Funny Rat

[king ubu]

Д.Д. and I especially like the new age elements in this one.  (Very reminiscent of Enya at her most ethereal.)  Be sure to light the scented candles (or potpourri), pour a hot cup of cocoa, sit in your most comfy chair and prepare to be soothed.  (The acapella humming bits are especially sweet.)

You had me excited, for a minute. That sounds just like the way I relax with Broetzmann's Machine Gun, Kevin Drumm's Sheer Hellish Miasma and Coltrane's Om, all playing at the same time.

I'd add some Last Exit to the mix! And how can you even think about relaxing without mentioning Ascension (both takes simultaneous, of course)

ubu

[John B]

Д.Д. and I especially like the new age elements in this one.  (Very reminiscent of Enya at her most ethereal.)  Be sure to light the scented candles (or potpourri), pour a hot cup of cocoa, sit in your most comfy chair and prepare to be soothed.  (The acapella humming bits are especially sweet.)

You had me excited, for a minute. That sounds just like the way I relax with Broetzmann's Machine Gun, Kevin Drumm's Sheer Hellish Miasma and Coltrane's Om, all playing at the same time.

I'd add some Last Exit to the mix! And how can you even think about relaxing without mentioning Ascension (both takes simultaneous, of course)

ubu

I would be very, very happy if Mosaic would do a Last Exit box. Those disc are far too difficult to track down and go for quite a bit when they do show up, at least around here. The only disc of theirs that I have heard so far is Cassette Recordings '87, which I really enjoy.

[Guest Chaney]

Ok, almost through WAEITR now.  I like it, but there are many other Ersts I would pick up before this one, if you were just starting out.

Sounds like good advice. I listened to sound samples of this one and was frightened away. Problem I have with this type of music is that some of it is LESS music or more musical soundscapes. Interesting perhaps but how often are you going to want to sit and listen?

