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Zorn List Digest         Friday, May 28 1999         Volume 02 : Number 667



In this issue:
-
       Re: Victo
       Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666
       Bob Dorough
       Re: Victo
       Re: SALE: MERZBOW vinyl & CDs
       Re: Some Victo Views
       Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666)
       Re: Victo
       Re: Victo
       Re: Victo
       Re: Bob Dorough
       Re: Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666)
       Re: Bob Dorough
       ISO
       science

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 99 14:22:28 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Victo

Jon wrote:

>one thing that I found kind of funny was watching and listening to all of the
>improv writers trying to make sense of ISO, Merzbow, and Godspeed you Black
>Emperor!, to name a few. the musicians are very open-minded about the
>cross-fertilization of electronics and acoustics, and a lot of the fans are
>also. but many of the writers just don't quite get it yet. it'll be really
>interesting to read Howard Mandel's review of the festival in the Wire.

I'm curious to read that myself. Walking between venues after the ISO show, I
passed along to someone Patrice's joking comment that he thought he recognized
one of the records that Otomo was abusing as 'Les Stances a Sophie' ;-0 !
Apparently, Mr. Mandel was nearby.

The next day, at the panel discussion, Mandel expressed bewilderment that
someone who knew as obscure and fine a record as 'Les Stances...' could at the
same time appreciate (or more) Otomo's spartan electronica forays. I refrained
from arguing, but geez Howard, there _are_ some people around who enjoy more
than one type of music! And Otomo is a known huge jazz fan, who has covered
Rahsaan, etc. With that kind of knowledge, how could he possibly be wasting his
time on "sine wave music" (as his concert was disparagingly referred to). *sigh*
The more things change....

Incidentally, at the Moore/Renaldo/Marclay show, one of the records utilized by
Marclay was the Mantler/JCOA Communications piece which features Roswell Rudd.
Interesting choice. Wonder if Mandel picked that up and, if so, what he made of
it?

In fairness, at least three of the writers present (Michael Rosenstein, Stuart
Broomer and our own Mike Chamberlain) evinced very big ears. So there's hope...

Brian Olewnick



- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 14:55:44 -0400
From: "Vince Bonavoglia" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666

Hey, guys...

It's not jazz. It may not be art. But it sure as hell is improvisation:

http://www.mindspring.net/~ufo1/plastic.htm

Do me a favor, willya?  Waste some time. If you like what you see, tell a
friend. I'd really like to see this edition go to press. If I don't get the
orders, I can't go to press. If I'm completely off my rocker, please let me
know. Life in a vacuum sure can be difficult...

Thanks and sorry for being off topic,
Vince
- --
Nobrow Graphics!:
http://www.mindspring.net/~ufo1/plastic.htm

Ain't no good thing ever dies -- Tom Waits


- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 14:02:22 -0700
From: Todd Bramy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Bob Dorough

On a "jazzier" note - Dorough was also the vocalist on Miles Davis' "Blue
Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)".

>Bob Dorough is the guy who originally wrote and sang on most of the =
>Schoolhouse Rock stuff.  He's the nasally-voice guy who sang Three Is =
>the Magic Number, Little Twelvetoes and all those others you remember.  =
>In addition, the liners to that set say he was a jazz pianist and decent =
>enough in his own right, as well as doing some bluegrass stuff.



- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 18:36:58 -0400
From: Tom Pratt <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Victo

> what I'd like to find out is if Tom Pratt was right in saying that Otomo
> sampled from Ikeda's +/- during the course of the set. after Tom said that, I
> heard the sound he was referring to again, and tend to agree with him, but it
> kind of amazes me that not only is Otomo clearly following in Ikeda's
> footsteps with this style, but he's also possibly borrowing his sounds.

I couldn't find an e-mail address for Otomo, but I did find one for Yoshimitsu
Ichiraku. I sent him a note asking if Otomo did in fact sample from Ikeda, though
I'm not sure he'll know. Of course, there's really no question in *my* mind that
he did. I'm asking more to entertain you, Jon!

                -Tom Pratt


- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 19:23:03 -0400
From: [e-mail] (Patrick Carey)
Subject: Re: SALE: MERZBOW vinyl & CDs

>> I have a bunch of MERZBOW vinyl (7"s, 10"s, LPs) and an
>> autographed Alchemy 4CD box set up for grabs.  All items
>> are in great shape and all must go!!
>...[deleted]...

