Sunjul Cissoko and Marhawa Kouyate: Songs of the Griots II

The kora of West Africa is a favorite instrument of this listener, with the 21-string harp-lute with a gourd resonator creating amazing sounds.  These are generated through the player's thumbs and index fingers to manipulate the strings through several methods, including plucking and strumming, for rhythmic and melodic effects that generate a strong response from this listener—dating back some 35 years when the music of Alhaji Bai Konte and Foday Musa Suso was first heard.  

As has been mentioned several times here before, clipping a coupon out of a music magazine in days of yore (1990) and receiving a JVC World Sounds sampler CD was the first exposure, however brief and tantalizing, to the awesome music of the griots of that part of the world.  This second volume of the Songs of the Griots, released in 1992, features the spousal team of Senegalese kora player Sunjul Cissoko and singer Marhawa Kouyate, with the spouses alternating as spotlighted vocalists and then performing a duet on the last piece.

Cissoko's skill on the kora was said to have been such that he was identified on the sleeve as "the supreme master" of the instrument, as well as possibly "the last great while Kouyate was adjudged to be "a majestic and skillful griot singer."  In November, the couple went to Japan for concerts under the auspices of the African Friendship Association and the liners, though, brief are interesting for such remarks as that African nations were trying "to reconstruct their societies and cultures from out of the colonial legacy left by the West European powers and emerge as economically self-sufficient."  This, it was posited, meant that the performances of 69-year old Cissoko "strike a strongly sympathetic and encouraging chord" through "tales of erstwhile glory and distant history."

Moreover, amid rapid transformation, the kora master was "involved in training a new generation of Griots, including Lamine Konte, whose work was on the first volume of the "Songs of the Griots."  Reference was also made to fusions of African and Western musics, which likely was perceived by practitioners as a practical way to continue griot tradition amid the inevitable changes wrought by modern life.  Yet, here were Cissoko and Kouyate keeping the flame of tradition burning with these seven pieces, ranging from five to ten minutes and demonstrating beautiful vocalizing with the dazzling virtuosity of Cissoko's kora.  

What the World Sounds collection does, generally, is document the immensely valuable music of the world, along with such labels and series as Musique de Monde, Nonesuch Explorer, and Ocora, and this is another stellar entry.

Georges Bizet: Carmen

As an exhibitor sharing local history at a recent mid-October simulcast by LA Opera at a suburban park some 20 miles to the east, seeing and hearing Bizet's Carmen in that environment was a little jarring, but also a fantastic experience.  The impressive performance was the debut of Music Director Domingo Hindoyan with an amazing design by Thaddeus Strassberger and impressive choreography by Antonio Najarro and a stellar cast headed by the titular character performed by Rihab Chaieb, while her lovers Don José and Escamillo were played by Joshua Guerrero and Liam James Karai, respectively.

The opera premiered in early March 1875 and caused a sensation, not just because of the remarkable music, the opera comique libretto or other elements of the production, but because the characters were not of the upper classes, the sensuality depicted, especially by a Gypsy woman and her unbridled passions as well as her lawless behavior, was considered immoral and Don José's killing of Carmen on stage was also considered abhorrent to many opera lovers.

The audience response was generally frosty, reviewers were frothy with anger and disgust and, after a few dozen performances, Bizen died at age 37, having only known the negative reactions.  Yet, later in the year, the opera was a resounding success in Vienna and that continued in other parts of Europe, as well as America, while Paris came to embrace Carmen nearly a decade after its debut.  It has been one of the most popular operas in the repertoire throughout the world and who knows what Bizet would have thought and done if he'd lived long enough to enjoy the fruits of its success.

Opera has been struggling in recent years, with the New York Times publishing an opinion piece in mid-September about the issue, while The Conversation issued an article that suggests that the problem is less artistic, arguing that there is still strong interest, but that the business and financial models employed by companies is outdated and needs revamping.  At this recent event, there were a few hundred persons present, though it was wondered what the turnout was at the Santa Monica Pier in a very different part of greater Los Angeles.

The highlighted recording for this post is a December 1990 release from Naxos and its Opera Classics series and the performance was by the Slovak Philharmonic Chorus and the Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra at Bratislava, conducted by Alexander Rahbari (this was just after the Velvet Revolution and a couple of years before the split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia as the iron curtain continued to fall.)  Not being an expert or specialist and knowing that this is not a recording with famous names like Leontyne Price, Plácido Domingo or Victoria de los Angeles, this is still an enjoyable recording to this untutored listener, though some reviews are very dismissive.

In any case, finally seeing Carmen, albeit on a screen (though that had its own interesting quality to it), was highly enjoyable and the performance continued through this coming Saturday for anyone in greater Los Angeles who sees this and might be interested.

John Coltrane: Interstellar Space

On 24 September, the evening after what was the incomparable musical master John Coltrane's 100th birthday, his son Ravi concluded a three-night stand at the Blue Note in Hollywood to mark the centennial.  In addition to the saxophonist, there were David Virelles on piano, bassist Dezron Douglas and Jonathan Blake on drums and we sat on the side closer to Blake, whose playing was phenomenal, though Virelles and Douglas were excellent and Coltrane especially inspiring as the group played a range of his songs associated with his father from the mid-1950s to John's death at just age 40 in mid-July 1967.

One of the more surprising songs performed was "Expression," which was one of the last studio recorded pieces, dating from sometime in Spring 1967, and it appears that Ravi chose this beautiful piece for that reason.  After the show, I thanked Ravi for playing that song, while having chatted with some women ahead of me who knew him about his mother Alice's amazing work as a pianist, I added something about her, as well.

