Funny Rat

[Guest Chaney]

Looks like it's going to be a Leo Weekend.

[Geoff]

Leo is a great label.

My all time favourite Leo release is still Sergey Kuyokhin's A Combinations and Fingers and Passion.

I sent a copy of it to John B, and I bought a copy for my mother who I am slowly getting into jazz . I live in a topsy-turvy world.

[king ubu]

Leo is a great label.

My all time favourite Leo release is still Sergey Kuyokhin's A Combinations and Fingers and Passion.

I sent a copy of it to John B, and I bought a copy for my mother who I am slowly getting into jazz . I live in a topsy-turvy world.

←

Well obviously where you live the world is upside down, that's why you call it down under, maybe...

Nevertheless, "Some Comination" is a terrific album also for us who stand on their feet!

[John B]

Looks like it's going to be a Leo Weekend.

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Agreed. This is a fantastic offer! I've been enjoying all of the discs on Leo I've been hearing recently. This will be a good chance to explore some titles I'm not as familiar with.

[Д.Д.]

The Gratkowski Loft Exil V is pretty disappointing, I thought.  Haven't heard it more than once & it went quickly in the get-rid-of pile so I don't have it anymore to doublecheck. -- It's a loud free blow, mostly, so it's pretty different from the quartet albums.

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Yeah, when ubu and I saw Gratkowski quartet live the free blowing part didn't work too well (noisy cliché-ridden noodling) either.

[John B]

I just saw a post from Jan Strom that there is a new disc out on Ayler:

Lars-Göran Ulander Trio - Live at Glenn Miller Café (Ayler)

with

Palle Danielsson, b

Paal Nilssen-Love, dr

This is the first I've heard of Ulander. Are any of you familiar with his work?

[Nate Dorward]

Not to rain on a parade, but several musicians I know are pretty steamed that Leo is offering downloads of their Leo releases without any permission from them or any promises of remuneration.

[John B]

Really? That is a shame. If I knew that a musician felt this way I would make a point of not downloading their material.

Leo must be getting pennies on the dollar from Emusic, as they reimburse per track, not per album. Many Leos have one to four tracks, making each album amazingly inexpensive to download.

[Guest Chaney]

Not to rain on a parade, but several musicians I know are pretty steamed that Leo is offering downloads of their Leo releases without any permission from them or any promises of remuneration.

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That's disturbing.

I think I'll send an e-mail to Leo asking if... the talent is being (hard to find the right word ) properly / fairly compensated on these downloads. If I get a reply, I'll post it here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Potlatch

An excerpt from the liner notes:

Lacy is a compulsively analytical melodicist, extracting all he can from a line before moving on to the next musical kernel. The saxophonist obsesses over his phrases, reworking, reshaping and re-conceptualizing his angle until there is simply nothing left. Bailey, on the other hand, is a wily improviser who seems to operate under the premise that the most logical path is the one to leave out. His convoluted arpeggios and humming volume pedal swells focus more on pitch and context than they do a conventionally understood meter or melody.

What seems on the surface, two potentially disparate voices, on this night found an interesting neutral zone, a no man’s land where each player’s voice overlapped into some vital developments. While Bailey is clearly listening, his attack and sense of pacing is quite different from Lacy’s deeply involved, meandering excursions. Rather than merely accompanying him, Bailey antagonizes with a barrage of textural tension, which frequently sends the saxophonist reeling with some of his most jagged and vigorous playing committed to record in some time.

This duo works precisely because it does not rely on a conversational-like improvised dialogue. Instead, each player brings his own attitude and dogma to the table and forces the other into breaking from the tried and true comfort zone, and therefore eggs him into getting involved. Both players come away knowing more about themselves as musicians, and likely as human beings. Isn’t that the whole point of playing music with other people?

Jon C. Morgan

Review from PARIS Transatlantic:

Derek Bailey / Steve Lacy

OUTCOME

POTLATCH P 299

On June 25th 1983 I was playing video games in a pub in Rochdale, Lancashire, listening to the Eurythmics’ “Love is a Stranger” and sighing audibly a) because I was about to turn twenty, and b) because I would have preferred to be back drinking warm Martinis in my Cambridge room with my then girlfriend. The horrors of the Falklands Task Force and the hideous yuppie pop of New Romanticism (can’t decide which was worse) were receding into the background, Thatcher was elected again and life was generally boring and miserable.

