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ALBERT MANGELSDORFF QUARTET – Diggin' Live At DUG, Tokyo 1971 (CD-1991)

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Label: Three Blind Mice – TBM CD 2505
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Limited Edition, Remastered, Special Edition + bonus track
Country: Germany/Japan - Released: 1991
Style: Free Jazz
Recorded Live At DUG, Tokyo On February 15, 1971
Produced for Three Blind Mice Records, Inc.
Producer: Horst Weber originally produced for three blind mice in Tokyo
Supervisor: Takeshi 'Tee' Fujii
Recording and Digital Transfer Engineer was Yoshihiko Kannari
(Digital transfer was done on February 7, 1991)
Cover Photos: Hozumi Nakadaira; Cover Design: Ben Nishizawa

Track 3 "Boston Highway" does not appear on LP configuration.


Album Notes:

The master of multiphonics (playing more than one note at a time on a horn), Albert Mangelsdorff has been a giant of the European avant-garde for the past 30 years. He originally studied violin and worked as a jazz guitarist before taking up the trombone in 1948.

Here he is taped live at a concert in Tokyo with what was then his regular quartet: Heinz Sauer on sax, Günter Lenz on bass, and Ralf Hübner on drums.

There's a very nice blend between the leader's agile but smooth horn and the somewhat more gnarly tenor sax of Sauer, who tosses in rhythm and blues licks in much the manner of Archie Shepp. The rhythm section provides an open, loose, and flowing feel to the four extended pieces. Most of the second side is given over to "Mahüsale," a piece improvised spontaneously by the members of the group and an excellent example of this kind of musical activity.

_ By EUGENE CHADBOURNE (for AMG)



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BUTCHER / DURRANT / LOVENS / MALFATTI / RUSSELL – News From The Shed (2005)

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Label: Emanem – 4121
Format: CD, Album, Reissue Country: UK - Released: 2005
Style: Free Improvisation
Digital studio recording made in London - 1989 February 22.
Tracks 1 - 10 originally issued in 1989 as Acta LP 4
Tracks 11 - 14 previously unissued
Artwork By [Cover Sculpture] – David Tinn
Producer [Technical] – Matthew Hutchinson
Recorded By – Marc Hunt

Emanem CD re-issue of LP originally released on Acta. With extra 20 minutes of unreleased material from the original session.

With the hindsight afforded by 17 years, "News from the Shed" seems astoundingly prescient; if you looked on a map for the place where European free improvisation branched out into more compositionally based strategies, electro-acoustic and lower-case improv, this 1989 session was the crossroads.


Originally issued on John Butcher ’ s Acta label in 1989, this is an extremely valuable – and wonderfully creative – reissue. Featuring an intense, attentive quintet – Butcher on tenor and soprano, Phil Durrant on violin and electronics, Paul Lovens on percussion and saw, Radu Malfatti on trombone, and the marvelous John Russell on acoustic guitar – this is as good as it gets for London improv during this period.

The music doesn ’ t simply barrel forward carelessly, though it does have periods where the momentum is overwhelming: listen to the fairly hot “ Mean Time ” and “ Weaves, ” with even the reserved Russell slashing away. But the players also don ’ t simply dot and dash with no sense of larger purpose, even though their restraint and economy impress. Rather, the sound morphs and changes color consistently, in a five-part conversation that is both coherent and surprising. Particularly delightful is the contrast between the horns (shifting between Butcher’s sputter and Malfatti’s garrulous chortles, so different from his self-effacing play these days) and the foundation of strings and percussion. The contrast is really pointed on the brief “ The Gabdash, ” where Russell – with intense choked harmonics – pinwheels between horn incisions, and on “ Reading the River, ” an essay in attack, decay and elongation where Butcher ’ s held tones frame the pointillism from Lovens and the subtle Durrant. And of course, there are plenty of passages that brim with gorgeous abstract textures, as on “ Everything Stops for Tea ” (with its intense soprano trilling) and “ Whisstrionics ” (where Lovens ’ intense saw cuts through the mix).

For music so deliberate and often reserved, there is an awful lot of exuberance and exhilaration here. And, as is customary for Emanem reissues, the initial session is padded out with additional tracks (here four extra slices, adding up to an extra twenty minutes, from the same session). Wonderful stuff, an essential reissue for improv fans.

_ By JASON BIVINS (Dusted Reviews, Nov. 5, 2006)


This welcome CD reissue of the original News From The Shed (released on vinyl on John Butcher's Acta label in 1989) features four previously unissued tracks. Long regarded as one of the finest examples of group free improvisation, the album's reputation has grown steadily. The quintet grew out of the existing trio of Butcher, Durrant and Russell. When Malfatti and Lovens joined them as guests for a short UK tour, it was soon clear that this was not a trio- plus-guests but a group; News From The Shed continued playing gigs until 1994.

It is particularly interesting to reassess this music in the light of developments in improvised music in the years since its first release. We can clearly hear roots of the variant strains of improv variously known as eai (electro-acoustic improvisation), lowercase, New London Silence, onkyo, Berlin reductionism, etc. Although there has been much cross-fertilisation and blurring of boundaries between these strains, their common characteristics include use of electronics, silences, very low volumes and small gestures, plus a lack of focus on individual virtuosity. As Butcher, Durrant and Malfatti have all had significant roles in these new developments, it is no surprise to hear roots here. (Indeed, Emanem proprietor Martin Davidson has stressed roots stretching back to the '70s work of John Stevens, Trevor Watts and Paul Rutherford; those variant strains came about through evolution, not revolution.)

There is plenty here that will be familiar territory to aficionados of improv; the cut and thrust of sections of "Kickshaws or "Sticks and Stones employ the methodology whereby any musical utterance requires a rapid response, leading to that familiar feeling of animated chatter. In contrast, tracks such as "Everything Stops For Tea and "Reading The River are far more sparse, with every gesture seemingly well-considered and laden with significance. Meanwhile, "Whisstrionics lies somewhere in between, busy but quietly so.

The four unissued tracks that have been added fit seamlessly with the original ten. All four are noticeably spare. "Coracle is so low-key it could be a product of New London Silence; the players create an atmosphere of tension that draws listeners in and keeps them in a state of heightened expectation. The result is thrilling listening.

Tellingly, Butcher says that the original tape of the album had to be remastered, as the quiet work was lost in the noise of the vinyl test pressing. Digital technology no longer makes that (such) a problem; today, it is far more likely to get lost in the general background noise of the world!

_  By JOHN EYLES, Published: February 23, 2006 (AAJ)



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GEORGE BURT / RAYMOND MacDONALD SEPTET featuring LOL COXHILL – The Great Shark Hunt (2005)

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Label: FMR Records – FMRCD165-0305
Format: CD, Album; Country: UK - Released: 2005
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded Sunday June 13th 2004 at East Kilbride Arts Centre 
Track 2 recorded February 26th 2005 at The Practice Pad, Maryhill
Cover design and artwork (reproduced above) by Ewan Rigg
Mixed By, Mastered By – D.P. Johnson
Producer – David Scott, George Burt, Raymond MacDonald
Producer [For FMR] – Trevor Taylor




Recorded in East Kilbride Arts Centre, this is the fifth chapter in the celebrated saxophonist Lol Coxhills adventures with Burt and MacDonald. This new recording features the hugely successful pianist Bill Wells along with the presiding genius of The One Ensemble - Daniel Padden, a stalwart of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Lol plays his bent soprano on this session (like a tiny alto) and features the first ever recorded duet between bandleaders George Burt and Raymond MacDonald.

