Niet Herkenbaar Is Dit Duidelijk?", De Buitenkant 2009 (from Harry Prenger's blog, 11/2009)

Moniek Toboesch: voice

Side 1

Ja, ja (2'34)
Collages 1 (4'12)
Throatscratching (1'52)
Collages 2 (3'33)
Collages 3 (1'07)

Side 2

Love (2'20)
Chattering Ladies (2'30)
Duikflat-aha (4'49)
I can dance (2'45)
KLAP, KLAP (3x) (1'06)

total time: 26'48

All compositions, words and improvisations by Moniek Toboesch.

Recorded at Fylkingen Studio, Stockholm, Sweden, STEIM studio and Shaffy Threatre, Amsterdam, and a private studio in Bredam, The Netherlands.
Sound engineers: Dick Lucas, Moniek Toebosch and Michel Waisvisz.
Cover photo by Bo Ender.
Graphic design by Moniek Toebosch.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 37 MB | flac, 89 MB ]

thanks to Nick for another contribution!

Laurens Tan - Bass Recorder (1983)

2011-11-30T00:00:00.002+01:00

[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1983; #83.13]

"Music does not exist in itself; its character and development are closely connected to presuppositions, often a non-musical nature, which are held by individuals or groups of individuals.

The music on this record grew from the attempt to bring together various approaches to music, which we usually keep separate or - at most - partially combine:
- music as 'dance', directly resulting from rhythmic physical movement;
- music as an object for contemplation;
- music as a performing art;
- music as the art of combining musical elements.

With this in mind, I thoroughly explored the bass recorder. New sounds arose and I developed new breathing and articulation techniques. It's up to the listener to decide whether all this produced music in its own right."

(Laurens Tan - from the liner notes; translation by Sheila Gogol)

Laurens Tan: bass recorder

Side One

Composition no. 33 (4'54)
Composition no. 11 (4'37)
Composition no. 5 (4'09)
Composition no. 28 (4'01)

Side Two

Composition no. 6 (6'03)
Composition no. 2 (3'32)
Composition no. 30 (11'30)

total time: 38'46

All compositions by Laurens Tan.

Digitally recorded on July 12 + 13, 1983 at Bach Hall of Sweelinck Conservatory, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Recording engineer: Floris van Manen (Stichting Klankschap).
Cover design: Niko Koomen.
Photograph: Willem Hekkema.
Produced by Laurens Tan.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 54 MB | flac, 143 MB ]

thanks again to Nick for this contribution!

Paul Termos - Solo 84-85 (1984-85)

2011-11-29T14:16:00.009+01:00

Alto Saxophone Solo's
[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1986; #86.17]

"Paul Termos was born in Hilversum, Netherlands, 1952. He studied composition with Ton de Leeuw at the Amsterdam Sweelinck Conservatory in the early seventies. In the same period Termos got involved in improvised music with his guitar and clarinet playing, but changed this instruments a few years later for the alto saxophone.

From the early eighties Termos took part in the Amsterdam improvisation scene and played with I.C.P., Guus Janssen, Maarten Altena and many others. From 1985 Termos started to give solo concerts and made a solo record (Claxon 86.17).

In 1988 he formed his own 10-piece-band, The Termos Tentet, which had a. o. Michael Vatcher, Wolter Wierbos and Peter van Bergen in it. This group was followed by a 9-piece-band, called Termos Dubble Express, wich had two soprano singers in the front. Both groups were recorded on CD for Geestgronden (nos. 5 and 16).

In the second half of the nineties Termos went back to pure free improvisation as his main goal (as far as saxophone playing is concerned) and played intensively duo with Wiek Hijmans and Misha Mengelberg.

As a composer Termos wrote music for different important musicians like Francis Marie Uitti, Guus Janssen, The Mondriaan Kwartet, Maarten Altena Ensemble, Dutch Woodwind Ensemble, The Volharding and The Radio Chamber Orchestra."

(biography from the Paul Termos homepage
- slight spelling corrections by Lucky)

Paul Termos (1952-2003): alto saxophone

Side 1

Kontra Dans (2'31)
Bokkenrijder (7'49)
Fontana (2'02)
Grisaille (2'39)
Mässig bewegt (4'18)

Side 2

Er was eens (2'31)
Shakes and Sounds (6'13)
Swing and Rococo (2'38)

total time: 30'41

All compositions by Paul Termos.

1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2 recorded at Bachzaal, Amsterdam , The Netherlands on June 19-20, 1984;
1.4 recorded at Bachzaal on July 7, 1985;
1.3, 1.5, 2.3 recorded at Studio Dansproductie on December 7, 1985.
Digital recording and mastering by Floris van Manen (Stichting Klankschap).
Cover design by Marc Terstroet.
Photo by Chiel Meyering (from the Termos homepage).
Produced by Maarten Altena and Paul Termos.

vinyl-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 43 MB | flac, 122 MB ]

thanks to Nick for this contribution!!

[up-grades] Guus Janssen Septet

2011-11-29T00:00:00.000+01:00

"When I improvise I'm trying to polish diamonds, but at the same time I also think that the mistakes are an important part of improvisation: like having to pass through a deep valley, terror, thrashing around in search of a mouse hole that will lead to freedom. The funny thing is that it's precisely the moments of walking on burning coals, struggling to keep your head above water, that later prove to have a kind of beauty you didn't suspect at the moment itself. The valleys are important as well for they force you to take a jump out of the precarious situation, and you land somewhere that you didn't know was in you. It's a somewhat uncomfortable experience but I don't avoid it. Sometimes it yields material which later crops up in a written composition; things I never would have come across just sitting at a writing table."

(Guus Janssen, 1984 @ Frits van der Waa's homepage)

Guus Janssen Septet
[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1984; #84.14]

Ab Baars: soprano, tenor & baritone saxophones, Bb clarinet
Michael Moore: alto saxophone, Bb clarinet
Annemarie Roelofs: trombone, violin
Maud Sauer: oboe, alto oboe
Guus Janssen: piano
Raoul van der Weide: bass, cello
Wim Janssen: drums

Side 1
1. Vijzelstraat (4'53)
2. Kavel (5'35)
3. Tomaat (4'10)
4. Daarom Juist (4'30)

Side 2
1. Deurtjes (9'14)
2. Slot (4'44)
3. Pozzuoli (5'55)

total time: 39'01

All compositions by Guus Janssen, exc. A3 by Maud Sauer.

A3, A4 recorded at Bimhuis Amsterdam on November 11, 1983.
All other pieces recorded at Bimhuis, Amsterdam on December 18, 1982.
Recording engineer: Dick Lucas.
Cover painting by Alphons Freymuth.
Design by Petra Dolleman.
Photography by Charlot Wissing.
Produced by Guus Janssen and Maarten Altena.

vinyl-rips [ mp3-vbr192kb/s, 57 MB | flac + scans, 193 MB ]

Guus Janssen Septet - 85....86
[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1987; #87.18]

Ab Baars: soprano saxophone (A1, B3, B4), tenor saxophones (A1, A2, B1-4), clarinet(A1, A3, A4, B3, B4)
Michael Moore: alto saxophone (A1-3, B3, B4), bass clarinet (A1, A3, B3, B4)
Annemarie Roelofs: trombone (A1, B3, B4)
Maud Sauer: oboe + shanai (A1, B3, B4)
Guus Janssen: piano (all)
Maurice Horsthuis: viola
Ernst Reijseger: cello (A2-4, B1, B3)
Raoul van der Weide: bass (A1-4, B1, B3, B4)
Wim Janssen: drums (all)

Side 1
1. Duw (6'57)
2. Sbrodj (3'57)
3. Taag (6'24)
4. Indiaan 2 (3'54)

Side 2
1. Indiaan 1 (6'02)
2. PF (5'09)
3. Moos (7'00)
4. Plint (3'38)

total time: 43'01

All compositions by Guus Janssen, exc. "Sbrodj" by Wim Janssen.

A1, A2, B3, B4 recorded at Bimhuis, Amsterdam on August 3, 1986.
A3 recorded at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam on August 9, 1986.
A4 recorded at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam on August 10, 1986.
B1, B2 recorded at Vredenburg, Utrecht on December 1986.
Recording engineer: Dick Lucas.
Cover painting by Lucassen.
Produced by Guus Janssen and Maarten Altena.
Mastered at Polygram Transcription Centre.

vinyl-rips [ mp3-192kb/s, 59 MB | flac + scans, 201 MB ]

Thanks to paramo of the la folie du jour blog for the mp3's (5/2009), and Nick for the flac-upgrades + scans (11/2011)!!

John French - Waiting on the Flame (1994)

2011-11-28T01:35:00.006+01:00

[CD: Demon, UK, 1994; #FIENDCD 759]

"[...] Born in San Bernardino, French was still a scrawny teenager when he began drumming and singing in surf, rock and blues groups around Lancaster in the mid-1960s. Inspired by skin-pounders like rock-and-roll pioneer Sandy Nelson, Joe Morello (of the Dave Brubeck Quartet) and Jack Sperling (clarinetist Pete Fountain’s drummer), and lacking a snare on his first used drumkit, French developed an unusual, tom-heavy sense of rhythm. French and his friend, guitarist Jeff Cotton, made the rounds of several bands, including Blues in a Bottle where they met Mark Boston. John mostly stuck to harmonica and vocals at the time, emulating old Delta bluesmen and younger cats, including a local white upstart named Don Van Vliet, already known as Captain Beefheart.

At that time the Captain and his band played a raw-boned variety of electric blues, straight out of Howlin’ Wolf. Around 1963 French and Van Vliet met at a local jam session. Three years later, shortly after French graduated high school, he was singing for Blues in a Bottle when the band opened for Beefheart. On that night Van Vliet debuted some of his new, avant-garde material to decidedly negative audience response. Despite the letdown, Van Vliet perked up when a friend reminded him that French was also an excellent drummer. Thus, French came into the Beefheart fold. Jeff Cotton and Mark Boston joined the Magic Band later, becoming part of the revolving cast of players upon whom Beefheart bestowed strange nicknames to enhance the enigma. For better or worse, John French became the man forever known as Drumbo.

Although everyone in the band usually developed their own parts, Beefheart demanded center stage at all times. Recalls French, 'Don would really not allow anyone else to write music in the band, nor even solo or improvise over sections of the music. This was a bit frustrating for the guitarists, who were stuck playing the same exact thing every night. For me it was a bit more fun, as I could at least create some of my parts.'

Besides playing drums, French arranged much of Trout Mask Replica, for which he failed to receive credit on the original release. He hasn’t returned to that piecemeal manner of tune-building for his own music. 'I hear music in my head, like a stereo playing in the background. When I create, I attempt to write what I’m hearing. I think Don had this often. However, he always used the band as his ‘writing tool’, so to speak. It was unnerving to sit completely still and be at his beckoned call. During these sessions, he would often become extremely irritated if anyone distracted him, and absolutely livid if anyone suggested a musical idea.'

The band’s living situation was equally difficult. They resided communally for a time and often subsisted on a small ration of soybeans each day. Van Vliet was subject to violence, once shoving French down a flight of stairs during an argument. French’s burgeoning Christian beliefs became an added source of ridicule for the drummer. 'I think we were basically considered minions,' says French, who came and went from the Magic Band. He finally left for good in 1980, after playing guitar on Doc at the Radar Station (EMI). Following 1982’s Ice Cream for Crow (Virgin), Van Vliet went into seclusion, abandoning music to focus on a more lucrative career in painting. His bandmates have rarely heard from the Captain since.

Freed from Beefheart’s sway, French found time for a number of activities, including writing songs for the Magic Band side project, called Mallard. From 1987 to 1991 he worked with bassist Fred Frith and guitarists Richard Thompson and Henry Kaiser on two albums, now cult classics, and a mere handful of concerts. Kaiser and French have remained occasional partners on recordings like Crazy Backwards Alphabet (1992, SST), which married free jazz and alternative rock.

By the mid-1990s French had written a number of songs inspired by his Christian walk, and decided it was time to cut an album under his own name. Waiting on the Flame (1995, on the unfortunately named Demon Records) featured friends like Kaiser, Magic Band guitarist Bill 'Zoot Horn Rollo' Harkleroad, and Dregs bassist Andy West, performing French’s well-crafted, spiritually grounded tunes. French’s clean, strong baritone voice was the primary feature, though he left plenty of room for his legendary drum skills and excellent sidemen.

Sadly, the disc tanked on the market due to poor label promotion. It also seemed that too many people were still expecting French to fit the Beefheart mold. 'I do wish that the world was such that I could do my own material without being compared to Don. I felt Waiting on the Flame had some decent material and was certainly as good as a lot of stuff in a similar vein. One review I read actually stated that I was making a conscious effort to portray myself as totally different than Don. I don’t know if it ever occurred to this fellow that I am totally different than Don. I suppose that, to the public, I was viewed as an apple attempting to pass itself off as an orange.' [...]"

(from Todd S. Jenkins, "BEEF ART REPLICA: Drumbo Brings on the Magic", 12/2008 @ the Artist's Work B.e.n.c.h. blog)

Read Todd S. Jenkin's article about John French's book "Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic", 1/2011 @ the Mingus Lives blog.

John French: lead vocal, backup vocals, keyboard, drums, harmonica
Bob Adams: lead-, rhythm- and slide guitar, mandolin, backup vocals (3-8, 10, 11)
Peter Balciunas: 5-string bass (9)
Michael Benedict: soprano saxophone (12)
Scott Colby: rhythm and lead slide guitar (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 13)
Chuck Costarella: rhythm guitar (12, 13)
Ronnie Crumbly: soprano saxophone (2, 6)
Deirdre Davis: backup vocals, low harmonies, vocal arrangements (1, 2, 4, 6, 9)
Oliver DiCicco: cabasa (7)
Bill Harkleroad: lead guitar (1, 4, 6, 9)
Henry Kaiser: lead and rhythm guitar (3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11)
Tim Lyddon: piano (1)
Jeff Mattern: rhythm guitar (1, 2, 9)
Danny McKinney: 6-string bass (13)
Sarah Shankland: backup vocals, middle harmonies (1, 2, 4, 6, 9)
Roz Thomas: backup vocals, high harmonies (1, 2, 4, 6, 9)
Andy West: 6-string bass (3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11)

It's Not Over Yet (3'47)
Don't Back Down (4'22)
Waiting on the Flame (2'30)
Goin' Through the Motions (5'23)
The Madness of Love (5'21)
Standin' in your Way (5'29)
Anything New (4'42)
My Girl Jesse (3'24)
Back from the Dead (6'30)
Heavy Load (4'29)
Teamaster (4'10)
Through a Dark Glassly (3'15)
Crowfeed Gulch (4'13)
Burundo Drumbi (6'04)

total time: 63'46

Compositions by John French, exc. 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 11 by John French and Bob Adams, and 5 by Richard Thompson.

3, 6, 7, 9, 10 produced by Henry Kaiser at Mobius Studios, San Francisco, USA.
Engineered by Oliver DiCicco.
1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 13, 14 produced by John French and mixed by Henry Kaiser.
Mastered by Paul Stubblebine, Rocket Lab, San Francisco.
Mastering supervised by Henry Kaiser.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 95 MB | flac, 384 MB ]

John French - O Solo Drumbo (1996)

2011-11-27T09:58:00.005+01:00

[CD: Avant / Disk Union, Japan, 1998; #AVAN 024]

"No doubt about it, drummer John 'Drumbo' French may well be one of the oddest drummers in rock music, but a quick glance at his CV confirms that his eccentric, brutalist, almost childlike style has brought him into some of modern music's brightest stars: Ry Cooder, Richard Thompson, Frank Zappa and Fred Frith among them. But if there's one association for which he's best known it's with Don Van Vliet AKA Captain Beefheart. With the Magic Band he was given free rein to thrash out his unique rhythms, and there can be no doubt that for all that Van Vliet's own personal vision defined the Magic Band, they would nonetheless have sounded very different indeed without Drumbo.

This solo drum album on John Zorn's Avant label originated in a London concert two years ago put on by the London Musician's Collective, a concert then broadcast on BBC Radio 3's ever-eclectic Mixing It show. According to Drumbo's own sleevenotes, when San Fransisco experimental guitarist and Beefheart aficionado Henry Kaiser heard a tape of the show he insisted on producing a similar set of French's drum solos. Between them they have chosen a set of songs from Drumbo's career - Beefheart songs, Crazy Backwards Alphabet songs, songs he recorded with French, Frith, Kaiser, Thompson and so on - from which French plays the drum parts, using them as the basis for his eccentric improvisations. Yes, this is pretty arid stuff - I'm not going to pretend that an album of solo drums isn't a lot to take in one sitting, and yet, and yet, it sucks you in. A thousand other drummers would take this opportunity to indulge in ostentatious flashiness, gratuitous displays of their hard-won technique. Not for Drumbo, of course; he instead allows his stark, elliptical rhythms to induce something akin to a trance in anyone who listens closely. A fascinating insight into the musical approach of one of rock music's most unique instrumentalists."

(Simon Hopkins, 1998 @ sonomu.net)

Read an article from LMC's Resonance magazine Vol. 6 No. 1, 2007 @ the Captain Beefheart Radar Station.

John French, 1989
("This is before the hair turned grey. It was fun to do this shot, I call it 'Bwana Drumbo'. Photo Credit goes to Richard Thompson (a different guy, not the guitarist.) we were looking for the Film Noir look." - John French; info from the United Mutations site)

John French aka Drumbo: drums

1. Abba Zaba Drums (4'42)
"Originally from Safe as Milk, I came up with this drum part one evening in Laurel Canyon, California as an answer to a request by Don for an "African" rhythm, at a time when I had not really heard any African rhythms. Later, I heard the same rhythm on a Library of Congress field recording done in Africa. I reasoned it could have been my "Psychic" ability. Most likely, I first heard the beat on the original King Kong soundtrack when I was 11, while watching the movie."

2. Disposable Thoughts (6'38)
"I wrote this composition originally for a band called Crazy -Backwards Alphabet, but it was recorded on the first French Frith Kaiser Thompson CD Live, Love, Larf and Loaf. Here, I have just improvised around the original parts. The title has to do with the idea of being able to plug computer chips which contain the thoughts of the greatest thinkers into our brain via some implanted interface. I would be worrying about infection. I actually saw this on one of those Public Television things. Oh no, now they're going to be calling me again for a donation."

3. Weaned from the Earth (4'04)
"While rehearsing for the London concert, this came into being during an improvisational warm-up. Although I don't consider myself an environmentalist, I always thought it would be nice if we would return what we take from the earth. Our population has the potential to increase infinitely, yet we live on a very finite planet, and act as though we don't realize that fact. This drum solo, however, is probably not the answer."

4. The Thousandth and Tenth Day of the Human Totem Pole (6'52)
"One of my favorite Beefheart compositions is included here as an answer to a request from Mr. Kaiser to play the melody on drums. I decided then to play the melody and the drum parts at the same time in order to really impress people. Four hours a day and 2 1/2 half months later, I came up with this. I had to borrow a set of drums for the session because my set didn't have enough (eight) tom-toms. I transcribed the original sheet music from Don Van Vliet's original cassette in his trailer in the desert in 1975. It was the summer and it was hot. It was originally recorded in early 1976 on the original Bat Chain Puller album and is soon to be released. I think the original version is a little better than the Ice Cream for Crow version, probably because I play on the 1976 version."

5. We are in Control? (9'47)
"Written for and recorded by Crazy Backwards Alphabet in 1985. The parts - (admittedly Trout Mask in inspiration) are attempted to be improvised on before they are actually played, so that they appear in an illusionary form after the fact. The title refers to the fact that man has dominion of the earth, and does such a great job taking care of it."

