Funny Rat

[randyhersom]

I googled and found out that the Charles Gayle is solo piano. The reviewer have both the Ran Blake and the Gayle a B+ but seemed to like the Gayle more. It was a Village Voice reviewer on tomhull.com

[king ubu]

Randy, it may be of interest that Intakt will release a new Trio 3 disc, Time Being, on April 2.

Intakt CD 106

[Clunky]

clunke, yeah the problem i had with valve no. 10 was the poetry track. sort of cheesy, IMO and ruined the overall experience for me.

if you want to check other bang, i would recommend "the fire from within".

listened to Valve #10 last night for the first time probably 3 years. I have to recant somewhat as it's really a pretty decent session. Missing some of the passion of the live set I attended but full of subtle expression and gentle swing. I wonder in part if it is now more appealing than it was following my amp change 2 years ago. Finer details come through and it sounds less fog bound than it did previously. The poetry bit has it's charm too. Worth checking.

[David Ayers]

is it still a good deal for american purchasers? prob not?

It depends how much they charge for shipping. It would be $8.70 per disc with today's exchange rates. Unless they charge over $6 per disc shipping it would be a decent deal.

They charge postage at cost to non-UK destinations, and the quoted price includes UK sales tax of 17.5% which is *deducted* from non-European Union orders (any tax at the buyer's end is his/her problem of course).

[Д.Д.]

Gentlemen, Damon Smith is selling four Balance Point Acoustics releases on e-bay for some insignificant amount of $$.

No need to start bidding wars, he has enough copies of each of those.

I just got all four and he is throwing something additionally for free.

As mentioned, the latest Balance Point Acoustics release "Cruxes" is excellent.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Guest Chaney]

Damon Smith has been doing that for a while.

Gads. It's likely that someone could put in the minimum bid on all four and not be challenged. (I, being the saintly person that I am, bought the three older titles a while back at the buy-it-now price of $10 each. I am such a good person. )

Next up for Balance Point Acoustics:

bpa011 - "sextesence" (john butcher/aaron bennett/henry kaiser/danielle degruttola/damon smith/jerome bryerton)

YUM!

Edited March 1, 2006 by Chaney

[Д.Д.]

Damon Smith has been doing that for a while.

Gads. It's likely that someone could put in the minimum bid on all four and not be challenged. (I, being the saintly person that I am, bought the three older titles a while back at the buy-it-now price of $10 each. I am such a good person. )

Tony, did you get "Cruxes" as well?

[Guest Chaney]

Tony, did you get "Cruxes" as well?

Yep. I'm having a second listen right now.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Chaney

[Д.Д.]

Next up for Balance Point Acoustics:

bpa011 - "sextesence" (john butcher/aaron bennett/henry kaiser/danielle degruttola/damon smith/jerome bryerton)

YUM!

I have two Bennett CDs (released on Pax), and I thought they were excellent (and quite different from each other). Bennett is an excellent saxophonist, and even better composer. I plugges these releases already, but I guess it would not hurt mentioning one more time - samples and buying at CDBaby.

Not sure how Bennett would fit with Butcher, though.

-------------------------

Friends, I am finishing the first listen to Matthew Shipp's recent solo release "One" (Thirsty Ear), and I am very impressed.

I have not been a big fan of Shipp, and his hatoLOGY works, while decent (except for this horrendous duo with Joe Morris), always left something to be desired. Well, this one is it. Beautiful, somewhat classical-sounding (Skryabin and Shostakovich-influenced, IMO) pensive, dark work. Bley is here as well, definitely. Deep, captivating stuff. Mature. I will return to this one often. Samples at amazon.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Guest Chaney]

I'm not familiar with Bennett nor with Danielle Degruttola. (I wonder if I'm the only guy that immediately googles for images of female free jazz musicians, whenever I run across the rare bird.)