_ FMR (2005)



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JACQUES DEMIERRE / BARRY GUY / LUCAS NIGGLI – Brainforest (2006)

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Label: Intakt Records – Intakt CD 107
Format: CD, Album; Country: Switzerland - Released: Feb 2006
Style: Free Improvisation
Recorded November 11, 2004 at Jazzclub Uster and Nov, 12, 2004 at Loft Cologne
Cover – Gerda Steiner, Jörg Lenzlinger
Design – Jonas Schoder
Liner Notes – Philipp Alan
Mastered By – Walti Schmid
Mixed By, Edited By – Willy Strehler
Photography By – Francesca Pfeffer
Recorded By – Stefan Deistler (tracks: 7), Willy Strehler (tracks: 1 to 6)




After five years of playing together, this fabulous trio has released its first album. Named after an installation by Swiss artists Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, it was recorded in November 2004 at Jazzclub Uster and Loft Cologne. All three musicians are Swiss-based, although Barry Guy, moves between Zurich and Ireland. They totally avoid any suggestion of a traditional jazz piano trio – partly, no doubt, because of their background in contemporary composition as well as free improvisation – and over seven immensely varied tracks show a passionate, egalitarian approach to trio improvisation. It's almost invidious to single out the role of the bass because the performances are so superbly integrated. We get an idea of what we're in for from the aural assault of Giardino calante, where Guy almost attacks the instrument. But the title track begins quietly in the depths, although with some higher register strummings from the bassist, and, as befits the title, builds almost imperceptibly into tangled thickets of intelligent improv. In the mournful La fuente de la jeventud, Guy's sonorous arco playing takes the lead. The quite brief, spiky Les envahisseurs is followed by Whalebalance, the longest track at 18 minutes, which begins with beautiful delicacy and restraint, with tiny tinkling sounds from piano and percussion, and Guy's bass pizzicato in the higl-iest registers, while his huge arco sound makes for an incandescent climax. This is a splendid album of the most penetrating and passionate kee improvisation.

_ By ANDY HAMILTON (Double Bass, Great Britain, Autumn 2006)




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SPONTANEOUS MUSIC ENSEMBLE – Frameworks, 1968,1971,1973 (CD-2007)

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Label: Emanem – 4134
Format: CD, Album; Country: UK - Released: 2007
Style: Free Improvisation
Track 1 recorded at London on July 14, 1968
Track 2 recorded at London on April 25, 1971
Track 3 recorded at London (Little Theatre Club) on October 11, 1973
Edited By, Mastered By, Design – Martin Davidson
Re-Design (pages 2, 3, 4 - inside) by ART&JAZZ Studio
Photography By – Jak Kilby
Transferred By [Analogue To Digital Transfer] – Paul Wilson

The history of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble is still full of undocumented lineups, revelations big and small, and other surprises. Case in point: Frameworks, a wonderful collection of previously unavailable recordings released by Emanem in early 2007. The three pieces included feature three different lineups, all improvising collectively from John Stevens' frameworks -- roughly-sketched sequences of events or directives aimed at developing group improvisation. The first lineup is documented here for the first time: Stevens (percussion), Trevor Watts (on bass clarinet instead of his trusty soprano sax), Kenny Wheeler (flugelhorn), Paul Rutherford (trombone), and jazz singer Norma Winstone. Their "Familie Sequence" (33 minutes) from July 1968 is a riveting, slow-churning performance opening on a gagaku-like tutti. Sound quality is surprisingly good for such an old unissued document. The second lineup was previously known, although only from a very badly pressed LP: Stevens, Watts, bassist Ron Herman, and singer Julie Tippetts (also playing an acoustic guitar). Their 30- minute "Quartet Sequence" (April 1971) is simply mesmerizing and stands as one of the SME's best performances by any lineup, period. The sonic similarities between Tippetts' voice and Watts' soprano sax are eerie, sending chills down your spine every time they happen to lock on the same note. Their dialogue steals the show, though Stevens and Herman never quite fall back into a typical rhythm section role. The shorter "Flower" (nine minutes) from October 1973 features the well-documented duo of Stevens and Watts in a performance announcing the heights of their Face to Face CD. However, after the two longer, denser, and voice-led pieces preceding it, "Flower" can't help sound like a footnote. That being said, it is no waste of time either. Frameworks is not very significant on a historical basis, but musically speaking, it ranks among the strongest SME collections, way up there alongside Quintessence. "Quartet Sequence" is alone worth the price of admission.

_ By François Couture


Increasingly, the Spontaneous Music Ensemble recordings released on Emanem (which now number ten CDs, not including Spontaneous Music Orchestra releases) resemble the pieces of a large and intricate jigsaw puzzle. The recordings span some twenty-eight years, at least twenty-five recording occasions ("sessions not being the appropriate word) and numerous line-ups—John Stevens being the only ever-present participant.

Despite this proliferation, each new release brings fresh insights into this vital and pioneering group. This CD adds three more key pieces to the jigsaw, its tracks dating from 1968, 1971 and 1973. The first two tracks are from the (relatively undocumented) period in the late '60s and early 70s, when vocals were an important component of SME. They feature some of the most beautiful music released by SME.

The frameworks of the album title refer to various concepts, with names such as "dot piece, and "phrase piece developed by John Stevens to help players into the relatively new format of free group improvising.

The opener, "Familie Sequence, employs a line-up that, including vocalist Norma Winstone, has not been previously heard on disc. With three wind instruments in addition to vocals, the line-up is perfect to employ two of Stevens' frameworks—the sustained piece (where each musician holds notes for as long as comfortable) and the click piece (where each note must be as short as possible.) After an introductory theme apparently influenced by Japanese court music, "Familie Sequence includes several of each framework plus freely improvised sections. This provides a structure that is more formal than usual for SME. Winstone and Kenny Wheeler are just as much jazz musicians as free improvisers, while Paul Rutherford is mainly an improviser. The structure facilitates group playing that makes such distinctions irrelevant.

Julie Tippetts was a member of SME for much of 1971, recording the out-of-print Birds of a Feather and 1.2.Albert Ayler with this line-up. "Quartet Sequence is a stunning track, characterized by interplay between all four players. Across its thirty minutes, there is great variety—from a highly complex but powerful rhythmic section through a sparse, mournfully atmospheric section in which Stevens plays glockenspiel and gong, to a closing click piece.

Shortly after Tippetts left, SME became the duo of Stevens and Watts. Their track here, "Flower, opens with some formal exchanges that are tightly controlled by another of Stevens' frameworks whereby two players could not play at the same time. The result consists of intermittent notes, immediately echoed by the other player, in an effect similar to a click piece. Slowly the music becomes less restrained and towards the end there are some freer exchanges. However, the overall feeling is of players inhibited by the framework rather than liberated by it. Fascinating listening, though, and also a signpost to places that improvised music has revisited in recent years.

One day, maybe far off, there will be a definitive edition of all the SME's music in chronological order. Until that happy day comes, enjoy the jigsaw!