6. Bat Chain Puller: The Movie (7'07)
"One rainy day in Hollywood, behind Frank Zappa's studio in early 1976, Don Van Vliet decided to write a song from the drums up (subconsciously, I guess I have always placed drums at the bottom of the musical spectrum). As we sat in his Volvo, he turned on the windshield wipers. I wrote the main drumbeat on a matchbook cover with the idea in mind to duplicate this wiper rhythm. Does this mean Volvo deserves royalties? Perhaps an endorsement will be enough."

7. Hair Pie Drums (2'24)
"For the Beefheart fans, only the parts have been slightly altered for copyright reasons. Hair Pie was the first song in which I tried actually writing out my drum beats before playing them. It was a different approach, and I tried to have at least two different things going on in each rhythm. The first part took forever to learn. One measure of Hell. After a while, Hell became much easier."

8. Three for 5 (6'36)
"I transcribed the basic idea for this in 1969, during rehearsal for Trout Mask Replica as an attempt to play in 3 different time signatures at the same time. It is in 3/8, 4/4, and 5/4 and is not repetitive for 15 measures, at which time it begins the same cycle. I have tried to play it on several occasions through the years, but never had the patience (and still don't!) to master it . Actually I programmed each measure into a drum machine, to hear how it sounded, and learned them separately. Later, when I put them together, my brain didn't know which time signature to follow; and it was a very odd sensation, like trying to decide which presidential candidate to believe. What is here evolves into an improvisation based upon East Indian tabla rhythms."

9. P-K-Ro P (5'01)
"Don played a rhythm quite similar to this on the drums one day. He asked me to transcribe the beat to music paper. It was very difficult for him to keep playing it, and though it took me about 30 seconds to write it down, I kept telling him I didn't have it yet, so he kept having to play it for 20-30 minutes. It was a little prank in retribution for having had to transcribe all those Trout Mask parts for bass and guitar. However, he was able through his simple technique to innovate one of the greatest beats on drums that I have ever heard. I approached it here with a Cab Calloway visits Flash Gordon feel, because it always reminds me of old soft shoe / shoeshine boy rhythms from the 30's and 40's and yet still has a timeless appeal."

10. Suzanne (4'06)
"The results of my first attempt at playing a long string of difficult parts, I originally recorded this on Invisible Means, French Frith Kaiser Thompson. As a challenge, I played it to a click track which sped up approx. 1 1/4 beats per measure. I wanted to have this long reverb, like the Taj Mahal, on the slow parts which shortened in length in proportion to the speed, however, you'll just have to use your imagination."

11. Steal Softly Through Snow Drums (2'27)
"It is not common knowledge that I wrote many of my own drum parts on Beefheart's legendary Trout Mask Replica. I have included two titles from that album here for the Beefheart fans. This is not improvisation, and I tried to capture the original intensity and abandon as much as possible."

12. What's a Cobble Box? (6'57)
"Richard Thompson was talking about his love for the early Buddy Holly recordings. He mentioned to Frith (also British), Kaiser and me in his charming British accent that the drums always sounded like a "cobble box". Henry and I (The California boys) pretended to understand him for a moment, but finally asked, almost in unison, "What's a cobble box?". "Cardboard," answered Richard, "I said, 'Cardboard Box'." We all had a good laugh over the lack of translation. (I didn't have a title for this piece, and I always wanted to tell that story, "OK?")."

total time: 66'41

Compositions by John French, exc. 4 by Don Van Vliet.
4, 6, 7, 11 are arrangements by French, found within the framework of compositions employed on tracks whilst working with Don Van Vliet and the Magic Band.

John French at the drum set-up in his home studio

Recorded by Henry Kaiser and Oliver DiCicco at Mobius Studios, San Francisco, USA, in November 1996.
Mixed by Henry Kaiser at his home studio in February 1997.
Mastered by David Gans.

Produced by Henry Kaiser.
Executive producers: Henry Kaiser and John Zorn / Disk Union.
Associate producer: Kazunori Sugiyama.
Design by Arai Yasunori.
Notes on each track by John French from the liner notes, 1997.
"I would like to dedicate this album to Don and Jan Van Vliet" - John French.

Download [ CD-rip | mp3-320kb/s, 153 MB ]
thanks to the original uploader!

Liu Sola + Wu Man - China Collage (1995)

2011-11-25T00:34:00.010+01:00

[CD: Avant / Disk Union, Japan, 1996; #AVAN 046]

"From large-scale oil painting of Chen Danqing, I heard China Collage; from African music, I heard China Collage; from free jazz, blue, and rock’n roll, I heard China Collage; from Junior Wells and Aretha Franklin, I heard China Collage; from Hendrix’s guitar and Wu Man’s pipa, I heard China Collage; from Chinese opera and folk music, I heard China Collage; from ancient stages, bygone battle sites and old cemeteries, I heard China Collage; from horses, chickens and birds, I heard China Collage; from my own desire, I heard China Collage; China Collage is made from many traditional Chinese music motifs - but transformed by all that I have heard."

(Liu Sola - from her homepage)

"Though far too unusual for casual world music fans, this collaboration between eclectic Chinese vocalist Liu Sola and Wu Man, a master of the Chinese lute (or pipa), is definitely an intriguing listen for those unafraid of more avant-garde musical fusions. As the plucked pipa melodies set the musical mood with styles that range from the traditional to the contemporary, Sola's voice goes from piercing howl to soulful moan to gentle croon, never losing an ounce of its power in the process. The opening 'Festivals' is far from easy listening, with a caterwauling vocal style that could send Yoko Ono running for cover, but 'Love' is a gorgeous ballad whose mood perfectly matches its title. Though not quite as impressive as some of the duo's later collaborations, China Collage is an innovative introduction to two of the most distinctive talents in modern Chinese music."

(Bret Love @ allmusic)

Liu Sola: vocals
Wu Man: pipa

Festivals (10'33)
Love (5'54)
Death (8'48)
Life Journeys (8'52)
War (6'52)

total time: 41'19

Music composed and arranged by Liu Sola.
Pipa music consultant and improvisation by Wu Man.

Recorded at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, NY on April 1995.
Recorded and mixed by Jean Pierre Sluys and Robert Musso.
Produced by Bill Laswell.
Executive producers: John Zorn / Disk Union.
Associate üroducer: Kazunori Sugiyama.
Mastered by Allan Tucker at Foothill Digital, NYC.
Design by Arai Yasunori.

CD-rips [ mp3-320kb/s, 95 MB | flac, 226 MB ]
thanks to the original uploaders!

Stephen Drury - Faith, the Loss of Faith, and the Return of Faith (1999)

2011-11-25T00:00:00.000+01:00

- Ives, Liszt, Beethoven, Stockhausen -
[CD: Avant / Disk Union, Japan, 1999; #AVAN 022]

"This recital, consisting of four works scattered over nearly a century and a half and played without pause, evocatively fills in the narrative traced by its title. We begin with a telescoped version of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes cycle, which itself follows the evolution of the simple, robust, and naive optimism of the opening two etudes through the more ephemeral hopes of 'Feux Follets' ('Will-o-the-Wisp') and the frustrated raging of the f minor etude into the cold, blackened despair of 'Chasse Neige'. The dying away of the final b-flat minor chord is interrupted by the harsh dissonance of the famous repeated chord which begins Karlheinz Stockhausen's Klavierstück IX, a meditation on entropy and disintegration. At the end, Stockhausen's music breaks apart into ever smaller and weaker fragments.

From this void comes the cloud of whirling energy and satire which is Charles Ives' pianistic take on Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'updated' parody of Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress'. In Hawthorne's re-telling, the pilgrimage to the Heavenly City is greatly simplified through the convenience of the then-modern steam-powered locomotive engine. Riding in the easy comfort of the railroad car, the travelers are tempted away by the distractions of the modern world, and occasionally glimpse the old-fashioned pilgrims through the window, trudging to their goal on foot. The noise and hoopla of the railroad disappears suddenly, and we are left with Beethoven's stubborn, visionary statement of the unshakable faith shared by Ives' pilgrims, now informed by a lifetime of confronting the complexities and terrors of the real world.

In addition to this programmatic narrative, there are strictly musical elements which bind this program together. The repeated note motive which opens the second Liszt etude is developed all out of proportion in the first minutes of the Stockhausen, reverts to its original rhythm as the famous opening motto of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as quoted by Ives, and finds both an echo and an apotheosis just before the return of the fugue which closes the Beethoven. It's interesting to note that Ives prefers to think of this motive, known as Beethoven's 'fate' motive ('thus fate knocks at the door'), as a 'human faith motive' ('the Soul of humanity knocking at the door of the Divine mysteries, radiant in the faith that it will be opened - and that the human will become the Divine!'). The hymn-like opening of the sonata is foreshadowed by the pilgrim's hymn in 'The Celestial Railroad' (both begin with a drop of a major third - as does Ives' quotation of Beethoven's Fifth). The rising fourths of Beethoven's fugue recall the superimposed fourths of Stockhausen's repeated chord. The very end of Beethoven's F Minor scherzo movement recapitulates almost exactly the brief tune which closes Liszt's F Minor etude."

(liner notes by Stephen Drury - also on his homepage)

(photo by Lisa Kohler - from Drury's homepage)

Stephen Drury: piano

Franz Liszt: From the Transcendental Etudes (Études d'exécution transcendante)
- 1. Preludio (0'55)
- 2. Molto vivace (2'17)
- 3. Feux follets (4'16)
- 4. Allegro agitato molto (4'59)
- 5. Chasse neige (5'32)

"'I thought, ‘WHAT has gotten into Mozart?’' - John Cage"

Karlheinz Stockhausen
6. Klavierstück IX (11'22)

"Klavierstück IX is electronic music re-imagined as live music on an acoustic instrument. Feedback and tape loops are created, echo and reverb effects explored, tones filtered, new sound complexes are synthesized (listen to how the sustained chords build and evolve). The trajectory is from an order which is artificial, rigid, authority imposed from above (Stockhausen was a teenager during the years of the Third Reich) to a 'disorder' which is intuitive, improvisational, personal. Robin Maconie points out in his excellent study of Stockhausen that the opening tempo 'echoes the sound of marching feet.'"

Charles Ives
7. The Celestial Railroad (7'58)

"The manuscript Ives left of 'The Celestial Railroad' is a mess, with second thoughts, shorthand revisions, deletions, and borrowings, all indecipherably superimposed in Ives’ nearly illegible handwriting. For each performer to find a unique solution to this puzzle - a personal vision, differing from any other - seems to me to be very much in the spirit of Ives’ musical philosophy.

John Cage professed a special affinity for the extremely soft bell-tones which hover like ghosts at the threshold of audibility over the hymn, and it is to his memory that this recording of those tones is dedicated."

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Sonata in A-Flat, Opus 110
- 8. Moderato cantabile, molto espressivo (7'50)
- 9. Allegro molto (2'03)
- 10. Adagio, ma non troppo (3'57)
- 11. Fuga: Allegro, ma non troppo (8'07)

"The second movement - a scherzo in 2/4 - does it start with a strong downbeat measure or is the first bar an introduction? I opt for an unelegant, four-on-the-floor square downbeat to emphasize the crude pop music (quotations of the folk songs "Our cat has kittens" and, even better, "I'm a slob, you're a slob") which Beethoven, in a feat worthy of John Zorn, throws between the sublime ecstasies of the outer movements.

Beethoven’s fugal writing is an act of faith culminating in an outburst of joy: his faith in his subject is redeemed when he discovers that, after turning it upside down and playing it against itself one voice at half speed and the other at triple speed, he can combine the inverted form over a version of the subject going an unbelievable six times the original tempo."

total time: 59'16

Produced by Stephen Drury and Joel Gordon.
Executive producers: John Zorn and Disk Union.
Associate producer: Kazunori Sugiyama.
Recorded at John Knowles Paine Concert Hall, Harvard University.
Recorded by Joel Gordon.
Mastered by Allan Tucker.
"DEDICATION: to Margaret Saunders Ott, whose faith in me sustains me to this day."

Notes from Stephen Drury's homepage.

Download [ CD-rip | mp3-192kb/s, 82 MB ]

Thanks to Jack, who contributed this at my former Avant Records blog in 2007!

Bruno Le Tron - Valhermeil (1990)

2011-11-24T00:00:00.000+01:00

[CD: Auvidis / Ethnic, France, 1990; #B 6742]

"The Diatonic Accordion

In 1829, DEMIAN's 'ACCORDION' left Vienna (Austria) and arrived in Paris in 1830. The salon's of the upper middle class welcome it and a few years later we find the Accordion in the salon of Queen Mathilde, daughter of Jérôme BONAPARTE. In these temples of culture, it was not unfit to play tunes from the latest operas. Especially when they were sustained by this newcomer everyone in Paris was talking about.

The accordions of this period of time in history are of remarkable workmanship. They are made of precious woodwork. Marketry and engraved megal blend artistically. Each instrument establishes good taste, quality and skillfulness of nineteenth century craftsmen.

The instrument consists of a single 'melodic' keyboard. Its system allows each key to produce two different sounds, one by 'pulling' and one by 'pushing' the bellows: it is what we call 'two-toned'.

Producing only natural notes, these first models were called 'Diatonic'. Later on, an unknown person created a new support on which he combined two reeds in order to produce the same sound whether the bellow is 'pulled' or 'pushed': it was called 'single toned'. This invention was quickly applied to the left-hand keyboard which went from two to twelve bass keys. They were called 'Mixed models'.

Near 1870, while the high quality of the instrument was being confirmed (expression, lightness, its specific system), the multiplication of systems brought to life different models: The 'Diatonic pull-and-push Accordion', the 'Chromatic pull-and-push Accordion', the 'Mixed pull-and-push Accordion' etc.

Since the main concern of the makers was not musical science, there came a time of total confusion. The Diatonic Accordion was defined as such for being the one that gave one sound by pulling and another by pushing, notwithstanding if the notes were natural or altered, nor if the instrument possessed two or twenty-four bass keys, combined with a melodic keyboard of a single, two or three rows, and of different tonality. It kept that name and all the others became... Chromatic Accordions.

A variety of tunes could be accompanied on the Accordion. It thus became part of country festive events where dancing required 'Rhythm' and 'Song'. Its success was total. Thus it left the salons of the countryside...

In this recording, Bruno LE TRON brings to us a repertoire of traditional tunes and dances, most of which come from his inspiration. The dominant colour is determinedly personal, though we can slightly perceive the skies of Brittany, the mountains of Central France, or the pavings of la rue de Lappe."

(Pierre Monichon - from the liner notes)

"Bruno first got to know traditional music at the folk ball and dance Fest Noz in the Parisian region. Completely self-taught, he discovered the diatonic accordion and made it his principal instrument. His repertoire ranges from the music of the centre of France to the dances of Brittany.

It was in the studio of traditional dance and music of Frepillon, at the beginning of the 1980s where he began his career in the folk scene, then in the group Mandragore. He turned professional with Tourne-Cul round 1985 then with the Compagnie du Beau Temps. He participated in the creation of the plays 'Au-delà de l’eau' [Beyond the Water] and 'Le Grand Festin' [The grand Party]. The performances combined theatre, songs and traditional music. From these events sprang a CD for which he did compositions and arrangements, 'Valhermeil'. One year before, 1989 was the birth of Maubuissons which began with a tour on the east coast of the United States and with whom he continues to play today.

At the same time, Bruno brings to life many workshops for diatonic accordian in France and in Europe. He is the holder of a state diploma for teaching traditional music. He created in 2005 the groups 'Le Vrai Trio' [The real trio] along with Jean-François Vrod and Régis Reynaud, and 'Bopiano' with Régis Reynaud and Anne-Lise Foy. Accomplice for many years of Eric Montbel at the time of workshops and balls, at riotous improvisation, they decided in 2005 to record the CD 'Topanga' along with Laurence Charrier on harmonium... Accordion - pipes - harmonium: a trio of reeds."

(biography from the Topanga trio entry @ WKPF)

Bruno Le Tron: diatonic accordion, flute
Serge Liorzou: bombards in B flat, G and D; saxophone
Robert Amyot: bagpipes (20 + 23 inches)
Vincent Leutreau: violin

Anaik (2'56)
Valhermeil (5'32)
La rotule (6'29)
V'là l'printemps (4'00)
a. Mazurkas de Salou / b. La Picrochole (2'42)
Le trois chapeaux (3'52)
a. Le petite lande / b. Mélodie de l'Aven (4'27)
La valse de Noël (4'21)
Polka d'Aze (3'44)
'ttention la marche (5'19)
Les douaniers (3'56)
La viremouche (3'05)
Solen (2'56)
La route des avaloirs (3'41)
Zonzon (4'22)

total time: 61'24

Music composed by Bruno Le Tron, except:
5b by François Le Tron;
7b traditional of l'Aven.
Arrangements by Bruno Le Tron.

Recorded and mixed by Julien Jauny, J.J.S. Production, Le Vésinet, France, assisted by Lisa Glenn.
Cover photo by François Gaillard.
Portrait photographs from The Samurai homepage (quintet of five accordionists).

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 89 MB | flac, 353 MB ]

african fiesta @ 45tours on vita 1963-5 docteur nico 01.1

2011-11-23T00:00:00.006+01:00

Version 01.1 Enthusiast discographer Alastair Johnston has kindly provided information and files, resulting in the addition of four tracks and subtraction of one. Plus - 08a En Guantanamo, 13b Nkembo Na Nzambe, 18b Willy Mopaya, 23a Azongi Na Bomengo. Minus - 01b Tremendo Punto, which was mislabeled on Sonodisc reissues and is actually 100b Minge Rumba Fiesta. I thank him for his generosity and infinite wisdom.
According to Johnston's invaluable Docteur Nico Discography, African Fiesta came together in 1963, featuring Nicolas Kasanda on lead, his brother Dechaud on rhythm guitar and Tabu Ley Rochereau on lead vocals, with Roger Izeidi, Kwamy Munsi, Joseph 'Mujos' Mulamba, Joseph Mwena and Depuissant, adding Faugus Izeidi, Paul Mizele, Dominique Kuntima and Jeef Mingiedi in due time. Having developed his electric guitar skills with African Jazz, Nico was really sailing by this time, exploring tone and texture with a great sense of adventure and a liquid sense of time. Cascades of single notes alternate with thick clusters, generally plucked instead of flat-picked, all purring and growling with natural tube sustain and distortion, tremolo and reverb. Check out Angola Siempre for a 'Dieu de la Guitare' solo. Incredibly, African Fiesta recorded over 250 sides in just two years, with 128 Vita singles released and nary a dud among the ones I've heard. This collection comes from my own vinyl and CDs along with many many downloads from across the interwebs, with Moos @ Global Groove being a prime source. I've been warned that compilation tracks are not necessarily the same takes as the original 45s, but I don't always have multiple sources to compare. I plan to cover 25 Vita numbers each post, however many of those tracks I actually have, with downloads revised as additions turn up. A list of missing sides is included in the rar, and any digital contributions would be very greatly appreciated.

docteur nico african fiesta @ 45 tours
the far from complete vita singles 1963-5
part 01 - vita 01-25

01 01a Rendezvous Chez Labas
02 02a Bilomba ya Africa
03 02b Mwasi Abandaka
04 03b Naleli leo
05 04a Angola Siempre
06 04b Permission
07 05a Moto Abungaka
08 05b Rythmo ya Suka
09 06a Bandimi Ngaï Tata
10 06b Tembe Nde Tembe
11 07a Camalée
12 07b Seli Kutu
13 08a En Guantanamo
14 08b Keba
15 09a Pesa le Tout
16 09b Vivo Africa
17 10a Toyei na Sango
18 10b Vidas
19 13a Nico Azongi
20 13b Nkembe Na Nzambe
21 14a Conseil Monetaire
22 14b Barumbu
23 15a Boni Boye
24 17a Bisengo na capitale
25 19a Arsène Dionge
26 19b Willy Mopaya
27 20a A.M. Decantonio
28 21b Natuna Nani
29 23a Azongi Na Bomengo
30 25a Ngonga Ebeti
31 25b Godee

cd and vinyl and downloads @ various bitrates

Sun Ra and his Arkestra - Out There a Minute (1961-70)

2011-11-22T01:31:00.007+01:00

[CD: Blast First, UK, 1989; #BFFP 42 CD]

"[...] In today’s instantaneous-information and media-saturated age, it might be difficult to imagine what a revelation it was when Out There a Minute appeared in 1989. Billed as “Sun Ra’s personal selection of rare Arkestra recordings from the late 1960s,” this CD allowed a glimpse into the darkest recesses of Ra’s most obscure period. But in typical Saturnal fashion, the packaging was devoid of liner notes beyond some cryptic Ra poetry leaving any definitive information as to dates and personnel merely inferred or totally unknown. That is until the efforts of Prof. Robert L. Campbell to compile a definitive Sun Ra discography began to circulate on the nascent internet. Thanks to Prof. Campbell (and the small but avid cyber-community of Ra fanatics), one could in the coming years finally piece together the murky history of Sun Ra’s Arkestra and gain an understanding of the material that appears on Out There a Minute. The Earthly Recordings of Sun Ra was subsequently published by Cadence Jazz Books in 1994 and a greatly enlarged second edition (which I still need to purchase) was published in 2000.

