Funny Rat

[couw]

In addition to the discs you mentioned, I also really enjoy listening to Sun Ship and Stellar Regions. Live at the VV, Again also has some nice moments, although I don't find it to be as essential as the others. If you go back just a bit earlier, Crescent is another fantastic album.

Interstellar Space is another thing altogether. One of my favorite quotes from here or the BNBB, I can't remember which, was by Jim Sangrey, who said, regarding Interstellar Space, that "you don't fuck with the sound of a man seeing god before he dies."

there are some stunningly fabulous moments on Living Space as well

[John B]

there are some stunningly fabulous moments on Living Space as well

That is a disc I had never heard until recently, when I was able to trade for a used copy. I still need to spend some more time with it before it will really have sunk in. I think I'll add it to the pile of discs to listen to today.

Speaking of which, I pulled out thethird of my three Peter Kowald discs this morning:

When the Sun is Out You Don't See Stars features Kowald with Werner Ludi, Butch Morris and Sainkho Namtchylak. This one didn't make much of an impression when I got it a few years back, and I haven't listened to it in quite a while. I'll give it another listen to it today and see if I can relate to it any better these days.

[king ubu]

Hey what's on that "Living Space" thing? Anything not available elsewhere? Can someone type out all the info for me, please?

There are a few Coltrane discs I never heard (Olatunji, Expression, Vanguard Again), and it's similar for me as with John: there is a need to step back, every time I've listened to any of his music. It's just so intense.

David, do you have the 1961 Village Vanguard 4CD set? I hope so, because if not, you have to get it immediately - some of the best music I've ever heard!

ubu

[Д.Д.]

Inspired by all this Kowald talk around here, was listening to solo bass records for last couple of days.

Anthony Cox - "That & This" (Sketch, 2002).

The most simple and direct one of the bunch. Short (1-3 minutes each) bouncy bluesy tunes, good wooden sound. Sound like bass solos culled hard bop combo performances. Well played, though. The main merit, IMO is prestine recording quality - you hear every nuance pefectly. Enjoyable, but not essential (EBNE, how about this Tony?). MP3 from SKETCH website

Miroslav Vitous - "Emergence" (ECM, 1986).

Now we are getting serious. Great stuff! Dark, melodic, lyrical. Fantastic variations on Aranjues Concerto by Rodrigo. ECM sound adds to the overall haunting atmosphere. Sublime. Can be easily played with girlfriends / wives / uninitiated friends in presense. Highly recommended.

Barre Phillips - "Camouflage" (Victo, 1990).

Well, the things are not only getting serious, but pretty insane as well. Here you get all extended techniques thinkable. Some sounds I could never think were possible to produce on bass. Phillips' technique is stinning, and sound (sounds!) is just ...hmmm....comprehensive. The tracks are diverse - from quite tuneful to extreme atonal stuff. This one is defînitely a more challenging listen than the above two records, but a really captivating one. At this moment this is my favorite solo bass record, and is strongly recommended for anyone interested in possibilites of contrabass and human mind.

Ken Filiano - "Subvenire" (9 Winds, 2002).

Didn't like this one too much. Filiano is an good musician, with a lot of interesting ideas, but the music sounded not too coherent and pretty monotone. Also, the sound is quite bland (I don't know whether this is Filiano's bass or studio). Will give it a try some other day.

Lynn Seaton - "Solo Flights" (OmniTone, 2000).

Not bad at all. As far as I understand from liners, Seaton is a hard-bop guy, who played with Woody Herman and Count Basy, but he is pretty creative here. Nice (very traditional - Milt Hinton, Rax Brown) heavy wooden sound, excellent pizzicato (that he displays on particularly on original and respectful reading of standards - "Body and Soul", "How High is the Moon" with "Ornithology" incorporated, "Yesterdays") and strong full-sounding bowing. Seaton stretches a bit on his own compositions. All clever, to the point and sincere without showing off too much.

Listening to it now for the second time and hear that some tracks actually don't work out that well: like overdone repetitive rock-and-roll type of thing and some slow boring bowing feature, but still a good stuff overall. A bit too locked in tradition, probably.

Jonathan Zorn - "ContraBass" (1998) and "PHYS 111 Book III" (2003) - both on Newsonic.

This is some insane bowing stuff with a lot of silences in between... I need to listen more to to form an opinion.