I ordered your avatar yesterday from Squidco and it's on the way!

~~~~~~~~~

Speaking of Leo Lab, this I found of GREAT interest from Signal to Noise magazine.

(I read the review that Leo mentions and really did wonder if Lab titles were vanity projects.)

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Reviewing The Remote Viewers’ CD Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings (GE5) in the Summer, 2003 issue of Signal to Noise (page 72), the reviewer Kurt Gottschalk wrote:  “On previous records (released on Leo records’ pay-to-play imprint Leo Lab)...”.  This remark suggests that musicians have to pay money for the privilege of releasing their CDs on Leo Records.  It is hard to find out where and from whom the reviewer obtained this piece of information.  But before making this public statement, a conscientious reviewer should have checked and rechecked the facts, for his statement presents the label in a rather unenviable light.  In certain walks of life a statement like this would be considered a sheer defamation, for not only is it an outright lie but very damaging for the label as well.  I have no intention of taking the reviewer or the magazine to court.  I understand that the reason for making such a statement is based not on malice or a desire to harm the producer, but rather on ignorance of the reviewer who follows the path of cheap journalism.  Incidently, his phrase does not add anything to the analysis of the music, and for this reason alone it is totally unnecessary.

The aim of this letter is to explain both to the reviewer and the curious musicians how the system works.  Leo Records produces highly original, non-commercial music, and my personal experience of producing this kind of music for about 25 years tells me that it is much ahead of its time.  Since it has no commercial appeal, it cannot bring financial benefits either to the label or to musicians.  In the course of producing over 500 recordings (actually over 700 recordings if one considers LPs) I have dealt with dozens of musicians, and every case was, and is, different.  There is no standard scheme to satisfy all the musicians, like it is in the pop or rock business.  More than that, the official rules set up by Musicians’ Union MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society), and other organisations dealing with producing, promoting and selling recorded music, were made for commercial recordings.  But what are we to do if a recording is to have no chance of selling enough copies to recoup the expenses?  Well, there are two options.  One is not to release the recording and avoid losses, the other one is for the producer (or a record company) to release the recording and lose money.  For many years, until my retirement from the BBC, I followed the second option.

I have been fortunate to start the record company and run it for 18 years while on a pensionable contract with the BBC.  I don’t know how other small labels do it and how they survive.  Presumably, some of them, like the Swiss Hat Hut Records or the Scottish Caber Records, manage to get sponsorships and grants.  I was not that lucky, but I was privileged to be able to cover all of Leo Records’ losses with my BBC salary and moonlighting (I had been voicing over many TV documentaries and this job used to pay very well).  There was a time when my debts to the bank were catastrophic and I used to wake up in the middle of the night sweating.  The bank had the charge of the mortgage on my London flat and theoretically they could take possession of it at any time.  After the collapse of New Music Distribution Service in New York in 1989 the interest on my overdraft was bigger than my BBC salary.  That felt like the end of Leo Records, yet I survived.

By the end of the ‘90s I retired from the BBC.  My BBC and state pensions combined pay the bills, but they cannot cover the losses to Leo Records.  In other words, Leo Records is in no position to lose money anymore.  So, what does one do?

They say that “poverty is the mother of invention”.  I had to come up with the solution of running the label and the decision came naturally.  Eventually I had to summon my courage to tell some musicians that I could not sell their CDs.  I have been avoiding saying it all my life, for a work of art cannot be judged by the amount of sales.  My American distributor City Hall Records is very good at delivering CDs to the shops.  Four years ago it took thirty of my Leo Lab titles, 50 of each, and brought them to the biggest shops in the USA.  It was the dream of every musician, and every musician thinks that as soon as his CDs are in the shops, music fans will run to buy his CDs.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  Three years later City Hall shipped back all unsold CDs.  It had 30 titles, 50 CDs each.  1500 pieces altogether.  How many copies were returned?  1494.  How many copies were sold?  Six.  This is not a joke, and I am ready to show the sales reports to anybody.  It cost me about $1,000 to get the unsold CDs back to England.

The experience was invaluable and it confirmed that I was on the right way when I formulated the new policy.  I say to some musicians: “I cannot sell your CDs.  Let’s try to sell them together.  I shall oblige you to buy a certain amount of CDs from me at a distribution price.  You will be selling them at your gigs at the full price.  You are welcome to pocket the difference”.