On June 25th 1983, Derek Bailey and Steve Lacy played a little club at 28 rue Dunois tucked away in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. The gig was recorded, as have been so many over the years, by Jean-Marc Foussat, and here it is, sixteen and a half years later. (One day, someone ought to raid the Foussat archives, as this affably genial sound engineer has single-handedly amassed a treasure trove of amazing free jazz / improv recordings... have a look at Jimmy Lyons’ “Riffs” (1980), Fred Frith’s classic Massacre album “Killing Time” (1981), Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron’s magnificent “Let’s Call This” (1981), and you’ll find it was Foussat behind the desk. Many of the recent memorable events in Parisian free music, from William Parker and Joëlle Léandre’s bass duet set at Sons d’Hiver a couple of years ago, to Noël Akchoté and Evan Parker’s mind-blowing electroacoustic set at the Instants Chavirés (both on Leo) were also captured by Jean-Marc. His characteristic floppy hat was also spotted at Saint-Denis last year for one of the most seismically shattering gigs ever played by the European Cecil Taylor outfit... dare we hope that, one day...?) Sixteen years have drifted by, Thatcher and Reagan have both gone (mad), and 1983’s beatbox experiments have grown into the bloated ugly dinosaur of dance culture now known as HipHop, while grunge, Acid House and Acid Jazz have all come and gone... And this set by Bailey and Lacy sounds as if it was recorded yesterday.

The only one of Derek Bailey’s recordings that you can accurately pinpoint regarding its date is “Guitar Drums’n’ Bass” (Avant 1996), not because of Bailey but rather DJ Ninj’s already-dated (even back then) techstep programming. Bailey’s playing is not only utterly original (an oft-stated cliché, I know, but...), it’s ahistorical, existing out of time, so perfectly concentrated on the moment of its creation that it seems (gloriously) oblivious of whatever is going on around it. But though Bailey is no way oblivious to what is going on around him here, namely the liquid crystal linear perfection of Steve Lacy, his guitar work still makes no concessions to standard duo “conversational give and take” orthodoxy. Each of these master musicians continues along his own way with characteristic determination (stubbornness, even), and from time to time the paths cross, forcing them along other avenues of exploration. (If I have one reservation, it’s that Bailey seems to be somewhat in the background in the mix - inevitable, perhaps, given the recording circumstances?- and his customary extraordinary use of harmonics is at times hard to hear. For Baileyphiles, the clearest sound on record is still on his 70s solo sets, “Lot 74” on Incus 12 and “Improvisation” (1975) on the Italian label Cramps... newly reissued I see on 180g vinyl too!) As one might expect, listening requires concentration. This is not music to stick on in the background while you’re having dinner with friends, but something to be savored - and it will still be so sixteen years from now (and sixteen years from then), when the Puff Daddies and Daft Punks are as far behind us as 1983 seems to me today. As Jon C. Morgan’s excellent liner notes remind us, this is, amazingly, and regrettably, only the second time Bailey and Lacy have recorded as a duo (their other album being the long-deleted “Company 4” (1976)). Or is it? Maybe Jean-Marc Foussat has other buried treasure from these two masters... in which case, do I really have wait another sixteen years?

Review from Steve Koenig of La Folia:

Derek Bailey and Steve Lacy. Outcome (Potlatch P 299, 60:16, potlatch.digiweb.fr)

Clever album title, as each of the five tracks, recorded live at Dunois, is called "Input." The outcome of this, sadly, is lesser than the sum of the players. Lacy plays trademark repetitive figures, but to no particular ends, and Bailey plinks away with spirit, but the pieces just don’t cohere. The liner notes claim that indeed, the two players are not trying to do any interrelated playing, in itself no crime, but the "antagonism" of styles praised here shows no clash or tension. This is the first Potlatch duo I’ve encountered that wasn’t an instant classic. Instead, try their Denman Maroney/Hans Tammen, Joelle Léandre/ , and the Parker/Rowe.

My review:

It's wonderful and highly recommended.

Buy it.

Edited July 9, 2005 by Chaney

[Nate Dorward]

Sure, I'd be interested to know what Feigin had to say. If you want to see the side of the story from one musician on the label send me an email at ndorward at ndorward dot com & I can send you a semipublic letter from one musician (I don't know if he wants it too widely circulated, but given that he cc'd it to about 30 people I don't think he's expecting it to be just a private matter).

[Guest Chaney]

E-mail sent, Mr. D.

Still no word from Mr. F.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks for the e-mail, Nate.

Recording without a contract. That just seems foolish beyond words; nice for the label owners but death for the artists, especially the clout-less unknowns -- unknowns that we Funny Rats love.

Anything to get even a little exposure, I guess.

Any idea how prevalent that is in the world of micro-jazz (is there any other kind?) labels?

[Guest Chaney]

A post from the past.

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 July 10, 2005 by Chaney

[jon abbey]

why is having no contract worse for the musicians than it is for the label? maybe it is, but it seems to me as if it's a two way street. my musicians don't sign contracts, they get paid for the initial printing up front (so I don't have to keep people posted about royalties), and get paid another lump sum for any subsequent printings when those are made, if they are.

you'd be amazed how few labels in this area pay the musicians anything, including Hat Art (at least in some cases).

