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From: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (Zorn List Digest)
To: zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com
Subject: Zorn List Digest V3 #242
Reply-To: zorn-list
Sender: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com
Errors-To: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com
Precedence: bulk
Zorn List Digest Monday, January 15 2001 Volume 03 : Number 242
In this issue:
-
Re: bobby previte new CD
Re: Tim Berne Recommendations?
THE SICILIAN CLAN
Re: Tim Berne Recommendations?
L.A. Free Music Society
the realities of the world
RE: Any RESIDENTS recommendations?
Re: Joe McPhee and Evan Parker recommendations
Re: Any RESIDENTS recommendations?
Re: Tim Berne Recommendations?
Re: Evan Parker recommendations
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 09:03:29 -0800
From: "Patrice L. Roussel" <proussel@ichips.intel.com>
Subject: Re: bobby previte new CD
On Mon, 15 Jan 2001 11:41:14 -0500 Steve Smith wrote:
>
> even who his partner on the record is. He also gleefully informed me that I
> had missed the opportunity to be the first person in the world to order it -
> that someone else had been the first to send in a check...
>
> me: "Patrice Roussel, right?"
> BP: (much laughter) "I'm thinking about taping the check to the wall, like a
> restaurant tapes up the first dollar bill it gets..."
>
> Wanna tell us about it, Patrice?
Darn! There is no privacy on this list :-).
Yes, I ordered it but I have not received it yet.
Patrice.
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:07:16 EST
From: DvdBelkin@aol.com
Subject: Re: Tim Berne Recommendations?
Guess it's hard to find JMT stuff now, but I especially liked the two
Miniature (Berne-Baron-Roberts trio) disks. And Fractured Fairy Tales (trio
+ Dresser, Feldman, Robertson). And Diminuitive Mysteries (mostly Hemphill).
And - aw, heck, I could keep going until I've just about listed it all!
David
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 09:34:51 -0800
From: Tosh <tosh@loop.com>
Subject: THE SICILIAN CLAN
I just saw a copy of the soundtrack album THE SICILIAN CLAN. I love the
main theme, and I was wondering if anyone out there can recommend this
soundtrack CD before purchasing it. I do have the main theme already.
- --
Tosh Berman
TamTam Books
http://www.tamtambooks.com
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:37:09 -0500
From: Steve Smith <ssmith36@sprynet.com>
Subject: Re: Tim Berne Recommendations?
Samerivertwice@aol.com wrote:
> Okay, I just got my first Bloodcount disc -- "Poisoned Minds" -- on Saturday
> and have not stopped listening since. And I just ordered every currently
> available Bloodcount disc from Forced Exposure. Finally, I just won an
> auction on Ebay for Memory Select. Are Tim Berne's other projects as
> exciting as Bloodcount? If so, where do I go next?
Standard disclaimer: I worked closely with Tim for several years, helping to
establish the Screwgun label and creating and running the website for its first
three years. I also had his two Columbia records reissued on Koch Jazz when I
worked there. Therefore, I'm admittedly partisan. But I currently have no
fiscal connection with Tim, and I'll be happy to make a few suggestions.
Standard caveat: Remember that anything on JMT is out of print - a disaster
when you consider that it's roughly 10 years of his work, and 10 decisive years
at that. You'll have to haunt used CD shops and keep checking eBay for many of
these.
Personal bias: I think the Screwgun releases by bloodcount are better than the
JMT discs, because they're truer to the rough, raw, edgy sound and fatass funk
that the band achieved live.
That said, here are five suggestions...
1. Fractured Fairy Tales (1989, JMT)
Still one of Berne's most powerful statements. The band: Mark Dresser, Herb
Robertson, Mark Feldman, Hank Roberts, Joey Baron. The tunes: concise,
angular, swinging. "Hong Kong Sad Song/More Coffee" just kicks ass. The
quirky rhythms and ostinato vamps Berne borrowed from Hemphill are in full
evidence here. The same band, minus Feldman, recorded the very fine
'Sanctified Dreams' (1987, Columbia, reissued by Koch), which was the record
that first made me "get" Berne's style back when I was still a fledgling in all
things jazz. Don't expect the epic-length perorations of bloodcount... here
the ideas are much more concentrated, but still bristling with event and
impact. And Robertson, on both albums, is a damn near perfect foil for Berne,
time and time again. He's so damned important and so little represented
elsewhere...