So, it turns out that Out There a Minute contains several tracks that were later issued on CD in their proper album context on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow, When Angels Speak of Love (Evidence ECD 22216), and Night of the Purple Moon (Atavistic ALP 264) along with two tracks from the still-out-of-print Continuation LP from 1968. I will not consider any of these tracks here except to say that Atavistic needs to reissue Continuation pronto. The remainder of the CD consists of never released recordings, some of which derive from the Choreographer’s Workshop era and therefore fits chronologically into our discussion of these crucial early/mid-sixties sessions.

“Somewhere in Space,” “Dark Clouds with Silver Linings,” and “Journey Outward” were all recorded in 1962 and demonstrate Ra’s evolution from the more swing-based traditionalism of the Chicago era to the experimental, avant-garde music that first appeared on Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow and was perfected on Secrets of the Sun. “Somewhere in Space” is a lumbering two-chord march featuring Art Jenkins on “space voice,” actually wordless, improvisatory singing through an inverted ram’s horn (see Szwed pp.192-193 for the whole story). After a while, the horns enter with a simple, but affecting batch of riffs before each picking up small percussion instruments in support of a string of rather meandering solos: Pat Patrick on baritone saxophone, John Gilmore on tenor, Marshall Allen on flute. “Dark Clouds With Silver Linings” is a more conventional Ra original with a mid-tempo blues structure but with some typically unexpected harmonic twists. Gilmore states the melody and his tenor solos glide effortlessly through the weirdly bop-ish changes. Meanwhile, Ra explores some interesting two-handed counterpoint along with his stabbed comping. The ensemble sounds a little unsure of itself when it enters with the restatement of the theme, which yields some mild inadvertent dissonance before the close. “Journey Outwards” appears to be another early example of the conducted improvisations that would characterize this period’s most important work. It opens with Gilmore on mellifluous bass clarinet over softly mumbling drums. Then Gilmore drops out as the percussion builds into a polyrhythmic African groove. Al Evans enters with some mellow, richly melodic flugelhorn statements and Ra joins in with some angular piano figures before fading out. Very nice.

The title track, “Out There a Minute,” remains somewhat of a discographical mystery. According to Prof. Campbell, it could have been recorded at any time between 1962 and 1964, but to my ears it sounds very similar to the hissy, distant quality and subtly swinging combo feel of 1961’s Bad & Beautiful. In any event, it’s another patented off-kilter blues with some slippery piano work from Ra and a spirited Patrick solo on baritone saxophone. “Other Worlds” jumps ahead to the Magic City (Evidence ECD 22069) sessions of spring 1965, with a larger Arkestra and more aggressively avant-garde approach, but probably not recorded at the Choreographer’s Workshop (for one thing, it’s in stereo). Ra plays a quietly intense introduction on simultaneous piano and bell-like celeste before the Arkestra bursts in with a hard-driving atonal workout. Throughout the piece, Ra’s piano attack is every bit as ferocious as Cecil Taylor’s and the entire 11-piece Arkestra blows hot and heavy, tossing lines around with seemingly wild abandon. But repeated listens reveal a tightly controlled compositional integrity that packs the whollop of John Coltrane’s “Ascension” into a mere four minutes and forty-eight seconds. Incredible stuff. “Jazz and Romantic Sounds” probably dates from about 1969 given Ra’s electronic organ. Also, Gilmore is notably absent, but Marshall Allen and Danny Davis duke it out on alto saxophones while Ra conjures up the “space-age barbeque music” vibe similar to My Brother the Wind Vol. 2.

These never-before-released tracks make Out There a Minute a must-have proposition for the hardcore Sun Ra fan while the whole disc is full of prime cuts and a suitable introduction for the novice. Sadly, the CD is now out print although its widespread distribution means it’s readily available in the secondary market and well worth the effort to track it down. Essential."

(Rodger Coleman, 2/2009 @ the NuVoid blog)

1. Love in Outer Space (5'03)
Sun Ra: rocksichord
Danny Davis: alto clarinet, conga
Stafford James: electric bass
John Gilmore: drums
Alternate take from the sessions of 'Night of the Purple Moon', Philadelphia or New York, 1970.

2. Somewhere in Space (8'08)
Sun Ra: piano
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone, flute, percussion
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone, percussion
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone, flute, percussion
Ronnie Boykins: bass
probably C. Scoby Stroman: drums
Art Jenkins: space voice
Recorded maybe at the sessions of 'Secrets of the Sun', Choreographers' Workshop, New York, 1962.

3. Dark Clouds With Silver Linings (4'53)
Sun Ra: piano
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone
Ronnie Boykins: bass
C. Scoby Stroman or Tommy Hunter: drums
Probably Choreographers' Workshop, New York, 1962.

4. Jazz and Romantic Sounds (4'41)
Sun Ra: organ
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone
Danny Davis: alto saxophone
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone
Clifford Jarvis: drums
New York or Philadelphia, 1969.

5. When Angels Speak of Love (4'24)
Sun Ra: piano, clavioline, gong
Walter Miller: trumpet
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone, oboe, percussion
Danny Davis: alto saxophone
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone, percussion
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone, percussion
Ronnie Boykins: bass
probably Tommy Hunter: percussion and reverb
Taken from the LP 'When Angels Speak of Love', New York, 1963.

6. Cosmo Enticement (3'06)
Sun Ra: space gong
Marshall Allen: Jupiterian flute
other members of the Arkestra (featuring percussionists Robert Barry, Carl Nimrod and James Jackson): sun harp, koto, scrapers, etc.
Percussion track from the album 'Continuation', New York, 1968.
Originally entitled "Earth Primitive Earth".

7. Song of Tree and Forest (3'08)
Sun Ra: piano
Marshall Allen: piccolo
Danny Davis or Pat Patrick: flute
Robert Cummings: bass clarinet
From the album 'Continuation', New York, 1968.
Originally entitled "New Planet".

8. Other Worlds (4'51)
Sun Ra: electronic celeste, piano
Chris Capers: trumpet
Teddy Nance: trombone
Bernard Pettaway: baritone trombone
Marshall Allen: piccolo, alto saxophone
Danny Davis: alto saxophone
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone
Ronnie Boykins: bass
Jimmy Johnson: drums
New York, spring 1965, sessions of 'Magic City'.

9. Journey Outward (4'24)
Sun Ra: piano
Al Evans: trumpet
John Gilmore: bass clarinet
Marshall Allen: morrow
several percussionists
Choreographers' Workshop, New York, 1961 or 1962.

10. Lights of a Satellite (3'03)
Sun Ra: piano
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone
Ronnie Boykins: bass
John Ore: bass
Tommy Hunter: drums
Taken from the LP 'Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow', Choreographers' Workshop, New York, November or December 1961.
Originally entitled "Lights on a Satellite".
Edited version with a few seconds removed.

11. Starships and Solar Boats (7'32)
Sun Ra: piano
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Robert Boykins: bass (first solo)
John Ore: bass (second solo)
Tommy Hunter: drums
From 'Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow', Choreographers' Workshop, New York, November or December 1961.
Original entitled "Kosmos in Blue",
The second tenor solo by Gilmore didn't appear in the Saturn version.

12. Out There a Minute (3'21)
Sun Ra: piano, introduction
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone, flute
Danny Davis: alto saxophone, flute
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone
Ronnie Boykins: bass
Clifford Jarvis: drums
Choreographers' Workshop or Sun Studios, New York, 1962-1964.

13. Next Stop Mars (11'59)
Sun Ra: piano, clavioline, gong, singing
Walter Miller: trumpet, singing
Marshall Allen: alto saxophone, oboe, percussion, singing
Danny Davis: alto saxophone, singing
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone, percussion, singing
Pat Patrick: baritone saxophone, percussion, singing
Robert Cummings: bass clarinet, singing
Ronnie Boykins: bass, singing
probably Tommy Hunter: percussion and reverb, singing
From the LP 'When Angels Speak of Love', New York, 1963.
Edited version with several minutes removed.

total time: 68'32

All compositions by Sun Ra.

Produced by Blast First.
Cover photo from OVC Video Production 1986, "Calling Planet Earth".
Logo + layout by Designland.

Detailed info from the Sun Ra discography @ The-Temple.net (last updated on January 25, 2008).
Band photos from the CD-booklets of 'Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy / Art Forms of Dimensions Tomorrow' (Evidence ECD 22036-2) and 'When Angels Speak of Love' (Evidence ECD 22216-2).

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 100 MB | flac, 345 MB ]

More Sun Ra @ the Adventure-Equation blog.

Guus Janssen - On the Line (1979)

2011-11-20T23:18:00.005+01:00

[Claxon, The Netherlands, 1980; #79.4]

"[...] Eén Nederlandse componist-pianist is erin geslaagd om, althans in zijn beste stukken, het improvisieren tot componeren en het componeren tot improviseren te verheffen. Wie onvoorbereid de soloplaat On the line (1979) van Guus Janssen beluistert, zal waarschijnlijk niet meteen beseffen dat zich tussen al die geiproviseerde stukken één, tot in de kleinste en nauwelijks meer speelbare details genoteerde compositie bevindt, Brake geheten. In dit extreme geval is het onderscheid tussen echte improvisatie (compositie) en gesimuleerde improvisatie (compositie) imaginair. Hoewel de luisteraar van het Octet of van Temet er geen moment aan twijfelt dat hij met een tot op de laatste noot uitgeschreven compositie te maken heeft, blijft hij zich bewust van het geimproviseerde gebaar, in de timing, in de obsessionele concentratie op één muzikaal onderwerp en op de steeds terugkerende 'fouten' met voorbedachten rade. Het verbaast niet dat de muziek van Janssen dikwijls in verband wordt gebracht met Stravinsky, ook al om de wijze waarop hij - wat hij zelf noemt - 'volstrekt onvoorstelbare relaties tussen bestaande elementen' aanbrengt.

Guus Janssen is een van de weinige componisten die postmodern genoemd mag worden in de betekenis die Umberto Eco aan het woord heeft gegeven en die (als we een roman door een compositie vervangen) van toepassing is op een muziek 'die tamelijk problematisch is en tooch aangenaam, zonder dat zij gerekend hoeft te worden tot de amusements(muziek)'. Maar als het waar is dat, zoals Eco beweert, het postmoderne antwoord op het modernisme bestaat uit de erkenning 'dat het verleden opgewaardeerd moet worden, aangezien het niet vernietigd kan worden' en dat dit op een niet-onschuldige manier moet gebeuren, dan is Stravinsky natuurlijk de eerste postmoderne componist geweest. Hiermee is tevens een aanzet tot verklaring gegeven van de in de laatste jaren sterk toegenomen belangstelling voor Stravinsky's zogenaamde neoclassicisme. [...]"

(Elmer Schönberger, De wellustige tandats / andere componisten, p. 13-14. De Bezige Bij, Amsterdam 1985 - .pdf @ dbnl - digitale bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse letteren)

A personal Guus Janssen portrait by Frits van der Waa (translated by John Lydon) @ his homepage.

Guus Janssen: piano

Side A

Zwart wit (2'47)
6 ft² (4'46)
Saartje (8'14)
Brake (4'08)

Side B

Kinheim (4'58)
Fifth's Avenue (4'20)
Metro oom (3'52)
Soft Pillow (4'39)
Inflation (4'38)

total time: 42'22

All compositions by Guus Janssen.

Recorded live at Theater aan de Haven, Den Haag-Scheveningen, The Netherlands, A3 + B2 on January 26, 1979, all others on September 1, 1979.

vinyl-rip [ mp3-192kb/s, 58 MB | flac, 189 MB ]

Thanks to 12tone4ever for the flac-rip, and to onxidlib for additional info!

[up-grade] Maarten Altena Octet - Tel (1982)

2011-11-17T22:40:00.003+01:00

[LP: Claxon, The Netherlands, 1984; #83.12]

"In 1982 it was the second time that composer/bass-player Maarten Altena presented a number of octet pieces. The music on this album was recorded live at two of the concerts given by the octet. The group that Altena has been regularly working with lately is his quartet: Maud Sauer on oboe, Paul Termos on alto saxophone, Wolter Wierbos on trombone and Altena himself on bass. By adding Kenny Wheeler on trumpet, Maartje ten Hoorn on violin, Lindsay Cooper on bassoon and Guus Janssen on piano, the quartet grew into the Maarten Altena Octet.

Altena's musical career began in the mid-sixties. At first he played a large walking bass, but soon he started moving in another direction. In 1976, he was a member of the original Instant Composers Pool. Since then, he has worked with numerous improvising musicians, including Derek Bailey, Steve Lacy and Tristan Honsinger. He played in De Volharding, a collective whose name can perharps best be translated as 'perseverance' [bravo juju posted a later one]. He was also active in the field of composed music, and performed the works of composers ranging from Terry Riley to Fredric Rzewski. Together with Teo Joling and Michel Waisvisz, he developed a unique brand of musical theatre pieces. Ever since the end of the seventies, he has most frequently been heard with his quartet - and now with his octet - enabling him to exhibit his musical approach all the more clearly.

Together with Misha Mengelberg and Willem Breuker, Altena was one of the founders of the Amsterdam school of improvisation. Rapid, extreme changes in atmosphere, sometimes to the point of absurdity, are characteristic of their music. Elements from the farthest corners of the musical world are abruptly placed side by side or juxtaposed. In Altena's case, these procedures are rooted in a very personal line of thinking, with precision, purity and clarity all playing a prominent role.

The instrumentation is such that every note is audible. Percussion can easily be done without. The harmonization is stripped, almost flat. Every trace of romanticism or sentimentality is avoided - except as an absurd note. Because the music does contain some very trite jokes, though they are usually presented as understatement. Another essential point is the strictly equal standing of the composed and the improvised elements. This makes it possible to draw from a whole arsenal of combinations. The usual theme / improvisation / theme pattern becomes a thing of the past.

The album starts off with Guus Janssen introducing TEL (Countdown) by marking the extremes of his grand piano, immediately assisted by the others. Altena and ten Hoorn come in with a riff, Sauer joins them, and then the rest. The ultra-animated riff mainly consists of thirds; the harmonic aspects are rigidly restricted. If one really wants to, one might be able to detect the left-hand notes of a boogie motif. Thus Wheeler is given free rein to add his shrill notes. Wierbos' trembling old-time trombone balladeering makes for a transition which is in turn immediately propelled into another transition in the form of jazzy block chords on the piano. The trombone is backed up by the violin and cello, and is also interrupted twice by the ensemble playing bits of disjointed minimal music half related to the first riff. TEL just gives you a hint about the rest of the music on this record."

(Rudy Koopmans, January 1983; transl. by Sheila Gogol - from the liner notes)

Maarten Altena Octet (photo by Tony Thijs)

Kenny Wheeler: trumpet
Paul Termos: alto saxophone
Wolter Wierbos: trombone
Maud Sauer: oboe, alto oboe
Lindsay Cooper: bassoon, sopranino saxophone
Maartje ten Hoorn: violin
Guus Janssen: piano
Maarten Altena: bass, cello

Side A

Tel (5'22)
Improvisations (6'21)
Pukkel (8'00)

Side B

Johan van Wely (5'39)
Rottum (6'04)
Beertje (4'25)
C-Melody (5'22)

total time: 41'13

All compositions by Maarten Altena, exc. A2 which are improvisations by the complete ensemble.

Recorded on October 8+10, 1982 by Dick Lucas at the Ijsbreker, Amsterdam and Centrum 't Hoogt, Utrecht, during live concerts.
Cover painting by Cecile van der Heiden, Amsterdam.
Cover design by Wouter Hooymans, Amsterdam.
Production by Maarten Altena, Claxon Records.

"This record is dedicated to the memory of Rudy Koopmans, 1932-1983"

vinyl-rip [ mp3-192kb/s, 60 MB | flac + scans, 209 MB ]

Thanks to an anonymous contributor for the mp3's (11/2009), and to Nick for the flac-upgrade and hi-res. cover scans (11/2011) - the majority of his superb rips have been posted by onxidlib @ Inconstant Sol!

Werner Bärtschi - Triple Feature (1981-90)

2011-11-10T23:50:00.001+01:00

"[...] The repertoire of this musician, who was born in 1950 in Zürich, ranges unusually broadly from late Renaissance to contemporary music. Composers like Cage, Klaus Huber, Riley, Scelsi, Schnebel and Vogel confided to him the first performances of important works. If he does have a preference for Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt, he also stands up for "outsiders" like Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Carl Nielsen, Erik Satie, Charles Ives and Giacinto Scelsi.

Concerts all over the world, at festivals such as Gstaad, Lucerne, Zürich, La Roque d‘Anthéron and Salzburg, broadcast-, TV- and film appearances as well as numerous CDs (with a "Grand prix du disque" of the Académie de disque française) give evidence of his successful activity as a pianist. In 1980 he founded "Rezital", his concert series at the Tonhalle Zürich, and he is artistic director of the "Musikkollegium Zürcher Oberland". He always teached selected students and has initiated and directs the "Master Classes Schaffhausen".

Bärtschi wrote over 40 compositions of different genres. Marked initially by Cage and Schnebel, later by Scelsi and Wilhelm Killmayer, he liberated himself through very personal compositional experiments from the traditions of the avantgarde and admitted more and more influence to his experiences as a performer of old and new music. His immediatly comprehensible music sounds completely independent and reminds hardly the used to language of contemporary music. [...]"

