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Zorn List Digest        Tuesday, July 13 1999        Volume 02 : Number 711



In this issue:
-
       Zorn article part 2
       Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]
       Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]
       Re: Buddy Rich (was: some downtowners go pop)
       Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]
       Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]
       Sun Ra meets Cage
       Schedule
       Neues Kabarett at the Brecht Forum
       Re: Schedule
       Re[2]: Schedule
       Re: Re[2]: Schedule
       Garland's 'Togetherness'

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

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 16:00:54 -0500
From: Diego Gruber <[e-mail]>
Subject: Zorn article part 2

"The music written is the story of a trip of exploration,
which might have been important, but
that has concluded before we had any news from it, meanwhile
improvisation is the trip itself"
- - Christopher Small, 'Music. Society. Education'.

Cobra  isn't just a musical deed, it's also theater. An instrumental
theater which exposes
behavior and gestures of the musicians' world in the moment of creation
[sort of like seeing
them mate with their instruments, right? crude analogy, perhaps
inappropriate]. The actors,
stimulated by the wit of
the orders given, play the game of music with unusual excitement. Zorn
picks the
instrumental colors and marks the entrances with signs that shoot off
creativity.
Aggressiveness, humor, anxiety, search for power, tenderness, the need
of cohabitation:
each state or attitude is reflected in Cobra through the musicians'
expressiveness. Something
from a childish world lives on Zorn's games, somewhat lost in the
traumatic steps towards
adulthood. For him, music can give us back the best we once had and show
us at the time what
we could be.
Zorn acknowledged once one work of the Argentinean Mauricio Kagel
changed his life: 'Match'
, from 1964. A duel of gestures and sounds between two double-bass
players, with the
intervention of a percussive referee who interrupts and launches the
match. Kagel's idea, as
every masterpiece, opened new doors for musical organization. Zorn
accepted the challenge
and submerged in the unexplored space he had before him. Today Cobra is
recreated on
different versions, with vocals, instrumentals, with the coordination of
different musicians
on every occasion and always on the free setting spirit which inspired
its creation.

"The best government is the one that doesn't govern at all. And when men
are prepared for it,
this is the kind of government they will have."
- - Henry D. Thoreau, 'Civil Disobedience'

"Many musicians are already prepared. We have now many musical examples
of practical
anarchy. Music with undetermined parts, without a fixed relationship
between them. Music
without notation. Our rehearsals don't have directors anymore. Musicians
can make it without
a government"
- - John Cage, 'Empty words'


ZORN 93-94

While 'Buried Secrets' and 'Radio' have managed to calm the appetite of
fans of hardcore and
jazz, Zorn's other novelties advance through previously unexplored
paths. Almost nobody
doubts anymore that Painkiller and Naked City widen the margins of the
most dense rock and a
jazz open to eclecticism. Like a purifying tumor, Zorn accomplishes here
a healthy job:
changing the rusty costumes, injecting them his revitalizing sap which
turns false into truth.
Also the jewish tradition of Klezmer found in John Zorn's MASADA a
modernizing medicine. He
began to expose there his vision of hebrew music which found in
Kristallnacht a moment of
splendor. The moving memory of nazism uses some of its emblematic
sounds: the fuehrer's
voice,  noise of crystals braking, hebrew voices praying. Delicate
litanies of jewish music
involve with their melancholy voices of genocide transforming beauty
into perplexity. Zorn
puts himself in the drama and exposes his symbols: and unending sequence
of crystals braking
rattles our eardrums till saturation. Without words or instruments he
creates a frightening
allegation against intolerance. The music of Kristallnacht changes the
usual zornian
fragmentation for a more extensive development that the new ideas seem
to ask for, an
extensive serenity which doesn't seem to resign to emotion. A group of
new-yorkers are in
charge of the representation: Anthony Coleman, Mark Feldmann, Mark
Dresser, Marc Ribot,
Joey Baron and Frank London, select members of the Lower East Side of
Manhattan guild.
'Elegy', another of Zorn's recent adventures, appears as a tribute to
the writer-martyr Jean
Genet. A paragraph from one of his novels, a symbolic rose, an explicit
pair of nude torsos
and a distorted photograph of his face form the dedicatory. As in the
anti-nazi novel, the
music of 'Elegy' opposes several aesthetical languages which follow each
other and then mix
proposing a multiplicity of images and senses. Sections of rigorously
written music alternate
with melodies of far-away ethnics. Flutes and strings incarnate the
purity and stillness in a
context of latent aggressiveness where distorted discs, abrupt hits,
weapons that shoot
displace subtlety and set discontrol. Doors that close, cries which
superimpose themselves,
exhausted voices interweave with Mid Eastern chants. Zorn defies the
conventions connecting
the uneven as if it were familiar and formulates a unique integrating
musical language. A dry
path without complacencies. Sounds that hurt the body and disturb the
mind.
Zorn's new ideas rest in mystery and symbolism. Close were then the
poets who inaugurated
the vanguard movements of literature history: Baudelaire and Verlaine
also had Zorn's
tribute. ABSINTHE, a plant which ingested in excess may drive you to
madness. The calmest
work of his artistic career, a strange peace full of density. The
instrumental voices of
Naked City transform their recognizable tones in unusual sounds
produced by non-traditional
techniques of execution. The dawn of the 19th century, so well portrayed
by the symbolist
poets, is reminded on our own twilight by frightening acoustic images
which retain the tension
on static spider webs.
If Absinthe supposed a symbolist atmospheric immersion, one could
suggest that Leng T'che is
a bath of hyperrealism among the most striking that Zorn has ever made.
The naked city on the
season of apocalypse: a guitar bleeding to death on the long agony of
accoplation and
distortion, a frightening bass involving in time a space of tension,
frantic drum punches on
the sores of sensitivity, and the unbearable cry of a voice which
appears to immolate itself
obscenely in public. And almost in the shadows of this hi-pitched cry it
is obvious that Zorn's
game lies on the edge of tolerance, between the sensation of panic and
the vision of death. A
fresco about contemporary horror and millenary), with no anesthesia.
Zorn needs to establish new channels of communication and this starts to
be evident among
the musicians as well as on the link with the listener. It looks for the
encounter with the
new, the unknown. A space of experimental search through which he
reencounters himself
with the old masters and finds already the sounds of tomorrow.
John Zorn is the paradigm of this century's end's avant garde. His music
is the spiritual
refugee for the saturated contemporary ears.



- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 02:09:06 -0400
From: Steve Smith <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]

Stephen Fruitman wrote:

> Kinky got done recently, and quite nicely too. The CD is called _Pearls in
> the Snow_ and features a wide range of (primarily country) talent

I already thanked Stephen for mentioning the Kinky tribute here.  But I wanted
to jump back in to let everyone know that, while Stephen singled out Amazon.com
for finding this disc (no doubt because he's writing from Sweden), as it turns
out, for many on the list it should be available in just about any good
store... it's being distributed by BMG, one of the majors.  Instant
gratification freak that I am, I bought mine tonight at the Tower at 4th &
Broadway this evening.  (And this despite the fact that I'm going to work for
BMG in about 3 weeks and probably could have held out for a freebie... hey,
it's the Kinkstah!)

'Pearls in the Snow' is good, real good, if you've got a taste for Texas C&W
singer / songwriter stuff (which it seems I do have, despite being a proud
*former* Texan).  I find that Kinky's scatological side is largely underplayed
here, which makes it sound a bit more mainstream than I'd expected, but that's
not entirely bad.

But in case you're already starting to WORRY about me since my return, the
*other* CD I bought tonight was the newly issued 'Arch Duo' by Derek Bailey and
Evan Parker, recorded in 1980 and just issued on Rastascan.  Even though I'd
wanted to buy something altogether new and different when I went into Other
Music this evening, I still can help buying everything by Derek the very moment
I spot it.

AND I also got a copy of David Garland's latest release, "Togetherness -
Control Songs, Vol. 2," which features Our Man Zorn along with Bobby Previte,
Brian Dewan, Jim Staley, Mark Dresser and others.  Haven't heard it yet but
will report upon having done so.

Verily a sumptuous repast awaits these ears!

Steve Smith
[e-mail]
(... looking forward to hearing Willie Nelson live for my first time later this
evening... it IS Tuesday now, right?)

NP - Lyle Lovett, "Sold American," 'Pearls in the Snow - The Songs of Kinky
Friedman'


- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 02:14:58 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]

In a message dated 7/13/99 2:11:23 AM, [e-mail] writes:

<< AND I also got a copy of David Garland's latest release, "Togetherness -
Control Songs, Vol. 2," which features Our Man Zorn along with Bobby Previte,
Brian Dewan, Jim Staley, Mark Dresser and others.  Haven't heard it yet but
will report upon having done so. >>

despite the fact he's keeping it ridiculously low-profile, this is on our
very own Patrice Roussel's new label Ergodic. sorry for blowing your cover,
dude.