On Thu, 27 May 1999 08:41:12 -0700 <[e-mail]> wrote:
>Do you listen to the music that you are selling?
>Just curious...

If you mean do I listen to Merzbow, then the answer
is yes.  Often times I sell duplicate copies that
haven't been played, but I have heard everything I sell.
As for why I'm selling it, well ... I have WAY too much
noise (Japanese or otherwise)!  After being into it
for over a decade now, I'm kind of bored with the genre
(there are exceptions of course).


- -Patrick



- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 20:37:37 -0500
From: Mike Chamberlain <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Some Victo Views

Brian Olewnick wrote:
>
> My first time there, and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Had a
> wonderful time, enjoying healthy quantities of fine and unusual music
> and, just as importantly, greatly enjoying the company of z-listers,
> their spouses and others in attendance. I can't recommend this festival
> highly enough.

Seconded. A wonderful festival and a great hang.


> JIM O'ROURKE/GUNTER MULLER
>
> Difficult to describe the music, O'Rourke crouched at his powerbook (as
> Patrice noted, it looked like he might be answering his e-mail),
> generating odd bits of sound, sometimes long snatches of French pop
> songs, Muller listening closely and responding with either acoustic
> percussion sounds or, more often, with tweakings from his own seemingly
> low-fi set-up. Three pieces, the first of which was especially
> engrossing, again sustaining attention simply by navigating through
> fascinating areas of sound-worlds. Good, subtle music, perhaps easier to
> appreciate in the quiet comfort of one's living room than in a concert
> hall.

This one didn't do anything for me as a performance, and though the
sounds were pretty, they didn't add up to anything IMHO.
>
> MUJICIAN
>
> Keith Tippett's quartet (Paul Dunmall, tenor and bagpipes; Paul Rogers,
> bass; Tony Levin, drums) played an inspired single piece set of lyrical
> free improv. Dunmall and Rogers were especially impressive; why the
> former receives one tenth the ink of other tenorists in the free scene
> (like, oh, say Ivo Perelman, who turned in a lackluster show earlier) is
> beyond me. Nice to see bagpipes getting some time in situations like
> this!

This was what I would call a cleansing concert.  Four fine musicians who
know each other inside out.  Definitely a highlight of the fest and a
perfect lead-in to...

> PETER BROTZMANN TENTET
>
> Well, I've stated here before that I like the 3-CD set on Okkadisk very
> much but...this concert blew that recording out of the water. Three days
> later and I still get a giddy feeling when thinking about it. The reed
> line of Herr Brotz, Vandemark and Gustafsson and the percussion duo of
> Drake and Zerang were especially powerful but the group as a whole just
> killed. Conviction, confidence, great humor, relentlessness--all on
> display. I sometimes get weary of current incarnations of "ecstatic"
> free jazz, but this band shows that, with the right individuals, there's
> life in the old dog yet. As the reader may have guessed, this concert
> was my personal festival highpoint.

Worth the trip all by itself.  A momentous concert, and those who were
there should all feel privileged.

>
> GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR!
>
> This Canadian nonet (guitars, basses, percussion and strings) is a band
> to watch. Their style shifts from soft, elegiac sections that sound
> somewhere between Badalamenti and Bryars to rave-ups that approximate a
> more tonal Branca. I think they have a small problem in that their music
> tends to alternate pretty much between these two areas but, to
> paraphrase Harry Partch, they do exactly two things, but those two
> things they do superbly. I'm greatly looking forward to hear what they
> develop into. (Side note to Mike Chamberlain--when you catch this band
> eventually, the cellist will erase the memory of Iva Bittova from your
> shiny pate!).

Just what I need--another crush.  She'd have to go some to top Iva.  I
was already in love before she caressed my head.

I also particularly enjoyed Klaxon Gueule.  The concert was different
than their album on Ambiances Magnetiques.  They are now moving into
more work with prepared instruments and the use of somewhat randomly
generated analog sounds.  Paul Plimley, Lisle Ellis, and Scott Amendola
gave what I thought was a scintillating performance of completely
improvised pieces.  Plimley and Ellis have uncanny communication, and
Amendola is a smart player who knows when to stay out of the way, though
his bag of tricks is still somewhat limited.  You didn't mention Kampec
Dolores, who played right after the Brotzmann Tentet.  Funky Hungarian
rock 'n roll with a Central European woman playing violin, singing, and
telling funny stories (a theme emerges, no?) was the perfect comedown
from one of the transcendent concert experiences of my life.  Oh yes,
and I have to mention Iva Bittova, who charmed everyone, especially
me--and that was before I met her.