(portrait photo and biography from Bärtschi's homepage)

'Klang-Klavier / Klavier-Klang'
[CD: RecRec Music, Switzerland, 1991; #ReCDec 04
- LP originally released in 1984; RecRec 04]

Werner Bärtschi: piano, prepared piano, synthesizer, tape

The Perilious Night - for prepared piano (John Cage) 12'34
Aitsi - for piano with distortion (Giacinto Scelsi) 5'51
Piano Control - for piano and synthesizer (Thomas Kessler) 14'17
Klavierstück VII (Karlheinz Stockhausen) 5'39
Aeolian Harp (Henry Cowell) 2'17
In Trauer und Prunk (Werner Bärtschi) 14'17
Van Horn Boogie - for piano and tape (Steve Ingham) 9'36

total time: 64'34

Recorded November 14+15, 1984, at Tonstudio Phonag, Lindau, Switzerland by Robert Lattmann, and on November 21, 1984 at King's Hall, at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England by N.U.E.M.S.
Sound engineer: Douglas Doherty.
Cover art by Maurice Ducret.
Design by Rose Müller.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 98 MB | flac, 157 MB ]

'Wirrnis der Klänge - Wirrnis der Seele'
[CD: RecRec Music, Switzerland, 1991; #ReCDec 24]

Werner Bärtschi: piano

1. Solo for Piano (John Cage) (21'33)

Sonata in F-sharp minor op. 11 (Robert Schumann)
2. Introduzione: Un poco Adagio (2'24)
3. Allegro vivace (8'32)
4. Aria (3'26)
5. Scherzo e Intermezzo (4'48)
6. Finale: Allegro un poco maestoso (9'19)

total time: 50'05

Recorded on August 21+22, 1990 (Schumann) and January 4, 1991 (Cage) at the Kirche Blumenstein, Bern, Switzerland.
Sound engineer: Prof. Jakob Stämpfli.
Cover art by Maurice Ducret.
Design by Rose Müller.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 77 MB | flac, 138 MB ]

'Erik Satie: Ausgewählte Klavierwerke' (selected piano works)
[2LP: ex libris, Switzerland, 1981; #EL 16 965]

Werner Bärtschi: piano

Side A (LP1 Side1)
Gnossiennes nr.1-3 (10:05)
Sonneries de la rose-croix (11:26)
Prélude de la porte héroïque du ciel (3:40)
Caresse (1:57)

Side B (LP1 Side2a)
Pièces froides nr.1-6 (11:23)
Je te veux (4:58)
Nouvelles pièces froides (5:40)
Véritables préludes flasques (2:36)

(LP1 Side2b)
Le piège de Méduse (3:29)

Side C (LP2 Side1)
Déscriptions automatiques (4:54)
Embryons dessèchés (7:07)
Vieux séquins et vieilles cuirasses (4:10)
Sports et divertissements (12:59)

Side D (LP2 Side2)
Les trois valses distinguées du précieux dégoûté (3:52)
Avant-dernières pensées nr.1-3 (3:07)
Sonatine bureaucratique (4:12)
Cinq Nocturnes nr.1-5 (13:47)

all compositions by Erik Satie
total time: 1:49:22

LP-rip + covers [Disc 1: flac, 202mb | Disc 2: flac, 212mb]

~ this is a joint-venture post of Godard & Lucky ~

Ferrante and Teicher - Prepared Pianos (1953-60)

2011-11-05T11:33:00.009+01:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #027]

"Ferrante & Teicher's work falls into two categories: prepared piano works and easy listening. After meeting as students, and then working as teachers, at Juilliard, they began to perform as a duo, primarily with classical groups, in 1946. They became a popular act on the "pops" symphony circuit. At the same time, they began experimenting with modifications to pianos, inserting objects into the stringbed, playing on the stringbed, striking keys or strings with blocks, and generally striving to figure out how to get the strangest possible sounds. Working before the first synthesizer, they succeeded in producing outworldly, almost electronic sounds. The pair described this musical transition:

... it was while teaching that we began experimenting and creating new material for two pianos. For novelty numbers we stuffed wads of paper, sticks, rubber stops, masonite strings, cardboard wedges, and sandpaper into the pianos conjuring up weird effects (a la [John] Cage) resembling gongs, castanets, drums, xylophone, and harpsichord. Though we have gradually dropped many of these gimmicks, we fell that we have developed a musical style, and undoubtedly play in a manner that makes some former colleagues at Juilliard wince a bit.

People who associate F&T with their easy listening music are often startled to hear their prepared piano works. There is nothing quite like them in the annals of recorded sounds. [...]

Aside from a few very early albums of classical pieces, most of their albums up to about 1961, however, are entirely comprised of prepared piano pieces. However innovative and exciting this work was, however, it was tough to translate into commercial success. Their concerts were as likely to be held in gymnasiums, churches, cafeterias, and ballparks, as in concert halls. Much of what they earned went into new motors for their delivery truck. "If our wives hadn't worked," Teicher once said, "we never could have survived."

After joining United Artists in 1960, they added an orchestral accompaniment (usually arranged by Don Costa and conducted by Nick Perito) and quickly abandoned fiddling with their pianos. [...]

You can safely skip virtually everything recorded from the early United Artists LP, "Pianos in Paradise" on, though, unless you need a Muzak fix. The one prominent exception to this advice, however, is their best-selling album, Midnight Cowboy, which gained a lot of attention for its prominent use of Vinnie Bell's "watery" guitar effects. For most Space Age Pop fans, the prepared piano albums are the ones to seek out. [...]"

(from The Space Age Pop Music Page)

Arthur Ferrante (1921-2009): piano
Louis Teicher (1924-2008): piano

Caravan (Juan Tizol) 2'28
Flight of the Bumble Bee (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) 1'33
Tabu (Margarita Lecuona) 2'42
That Old Black Magic (Harold Arlen) 2'37
Sleigh Ride (Leroy Anderson) 2'54
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Johnny Marks) 2'04
The First Nowell (trad.) 2'21
Mississippi Boogie (Ferrante, Teicher) 2'08
Man from Mars (Ferrante, Teicher) 2'23
Baja (Ary Barroso) 2'49
Dark Eyes (Florian Herrmann) 3'15
Brazil (Ary Barroso) 3'25
Poinciana (Nat Simon) 3'31
Mama Yo Quero (Al Stillman) 2'41
Tico-Tico (Abreu, Drake, Oliviera) 3'17
Mexican Hat Dance (Jesús González Rubio) 2'33
The Moon Was Yellow (Fred E. Ahlert) 2'31
Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen) 3'24
Out of this World (Harold Arlen) 2'53
Serenade to a Star (Ferrante, Teicher) 2'28
Beyond the Blue Horizon (Richard A. Whiting, W. Franke Harling) 2'05
Yesterdays (Jerome Kern) 2'11
Chopstick Cha Cha (Ferrante, Teicher) 2'51
In the Rain (Ferrante, Teicher) 2'50
Bye Bye Blues (David Bennett, Fred Hamm) 2'01
Hurdy Gurdy (Ferrante, Teicher) 3'07
Blue Skies (Irving Berlin) 2'09
They Can't Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin) 2'42
Echo Canyon (Ferrante, Teicher) 2'03
Liza (George Gershwin) 2'20

total time: 78'15

Compiled by Lucky, 2011.
Cover photo from the Official Ferrante and Teicher homepage.
Thanks to Christian Marclay for the initial fix.

Sources:
1-4 from 'Hi-Fireworks' (Columbia, 1953);
5-7 from 'Adventure in Carols' (Westminster, 1955);
8-11 from 'Soundproof' (mono) (Westminster, 1956);
12-16 from 'Soundproof' (stereo) (Westminster, 1956) - the stereo version of 'Soundblast' (mono) (Westminster, 1956);
17-20 from 'Heavenly Sound in Hi-Fi' (ABC-Paramount, 1957);
21-22 from 'Ferrante & Teicher with Percussion' (ABC-Paramount, 1958);
23-26 from 'Blast Off!' (ABC-Paramount, 1959);
27-30 from 'Dynamic Twin Pianos' (United Artists, 1960).

Download [ vinyl- + CD-rips | mp3-192kb/s, 113 MB ]

Charles Tyler + Eugene Chadbourne - Ghost Legends (1977)

2011-11-01T12:16:00.004+01:00

[CD-R: House of Chadula, USA, 2009; #1977B
- LP originally released by Parachute?]

"Ghost Legends was recorded live in New York on September 17, 1977. It features Eugene Chadbourne on acoustic 12-string and electric six-string guitars, and Charles Tyler on (mostly) baritone saxophone and clarinet. Sound quality is muffled but otherwise good. This is the complete tape of the performance, including 'Amber', during which the tape ran out (after only a minute). The title refers to Albert Ayler whose classic tune 'Ghosts' closes the set.

This duo worked pretty well, better than Chadbourne's association with Frank Lowe. Tyler's free jazz background and tendency to flirt with contemporary music completes the guitarist's Derek Bailey-like inclinations. The saxophonist's 'Legend of the Lawmen' and Chadbourne's 'In Between Comme C and Comme Saw' stand worlds apart, and yet their coming together sounds perfectly normal. Tyler blows a beautiful clarinet solo on 'Improvisation', one of the album's highlights; his colleague remains rather discreet throughout the show, leaving a lot of breathing room. 'Usually Not the Case' describes pretty well how the listener feels hearing this delicate soft-spoken piece where the guitarist shows an impressive level of restraint recalling Roger Smith during his days with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble.

All in all a very nice early session, Ghost Legends was reissued on CD-R by Chadbourne's House of Chadula label."

(François Couture @ allmusic)

Charles Tyler (1941-1992): baritone saxophone, clarinet
Eugene Chadbourne: acoustic 12-string + electric 6-string guitars

In Between Comme C and Comme Saw (Chadbourne) 0'30
Ghost Legends (Chadbourne) 0'16
Usually Not the Case (Chadbourne) 16'11
Memories of the Schonee (Tyler) 11'37
Amber (incomplete) (Chadbourne) 1'04
Legend of the Lawmen (Tyler) 7'57
Improvisation - 12'06
Ghosts (Albert Ayler) 8'57

total time: 58'38

Recorded live at The Brook, NYC on September 17, 1977 by John Zorn.
Cover art from the Chadbourneries blog.
"The complete existing tape from the duo concert with Charles Tyler, recorded in New York City, by request from some of Tylers most fanatic fans. A fine recording of out free jazz with me in kind of a Derek Bailey groove." - E.C., 2009

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 83 MB | flac, 223 MB ]
thanks to szakall and neurosis01!

Lucky presents - World of L-Musique

2011-10-28T22:11:00.005+02:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #026]

"Legere Idee: die Regel" - palindrome by Anton Bruhin

Lesiman - Contatto Umano (1970s) 2'32
Lifetones - Travelling (1983) 5'11
Arto Lindsay - Alisa (1984) 2'30
Magnus Lindberg - Ur (abridged) (1986) 8'59
Robert M. Lepage - Le Sourire de la Jaconde (1992) 3'21
Joëlle Léandre - Hommage à J... (1994) 4'15
Battista Lena - Ferie di Agosto (1996) 5'20
Steve Lacy Trio - Pï-Pande (1996) 4'50
London Improvisers Orchestra - Ellington 100 (Strayhorn 85) (1999) 10'57
Romero Lubambo + Herbie Mann - Dipper Mouth (2002) 6'48
Rodrigo Lessa - Ponto de bala (2007) 4'47
Mimmo Locasciulli - Il bambino e il destino (2009) 3'19

total time: 62'49

Compiled by Lucky.
Cover art by Lucky Jr.
Design by Lucky Sr.
Thanks to all Lucky's.

Download [ various sources | mp3-192kb/s, 89 MB ]

Zahar featuring Hassan Hakmoun - At the Knitting Factory (1991)

2011-10-24T22:12:00.005+02:00

[CD: Knitting Factory Works, USA, 1992; #KFWCD112]

"Hassan Hakmoun
Born: 1963, Marrakech, Morroco

Master of trance music, Hassan witnessed his first Gnawa trance ceremony when he was just 6 years old. He explains: 'My little sister had been terribly burned. She was screaming. My mother, a Gnawa musician herself, immediately brought together the local Gnawa masters from their Moroccan neighborhood. They then sacrificed a goat, removed its skin and covered my sister with it. I was terrified, but I watched the entire time. They then began to sing, drum, and play the sintir, and miraculously, my sister was healed.' That incident led the young Hakmoun to begin learning Gnawa music; first percussion, and later the bass-like sintir. By the age of 14, he was performing at Gnawa lila ceremonies.

Hakmoun was an agile dancer, and when he was about 16, he participated in a breakdancing showcase sponsored by the French Cultural Center. The American dancers were brusque at first, and intimidating with their gear, many changes of sneakers and clothes and so on. But when they saw Hassan spinning on his hands and dancing like a madman in bare feet, they became friendly, and curious. This event led to Hassan's first trip to New York, which impressed him deeply. In 1987, he moved to the city.

'We got pulled over by the cops right out of the airport,' recalled Hakmoun, 'because one of the musicians had his ney [flute] sticking out of the window, and they thought it was a gun. So they followed us, and pulled us over. That was the first impression here in America. Pulled off by the cops. Then straight up to Harlem. 137th St, between Broadway and Amsterdam. And that's where we stayed. And I looked out, and I said, ‘Oh my God, what happened to America? Is it at war?'' He soon adjusted, though, and gradually began moving his family over.

He began recording his music at home, on a 2-track recorder, and with help from Robert Browning at the World Music Institute, arranged to record his first American album, The Fire Within, a spare, powerful acoustic session. Among the adventurous New York musicians who became attracted to Hakmoun's gnawa sound early on were percussionist Adam Rudolph and jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. Together they made a groundbreaking recording of gnawa jazz fusion, Gift of the Gnawa. Hakmoun recorded his first electric band, Zahar (meaning 'luck') and widened his circle. During a performance at the Knitting Factory, Hakmoun met one of his heroes, Miles Davis, but someone he did not know was also in the audience that night, and that person, producer Daniel Lanois, introduced Hakmoun to an important collaborator, Peter Gabriel.

Hakmoun and a revamped lineup of Zahar recorded Trance in 1993, a tour de force fusion of gnawa trance and rock ‘n' roll ecstasy. Hakmoun spent time in the UK touring with Gabriel, and from there many doors continued to open. Hakmoun spent a few years living in California, while married to singer Paula Cole. They produced a CD called The Gift together in 2002. Hakmoun returned to New York in 2005 and in 2009, opened a Moroccan restaurant in the East Village, where he performs, hosts musicians, and holds court in an environment that is both 'in New York, and outside New York.'

He continues to record and perform and is today regarded as a trailblazer for many young gnawa musicians who have sought out connections with the world beyond their traditional heritage and milieu. In the age of ambient club trance, and hip hop, Hakmoun revels in the world's musical melting pot. 'If you listen to the music right now,' he says, 'you can hear Asian music, or Middle Eastern styles, samples from India, from all over the world, making their flavors. That's beautiful. It's great that these musicians are so open minded. If you have just world music itself, it cannot be played on certain pop radio stations, but because of the pop artists doing that, or the hip-hop artists, then you can hear that, and you get to know the other side. And that's beautiful.'"

(Banning Eyre @ Afropop Worldwide)

Hassan Hakmoun (picture from the booklet)

Zahar
Hassan Hakmoun: sintir (3-stringed long neck lute), vocals
Anthony Michael Peterson: guitar
Bill McClellan: drums

also features
Said Hakmoun: vocals, qarkaba (large metal castanets)
Itaal Shur: keyboards
Tito Muti: congas

Mousa (8'52)
Sadiya (6'50)
Hadiya (8'49)
Wama Wama (8'19)
Rap Song (9'36)
Najda (5'16)
Hadiya (8'03)

total time: 55'49

All songs by Hassan Hakmoun.

Recorded at the Knitting Factory, 1991.
Produced by Hassan Hakmoun and James McLean.
Executive producer: Michael Dorf.
Art design by Andrew Walker.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 81 MB | flac, 326 MB ]

Ujang Suryana (Instrumental Degung)

2011-10-21T20:03:00.000+02:00

Minimal yet playful, Degung is the musical autograph of the people of West Java. This album features some of the region’s most famous musicians, including the legendary Ujang Suryana a famous blind composer who recorded over 60 albums in a variety of genres before his death in 2005. Gamelan degung is played on very few instruments, allowing the character of each melody line to shine forth brightly.

Based on a mere handful of instruments, Gamelan degung has enchanted all of

Indonesia

with its unique combination of skilled playfulness and simplicity.

Classic Gamelan degung configuration

Developed in West Java, degung was traditionally played as welcoming music for visiting Sundanese aristocracy. Now with a much expanded base, degung has developed into a very popular genre heard streaming through radios all over the country. Live Degung is most often heard at spirited events of lighthearted respect. The combination of skill, art, and play heard in Degung has made it the musical autograph of Sundanese culture.

Sulings are a long tube bamboo which has very thinsurface. The head of which is circled with athin rattan band to create air vibration.

Gamelan degung uses only a few of the instruments found in a large Gamelan ensemble. These are the bonang, a row of knobbed gongs, two bronze keyed metallophones called sarons, a drum (the kendang), and, of course, the signature bamboo flute, called a suling. The melody is carried by the bonang and suling as the two saron support them with subtle variations. By using so few instruments, the tones and roles of each shine forth, fostering easy listening.

http://www.javasounds.org

Seuri

CD FlameTree #FLTRCD516

Seuri
Kang Mandor
Seungit Malati
Mimiti Beger
Karedok Leunca
Nganttosan
Ditampik
Anjeun Jeung Kueing

flac | scans | 256mb

Sorban Palid

CD FlameTree #FLTRCD517

Sorban Palid
Kapiraray
Urab Sampeu
Lamunan
Panineungan
Susuganan
So’ Aksi
Asa Asa

flac | scans | 255mb

Detty Kurnia - Dari Sunda (1991) / Coyor Panon (1993)

2011-10-15T23:02:00.011+02:00

[CD: Riverboat Records,1995; #TUGCD1011]

Back in the 1960's Indonesian president Sukarno, outlawed the importing and broadcasting of Western music. He ordered musicians to create their own Indonesian music; either revitalise ancient traditions or start a unique pop sound. In Sunda , the western part of the most populous island Java, in the cultural capital of the area, Bandung, pop sunda was born. The first bands to emerge only used western instruments until the 70's when traditional intstrument began to be employed.

The musical traditions of Indonesia meet the electronic technology and rhythms of the West through the music of vocalist Detty Kurnia. Well known in Indonesia since the late '70s, The daughter of a musician, Kurnia began singing at traditional music festivals at the age of six. Within three years, she was regularly performing at weddings and special celebrations. Her debut cassette was released when she was 11

Although she initially sang in the style of kulningen, the vocal equivalent to Indonesia's gamelan music, Kurnia switched to the pop-sunda style, a combination of Western pop and Sudanese music, in the mid-'70s. The transformation made her one of Indonesia's top vocalists. Signed by Dian Records , a Java-based label, in 1981, she recorded 40 cassettes over the next nine years.

Kurnia has steadily increased her following throughout the world since 1990 when her album, Rayungan, was remixed by Japanese producer Makoto Kubota and reissued in Japan. The collaboration with Kubota continued with Kurnia's next album, Dari Sunda. Released in 1991 on the pioneering Japanese label 'Wave Records. Dari Sunda remains the all-time best-selling Asian album in Japan. Reissued by the Riverboat label in 1995 as part of their Women of the World series, Dari Sunda was included on a list of five best albums by Q Magazine and hailed by Folk Roots as "an imaginative, inventive gem throughout with Kurnia's mellow smile of a voice effortlessly binding everything together."

Dari Sunda

01. Sorban Palid

02. Dar Der Dor

03. Banondari

04. Si Kabayan

05. Mamanis

06. Asih Kuring

07. Sunayama

08. Bengawan Solo

09. Duriran

10. Hana

11. Emansipasi

total time: 59:24

CD-rip [ flac | scans | 423 MB ]

[CD: Flame Tree,1994; #FLTRCD519]

The other offering here is the exquisite Coyor Panon released in the UK on the Flame Tree label in 1994, much sought after and difficult to find. The songs are a hybrid of many musical styles - Degung, Jaipongang, Calung, Pop Sunda and Kecapi Suling.

Coyor Panon

01. Sulanjana (name of traditional drama)

02. Bajing Luncat (flying squirrel)

03. Pras Pris (the sound of falling rain)

04. Oray Welang (striped snake)

05. Serat Ti Anjeun (your letter)

06. Percaya (faith)

07. Itsuki No Komoriuta (Japanese lullaby from Itsuki district)

08. Warung Pojok (corner cafe)

09. Coyor Panon (sensual eyes)

total time: 46:57

CD-rip [ flac | scans | 299 MB ]

[up-grade] Madagaskar 4 - Music of the North

2011-10-14T19:56:00.000+02:00

CD: Feuer & Eis #FUEC 720 (Germany 1997)

Madagaskar 4 - Music of the North

A continuation of the historic Feuer und Eis recordings from Madagascar by Birger Gesthuisen.