Some other discs I've listened to - both left very positive impressions on first listen (and both are vry different from each other), but I need to listen acouple more times to each of them - Joelle Leandre's "No Comment" (Red Toucan) and Mark Dresser's "Invocation" (Kintting Factory).

Gotta buy more solo bass! Dave Holland, Gary Peacock, Eberhard Weber, more Barre Phillips and Micjael Formanek are on THE LIST.

[Д.Д.]

Hey what's on that "Living Space" thing? Anything not available elsewhere? Can someone type out all the info for me, please?

There are a few Coltrane discs I never heard (Olatunji, Expression, Vanguard Again), and it's similar for me as with John: there is a need to step back, every time I've listened to any of his music. It's just so intense.

David, do you have the 1961 Village Vanguard 4CD set? I hope so, because if not, you have to get it immediately - some of the best music I've ever heard!

ubu

"Living Space" is in the Coltrane Impulse! Quartet box. It's post - "Love Supreme", but before "Meditations".

I don't have the Village Vanguard box, so my only exposure to these perfomances is from the "Impressions" album ("India" and "Impressions") and I thought Coltrane's playing was pretty limited on those. Given this experience and my ambiguos attitude towards Dolphy at the moment, I'm not too interreested in exploring any further right now.

[couw]

Living Space has:

1965.06.10 (2, 5) & 06.16 (1, 3, 4)

John Coltrane, ss, ts; McCoy Tyner, p; Jimmy Garrison, b; Elvin Jones, ds;

1 Living space

2 Untitled 90314

3 Dusk-dawn

4 Untitled 90320

5 The last blues

tracks 1-4 originally issued on The Mastery of John Coltrane-Vol. 1: Fellin' Good (Impulse IZ9345)

Also recorded on 06.10:

Welcome (Kulu Se Mama)

Transition (Transition)

Suite: Prayer and meditation: Day - Peace and after - Prayer and meditation: Evening - Affirmation - Prayer and meditation: 4 A.M. (Transition)

and on 06.16:

Vigil (Kulu Se Mama)

Dusk-dawn (Kulu Se Mama)

Dusk-dawn (Kulu Se Mama)

[king ubu]

Hey what's on that "Living Space" thing? Anything not available elsewhere? Can someone type out all the info for me, please?

There are a few Coltrane discs I never heard (Olatunji, Expression, Vanguard Again), and it's similar for me as with John: there is a need to step back, every time I've listened to any of his music. It's just so intense.

David, do you have the 1961 Village Vanguard 4CD set? I hope so, because if not, you have to get it immediately - some of the best music I've ever heard!

ubu

"Living Space" is in the Coltrane Impulse! Quartet box. It's post - "Love Supreme", but before "Meditations".

I don't have the Village Vanguard box, so my only exposure to these perfomances is from the "Impressions" album ("India" and "Impressions") and I thought Coltrane's playing was pretty limited on those. Given this experience and my ambiguos attitude towards Dolphy at the moment, I'm not too interreested in exploring any further right now.

Oh yes, I remember your strange Dolphy remarks... anything to post here? I'm ready ...

Enjoyed your solo bass post - the Phillips has been on the "list" already, and it will stay right there. Don't know any of the albums you list, but I have one of Weber's ECM solo discs. Got it cheap and used, listened once, wasn't all too impressed, and put it on some "to listen to again some day"-pile (have many of those piles all over my place and my girlfriend's as well...)

It's not a usual solo disc, as Weber works with overdubbing etc, creating soundscapes of bass. The last sentence in Weber's self-written liner reads: "The bass as orchestra - if that isn't a challenge."...

Got his "Colours of Chloë" as well, that day, and was even less impressed with that.

Will revisit those in time.

Listened to two hours of live stuff recorded off Bayerischer Rundfunk last night, from Jazzwoche Burghausen 2004 (early in May): Sam Rivers' trio (with Matthews & Coles), Zorn Electric Masada (Ribot, Saft, Dunn, Wollesen, Baron, Baptista, Mori), and E.S.T.

Still same opinion on Svenson, and not too fond of the Rivers (four rather short tracks), but the Zorn was pretty good. Now waiting for an hour of Marc Ducret, coming 12pm on France Musiques, a recording from September 11 this year, with his quintet: Alain Vankenhove (tp), Christophe Monniot (sax), Bruno Chevillon (b [not he'd be a candidate for a solo record!]), and Éric Échampards (d).

ubu

[king ubu]

Thanks, John! So I guess it really is all in the box.

ubu

[Д.Д.]

ow waiting for an hour of Marc Ducret, coming 12pm on France Musiques, a recording from September 11 this year, with his quintet: Alain Vankenhove (tp), Christophe Monniot (sax), Bruno Chevillon (b [not he'd be a candidate for a solo record!]), and Éric Échampards (d).