Cellist Danielle Degruttola with bassist Ashley Adams

Cellist extraordinaire, Danielle has performed both as a solo artist and with other outstanding improvising musicians including Cecil Taylor, Henry Kaiser, Paul Plimley, John Oswald, Buckethead, Lukas Ligeti, and Miya Masaoka. Danielle has worked quite extensively with improvisational music, analog and digital recording, electronics, and computers, developing interactive cello and electronic music pieces. Her improvisations are thoughtful and powerful compositions that interweave elements of contemporary jazz, classical, electronica, folk, blues, rock, and hardcore. Her sublime sound is adventuresome and exploratory yet maintains concrete form. "Her contributions are uniformly excellent." (Exclaim magazine). Danielle received her MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media at Mills College, and her BFA in music from Smith College graduating Cum Laude. She has also studied at Berklee College of Music (90-92), the Center of New Music and Audio Technology (CNMAT, 95-96), and the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC, 82-86). She performs regularly in the Bay area with guitarist Henry Kaiser, and in Bottomfeeders with bassist Ashley Adams.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Chaney

[Guest Chaney]

David: On Thirsty Ear: Not exactly a label known for its expressive depths so I'm a bit surprised to see you apply the word mature to anything on that label. (Of course, I own only a few titles and I'm probably guilty of spouting an ignorant blanket statement.)

I haven't listened to Shipp's Hat CDs in ages but I remember liking them quite a bit. NOT a widely shared opinion, if I recall correctly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Listening to and liking Cruxes. You must be is bass heaven, listening to this one, David.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Chaney

[Д.Д.]

I'm not familiar with Bennett nor with Danielle Degruttola. (I wonder if I'm the only guy that immediately googles for images of female free jazz musicians, whenever I run across the rare bird.)

Cellist extraordinaire, Danielle has performed both as a solo artist and with other outstanding improvising musicians including Cecil Taylor, Henry Kaiser, Paul Plimley, John Oswald, Buckethead, Lukas Ligeti, and Miya Masaoka. Danielle has worked quite extensively with improvisational music, analog and digital recording, electronics, and computers, developing interactive cello and electronic music pieces. Her improvisations are thoughtful and powerful compositions that interweave elements of contemporary jazz, classical, electronica, folk, blues, rock, and hardcore. Her sublime sound is adventuresome and exploratory yet maintains concrete form. "Her contributions are uniformly excellent." (Exclaim magazine). Danielle received her MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media at Mills College, and her BFA in music from Smith College graduating Cum Laude. She has also studied at Berklee College of Music (90-92), the Center of New Music and Audio Technology (CNMAT, 95-96), and the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC, 82-86). She performs regularly in the Bay area with guitarist Henry Kaiser, and in Bottomfeeders with bassist Ashley Adams.

I don't know Degruttola, but I have one release of Ashley Adams (in trio with Philip Greenlief, on Evander), which I though was not too interesting. Adams is a fine bassist, but the music on the disc is a sort of audio commentary to a theatre play or something, and it has a somewhat fragmented feel, with some short, banal and studied themes (that were supposed to illustrate somehting, I guess) and not enough stretching.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Д.Д.]

David: On Thirsty Ear: Not exactly a label known for its expressive depths so I'm a bit surprised to see you apply the word mature to anything on that label. (Of course, I own only a few titles and I'm probably guilty of spouting an ignorant blanket statement.)

I haven't listened to Shipp's Hat CDs in ages but I remember liking them quite a bit. NOT a too widely shared opinion, if I recall correctly.

Tony my friend, check out the amazon samples.

Listening to and liking Cruxes. You must be is bass heaven, listening to this one, David.

Indeed. And I thought vocals, and particularly drummer's work were very tasteful.

There is so much great stuff released these days.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Guest Chaney]

I agree.

While Aurora Josephson doesn't have a very wide vocal range -- she's really not a great vocal talent -- she does well on Cruxes as the full/total sound palette is fairly limited.

I bought Cruxes directly from Aurora.