_ By JOHN EYLES, Published: April 3, 2007 (AAJ)



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GUNTER HAMPEL & his GALAXIE DREAM BAND – Broadway / Folksong (LP-1972)

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Label: Birth Records – BIRTH 0011
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: Germany - Released: 1972
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded at Sound Ideas Studio, Broadway, New York, July 12th 1972.
Jubilee Edition: The 15 Years Gunter Hampel Group (1958 - 1973)
Engineer – George Clavin


By the early 60's Gunter Hampel was playing around Europe with his own groups, mostly playing vibes. A personal milestone of sorts happened in 1964 during the Charles Mingus Jazz Workshop's tour of Europe. Hampel was in Paris assisting the local promoter, and he put up Eric Dolphy in a house for a few days. They jammed together for long periods of time, Hampel on vibes and Dolphy on his reeds, including of course his bass clarinet. At Dolphy's suggestion they switched instruments for a while, and the American was impressed with Hampel's bass clarinet prowess. (Hampel recalls that Dolphy also demonstrated a surprising skill at the vibes.) Inspired by Dolphy's words of encouragement, Hampel developed his skill on bass clarinet, eventually arriving at his own original style.

He first saw singer Jeanne Lee (1939-2000) on a TV-performance with Ran Blake 1963 (J.E.Berendt-show on jazz in Germany). He met her at his recording session for ESP (Music from Europe) in 1966 in Holland. They fell in love in 1968.

Through the rest of the sixties, Hampel met several key artists who would play great roles in his future projects. One was the Dutch reedman Willem Breuker, and another was saxophonist Marion Brown, with whom Hampel toured in 1968-69. Perhaps most importantly, in 1966 he met singer/poet/future wife Jeanne Lee, who plays a vital role in Hampel's music to this day. These connections fell together in Hampel's first major musical statement, The 8th of July 1969, a recording featuring Breuker, Lee, Anthony Braxton, drummer Steve McCall,and bassist Arjen Gorter. Hampel had moved inexorably toward a free form of expression and group interplay which reached a full flowering on The 8th of July.

Early on, Hampel elected to take full control of his work and founded his own label, Birth records. His catalog on Birth (which begins with The 8th of July) is widely varied and includes a solo record (Dances), a duet for Hampel and synthesizer (Symphony No. 6), further work with Lee, Breuker and others (People Symphony), and even a duet recording with the flamenco guitarist Boulou Ferre (Espace).

In addition to his own projects, Hampel and his players were later employed by the composers Hanz Werner Henze and Krysztof Penderecki to play their music. Both were initially inspired by the work Hampel was doing on The 8th of July and Dances and wrote with Hampel's aesthetic in mind. With Henze, Hampel collaborated on the compositions, "so we wouldn't find ourselves in a cage form which we couldn't escape. And he also used some of my pieces."

Hampel gained an important new ally and foil in 1971. American clarinetist Perry Robinson, beginning a long-term association which has continued on and off ever since, joined Hampel and Lee for two recordings, Spirits and Out of New York. His association with the German musician was solidified as he became a member of Hampel's Galaxie Dream Band. This group, first assembled in 1973, features a regular family of players including Lee, Robinson, Marion Brown, saxophonist Mark Whitecage and various other reeds, strings and percussion.



Cover From The 15 Years Jubilee Edition (1958 - 1973) which was made for Birth 008 to Birth 0012



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FRANK GRATKOWSKI / FRED VAN HOVE / TONY OXLEY – GratHovOx (2002)

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Label: Nuscope Recordings – nuscope CD 1012
Format: CD, Album Country: US - Released: 2002
Style: Free Improvisation
Recorded in Leverkusen, Germany on November 14, 2000 at Erholunghaus Bayer 
Mastered in Cleveland, Ohio on May 30, 2002 at the Cleveland Institute of Music
Co-producer – Russell Summers, WDR
Design [Graphic], Executive Producer – Russell Summers
Liner Notes – John Corbett
Mastered By – Alan Bise
Photography By [Cover] – Gregory J. Lawler
Photography By [Musicians] – Joseph Klaes
Recorded By – Michael Peschko, Udo Kläs

Belgian pianist Fred Van Hove has been a towering presence in improvised music for three and a half decades, though he's still perhaps best known for his monumental bouts with titans Brötzmann and Bennink in the early 1970s. While those two are still slugging it out with anyone prepared to go the distance, these superbly recorded new offerings from Van Hove reveal a delicacy and lightness of touch often lacking in the traditionally muscular world of Northern European improv.
Despite its rather unimaginative title, the Nuscope outing, recorded in Germany in November 2000, is a jewel: Van Hove leaves Tony Oxley plenty of space (more than his other frequent pianist partner Cecil Taylor), and Oxley knows just how to move into it without getting in the way of the others. Clarinettist / altoist Frank Gratkowski is perfectly at home in their company. His mastery of interval, Van Hove's harmonic finesse and Oxley's instrumentation all reveal a profound sympathy with developments in modern classical music - these pieces could conceivably be transcribed and performed as notated compositions and hold their own against contemporary repertoire. Not that they sound composed (they don't), but rather in that they intuitively partake of an idea of structure and motivic development quite in keeping with the aesthetic of European contemporary music. "Carrousel" is a case in point, growing slowly but surely from Oxley's intermittent crescendi towards the high register flurries of the ending, which collapses gently upon itself like a deflating balloon, Van Hove's glissandi dissolving effortlessly into the scales that lie behind them. "Foreplay / Vorspiel" and "Witchy" feature his ghostly accordion, complemented to perfection by Gratkowski's twitching clarinets and Oxley's delicate kit and cymbal work. Oxley is one of the great British percussionists of his generation along with the late John Stevens and AMM's Eddie Prévost, and his playing here recalls both.

_ By Dan Warburton



This is a great radio session recorded in Leverkusen, Germany, on November 14, 2000. GratHovOx embodies everything uninhibited free improv can deliver. The presence of two of the genre's most prestigious veterans certainly has something to do with it. Fred Van Hove performs most of the set on a Steinway D piano. He grabs his accordion for "Foreplay/Vorspiel." Tony Oxley produces an astounding number of different sounds from his acoustic drum kit, keeping the electronics very discreet. Between them stands reedman Frank Gratkowski, using mostly instruments from the clarinet family this time around -- his raspy alto sax makes an appearance in the 20-minute "Trenches/Tranches." The trio aims at a kind of free improvisation that leaves room to breathe and listen without getting entrenched in the sonic scrutiny of Berlin reductionism. The music has movement, grace, and moments of sheer excitement that never lose sight of the group sound -- the perfect balancing act. Highlights are numerous but nothing quite compares to "Foreplay/Vorspiel." Gratkowski has his almighty contrabass clarinet in hand, but Van Hove is handling his accordion. To match the delicate wheezes of the squeeze box, Gratkowski decides to stick to the very upper register of the instrument. It may not sound like much but it truly is an understated tour de force. The way "Trenches/Tranches" boils down in its last five minutes to reveal tiny details in the playing of all three musicians also constitutes a moment of pure delight. Simply put, GratHovOx stands as one of the best free improv sessions released in 2002 and comes heartily recommended.

_ By François COUTURE



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MANFRED SCHOOF QUINTET – Voice (LP-1966, Re-2008)

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Label: L+R Records – CDLR 710528, Bellaphon – CDLR 710528
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered; Country: Europe - Released: 2008
Style: Free Jazz
Recorded May 2nd, 1966 at Studio Walldorf / Frankfurt am Main.
Original release in 1966 as Columbia 62621
Design [Album] – Günther Kieser
Engineer [Sound] – Dieter Von Goetze
Producer – Horst Lippmann


Trumpeter/cornetist and composer Manfred Schoof isn ’ t quite as well known today as some of his peers in the free-jazz movement in Germany. Though now primarily working in radio and television music, Schoof recorded a series of extraordinary records as a bandleader in the ‘ 60s and ‘ 70s. His quintet of the mid- ‘ 60s featured saxophonist Gerd Dudek, bassist Buschi Niebergall, drummer Jaki Liebezeit (later of prog-rock band Can), and pianist/composer Alexander von Schlippenbach. The compositions are all originals by members of the group and the music here is crisp, alternately poised and volcanic. Stylistically there are clear forebears — Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Gato Barbieri, George Russell and Albert Ayler, as well as composer Bernd Alois Zimmerman (with whom Schlippenbach studied) and the inventions of Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mauricio Kagel, Arnold Schöenberg and Anton Webern. For all that, the music is a robust classic of European jazz, and one that shows its constituents to be aware of tradition whilst fighting to find new expressive avenues.