On his 1995 outing, we visit the northern section of the nation in this street level recording of accordion soloists, valiha masters, some exquisite choral music and exhilarating ensembles. Setting this set apart from the previous three volumes in the series are what Gesthuisen refers to as "traces of the Orient." These are heard in some unique tracks of an instrument called kabiro, a reed instrument, and a mouth bow used in ensembles. The Muslims of Madagascar live primarily in this area, and the middle-eastern and eastern influences are to be found in a number of tracks on the album. [cd roots]

01. Dia Mahory - Bemagnabina

02. Sida - Madame Suzanne & Choir

03. Lalao Boana - Rabekoto Apaulin

04. Dandiadasa - Moganja'i Zanaka Sambirano

05. Amia Lera, Amia Lera - Jaotoly

06. Tsiovaly - Jaosoma Joma Modrobe & Choir

07. Mangina Tsaika - Jaosoma Joma Modrobe & Choir

08. Tsy Mafafaty Olona Masary - Laozy Velonkazy

09. Amia Varavarano - Tsontsozara Modeste

10. Tiam Bady Meva - Ensemble Bemitombo

11. Ambila Mifagnelaka - Djao & Tombo

12. Mahalala Menatra - Troupe Abdallah

13. Tano Ny Azo - Troupe Abdallah

14. Rebiky - Mahatoly & Bony

15. Oa Zaho Valy - Besamy & Choir

16. Nakoula - Ensemble Jaovazaha

17. Banga Manambola Rapera - Benjara

18. Medley - Zamarasy & Choir

total time: 1:07:13

Cd-rip [ flac | scans | 420 mb ]

the other three volumes of this set here at the Psychic Hut:
- Madagaskar 1 - Music in Antananarivo
- Madagaskar 2 - Music of the South
- Madagaskar 3 - Valiha, sounding bamboo

The Recedents - Barbeque Strut (1987)

2011-10-13T20:41:00.021+02:00

[LP: nato, France, 1987; #907]

In 1982 the trio The Recedents was formed by Lol Coxhill, Roger Turner and Mike Cooper exploring the possibilities of electro-acoustic music, in which Turner initially played drumset and EMS Synthi A as a means of bending the sounds of various metal percussion instruments. This group, still existing, mixes song, jazz, punk/thrash, with acoustic detail in always shifting sonorities, and has worked throughout Europe, Canada and the U.K.

"Lol Coxhill est un charmeur dont la séduction s'exprime délicatement dans des orchestres comme le Johnny Rondo trio ou les Melody Four, c'est aussi un redoutable improvisateur et un saxophoniste aguerri à toutes les experimentations du rock.

Avec les Recedents où il retrouve son vieux compère, le guitariste de blues converti au free et puis retour à la case départ en emportant tout ce qui se trouve au parking et le batteur expansif et joyeusement acerbe Roger Turner, il nous invite à un barbecue qui fait feu de tous charbons (ardents). Les Recedents provoquent de façon réjouissante une perte des repères en explosion multicolore où la mémoire aperçoit furtivement un orchestre de Nouvelle Orléans soudain projeté dans l'espace, des grands espaces se transformant en proximité immédiate et autant de jours de fêtes. La musique très collective de ce dessin animé pour adulte invite au mouvement perpétuel."

(nato homepage)

The Recedents at the Angelica Festival, Bologna May 2010. from Roger Turner's website (photo by Angelo Rosana)

"The Recedents with Lol Coxhill and Mike Cooper & myself - electro-acoustic - right across the board - it can be very entertaining and extreme. More chancy musically - dependent on more variables working (equipment especially!), but a great, dangerous band"

(Roger Turner in a letter, 1992 - @ The Listening Room)

Our very own gidouille reminises...

I saw The Recedents in 1990, but have never heard their records. It was a delightful if very odd gig. Coxhill's suitcase full of Rube Goldberg electronic gizmos wouldn't function and he made his exasperation part of the performance. Cooper and Turner roundly ignored him and continued to play, while he muttered to himself and pleaded with them to wait for him. It was difficult to tell to what extent Coxhill's evident irritation was real, but it added a humorous edge to the proceedings. Eventually, after noisily packing everything up, he pulled out a curved soprano and played wonderfully.

The Recedents

Mike Cooper: electric lap steel guitar, acoustic National Steel guitar, self-made string instruments, table top percussion guitar, drum machine, tape treatments, Mylord metal coat rack

Lol Coxhill: sopranino + soprano saxophones, Casio rhythm/keyboards VL 1&5, harmonium, piano, Acme bird call, touch synth, voice, tape treatments

Roger Turner: drums, metal, EMS synthi-A, Chatanooga gas drum, log

Side A

1. Highly Perpendicular (5'10)

2. Nylon? (2'25)

3. Big Tensions (2'20)

4. Chinchon (9'31)

5. Jour de fête (2'11)

Side B

1. Glances Exchanged Between Nurses (3'55)

2. Côté à ouvrir (5'10)

3. Hawaiian Gravity (3'40)

4. Pearl Dropper (2'25)

5. Deterred Man (6'31)

total time: 44:33

All music is improvised as heard.

Produced by Jean Rochard.

Recorded in 1986 at Studio nato by Daniel Deshays, assisted by Maryse Gautier.

Cover art by Pierre Cornuel.

vinyl-rip [ flac, 236 MB ]

thanks to Sasha for this rip!!

Chicken² Skin Music (1939-2005)

2011-09-26T16:34:00.010+02:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #025
- posted first at Border Music, 2/2007]

“Goosebumps are in the first place a reaction to cold. The autonomic nervous system excites the muscles in the hair follicles, and they contract in order to erect the hairs. Furry animals can thus make their fur more fluffy, which improves the conservation of body heat.

Goosebumps are at the same time an indicator of emotional arousal. In scary situations the errected fur of a furry animal makes it look bigger and helps to impress an adversary. Curiously enough, we show goosebumps also in response to pleasant stimuli. When listening to emotionally moving music or viewing romantic movie scences, comforting chills go up our spine. The music industry advertises ‘goosebump music’ (…).”

(University Kiel, Germany)

Tracklist

1. “Siberian Sleighride” (Raymond Scott)
a. Raymond Scott Quintette, 1939 (2'51)
b. Don Byron, 1996 (2'50)

2. “Bakiff” (Juan Tizol)
a. Duke Ellington Orchestra, 1941 (3'23)
b. Louis Sclavis Sextet, 1991 (3'42)

3. “Tin Tin Deo” (Chano Pozo Gonzales, Gil Fuller)
a. Dizzy Gillespie Sextet, 1951 (2'39)
b. Roy Nathanson Quartet, 1990 (4'04)

4. “I Love You a Thousand Ways” (Lefty Frizzell, Jim Beck)
a. Lefty Frizzell, 1951 (2'44)
b. Barbara Manning, 1992 (3'59)

5. “Directly From My Heart to You” (R. W. Penniman)
a. Little Richard + Johnny Otis Band, 1953 (2'55)
b. The Mothers of Invention, 1969 (5'18)

6. “Interplanetary Music” (Sun Ra)
a. Sun Ra & His Solar Arkestra, 1958 (2'23)
b. General Strike, 1982 (3'40)

7. “Open Letter To Duke” (Charles Mingus)
a. Charles Mingus, 1959 (4'56)
b. Bobby Previte / Hal Willner, 1992 (4'53)

8. “If 6 was 9” (Jimi Hendrix)
a. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1967 (5'34)
b. Spanish Fly, 1993 (3'23)

9. “The Sad Skinhead” (Faust)
a. Faust, 1973 (2'35)
b. Pascal Comelade, 1992 (1'06)

10. “Eu te amo” (Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque)
a. Chico Buarque, 1980 (5'05)
b. Chico Mello, 2005 (4'20)

11. “Ao Velho Pedro” (Paulo Moura)
a. Paulo Moura, 1986 (4'09)
b. Clusone 3, 1991(4'06)

total time: 80'00

Compiled by Lucky for Border Music in 2007, exc. 10a+b, which is an additional pair. For 5a the 1955 overdubbed version has been replaced by the earlier one.

Download [ CD-rips | mp3-192kb/s, 110 MB ]

[re-up] Guitar Solos 3 (1977-79)

2011-09-23T00:00:00.004+02:00

[LP: Rift, USA, 1979, #1; Red, USA, 1979; #008]

"Guitar Solos 3 is the third in a series of three albums of improvised guitar solos by various musicians, and was released in the United States by Rift Records in 1979. Frith coordinated and produced the series, which began with his 1974 debut solo album, Guitar Solos."

(Wikipedia)

Side One

Henry Kaiser: guitar
1. Robert Louis Stevenson (3'35)
2. Dien Da (3'27)

Chip Handy: prepared guitar
3. Foreign Music (3'21)
4. Little Missy (1'51)
5. Total Babes (1'53)

Peter Cusack: acoustic guitar
6. Whistling with Guitar Accompaniment (7'20)

Keith Rowe: guitars
7. For A (7'21)

Side Two

Fred Frith: guitar
8. Alienated Industrial Seagulls etc. (3'52)
9. Song of River Nights (1'23)
10. Should Old Arthur (1'36)

Eugene Chadbourne: dobro, guitar
11. Memories Of Hanover Lodge (4'07)
12. Memories Of Wildey Road (4'07)

Davey Williams: guitar
13. Ezekiel (6'11)

Akira Iijima: acoustic guitar
14. Coming No. 4 (4'33)

total time: 54'46

Compositions by each player.

1+2 recorded at Walden Studios, Carmel Highlands, California on January 6, 1979.
3 recorded at home in Davis, California on December 22, 1977.
4 recorded at home in Davis, California on July 8, 1978.
5 recorded at home in Davis, California on April 1, 1978.
6 recorded in Utrecht, Holland in June 1976.
7 recorded in December 1978.
8-10 recorded at Briollay, France in October 1978.
11+12 recorded at Grogkill Studio, Willow, New York on November 27, 1978.
13 recorded at Trans Studio, Tuscaloosa, Alabama on September 28, 1978.
14 recorded at Saito Studio, Tokyo on November 28, 1978.

Produced by Fred Frith.

Info from the Discography of Fred Frith.

Download [ vinyl-rip | scans | mp3-192kb/s | 93 MB ]

Thanks to paramo from La Folie du Jour for the mp3's and gamilan for the high-res. scans! (see comments).

Derek Bailey, Christine Jeffrey - View from Six Windows

2011-09-20T22:26:00.008+02:00

For many of us whose interests arose from rock music, the first encounter with what came to be called non-idiomatic improvisation was ECM 1005, The Music Improvisation Company. Trying to reconcile the instruments listed with the sounds coming out of the speakers was baffling to say the least, especially for ears not attuned to abstraction and the expanded techniques employed to produce these noises. There were sounds that gave the impression of being strings, was that the guitar, and other sounds which might conceivably be termed percussion, but I heard nothing which sounded like a saxophone and what the hell was meant by live electronics. Derek Bailey later opined that he was assiduously avoiding any use of open strings at that time, so it was a bit disconcerting that some of Hugh Davies' homemade contraptions were essentially nothing but an open string. For all that though, the most mysterious element was the voice. I decided the singer must be recorded so poorly as to be drowned out in the mix. I heard Ovary Lodge around this same time, also quite abstract but Julie Tippetts' vocals had an expressive quality that made them quite recognizable, whereas Christine Jeffrey eschewed anything that smacked of emotion, and blended with the other timbres so well that it made one doubt there was any voice present. In retrospect I can pick her out quite easily, but at that time the recording seemed very mysterious.

A sticker affixed to the cover of View from Six Windows features a laudatory blurb by Anthony Braxton, terming Bailey "The most amazing guitar player on the planet" and opining that he and his music are "one of the most significant contributions to creative music (and world creativity) in this time period". Of course Derek Bailey is very well documented on recordings, the same cannot be said for Christine Jeffrey however. It was only when View from Six Windows was released in the early '80s that I was at all certain which noises Jeffrey had been making on the MIC album. View from Six Windows is the perfect vehicle for Jeffrey with only Bailey's acoustic guitar, and on one track a ukulele, for accompaniment. Bailey is at his sparest and most pointillist on View, which allows one to hear clearly what Jeffrey is doing. At times the timbres and spaciousness of the recording even recalls the biwa, shakuhachi duet of Takemitsu's Eclipse. This is a recording whose dynamic range and delicacy cries out to be heard on CD, but it's never been reissued, so this at times somewhat noisy rip shall have to do for now.

1. Here Today...
2. One Old One
3. Nothing Lasts Like the Makeshift
4. One Young One
5. Two Part Pier
6. For a Day or a Stay
7. Adrienne
8. What Now?

Derek Bailey - acoustic guitar, ukulele on 4
Christine Jeffrey - voice

Recorded in London, January, February 1980
ML-114, Metalaguage 1981

download | Vinyl rip | mp3-320 kpbs | 95.2 MB |

[up-grade] Third Person - Lucky Water (1994)

2011-09-19T00:00:00.008+02:00

[CD: Knitting Factory Works, USA, 1995; #KFW 156]

"Third Person was an improvising trio formed in 1990 in New York City, led by cellist Tom Cora and drummer Samm Bennett. Each performance featured an invited guest: A third person. Guests included guitarist Marc Ribot, harpist Zeena Parkins, clarinet player Don Byron and saxophone players George Cartwright and Kazutoki Umezu and many others.

The trio's music was entirely improvised, but typically quite melodic, and even funky.
With Cora's death in 1998, Third Person effectively dissolved.

Discography:

The Bends (1991, Knitting Factory Work)
Trick Moon (1991, Tsuki No Uso)
Lucky Water (1995, Knitting Factory Works)"

(info from Wikipedia)

2 reviews from the old Knitting Factory homepage:

"Third Person - The Bends KFW 102
The basic idea is simple: a trio with two permanent members and one invited guest. Tom Cora and Samm Bennett plus third persons Don Byron, George Cartwright, Chris Cochrane, Nic Collins, Catherine Jauniaux, Myra Melford, Zeena Parkins, and Marc Ribot turn out improvisations so masterfully that they sound like compositions. Each amazing trio was recorded live at the Knitting Factory.

Third Person - Lucky Water KFW 156
This group was formed in 1990 by percussionist Samm Bennett and cellist Tom Cora. By design, the third member of this trio is ever-changing. It's a group which is continually re-inventing itself. With this working principle, the band achieves the consistency of its two founding members' telepathic interplay, as well as the element of surprise and unpredictability resulting from the "wild card" status of the third member. For their new release, "Lucky Water", Cora and Bennett have decided to spotlight one guest member with whom they have developed a very sympatico musical relationship, namely Kazutoki Umezu. Umezu ("Kappo") is a saxophonist who has joined Samm and Tom on a number of concert tours in Japan, and recently in the United States. Third Person's New York performances during this last tour were recorded and from these come "Lucky Water"."

Third Person
Tom Cora [1953-1998]: cello, live cello samples
Samm Bennett [*1957]: drums, percussion, samples
with third person
Kazutoki Umezu [*1949]: soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet, penny whistle

Busy River (3'27)
Cold Call (5'06)
Trick Water (7'35)
Bubble and Crow (4'19)
Bridge of a Thousand Tears (2'58)
Globe Trudgers (5'49)
Old Grandad (Doesn't Smell Too Bad) (4'55)
John Frum He Come (6'47)
The Curlew's Sad Day (5'58)
Cadillac Bolero (4'08)
Moro Reflex (3'30)
Hasten Slowly (5'41)

total time: 60'03

Recorded live at The Knitting Factory, NYC on June 10 + 12, 1994 .
Engineered by John Siket, assisted by James McLean.
Pre-mastering and sequencing at Crammed Studios, Brussels by Bob Van.
Cover art by Riccardo Pioli and Tom Cora.
Layout and design by Matt Wilson and Peter Hill.
Executive producer: Michael Dorf.

CD-rip [ mp3-vbr-224kb/s, 96 MB | flac + scans, 324 MB ]

Request fulfilled by paramo from the La Folie du Jour blog. Thanks!
[upgrade in flac with scans by Lucky; scans alone here]

***

- Paramo posted the first studio album of Third Person, "The Bends" (1991) @ La Folie du Jour.
- "Trick Moon" (1991) feat. Kazutoki Umezu and Tsuneo Imahori (from Tipographica) is @ the Big In Japan blog (10/2008).
- Third Person with Steve Lacy live at The Knitting Factory (1992) has been posted by LYM over @ Inconstant Sol (01/2009); upgraded in 03/2010.

Luciano Biondini, Michel Godard, Lucas Niggli - Live at VPRO / ToneJazz Festival 2011

2011-09-16T01:09:00.008+02:00

"[..] The improvisation bears the soul of jazz, from the depth of the memory comes the melody. And the rhythm sends the three musicians dancing into the here and now. When they come together, not only the timbres of their instruments mix and mingle but also all their experience gained in so different ways open out into a dense interaction. Michel Godard plays with all his profound knowledge accumulated on his musical journeys through time between the Middle Ages, Rennaissance, Baroque, New Music and Jazz. Luciano Biondini makes his accordion take off with flying colors into the spheres of abstraction, and at the same time he proves to be solidly grounded in the history of the instrument that defies well-defined classifications with its interplay between folk culture and elaborate virtuosity, its closeness to both, to the down-to-earth as well as to the spherical sound of the organ. Last not least Lucas Niggli covers much ground with his rhythmically driving yet melodious playing, from the freedom of jazz improvisation to the energy within rock music up to the subtlety for nuances and structural differentiations acquired while dealing with New Music. That too is mirrored indirectly in the music of the trio: the experiences Luciano Biondini and Michel Godard gathered playing with Rabih Abou-Khalil on the magic carpet between Orient and Occident as well as the immersion into a world of multiplicity of sound and rhythm, Lucas Niggli had the privilege to experience in his early years together with Michel Godard as a member of Pierre Favre's ensemble Singing Drums.

When Luciano Biondini, Michel Godard und Lucas Niggli play music together the borders between Early and New Music, between imaginary folk and jazz inspired improvisation blur. One can picture the virtual meeting point at the border triangle between Italy, France and Switzerland. That would be - and the image of the heights is not altogether out of place - on the peak of Mont Dolent, close to the Mont Blanc. But still this game fences off any territorial and stylistic definition. Alpine as well as Mediterranean, delicately woven yet permeated with strong melodies driven by frequently complex rhythms that are strong and sensitive at the same time, the three create great arches - within the pieces but also in the sequence, integrating themes by John Coltrane and Johann Sebastian Bach easily. This is not a translation into a swinging idiom but an affectionate assimilation, approaching Bach carefully and with respect in order to then make him dance boldly in an Iranian rhythm. This too is an arch across the times, the emotional states of mind, regions and continents that might have touched in former times. Learning by heart and inventing go hand in hand, they tie together to one common breathing, they interlink to music of great airiness, turning their gathering into a feast vibrating with delight."

(Bert Noglik, translation by Sigrun Andree
- from the liner notes to the Intakt CD "What is there what is not")

Luciano Biondini: accordion
Michel Godard: tuba, serpent, electric bass
Lucas Niggli: drums

Prima del cuore (Biondini) 5'24
Sur l'échelle des sphère (Godard) 11'17
Naima (John Coltrane; arr. Biondini) 7'39
Powerplay (Biondini) 5'48
Schluss (Niggli) 6'41
Adagio in F (J. S. Bach; arr. Godard) 8'48
Le sonnet oublie (Godard) 10'06
Prologo / What is there, what is not (Biondini) 10'22
Close Again (Godard) 6'06

total time: 72'11

Recorded by Micha de Kanter on June 12, 2011 at De Toonzaal in Den Bosch, The Netherlands.
Radio broadcast by Radio 6 / VPRO on September 16, 2011.
Note: Source audio downloaded from the homepage of Dutch radio program VPRO Jazz Live.
Cut into single pieces, tagged + titled by Lucky.