I heard this band live last year. Boring pretentious bullshit.

Bruno Chevillon definitely should record a solo record (actually, that's what I told him after that concert - and he said that solo bass is kinda boring for listeners, I gently argued that the shit he had been playing that night was kinda boring for listeners, but he didn't seem persuaded).

Another guy who absolutely should record solo is Jean-Jacques Avenel.

Dolphy criticue is coming, don't worry .

[king ubu]

ow waiting for an hour of Marc Ducret, coming 12pm on France Musiques, a recording from September 11 this year, with his quintet: Alain Vankenhove (tp), Christophe Monniot (sax), Bruno Chevillon (b [not he'd be a candidate for a solo record!]), and Éric Échampards (d).

I heard this band live last year. Boring pretentious bullshit.

Bruno Chevillon definitely should record a solo record (actually, that's what I told him after that concert - and he said that solo bass is kinda boring for listeners, I gently argued that the shit he had been playing that night was kinda boring for listeners, but he didn't seem persuaded).

Another guy who absolutely should record solo is Jean-Jacques Avenel.

Dolphy criticue is coming, don't worry .

Will give the Ducret band a chance, I usually like himself quite a bit (also in Humair's crew, with Chevillon in, too).

Avenel, yes! Have a burn of one trio disc of Lacy's (The Window, Soul Note) and he's fantastic there, as in the larger Lacy groups.

I hope you at least have the VV master takes CD - "Chasin' the Trane", in trio is a stunning performance - one of the best takes Trane ever committed to record!

[Chuck Nessa]

Hey John, how's this one?

Don't forget to post! Looks tasty!

ubu

It is fantastic! Better than I had remembered. I will try to post a more thorough review later but, for now, I will highly recommend it.

Seeing this post I dug out the 2 original lps (FMP0730 Touch the Earth and FMP0920 Break the Shells) and checked the cd contents on the FMP site. To my dismay, the cd program has omitted the piece called Break the Shells (17:53) and substituted Long Time No See (7:29). Guess I keep the vinyl.

[Д.Д.]

This is some great music! Listening for the third time in a row.

Matthew Goodheart - "Songs From The Time of Great Questioning" (Meniscus, 1997)

Solo piano - somewhere in the middle between Cecil Taylor and Paul Bley, with a bit of Ravel and Schumann.

Edit: add Mussorgsky and Skryabin as influences as well! Gonna get all GOodheart I will find!

AMG review

Edited March 5, 2005 by Д.Д.

[John B]

Hey John, how's this one?

Don't forget to post! Looks tasty!

ubu

It is fantastic! Better than I had remembered. I will try to post a more thorough review later but, for now, I will highly recommend it.

Seeing this post I dug out the 2 original lps (FMP0730 Touch the Earth and FMP0920 Break the Shells) and checked the cd contents on the FMP site. To my dismay, the cd program has omitted the piece called Break the Shells (17:53) and substituted Long Time No See (7:29). Guess I keep the vinyl.

Chuck -

that is frustrating to hear. FMP seems to do this quite a bit. I've been told that there is a good deal of material on the Duos vinyl that does not appear on cd.

I finished re-listening to When the Sun is Out and, while it definitely has its moments, I don't connect with it as readily as the other discs I mentioned previously. Perhaps that is due to the vocalizations, which dominate most of the album. This is definitely not an album I would recommend to J.A.W.

Duos, on the other hand, is fantastic! I'm not a huge fan of all tracks but the album itself is essential. I'll have to search out a copy of the second volume one day.

[Д.Д.]

I've been told that there is a good deal of material on the Duos vinyl that does not appear on cd.

Woo knows, FMP might release the rest of the DUOS material. DUOS II was issued just last year, after all.

I actually can't remember a single track on DUOS I that I didn't like... probably the one with Japanese folk musician/singer near the end of the disc... and tracks with Andrew Cyrille (with extensive vocaliazing from both)... the rest range from solid to brilliant!

Will listen to DUOS II now.

Edited September 20, 2004 by Д.Д.