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HANS KOLLER & WOLFGANG DAUNER – Free Sound & Super Brass (LP-1976)

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Label: MPS Records – 68.109, MPS Records – MPS 15.461
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: Germany - Released: 1976
Style: Avant-garde Jazz, Free, Big Band
Recorded live at Audimax Techn. Universitat, Vienna, Oct. 4, 1975.
Design [Cover Design] – Rolf Becker
Photography By – Hans Koller
Producer – Willi Fruth

Personnel:
Hans Koller - sopranino, soprano sax, co-leader
Wolfgang Dauner - keyboards, co-leader
trumpets:
Robert Demmer, Friedrich Hujer, Conny Jackel, Herbert Joos, Ernst Lamprecht, Robert Politzer, Kenny Wheeler
trombone:
Roy Deuvall, Garney Hicks, Erich Kleinschuster, Albert Mangelsdorff
Rudolf Josel - bass trombone
Günter Lenz - e-bass
Janusz Stefanski - drums


Hans Koller was based in Hamburg through the 1960s, working as musical director of the city's Schauspielhaus at the decade's end. In 1970 he returned to his hometown of Vienna and began exploring free jazz with Wolfgang Dauner in his Free Sound Ensemble (Free Sound and Super Brass, 1975, MPS). Koller's subsequent projects included duos, the brass ensemble International Brass Company, mainstream combos, and an all-sax unit. He occasionally worked on interdisciplinary projects as well, like his 1968 ballet, New York City.


An intriguing composer and ambitious pianist, German musician Wolfgang Dauner has combined jazz, rock, electronic music, and elements of opera and theater in creating broad- based, ranging works. While at times these compositions may seem too far-reaching, Dauner's best work shows the links between idioms and genres and offers provocative musical and cultural concepts. He studied trumpet, piano, and composition at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, then joined Joki Freund's sextet in the early '60s. Dauner appeared at several German festivals, then made his recording debut heading a trio in 1964. It was one of the first European free jazz recording sessions. Dauner led Radio Jazz Group Stuttgart and wrote compositions for them in 1969. He formed the jazz-rock band Et Cetera in 1970, then, with Hans Koller, co-led the Free Sound & Super Brass Big Band. He helped organize the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble in 1975, and began featuring theater, opera, and dance segments along with his performances in '70s and '80s concerts.



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AMM – Laminal - Aarhus 1969, London 1982, New York 1994 (3CD-1996)

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Label: Matchless Recordings – MRCD31.
Format: 3 × CD, Album; Country: UK - Released: 1996
Style: Abstract, Free Improvisation, Experimental
Disc 1 recorded in Aarhus on 16th December 1969. 
Disc 2 recorded Goldsmiths' College, London on 20th February 1982. 
Disc 3 recorded at Context Studios, New York on 3rd May 1994.
Front cover artwork: Keith Rowe
Liner Notes – Eddie Prévost, Jim O'Rourke, John Tilbury, Malcolm Le Grice, Victor Schonfield
Mastered By [Restored By] – Adam Skeaping (tracks: 1-1 to 2-2)
Producer – Bruce Lee Gallanter (tracks: 3-1 to 3-6)
Recorded By – James McLean (tracks: 3-1 to 3-6)

 Cornelius Cardew, 1969
 Eddie Prévost, 1982
Keith Rowe, 1982

A triple CD set to mark 30 years of making AMMmusic. Each features an AMM concert performance.

Disc-1
The Aarhus Sequences: Aarhus 1969
Denmark 16th December 1969
1.       51:07
2.       14:23
3.       6:40
Cornelius Cardew ,Chrisoper Hobbs
Lou Gare, Keith Rowe , Eddie Prévost

Disc-2
The Great Hall: London 1982
Goldsmiths' College, London 20th Febrary 1982
1.       36:45
2.       38:56
John Tilbury , Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost

Disc-3
Context Studios
New York 3rd May 1994
1.       71:17
John Tilbury , Keith Rowe, Eddie Prévost


John Tilbury / Eddie Prévost

Released in 1995 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of this astonishing improvising cooperative, Laminal contains three complete concerts from the early, middle, and later portions of AMM's career. For all the free music, noise, and what-have-you that was created since, the music from the 1969 Aarhus performance remains striking, assaultive, and sublimely creative. If one tries to give a comparative reference to similar music at the time, the nearest approximation might be to take the wildest, most unearthly Sun Ra explorations and filter them through the prism of Iannis Xenakis'"Bohor" to come close to providing a vague description of what occurs here. Performing as a quintet, the dual percussion of Eddie Prevost and Christopher Hobbs leads the way, solidly buttressed by Keith Rowe's guitar and electronics. Determining which musician does exactly what at any given time is a losing proposition, until a few wails at the close of the piece; if Lou Gare ever makes a remotely "traditional" sound on his tenor sax, it's impossible to detect. The music is loud (roaring, for the most part), uncompromising, enveloping, and entirely selfless -- no solos here, only pure group sound. Warning: Exposure to this recording may make it difficult to listen to much contemporary, so-called avant-garde music again; it will almost seem bloodless in comparison. By the time of the concert captured on the second disc, pianist John Tilbury, arguably the foremost interpreter of the piano music of Morton Feldman, had joined Rowe and Prevost to form the trio that would comprise the essential AMM unit in years to come. It also becomes clear, perhaps in part due to Tilbury's arrival, that a strong tendency toward quiet has asserted itself. Though the piece begins with frantic piano and raucous guitar noise, the moments of calm are more frequent than before, and seem to serve as nodes from which further exploration springs. True, this set features a larger-than-normal amount of relatively straight and loud drumming from Prevost (who is quite capable of going through a show without once making any sounds one usually associates with drums), but there is a much wider sonic palette in play. Tilbury's use of, in this context, surprisingly melodic and Feldman-esque arpeggios and clusters exerts a serene and meditative force that often, not always, persuades Rowe and Prevost to follow suit. Rowe's utilization of a transistor radio injects some humor into the affair as strains of "Love Me Do" and "Heatwave" percolate to the fore. When, from some unknown source, a woman's voice begins intoning a seemingly random series of numbers in German (code?), the effect in conjunction with the live music is nothing short of electrifying. The final recording, with the same trio, shows further steps toward a music centered on stillness, though not so much as other albums from the period such as Newfoundland. Again the set begins aggressively, again Prevost displays his impressive jazz chops, but ever more the trio returns to near silence, a rich minimalism where more and more beauty is found with less and less material. From the maelstrom of sound in its early years, AMM evolved toward a kind of musical kabuki, a sequence of gestures strengthened by extremely deep listening, where any sound, however slight, could be placed with unerring precision to form a whole. While it's impossible to capture all facets of this remarkable band in its entirety, this three-disc set serves wonderfully as both an overview of their art and a brilliant illumination of their immense sound world. Very highly recommended.

