Jazz /
Droplets
Dominic Lash, double bass. Patrick Farmer, percussion. Sarah Hughes, zither & piano. A 20-minute improvisation plus realisations of scores by the Wandelweiser composers Eva-Maria Houben & Taylan Susam, including an extraordinary outdoor performance of Houben's Nachtstück recorded in a wood in Derbyshire during a rainstorm. 'It's exciting to play Wandelweiser music because of its difference from improvisation, the satisfaction of being given specific tasks to carry out and attempting to do so to …
Dias das cinzas
200 copies, numbered Born in 1970 and based in Lisbon, Manuel Mota is known for his very personal language in guitar playing. His music is part of a tradition rooted in blues and reveals a multitude of influences and historical references being at the same time actual, with an enigmatic sense of timelessness. This is his last solo LP recorded in a basement of a XIX century house in lisbon - limited 200 copies numbered
Splintered Visions
BR worked with Adam Kriney of La Otracina and Owl Xounds on the Owl Xounds/Family Battle Snake split cassette back in May 2007, and its great to have this raging free jazz improv psyche out bunch back on Blackest Rainbow again for this awesome LP. 'Splintered Visions' was recorded back in February 2007, and has been torn from the archives of some of the wildest jams put to tape. This time round the group is in a quartet zone with Kriney on drums, Gene Janas on upright bass, Mario Rechtern on sax…
s/t
In this incredible big band-style ensemble you'll find the likes of Rob Mazurek and Jeff Parker supporting trumpeter and composer Bill Dixon. Spread across three long-form orchestral narratives, featuring various horns and woodwinds, guitar, piano, vibraphone, timpanis and voice. Far from being the muddled affair it could have become, the musicians each somehow find their own space to cut loose a little within the composition, with an accommodating, airy production to match. Of the three pieces,…
Beneath tones floor
300 copies. Combining the beauty of art, poetry and music this beautiful package (available as compact disc or LP) makes for a fitting send off for the great bassist Sirone who passed away not long after this recording was completed. Along with Sirone’s deep and resonant bass, the musicians in this collective performance include Oluyemi Thomas on bass clarinet, flute, soprano, musette and percussion (he also composed the music) and Michael Wimberly on drums and percussion. Like the meditative po…
Tsktsking
In improvised music, double bass and drums have a very different role to that in rock or jazz. Freed of the duties of “the rhythm section,” they are featured as much as any other instrument, without having to wait in line for their turn to solo. They are equal partners in the collective enterprise of music making. Bassists or drummers who have arrived at improv via rock or jazz often seem to relish the freedom they are afforded and become more extroverted. One need look no further than Ha…
Journey
On Journey, violinist India Cooke and bassist Joelle Leandre improvise in that exalted state of grace that every improviser hopes to attain. It’s a state in which everything they play just works. It’s as if they can’t play a bad note or make a sound that doesn’t advance the music. In this state, the music unfolds without prior arrangement and at speeds too fast for conscious control, yet it’s development and intent is always clear. That deep communication between two or more people is exactly wh…
AD
Angharad Davies, violin. Axel Dörner, trumpet. 'Neither player should need much introduction, as both are widely acknowledged as leading improvisers on their respective instruments. These domestic recordings mark their first meeting as a duo, and - in the words of another early reviewer, David Grundy - create 'the atmosphere of surprise - of magic - that great improvisation is still so uniquely capable of providing'.'
Old Dogs (2007)
Jerry Hemingway joined and remained a member of the infamous Anthony Braxton quartet for eleven years from 1983 - 1994. This set documents their first recorded collaboration in 12 years. Using an hourglass as a guide, each CD contains one 60-minute improvisation, and each improvisation is very different in character and instrumentation. These studio recordings were made at Wesleyan University in August 2007. Released to celebrate Braxton's 65th birthday, the recordings are packaged in ca…
Earth's Orbit
William Hooker is an artistic whole, a vast circle of vision and execution. A body of uninterrupted work beginning in the mid-seventies defines him as one of the most important composers and players in jazz. As bandleader, Hooker has fielded ensembles in an incredibly diverse array of configurations. Each collaboration has brought a serious investigation of his compositional agenda and the science of the modern drum kit.