The scheme works very well for those musicians who play gigs and concerts, and some musicians are very happy with this arrangement.  They come to me again and again, and some of them amassed very impressive portfolios which help them to find new gigs.  However, if a musician does not perform regularly the scheme is no good to him.  He would sit on a pile of his own CDs for which he had to pay a distribution price.  It is a loss of money for him, and a loss of money for the label because he does not generate any publicity and his name remains as obscure as before.  Ultimately, I took a decision not to release one-off CDs however strong the music might be.  I work with those who are prepared to hustle for gigs and concerts and play as often as possible.

The scheme has quite a few variations.  The principle is the same, the details vary with every musician depending on his ability to sell his own CDs and the ability of Leo Records to sell his CDs on the strength of his name.  Needless to say, there are quite a few musicians who do not have to buy their CDs from me.  Their names and music are strong enough for me to break even on their releases and they are getting paid.  They come back to me again and again and we continue to work on a regular basis.  There are musicians who get paid partly with money and party with CDs, there are musicians who are paid with CDs, and there are those who have to buy CDs from me at a distribution price.  Whatever the variation, it is a musician who benefits from the deal.  It has to be emphasize that Leo Records is not unique and I do not claim the patent for this invention.  Many labels practice a similar approach, for this is the only way for a small independent label producing uncompromising music to survive in a consumer society.

I hope this brief outline will help Mr. Gottschalk understand what is happening and not to write defamatory reviews anymore.  As a person who worked for the BBC for over 25 years, I would also give Mr. Gottschalk a piece of advice to always check everything he writes about from at least two different sources.

Leo Feigin

Producer, Leo Records

Edited January 15, 2004 by Chaney

[Nate Dorward]

That's an interesting letter, but it does leave still unexplained the difference between Leo & the Leo Lab imprint.

Don Friedman is indeed a remarkable pianist. I wish he'd knock it off with the boring album titles--My Romance, Days of Wine and Roses, Waltz for Debby, I Concentrate on You.......it leads you to expect precious sub-Bill Evans romanticism, but actually Friedman's far more bracing than that (Days of Wine and Roses, for instance, includes several "free" pieces). I haven't heard the new one, Waltz for Debby (the brainiacs at 441 Records seemed to think that when I asked them to send me a review copy, I really meant to say I wanted All Love: Grady Tate Sings). But virtually everything I've heard of Friedman's has been excellent.

[clifford_thornton]

Well... all the Friedman-Zoller dates from the mid-60s are classic and fairly free at times. I seem to recall one on Prestige, one on Riverside, and one on Emarcy under Zoller's name.

Don't know if the latter is on CD, but the other two are.

C

[Guest Chaney]

Welcome Clifford!

[Guest Chaney]

Trio Nueva Finlandia: HA! - WHAT's GOING ON? (Leo Lab CD 046)

May I offer this opinion?

IT'S CRAP!

Thank you.

[John B]

Trio Nueva Finlandia: HA! - WHAT's GOING ON? (Leo Lab CD 046)

May I offer this opinion?

IT'S CRAP!

Thank you.

Don't sugarcoat it, how do you really feel about this disc?

Didn't ubu or someone else give this disc a nice write up elsewhere a while back?

[Guest Chaney]

Didn't ubu or someone else give this disc a nice write up elsewhere a while back?

You just HAD to bring that up, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?! B)

Any opinions on this Vienna Art Orchestra (now OOP) release:

AMG Review

Reason I ask is that I just won a copy on the Amazon auction site for $19.95.

There's a copy currently up for bids on eBay with bidding now at $47!

Edited January 16, 2004 by Chaney

[king ubu]

Trio Nueva Finlandia:  HA! - WHAT's GOING ON?  (Leo Lab CD 046)

May I offer this opinion?

IT'S CRAP!

Thank you.

Don't sugarcoat it, how do you really feel about this disc?

Didn't ubu or someone else give this disc a nice write up elsewhere a while back?

That wasn't me. I'm not into the Leo orbit yet.

Chaney, don't know that album, but as a rule it seems all VAO projects are at least interesting. You know their Dolphy tribute?

ubu

[Guest Chaney]

Chaney, don't know that album, but as a rule it seems all VAO projects are at least interesting. You know their Dolphy tribute?

ubu

The only one I have is The Minimalism of Erik Satie.

LOVE Lauren Newton!

[king ubu]

Chaney, don't know that album, but as a rule it seems all VAO projects are at least interesting. You know their Dolphy tribute?

ubu

The only one I have is The Minimalism of Erik Satie.

LOVE Lauren Newton!

Love her too, on that disc! Don't know much she did, but live, as I said... not exactly my cup of tea

If you have a chance to, listen to "All That Strauss" - the VAO doing their alternative new year concert, same Strauss etc. waltzes the Vienna Philharmonic played earlier the same day (Jan. 1, 2001). The CD is out on TCB. I would not buy it unheard, as I don't know you tastes that well - maybe it's too nice for your tastes, I don't know.

ubu

[Guest Chaney]

Hmmmm....

I might tread lightly around that one.

Never been a fan of the waltz.

[king ubu]

Hmmmm....

I might tread lightly around that one.

Never been a fan of the waltz.

Give it a listen if you can - I am no waltz fan at all, but this, holy Strauss!

