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Zorn List Digest     Wednesday, November 17 1999     Volume 02 : Number 793



In this issue:
-
       Re: come night
       Re: New Arto CD... and Yagi Michiyo... and Rowe/Yoshida/Sugimoto
       Re: Arto CDs
       RE: Can someone let me know about Filmworks VIII
       Re: Re: Arto CDs
       Re: New Arto CD
       artoverview (long)
       Re: Arto CDs
       Re: artoverview (long)
       PROMO: Earl Howard/Denman Maroney-Fire Song

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 01:51:43 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: come night

In a message dated 11/16/99 10:28:15 PM, [e-mail] writes:

<< dusted off my copy of lmc's 'come night' last night, and i'm listening to
it

again now. it's really remarkable. i had sort of forgotten it, but now it
would

have to place in my top three of loren's records.  >>

wow, I really couldn't agree less. I'd say this is one of my least favorite
Loren CDs. Loren's tough to collaborate with and it seems pretty evident to
me that Loren had no idea what to do with these guys. in fact, I'm fairly
sure that this is the session that led to Loren's current irrational fear of
recording in a studio, an option he declined for my Haunted House CD.

your mileage may vary...

Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com

- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 11:23:24 +0000
From: Simon Hopkins <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: New Arto CD... and Yagi Michiyo... and Rowe/Yoshida/Sugimoto

>Can anyone give a review of the new Arto Lindsay CD?

You might like to check out my review of Arto's album on the motion website at

http://motion.state51.co.uk/reviews/439.html

It's a masterpiece, btw (Prize, that is, not my review!)

I recently picked up a copy of Yagi Michiyo's "Shizuku" on Tzadik's New
Japan series. (A quick plug: I got it at the wonderful Ananana record shop
in Lisbon, Portugal; if any z-listers happen to be in that beautiful city,
check the store out. Better than ANY in London imho.) If there's been
discussion about it here already I apologize. It's a phenomenal record:
solo koto (very occasionally accompanied by piano), partly improv partly
composed, and extremely eclectic in  mood, style etc. Apparently she's a
bit opf a rock star in Japan, but I know nothing about her at all. Anyone
got some info?

And finally , I haven't seen any mention here of the recent Otomo
Yoshida/Keith Rowe/Taku Sugimoto guitar improv trio put on by the LMC at
the Spitz bar in Spitalfields, London. I attended with my fellow motion
team members Dan Hill and David Thorpe, and we were all astounded. Veering
from the barely audible to the painfully loud, the performance imbedded
Sugimoto's Mompou-meets-John Lee Hooker  blues lines in a hovering field of
feedback and prepared guitar bowing, scraping and gnawing. Mesemerising.
Anyone else catch it?

Cheers

Simon

np. Alice Coltrane: World Galaxy

simon hopkins is a member of the state51 conspiracy

http://motion.state51.co.uk
reviews | features | services



- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 06:53:12 -0500
From: "Caleb T. Deupree" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Arto CDs

At 07:42 PM 11/16/99 -0800, Radio Khartoum wrote:
>If it's not asking too much, maybe someone could give me a quick
>primer/list of recommendations on Arto's solo releases.

Actually I like the Ambitious Lovers CDs the best, which are just Arto and
Peter Scherer.  They have three albums, I think, and it seems like they
started down a seven deadly sins series: Lust, Envy, and Greed.  These all
have more of the skronk guitar which originally attracted me to Arto than
his more recent, more Brazilian, solo releases, although they all have
songs sung in Portuguese as well.  Lindsay and Scherer also have a Made to
Measure album of ballet and theater music which is all instrumental and
pretty good too.

I'd also recommend following Arto's Brazilian production credits.  His
Marisa Monte albums are by far her best work on record, and Arto sneaks in
some vocals occasionally, plus some of his NYC friends as guests.  He also
produced an excellent Caetano Veloso album where he gets to participate as
a guitarist and side vocalist as well.


- --
Caleb Deupree
[e-mail]

It is pretty obvious that the debasement of the human mind caused by a
constant flow of fraudulent advertising is no trivial thing.  There is more
than one way to conquer a country.

- -- Raymond Chandler

- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 10:27:15 -0300
From: Linares Hugo <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: Can someone let me know about Filmworks VIII

> Is this the best one to choose if I am a big fan of the Masada String
> Trio,
> Thanks for any comments
> Nick McCormick
>
>
>
    I don't know if it's the best to choose, but it's a nice recording
indeed.
    IMHO Filmworks VIII stands for pretty fine playing from the String
Trio, though you can also listen to great musicians such as Ribot, Coleman,
and duo Baron & Baptista.
    Amazing pipa player Min Xiao-Fen shines at her best in a couple
Masada's tunes and probably "Shangai" is the top melody of the album.