2. Pace Yourself (1991, JMT)
Berne's first encounter on record with Marc Ducret. The rest of the band is
Dresser, Robertson, Bobby Previte and Steve Swell. Again, the tunes are
largely more concise. "Bass Voodoo" is one that he continues to explore in a
variety of settings even now. The first of his long-form pieces, "The Legend
of P-1," points the way towards his more recent style. The followup to this
one, 'Nice View' (1994, JMT), fully marks the transition to the long-form style
(its pieces are 21, 17 and 38 minutes in length, respectively) and adds Django
Bates.
3. Fulton Street Maul (1987, Columbia, reissued Koch)
The transition point between Berne's very early Empire and Soul Note work
(which did indeed contain some very long pieces, but they weren't the same sort
of episodic narratives as bloodcount's book) and his middle period described
above. Density is the keyword here: Bill Frisell and Hank Roberts sound like
teeming swarms. Frisell commits some of his most terrifying acts of
guitarrorism on this album - you might not believe it's even the same guitarist
as the Frisell we hear today. It took me a long time to come to this record
when it was new, but I treasure it now.
4. Diminutive Mysteries (1993, JMT)
A disc of new compositions by Berne's mentor Julius Hemphill plus a lengthy
original tribute by Berne, making explicit the indebtedness that Berne felt
towards his unsing hero. The music was written for the occasion, and the
playing is exeptional. Features Ducret, Roberts, Baron, and some obscure
sopranino sax player named David Sanborn, plus Robertson and Dresser on "The
Maze," Berne's sole composition here (which clocks in at 21 minutes).
5. Loose Cannon (1993, Soul Note)
Nominally a session led by Michael Formanek, this was both the birth of a
seminal partnership that continues today (Formanek just got a grant to take the
duo on the road again) and the germination of what would become bloodcount.
The tunes are mostly concise and are contibuted by both Berne and Formanek, and
the band, a trio, is completed by drummer Jeff Hirshfield, who, while
excellent, isn't the distinctive stylist that Jim black would prove to be. For
my money, no drummer - and Berne has always been blessed with the most fabulous
drummers in the business - has ever gotten into the itchy nervous system of
Berne's music the way Black did, and initially bloodcount was to be Berne,
Formanek and Black before the drummer brought Chris Speed into the mix. The
tunes "Broken" and "Lowball," which would later become the bloodcount medley
"Bro'ball," make their debut here.
That's a nice little primer, I think. Additionally, if you find you like the
sound of 'Fractured Fairy Tales,' then the two discs by the collective trio
Miniature (Berne, Roberts and Baron) - both on JMT, alas - are also highly
recommended. The Big Satan (Berne, Ducret, Tom Rainey) album 'I Think They
Liked It Honey' marks the territory between bloodcount and Paraphrase and gives
another example of Berne working with other people's pieces - half the album
was written by Ducret. And Paraphrase (Berne, Rainey and Drew Gress), as has
been mentioned, is a fine example of a freely-improvising band whose members
are so in tune with one another that even at epic length, the pieces unfold
organically and there's rarely a dull moment.
Enough from me... I gotta get working or I'm in deep trouble.
Steve Smith
ssmith36@sprynet.com
NP - Tim Berne, "Evolution of a Pearl," 'Fractured Fairy Tales' (JMT)
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 09:52:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Scott Handley <thesubtlebody@yahoo.com>
Subject: L.A. Free Music Society
Has anyone heard any or all of the LAFMS box set?
What is the music like and would you recommend it?
For those who have never heard of this enclave of
strangeness, you can go to
http://www.cortical.org/spores/LAFMS10CD.html
- ----s
NP: Rev. Dwight Frizell and Anal Magic - BEYOND THE
BLACK CRACK (Paradigm)
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:58:07 EST
From: CuneiWay@aol.com
Subject: the realities of the world
Steve S. writes [re: Bobby Previte]
>He's been trying
>to get it on a major label with a high commercial profile and some marketing
>money and clout. It was turned down by one important German indie label
>with
>fancy packaging that we talk about a lot here on this list. I can
understand Bobby's >desire to get
>the
>project out through one of these venues - he feels the music is the best
>thing
>he's ever done, and he wants it heard by as many people as possible. And
>that's not a bad objective. It just might not be a realistic one in today's
>market climate.
There are a number of people who would never consider working with Cuneiform
Records because I can't offer them a $8, $10, $15 or 20K advance, despite the
fact that (1) we merely lease masters from the artist - NOT own them, meaning
that they ultimately have control of their intellectual property, but also
that I have to figure out a way that I can break even on a release in 5 years
[the initial terms of our contracts], (2) we can prove to them based on our
reputation that we WILL pay them for what we sell, & (3) we have two people
on staff full time who do nothing but promotion for our releases at no
cost/chargeback to the band.