In this limited edition double vinyl he is joined by two groups of great co…
From the Hip
The Bohman Brothers (Adam and Jonathan) team up with Leonard Aspen and Roger Boulding to form Ischio Romantico Ð the result is this album called From The Hip which is a combination of the Bohmans' amplified objects and raw electronics and the smooth hypnotic loops and turntable inventions of Aspen and Boulding (who have collaborated extensively with Xentos Jones and Lepke B of Die Trip Computer Die). Urbane Deserts vs Sylphides' is a ballet in four parts. Leonard's libretto (undisclosed) describ…
Live at the Yippie
Live At The Yippie is part of a performance by tenor saxophonist Lorenzo Sanguedolce and bassist Michael Bisio, with two tracks clocking right under 20 minutes each, the regular time constraint of a vinyl LP. Sanguedolce is possibly best known, if at all, from his Sweetblood Quintet, a name which is the English translation of his Italian family name. The first piece, "'Stract (part 1), brings a lyrical, free boppish improvisation with bluesy inclinations, quite accessible overall, all within th…
Bit heads
* 300 copies * This adventurous new Lithuanian label presents us with what I think is the debut album of trombonist Daniel Blacksberg as a leader, accompanied by Jon Barrios on bass and Mike Szekely on drums. His approach is cautious, free and precise, in the sense that he does go beyond the beaten path, offering new possibilities for the instrument but without going into the wilder areas that George Lewis is known for. The end result is highly listenable avant jazz, with slow and bluesy inflect…
Out of the past
'Featuring Derek Bailey on electric guitar and Steve Noble on drums & cymbals. Recorded in a London studio in February of 1999 and not released until now.'
Abbey Road Duos
Two behemoths of improvisation go head-to-head in the impressive surrounds of Abbey Road Studios for this eight-piece set. Celebrated Brit avant-garde saxophonist Evan Parker takes the lead here, and he doesn't half throw his entire bag of tricks at this one, firing off a vast repetoire of breath articulations while American free jazz figurehead Matthew Shipp does a tremendous job of matching his every move. The opening suite finds the two maestros sizing one another up, only to launch into full…
Treader Duos
Recorded February 2008, this album captures a specially organised Treader concert at St Giles-in-the-Fields church in London's West End. A series of duos played at the event, each improvising over the course of a twenty-five minute set. First up, the excellent John Butcher (on tenor and soprano saxophones) pairs with drummer Mark Sanders for 'Tooth Pivot', an incredible opener that stumbles into life through the reverberant performance space, with Butcher at first sounding measured and contempla…
The Live in Lisbon
What happens when two stars collide? An interstellar collaboration out of this galaxy! Here in this new fantastic LP from Virginia Genta (of Jooklo fame) and Chris Corsano (arguably considered 'the last drummer on earth'), both musicians put blood, sweat, and lots of muscle into three new wildly charged cuts!!!! The album begins at sunset on a terrace in Lisbon (Summer 2008) with ferocious sax and drums escalating as the sun sets with Chris' incredible drum solo leaving everyone in a trance, whi…
...was there to illuminate the night sky...
In the album notes to Trespass Trio's "...was there to illuminate the night sky...", saxophonist Martin Kÿchen provides a colorful yet somewhat fragmented essay, regarding the evisceration of society, partly tied into the Iraq war and the everlasting Israel-Palestine conflict. He sets the stage for a life force panorama, iterated through the power of music that casts a dour or ominous state of affairs. Recorded in Norway, the Scandinavian trio exercises some bloodletting here. The injustices of …
If Ocean Is Broken (1971)
Unreleased free jazz from Japan in its prime, recorded live in Tokyo in 1971. Mototeru Takagi already released two beautiful duo LPs back then with master Japanese drummers like Masahiko Togashi (Isolation) and Toshi Tsuchitori (Origination), so this last DLP is complete in a sense the set of duo recorded with the best, 1st generation, free music drummers from Japan. On the other side it's complete also, the duo recorded by Sabu with the greatest reeds player from Japan (still of the 1st generat…
Stone/Water
Featuring Ken Vandermark & Mats Gustafsson. Recorded live at Victoriaville in May of 1999. Fantastic live material from a very unique group – the instantly-legendary meeting of reedman Peter Brotzmann with the leading lights of the Chicago avant jazz scene in the 90s – brought together into a tremendous tentet that's maybe even better than the sum of its parts! The group features Brotzmann on tenor and clarinet, Ken Vandermark on tenor and bass clarinet, Jeb Bishop on trombone, Fred Lomberg-Holm…