You get Wolfgang Puschnig play the "Donau Walzer", there's some Michel Portal, Bumi Fian does a wonderful job on one track, Matthieu Michel and Andy Scherrer are featured... I like it a lot.

ubu

[Д.Д.]

New FMP release of Mr. CT:

INCARNATION (FMP CD 123)

Cecil Taylor (piano, voice)

Franky Douglas (g, voice)

Tristan Honsinger (cello)

Andrew Cyrille (dr, tympani)

Excerpt from the booklet

(...) Four musicians in search of a common pathway through time. The

end is still open when they come on stage, when the first sounds are

carefully placed into the space. Cecil Taylorґs highly individual lyrics

resemble incantations and are a reminder to the poetic dimension of this

music. What we experience and re-experience with the recordings is

similar to the formation of waves. As always, in groups around Taylor,

musical movements develop in broad curves, logical in themselves, cohesion

and dissolution. And, as always in Taylorґs music since the 80ґs and

even more in the 90ґs, views of unexpected tenderness open up. On the

other hand we experience cohesion of a sheer unbearable intensity.

Unbearable for consumer-oriented ears, for senses which are only used to react

instead of perceiving and of being involved in a creative way. Whith

this emphasis of the aura, with its intensity in the here and now, this

music opposes the increasing virtualization, the disembodiement of this

world. And, at the same time, it itself can be seen as rejection of the

shallow materialism of the world of goods by igniting something

indescribable between the polyrhythmic interlocking, the whirring sounds, the

thundering clusters and the hovering microtonalities: magic.

Bert Noglik

Haven't heard Nueva Finlandia. Will do soon.

[Guest Chaney]

New Cadence release of Mr. JL:

JIMMY LYONS - Red Snapper (Cadence 1167) Featuring Karen Borca on  bassoon, Dewey Johnson on trumpet, Marilyn Driscoll on piano, Paul Murphy on drums and the legendary Jimmy Lyons on alto sax.  Last year  was important one for late alto sax giant Jimmy Lyons, Cecil Taylor's most worthy and inventive collaborator for nearly two decades.  Last year, we were all blessed with that amazing 5 cd box set on Ayler Disc, as well as the return of American distribution for Jimmy's five great discs from the Black Saint label.  'Red Snapper' is certain to be another lost long treasure and you know that we are just as psyched as you are!?!  Review next week, once we get a copy into our hands!

[king ubu]

New Cadence release of Mr. JL:

JIMMY LYONS - Red Snapper (Cadence 1167) Featuring Karen Borca on  bassoon, Dewey Johnson on trumpet, Marilyn Driscoll on piano, Paul Murphy on drums and the legendary Jimmy Lyons on alto sax.  Last year  was important one for late alto sax giant Jimmy Lyons, Cecil Taylor's most worthy and inventive collaborator for nearly two decades.  Last year, we were all blessed with that amazing 5 cd box set on Ayler Disc, as well as the return of American distribution for Jimmy's five great discs from the Black Saint label.  'Red Snapper' is certain to be another lost long treasure and you know that we are just as psyched as you are!?!  Review next week, once we get a copy into our hands!

what ?!?

-->

ubu

[king ubu]

New FMP release of Mr. CT:

INCARNATION (FMP CD 123)

Cecil Taylor (piano, voice)

Franky Douglas (g, voice)

Tristan Honsinger (cello)

Andrew Cyrille (dr, tympani)

Excerpt from the booklet

(...) Four musicians in search of a common pathway through time. The

end is still open when they come on stage, when the first sounds are

carefully placed into the space. Cecil Taylorґs highly individual lyrics

resemble incantations and are a reminder to the poetic dimension of this

music. What we experience and re-experience with the recordings is

similar to the formation of waves. As always, in groups around Taylor,

musical movements develop in broad curves, logical in themselves, cohesion

and dissolution. And, as always in Taylorґs music since the 80ґs and

even more in the 90ґs, views of unexpected tenderness open up. On the

other hand we experience cohesion of a sheer unbearable intensity.

Unbearable for consumer-oriented ears, for senses which are only used to react

instead of perceiving and of being involved in a creative way. Whith

this emphasis of the aura, with its intensity in the here and now, this

music opposes the increasing virtualization, the disembodiement of this

world. And, at the same time, it itself can be seen as rejection of the

shallow materialism of the world of goods by igniting something

indescribable between the polyrhythmic interlocking, the whirring sounds, the

thundering clusters and the hovering microtonalities: magic.

Bert Noglik

Haven't heard Nueva Finlandia. Will do soon.

This one sounds good!

Are you a subscriber of FMP? If so, please keep us updated when you get it!

ubu

[Д.Д.]

Tony, thanks for posting the letter of Leo Feigin. This clarifies a bit the situation.

I believe sharing of the commercial risk between musician and producer is an appropriae strategy in the creative music "business".

I was considerin investing in a Steve Lacy recording and CD release project (you can do it through the Steve Lacy Senators website), but then after I requested the cost breakdown, I found out that musicians are paid quite a handsome fee for recording. With all due respect for Steve Lacy and other musicians involved, I could not understand why they should not carry at least a part of the financial risk involved (e.g. record for free and receive royaltees from future sales), so I choose not to participate.

[Guest Chaney]

Fabio Martini / Circadiana: Clangori (Leo Lab CD 045)