[Guest Chaney]

If that's your arrangement Jon, why not put it in writing and have all parties sign? Have you had no misunderstandings over the years?

[jon abbey]

nope, none.

[Guest Chaney]

Did anyone else pick up Marc Copland's Poetic Motion before Sketch went out of business? Beautul playing by Copland.

Some of the music on this disc would not be misplaced on the Wyndham Hill ( ) label as it often conveys a similar mesmeric quality to the one found on many of that company's releases.

The selections on this recording are mainly of a slow to medium tempo and display strong yet unexpected harmonic movement interspersed with restrained melodic passages. Copland has a highly subtle touch on the piano which he uses to great effect, weighing each note carefully before placing it into his general synopsis. This is a disc that is not at all obvious in its impact but is well worth repeated playing as each time fresh perspectives are audible.

Dick Stafford

Jazzmoose, you there? You really should buy this one and play it for the Mrs, what with all that noise you've been listening to lately. I believe you owe her that. :rsly:

[Chuck Nessa]

why is having no contract worse for the musicians than it is for the label? maybe it is, but it seems to me as if it's a two way street. my musicians don't sign contracts, they get paid for the initial printing up front (so I don't have to keep people posted about royalties), and get paid another lump sum for any subsequent printings when those are made, if they are.

you'd be amazed how few labels in this area pay the musicians anything, including Hat Art (at least in some cases).

←

What happens if you die? What if you get tired of this shit and sell the masters? If you sold them to me and told me you owned the masters and had no obligations on paper.... Nothing on paper?

The artist is the only loser.

Legally the label owns the copyright and in court the artists will lose every time.

All this slippin' and slidin' gives me the heebie jeebies.

For cripes sake, at least give the artists a piece of paper detailing their rights if you dispose of the master rights.

[Jazzmoose]

Jazzmoose, you there?  You really should buy this one and play it for the Mrs, what with all that noise you've been listening to lately.  I believe you owe her that.   :rsly:

←

Hey, it's good for her.

This black eye? I dunno where I got it...

Edited July 11, 2005 by Jazzmoose

[John B]

I'll give a thumb's up to Peter Brötzmann's Clarinet Project - Berlin Djungle on Atavistic's Unheard Music Series. I like this quick blurb from AAJ, especially the last line:

"Berlin Djungle (originally released on FMP) is a large-scale session from the 1984 JazzFest Berlin. Brötzmann is one of the original Globe Unity Orchestra members, and he takes that international concept and applies it here to a clarinet-based ensemble. Tony Coe, Ernst Ludwig Petrowsky, Louis Sclavis, J.D. Parran, and John Zorn join him on the front clarinet line. Augmenting them is trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, trombonists Hannes Bauer and Alan Tomlinson, and the “rhythm section” of William Parker and Tony Oxley. Much like similar efforts from both sides of the Atlantic, Berlin Djungle is both dense and sparse, delicate and bludgeoning, laser-beam tight and searchlight-wandering, an unrepeatable exhortation of something Benny Goodman might have nightmares about."

Not essential, but a fun listen.

[Guest Chaney]

And on the other side of the aisle, I'll give it a thumbs down.

For me, Berlin Djungle manages to occasionally sound interesting but otherwise it's the all too usual scream-fest; there's a bit of delicacy, the instruments intermingle nicely, there's the expected jostling and hostilities, the expected fight breaks out, the violence peaks, an opponent is slain, all gets quiet and the crowd roars its approval.

Jazz gladiators.

Edited July 11, 2005 by Chaney

[J.A.W.]

And on the other side of the aisle, I'll give it a thumbs down.

For me, Berlin Djungle manages to occasionally sound interesting but otherwise it's the all too usual scream-fest; there's a bit of delicacy, the instruments intermingle nicely, there's the expected jostling and hostilities, the expected fight breaks out, the violence peaks, an opponent is slain, all gets quiet and the crowd roars its approval.

Jazz gladiators.

←

You've described exactly how I'm feeling about most of Brötzmann's outings nowadays...

Thank you!