    Just my 2 pesos.

    Hugo.


- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 10:33:46 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Re: Arto CDs

>Actually I like the Ambitious Lovers CDs the best, which are just


Did the first ever come out on CD?  I would have bought it but never saw it listed anywhere.

LT

- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 08:15:06 -0800
From: "Patrice L. Roussel" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: New Arto CD

On Tue, 16 Nov 1999 21:06:09 -0800 (PST)  Tom Pratt wrote:
>
> Oh, and anyone who likes 'Prize' should check out the
> new double-disc from Katerine. The two releases have a
> strikingly similar feel yet are very obviously coming
> from two totally different angles. It's a surprisingly
> dark, lo-fi and experimental album for Katerine. I
> really like it.

And Katerine is on the last Kahimi Karie (K.K.K.K.K.)... I was wondering how
I could describe Karie's voice to a friend and I found it: half-way between
Jane Birkin and (her daughter) Charlotte Gainsbourg :-).

    Patrice.

- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 99 11:18:06 -0500
From: [e-mail]
Subject: artoverview (long)

Radio Kharoum requests an arto primer. i'll see what i can do.

in my opinion, arto's done a lot of interesting things, although not all of it
has aged well. and much of his guest appearances have seemed more like novelty
than anything. i'm sure some will disagree with me, but it seems like he's
wanted to work skronk (his particular guitar noise -- clean but distorted shards
that pierce through the rest of the music) into pop and jazz with little success
until recently. other things have just been pure skronk, which are his better
releases until the last few years.

i'm always at a liability when i do these, because i'm at work and without my
cds, but here goes.

a little background first. arto was born in new york and grew up in brazil, so
his merging of styles is true to his upbringing. he is not a trained guitarist
in any way, but has developed a sort of amusical style which, in the right
context, can be really great. discussions have gone on here and elsewhere about
whether or not he has a lick of talent. by bothering to write this, you can
guess that i like a lot of what he's done, although a lot is also superfluous
(at least to his career).

the earliest live appearance is a concert by dna which is available on avant.
arto with ikue mori and bassist tim wright (who i'm not otherwise familiar
with), either before or after dna. this must be 1980ish, give or take. very
noisy, interesting because arto and ikue both grew to be very sensitive players,
truly creating their own languages on drum machines and, shall we say,
nontraditional guitar. it doesn't, however, make for a great listen.

ambitious lovers (arto on guitar and vox with peter scherer on keys, beats,
etc.) put out three records i think. pride, lust and envy, if i'm not mistaken.
they were supposed to do all seven deadly sins, but didn't get through them. i
only know two of the records and i never listen to them. fairly bland 80s white
funk, arto doesn't seem to be a strong presence. occaisonally his brazillian
influence seeps in, making it more interesting, but still not too rewarding. i
don't think any of these are in print. scherer's 'very neon pet,' which has a
fair bit of arto, is more interesting and more readily available.

arto is on at least one lounge lizards record (the self-titled one) and is
featured prominently on one golden palominos record. he shows up in a lot of
other places as well through the 80s and early 90s. it seems he's used more for
comedic effect than anything on these recordings (hey, it'd be funny to play a
duke ellington song, and then arto can be all noisy in the middle). these are
the worst documents of his playing by far.

better, but still not essential, is some of the guest work he's done outside of
new york: composing and playing with seigen ono: composing for, playing with and
producing marisa monte. he's also produced quite a few other brazillian artists,
less experimental stuff i believe but none of which i've heard. if you see
either of the cd's ono did for commes de garcons, pick them up. really nice
contributions from arto, even though he's only on a few tracks. you'll also find
a lot of other downtown players (zorn, roy nathanson, ribot, others) on them, as
well as some brazillian players. (ono is japanese, but has shown a strong
interest in reinterpreting brazillian styles.) marisa monte's records also
sometimes have a downtown superstar cast. they're nice, but not too daring.

it would be criminal to not mention his work with zorn here (spillaine, new
traditions in east asian bar bands, several of the filmworks volumes), which are
far better records than the palomino/lizard collaborations, but i wouldn't say
arto is essential to these.

the real mccoy begins in 1995 with aggregates 1-26 on knitting factory works.
heavy skronk with his bassist of choice of the last four years melvin gibbs (who
i don't usually like, but he works well with arto) and arto's pal and former
fellow lounge lizard dougie bowne. really nice song fragments, interesting
lyrics and the best setting for arto's guitar to date. people that argue he
doesn't know what he's doing on guitar should listen to this (although they
still might argue same).

the recent brazillian-influenced set (o corpo sutil - the subtle body, mundo
civilizado and noon chill and prize, though i'll confess i haven't heard prize
yet) are my favorites of his work. of the first three, anyway, it seems like he
is working to merge the samba and the skronk, more successfully each time than
the last. o sorpo sutil is pretty heavily brasil, and the ny edge becomes more
apparent on the other two. the remix ep mundo civilizado adds to the argument,
but can be skipped.

ok, so maybe i should go out and buy prize tonight.



- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 08:33:33 -0800
From: "Patrice L. Roussel" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: Arto CDs

On Wed, 17 Nov 1999 10:33:46 -0500  [e-mail] wrote:
>
>
> >Actually I like the Ambitious Lovers CDs the best, which are just
>
>
> Did the first ever come out on CD?  I would have bought it but never saw it listed anywhere.

Sure!

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

020 - ENVY: Arto Lindsay/Ambitious Lovers

    1984 - Editions EG Records, 823 688-1 (LP)
    ???? - ??? (Japan), ??? (CD)
    1996 - Virgin (UK), CDOVD469 (CD)

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

    Patrice.

- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 09:16:05 -0800
From: "Patrice L. Roussel" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: artoverview (long)

    As usual, 80% agreement with Kurt and 20% disagreement (but what do we
have to say when we agree?).

On Wed, 17 Nov 99 11:18:06 -0500  [e-mail] wrote:
>
> ambitious lovers (arto on guitar and vox with peter scherer on keys, beats,
> etc.) put out three records i think. pride, lust and envy, if i'm not mistaken.
> they were supposed to do all seven deadly sins, but didn't get through them. i
> only know two of the records and i never listen to them. fairly bland 80s white
> funk, arto doesn't seem to be a strong presence. occaisonally his brazillian
> influence seeps in, making it more interesting, but still not too rewarding. i
> don't think any of these are in print. scherer's 'very neon pet,' which has a
> fair bit of arto, is more interesting and more readily available.

I have to almost disagree here. With Ambitious Lovers Arto and Peter were
trying to put an edge in what could have been (like you say) fairly bland 80s
"white funk" (between quotes because I am totally ignorant of the genre (funk)
and I did not know that this qualifier could apply to A.L.'s music). The edge
is obvious on the first (ENVY), less apparent on the second (GREED), and almost
inexistant on the last (LUST). ENVY features one of the most chilling songs
ever written: "Too Many Mansions", and one of Arto's most powerfull song:
"Locus Coruleus". Although ENVY is my favorite, there is a very sweet lighness
and "nonchalance" in the second, GREED. I rarely play the last one, not that
it is a bad record, but it definitely matches your global description of the
group (which I think only applies to the last and in parts to the second).

> arto is on at least one lounge lizards record (the self-titled one) and is
> featured prominently on one golden palominos record. he shows up in a lot of
> other places as well through the 80s and early 90s. it seems he's used more for
> comedic effect than anything on these recordings (hey, it'd be funny to play a
> duke ellington song, and then arto can be all noisy in the middle). these are
> the worst documents of his playing by far.

I also disagree here (although I am not sure to which records applies your
last sentence). Arto's playing on the first Lounge Lizards is what makes the
record, I think, quite remarkable and not jazz (without Arto, the record would
have made all the jazz critics right on the point). I would say that without
Arto, the record could have been qualified of bland (something that I would
not say of further L.Z. records).

The first Golden Palominos is an amazing records and Arto is all over. In
fact, I am wondering if the initial Golden Palominos was not a project of
both Anton and Arto. If there were any record to choose to illustrate the
NY scene early '80s, that's the one. I can't describe the music except that
it is weird and accessible at the same time (thanks, I guess to Anton, Bill,
and Arto who seem incapable of making cryptic music for the sake of it :-).

Also worth checking is "Only One Party" on the VISIONS OF EXCESS (second Golden
Palominos) - a powerful song with as much energy as "Locus Coruleus" (and the
only thing I really enjoy on the record).

As a global comment, you seem to question the relevance of Arto sprinkling
some skronk here and there. I tend to disagree with that since I believe that
his playing has saved many songs from being totally boring. Also, I would
have a hard time to recognize any other guitar player on the first couple
notes... Maybe it is unfair that Arto can just show up at a session, skronk
five seconds of guitar, go home, and get credited (by people like me) to have
saved the song from total boredom by their appearance. But I see many other
things that are not fair in this world, and this one at least is harmless.
Since Arto has the talent of choosing to whom he plays with, maybe he is
just a very smart musician with his own vision. Or maybe I am a total sucker
for the man.

> it would be criminal to not mention his work with zorn here (spillaine, new
                                ^^^^^^^^^
Has anybody noticed the conspicuous absence of any credits to Arto on the
reissue of Spillane?