Have you ever checked out her site? Aurora Rising

~~~~~~~~~~

David: On Thirsty Ear: Not exactly a label known for its expressive depths so I'm a bit surprised to see you apply the word mature to anything on that label. (Of course, I own only a few titles and I'm probably guilty of spouting an ignorant blanket statement.)

I haven't listened to Shipp's Hat CDs in ages but I remember liking them quite a bit. NOT a too widely shared opinion, if I recall correctly.

Tony my friend, check out the amazon samples.

Listening right now.

Certainly sounds good. Not at all what I'd expect to hear released on Thirsty Ear. Very odd. Sure is full of drama, eh?

I'm hearing Mal Waldron, but Cecil Taylor?

One

Matthew Shipp | Thirsty Ear Recordings

By Nic Jones

It might be argued that the solo piano recital is a fraught thing on record, and certainly there have been examples in the past where self-indulgence has taken over from the rigours of self-editing. Similarly, unless a pianist has at least a reasonably firm musical identity, it might be the case that the listener's attention starts to wander accordingly.

This particular example of the genre largely avoids such hazards, despite the fact that in places the spirits of both Mal Waldron and Cecil Taylor stalk the ground. They are, however, a welcome change from the mannerisms of McCoy Tyner, out of which some contemporary pianists make a living.

Despite this, the old truism about a musician being his own man or her own woman is especially pertinent in Shipp's case. There isn't a single idea here that outstays its welcome, and on the likes of “A Rose Is A Rose” Shipp proves himself to be a musical explorer who is unafraid of taking his time, a point which more or less guarantees the absence of pyrotechnical flash. Instead, Shipp's approach is a far more personal one that is not at all dependent on such staples.

The very quality of sparseness might amount to the debt he owes to someone like Waldron, and this is most evident here on “Patmos,” where Shipp patiently sets about the task of constructing the kind of stasis that was a hallmark of Waldron's mature work. At times like this, it's as though Shipp is more concerned with the sonic qualities of the piano as such, as opposed to any more musically conventional concerns.

Such comparisons do however run the risk of deflecting attention away from Shipp's individuality, which is the very thing that makes this programme so worthwhile. This is especially the case with a piece like “Gamma Ray,” where the nature of his work is evocative at the same time as it's entirely his own.

If indeed it is the case that the solo piano recital is fraught with potential hazards, then Shipp manages to avoid them through the simple expedient of writing his own rulebook. In that respect, at least, he moves in select company.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Chaney

[Д.Д.]

David: On Thirsty Ear: Not exactly a label known for its expressive depths so I'm a bit surprised to see you apply the word mature to anything on that label. (Of course, I own only a few titles and I'm probably guilty of spouting an ignorant blanket statement.)

I haven't listened to Shipp's Hat CDs in ages but I remember liking them quite a bit. NOT a too widely shared opinion, if I recall correctly.

Tony my friend, check out the amazon samples.

Listening right now.

Certainly sounds good. Not at all what I'd expect to hear released on Thirsty Ear. Very odd. Sure is full of drama, eh?

Sure, but not overdone. I am listening to it for the second time now. This is a short disc, btw - 40 minutes.

Graceful music.

I'm hearing Mal Waldron, but Cecil Taylor?

I would make parrallel with Cecil only in terms of exceptional preciseness of execution and clarity of thought. My impression of Shipp so far was that he is specifically "not precise" - there is this blurred, smeared stream of notes with hardly discernible flow of thought (McCoy Tyner school, IMO - and the review you quote seems also to draw this parallel). But not here. On this disc everythign is exactly where it should be - not rambling, no chatter, no excesses. Edited March 1, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Guest Chaney]

Yea, it's probably not wise of me to form an opinion after listening to sound samples.

++++++++++

