king ubu

new one coming out that might be interesting: Owning the big EMI box by Ciccolini (and enjoying it a lot), I still have all of his Satie ... and I quite like it for what it is. Another one I really like, and my first Satie, is this here by Reinbert de Leeuw: This one has been reissued, just in case: just have to love the absurd poetry of automated translations - very much in spirit with Satie and with the dada centennial! content listing of the new box: Erik Satie & Friends • A unique collection of 13CDs to celebrate Erik Satie's 150th birthday • A box set of captivatingly idiosyncratic piano pieces, songs and ballets by Satie and his friends such as Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc • Features famous and popular pieces such as Vexation, a forerunner of Minimalism or the simple, haunting Gymnopédies (1888) and Gnossiennes (1890) who have become universally familiar from their use in TV adverts and movies • Five of the discs for the first time on CD • Plus a 1950 historic recording (CD1) of Francis Poulenc playing not only his own piano pieces but also those of his friend Erik Satie Erik Satie, that endearing French (though actually half-Scottish) revolutionary, has been credited with starting European musical history all over again. In 2016 the musical world will celebrate his 150th birthday. Sony Classical is marking the occasion with a 13-CD box set of his captivatingly idiosyncratic piano pieces, songs and ballets, which places the composer in his unique cultural context – the astonishing artistic effervescence of early 20th-century Paris. Satie was a famous eccentric, who wore only grey velvet suits, ate only white food and founded his own one-member church. He supported himself (barely) by playing at cabarets. It was there he met Claude Debussy, who became a close friend and fell under Satie’s influence. Those cabaret evenings can be detected in Satie’s own charming songs, performed in this collection by some of the finest French singers of the 20th century: baritone Pierre Bernac, accompanied by Francis Poulenc, and soprano Régine Crespin, accompanied by Philippe Entremont. Satie also left his mark on the music of Maurice Ravel and the young composers known as Les Six, including Poulenc. Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc are all featured in this set along with Satie. Indeed CD 1 is a historic 1950 recording of Francis Poulenc playing not only his own piano pieces but also those of his friend Erik Satie. Satie also befriended enfant terrible Jean Cocteau after the poet-artist was smitten with the composer’s Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear – a work included twice in this collection in performances by pianists Robert and Gaby Casadesus (a historic mono recording as well as a modern stereo one). Other typically oddball Satie titles include Bureaucratic Sonatina, The Trap of Medusa, The Woman Who Talks Too Much, Veritable Flabby Preludes (for a Dog), Automatic Descriptions and Desiccated Embryos – all heard here in authoritative performances by French pianists Philippe Entremont and Daniel Varsano. In 1917 Satie collaborated with Cocteau and Pablo Picasso on the ballet Parade for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, resulting in a scandal that led to Satie spending eight days in jails for being a “cultural anarchist”. After the premiere, Cocteau overheard a woman say, “If I’d known it was going to be as silly as that, I’d have brought the kids.” Satie’s disarmingly surrealistic score for Parade, which includes a typewriter, a foghorn and milk bottles, makes two appearances in the new Sony set, with Philippe Entremont conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1970 and a historic recording from 1949 with the Houston Symphony conducted by ballet specialist Efrem Kurtz. Satie was largely forgotten after his death in 1925. But he enjoyed a renaissance in the 1960s and was elevated to cult status with the imprimatur of avant-garde composer John Cage, who put on concerts of his works and declared him indispensable to the development of contemporary music. Pieces such as Vexations – a page of music with an instruction to be played 840 times – are considered forerunners of Minimalism. Satie’s most popular piano pieces, such as the simple, haunting Gymnopédies (1888) and Gnossiennes (1890) – which evoke classical ancient Greece through the simplicity, repetition and modal harmonies – have become universally familiar from their use in TV adverts and movies. Debussy’s orchestrations of the Gymnopédies are also found in this collection. Each recording in this exceptional new set of 13 CDs – featuring facsimile LP-sleeves – comes from the best source. Five of these discs, including a bonus of historic mono recordings, are essentially appearing on CD for the first time. Set contents: DISC 1: ML 4399 - « Meet the composer » - Francis Poulenc plays Poulenc & Satie DISC 2: ML 4484 - « Soirée Francaise » Pierre Bernac, baritone with Francis Poulenc, piano in songs of Poulenc, Debussy, Chabrier and Satie DISC 3: ML 4854 - Gold & Fitzdale play music for 2 pianos by Debussy, Poulenc, Milhaud & Satie DISC 4: MS 6323 - Robert and Gaby Casadesus – French Music for Piano Four Hands by Debussy, Chabrier, Satie & Fauré DISC 5: LSC-2945 - Music from France for Oboe and Orchestra – John de Lancie – London Symphony Orchestra – André Previn DISC 6: LSC-3127 - William Masselos plays Satie DISC 7: M 30294 - Philippe Entremont conducts Satie DISC 8: M 32070 - Philippe Entremont: « A la Française » - Debussy, Ravel, Chabrier, Satie, Fauré, Poulenc DISC 9: M 36666 - Régine Crespin, soprano & Philippe Entremont – Songs by Ravel & Satie DISC 10: M 36694 - Daniel Varsano - Satie Piano Music DISC 11: M 37247 - Philippe Entremont plays Satie DISC 12: ARL1-2783 - “The French Touch” – National Philharmonic Orchestra – Charles Gerhardt – Music by Ravel, Satie, Fauré DISC 13: EARLY RECORDINGS from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Erik-Satie-Friends/dp/B01A6NG7WU/