_ Review By BRIAN OLEWNICK



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RICK JENSEN TRIO – Live Performances 2003 / 2004 (4CDs Box Set)

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Lebel: Postmoderncore – pcm035/pcm036/pmc046/pcm047 - DP001
http://postmoderncore.com/
This album is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 New Zealand License.
Format: 4 × CD, Album; DP001 Compilation; Country NZ 
Style: Free Improvisation, Experimental
Design by ART&JAZZ Studio SALVARICA - 2013
Artwork and Complete Design By VITKO

The Rick Jensen Trio/Quartet was started in New Zealand 1999, now based in London U.K. The group is a live performance ensemble that has many members come and go throuhg the years. All the music is completely improvised, making every performance and recording completely unique.

THE AGE OF ILLUMINATION
Recorded live at the Photospace in Wellington NZ in 28 July 2003

SNOWDRIFT
Recorded live at Bodega in Wellington NZ on the 29th April 2003

CITY OF CONFUSION
Recorded live at the Newtown Community Centre in Wellington NZ, April 4, 2004

THE EXCURSIONIST
Recorded live at the Newtown Community Centre in Wellington NZ on the 7th of August 2004


Many different musicians have played with the band, some only once and others have stuck around for a couple of years.Originally formed in Wellington, New Zealand, they are now based London and there are various musicians who come and go from the group, the line-up can change with each performance.The group isn't always a trio but thats usually what it works out to be. They are experimented with all kinds of combinations and instrumentation, often dictated by who was around and able to perform.The group has been as large as 6 and as small as 2. They are essentially a live band and perform as often as possible. They have 16 releases most of which were released in limited edition CDRs and are no longer in print, currently available is “ A Fundamental Problem ” and “ High Tension ” a limited CDR. They currently working on future releases. Rick is also a member of I-C-E an improvising clarinet ensemble, Nova Scotia a free form abstract trio, The Radioactive Ensemble an international music/art collective and performs in other collaborative projects. He is a photographer and has had over 20 exhibitions in NZ and the U.K. and is currently working on publishing his first book.


The Rick Jensen Trio/Quartet Archive Series Volume Four to Six: U.K live, released in April 2013
http://therickjensentrio.bandcamp.com/ 

Enjoy !



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DAVID S. WARE QUARTET – Oblations And Blessings (1996)

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Label: Silkheart – SHCD 145
Format: CD, Album; Country: Sweden - Released: 1996
Style: Free Jazz
Recorded on 27, 28 September 1995 at Sound On Sound Studio, NYC.
Artwork [Front Cover Art] – Miroslaw Balka
Front cover art titled "A Piece To Keep Doors Open"
Design, Layout – Jörgen Renhorn
Edited By – Allan Tucker; Edited By [Assistant] – Nicholas Prout
Executive-Producer – FS-MAB, Keith Knox
Photography By [Booklet Session Photographs] – Cheung Ching-Ming
Photography By [Front Cover Art] – Börje Svensson
Recorded By [Assistant] – Devin Emke
Recorded By [Digitally] – Nicholas Prout

This session, recorded in a superb midtown studio in New York during September 1995, shows the David S. Ware Quartet at the height of its powers. This is one of the foremost groups who played then and their performance here is captured by engineer Nick Prout with extraordinary clarity. The development of David S. Ware 's music is one of the more significant histories in today's jazz and earlier examples from the Silkheart catalogue are 113, 127, and 128.



Oblations And Blessings is certainly one of David S. Ware's best recordings, and maybe the best if you're into extended blowing vehicles. The players are inspired, the sound is well- balanced so you can hear all of them clearly, and there's plenty of variety in the pieces. And Matthew Shipp, William Parker and Whit Dickey are up to the task of playing follow the leader because no one has more to express here than Ware. It's a disc for hearing David S. Ware blow hard, long and free--he plays every second of the closer "Serpents and Visions" and doesn't go in for much laying out anywhere.

The opening 17-minute title track hits the ground running with a spiritual intensity close to late John Coltrane that in spots pushes Shipp close to McCoy Tyner territory. It builds inexorably through ebb-and-flow periods of rumbling Parker, pounding Shipp and propulsive Dickey triggering Ware's harmonic squawks before falling away to a bowed bass solo that gives Ware his first break after 10:20 of full-bore playing. 100 seconds of down time later, he's back for the duration until Shipp's lurching chords brings the piece to an exhausted close.

"Riff Unknown" is more in a classic jazz vein with Parker close to double time walking and Dickey close to swinging while Ware swirls and twists, turns and doubles back around the melody. Shipp enters in mid-song--a common device here--and his long solo retains an appealingly light texture after the density of the opener. "Of Shambhala" boasts a gorgeously spare atmospheric opening, with Ware entering crying, then ruminating and extending the lines before handing the baton over for a restrained Parker solo with Shipp's elegant support.

But "Fire Within" gets Ware off and running again with Parker whooping behind him to trigger answering yelps and buzzsaw riffing over Dickey's light cymbals. "Manu's Ideal" is an excellent return to a sort of Trane-spiritual melody with Ware's big, burry tone carrying the medium tempo before a Parker solo and Shipp's re-entrance triggers the saxophonist's closing theme statement.

Ware's outside start to "Serpents and Visions" sounds like musical visions of serpents, Shipp ripples his way in at the two-minute mark and it evolves progressively into Ware's serious pushing to get to Albert Ayler-esque shrieks and cries over Shipp's lower register hammering. You can really hear the interaction between the two on this track before into peters out in honks and silence.

Music is the last thing you should reduce to numbers but David S. Ware is literally playing on 54 of the 69 minutes (give or take one or two) of music here, a simply staggering amount. And he's playing so intensely for that long with that huge tone doing interval leaps and Ayler shrieks, high harmonics and lower-register honks, buzzsaw-quick runs and scale slurs, wringing every possible melodic permutation out of every theme.

The liner notes define "oblation" (via Webster's) as "the act of offering something as worship or thanksgiving." No one who hears Oblations and Blessings could ever doubt the generosity of Ware's offering here. The man must have been absolutely, utterly drained--emotionally, physically and spiritually--after this session.

_ Review by DON SNOWDEN



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DENNIS GONZALEZ'S INSPIRATION BAND – Nile River Suite (2004)

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Label: daagnimRecords – CD9
Format: CD, Album  - Special Limited Edition
Country: US - Released: 2004
Style: Free Improvisation, Contemporary Jazz
Recorded on 23 November 2003, at Universal Rehearsal, NY.
Composed By – Dennis González (tracks: 1, 2, 7); "Nile River Suite" By - González, Grimes, Thompson, Campbell, Mateen
Recorded By, Mixed By – Dennis González

Dennis González – trumpet [C]
Sabir Mateen – tenor sax, alto sax, alto clarinet, clarinet [B-flat], flute
Roy Campbell, Jr. – trumpet, flugelhorn, trumpet [Pocket], flute
Henry Grimes – acoustic bass
Michael "T. A." Thompson – drums, percussion

Dennis González
 Henry Grimes
 Roy Campbell, Jr.
 Sabir Mateen
Michael "T. A." Thompson

Free Jazz is full of stories like that of Dennis Gonzalez. A very talented trumpeter and composer, Gonzalez played with a veritable who's who of free jazz in the 80s and early 90s. Unfortunately, like so many fine musicians of that era, he became discouraged by the lack of adequate opportunities in the jazz world and left active performing, preferring instead to teach music and French in Dallas, Texas. But Gonzalez just couldn't stay away from the free jazz scene and in 1999 he recorded again after a five year hiatus, with an eclectic ensemble featuring himself on keyboards, trumpet and samples and even a Tejano accordionist. Since then, Gonzalez has embarked on a steady mix of touring and recording, all the while continuing to teach his high school students.

