Jazz /
Mono
Initially published on CD by Smalltown Superjazzz in 2011. Mats Gustafsson, tenor and baritone saxophones. Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, bass. Paal Nilssen-Love, drums. The Thing music + two Sonny Rollins tracks and one Norwegian trad. Recorded and mixed 2011 in mono in Melbourne, Australia. Limited release of 500. Heavyweigt double-vinyl, first time on vinyl. Manufactured by Trost Records." (label info)
Linge
Michel Doneda, soprano saxophone and radio. Joris Rühl, clarinet. 'Le Linge was my grandparents' old farm in the East of France. It is there, in the barn full of old hay, abandoned wasp nests, murmurs and memories, in its sweltering, dusty heat, that we played for three days and recorded several sequences. We had no precise direction in mind for the record. We focused on the present moment, and then on the next. The barn's structure elegantly cracked with the wind, and the church bells brought t…
Speak up / Music that is in you
The holy grail of Spiritual Jazz movement, available as double LP in a tiny edition on 20 copies only (no jokes! It's numbered as well), cosmic echoes and free jazz at the best. "Credited only to "Your Exotic Prince" on the dust jacket, this record is my all-time favorite Smith Street find, and I'm pleased to share it here in its entirety. As outrageous as the cover is, the music is even more so. It comprises six tunes, each one essentially a nonstop caterwauling of horns, accordion, banjo (…
De proche en proche
Eric Cordier, amplified and live processed hurdy gurdy. Jean-Luc Guionnet, amplified and live mixed church organ. Recorded live in the Temple Neuf (Metz - France) in February 2004 - organized by Fragment
Wood, wire & sparks
Jon Rose, violins. Clayton Thomas, double bass. Mike Majkowski, double bass. Australian string trio Strike combine pure energy, dynamic sensibilities and a bombastic approach to percussive attack Ð diving head first into the chamber. A rare combination of thrash energy, sophisticated listening and unbridled enthusiasm. Led by the pioneering experimentalist Jon Rose, the trio takes full advantage of the myriad possibilities of the string, the bow and the box. Jon Rose is Australia's most consiste…
Bare Essentials 1972-3
A definite set of bare essentials from the Spontaneous Music Ensemble – especially given that at this point, the group was stripped down to just the duo of John Stevens on percussion and cornet, and Trevor Watts on soprano sax! The material was all recorded live, and the double-length set is an amazing illustration of the genius that Stevens brought to the group – a way of working and reworking a very simple concept – such that the freedom of improvisation was also given a structure, yet …
The Topography of the Lungs
The Topography of the Lungs is finally re-issued. A landmark album in the British avant garde – the first record ever on Incus Records (originally released in 1970) and a monumental set of improvisations between Parker, Bailey, and Bennink, considered by many to be a key recording in the history of improvised music, it brought together three musicians who then continued to develop the genre in the intervening three decades:EVAN PARKER (soprano & tenor saxophones), DEREK BAILEY (guitar) and HAN…
South on the Northern
Two concerts from an eight-year gap in the published recordings of the Iskra 1903 trio of Paul Rutherford (trombone), Philipp Wachsmann (violin & electronics) and Barry Guy (bass & electronics), masterful improvisation blending acoustics and electronics.