But all of that usually doesn't seem to outweigh the big boys big cash in the
pocket - which we [& probably Songlines, Palmetto & Omnitone] just can't do.
> The
>trick is to sell enough to make the venture worthwhile. But ultimately,
>as Jon
>and Tony Reif and the other label heads on this list will tell you, no
>matter
>how successful such a venture may be, it had to be a labor of love or it
>isn't
>worth the headache and heartbreak.
Steve, you make it sound *so* easy & obvious!
;-)
Anway, too bad - I love Bobby's work - have seen him a few times & own most
of his CDs.
If he gives up on the big boys, have him get in touch!
Steve
Cuneiform Records
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 12:14:51 -0600
From: Jay Mote <mote@augsburg.edu>
Subject: RE: Any RESIDENTS recommendations?
Efren,
A Guide to the Works of the Residents:
http://www.residents.com/
Studio Albums: http://www.residents.com/albums/
Unofficial Residents Fan Club: http://www.smelly-tongues.com/
My 2 cents: Anything before '80 is very good (especially their early Ralph
Records releases). Are they available? Ryko may have their hands on
re-releasing their earlier stuff as they seem to have their hands in a lot of
little gems (i.e. Zappa rereleases, etc.). Otherwise, I doubt you'll find fans
giving up their vinyl. Sorry I can't be of more help in finding albums/CDs for
sale.
J out
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Original Message From efr=E9n del valle <efrendv@yahoo.es> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
>Hi everyone!
>
>I just got into THE RESIDENTS by buying their
>"COMMERCIAL ALBUM". It was 50% boredom and 50%
>intuition that there must be a lot of interesting
>things in their discography. I know it has been
>regarded as one of their best albums.
>
>Could someone recommend something from their enormous
>body of work?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>Efr=E9n
>
>_______________________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Consiga gratis su direcci=F3n @yahoo.es en http://correo.yahoo.es
>
>-
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 10:16:14 -0800 (PST)
From: Scott Handley <thesubtlebody@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Joe McPhee and Evan Parker recommendations
I thought I'd make brief comments about a few of Jon
Abbey's Parker recommendations, then add a few of my
own:
1. Monoceros (Chronoscope) - searing solo soprano;
pretty intense and cathartic
2. Three Other Stories (Emanem) - bizarre meeting with
percussionist Paul Lytton; homemade instruments, some
electronic extension of the percussion; not your
father's free improv, though it could have been if
your dad had been especially hip
3. Schlippenbach Trio-Elf Bagatellen (FMP) - classic
"miniatures" by an empathic working group; Webernian
free improvisation with amazing discipline; recorded
rather poorly, I thought, or at least mixed very low;
PHYSICS has some terrific close-mic'ed piano, but
seems more like free-jazz, more energy-music.
Exciting stuff!
4. Obliquities (Maya) - Great duo with bassist Barry
Guy; some of my favorite playing by both men, but
maybe not the place to start IMHO.
5. Live at Les Instants Chavires (Leo) - an amazing
meeting w/digital signal processors and guitarist Noel
AkchotΘ; what opens like a infinitely echoing
muezzin's call transforms itself constantly, sounding
by turns like flocks of birds and speaker-damage. You
might also like the beautifully-recorded SOLAR WIND,
also with digital improvisor Lawrence Casserly,
thought this time in duo. I also really like the two
ECM recording from Parker's electroacoustic ensemble.
1. To which I'd add my own suggestion for Evan
Parker's Greatest Album: 50th BIRTHDAY CONCERT (Leo).
A really great way in. One disc of Schlip3, one of
Parker-Guy-Lytton, and both tremendous treats, worth
savoring; these performances are good examples of
"practiced improvisation," but keep surprising me five
years or so after I purchased the disc.
Schlippenbach's machine-typewriter semiprepared piano
vamping on "Bowed stiffly then went free..." is
_grooving_; Barry Guy's bass is rubbery, protean,
beautifully recorded (not always the case!); Parker's
tenor sounds fine (also not always the case: witness
the cottony-muffled CHICAGO SOLO, the too-dry DARKS
RAGS, the brittle LIVE AT THE VORTEX...good
performances with rather sub-documentary sound, IMHO);
and the shorter examples of his solo soprano are like
time-lapse vine-growth. This leads me to...
2. CONIC SECTIONS (AH Um). Unaccompanied solo soprano
excursions; long salvos of circular-breathing-powered
exercises, bordering on fugue-like. Parker uses false
fingerings, biting on the reed, etc etc to create the
illusion of distinct simultaneous lines. The result,
especially here, is far more profound than a display
of extended technique or trompe-les-oreilles [sp?];
there is the sense of investigation, of the truly
experimental, but much more refined than the
outrageously intense MONOCEROS. Essential!