Interesting thought re: Roscoe - but yeah, makes sense!

Yeah, thanks, I got it now

depends on what part of the quoted post you relate his "yup" to ... but all the better then

okay, but still no one really knows if this IS a Left Band Jazz Society tape or not?

Indeed! Was my first listen.

Mulatu Astatke last night, at Moods in Zurich, Switzerland (my home town ... well not quite, but I grew up 25 km outside of it) -- great that Alexander Hawkins (who's playing piano and keys) had me put on the guest list (almost didn't work out), as some 80 minutes before the concert, there were huge queues already and it was so sold out, they had to send people away again! Either way, the line up was: Mulatu Astatke (vib, perc, wurlitzer), Byron Wallen (t), James Arben (ts, fl), Alexander Hawkins (p, keys), Danny Keane (cello), Neil Charles (b), Tom Skinner (d), Richard Olatunde Baker (perc). Guess Astatke himself was really the weakest link of a fantastic band that was really tight from the git-go although it took two or three tunes for the room to really start moving. They did one continuous set that turned out to be really long (didn't check the time, but it must have been around 100 minutes) and by the end, the place was cooking. I enjoyed the solo contributions by all the guys a lot, most notably Wallen on trumpet (he had several spots) and Danny Keane on cello. Arben was terrific on tenor, for one long solo he built and built and ended up kinda chanelling the great Gétatchèw Mèkurya. Alex had just one real piano solo but he made the most out of it, later on he was heard prominently on keys (they should have brought in a real B3, but the stage was crowded already). The rhythms by all were really tight, not just the hook-up of Charles/Skinner/Baker (with the cello meshing in, too), but the keys and vibes and horns as well. So I ended up enjoying it as much for the group effort it was as for the contributions by each of the musicians on stage. Had another chat with Alex afterwards and he kindly signed some CDs for me, too (and had Charles and Skinner sign the trio disc from last year, which I like a lot ... the other one I brought along is maybe my favourite of his, the solo album "Song Singular").

As it's (at least in my case) only Org that creates this issue (still right now, btw), I have a hard time believing the problem being on the end of the various users experiencing it. But it's no biggie, refreshing (F5) does the trick.

Same here several times throughout the day. F5 would do the trick.

Yes, I have "Figure and Spirit" on CD as well - mighty fine one!

You can also try it with a camera if you have a smartphone or any other device ... if the light is good and you can figure out some angle that works without too much reflection and distortion, it can turn out pretty decent.

So anyone knows if this is Left Bank Jazz Society material or not?

Sorry, but I think it looks like utter shit.

Thanks, MG! (And I know, Jim and Mike, I know ... still, there's after all quite some funk and some butts around in this world, and funds and time are limited alas, so funky butt wants to know ) at MG: type : and then tup (no space in between), and the emoticon is still there:

so this IS a Left Bank recording? if Uptown has access to these treasures, that would be mighty cool indeed!

please do comment!

Hm, Crystal Ballroom = Famous Ballroom? Or was that another venue the Left Bank Jazz Society organized concerts at? It was my first impulse too, to state just this, but then I don't know the history of LBJS that well and am not aware of the venues in Baltimore etc.

don't think so - at least not via amazon ... but you can get them fairly cheap at jazzmessenger's: http://www.jazzmessengers.com/en/98989898/complete-catalog-of-the-label-uptown?format=CD_

that was just what I thought

WHOA-ed too! ... next up please someone find decent-sounding versions of those KD w/Red (or Fathead) airchecks!

Might be interested in some of these (Cobb, Sims, Rowles/Mraz, Waldron ...) - any recommendations? Actually the Don Friedman, too ... I have two of his Progressive albums on CD, "Hot Pepper and Knepper" and the one with the mug-shot cover.

Nice! Thanks for sharing!

Yeah, looks horrible indeed.

Yeah, please do tell us more, Allen!