Live photo on top by Marc Ketelaars (from the VPRO JazzLive homepage). Photo with blue tuba by Thomas Radlwimmer (from the Intakt homepage).

Download [ mp3-224kb/s, 115 MB ]

The John Zorn Radio Hour (1989-90)

2011-08-31T18:19:00.009+02:00

[CD: Elektra, USA, 1990*; #PRCD 8195-2
- for promotional use only. not for sale -]

"A one-hour special hosted by John Zorn, spinning discs by his favorite artists and Naked City.
PLUS four banded tracks from Naked City" (front info)

"Here's the real John Zorn, acting as DJ in a specially produced one-hour radio program - spinning his favorite discs, revealing his influences, and discussing Naked City." (rear info)

1. John Zorn Radio Hour, Part I (27'36)
- Mauricio Kagel: "Der Schall (1968), for five players" (short exc.) (LP: 'Der Schall' - Deutsche Gramophon, Germany, 1970)
- Napalm Death: "The Kill / Prison Without Walls / Dead Pt. 1" (EP: 'Peel Sessions' - Strange Fruit, UK, 1987)
- James 'Blood' Ulmer: "Black Rock" (LP: 'Black Rock' - Columbia, USA, 1982)
- Hasil Adkins: "We Got a Date" (LP: 'Out to Hunch: West Virginia Recordings (1955-65)' - Norton, USA, 1986)
- Esquivel: "La Raspa" (LP: 'Latin-Esque' - RCA, USA, 1962)
- Rahsaan Roland Kirk: "Black Root" (LP: 'Natural Black Inventions: Root Strata' - Atlantic, USA, 1971)
- The Jazz Composer's Orchestra: "Preview" (LP: 'The Jazz Composer's Orchestra' - JCOA, USA, 1968)
- Hüsker Dü: "Bricklayer" (LP: 'Everything Falls Apart' - SST, USA, 1982)
- Die Kreuzen: "Sick People" (LP: 'Die Kreuzen' - Touch and Go, USA, 1984)
- Naked City: "Blunt Instrument" (EP: 'Torture Garden' - Shimmy Disc, USA, 1989)
- Naked City: "Snagglepuss" (LP/CD: John Zorn 'Naked City" - Nonesuch, USA, 1989)

2. John Zorn Radio Hour, Part II (33'06)
- Naked City: "Igneous Ejaculation / Blood Duster / Hammerhead / Demon Sanctuary / Obeah Man / Ujaku / Fuck the Facts / Speedball" (LP/CD: John Zorn 'Naked City" - Nonesuch, USA, 1989)
- Naked City: "A Shot in the Dark" (Henry Mancini) (LP/CD: John Zorn 'Naked City" - Nonesuch, USA, 1989)
- T. K. Ramamoorthy: "Kanakangi" (LP: 'Fabulous Notes and Beats of the Indian Carnatic-Jazz' - EMI/Odeon, India, 1969)
- Funkadelic: "Super Stupid" (LP: 'Maggot Brain' - Westbound, USA, 1971)
- The Beach Boys: "Pet Sounds" (LP: 'Pet Sounds' - Capitol, USA, 1966)
- Ennio Morricone: "Man with a Harmonica" (LP: 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968) - RCA, Italy, 1972)
- John Zorn: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (Morricone) / "White and Lazy - Main Title" (CD: 'Filmworks 1986 - 1990' - Eva/Wave, Japan, 1994)
- Lennie Tristano Trio: 'Line Up' (LP: 'Lennie Tristano' - Atlantic, USA, 1956)
- Naked City: "Gob of Spit" (EP: 'Torture Garden' - Shimmy Disc, USA, 1990)

Naked City (LP/CD: John Zorn 'Naked City" - Nonesuch, USA, 1989)
3. The James Bond Theme (John Barry) (3'08)
4. Graveyard Shift (3'33)
5. Gotham (formerly Batman) (2'05)
6. Latin Quarter (4'10)

total time: 73'38

Compositions of the Radio Hour by their respective interpreter and Naked City compositions by John Zorn, exc. where otherwise indicated.

Naked City - John Zorn: alto sax; Wayne Horvitz: keyboards; Bill Frisell: electric guitar; Fred Frith: electric bass; Joey Baron: drums.

*Note: there's no record label info or release date on either the CD nor the cover sheet or CD-insert, just the cat. # PRCD 8195-2. According to the extensive Zorn discography in the Sonora biography (Materiali Sonori, Italy, 1998) and various online sources, it has been released in 1990 by Elektra, the label Zorn was under contract then.

Some info on various cuts taken from the French fanzine Panoramade @ Fanzino.org.

CD-rip + scans [ mp3-192kb/s, 104 MB | flac, 447 MB ]

Lars Hollmer - Autokomp A(nd) More (1982-98)

2011-08-29T01:35:00.006+02:00

- from the Chickenhouse Archives 1 -
[CD: Krax / Tutinoko / Infinite Rec., Japan, 2001; #KRAX 12 / TUTI-0001]

"[...] the music on this CD is a special selection I made from unreleased recordings from the Chickenhouse Archives. It was not easy to choose from all the material I have, but finally I decided to concentrade on recordings I have made alone, except for one tune, where my son Gabriel, 10 years old at the time sings the lead voice."

(Lars Hollmer - from the booklet)

"The 30-minute mini-CD Autokomp A(nd) More is rather like a brief tour of Lars Hollmer's Chickenhouse studio, with the Swedish composer/keyboardist providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse of some secret ingredients used in music that showed up in "final" (or at least "evolved") form on subsequent discs, along with a few choice concoctions that never exited the kitchen at all. Listeners are treated to early versions of the steady-rocking and somewhat ominous "Spanska Trappan" (later on Vendeltid), the jaunty and insistent "Quickstep" (which later appeared in expanded form on Door Floor Something Window), and the dramatic chord progression and orchestral buildup on "Arp. Violin" (which had appeared in this form on the out of print In Poly Sons compilation Hardis Brut and would soon be heard in a full-band version on 2002's SOLA CD).

Everything is multi-tracked by Lars, except for a vocal contribution from his ten-year-old son, Gabriel. The tracks jump around chronologically from 1982 to 1998, and Hollmer is unafraid of embracing the childlike ("Lyssna På Min Porta" is performed on a tiny Casio-type keyboard with an accelerating automated rhythm and Gabriel joining the fun) or the type of analog synthesizer tones that would subsequently fall out of favor with hipsters of the digital age ("Spanska Trappan" could have been a product of Kit Watkins circa Labyrinth, when Watkins was first stepping out as a solo artist and before he moved more emphatically into new age sounds). Of course, anything and everything within reach or earshot can contribute to Hollmer's sound palette, and so the Drumulator, Prophet bass, and electric keyboards are supplemented by accordion, melodica, harmonium, backwards tape, and a sampled chair, door, and hair comb.

And the quirky instrumentation is in service to a diversity of fine music, such as the quintessentially Hollmer-esque upbeat folk-prog of "Småttombråttom"; "Elison," a Middle Eastern-flavored drone with abrupt heavy prog interjections; "Med. Pi. Git.," a dreamy and understated keyboard vignette; and the aforementioned compositions that would be revisited on classic Hollmer discs of the '80s, '90s, and 2000s (not to mention the occasional "violent keyboard improv" and something "just stupid in between" in order to keep things suitably off-center).

Autokomp A(nd) More is obviously not a crucial Lars Hollmer release, but remains an entertaining gift for fans and a revealing look at Chickenhouse goings-on."

(Dave Lynch @ allmusic)

Lars Hollmer: keyboards, accordion, percussion, melodica, vocals

with
Gabriel Strand Hollmer: vocals (on 1)

Lyssna På Min Porta (2'02)
Småttombråttom (2'22)
Ähup (0'21)
Pimpro (1'00)
Quickstep (original version) (1'05)
Elison (4'08)
Med. Pi. Git (2'46)
Enjoyfactor Unknown V+G (2'05)
Spanska Trappan (original version) (6'41)
Arp. Violin (7'26)

total time: 29'56

All music composed by Lars Hollmer.

Recorded by Lars Hollmer at his studio Chickenhouse, Uppsala, Sweden 1982-89.
Cover art by Lars Hollmer's daughter Rinda Strand Hollmer.

Download [ CD-rip, mp3-192kb/s ]
thanks to the original uploader!

Roy Nathanson, Curtis Fowlkes + The Jazz Passengers - Deranged & Decomposed (1988)

2011-08-27T20:27:00.004+02:00

[CD: Les Disques du Crépuscule, Belgium, 1988; #TWI 846-2]

"The Jazz Passengers were founded in 1987 by saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes. The two musicians met in the band of the Big Apple Circus and toured extensively together in John Lurie's seminal band The Loung Lizards. They found strong affinity in their Brooklyn roots, their affection for hard bop, comedy and eccentric currents in modern American music.

In 1989 Bob Blumenthal wrote in the Boston Globe, 'The seven piece Passengers often suggest a perverse mainstream band, a hard-bop group as imagined by Frank Zappa.' This is an apt description of the two leaders' intention in forming the band.

Early Passengers sets and CD's involved complicated and soulful compositions mixed with original vocals and comedy pieces. This mixture was in evidence in their first 5 CD's: Broken Night/Red Light, Deranged and Decomposed, Live at the Knitting Factory, Plain Old Joe and Implement Yourself.

Besides Nathanson and Fowlkes the original band members included Bill Ware on vibes, E. J. Rodriguez on percussion, Brad Jones on bass, Jim Nolet on violin and Marc Ribot on guitar. [...]"

(biography from the reunited Jazz Passenger's homepage)

Roy Nathanson: tenor-, alto- + soprano saxophones, clarinet, vocals
Curtis Fowlkes: trombone, vocals
Bill Ware: vibraphone
Jim Nolet: violin
Marc Ribot: electric guitar, trumpet
Brad Jones: double bass
E. J. Rodriguez: percussion, vocals

guests (on 7)
Paolo Pace: vocals
Jeff Young: organ, background vocals

Decomposer By a Neck (Nathanson, Fowlkes, Jazz Passengers) 7'04
We the Parisians (Nathanson, Jazz Passengers) 4'30
Somewhere in New Jersey (Nathanson, Rodriguez, Jazz Passengers) 4'48
Tikkun (Nathanson, Jazz Passengers) 7'40
Strange Love (Nathanson, Jazz Passengers) 1'21
In No Language (Nathanson, Fowlkes, Jazz Passengers) 3'49
None But the Righteous (Leon Pope) 5'17
Salty Tears (Teddy Randazzo, Victoria Pike) 4'34
Basketball Fish (Ware, Jazz Passengers) 5'20
You Don't Know What Love Is (Don Raye, Gene de Paul) 4'01

total time:48'24

Recorded at Sound on Sound Studio, N.Y. and mixed at Soundtrack Studio, N.Y.
Engineered by Hugo Dwyer, assisted by Peter Beckerman.
Produced by Roy Nathanson + Hugo Dwyer.

Download [ CD-rip | mp3-192kb/s | cover art | 76 MB ]

Mille grazie to Vito who provided this for the Psychic Hut!

Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Union Extended (rel. 1976)

2011-08-10T22:57:00.005+02:00

[LP: Stax / Pye, UK, 1976; #STX 1045]

"Made of Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewis Steinberg then Duck Dunn (bass guitar) and Al Jackson Jr (drums), plus Isaac Hayes (piano, organ) on some occasions, they were, along with the Mar-Keys' horns, the backbone of quite every Stax / Volt record in the 60's. Sadly, Al Jackson Jr died in 1975 and could never be replaced. They had numerous hits on their own and still live on through the Blues Brothers Band with Steve and Duck."

"This LP was produced by Terry Manning and 'post-produced by Booker T. & The MG's'. It was issued in 1976 in the United Kingdom only under the Stax label and distributed by PYE Records, who owned the distribution deal at the time in Great Britain.

It is obviously an LP composed of various outtakes from the Stax vaults, one being even a previously issued track (Midnight On McLemore, coming from the 'blue' Stax LP "And Now" under the name of Taboo) with just some instruments added (percussions and marimba by Terry Manning himself). Another curiosity: the intro to Overton Park Sunrise is exactly the same as the intro to the MG's version of 'The Dock Of The Bay' (previously unissued, released by Ace and Fantasy on various CDs). So it appears that all these tracks had some post production surgery and Terry Manning, from Ardent studios in Memphis, one time closely associated with Stax, was the master surgeon and player for most of the added instruments. He actually played the marimba on the Booker T. & The MG's hit from 1968 "Soul Limbo".

This LP had been scheduled for a US release by Stax (STS-5526) but never saw the light of day.

All in all, it's a very good Booker T. & The MG's album, showing their talent at its best. Many unissued tracks remain in the Stax vaults and we hope to hear more tracks in the future."

(from Patrick Montier's Stax fansite:
band overview + special page about this LP)

Booker T. & The M.G.'s
Booker T. Jones: organ, keyboards, piano
Steve Cropper: electric guitar
Donald "Duck" Dunn: electric bass
Al Jackson Jr.: drums

with
Terry Manning: percussion, marimba, etc.

Side A

Overton Park Sunrise (2'56)
Steve's Stroll (2'58)
Duck Walk (2'42)
Cotton Carnival (2'26)
Midnight on McLemore (4'27)
Union Extended (3'24)

Side B

Avalon (3'10)
Around Orange Mound (3'17)
National Jackson (3'29)
Beale Street Revival (3'05)
Saucy Pt. 2 (3'13)
Booker's Theme (overdubbed) (2'55)

total time: 38'02

Compositions by Jones, Cropper, Dunn, Jackson, exc. A6 by Jones, Cropper, Dunn, Jackson, Manning.

Pre-production by Booker T. & The M.G.'s.
Recorded at Stax Studios, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
Post-production (uncredited) by Terry Manning.

vinyl-rip [ mp3-320kb/s, 87 MB ]
thanks to the original ripper + uploader!

balla et ses balladins @ 45 tours

2011-08-07T12:21:00.010+02:00

Repost adds track 08 La Guineé Moussolou. The Balladins were with Bembeya Jazz the most sophisticated of the golden age Guinean bands, their Syliphone 45s holding some of their absolute best work. The quality and variety of these tracks is stunning, as Sakhodougou - Samba - Kognö Koura show. Whether languid or swinging, you can pretty much count on quivering horns as well as electric guitars cross-pollinating local traditions with shards of funk, surf and psychedelia. This collection is almost complete, with two b-sides, Nanfoule and Vacillon, still hiding. If you have either one and are willing to share, please let me know. Bon appétit.

balla et ses balladins
balladins @ 45 tours
the (nearly almost) complete syliphone singles 1968-75

01 J.R.D.A. 1967 (Jardin de Guinée)
02 Diaraby 1967 (Jardin de Guinée)
03 Diaraby SYL 505a 1968
04 Yo Te Contres Maria SYL 505b 1968
05 Bedianamo SYL 506a 1968
06 P.D.G. SYL 506b 1968
07 Soumbouyaya SYL 507a 1968
08 La Guineé Moussolou SYL 507b 1968
09 Tara SYL 508a 1969
10 Moi Ça Ma Fout SYL 517a 1970
11 Kaïra SYL 520a 1970
12 Sakhodougou SYL 520b 1970
13 Samba SYL 545a 1972
14 Kognö Koura SYL 547a 1972
15 Bi Diamana Möo SYL 545b 1972
16 Como Cocina Et La Corda SYL 547b 1972
17 Djina Moussö SYL 549a 1972
18 Manta Lokoka SYL 549b 1972
19 Ancien Combattant SYL 571a 1975
20 Nyo SYL 571b 1975
21 Hafia SYL 572a 1975
22 Wilikabo SYL 572b 1975

cd and vinyl @320

bembeya jazz national @ 45 tours

2011-07-05T13:13:00.023+02:00

The last major Syliphone singles anthology. Since a greatest hits collection was released in the wake of lead singer Demba Camara's death in 1973, many of these have been slightly more available over the years than Balladins or Horoya or Keletigui singles tracks, but everything is here in one place.

bembeya jazz national @ 45 tours
the complete syliphone singles 1968-73

01 République Guinée (1968)
02 Sabor de Guajira (1968)
03 Armée Guinéenne (1968)
04 Net a Sec (1968)
05 Minuit (1969)
06 Guantanamera-Seyni (1969)
07 N'Wato M'Barale (1969)
08 Montuno de la Sierra (1969)
09 Waraba (1970)
10 N'Borin (1970)
11 Bembeyako (1970)
12 Dagna (1970)
13 Festival National (1971)
14 Doni Doni (1971)
15 Camara Mousso (1971)
16 Wouloukoro (1971)
17 Lefa (1971)
18 Bembeya (1971)
19 Kouledegbe (1973)
20 N'Diamono (1973)
21/2 Super Tentemba 1 & 2 (1973)
23 Bembeya (1973)
24 Ilé N'Yarabi (1973)
25 Mami Wata (1973)
26 Whiskey Soda (1973)
27 Sénero (1973)
28 Alalaké (1973)

cd @ various bitrates, mostly 320vbr

docteur nico et l'african fiesta - toute l'afrique danse

2011-07-05T13:13:00.018+02:00

docteur nico et l'african fiesta
toute l'afrique danse
sonafric saf 50.003 (1975)

01 Sukisa Liwa Na Ngai
02 Talaka Na Miso
03 Maria Maria
04 Capacite Ya Bolingo
05 Jeanine
06 Olga
07 Munka
08 Pergola
09 Sanduku Etundi
10 Felie

vinyl @ 320vbr

sam and dave - can't stand up for falling down

2011-07-05T13:12:00.010+02:00

A collection of '68-'71 Atlantic singles along with two cuts from Stax, one from a Stay In School radio promo album and the title cut, a b-side (apparently dubbed from vinyl) that was famously covered by Elvis Costello. Some have subsequently been collected on CD anthologies while some really good ones, like Ooh Ooh Ooh, have not.

sam and dave
can't stand up for falling down
edsel ed 133 (1984)

01 Baby Baby Don't Stop Now
02 I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down
03 Born Again
04 My Reason For Living
05 This Is Your World
06 Holdin' On
07 Come On In
08 When You Steal From Me (You're Only Cheating Yourself)
09 I'm Not An Indian Giver
10 Get It
11 Ooh Ooh Ooh
12 Don't Pull Your Love Out
13 Knock It Out The Park
14 You Easily Excite Me
15 One Part Love, Two Part Pain
16 Jody Ryder Got Killed

vinyl @320vbr

Sylvie Courvoisier - Mark Feldman Quartet - Live at the Bimhuis (2011)

2011-06-28T19:40:00.003+02:00

"Swiss jazz pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and violin player Mark Feldman, who used to be a country musician in Nashville, form one of the closest and most creative alliances in contemporary music. They compose chamber music with plenty of freedom and space, also for bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Gerry Hemingway. ‘The four carve out a true ensemble sound, their finely honed interactions shaped by a strong sense of space and keen listening skills’ (Signal to Noise)."

(from the Bimhuis homepage)

Sylvie Courvoisier: piano
Mark Feldman: violin
Thomas Morgan: double bass
Gerry Hemingway: drums

1st set
1. Hôtel du Nord (Courvoisier, Feldman) 13'23
2. (announcement) 0'47
3. Dunes (Courvoisier) 10'09
4. Messiaenesque (Courvoisier) 9'49
5. (announcement) 0'15
6. Five Senses of Keen (Feldman) 18'43

2nd set
7. December 2010 (Courvoisier) 9'55
8. The Good Life (Feldman) 11'18
9. Plan A (Feldman) 10'51

total time: 85'10

Recorded by Micha de Kanter live at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands on May 12, 2011.
Radio broadcast by Radio 6 / VPROJazzLive.
Photo of the Courvoisier-Feldman Quartet live at the Bimhuis by Roland Huguenin for Cultuurpodium.com.