Other highlights:

- --meeting Howard Mandel, James Hale, Stuart Broomer, and Michael
Rosenstein

- --meeting Brian, Tom, Jon, Ken, Patrice, and Ken and Patrice's wives

- --talking hockey with Mats Gustafsson

- --speaking with Peter Brotzmann for about 30 minutes over breakfast
(sausages and eggs for me, white wine for Herr Brotzmann) on Monday
morning

- --Iva Bittova (think I mentioned her already)

> Can hardly wait 'til next year.

I'm hooked now too.

- --Mike
>

- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:19:49 -0700
From: Herb Levy <[e-mail]>
Subject: Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666)

>Bob Dorough is the guy who originally wrote and sang on most of the =
>Schoolhouse Rock stuff.  He's the nasally-voice guy who sang Three Is =
>the Magic Number, Little Twelvetoes and all those others you remember.  =
>In addition, the liners to that set say he was a jazz pianist and decent =
>enough in his own right, as well as doing some bluegrass stuff.
>
>So, I imagine that that's how he heard of him.

While asll of the above is true, Zorn's old enough & has been interested in
jazz long enough, to have heard Dorough in his jazz mode before his
schoolhouse rock period.

Dororugh's was fairly readily available in the vinyl days of yore as a
vocalist on two tracks with Miles Davis Blue Xmas & Nothing Like You
(recently recorded by Dave Douglas with the string quintet). I don't know
if these tracks have been re-issued, they're both pretty good.

Bests,

Herb



Herb Levy
[e-mail]



- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 20:57:04 -0500
From: Mike Chamberlain <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Victo

[e-mail] wrote:
>
> Jon wrote:
>
> >one thing that I found kind of funny was watching and listening to all of the
> >improv writers trying to make sense of ISO, Merzbow, and Godspeed you Black
> >Emperor!, to name a few. the musicians are very open-minded about the
> >cross-fertilization of electronics and acoustics, and a lot of the fans are
> >also. but many of the writers just don't quite get it yet. it'll be really
> >interesting to read Howard Mandel's review of the festival in the Wire.
>
> I'm curious to read that myself. Walking between venues after the ISO show, I
> passed along to someone Patrice's joking comment that he thought he recognized
> one of the records that Otomo was abusing as 'Les Stances a Sophie' ;-0 !
> Apparently, Mr. Mandel was nearby.
>
> The next day, at the panel discussion, Mandel expressed bewilderment that
> someone who knew as obscure and fine a record as 'Les Stances...' could at the
> same time appreciate (or more) Otomo's spartan electronica forays. I refrained
> from arguing, but geez Howard, there _are_ some people around who enjoy more
> than one type of music!

I took Mandel's statement to mean that he was impressed by the range of
musical knowledge among the fans at the festival.  But he sure wasn't
impressed by I.S.O., who I thought were exploring some very interesting
terrain, although I must admit that I cut out about halfway through due
to fatigue.

 And Otomo is a known huge jazz fan, who has covered
> Rahsaan, etc. With that kind of knowledge, how could he possibly be wasting his
> time on "sine wave music" (as his concert was disparagingly referred to). *sigh*
> The more things change....

A side note.  The Doneda/Montera/Erik M performance divided the critics.
Mandel and I walked out.  It was the only concert where I broke the
15-minute minimum rule.  Broomer, Rosenstein, and Marc Chenard came back
raving about the energy and intensity of the performance.  I still
halfway think Broomer was jiving us, but I know that Chenard at least
was serious.
 >
> In fairness, at least three of the writers present (Michael Rosenstein, Stuart
> Broomer and our own Mike Chamberlain) evinced very big ears.

I've gotta give credit where it's due.  What I've learned from reading
this list has helped a lot.  It's my lack of knowledge that I have to
overcome.  But I can say that Victo rearranged most of my molecular
structure--I may never be the same.