Nile River Suite is the latest in an impressive series of recordings Gonzalez has made over his career. This CD is notable in many ways. It marks the first time that legendary bass player Henry Grimes has recorded since his dramatic re-entry into the music scene two years ago. Grimes' story is fascinating. After recording on many seminal LPs with Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler and others, Grimes moved to Los Angeles and disappeared. He was widely reported dead. However, two years ago he was discovered living in an LA SRO. Given a bass by William Parker, Grimes began to play again with a triumphant set at the Irridium in NY and then a knockout group at the Vision Festival. On this disc he sounds like he hasn't missed a beat! (Henry says he practiced bass in his head during his thirty missing years and you can believe it!) On an instrument that is often overlooked by musicians fascinated by the more showy reed instruments, Grimes is powerful. His lines and tone seduce you almost hypnotically. He is a powerful presence that only gets better with age.

The disc also includes some of the top New York free jazz musicians. Sabir Mateen on reeds is a true wonder. This musician is perhaps one of the most underrated reed players on the scene. Mateen is unusual in that, like Eric Dolphy before him, he has a distinct voice on each of his instruments and a marvelous tone. And though Mateen has perhaps the best altissimo shriek this side of Albert Ayler, his playing is marked by a captivating melodic sense and an unfailing technique. Drummer Michael "T.A." Thompson is another crack NY musician, capable of driving bop-inflected grooves, subtle polyrhythms and powerful tom-tom work. Adding brass player Roy Campbell to the mix was particularly audacious for Gonzalez. Campbell is a true master of all aspects of the instrument, with a tone and style that shows the influence of the entire history of jazz trumpet, from Louis Armstrong through Lee Morgan and on out. That Gonzalez stands up well to such a master is a credit to his own sense of style. You always know which musician is soloing. They are distinct, but complimentary.

The compositions on the disc are impressive, and the multi-part Nile River Suite is truly marvelous. The disc opens with an 18 minute "Lyons in Lyon," a tribute to the late alto player Jimmy Lyons, which sits on the stylistic edge between free bop and total out playing. Gonzalez gives a wonderful, almost Clifford Brown style solo. "Sand Baptist" is a similarly tradition-infused cut, with mellifluous solos by Mateen and Campbell. The major work on the disc, the three part "Nile River Suite," begins with an atmospheric extended introduction for wind trio (Campbell and Mateen on flutes with Gonzalez on trumpet) and then features some inspired solo work before seamlessly moving into a hypnotic Middle Eastern jazz groove. A beautiful lyrical solo by Campbell introduces the second movement of the work with a dark, Lee Morgan-inspired tone. The interplay between Grimes and Thompson is magical. The third movement is dominated by a beautifully constructed, melodic drum solo by Thompson and some soulful blowing by Mateen before the piece winds down to a peaceful conclusion. The final cut on the disc, "Hymn for the Ashes of Saturday," is pure avant-funk, with a groove that would have done Lee Morgan or Cannonball proud. A marvelous way to round out a beautiful album.

This is disc, like so many produced in the new millennium, is a limited addition on the daagnimRecords label. The sound is wonderful, with lively present bass and yet a very clear high end. The music on this disc is adventurous, but ultimately melodic and appealing. This is not the scream fests of Peter Brotzman or other extreme players. Rather it is a deeply felt and almost spiritual disc and a wonderful introduction to the musicians on this album. Find it while you can!

_ Reviewed By CHRIS FORBES



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IRENE SCHWEIZER QUINTET – The Storming of the Winter Palace (Moers-Zurich 1986/'88) - LP-1988 / CD-2000

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Label: Intakt Records – Intakt CD 003
Format: CD, Album, Reissue; Country: Switzerland - Released: 2000
Style: Free Improvisation, Contemporary Jazz
Track 1 recorded May 18th, 1986 at the International-New-Jazz-Festival-Moers by WDR (Cologne)
Tracks 2 & 3 recorded March 25th, 1988 at the Taktlos-Festival at Rote Fabrik, Zurich
First released on Intakt LP 003 / 1988
Composed By – George Lewis (tracks: 3), Günter Sommer (tracks: 3), Irène Schweizer (tracks: 1, 2), Joëlle Léandre (tracks: 1), Maggie Nicols (tracks: 2)
Cover Art: Ruedi Wyss
Executive Production: Patrik Landolt
Engineer – Peter Pfister

At the Moers Jazz Festival in 1986, the quintet of Irène Schweizer, Maggie Nicols, George Lewis, Joelle Leandre and Guenter Sommer caused quite a commotion. The "Frankfurter Allgemeine" wrote: "a great moment of free improvised music; the listeners gave endless ovations, were stunned, moved, even happy just like the protagonist themselves, who lay in each others arms after the magic process of spontaneous interaction". The album with excerpts from the Moers concert as well as from the subsequent performance at the Zurich Taktlos Festival was awarded the German Record Critics Prize.



The Storming Of The Winter Palace was originally released on LP in 1988 as Swiss based “ Intakt Records ” has thankfully chosen to reissue this most interesting recording on CD. The 26-minute opener, “ Now and Never ” offers a hearty mix of disparate motifs, glistening choruses and endearing interplay among trombonist George Lewis, vocalist Maggie Nicols, pianist Irene Schweizer, percussionist Gunter Sommer and bassist Joelle Leandre. Here, Ms Nicols displays a supremely masterful vocal range complete with spurts of humor, scat and spoken word intermingled with weaving, multidimensional ensemble work along with an abundance of peaks and valleys. The musicians entice one another with interesting dialogue and shrewd on-the-fly development yet many of these sequences sound composed or pre- planned. On “ The Storming of the Winter Palace ” George Lewis and Ms Leandre are the instigators who often prod Ms Nicols into operatic-style vocal pyrotechnics, which unto itself is rather amazing. The audience in attendance must have literally been on the edge of their seats during the final piece, titled “ Living on the Edge ” as the band pursue vivid theatrics, circular thematic movement along with some downright awe-inspiring drumming/percussion from Gunter Sommer. 

The Storming Of The Winter Palace is a showstopper as this writer often thought of the visual aspects; hence, a video of this performance would have been an added treat as the music and overall intensity alludes to one heck of a live performance! * * * * ½

_ By GLENN ASTARITA
Published: February 1, 2000 (AAJ)



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"Different Perspectives In My Room ...!" today celebrates its first birthday

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Graphic Design:
Poster DP001
"Different Perspectives In My Room ...!" today celebrates its first birthday 
Artwork and Complete Design by VITKO
ART&JAZZ Studio SALVARICA – 2013


Hi,

My dear friends, today, the blog "Different Perspectives In My Room...!" celebrates its first year of existence. Thank you for your support, and an incredibly large number of visitors to this site talking about an enviable popularity. I could not imagine that it would happen so quickly.

This opportunity to thank especially Uri, who once cold the February evening, explained to me how to set up my first post on the then legendary and, in my opinion, the best blog "A Darker Shade Of Blue", which is the 8th of August last year, hooligans wiped out, destroyed, broken to pieces that are no longer able to compile. Uri and Ground Rules, I wish you all the best.

In the past year, there were 190 posts, I tried to be good quality, generally, free jazz, focused mainly in Europe and the two large city, London and Berlin, without neglecting the musicians similar determination from the U.S. and other parts of the world. So it will be in the future, and you can contact me if you have a desire or suggestion. Without hesitation, please!