2 CD's of this quartet have been issued by Intakt Records, Switzerland.

Download [ mp3-224kb/s, 136 MB ]

Henry Mancini - Hank's Other Tunes (1957-82)

2011-06-27T21:49:00.009+02:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #024]

"Mancini was probably the most successful film composer of his time. Between 1958 and 1964, Mancini so dominated the television and film music scene that everything else seemed to be either an attempt to clone his sound or a reaction against it. The secret to his success was simple, though: he wrote catchy tunes. If you set aside Mancini's hit tunes like "Peter Gunn" and "Moon River," you find music that's not dramatically different from, say, Elmer Bernstein's. Nelson Riddle once quipped, though, that he'd take the royalties from one Mancini song over everything he'd ever earned on his own arrangements.

Mancini was raised in the mill town of West Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. His father taught him the flute and piccolo, and after some initial resistance, gave him perhaps his biggest break ever by setting him up with lessons from Max Adkins. Adkins, a Pittsburgh concertmaster and jazz fan, was a major influence on local musicians, and among Mancini's fellow students were the great Billy Strayhorn and Joshua Feldman (later known as Jerry Fielding). Adkins encouraged Mancini's efforts and even introduced him to Benny Goodman as a potential arranger for Goodman's band. After graduating from high school, he decided to study music, and he attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology and later went to Juilliard in New York City. Among his jobs while attending Juilliard was ghosting for pianist and bandleader Vincent Lopez.

Drafted into the Army in World War Two, Mancini was able get switched from infantry to band and worked with singer Tony Martin and others. He also made connections with Glenn Miller's Army Air Corps band, although he did not serve with them. After the war, though, he was hired as a pianist and arranger by Tex Beneke, who was leading the Miller band on behalf of Miller's widow. In 1947, Mancini married Ginny O'Connor, a singer with the Miller band, who'd previously worked with Mel Torme's vocal group, the Mellolarks, and the couple settled in Los Angeles.

Mancini spent the next few years scraping by as a free-lance arranger and musician. He worked on radio shows, played in studio sessions, and took on the odd orchestration or conducting job. He even provided music for Billy Barty's vaudeville act. He hooked up with choreographer Nick Castle and provided backing arrangement for the nightclub acts of numerous Hollywood singers and actors. One such job led to his publishing the tune, "Soft Shoe Boogie" and earning his entry into ASCAP, the American Society of Composers and Performers, which would later name an annual award after him.

In 1952, Mancini was hired to do fill-in work for an Abbott and Costello movie, and ended up becoming a house arranger for Universal-International films. Much of the work was routine, but it proved an excellent school, as Mancini worked on over 100 films:

I once referred to the music department at Universal as a salt mine. But it was a good salt mine, and younger composers in film today do not have access to that kind of on-the-job training. Being on staff there I was called upon to do everything. I mean, everything. Whenever they needed a piece of source music, music that comes from a source in the picture, such as a band, a jukebox, or a radio, they would call me in. I would do an arrangement on something that was in the Universal library, or I would write a new piece for a jazz band or a Latin band or whatever. I guess in every business you have to learn the routine - in film scoring, the cliches - before you can begin to find your own way.

With his big band background, Mancini was tapped to be the lead arranger for the two best-known swing biopics, "The Glenn Miller Story" in 1954 and "The Benny Goodman Story" in 1956.

The real breakthrough came, though, on Orson Welles' film noir, "Touch of Evil," in 1958. Welles wanted a gritty, realistic tone for his film and insisted on using nothing but source music for the soundtrack. Although Mancini and Welles had virtually no interaction, the job inspired Mancini, and he convinced Universal to let him bring him some ace jazz performers - Shelley Manne, Conrad Gozzo, and Jack Costanzo - to supplement the studio players. Conflicts between Welles and his producer eventually led to the film being drastically altered from the director's cut, but Mancini always said that, "'Touch of Evil' was one of the best things I did in that period of my life. It's one of the best things I've ever done." It was also his last job for Universal.

A former editor at Universal, Blake Edwards, remembered Mancini's work on this film and asked him to write music for a television series he was now directing: "Peter Gunn." Since he was working on a small budget, Edwards asked Mancini to write for a jazz ensemble of 11 players.

Mancini's music - particularly the pounding, menacing theme - proved almost as popular as the series, and RCA rushed out an album featuring the title song and other pieces. Mancini credits Shorty Rogers for this opportunity, since he refused RCA, which first offered the recording job to him, and insisted they use the composer himself. Although television soundtracks had been released on albums before, Music from "Peter Gunn" was a phenomenon. It reached #1 on Billboard's chart, stayed there 10 weeks, and stayed on the list for the next two years. It was so successful, RCA put together a sequel soon after. Mancini received an Emmy nomination for the theme and won two Grammys for the album.

Edwards hired him to repeat the trick for his new series, "Mr. Lucky." Although the series failed, the album sold well, and Mancini won two more Grammys. The title track featuring a distinctive organ lead played by Buddy Cole became a popular instrumental. RCA gave him a contract to record under his own name, and his first release, Blues and the Beat, also won a Grammy.

With these successes, Mancini was able to operate as a freelancer. Beginning a long and very productive film partnership, Edwards hired him to do the music for his 1961 film, "Breakfast at Tiffany's". He and lyricist Johnny Mercer wrote "Moon River" for a reflective scene with Audrey Hepburn, and the song became a huge hit. Andy Williams' cover outsold the original, and "Moon River" eventually became one of the biggest sellers of the 1960s, with over 500 covers.

Mancini and Mercer repeated the feat in 1962 with the theme song to Edwards' "The Days of Wine and Roses." Both songs won Oscars. Mancini then provided two memorable instrumental singles for the films "Hatari" ("Baby Elephant Walk") and "The Pink Panther" ("The Pink Panther Theme"). By early 1964, Mancini had become the best known and most successful film composer around.

Mancini's knack with songwriting often overshadowed his talents as a composer. He wrote for a wide variety of genres, from western to slapstick comedy, from sensitive dramas to musicals. He often experimented with unusual instrumentation, such as a steam-driven calliope for "Baby Elephant Walk," the cymbalum in "Experiment in Terror," sitars and fuzz guitars in "Arabesque," and aboriginal percussion in his score for the television miniseries, "The Thorn Birds."

He continued to concentrate on film scoring until the early 1980s. He scored all of the Pink Panther sequels and most of Blake Edwards' other films. He also became active as a conductor, appearing with a number of symphonies and leading the Fourth of July concert on the Capitol grounds through most of the 1980s. He also recorded over 40 albums for RCA until 1978, winning a total of 20 Grammys, 7 gold records, and 4 Oscars. His cover of the "Theme from 'Romeo and Juliet'" was the #1 single of 1969 and won the Grammy for Best Song for that year.

Mancini's work has inspired many of today's generation of lounge musicians. Over 20 bands collaborated on the 1996 tribute CD, Shots in the Dark, and bands such as Oranj Symphonette, Joey Altruda, and Combustible Edison have covered and paid their own tributes to Mancini's music."

(biography from the Space Age Pop Music Page)

Moon of Manakoora (The Sounds and Voices of Henry Mancini, 1957) 2'50
Background to Murder (Touch of Evil, 1958) 7'21
Tipsy (Mr. Lucky, 1959) 2'30
Bijou (The Mancini Touch, 1960) 3'09
Lujon (Mr. Lucky Goes Latin, 1961) 2'38
The Sounds of Hatari (Hatari!, 1961) 6'40
Village Party (Bachelor in Paradise, 1961) 2'15
Cream Puff (instrumental) (Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, 1962) 2'24
Barn Swallow (Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, 1962) 2'38
Final Out at Candlestick Park (Experiment in Terror, 1962) 3'01
The Hot Canary (Uniquely Mancini, 1963) 2'43
Mambo Parisienne (Charade, 1963) 2'32
Shades of Sennett (The Pink Panther, 1963) 1'24
Senor Peter Gunn (The Latin Sound of Henry Mancini, 1965) 2'41
Tarantella Mozzarella (What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, 1966) 1'59
The Chaser (Two for the Road, 1967) 2'34
The Doll Again (Wait Until Dark, 1967) 3'21
Theme from 'The White Dawn' (The White Dawn, 1974) 3'16
The White Dawn Suite (The White Dawn, 1974) 11'37
Cat and Mouse (Victor / Victoria, 1982) 3'18

total time: 70'51

All tunes composed by Henry Mancini (1924-1994), exc. 1 by Alfred Newman.
Arrangements by Henry Mancini.

Compiled by Lucky.
Source photo for cover from Mornings on Maple Street (l to r: Henry Mancini, Craig Stevens and Lola Albright, working on the music to the TV-series 'Peter Gunn').
Orchestra photo from the 3-CD-Box 'The Days of Wine and Roses' (RCA/BMG 1995).

Download [ various sources | mp3-192kb/s, 102 MB ]

Slant (1993)

2011-06-05T00:37:00.013+02:00

Sound Language #SLCD0001 (1993)

Slant - Slant

Not a lot of info out there - but don't let that put you off!

The second installment of Slant at the Hut. This is the follow up to Hive, released on the Sound Language label. Jeck's loops and scratchy orchestral turntable fragments glue together the sound collage of distant song, or is it performance art!

Whatever - there is something decidedly English about the results ;)

1. Dancing In Doorways

2. Cloud Eyes

3. Beach

4. Short Life Housing

5. Lonely House

6. Dubh

7. Anthem

8. Tenement Courtyard

9. Dark Blues

Total time 68:10 mins

Philip Jeck - Turntables

Cris Cheek - Voice, Clarinet, Other (Jawsharp)

Sianed Jones - Voice, Violin, Keyboards

Dean Broderick - Clavinet [tracks: 1, 5, 8]

Ann Day - Drums [tracks: 7]

Max Eastley - Arc [tracks: 1, 5, 8]

Andy Cowton - Percussion [tracks: 2 to 4, 6]

Cd rip | 320 kb/s | scans | 126mb

Henry Kaiser - Ice Death (1977)

2011-06-01T00:41:00.011+02:00

[LP: Parachute, USA, 1977; #P-005]

"This astonishing work from the California avant-garde guitarist features appearances from Eugene Chadbourne, Evan Cornog, John Gruntfest, Henry Kuntz, Loren Means, Chris Muir, John Oswald, and Laurel Sprigg in what is considered to be one of his finest works of the '70s. His love of Captain Beefheart is declared from the get-go with a version of the exquisite miniature "Dali's Car," which is given a vaguely avant-garde vamp yet remains respectful to the original.

From there on, the unorthodox techniques and inspired extended guitar playing he later refined on his landmark albums Outside Pleasure and Aloha: Studio Solo are shaped into a series of short vignettes. Giving an almost pop feel to highly experimental techniques, Henry Kaiser goes above and beyond the expectations of guitar as the world knows it with this release."

(Dean McFarlane @ allmusic)

Henry Kaiser, ca. 1979
(from the cover of the solo-album 'Outside Pleasure')

Henry Kaiser: electric guitar (A1-7, B4-9), acoustic guitar (A8, B1-3)
John Oswald: alto saxophone (A2, A6, B2-4, B6, B8)
John Gruntfest: alto saxophone (A8)
Henry Kuntz: tenor saxophone (A2-6, B2-4, B7)
Loren Means: trombone (B5, B7)
Evan Cornog: electric guitar (A1)
Eugene Chadbourne: acoustic guitar (B1)
Chris Muir: electric guitar (B9)
Laurel Sprigg: cello, vocals (A3, A4, A7)

Side A

Kaiser / Cornog - Dali's Car (1'17)
Kaiser / Oswald / Kuntz - From the Heart (3'23)
Kaiser / Kuntz / Sprigg - Trio 19 (1'25)
Kaiser / Kuntz / Sprigg - Trio 242 (4'52)
Kaiser / Kuntz - Ice Death (2'07)
Kaiser / Oswald / Kuntz - Harry the Possum (2'29)
Kaiser / Sprigg - Blue Dolphin (10'13)
Kaiser / Gruntfest - Duo 06 (2'06)

Side B

Kaiser / Chadbourne - Wind Crystals (15'03)
Kaiser / Oswald / Kuntz - Trio SC1 (1'16)
Kaiser / Oswald / Kuntz - Happy Hour (1'37)
Kaiser / Oswald / Kuntz - Trio SC5 (1'39)
Kaiser / Means - Duo 07 (1'48)
Kaiser / Oswald - Old Missouri (1'10)
Kaiser / Kuntz / Means - Welcome Space Friends (1'21)
Kaiser / Oswald - Victoria B.C. (3'40)
Kaiser / Muir - Bagpipes (1'07)

total time: 56'33

All compositions by Henry Kaiser, exc. A1 by Don Van Vliet (Cpt. Beefheart), B1 by Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith and B9 by Béla Bartók ("Violin Duo #36").

Download [ vinyl-rip | mp3-192kb/s | 78 MB ]
thanks to the original uploader!

dave schramm - folk und die folgen

2011-05-19T07:07:00.027+02:00

Limited edition German-only solo release from the leader of the criminally unknown Schramms of New York City, a great songwriter and guitar player, sweet and sad, plain and simple. Also included are two songs from Radio Free Song Club, a monthly webcast of exclusive tracks from old favorites like Peter Blegvad, Peter Holsapple and Freedy Johnston as well as Schramm, who's also lead guitarist in the RFSC All Stars house band. Finally, Fade Fade, an epic outtake from The Schramms' One Hundred Questions CD, produced by J.D. Foster of Richard Buckner's best long players, from the band's website.

dave schramm
folk und die folgen
normal / return to sender rts 6 (1994)

01 A Woman's Name
02 Talking To Me Poor
03 Little American Hymn
04 Number Nineteen
05 Sister Rose
06 Sweet William
07 I Saw Him Fall
08 The Stars Come Out For Everyone But Him
09 Wurlitzerville
10 Long Story Short
11 Something Went Wrong
12 Fade Fade

cd @320, downloads @192

f*p @ 45 tours

2011-05-19T05:05:00.022+02:00

A little skronk for the jukebox at the local pub, here are two of six 45s released by F*P between 1972 and '75. Bah, bah, bleep, squeeeeeeeeeeeeee $(*#()){F!F!CR>$F!!! The Globe Unity is interesting because it actually is a take on the classic single, with a jovial, catchy plug side and a moody flip, treating Jenkins' lush Good Bye with great love and respect, incendiary Brötzmann and all.

f*p @ 45 tours 1973-5

01 Einheitsfrontlied Part 1 - (Eisler) - ҒМР S-3a 1973
02 Einheitsfrontlied Part 2 - (Eisler) - ҒМР S-3b 1973
03 Bavarian Calypso - (Schlippenbach) - ҒМР S-6 1975
04 Good Bye - (Gordon Jenkins) - ҒМР S-6 1975

01-2 Brötzman Van Hove Bennink
03-4 Globe Unity Orchestra

vinyl @320

howard tate @ 45 tours plus

2011-05-19T03:51:00.031+02:00

Howard Tate's monaural Verve 45s from Hip-O Select, non-hits from Turntable and Atlantic, a one-off Epic 45 from 1974, independent singles from 1976 and 1986, plus album selects. His voice is one in a million, with great songs and production by Jerry Ragavoy and Lloyd Price. I've taken the liberty of moving the songs I don't particularly care for to the end of the line, for your (my) listening pleasure. Don't miss the beautiful Either Side Of The Same Town (Jerry Ragovoy/Elvis Costello) from Tate's comeback CD, following decades lost in a perilous wilderness.

howard tate @ 45 tours plus 1966-2004

01 Ain't Nobody Home - Verve 10420a - June 1966
02 How Come My Bulldog Don't Bark? - Verve 10420b - June 1966
03 Look At Granny Run Run - Verve 10464a - December 1966
04 Half A Man - Verve 10464b - December 1966
05 Get It While You Can - Verve 10496a - March 1967
06 Glad I Knew Better - Verve 10496b - March 1967
07 Baby, I Love You - Verve 10525a - May 1967
08 I Learned It All The Hard Way - Verve 10567a - August 1967
09 Part-Time Love - Verve 10567b - August 1967
10 Stop - Verve 10573a - December 1967
11 Shoot 'Em All Down - Verve 10573b - December 1967
12 Everyday I Have The Blues - Verve 10604a - June 1968
13 Little Volcano - Reaction LP - Turntable 5002 - 1969
14 That's What Happens - Turntable 505a - 1969
15 What'll I Do? - Reaction LP - Turntable 5002 - 1969
16 My Soul's Got A Hole In It - Turntable 508a - 1969
17 These Are The Things That Make Me Know You're Gone - Turntable 505b - 1969
18 Keep Cool - Atlantic 2836a - 1971
19 8 Days On The Road - Atlantic 2894a - 1971
20 You Don't Know Nothing 'Bout Love - Atlantic 2860b - 1971
21 Girl Of The North Country - Atlantic 2894b - 1971
22 I'm A Man - (unreleased 1972-3)
23 Ain't Got Nobody To Give It To - Epic 5-11118a - 1974
24 Can You Top This? - Epic 5-11118b - 1974
25 Either Side Of The Same Town - Rediscovered CD - Private Music 60297-2 - 2004
26 Sorry, Wrong Number - Rediscovered CD - Private Music 60297-2 - 2004
27 All I Know Is The Way I Feel - Rediscovered CD - Private Music 60297-2 - 2004
28 Get It While You Can - Rediscovered CD - Private Music 60297-2 - 2004
29 How Blue Can You Get? - Verve 10525b - May 1967
30 Night Owl - Verve 10604b - June 1968
31 Sweet Love Child - Verve 10625a - November 1968
32 I'm Your Servant - Verve 10625b - November 1968
33 Give Me Some Courage - (unreleased March-April 1968)
34 Brand New Me - HT 001a - 1976
35 Pride - HT 001b - 1976
36 Sweetness - TBF 101a - 1986
37 One Armed Bandit - TBF 101b - 1986

vinyl, cd @320

Accordions over Europe - A Lucky Selection (1991-2008)

2011-04-19T12:06:00.007+02:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #023]

European music focused on the accordion, almost entirely, but not exclusively.

Otto Lechner with Das 1. strenge Kammerorchester "Alabama Song" (Weill) (Austria, 1991) 2'53
Hans Hassler + Gebhard Ullmann "Oergarden's What?" (Switzerland, Germany, 1991) 3'03
Lars Hollmer "Franska Valsen" (Sweden, 1993) 2'37
Bratko Bibič "Sackamra (Aus der Schatzkammer des Unbewussten)" (Slovenia, 1995) 5'50
Pago Libre "Seconds" (Brennan) (Austria, Ireland, Italy, Russia, 1995) 5'09
Roberta Possamai with Il Gran Teatro Amaro "Elende Welt ich scheiss auf Dich" (Cambuzat) (France, Italy, The Netherlands, 1995) 3'34
Teodoro Anzellotti "Dialog über Luft" (Globokar) (Italy, Germany, 1995) 9'01
Les Reines Prochaines "Die Turnerin" (Switzerland, 1998) 4'32
Kimmo Pohjonen "Kielo" (Finland, 1999) 2'55
Ich schwitze nie "Freunde der Sehnsucht" (Germany, 2000) 3'23
Robert Zollitsch "Pagadyrin" (Germany, 2000) 3'01
Motion Trio "Little Story" (Poland, 2000) 4'18
Sväng "Jamapparaleele" (Finland, 2004) 3'55
Maria Kalaniemi "So Shimmering" (Finland, 2005) 4'43
Aki Peltonen "Orchestra, accordion and MW-radio #1" (Finland, 2006) 5'35
Siggi Haider with AkkoSax "Pandarus" (Austria, 2007) 4'17
Mariana Sadovska + Borderland "Drinking Song" (Ukraine, Germany, 2008) 3'39
Jean-Louis Matinier "Amischa" (France, 2008) 2'26

total time: 74'51

Compiled by Lucky "Squeezo".