- --Mike
>
> -

- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:24:35 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Victo

In a message dated 5/27/99 6:35:49 PM, [e-mail] writes:

<< Of course, there's really no question in *my* mind that
he did. I'm asking more to entertain you, Jon! >>

well, thanks for indulging me, Tom.

brief report from tonight's Vision Fest:

I only saw the first set, the Brotzmann Die Like A Dog quartet. I went
because I wanted to see more of Hamid Drake and Toshinori Kondo than I got to
in the Tentet, and I got my wish. it was much freer than the Tentet
performance and featured some superb work by Brotzmann on bass clarinet.
Drake and Kondo were both in superb form again, and William Parker played his
customary bass, and added percussion to Drake's seriously funky drums at
times. they played two half hour long pieces, and the crowd went crazy after
each one, giving them a standing O at the end. I would have liked to have
seen the Leandre/McPhee/Hemingway trio also, but they weren't coming on for
another three hours or so.

Jon

- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:32:45 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Victo

In a message dated 5/27/99 11:25:38 PM, [e-mail] writes:

<< A side note.  The Doneda/Montera/Erik M performance divided the critics.
Mandel and I walked out.  It was the only concert where I broke the
15-minute minimum rule.  Broomer, Rosenstein, and Marc Chenard came back
raving about the energy and intensity of the performance.  I still
halfway think Broomer was jiving us, but I know that Chenard at least
was serious. >>

there certainly was a ton of energy, but that's about it. I thought that
Montera was fairly wanky, Doneda blew his head off most of the time with no
discernible purpose, and Erik M wasn't too impressive. I was really looking
forward to this one, and found it pretty disappointing.

Jon

- -

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

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:59:51 -0400
From: Steve Smith <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Bob Dorough

> >Bob Dorough is the guy who originally wrote and sang on most of the =
> >Schoolhouse Rock stuff.  He's the nasally-voice guy who sang Three Is =
> >the Magic Number, Little Twelvetoes and all those others you remember.  =
> >In addition, the liners to that set say he was a jazz pianist and decent =
> >enough in his own right, as well as doing some bluegrass stuff.

In the last sentence, the word "was" should be replaced by "is" - Dorough's
quite alive and active, doing jazz stuff and also occasionally doing
performances of the "Schoolhouse Rock" material.

Steve Smith
[e-mail]
NP - nothing... Peter Brotzmann's Die Like a Dog is still ringing in my ears
from earlier this evening at the Vision Fest...  first time to hear Hamid Drake
live... geez, what a monster...


- -

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

Date: Fri, 28 May 99 08:03:39 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666)

>Dororugh's was fairly readily available in the vinyl days of yore as a
>vocalist on two tracks with Miles Davis Blue Xmas & Nothing Like You
>(recently recorded by Dave Douglas with the string quintet). I don't know
>if these tracks have been re-issued, they're both pretty good.

Isn't Dorough also responsible for the all-time best baseball song, 'Van Lingo
Mungo'? You know, the one whose lyrics consist of nothing but the names of
ballplayers and which always gets passed over for the sappy 'Talkin' Baseball'?

Brian Olewnick



- -

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

Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 09:24:41 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Bob Dorough

Bob is also featured on the Jazz Passengers In Love album, on the tune Ring
the Bell.  He also wrote the lyrics.

- -

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

Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 10:47:30 -0400
From: Tom Pratt <[e-mail]>
Subject: ISO

Otomo apparently didn't have '+/-' with him at the I.S.O. show, and
neither Sachiko or Ichiraku used samples. So I guess I was wrong about
that whole thing, and Jon was correct to doubt me... (grrr) I have a
hard time accepting that, though.

Regardless, they played a great show. Get their most recent disc on
Alcohol. I'm a big fan. Has anybody heard the '98 cassette on Terminal
Body by the Otomo/Sachiko/Ichiraku trio before they were I.S.O.? Judging
from the trend of this group, I doubt it's very good. I'm curious
nonetheless.

                -Tom Pratt


- -

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

Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 09:25:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: Yuri Vasiliev <[e-mail]>
Subject: science

Hi everybody!
I am here for a first time. Has anyone any idea where to find SCIENCE
resourses (no labels, maillists a.o.) about "East - West" sound
connections (like Zorn, Laswell, Trane and may be earlier)in the Web?
Thank to all of You,
Yuri Vasiliev, Ass. Pr. for "Musical Cultures of the World" branch,
Institute for Asian and African Studies, Moscow,
_________________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com


- -

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

End of Zorn List Digest V2 #667
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