Jon

- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 02:22:47 -0400
From: Steve Smith <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Buddy Rich (was: some downtowners go pop)

patRice wrote:

> can you recommend any recordings that feature buddy rich?

To be perfectly honest, I can't.  My personal reaction to Rich was that, while he was an
extraordinarily gifted drummer, I didn't find many of his recordings all that special.
But I'd also note that I stopped trying them out kinda quickly.

My most recent attempt to listen to Rich was a Lester Young Trio disc reissued by Verve
that also featured no less than Nat "King" Cole on piano, and yet I still cast that
particular disc aside because the sound quality was simply so appalling that I couldn't
imagine listening to the disc again, and I consider myself extremely open-minded when it
comes to archival sound quality and enjoy a great many things that were transfered from
78 rpm records (not to mention the Mystic Fugu Orchestra...).

So perhaps someone else can answer the question more equanimously.

Steve Smith
[e-mail]

NP - Tom Waits, "Highway Cafe," 'Pearls in the Snow - The Songs of Kinky Friedman'


- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 02:36:16 -0400
From: Steve Smith <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]

[e-mail] wrote:

> [e-mail] writes:
>
> << AND I also got a copy of David Garland's latest release, "Togetherness -
> Control Songs, Vol. 2," which features Our Man Zorn along with Bobby Previte,
> Brian Dewan, Jim Staley, Mark Dresser and others.  Haven't heard it yet but
> will report upon having done so. >>
>
> despite the fact he's keeping it ridiculously low-profile, this is on our
> very own Patrice Roussel's new label Ergodic. sorry for blowing your cover,
> dude.

Yes, it's true.  Gee, Patrice, I *tried* to keep your secret, but your dastardly
fellow label head Jon "Erstwhile" Abbey blew it.  ;-)  But I'll still happily
report on the Garland disc as soon as I've had a chance to hear it.

Steve Smith
[e-mail]

NP - NY1 News


- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 04:36:17 EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Kinky Tribute [plus Derek, Evan, Garland...]

In a message dated 7/13/99 2:37:37 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[e-mail] writes:

> > despite the fact he's keeping it ridiculously low-profile, this is on our
>  > very own Patrice Roussel's new label Ergodic. sorry for blowing your
cover,
>
>  > dude.
>
>  Yes, it's true.  Gee, Patrice, I *tried* to keep your secret, but your
> dastardly
>  fellow label head Jon "Erstwhile" Abbey blew it.

Only natural... I mean wheres a guy to go after amassing a huge record
collection and culling some of the most thorough discographies in the world?
Start a label!  Good luck.
- -Jody

- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 12:25:40 +0200
From: Yves Dewulf <[e-mail]>
Subject: Sun Ra meets Cage

>  There was also that rare LP of Cage's collaboration
>  with Sun Ra.

   Funny you mention this now. During the DJ Spooky show at the Northsea-
   jazz-festival last friday, he put the sleeve of this record
   in front of his mixing-console.
   Don't know if he played the record actually.
   (Only recognized a Jimi Hendrix solo and a bit of Miles Davis)
   Any idea what this LP sounds like? Is it Sun Ra at the Moog?

   YVes



- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 16:30:44 +0200
From: Peter Gannushkin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Schedule

Hello All,

  Does anybody knows release schedule of Knitting Factory and Tzadik labels?

Best regards,
Peter Gannushkin
e-mail: [e-mail]
URL: http://www.shkin.com/



- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 99 10:27:02 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Neues Kabarett at the Brecht Forum

Pianoforte!
A benefit to help us pay for our new piano
Friday, July 30, 9 p.m.
Neues Kabarett at the Brecht Forum
122 W. 27th St., 10th Fl.
NYC, NY 10001
[phone]