Picture part on the cover from a promo photo of Otto Lechner, taken from the homepage of Engelhardt Promotions.

Download [ CD-rips | mp3-192kb/s | 102 MB ]

News for Lulu - The Originals (1955-61)

2011-03-20T17:16:00.015+01:00

[2CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #022]

"[...] Sonny Clark, Kenny Dorham, Hank Mobley, and Freddie Redd - unsung jazzmen associated with Blue Note Records in the late fifties and early sixties, a period and a sound now being driven into the dust by solemn young neoclassical hard-boppers. [...]"

(from an article about John Zorn by Francis Davis, 1991
@ The Atlantic Online)

CD 1

Kenny Dorham Sextet "KD's Motion" (1955) 5'29
Hank Mobley Quintet "Funk in Deep Freeze" (1957) 6'51
Freddie Redd Quintet "Melanie" (1960) 5'08
Sonny Clark Quintet "Melody for C" (1961) 7'52
Kenny Dorham / Ernie Henry Quartet "Lotus Blossom" (1957) 5'25
Sonny Clark Quintet "Eastern Incident" (1957) 8'15
Hank Mobley / Lee Morgan Quintet "Peckin' Time" (1958) 6'52
Freddie Redd Quintet "Blues-Blues-Blues" (1960) 6'02

CD 2

Sonny Clark Quintet "Blue Minor" (1958) 10'21
Hank Mobley Quartet "This I Dig of You" (1960) 6'27
Kenny Dorham Sextet "Venita's Dance" (1955) 5'22
Sonny Clark Sextet "News for Lulu" (1957) 8'37
Freddie Redd Quintet "Olé" (1960) 6'26
Sonny Clark Sextet "Sonny's Crib" (1957) 13'31
Donald Byrd Quintet "Hank's Other Tune (Late Show)" (1955) 7'34
Kenny Dorham Quintet "Windmill" (1961) 6'19

total time: 116'31

All compositions by the respective ensemble leader, exc. 1/5 by Kenny Dorham and 1/7 + 2/7 by Hank Mobley.

Compiled by Lucky, following the selection + order on the CD 'News for Lulu' by John Zorn, George Lewis, Bill Frisell (Hat Hut, Switzerland, 1990; #hat ART CD 6005).

Cover picture: (from l to r) Alice Roberts, Louise Brooks (as Lulu) and Fritz Kortner, from G. W. Pabst's silent movie 'Die Büchse der Pandora' / 'Pandora's Box' (Germany 1929); scan from Dr. Macro's High Quality Movie Scans.

Blue Note cover scans (reduced) from the Japanese website Vintage Vanguard.

Sources

Sonny Clark
- 2/4, 2/6: Sonny's Crib (Blue Note BLP 1576)
Donald Byrd (tp) Curtis Fuller (tb) John Coltrane (ts) Sonny Clark (p) Paul Chambers (b) Art Taylor (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, September 1, 1957
- 2/1: Cool Struttin' (Blue Note BLP 1588)
Art Farmer (tp) Jackie McLean (as) Sonny Clark (p) Paul Chambers (b) Philly Joe Jones (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, January 5, 1958
- 1/6: Cool Struttin', Vol. 2 (Blue Note Japan K18P 9279)
Clifford Jordan (ts) Sonny Clark (p) Kenny Burrell (g) Paul Chambers (b) Pete LaRoca (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, December 8, 1957
- 1/4: Leapin' and Lopin' (Blue Note BLP 4091)
Tommy Turrentine (tp) Charlie Rouse (ts) Sonny Clark (p) Butch Warren (b) Billy Higgins (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, November 13, 1961

Kenny Dorham
- 1/1, 2/3: Afro-Cuban (Blue Note BLP 1535)
Kenny Dorham (tp) Hank Mobley (ts) Cecil Payne (bars) Horace Silver (p) Percy Heath (b) Art Blakey (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, January 30, 1955
- 2/8: Whistle Stop (Blue Note BLP 4063)
Kenny Dorham (tp) Hank Mobley (ts) Kenny Drew (p) Paul Chambers (b) Philly Joe Jones (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, January 15, 1961
- 1/5: Kenny Dorham/Ernie Henry - 2 Horns / 2 Rhythm (Riverside RLP 12-255)
Kenny Dorham (tp, p) Ernie Henry (as) Eddie Mathias (b) G.T. Hogan (d)
NYC, November 13, 1957

Hank Mobley
- 1/2: Hank Mobley Quintet (Blue Note BLP 1550)
Art Farmer (tp) Hank Mobley (ts) Horace Silver (p) Doug Watkins (b) Art Blakey (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, March 8, 1957
- 1/7: Hank Mobley/Lee Morgan - Peckin' Time (Blue Note BLP 1574)
Lee Morgan (tp) Hank Mobley (ts) Wynton Kelly (p) Paul Chambers (b) Charlie Persip (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Hackensack, NJ, February 9, 1958
- 2/2: Soul Station (Blue Note BLP 4031)
Hank Mobley (ts) Wynton Kelly (p) Paul Chambers (b) Art Blakey (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, February 7, 1960

Freddie Redd
- 1/3, 1/8, 2/5: Shades Of Redd (Blue Note BLP 4045)
Jackie McLean (as) Tina Brooks (ts) Freddie Redd (p) Paul Chambers (b) Louis Hayes (d)
Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, August 13, 1960

Donald Byrd
- 2/7: Byrd's Eye View (Transition TRLP 4)
Donald Byrd (tp) Hank Mobley (ts) Horace Silver (p) Doug Watkins (b) Art Blakey (d)
Cambridge, MA, December 2, 1955

Discographical information from the Jazz Discography Project.

Download [ CD-rips | mp3-192kb/s, 163 MB ]

Doo-Wop Reflex - 25 Classics (1948-1959)

2011-03-01T15:36:00.009+01:00

[CD: CUT*OUT, 2007; Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #021]

"Defining The Doo Wop Era

Everybody has their own idea about what exactly is the era of the R&B vocal groups - is it just whenever a record in this style was released?, or specifically the 1950s as many use to simplify the term? or the time between the end of the big bands and the rise of the Beatles? I have my own set of parameters and although some may disagree and include earlier or later times as part of this age, I feel this is as good as any and can make a case for my time zone.

I have simply defined this era as the time between two record releases in this style. The beginning is The Orioles 'It's Too Soon To Know' on It's A Natural in 1948, and the release of 'On Lover's Island' by The Blue Jays on Milestone in 1961. To me these 13 years are the defining moments of the doo wop era.

The difference of the Orioles tune from previous ones done by The Ravens, Delta Rhythm Boys and others, was that the Orioles took the stylings popularized by the Ink Spots a step further out of the pop music mold into a new territory. They most certainly were not geared to the acceptance of the white listening public and because of the release on an independent label, were geared toward the Black community. This step 'out of the shadow' led to the great influence of the group on young practitioners in Black neighborhoods all over the country. Where once they listened hard to the Ink Spots to get every nuance of style and performance, the group of choice was now the Orioles. Building on this foundation, subsequent vocalists gave a harder more rhythmic edge to their songs, that by 1953 the accented 2/4 beat and the piano triplets were now the signature sound of doo wop. From 1953 through 1955, this was the true 'golden age' of this music. The Penguins, Clyde & The Drifters, Moonglows, Nutmegs, Midnighters, and Five Royales were supreme as were so many other vocal groups. This style caught on with young listeners and was a favorite of the Moondog radio show and vocal groups comprised the major part of all in person shows of this music.

In 1956 the phenomenal success of Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers stated once and for all that this was the music of young America (the Motown slogan of the 60s). As the listening age dropped younger, so did the age of the performers and soon every teenage quartet was cutting a record. For proof look at any big collection of records in this style and you will see the proliferation of releases from 1956. Teen idols and the look of American Bandstand took hold in 1957, and the classic doowop style was fading under the avalanche of pompadours and white bucks. By 1959 a teenaged Phil Spector was honing his vision of American pop music and the dramatics and bombast of 'There Goes My Baby' by The Drifters set the music off into a new direction. By the early 60s, the Twist and other dance-of-the-day tunes had almost buried doo wop save for the Jive Five, Marcelles, Dreamlovers, and Zodiacs. [...]"

(J. C. Marion @ Doo Wop Nation e-zine issue # 3)

record label picture from Harmony Heaven

Sonny Til + The Orioles "It's Too Soon To Know" (It's A Natural/Jubilee, 1948)
Larry Darnell "For You My Love" (Regal, 1949)
The Barons "Forever" (Modern, 1951)
Roscoe Gordon "No More Doggin'" (RPM, 1952)
Shirley + Lee "I'm Gone" (Aladdin, 1952)
5 Crowns "Why Don't You Believe Me" (Rainbow, 1953)
Love Notes "I'm Sorry" (Riviera, 1954)
The El Dorados "Baby I Need You" (Veejay, 1954)
Mello-Tones "I'm Just Another One In Love With You" (Decca, 1954)
Rivileers "Carolyn" (Baton, 1954)
The Holidays "Irene" (Specialty, 1954)
The Castelles "Over A Cup Of Coffee" (Grand, 1954)
The Rainbows "Evening" (Red Robin, 1955)
Ramblers "Bad Girl" (MGM, 1955)
Nolan Strong + The Diablos "The Way You Dog Me Around" (Fortune, 1955)
The Dodgers "Cat Hop" (Aladdin , 1955)
The Royaltones "Latin Love" (Old Town, 1956)
Wynona Carr "Please Mr. Jailer" (Specialty, 1956)
Cornel Gunter + The Ermines "I'm So Used To You Now" (Loma, 1956)
The Tempters "I'll See You Next Fall" (Empire, 1956)
The Robins "Out Of The Picture" (Whippet, 1956)
Smiley Lewis "Down Yonder We Got Ballin'" (Imperial, 1956)
The Suburbans "I Remember" (Baton, 1956)
The Mello-Kings "Chapel On The Hill" (Herald, 1957)
The Royal Holidays "Down In Cuba" (Herald, 1959)

total time: 69'02

Compiled by Lucky in 2007 from tracks posted at Doo Wop Café.
The cover contains parts from the Free Reflexology Foot Map.

Download [ mp3-192kb/s, 95 MB ]
thanks to all original uploaders!

Lucky presents The Mixed Bridge (1981-2010)

2011-02-19T00:53:00.006+01:00

[CD: Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #020]

Resia Valley Music - Ta Lipawska (Lipovaz's music) (1995)
Anatol Stefanet - Doina ciobaneasca (1997)
Petar Ralchev + Stoyan Yankulov - As if in a Joke (2002)
Shirley Anne Hofmann - Auf dem Drahtseil (2000)
Shirley Anne Hofmann's Euphoria - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (1995)
Jessica Lurie Ensemble - Circus Rain (2009)
Phillip Johnston's Big Trouble - Pontius Pilate Polka (1996)
Anton Bruhin - Deux (2010)
Spiridon Shishigin - Tabahyt yryata (2006)
Hans Reichel - For Those Who Love Propellers (1994)
Willem Breuker - Imaginary Symphony of the Air (1994)
Michael Riessler, Elise Caron, Pierre Charial, Jean-Louis Matinier - Je me souviens (2000)
Valentin Clastrier + Alan 'Gunga' Purves - Et la roue de la vie (2010)
Epic Soundtracks + Robert Wyatt - Jelly, Babies (1981)
God Is My Co-Pilot, John Zorn + Andy Haas - Scratch + Sniff (1993)
Sonny Sharrock Band - The Past Adventures of Zydeco Honeycup (1987)

time: 70'00

Compiled + mixed by Lucky, February 2011.

Download [ mp3-192kb/s | 1 track | 97 MB ]
thanks to paramo, gidouille, Miguel, VPRO, etc.

horoya band national @ 45 tours

2011-02-16T10:25:00.030+01:00

I've always believed that the very best Syliphone stuff is on the singles, so here's another collection from far and near. Some sound clean, others nasty, but they're all here, including five consecutive singles from 1974 and three tracks from the annual Discotheque hits series that were not released as 45s. For the like-minded, check out this bootleg cassette with what seem to be Syliphone outtakes. Great ones. Flinstonian sound quality, but still..!

horoya band national @ 45 tours
the complete syliphone singles 1969-74

01 511a Takoulata 4.07
02 511b Autorail 3.59
03 512a Semba 2.36
04 512b N'Banlassouro 3.11
05 535a Apollo 3.47
06 535b Hombressa 2.38
07 546a Karan-Gbegne 4.04
08 546b Karangba 3.34
09 557a Baya 4.50
10 557b Souko Bayo 6.45
11 558a Kanimba 6.35
12 558b Wère Wère 5.11
13 559a Koulia 5.30
14 559b Malamini 5.16
15 560a N'Maderi Wola 6.10
16 560b N'Na La Kassi 4.15
17 561b Ni Bara Tila 5.34
18 561a Deri Magni 6.32
19 Artistes 7.17
20 Daba 4.22
21 Sasilon 9.08

vinyl, cd, downloads @320

paul bley trio plus john gilmore - turns

2011-02-16T10:23:00.019+01:00

March 9, 1964 session featuring John Gilmore on tenor sax. Bley released some of this on his own IAI label in 1975 and the rest appeared on a Savoy new music anthology, but this Michael Cuscuna vinyl, which slipped out just as LP racks were being reconfigured for longbox CDs, has everything in one place. In glorious mono, with mono cover art to match.

paul bley trio plus john gilmore
turns
savoy jazz sjl 1192 (1987)

01 Around Again (Carla Bley) 5.41
02 Calls (Carla Bley) 6.15
03 King Korn (Carla Bley) 6.05
04 Ida Lupino (alt) (Carla Bley) 5.23
05 Ida Lupino (Carla Bley) 5.04
06 Syndrome (Carla Bley) 6.36
07 Turns (Paul Bley) 6.36
08 Ictus (Carla Bley) 4.12

Paul Bley / John Gilmore / Gary Peacock / Paul Motian
recorded in mono @ mirasound in new york city march 9, 1964

vinyl @320

the legendary stardust cowboy on mercury 1968

2011-02-16T10:05:00.035+01:00

The Legendary Stardust Cowboy's three Mercury 45s along with some Ohio obscurities a discerning record store pal in Cleveland squirreled away for me long long ago. Both Angel and Claire were local lounge Sinatras, the former liable to scare off even the wildest divorcée with his deranged BANG! BANG! BANG! scatting. Ernest & D.L. bring outsider art into the 80s, while Zahorchak is in an orbit all his own. Total WHAT, Jones?! Finally, a perfect photo of our hero in Vegas, dressed for success, from the interwebs.

01 Paralyzed - Mercury 72862a
02 Who's Knocking At My Door - Mercury 72862b
03 I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship - Mercury 72891a
04 Down In The Wrecking Yard - Mercury 72891b
05 Kiss And Run - Mercury 72912a
06 Everything's Getting Bigger But Our Love - Mercury 72912b
07 Cleveland's A Winner! - Tom Claire
08 Singles - Johnny Angel
09 Night Time Girl - Johnny Angel
10 I Wake Up And It Rains - Alan Zahorchak
11 End Up Losing - Alan Zahorchak
12 Moon Child - Ernest & D.L. Rocco
13 Count Terry Devine - Ernest & D.L. Rocco

vinyl @320

Robert Ashley - Music Word Fire and I Would Do It Again (Coo Coo)

2011-01-08T05:53:00.007+01:00

By request, The Lessons, 28 one minute pieces for television derived from songs in The Bank, Part 3 of Perfect Lives (Private Parts) an opera for television. I'm not quite sure how those 28 one minute pieces are extracted from the four tracks here, they aren't included in the opera proper but they do add up to about that duration. This is a strangely seductive album of repetitive chanted phrases over intricate rhythm beds of keyboards and percussion. Each track represents a separate character in the opera. Notable for truly superb prepared piano by Blue Gene Tyranny.

01. Isolde (Marie Isolde)
02. Raoul de Noget (No-Zhay)
03. Buddy
04. The Captain of the Football Team (Donnie)

Music and words by Robert Ashley

Robert Ashley, Jill Kroesen, David Van Tieghem - vocals
John Sanborn added to the Boogie Woogie Chorus
Blue Gene Tyranny - Prepared piano (solos), polymoog, organ, vocoder
Peter Gordon - Arp string ensemble, Prophet 5, vocoder, live processing
David Van Tieghem - drums, synare, vocal percussion

Ennio Morricone - A Fistful of Scores (1964-1975)

2011-01-05T00:48:00.008+01:00

[CD: CUT*OUT, 2007 / Lucky Psychic Hut, 2011; #019]

"[...] His way of composing for popular movies will partly be a result of the years that the artist spent arranging more or less all the great popular musical successes of Italy in the beginning of the sixties. Of course, both activities, that of arranger of variety and that of film music composer, are quite different in the way of working and in the imposed constraints. However, Morricone will sometimes include in his partitions for the cinema some of the musical solutions he had developed during the years of intense creative activity when he started as a musical arranger.

At about the same time, he began to work with prestigious collaborators, among whom the chorus I Cantori Moderni di Alessandro Alessandroni (including remarkable voice soloists like Gianna Spagnulo and Edda Dell'Orso) but also guitarist Bruno Battisti d'Amario, trumpet player Michele Lacerenza, harmonica player Franco de Gemini, violonist Dino Asciola, etc... All had an immense talent, and it wasn't a coincidence. It was the post-war period in Italy, and the competition was hard among the many artists who hoped to be brought to light. Besides, the recording techniques were still rudimentary and did not allow correcting the errors of the musicians. Therefore, the musicians had to be excellent performers so that the first take would be the right one, since they knew that Morricone was very demanding (they were musicians who knew how to interpret the exact sound texture that he had imagined, an essential component of his personal style) and that there were ten other musicians waiting to take their job if they weren't good enough.

The match between Morricone and his performers became so perfect when years went by that he composed more and more while having already in mind who would perform his scores. This was important for the tone and the color that he wanted to give to the final result, but also because, knowing the level of virtuosity of his soloists, he knew which limits to impose to the complexity of the pieces to play. This perfect symbiosis between Morricone and his musicians explains why it is impossible to dissociate his melodies from his arrangements. Nothing tops the original recordings of that time. [...]"

(from an essay by Patrick Ehresmann, translated by Didier Thunus @ Chi Mai)

Quasi morto [Per un pugno di dollari, 1964] 1'41"
La prima vittima [Svegliati e uccidi, 1966] 2'23"
La corrida [La resa dei conti, 1967] 1'52
Tema per le Goff [Le clan des Siciliens, 1969] 3'12
Sensi [Un bellissimo novembre, 1969] 2'46
Rapimento in campo aperto [La moglie piu' bella, 1970] 1'24"
Titoli [Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto, 1970] 3'27"
Marcia degli accatoni [Giu' la testa, 1971] 4'55"
Dissociazione [Il gatto a nove code, 1971] 2'45"
Tempi di lavorazione [La classe operaia va in paradiso, 1971] 4'05"
A lucio fulci [Una lucertola con la pelle di donna, 1971] 5'28"
Raccapriccio [Cosa avete fatto a Solange?, 1972] 2'31"
Titoli [Un uomo da rispettare, 1973] 11'39"
Sequenza 10 [Sesso in confessionale, 1974] 2'51
Rampimento [Milano odia: la polizia non puo' sparare, 1974] 15'27"
Azioneparanoica [Peur sur la ville, 1975] 4'13"

total time: 70'52

All tracks composed + orchestrated by Ennio Morricone.
1, 8, 12, 14-16 conducted by Ennio Morricone,
2-7, 9-11 conducted by Bruno Nicolai,
13 conducted by Nicola Samale.

Discographical information from Sean Mallory's extensive Morricone discography @ A Fistful of Soundtracks.
Compiled by Lucky.

Download [ various sources | mp3-192kb/s, 98 MB ]