Ever the prudent iconoclast, pianist Matthew Shipp has used his past contributions to Thirsty Ear's ongoing Blue Series to cross-pollinate jazz with active electronic and DJ-cultures, adding innovators like Antipop Consortium and Chris Flam to his impressive register of collaborators. For his latest addition to the series, however, Shipp has cleared the gallery to unveil his first solo piano album since 2002's Songs-- an album of jazz standards-- and his first collection of original solo material in nearly a decade. As such, One simultaneously serves as both a meditative re-centering and as a further departure, with Shipp quietly redirecting his familiar post-Cecil Taylor vocabulary towards a singular form of numinous chamber music.

With their compact, elegant architecture and measured elocution, One's 12 songs often resemble the early 20th century piano studies of Ravel or Debussy as closely as they do modern jazz. On recent albums like Equilibrium or Harmony and Abyss, Shipp masked similar neo-classical touches beneath surface samples and programmed beats. But in this uncluttered format, Shipp has patiently afforded himself the space necessary to cultivate his sketches in full. On these tracks he plays with an expectant relish, an audible curiosity about where his compositions might next lead him. And while One will surely disappoint those who've come in hopes of fiery, atom-splitting improvisation, Shipp delivers these refined performances with such authority and sheer inquisitive force that his undisguised enthusiasm for this material can prove easily persuasive.

"Arc" opens the album with a full-bodied, ascendent sequence of chords that confidently pave the way for the splashy "Patmos", which cascades into a dazzling series of single-note runs that pop away like flashbulbs. "Gamma Ray" finds Shipp at his most devoutly Monk-like, chipping away at the song's turbulent rhythms until settling into a loopy, satisfying Jelly Roll Morton rumble. Conversely, on the brief "A Rose Is a Rose" or the sumptiously melodic "Zero", he plays with such a willowy, art-nouveau grace that he seems at points to abandon forward momentum altogether, content to luxuriate in his own sun-splashed idyll.

Unfortunately, Shipp's protracted sense of contentment can also work against him, as over the course of the album there are several instances when he lingers too long in his swirling, watercolored eddies. One is at its most effective when Shipp is at his most demanding, as on the dense tremors of "Electro Magnetism", where his furious, low-end tones threaten to shake the song loose from its floorboards. On such pieces Shipp creates an enthralling, unstable dynamic that he'll ideally build upon in his future work.

-Matthew Murphy, January 31, 2006

Nicely written review, I'd say.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Chaney

[John B]

Friends, I am finishing the first listen to Matthew Shipp's recent solo release "One" (Thirsty Ear), and I am very impressed.

I have not been a big fan of Shipp, and his hatoLOGY works, while decent (except for this horrendous duo with Joe Morris), always left something to be desired. Well, this one is it. Beautiful, somewhat classical-sounding (Skryabin and Shostakovich-influenced, IMO) pensive, dark work. Bley is here as well, definitely. Deep, captivating stuff. Mature. I will return to this one often.

I am shocked to read this. Based on your review and the review Chaney posted I am now also very curious to hear this. My enthusiasm for Matthew Shipp's work has waned quite a bit, so it will be interesting to see how this one sounds.

This is such an expensive thread...

[Д.Д.]

This is such an expensive thread...

John, I'd argue this is also a money-saving thread. Here is an example:

Tetuzi Akiyama - "Striking Another Match" (Utech). Sucks big deal. Do not buy it. I would not want to delve into nagativity here, but I could expand if you wish.

----------------------------

I bought the Shipp disc at cdconnection.com for $12.XX. If you are willing to wait a couple of months, it might become available at alldirect.com for even less than that. A steal.

Edited March 1, 2006 by Д.Д.

[Nate Dorward]

I've recently listened to Trio 3 - Encounter (Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille) and enjoyed it much. There are new Charles Gayle and Ran Blake discs on Tompkins Square that are apparently available on eMusic before the discs ship. If anyone beats me to the download I'd love to hear comments on either.

