king ubu

Fascinating! What's this, one of those tv shows where folks bring anything and experts of some kind try and determine if it's of any value?

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Yep, I must have seen that one in stores ... he's also on the great Root Down discs by Tommi Meier (two out on Intakt), though I wouldn't know if he can be heard in solo there.

They're almost the equivalent of 40$ here! Which is regular high-price Swiss CD price, but that's just crazy and it's their own fault if by maintaining that the stores close ... there was even some lawsuit against syndicates (local IFPI forcing shops to keep the prices up) but nothing changed, even though there were hopes. Too late anyway, in Zurich the best stores regarding jazz have all shut down.

Sorry about all the typos in my write-up ... two long office days followed by four-hour concerts do take their toll, but I wanted to write it down while I still remembered everything regarding line-ups and sequence etc. Btw I've so far not been pulled to anything Wickihalder did - not even sure where I actually did hear him, but he left little impression. That changed with last night's concert! He must be on some Intakt releases by Irene Schweizer, I'm quite sure. (They were selling their stuff again, as usual almost for twice as much as internationally ... I don't feel like confronting the guy running the label since I really think he does a great job, but it's ridiculous that I have to buy these discs from Italy or Germany or France or even from the US in order to get them for sane prices.)

Btw, one result of tonight: I made peace with the "wrong" Bauer, finally ... last time with the New Orchestra, considered him the weakest link (I now think unfairly, maybe), when I saw him with some rough free jazz quartet I thought he was mad and his erratic behaviour put me off ... but tonight, while behaving as odd as always, he played some wonderful stuff - beautiful sound! Not like his brother (whom I've always loved, saw them on stage together once, a great set by Doppelmoppel, so far the best J. Bauer I'd heard) with all that richness, J. Bauer sitll remains rought by comparison (and rhythmically limited in an odd way, almost as if he's playing some marching band stuff or something), but he had several parts and moments tonight were his tone softened and got a velvety beauty and smoothness at very low volume ... loved that! Could have done with more Barry Guy bass playing though ... that was the one thing I really missed a bit. And more Johansson clarinet, just because that guy seems to be amazing on the instrument - anybody knows of any worthwhile recorded examples of that?

No - they had a *great* replacement for Watts .... apples and oranges, the new guy, Zurich-based Jürg Wickihalder did a terrific job tonight, playing some "lead alto" stuff several times that would have made the best big band proud! As for Mats, seems he opted out long ago, in the printed programme for tonight, sent out at least a month ago, it says Per Texas Johansson was on baritone - as was the case, but alas his baritone was rarely heard, but he played some amazing clarinet! But from the beginning: hellyeah embrace that music I did and do! Ten years ago, I heard the band do "Oort-Entropy" (a few days before they went into the studio to record) - 50 minutes of extremely dense and intense sounds, most impressive ... in a way that neither the radio broadcast of the very same concert nor the CD could ever be - the physical dimension of it was such an integral part of the whole and is not reproducable on tape. Tonight, we got the whole BGNO revue (no dwarfs, three-armed guys and bearded women and knife-throwers though ... guess the demons from Saturn last night did that part, and the horrific singer added hers) ... the schedule, roughly: SET 1: Paul Lytton (d) & Agusti Fernandez (p) Agusti Fernandez (p) & Evan Parker (ss) Evan Parker (ss) & Hans Koch (bcl) these three were kinda morphing into each other, the new guy would show up a bit early making it a trio for a few moments ... took them a while to build momentum, but the Parker/Koch duo was great "Celebration" - Maya Homburger (v) & Barry Guy (b) she had sheet music while he was improvising around her parts ... good Jürg Wickihalder (ss) & Per Texas Johansson (cl) this was easily the most beautiful part of the first set ... amazing playing by Johansson and more than solid, Lacy-influenced soprano by Wickihalder ... the sonics they created weren't that different from Parker/Koch, but the whole thing felt very different ... more varied yet more rooted, very lyrical yet extremely vivid. Herb Robertson (t), Johannes Bauer (tb), Per-Ake Holmlander (tuba), Raymond Strid (d) a study in contrasts regaring the drums ... and actually the only time Strid really laid it on for more than just a few seconds ... but this wasn't exactly ma favourite part, Robertson always must got that loud way eventually, killing all the whimsical stuff he's just done, with mutes and all ... I love when he does that puck-ish stuff, but when he opens up and blows hard, he's like Randy Brecker's weirdo brother, both hide a compressor under their jackets, I'm sure. Evan Parker (ts), Barry Guy (b), Paul Lytton (d) WHAM! They got into it as if they just had to pull a switch, very intense from the beginning ... a lenghty set, and pretty effin' great! Evan on tenor ... he's the man! His sound is wonderful, his lines of endless imagination, and his execution is amazing (I guess John Butcher is the other guy I found similarly impressive, all things considered). And hey, they might lack blues, but they swing like hell (that is if you're not as narrow-minded as some of those jazz police f*scists) This most varied first set was close probably around 75-80 minutes long. Set 2 Barrry Guy New Orchestra: all of the above, Wickihalder on alto, Parker on soprano and tenor, Johansson on baritone and clarinet, Koch sticking to bass clarinet (he didn't have any other horns with him) "Amphi" - feat. Maya Homburger very interesting music, rather spare, the orchestra actually framing Homburger's violin in varying textures ... I felt it was a bit, subdued though. "Radio Rondo" - feat. Agusti Fernandez (and Homburger out here, she's not really a part of the New Orchestra anyway, I understand) this now, this was IT! da shiznits and all that ... wow! A wall of sound, half an hour or so of most intense music, revolving around the piano part of Fernandez, expertly played, Lisztian maybe? Both here and in "Amphi", Wickihalder did an excellent job (he must have had his parts to rehearse a few days in advance, I guess? ... amazing how he pulled it off!) .... and here, the music was really on fire, a physical assault really that went way beyond the ears, it had me literally on the edge of the chair. Yet in all its density, you could detect each and every single voice - surely no small feat on the side of the sound engineers either, but I assume to get there, you need musicians who can pull this off - play like madmen in hell under fire from the red baron, yet still musical to the last fibre. Great night! (edited by mistake - no changes made)