Performances by Loren MazzaCane Connors, Roy Campbell, Stephanie Stone and
Abraham Maneri with John Bloom and Ryan Sawyer.
Loren MazzaCane Connors is an improvisational legend, an intuitive and
spontaneous guitarist who has been recording and performing since the 1970s.
Whether fragile and quiet or laden with unbound feedback, his music seethes with
gorgeous lyricism, often incorporating drone, noise and sustained chord
phrasings. Loren has performed and recorded with the likes of Alan Licht, Keiji
Haino, Suzanne Langille, Jim O'Rourke and Thurston Moore. He will perform solo.
Roy Campbell is a trumpet phenom who performs his free, post-bop style regularly
at Tonic, the Knitting Factory, Dharma and the Lenox Lounge. He is a member of
the supergroup Other Dimensions in Music with Daniel Carter, William Parker and
Rashid Bakr and leads the Pyramid Trio. He has recorded for Silkheart, Delmark
and AUM Fidelity, scored the films "The Selling of Harlem" and "Survival in New
York," and has performed and recorded with Sun Ra, David Murray, Reggie
Nicholson, Cecil Taylor, Henry Threadgill, Billy Bang and Zane Massey. Tonight
is a rare opportunity to see him play solo.
Abraham Maneri is a young poet who has performed throughout the Boston area, a
Labri, Zeitgeist, St. Paul's Church and Jordan Hall, as well as in the Jump Over
the River festival in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with Sabir Mateen and Ryan Sawyer.
Abraham has read with poets such as Bill Knot and Samuel Cornish, as well as
with family members violinist Mat Maneri, saxophonist Joe Maneri and dancer
Christine Coppola Maneri. He has been published in BAGS (Boston Avant-Garde
Society), Griffin's Eye and Amaranth. He will perform with pianist John Bloom
and drummer Ryan Sawyer.
Stephanie Stone has been a fixture in downtown audiences for decades. If you go
to see Tim Berne, John Zorn or any of a number of other artists on any given
night, it's a safe bet you'll see her and her husband Irving there. Recently she
has returned to performing, and we're very excited she will be on hand to
christen our piano. She will perform solo and in a duet with Roy Campbell.



- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 10:59:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ken Waxman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Schedule

Try the Knit's page at:

www.knittingfactory.com

Ken Waxman



On Tue, 13 Jul 1999, Peter Gannushkin wrote:

> Hello All,
>
>   Does anybody knows release schedule of Knitting Factory and Tzadik labels?
>
> Best regards,
> Peter Gannushkin
> e-mail: [e-mail]
> URL: http://www.shkin.com/
>
>
>
> -
>
>

- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 17:08:40 +0200
From: Peter Gannushkin <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re[2]: Schedule

Hello Ken,

Tuesday, July 13, 1999, you wrote to me:

KW> Try the Knit's page at:

KW> www.knittingfactory.com

There is no schedule. It doesn't contain any information even about
some new released CDs.

>>
>>   Does anybody knows release schedule of Knitting Factory and Tzadik labels?
>>

Best regards,
Peter Gannushkin
e-mail: [e-mail]
URL: http://www.shkin.com/



- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 08:16:02 -0700
From: "Patrice L. Roussel" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Re[2]: Schedule

On Tue, 13 Jul 1999 17:08:40 +0200  Peter Gannushkin wrote:
>
> KW> Try the Knit's page at:
>
> KW> www.knittingfactory.com
>
> There is no schedule. It doesn't contain any information even about
> some new released CDs.

Yeah, this is the KF. If you want to know about their new records you have to
read the ads in THE WIRE... That's where I usually hear about new releases.

BTW, has anybody seen the Blue Note/KF sampler which is supposed to accompany
Howard Mandel's new book? I saw an Ad in the August issue of DB and was
wondering what it is.

    Patrice.

- -

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

Date: Tue, 13 Jul 99 11:32:27 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Garland's 'Togetherness'

     Though I'd enjoyed Garland's first volume of Control Songs and loved
     his compositions and vocal work with Guy Klucevsek's band, this
     release still took me a few listens to get completely comfortable
     with. But once there, it's quite an enjoyable album.

     My initial mistake was listening to these pieces as more or less
     unusual pop songs and some of the works _almost_ lend themselves to
     that interpretation, like the very catchy opener, 'This Is Love'. But
     most of the pieces are too slippery, the lyrics too 'banal' (in a good
     sense, that is!), the arrangements too seemingly casual to fit
     comfortably in that category. It was only when I shifted mental gears
     and began to listen to them as contemporary 'art songs' that they
     clicked into focus. Of course, this could just be me and Garland may
     indeed intend these as pop songs....

     A good, unique record. I'm trying to think of somewhat reasonable
     comparisons, but it's tough. Sometimes they seem to inhabit a world
     adjacent to Partch's song-cycles (as interpreted by a composer fond of
     bachelor-pad music); a similar use of everyday, non-poetic language
     used to great poetic effect. Musically, at its smoothest, I hear
     echoes of bands like Penguin Cafe Orchestra or even early pop-based
     Eno ('Happy Ending' reminds me a bit of something like 'Blank Frank'),
     or the Bley/Haines songbook.

     Fascinating stuff. Check it out.

     Brian Olewnick



- -

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

End of Zorn List Digest V2 #711
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