I have the Blake, not the Gayle. It's a pretty "typical" Blake disc--no big surprises in terms of mood or repertoire--which is also to say: it's excellent. Good recording too, which hasn't always been the case with Blake discs. There are (very positive) reviews of both discs by Dan Warburton in the new Paris Transatlantic (www.paristransatlantic.com).

[Guy Berger]

As far as BS/SN, I really like Jon Jang's Two Flowers on a Stem. Post-to-free-bop with Chinese folk-music themeses. With David Murray, James Newton, Billy Hart, Santi Debriano and one other musician who plays erhu. Newton is stupendous on this, and there's a really nice version of "Meditations on Integration".

Guy

[blake]

RE: Black Saint / Soul Note

Don't the forget the 3 Cecil Taylors - "For Olim", "Olu Iwa" and "Winged Serpent (Sliding Quadrants)". Of the 3 my preference is "For Olim" but my bias is towards his solo performances.

Others I enjoy include George Lewis "Homage To Charles Parker" and Frank Lowe "The Flam".

Can anyone commment on the Roscoe Mitchells? Outside of the AEC I'm not at all familiar with his work during the 80s.

[blake]

that all depends on whose canon you're following, I suppose. here's a rough one I did quickly on Jazz Corner in 2004 (there would be a few more Ersts in there if I updated it, Good Morning Good Night and EL005 certainly, probably not many other changes), along the lines of Ben Ratliff's book and the Penguin Guide "crowns", but trying to be a bit more wide-ranging in terms of the ground covered as well as bringing it up to the current date:

http://www.jazzcornertalk.com/speakeasy/sh...1675#post261675

Thanks for posting this, Jon. Putting it together must have time consuming. There are some interesting selections and certainly lots of territory for me to explore.

On a completely unrelated note, I picked up a copy of "Live At The LU" the other day. A couple of listens in I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. My (admittedly limited) experience with Fennesz led me to expect his playing on this would be sort of melodic or delicate (?) and that's certainly not the case - I don't mean that as a negative in any way.

Edited March 2, 2006 by blake

[John B]

On a completely unrelated note, I picked up a copy of "Live At The LU" the other day. A couple of listens in I'm still trying to wrap head around it. My (admittedly limited) experience with Fennesz led me to expect his playing on this would be sort of melodic or delicate (?) and that's certainly not the case - I don't mean that as a negative in any way.

Fennesz' solo work (which I believe you are referencing) differs quite a bit from his collaborative work. I saw a live show of Rowe solo / Fennesz solo / Rowe and Fennesz duo not too long after Live at the LU was released. I prefered the live show and still don't love Live at the LU, although I enjoy listening to it on occasion.

For melodic collaboration check out Polwechsel / Fennesz - Wrapped Islands.

My recommendations for best places to start for Fennesz collaborations are Four Gentleman of the Guitar, with Keith Rowe, Toshimaru Nakamura and Oren Ambarchi, ErstLive 004 with Sachiko M, Otomo Yoshihide and Peter Rehberg and the orange disc on Charizma, with Werner Dafeldecker,Christof Kurzmann, Jim O'Rourke and Kevin Drumm.

By the way, thanks to blake I have a copy of Derek Bailey's Aida sitting here, which I was able to buy for $8.99. Very nice.

[Guest Chaney]

Have you folks noticed one of our newest members?

Aurorarising

Aurora Josephson

Work-In-Progress:

Oakland Air

Wind trio with Jacob Lindsay and Kyle Bruckmann

XOXOX

Guitar/effects and voice duet with Myles Boisen

Voice and Electronics duet with Bob Boster

triple d

Clarinet, bass and voice trio with Jacob Lindsay and Damon Smith

+ + + + + + + + + +

Just noticed that The Sale Of Tickets For Money Was Abolished (on Balance Point Acoustics, with Tony Bevan/Damon Smith/Scott R. Looney) has gone out of print. MUCH tooo wonderful to now be unavailable.

[John B]

Can anyone commment on the Roscoe Mitchells? Outside of the AEC I'm not at all familiar with his work during the 80s.

If you do a search quite a few of these have been discussed here and in a Roscoe Mitchell thread in the Recommendations forum. Staying in the 80's I highly recommend 3x4 Eye, Duets and Solos (with Muhal Richard Abrams)Snurdy McGurdy(on Nessa), More Cutouts (on Cecma) and (stretching things to the early 90's) This Dance is For Steve McCall.