> traditions in east asian bar bands, several of the filmworks volumes), which are
> far better records than the palomino/lizard collaborations, but i wouldn't say

How can you compare styles so dramatically opposed (Asian Bar Bands vs Golden
Palomonos/Lounge Lizards)? One is about controlled improv in a game piece
context, and the others are song-oriented.

> the real mccoy begins in 1995 with aggregates 1-26 on knitting factory works.
> heavy skronk with his bassist of choice of the last four years melvin gibbs (who
> i don't usually like, but he works well with arto) and arto's pal and former
> fellow lounge lizard dougie bowne. really nice song fragments, interesting
> lyrics and the best setting for arto's guitar to date. people that argue he
> doesn't know what he's doing on guitar should listen to this (although they
> still might argue same).

I totally agree here: AGGREGATES 1-26 is *THE* Arto record to buy first! It
concretizes what DNA only alluded to. For the first time, Arto's playing
gets the time to stretch and be the center of attention (instead of just
sparse spices sprinkled here and there). For people who felt that DNA promised
more than it delived, AGGREGATES 1-26 is the solution.

    Patrice.

- -

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

Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 12:35:33 EST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: PROMO: Earl Howard/Denman Maroney-Fire Song

hi, sorry for the promotional nature of this post, but I wanted to let peopl=
e=20
know that I just received copies of Erstwhile 003, Earl Howard/Denman=20
Maroney-Fire Song. below is the press release:

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

Earl Howard/Denman Maroney-Fire Song (Erstwhile 003). Four long solo and due=
t=20
pieces totalling 54 minutes from these two NYC-based, criminally=20
underdocumented musicians. Howard and Maroney have been playing together=20
sporadically since 1975, when they recorded a version of Stockhausen's=20
Kurzwellen as part of the Negative Band (a record engineered by Carl Stone=20
for the Finnadar label). Howard plays alto saxophone and synth, while Marone=
y=20
plays hyperpiano, which is further explained below. Howard has played over=20
the years with such luminaries as Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Takehisa Kosugi=
,=20
George Lewis, Nam June Paik, and Richard Teitelbaum, but has barely recorded=
,=20
except for a mostly solo electronics CD on Random Acoustics, Pele's Tears.=20
Fire Song contains his first composition for alto to be documented on disc,=20
the solo piece Orchid. Maroney has pioneered a technique for the piano which=
=20
he refers to as "hyperpiano", which involves stopping, sliding, bowing,=20
plucking, strumming and striking the strings directly with a variety of tool=
s=20
including bars, bowls, knives, bells and mashers of metal, boxes and bottles=
=20
of plastic, mallets of various kinds, and blocks of rubber. Hyperpiano=20
differs from prepared piano in that the piano is not prepared beforehand.=20
"The week that I heard this CD, I also witnessed Wally Shoup put a rubber=20
glove on his saxophone, his breath causing it to wave like a sarcastic hand.=
=20
One could not find two more disparate, conflicting values in music=20
performance, though both Shoup's gesture and the Maroney/Howard CD share=20
something in that they are both instilled with an awareness that=20
conscientious abstraction is an empty gesture--Maroney and Howard perform=20
with a humility that speaks more of functionality in a musical=20
language."-Dean Roberts

personnel:
Earl Howard - alto saxophone, Kurzweil 2500 synthesizer
Denman Maroney - prepared piano

track listing:
1. Fire Song=A0=A0=A0(17:58)
=A0=A0=A0=A0duet for prepared piano and synthesizer
2. UnCaged Bacchanal=A0=A0=A0(10:24)
=A0=A0=A0=A0solo prepared piano
3. Pulse Field=A0=A0=A0(13:23)
=A0=A0=A0=A0duet for prepared piano and alto saxophone
4. Orchid=A0=A0=A0(12:08)
=A0=A0=A0=A0solo alto saxophone

available via mail order:=20
$13 US each postpaid within the United States=20
$14 US each postpaid to Canada=20
$16 US each postpaid overseas=20

All payments must be made in US funds. Cash and money orders shipped=20
immediately (mail cash at your own risk). Shipments paid for with checks hel=
d=20
until they clear.=20

Please send your order to:=20
Erstwhile Records
189 Christopher Columbus Dr.
Apt. #4
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Erstwhile Records is also distributed by Forced Exposure (www.fe.org),=20
Metamkine (http://metamkine.free.fr/), and Fringes (http://fringes.8m.com/),=
=20
although only Forced Exposure has copies of Fire Song for now.

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

thanks for reading,
Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com

- -

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

End of Zorn List Digest V2 #793
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