And of course, do not be lazy, leave a few more comments behind yourself, I'm doing this for you, and it is good to know your opinion. (Happy, or not) :)

Regards, Vitko




CHARLES GAYLE QUARTET – Vol 2 - Raining Fire (1994)

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Label: Silkheart – SHCD 137
Format: CD, Album; Country: Sweden - Released: 1994
Style: Free Jazz
Recorded at the House of Music, Studio A, West Orange; N.J. on January 21 and 22, 1993.
Artwork [Cover Art] – Ulf Rollof
Design, Layout – Jörgen Renhorn
Edited By – Allan Tucker
Executive Producer – Keith Knox
Photography By [Booklet Photographs] – Ruth Davis
Photography By [Kylrock] – Lars Gustafsson
Recorded By – Nicholas Prout
Recorded By [Assisted By], Edited By [Assisted By] – Nelson Ayres

The companion CD to Vol. 1: Translations, this explosive set has tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle also heard a bit on bass clarinet (for "Blood's Finality") and viola, while joined by bassists William Parker (also playing cello and violin) and Vattel Cherry plus drummer Michael Wimberly.

 Vattel Cherry
 Michael Wimberly

"The all-out assaults of his earlier sessions gives way here to a more open rhythmic sensibility. Gayle's playing takes on an emotionally incantatory urgency here over the shifting layers of dual basses and Wimberly's tumbling, flexible attack. Raining Fire is the more fiery of the two CDs, from the opening blasting hurricane charge through In Christ with Gayle's most incendiary playing of the two. Translations (Silkheart 134) and Raining Fire are welcome additions to Gayle's growing discography, documenting Gayle's uncompromising intensity and continued growth."

_ By MICHAEL ROSENSTEIN, Cadence, November 1994


These sessions were considered so successful that this quartet became Gayle's regular group for a time. The music is unremittingly intense with Gayle screaming a lot in spots, although the sections with strings are at a quieter volume. Charles Gayle's mostly free-form music is certainly not for everyone, but fans of his passionate explorations will want all of his chance-taking and very heartfelt efforts.



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CHARLES GAYLE QUARTET – Vol 1 - Translations (1994)

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Label: Silkheart – SHCD 134
Format: CD, Album; Country: Sweden - Released: 1994
Style: Free Jazz
Recorded at the House of Music, Studio A, West Orange; N.J. on January 21 and 22, 1993.
Artwork [Cover Art] – Ulf Rollof
Design, Layout – Jörgen Renhorn
Edited By – Allan Tucker
Executive Producer – Keith Knox
Photography By [Booklet Photographs] – Ruth Davis
Photography By [Kylrock] – Lars Gustafsson
Recorded By – Nicholas Prout
Recorded By [Assisted By], Edited By [Assisted By] – Nelson Ayres

 Charles Gayle
William Parker

Five years after his recording debut, tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle sounds as intense and passionate as ever on this set of five lengthy sound explorations. In addition to tenor, Gayle also plays a bit of bass clarinet and viola. Both William Parker and Vattel Cherry are on basses (with Parker also heard on cello and violin), while drummer Michael Wimberly keeps up with the other players. At least volume-wise, the strings add a little variety to this quite free-form and explorative music. While not for everyone, those listeners who enjoy the ESP free jazz jams of the 1960s and the more violent sets of John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler will find this music quite stimulating.

_ Review by SCOTT YANOW



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NEW YORK ART QUARTET – Old Stuff (Copenhagen, Denmark 1965) - CD-2010

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Label: Cuneiform Records – Rune 300
Format: CD, Album; Country: US - Released: 2010
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Tracks 1-6:
Recorded at the Montmartre Jazzhus, Copenhagen, Denmark October 14, 1965.
Tracks 7-11:
Recorded at the Concert Hall of the Radio House, Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 24, 1965. 
Both concerts were live radio broadcasts.
Producer – Børge Roger Henrichsen (tracks: 7 to 11), Pedro Biker (tracks: 1 to 6), Per Møller Hansen (tracks: 7 to 11)

The story behind Old Stuff is that John Tchicai lined up some gigs in his native Copenhagen for the fall of 1965. The regular drummer (was it still Milford Graves?) and whoever the bass player was at the time (Reggie Workman?) could not make the trip, so the quartet was fleshed out with Finn von Eyben coming in on bass and Louis Moholo on drums. Von Eyben sounds fine on the recording and adds his own conceptual influence. However it is Moholo that changes the character of the band in an more dramatic way. He gives the band a totally different rhythmic base. Moholo's time was quite different from Graves: there is in the former a more linear poly-rhythmic thrust to the pulse that propulses the band differently yet still opens it up to an expanded sense of temporal possibilities. It gives Tchicai and Rudd support for more complex yet still free solo statements and they respond beautifully.
And so you get a long set of music drawn from two gigs they played during their stay that fall. The recording quality is excellent, as is the level of the music. It's a major addition to the NY Art Quartet discography and highly recommended!

New York Art Quartet, Copenhagen, October 1965:
Roswell Rudd  – trombone,  Louis Moholo – drums,
Finn von Eyben – bass,   John Tchicai – alto saxophone


New York Art Quartet, MoMA 1965, (Tchicai, Rudd, Workman, Graves)

There ’ s a certain exciting charge to early free (avant, new thing, or whatever you wish to call it) jazz, an electricity in the air from those days before anyone knew exactly what was happening, which, in its weird, wily experimentation, translates particularly well on record. Before the classic fire music blow out could be formalized into a clearly-delineated model, there was a strange melange of flavors: Sun Ra ’ s Saturn-bop, Ayler ’ s formative howls, Dolphy ’ s skewed vision of cool, Ornette Coleman ’ s sublime honking, and a lot of other open minds stretching way out as they saw fit. The free-for-all spirit of the times makes for some interestingly timeless listening, and the broadly-named New York Art Quartet was one group that was there to catch the wave. Although the smallness of their deeply respectable discography, now only four official albums deep (and one of those is a reunion session from the year 2000), severely restricted their legacy, the players who have moved through their ranks - John Tchicai, Roswell Rudd, Milford Graves, Reggie Workman and Don Moore, to name a few - have certainly made their individual marks. Thus, the unit has remained a sort of legendary footnote, an early, all-too-brief meeting of the minds right at the beginning of the revolution.

Old Stuff, recorded in 1965 and only now seeing the light of day, won ’ t change that. Less of an all-star lineup than their self-titled debut on ESP, it ’ s more of a glimpse back than a lost classic. Fans of that seminal slab might be disappointed by the absence of drummer Milford Graves, and I for one can hardly fathom the pressure of filling his shoes. Along with Sunny Murray and Rasheid Ali, Graves was one of the founding fathers of the un-metered, pan- rhythmic school of drumming to which many remain beholden. Hardly the established approach in ’ 65 that it is today, it ’ s difficult to imagine more than a handful then (or now) capable of matching his innovation and effortless mastery. Still, Louis Moholo does a bang- up job holding things down. Less iconoclastic than his predecessor, his playing sways and sashays more than it rips and shreds, but not without some serious force. There ’ s a certain go- for-broke roughness audible here, and it ’ s exciting to hear him drive the rest of the players, egging them on even as he keeps time.

Around him, the horns squall and cry, but all within a clear melodic framework. The vibe is less sheets of sound than "Lonely Woman," and Coleman ’ s mark is clearly felt. The melodies and motives are tossed around like pizza dough between Tchicai and Rudd, the only two constant members of the NYAQ family, and their chemistry is, if not revelatory, certainly wonderfully sloppy and loose. Apparently the session was booked in Copenhagen, despite the unavailability of half of the New Yokers. Thus, in addition to Moholo, bassist Finn on Eyben fills in, and you definitely get the sense that the Rudd and Tchicai are leading, going for it despite or because of the less practiced setting. There is a confidence to their tone which more than compensates for the oft-rambling structures.