Uhm yes, just went to check the announcement, he IS listed ... guess he won't be here then, either. I shall know soon. Baritone is Per Texas Johannsonn. Or it was in London enjoy! So says the programme, indeed. Other than that and the addition of Homburger, sami line up D.D. and me caught here ten years (I think) ago. Watts wasn't with them then, Mats G on bari.

Just hearing the guys warm up ... tuba from backstage since half an hour. A baritone sax is on stage (not Koch's). But Watts was never planned to be part of tonight's event, I think.

True, but I found/find that pretty odd, too

Me, too ... but then based on the Ellington album, I'm definitely curious!

Hey Birthday boy, go and listen to Elliot Carter's cello concerto!

Ouch!

beardy times ...

Thanks Eric, wasn't aware of this (the coffee being so much hotter than it usually is being served). But anyway, whenever I get a coffee to go, I take the first sips cautiously anway ... not matter if or if not that was a frivolous lawsuit, that tendency that caution (and indeed in many cases common sense) has to be taken care of by laws instead of letting people do some tiny bit of thinking. But then I guess we've long been directed and pushed into that kind of inability for independet existence ...

I agree ... still I find that "first time on CD" crap appalling and tiresome. But yeah, it's of course good to know something is still in the making, but frankly I've little hopes. Wouldn't one think the entire NoJo success could have been used to cross-finance some other stuff? Instead they laid off the few remaining artists they had in their shrinking roster and started doing what ... Willie Nelson and Wynton M? I never understood that, but I guess that's how the corporate world works - have success once, even if unexpected, absolutely need to duplicate that - or else fold. I never got the mono/stereo thing ... why would they do CD reissues of music in stereo when the stuff back then was listened to in mono? Because sometimes in the sixties and seventies everyone started believing stereo was better and when teh CD was introduced in the eighties, no one dared double-guessing that and going "back" to mono?

since there's no thread for album covers featuring animals with piercings:

Got way too much Horowitz to bother for the big sucker ... and frankly I think I already have more than I really need. The "really need" so far boils down to his Scarlatti, Chopin, Liszt ... and some very, very good Schumann ... I might forget a few things, but I've got some 30+ CDs of this material, Columbia/Sony and RCA heritage - I guess the big sucker combines both, right? I've seen these two a while back and wanted to ask what people here might think of them: Contents listed here: http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/us/cat/4792690 I'm tempted, all I know are the Mozart sonatas and I think they're very good. And then there's this one: I read some rather lukewarm reviews on an ealier box collecting the Mozart concertos, but again, I am tempted! The DG set is in the 60€ range, the Erato in the 40-45€ so far ... the DG would have to go down a tiny bit in order to spare me from the custom n*zis, but I'm patient ... Finally, DG seems to start mining their Fricsay treasures, too .... Vol. 1 coming in July - some info here: http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/ferenc-fricsay-complete-recordings-on-deutsche-grammophon-vol-1-orchestral-works/hnum/5121748 Don't know much of his recordings so far ... but I might be interested in the opera box if they follow up with one! Not sure I need this one, probably have all or most of the concerto recordings with Haskil, Martzy, Menuhin and Morini ... but no symphonic stuff of his at all yet.

So it does include non-BN material, too ... milking it!

All the best, Cuck!

Sorry to read this! Was hipped to this disc by brownie (man, I do owe you big deal for all the stuff you shared and made me aware of! ) And indeed that's some very good music in the Carmell Jones Select!

re: that outrageous spilled coffee lawsuit ... when it says "contents hot" and the coffee I get is only warm, can I sue?

Happy Birthday!

great news Chuck, both reissue and news-wise!

Bringing this over here ... sorry for intruding the Malaby thread, thought it was the regular "what live music"-thread! Oh, I've seen the New Orchestra ten years ago and they were effin' unbelievable! Sun Ra Arkesta about four or five years ago - and that must have been one of the greatest parties I've ever been to. So yeah!