[Guest Chaney]

Except for the apparent need to excerpt some tunes, this looks tasty:

Vision Volume 3 (Aum Fidelity)

Limited Edition (2000 copies) CD+DVD Set

DISC 1 - CD

WHIT DICKEY QUARTET: Coalescence One

FRED ANDERSON/HARRISON BANKHEAD: Trying To Catch The Rabbit

MATTHEW SHIPP QUARTET featuring DANIEL CARTER: Surface and Dream - Excerpt #1

ROY CAMPBELL / JOE McPHEE QUARTET: War Crimes and Battle Scars: Iraq

THOMAS BUCKNER feat. Roscoe Mitchell/Jerome Cooper: Improvisation #1073 - Excerpt #1

ANDREW CYRILLE / KIDD JORDAN / WILLIAM PARKER: Quilt

PATRICIA NICHOLSON'S PaNic w/ Joseph Jarman/Cooper-Moore: Rise Up

ROB BROWN's RESONANCE w/ William Parker/Henry Grimes: Resonance Excerpt #1

WILLIAM PARKER's JEANNE LEE PROJECT: Bowl of Stone Around the Sun

DISC 2 - DVD

MATTHEW SHIPP QUARTET featuring DANIEL CARTER: Surface and Dream - Excerpt #2

WILLIAM PARKER's JEANNE LEE PROJECT: Song for Jeanne Lee

WHIT DICKEY QUARTET: Coalescence Two

PATRICIA NICHOLSON'S PaNic w/ Joseph Jarman/Cooper-Moore: Rise Up (further)

THOMAS BUCKNER OPEN Roscoe Mitchell/Jerome Cooper: Improvisation #1073 - Excerpt #2

JIN HI KIM with William Parker / Billy Bang: Once Again

KALI Z. FASTEAU Group w/ MARIA MITCHELL - DANCE: Ganapati's Dance

ANDREW CYRILLE / KIDD JORDAN / WILLIAM PARKER: Junction

ROY CAMPBELL / JOE McPHEE QUARTET: False Selections and Elections

ROB BROWN's RESONANCE w/ William Parker/Henry Grimes: Resonance Excerpt #2

ADDITIONAL DVD MATERIAL:

Interviews with: William Parker, Matthew Shipp, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, Whit Dickey, poet Steve Dalachinsky, artists Jeff Schlanger, Jo Wood Brown, Yuko Otomo and Vision Festival founder/dancer Patricia Nicholson.

$18.95 @ Squidco

Vision3 is a CD+DVD set comprised of exclusive recordings of performances from the 8th Annual ~ 2003 edition. Arts for Art, Inc. is proud to present this set - their first self-release - helping to celebrate ten years(!) of successful Vision Festivals. The CD and DVD each feature exclusive tracks (i.e.: no repeats). The DVD was recorded for 5.1 Surround Sound and with multiple cameras, encapsulating the Vision Festival experience, and providing the closest experience to being there. NOTE: the DVD authoring on this set has its idiosyncrasies, so if you get momentarily confused it's not your DVD player, it's the DVD, OK?

[John B]

And on the other side of the aisle, I'll give it a thumbs down.

For me, Berlin Djungle manages to occasionally sound interesting but otherwise it's the all too usual scream-fest; there's a bit of delicacy, the instruments intermingle nicely, there's the expected jostling and hostilities, the expected fight breaks out, the violence peaks, an opponent is slain, all gets quiet and the crowd roars its approval.

←

To my ears, yesterday, what you describe was a good thing! In a way, this disc reminds me of an old-fashioned blowing / cutting session: a big group of horn players all trying to out-blow each other on consecutive solos. This album is sort of the european free improv version of Johnny Griffin's A Blowing Session. Definitely not what I always what I want to hear but, when I am in the mood for it, it really hits the spot.

[brownie]

Vision3 is a CD+DVD set comprised of exclusive recordings of performances from the 8th Annual ~ 2003 edition. Arts for Art, Inc. is proud to present this set - their first self-release - helping to celebrate ten years(!) of successful Vision Festivals. The CD and DVD each feature exclusive tracks (i.e.: no repeats). The DVD was recorded for 5.1 Surround Sound and with multiple cameras, encapsulating the Vision Festival experience, and providing the closest experience to being there. NOTE: the DVD authoring on this set has its idiosyncrasies, so if you get momentarily confused it's not your DVD player, it's the DVD, OK? 

←

Will need to get that one.

The Visions 1 and 2 releases were excellent!

Glad to see they pushed the limited edition status to 2,000 copies instead of the 1,000 limit of the first two.

[Д.Д.]

Vision3 is a CD+DVD set comprised of exclusive recordings of performances from the 8th Annual ~ 2003 edition. Arts for Art, Inc. is proud to present this set - their first self-release - helping to celebrate ten years(!) of successful Vision Festivals. The CD and DVD each feature exclusive tracks (i.e.: no repeats). The DVD was recorded for 5.1 Surround Sound and with multiple cameras, encapsulating the Vision Festival experience, and providing the closest experience to being there. NOTE: the DVD authoring on this set has its idiosyncrasies, so if you get momentarily confused it's not your DVD player, it's the DVD, OK? 

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Nothing that realy interests me here. I can very easily imagine what it will all sound like - and this is not how I like my improvised music.