AMA-JAZZ: In One Breath (Leo Lab CD 020)

As I found the liner notes of interest, here they are. (Call me naive but the thought that this type of music is being created at such a geographical remove truly amazes me.)

There is something mysterious about this recording that I don’t quite understand.  It is the kind of mystery I first experienced back in 1980 when a German tourist smuggled a tape from the former Soviet Union and sent it to me.  It happened to be a recording of the Ganelin Trio, which later became world-famous for their originality and poly-stylistic approach to music-making.  At the time the question was:  How on earth could such original musicians, visionaries, breathtaking technicians and free spirits emerge from the midst of a totalitarian regime that openly discouraged and oppressed jazz music as a manifestation of Western values and influence?  After the release of their first LPs, The Ganelin Trio were compared to the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Sun Ra Arkestra, yet none of the Western writers could imagine that The Ganelin Trio had never heard of such Western groups let alone seen them on stage or listened to their LPs.  It was very difficult to obtain such LPs behind the Iron Curtin.  The mysterious feeling was aroused again some time later when I started to become flooded with tapes from groups such as “Jazz Group Arkhangelsk”, “Homo Liber”, and others from different parts of the USSR.

As time went by, however, the feeling of mystery gradually melted away.  The Ganelin Trio became a thing of the past and the whole notion of free jazz from the Soviet Union ceased to arouse curiosity.  With the collapse of the totalitarian regime, the freedom of expression in that part of the globe was taken for granted.

I had never expected to experience this feeling again.  However, it happened recently when another tourist, this time Russian, brought a cassette from the Urals.  The only inscription on the cassette was “AMA-JAZZ”.  As soon as I started listening to the recording the mysterious feeling returned.  It was obvious from the very first notes that the musicianship was there.  The music was powerful, intuitively structured, and free.

Had I received this kind of cassette from Europe or America I would not be at all surprised.  This kind of music is being played in many “civilized” countries. But the Urals?  This God-forsaken place is three thousand miles away from Moscow.  It is in the middle on nowhere.  The name of the town where the musicians live and where the recording was made has sinister connotations.  The town of Ekaterinburg is remembered as the place where the whole family of the last Russian Tsar Nikolai II was brutally murdered by Bolsheviks in 1918.  The region is notorious for its inhospitable climate and severe living conditions. 

Having sent the tape the musicians managed to get in touch with me:  times are changing – you can reach the Urals by telephone or fax.  It transpires that, as was the case with The Ganelin Trio, the musicians of AMA-JAZZ have never heard the Art Ensemble of Chicago or Sun Ra.  They have never traveled abroad, and they have not seen many free jazz groups on stage.  They started playing together in 1991.  AMA stands for “Association of Musicians of Avant-garde”.  They call themselves AMA-JAZZ because they believe they have been influenced by jazz music.  During one of our brief conversations I asked them why they played this kind of music.  The question surprised them, and the answer was very simple:  “This is how we feel, this is what we want to play.  It is an outlet for our spirituality and it comes naturally”.  But this simple answer does not help to dispel the mystery.  On the contrary, the mystery is only deeper. -- Leo Feigin, November, 1995

[Д.Д.]

Fabio Martini / Circadiana: Clangori (Leo Lab CD 045)

AMA-JAZZ: In One Breath (Leo Lab CD 020)

Call me naive but the thought that this type of music is being created at such a geographical remove truly amazes me.

Agree with your rankings of these discs.

I frankly don't see why this sort of music cannot be created anywhere.

[Д.Д.]

I would be very, very happy if Mosaic would do a Last Exit box. Those disc are far too difficult to track down and go for quite a bit when they do show up, at least around here. The only disc of theirs that I have heard so far is Cassette Recordings '87, which I really enjoy.

I have all but one Last Exit CDs, and "Cassette Recordings '87" is my favorite. What a great band that was!

I would also recommend getting a CD called "No Material" attributed to Ginger Baker. That's a band of Baker, Brötzmann, Sharrock, Nicky Skopelitis (guitar) and Jan Kazda (bass). Quite different from Last Exit - more slow, more bluesy and more melodic. Funny to hear Brötzmann's wailings over Baker's heavy steady rock beats. And there are two excellent guitarists! Good stuff.

[Д.Д.]

I recieved my copy from http://www.themusicresource.com/

Very expressive stuff.

[John B]

I recieved my copy from http://www.themusicresource.com/

Very expressive stuff.

They seem to have all of the OOP Eremites in stock. I placed an order and am hoping they come through! Not much chance these will be repressed, I'm guessing.

Edited January 22, 2004 by John B

[Д.Д.]

They seem to have all of the OOP Eremites in stock. I placed an order and am hoping they come through! Not much chance these will be repressed, I'm guessing.

Raphe Malik's "Consequences" is unavailabe for themusicresource (I tried). I am interested in Bendian's stuff - the rest of the OOP Eremite stuff I will probably pass...