[John B]

I enjoyed reading your reviews of solo bass discs. I own two solo Dave Holland discs and enjoy both, although both seem fairly bland now after seeing what he is capable of doing live.

have you ever heard of an album called Maldoror, by Erik Friedlander? I believe it is solo cello. I read a rave review of it somewhere online and Signal to Noise gave it a very positive review. It has been on "the list" for quite some time now.

[John B]

Hey John, how's this one?

Don't forget to post! Looks tasty!

ubu

It is fantastic! Better than I had remembered. I will try to post a more thorough review later but, for now, I will highly recommend it.

Does it have a lot of that typical Kowald humming (some would call it vocalizing)?

I listened to this one again and did not notice any vocalizations. I think you would really enjoy it. You should, however, avoid I was struck by how much Wadada sound, to my ears, like a more "out" Miles on this disd. I found his tone and phrasing to be very remniscent of Miles, but in a much less structured manner, if that makes any sense.When the Sun Is Out, whatever you do. Vocalizations everywhere.

[Leeway]

Hey what's on that "Living Space" thing? Anything not available elsewhere? Can someone type out all the info for me, please?

There are a few Coltrane discs I never heard (Olatunji, Expression, Vanguard Again), and it's similar for me as with John: there is a need to step back, every time I've listened to any of his music. It's just so intense.

David, do you have the 1961 Village Vanguard 4CD set? I hope so, because if not, you have to get it immediately - some of the best music I've ever heard!

ubu

Coincidentally, I've been listening to the Complete Live at the Village Vanguard, and I completely agree with your comments, King Ubu. This set really energized my Coltrane AND Dolphy appreciation and enthusiasm. Indeed, it's fun to think of this set as "Dolphy Live at the Village Vanguard." From my perspective, in bypassing this set, one misses crucial aspects of Coltrane.

[Nate Dorward]

I remember Filiano's Subvenire as pretty good actually.

One of the champ solo discs is Barry Guy's Fizzles, very much worth geting if you haven't got it already. I'm told Barry's most recent solo disc (which has a couple covers on it!) is not as good.

Simon Fell's Max, only on cassette, is worth hearing too.

[Д.Д.]

have you ever heard of an album called Maldoror, by Erik Friedlander? I believe it is solo cello. I read a rave review of it somewhere online and Signal to Noise gave it a very positive review. It has been on "the list" for quite some time now.

Maldoror is unbelievable, one of the best releases of 2003, IMO - ubu and I have been raving about it for months now. I think I got it from CDBaby.

Gonna do a little solo cello review one day also. But I have very few solo cello CDs: in addition to Maldoror, one by Peter Lewy, one by Matt Turner and one by Dave Holland.

[John B]

Maldoror is unbelievable, one of the best releases of 2003, IMO - ubu and I have been raving about it for months now. I think I got it from CDBaby.

I knew I had read about it somewhere, I just didn't realize I had read about it right here. Time to head over to cdbaby.

[king ubu]

Maldoror is unbelievable, one of the best releases of 2003, IMO - ubu and I have been raving about it for months now. I think I got it from CDBaby.

I knew I had read about it somewhere, I just didn't realize I had read about it right here. Time to head over to cdbaby.

I hope no one is offended if I add

maldoror is da shit!

An awesome disc, really! I think you should love it, John! And yes, I got it from CDBaby as well.

ubu

[AmirBagachelles]

I impulsively grabbed two titles last week that I am pretty thrilled with, esp the Van Hove:

Fred Van Hove - Vogel Recordings. Mostly solo, some duo with a horn. Great range of sound and intensity. Best find, for me, in months. Goes great with my current year-long catch-up obsession with CT.

Evan Parker / Brotzmann Double Trio (on Victo) - The Bishop's Move. Don't know any Parker, but I wanted to hear more after checking out the CT '88 trio recording w/ Parker on FMP. Lots of musical dialog and space, not oppressively screetchy. And always nice to hear Brotzmann integrating with an ensemble.

[Д.Д.]

Fred Van Hove - Vogel Recordings.  Mostly solo, some duo with a horn.  Great range of sound and intensity.  Best find, for me, in months.  Goes great with my current year-long catch-up obsession with CT.

His relatively recent solo Passing Waves on nuscope is not too shabby either, but without ping-pong balls inside the piano. Actually, probably even better than Vogel Recordings, he-he.

Edited September 20, 2004 by Д.Д.

[Guest Chaney]

UbuWeb

[king ubu]

UbuWeb

I stumbled over that site some time ago (obviously...), but didn't save the link, thanks!

ubu