Overall, the record runs a little long, clocking in at just over an hour. But isn ’ t that kind of the point? We already have two proper mid-60s albums from the NYAQ, as well as a whole slew of other classic studio sessions from this deepest of musical eras. Old Stuff is for the heads who wore through their copies of Shape Of Jazz To Come and Ascension when they first came out, for the completists who can ’ t let a single take slip by uncatalogued. As expected, NYAQ rips, moans, screams, and most of all breathes. It ’ s beautiful, messy, raw and not a little bit fun. Like a lot of other stuff from this time, it sounds like a wild party, and yet still serious as your life. It sounds free, unfettered, and alive. It sounds great.

_ By Daniel Martin-McCormick



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CHRIS McGREGOR – In His Good Time (Live In Paris 1977) - LP-1979

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Label: Ogun – OG 521
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album; Country: UK - Released: 1979 
Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded live at the Palais des Glaces, Paris in 1977.
Piano – Chris McGregor
Producer – Chris McGregor, Ron Barron

Note:
Founder of South African group the Blue Notes and, later in London, the Brotherhood of Breath, pianist Chris McGregor (born in the Transkei to Scottish missionary parents) was among the first musicians to take what became known as "township jazz" beyond South Africa, when he and the Blue Notes went into voluntary exile in 1964. Like pianist Dollar Brand (later Abdullah Ibrahim) and trumpeter Hugh Masekela, who had both left the country in the wake of 1960's Sharpeville massacre, McGregor no longer felt he could live and work under the barbarism of the apartheid regime, in which the Blue Notes' situation was exacerbated by the presence of both black and white musicians in the group.

The classic Blue Notes' lineup featured alto saxophonist Dudu Pukwana, tenor saxophonist Nick Moyake, trumpeter Mongezi Feza, bassist Johnny Dyani and drummer Louis Moholo- Moholo. A bigger band, Brotherhood of Breath included several members of the Blue Notes along with musicians prominent on London's free jazz scene.

McGregor, who died in 1990 in his adopted homeland of France, rarely recorded solo. Two albums for the French Musica label have long been collectors' items, as has In His Good Time, recorded at a Paris concert in 1977 and first released by Ogun in 1979.


"Damn; I really don’t know what to write about Chris McGregor, after all he has been my friend for a dozen years. His powerful personage moved into the English scene in the middle sixties, and eventually created the Brotherhood Of Breath, and in doing so influenced a whole group of English players to continue his African concepts. He brought with him the incredible players of South Africa, among them the late Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana, Louis Moholo, Ronnie Beer and Johnny Dyani. His reputation was based almost entirely on his ability as an organiser, as a band leader, and his previous solo piano recording on Musica was not really representative of his ability. This Ogun production however shows that his heritage can come forth without the aid of an orchestra. The performance, a concert at the Palais des Glaces in Paris, consists, with the exception of Dudu Pukwana’s “ The Bride ”, of all original compositions, compositions that show Chris to be a powerful and original pianist. Of course you can hear Africa clearly, even living in England and now France, could not take that away. He used to say that when he lived in South Africa, receiving records from America was like getting letters from a friend. Chris I thank you for this correspondence."

_ BILL SMITH in Coda Magazine, February 1980



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PAUL SMOKER with ED SCHULLER and DOMINIC DUVAL – Duocity In Brass & Wood (2CD-2003)

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Label: Cadence Jazz Records – CJR 1155/56
Format: 2 × CD, Album; Country: US - Released: 2003
Style: Free Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
CD1 - Recorded live at The Bop Shop, Rochester, NY, May 18, 2001 
CD2 - Recorded live at The Bop Shop, Rochester, NY, October 10, 2001
Engineer – Matthew Guarnere
Mixed By, Edited By – Matthew Guarnere, Paul Smoker




Duo improvisations featuring a double bass and a horn are some of the hardest performances to realize. The challenge is compounded if the non-bass-playing partner only has a trumpet’s three valves and his embouchure with which to create. Thus Rochester, N.Y.-based trumpeter Paul Smoker should be complimented for sheer audacity. His double CD session of live, more than 60-minute duets with either Dominic Duval or Ed Schuller shows what can happen when two accomplished musicians strip down to the essentials and go at it with no preconceived notions.

Performing for the first time as a duo and with not many previous encounters under their respective belts, Smoker and Duval spend most of the time on the seven tracks playing slow- moving themes to determine each other’s skills. In the case of the trumpeter especially, this seems to involve extended techniques that at time stray close to the show-offy.

On “Burn Dialogue/Blue Mon ”, the nearly 13½-minute longest track for instance, he begins a cappella with a capricious display of growls and chromatic high-pitched note bending. Just before the solo threatens to turn into a Maynard Ferguson style extravaganza, it finally become a hell-bent-for-leather dialogue between Smoker’s chromatic trills and Duval’s slower-paced, carefully emphasized arco work. As the bassist bows away the trumpeter decorates the output with shrill high notes and a line that sounds like “Cherokee” played at a languid pace. There’s no mistaking “Blue Monk” , which soon appears in proper cadence here, replete with plunger trills. As Smoker dispenses his variations on the theme, Duval counters with pealing, pizzicato strokes that offer a sandpaper rough version of the same thing. Other than a singing version of “If I Were A Bell” presented in a muted Milesean fashion, the tunes concentrate on brass and bass effects. At one point Smoker warbles offbeat slurring phrases as Duval introduces well-modulated triple stops; at another four-string strums from the bassman calls forth echoes that could come from an Alpine horn --then choked valve plunger work examination.

Fittingly, the final tune is both abstract and conventional. Initially it resounds with idiosyncratic brass note flurries that go from andante to adagio to allegro, as the bass line becomes excessively discordant. The ending however finds Smoker appropriately quoting “The Party’s Over” in mid-register, Bobby Hackett-like fashion.

Over-abundant experimentation also characterizes the four Schuller/Smoker duets, with the others leading up to and away from “Hypnotics/Bassoptics Mutetics/Nostematics”, an almost 31-minute tour de force. Separated by periods of silence and applause, the first section showcases legato trumpeting with thundering bass lines that get harder, stronger and more repetitive as Smoker shrilly whistles from his mouthpiece. As Schuller strongarms a vamping ostinato back and forth, the trumpeter buzzes grit from his valves and soon broaches mouthpiece kisses, small smacks then squeals. Following a pause, a dark, double-stopping bass solo seems to invite Smoker’s most idiosyncratic response as higher-pitched, Harmon- muted obbligatos share space with deeper open tones. It almost appears as if he’s playing two trumpets at once. As Schuller continues to snap out short melodies and decorative asides that then turn to a walking bass line, Smoker completes the showcase with a flourish, producing a steady “Flight of the Bumblebee” buzz from his mute.

“Didgerotics”, is the most interesting of the pieces -- not to mention the shortest -- since Smoker manages to produce basso didjeridoo and radung or metal Tibetan bass horn sounds from his axe, not to mention vocalized plunger inflections straight out of the Bubber Miley Jungle book. Meanwhile Schuller moves from assured, low-pitched arco thrusts to split second visits to the effervescent cello register.

"Duocity in Brass & Wood" is a good document, which can be appreciated even by those who do not feel close to the aesthetics free, thanks to the continual references to jazz and freshness of ideas.

_ By Ken Waxman



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