CraigP

Has anyone else had problems with this month'sTricentric Foundation FLAC download or the one last month of the solo concert? The mp3s work, but I can't burn CDs from the FLACs.

Well, i hope he starts releasing records again. As this discussion has shown, he's got a knack for putting out adventurous recordings by players who aren't in either the totally mainstream or avant-garde camps.

I think that it would cheese me off that I'm providing free content for a presumably for-profit publication, given that they accept advertising. But it sounds like you have a longer-term goal. BTW, did you mean to only give Bending Bridges 3.5 dots?

I think it's weird that you write the reviews but don't assign the ratings. And given that, I think it's weird the editor is lowering your ratings; I would have guessed the opposite problem. It makes sense you're going to spend time writing about things you like, but perhaps the editor thinks you're overpraising too many releases. How many 4.5 or 5 dot albums have you reviewed? Five dot albums should be pretty rare.

“I am in the glories of winnowing,” Cecil Taylor states while reading his poem “Laryngeals, laryngeals…” as part of the 2008 opening festivities of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The performances surrounding the event are captured in a new DVD, Cecil Taylor/Pauline Oliveros Solo-Duo-Poetry. And his solo and duo performances as part of that event provide aural evidence of such a winnowing process, although it is not a wholesale change in his approach. Rather, the listener gets a strong sense of the architecture of his improvisations, and the contrast between light and dark sections. There’s space to this music, the feeling of every note being well-considered, of course in the blink of an eye, given that we’re talking about Cecil Taylor. The DVD consists of a 32 minute solo Taylor performance, a 16 minute solo Pauline Oliveros performance, a 22 minute duo performance, a 75 minute (!) poetry reading and 20 or so minutes of excerpts of other performances from the opening. Considering poetry, let’s be clear: Taylor’s hands are poetry. The solo performance is concise, disciplined, exhilarating to watch. This was my first exposure to Oliveros’ work, and it wasn’t to my taste, although I’d like to hear from a fan, as she's obviously well-regarded. And she came through in the duo performance with Taylor; there’s a wonderful interplay between the two, deep listening going on throughout. And while I’m sure the fact that I’m on pain medication had something to do with this, the final section is so tender, so lyrical even, and so filled with mutual respect that it brought tears to my eyes. They hug at the conclusion, capping off a wonderful performance. If you’re a fan of either artist this is a no-brainer. Subcutaneous Subcutaneous arising Origins The root of the syntax Of the music Arising rippling following The code the ancients Demanding our genuflection They smile they approve The ceremony is their praise The root of the music Uncovered flowing Tapping into the source Language myth science astronomy Currents uncovered existing Unknowable

That Live at Belleville CD is great. I'd never heard Tommy Smith before, and he's amazing. I'm interested in the new one.

That IS nice - ill have to dig it back out. This is an example of "one and done" for the label.

Yes, it's great

Is Omnitone still in business? Their website hasn't been updated in a while. They put out some nice records by Marty Ehrlich, Tom Varner, Oscar Noriega, etc. I noticed, however, that they rarely put out more than one from any individual artist - Varner was a notable exception.

Thanks!

Cool! Is there definitely a new album coming on ECM?

So I finally got around to writing a review. As a long-time Tim Berne fan, I looked forward to hearing this new line-up. I enjoyed Oscar Noriega's Luciano's Dream from several years back, and I've also liked what Craig Taborn has brought to Berne's music, so I wanted to hear Matt Mitchell's contribution. Listening to Snakeoil is an adjustment when compared to his previous work, but it's rewarding, and can be viewed as a maturation of his approach. There's more subtlety, more shading, helped in large part by Mitchell as well as Noriega's clarinet textures. Whereas Bloodcount and Paraphrase were about building sustained tension with little release, Berne's compositions here are more varied and episodic. This is not a perfect record; there are spots where the thread gets lost and my attention wanders, but overall it's a great addition to his body of work. Between Snakeoil and his guest role on Simon Fell's wonderful large group work, Positions and Descriptions, we may be witnessing a fruitful new stage in Tim Berne's career.

Thanks! I had my prostate removed, fortunately they caught the cancer early. Right now I'm listening to a stack of new CDs: Devin grey's Dirigo Rataplan, the new Threadgill, next up the new Eisenstadt Octet...plus that new Cecil Taylor DVD!

I see. Well, decisions, decisions.... BTW, it's great to have this discussion to take my mind off the fact I had surgery two days ago.

I *think* it would be good enough for Craig.... Are you speaking of the 4 CD Columbia Original Masters set? Because I see it used for $70 and up, not $10-$20...

Thanks for the suggestions. That 3 CD "The Duke" overview on Columbia is available as a download on Amazon for $30.

I appreciate the feedback. I know this is heresy, but I'm not a hard-core "Ellington-ite", so I'd rather get a smaller set of this music if it's available, even if I lose a little in sound quality.

Is there a set available on a different label which collects the "cream" of the Ellington 32-40 music? I don't know if I want to pop for the price of the Mosaic.

I've been consistently impressed with Angelica Sanchez as well. I first came across her on Matt Bauder's Day In Pictures, a really great and overlooked album from a couple of years ago. She's also done great work with Leo Smith's Golden Quartet.

This one looks interesting - I always liked Stubblefield.

The Novela album on Clean Feed from last year is really great.

I might have missed this-what label will be releasing this?

Well put. He was a joy to read.

Yes, thanks. It was interesting to read the opinion that the brief gap in time between the demise of Napster and the start of iTunes was a significant contributor to the "Free Download" culture. As someone who still mainly buys CDs, that period bypassed my radar. But stealing is stealing, and I think it's disingenuous to refuse to pay for an artist's work under some misguided notion of "sticking it to the man"

Didn't you use a wax cylinder?