New surfacing
"Two recordings from the beginning and the end of the longest-lived version of the SME - the trio of John Stevens (percussion, cornet or mini-trumpet, voice), Nigel Coombes (violin) & Roger Smith (guitar). The 1978 Newcastle concert was considered by the musicians and others to be the best performance by the trio, while the 1992 studio is also very fine."-EmanemExcerpts from sleeve notes written by Martin Davidson: "This release containing recordings from 1978 and 1992 could be subtitled t…
Challenge
Available again SME reveals their free jazz roots with only hints of what was to come. "Pure pleasure is the way one might react to this glorious recording, which lays the foundation for Spontaneous Music Ensemble's more radical works to come. In part a product of its time, these tracks are much more in the vein of free jazz than the abstract free improvisational style that came to characterize the group. On Challenge, the lineage can easily be traced directly to the innovations of George R…
Tri-Borough Triptych
Hearing Evan Parker make music with Eddie Prévost, on the first of these three lengthy duets recorded in three different London boroughs, is like watching a pair of tai chi masters sparring. Parker’s tenor and Prévost’s bowed and struck percussion draw buoyancy from each other’s energy as they alternately push and yield. Together they move with feline lightness, agility and balance, even when the music’s mood is stormy and turbulent. The event was Freedom Of The City 2012; the venue, Ceci…
Full Blast
Ass-whooping live set from the Full Blast trio, recorded in Cologne in 2006: Brotzmann’s work with electric bassist Marino Pliakas and drummer Michael Wertmuller extends his work with Last Exit in that it combines an almost metal/No Wave attack with a fluid non-stop dynamic and a feel of electric blues. Brotzmann has always favoured electric bassists – Bill Laswell, Massimo Pupillo – and there’s something about the unyielding aspect of the instrument that acts as a propulsive metal backbone for …
Low Life / Last Exit
Two key 80s moments from Peter Brotzmann – split together here on a heavy LP! First up is material from the album Low Life – hard-handed work from the duo of Peter Brotzmann on reeds and Bill Laswell on bass – a set that's kind of a side project of the Last Exit quartet, and one that comes across with a similar sense of power! Laswell's handling a fair bit of basses here, often with a bit of processing – thanks partly to producer Martin Bisi – and there's a dark, electric undercurrent to the who…
Aoyama Crows
Aoyama Crows is the fifth album by Peter Brötzmann's Die Like a Dog Quartet. Saying the music can still surprise would be a lie. But that doesn't mean it lacks excitement, on the contrary. The performance, recorded at the Berlin Total Music Meeting in November 1999, contains all the elements necessary for an enticing free improv session. The rhythm section formed by Hamid Drake and William Parker is tried, tested, and true. The drummer can oscillate in and out of a pulse with incredible ease. He…
Touchin' On Trane
"This is Charles Gayle's most accessible work. Gayle's mastery of free jazz is blended with a more traditional compositional style of jazz on this disc. Touchin' on Trane is composed of five original songs, and even includes ex-Coltrane drummer Rashied Ali. As the title insists, Coltrane is the influence for the music on this disc. The influence ranges from the upbeat tempo of "Giant Steps" in "Part A," while "Part D" is reminiscent of Coltrane's "Live in Japan" performances. Gayle, bassi…
Eight (+3) Tristano Compositions 1989 - For Warne Marsh
"I would like to make a few notes and hopefully clear up a potential misunderstanding or two. Most importantly, no matter what you think about the original Tristano performances, this music is not "cool" – with feverish intensity, volcanic dynamics, explosive technique, aggressive attitudes ... there is an enormous amount of drama here, and none of it is sedate, reticent, or bloodless. Note the treacherously difficult heads on tunes like "Two Not One," "Dreams," "Lennie's Pennies," and "A…
Filme I
MM schumend. Wepa. Wirbel und einzelene Schlge für kleine Trommel. Ertrumtes Konzert. 34 Photos - Solo Performance 1986. SÂÂÂÂJ is someone, who, austere and prosaic, but with subliminal passion pays attention to the \'things\': in particular the lackluster \'byproducts\', the bulky till tongue-tied circumstances, the useful coverings of the alleged precious where he draws out the last, extracts a ghost. Thomas Groetz. Video dokumentation by Teresa Iten. 16 page booklet with a text by Thomas Gr…
Black Rhythm Happening
Black Rhythm Happening (the second Blue Note album by Eddie Gale) was released in 1969 and includes jazz heavy weight Elvin Jones on drums and sax man Jimmy Lyons. Again the mix is a blend of soul jazz, free form freak outs, and a gospel influenced street choir. Suggested listening for fans of Sun Ra & Brother Ah, John Coltrane's late 60's LPs, and Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler's more groove oriented recordings. The original vinyl LPs go for big bucks on Ebay, this is the first time this Blue…
Neposlusno / Sound disobedience
Through several duos, a picture of improvised music in Slovenia. Tao G. Vrhovec Sambolec, computer & Vid Dra ler, drums, percussion. Andrej Fon, bagpipes, clarinet & Ana Kravanja, violin. Matija Schellander, double bass & Toma Grom, double bass. Samo Kutin, hurdy gurdy & Marko Jeni , violin. Andrej Fon, el. guitar, clarinet & iga Pucelj, feedback loops. Vid Dra ler, drums, percussion & Marko Karlov ec, alto saxophone. Vitja Bal alorsky, el. guitar, analog electronics & Bo tjan Simon, alto saxoph…
Turkish Free Music
A special 26 only copies box, with an extra LP: SAS #40 with different front cover theen regular ed (paste-on; the carpet motifs are divided in 26 parts, so if you put together all 26 ltd ed, you'll see the full design as on the regular ed) + postcard- SAS #41 with different front cover theen regular ed (paste-on; artwork by Huseyin Ertunc) + color postcard + another insert on high quality photo paper with 12 pic from the concert- SAS #42 with different front cover theen regular ed (paste-on; em…