3. NATIVES AND ALIENS (Leo). The title is a joke,
perhaps, on the fact that Parker-Guy-Lytton have
played together so much that it's pretty damned far
from what Derek Bailey once considered "optimal"
improvisation. Crispell is the perfect fourth wheel;
beautifully recorded, dynamic, and highly recommended
for people who like the dynamic of the "classic"
Coltrane Quartet....which is only to say that I find
the performance analogous, not particularly similar.
Parker largely plays tenor, and it sounds GREAT.
As for Joe McPhee, I remember TOPOLOGY being a
shocker: opening with a melodramatic suspensful string
vibrato, with a wall of guitar feedback and this
beautiful, almost apocalyptic trumpet/sax line arching
over it all. In the midst of this electro-acoustic
moment, it pays to remember that McPhee was involving
himself with electronics---as just another aspect of
his oeuvre---from the get-go; there are
"microcomputers" used on TOPOLOGY, extensive
synth/voice destruction on THE WILLISAU CONCERT, one
of those old Seventies HatArt releases. I also saw
him play solo a couple years ago, and he was using a
digital delay of some kind to layer his pocket trumpet
and play over it; the piece was written for him, he
said, by Pauline Oliveros. One thinkg I've seen
McPhee do is to to sing a counter-melody to a flurry
of circular-breathed activity; the effect is moving,
and more effective, I think, than Dewey Redman's use
of a similar technique. (I don't know of another
player who does this. Mats Mustafsson maybe?) McPhee
seems to absorb influences readily without betraying
his own special sound-project.
In parting, I might mention the Parker-Guy-Lytton disc
THE REDWOOD SESSIONS, with McPhee guesting (not on the
whole record, though). It's a great, great
performance, and McPhee has a lot to do with that.
Good place to begin your journey with both artists!
(Though you might be put off by the "CIMP sound".)
If you can warm up to these artists' sound-worlds, you
are in for months of great listening! Lucky you!
- -----s
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail.
http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 13:22:29 -0500
From: Steve Smith <ssmith36@sprynet.com>
Subject: Re: Any RESIDENTS recommendations?
Jay Mote wrote:
> My 2 cents: Anything before '80 is very good (especially their early Ralph
> Records releases). Are they available?
All of the Residents' output, including outtakes, rarities, anthologies (though
not 'Heaven' and 'Hell'), live albums, and the one album they made specifically
for Ryko ('God in Three Persons'), is currently available in
pristinely-remastered reissues from East Side Digital.
Steve Smith
ssmith36@sprynet.com
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 11:37:59 -0700
From: smokey@laplaza.org
Subject: Re: Tim Berne Recommendations?
Three of my own favorite "other", non-screwgun, Tim Berne are Fractured
Fairy Tales, Caos Totale/Nice View and Miniature:
Tim Berne's Fractured Fairy Tales(JMT 1989): TB, Mark Dresser, Herb
Robertson, Mark Feldman, Hank Roberts, Joey Baron
Tim Berne's Caos Total(JMT 1994): TB, Herb Robertson, Marc Ducret, Mark
Dresser, Steve Swell, Bobby Previte, Django Bates
Miniature - "I can't put my finger on it", not Tim's own, but a equal
opportunity trio(JMT 1991): Joey Baron, Hank Roberts and TB.
I'm not sure how available these are. It's all great, very hard to go
wrong with this guy, hard to resist adding another four or five to my
list...
My next big purchase has gotta be the 5 CD Empire Box set of rereleases,
early Tim(1979 - '81) with an very impressive list of musicians.
Happy hunting
Dan Kuehn
- -
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 10:34:30 -0800
From: "s~Z" <keith@pfmentum.com>
Subject: Re: Evan Parker recommendations
One of my all time favorite recordings by anyone is:
133 - THE FIRE TALE: Borah Bergman with Evan Parker
1/ The Fire Tale (Bergman, Parker)
19:39
2/ Red Shadows (Bergman)
15:19
3/ Ascent Through The Vortex (Bergman, Parker)
17:38
4/ Helixian Steps (Bergman, Parker)
4:14
Recorded on March 18-19-20, 1990
Borah Bergman: piano; Evan Parker: soprano.
1994 - Soul Note (Italy), 121252-2 (CD)
The operative word is FIRE. Stunning improvisations.
- -
------------------------------
End of Zorn List Digest V3 #242
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