Hearing "Expression" as well as well as Blake's complex, propulsive and invigorating drumming, led me to think about Interstellar Space, recorded at one session on 22 February 1967, a week after two of the tunes on Expression and just prior to other pieces that were on that record, or its CD version.  I bought Interstellar Space, which was not released until September 1974, around 1991 when I was on a Coltrane binge, having just discovered his sublime music, and was captivated by this duet with drummer Rashied Ali, with the original LP release of four songs named for the planets Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and Venus.

For many people, Coltrane's music is generally inseparable from the incredible Elvin Jones, whose polyrhythms, impeccable timing and immense power and creativity pushed Coltrane and the other Classic Quartet members, bassist Jimmy Garrison and McCoy Tyner on piano, to incredible levels of intensity.  There's no doubting Elvin's genius, but Ali, unfortunately, didn't get the attention he should have for, first of all, replacing Jones and, secondly, for his vital role in the challenging music of the last couple of years of Coltrane's life and career.

"Challenging" ("difficult" for some) is an operative word for Interstellar Space, but so is "rewarding."  Apparently, Ali showed up to the legendary Rudy Van Gelder's studio expecting a full band, only to be told by Coltrane that it was duet session.  When the drummer asked what they were playing and what tempos, the reply was "whatever you want it to be" with Coltrane adding "I'm going to ring some bells.  You can do an 8-bar intro."  Ali complied and some 36 and 1/2 minutes of material yielded this bracing, explorative and astounding recording in one take.

Ali evidently felt uncertain about his playing, believing he could have played better with some preparation, but he later remarked that the album "really told you the direction he was headed in" and added that "it's really something that has to be listened to and something that has to be felt."  This is definitely the case: Interstellar Space isn't, for this blogger, a record to understand, but to experience.  Coltrane knew he was very ill, perhaps aware he was dying, and this bracing recording seems to reflect that and Ali deserves all the credit possible for making the most of a difficult situation and allowing Coltrane to explore the outer limits (pun definitely intended) of his music.

Alien Community (Pete Namlook and Jonah Sharp): Alien Community 2

Pete Namlook's incredibly prolific career in electronic music of diverse stylings through his FAX (well, FAX +49-69/450464, to be exact) label includes some fantastic excursions into a universe (space being an obsession for Peter Kuhlmann) of sound that continue to be a fascination for this blogger.  That started with the Outland and Psychonavigation series of recordings carried out with Bill Laswell, but has expanded, when discs can be had at a somewhat reasonable price, to other releases.

Jonah Sharp, who also collaborated with Laswell, hails from Scotland and has long resided in San Francisco and was a jazz drummer before embarking on his electronic endeavors, notably through his Spacetime Continuum moniker.  As Alien Community, Namlook and Sharp, on this second release produced at the latter's San Francisco studio, launched "A Long and Perilous Voyage," which, though it is technically divided into a dozen five-minute sections, is an hour-long trip, on various levels.

Ambient techno is probably the most common term used for music like this, it was 1994 and that time was certainly replete with recordings of this general impress, and it's hard to know who makes what contributions, though one reviewer, EMCritic, refers to Namlook's synthesizer pads and manipulation of transistors along with Sharp's electronic rhythms and "spaced-out acid tweaks."  An AllMusic review of the pairing of the two AC recordings calls the music "transcendental" and refers to the second as "clearly a showcase for Sharp" calling it "driving music for flying cars" as well as something of an homage to Brian Eno.

For this listener, there is less concern about the devices used and who contributed what elements than about the enjoyment of being transported on this electronic musical journey, though what the peril is would perhaps be good to know.  There is, in the evolution of the piece and extremely quiet as it is for the opening moments, enough variety in the sounds, including percussive components, to easily hold the attention.  As observers have noted, it ca be somewhat challenging to find FAX recordings at prices that aren't too jarring, but it does take some patience.  In this case, it was well worth it.  

Henry Threadgill Ensemble: The Other One

This 2022 live recording for Pi Recordings, dedicated to the great percussionist Milford Graves, shows the masterful composer Henry Threadgill demonstrating his immense talents in the world of chamber music.  This work, with the title "Of Valence" in three movements, with the first and third divided into sections and a finale, while the middle one is a continuous piece, reflects all the intricacy, unusual harmonies, melodic expressiveness and experiments with sound that mark Threadgill's long, productive career.

He doesn't perform on this, which was recorded as part of a multi-media presentation (yes, there was another set called "The One"), but he conducts the dozen musicians, including those playing alto and tenor saxes, clarinet, bassoons and tuba; cellos, viola and violin, a drummer who added other percussion and electronics and a pianist.  Threadgill has not often worked with the latter instrument, but it opens the work and establishes a fine introduction for a piece that melds composition with improvisation.

The Pi website for the album notes that the composer "was driven to create this new large work based on his observations of the exodus of people from New York City during the Covid pandemic," but, specifically, what was left behind in terms of trash and other debris in Threadgill's East Village neighborhood "and what this reveals about human transience, rampant consumerism, and a disposable society.  Other aspects of the performance involved the projection of paintings and photographs, video, his voice pre-recorded as a choir, electronic sounds, Threadgill singing while playing the piano and his prose recitations about the effects of technology on behavior.  It was added that the attitude of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) regarding the approaches of its members to art and music are well-exemplified here.

The Other One is dedicated to the great percussionist Milford Graves, who was dedicated to the ways in which the heart beat and music are melded, and this is heard in the lengthy second movement, during which a string trio plays while cardiologist-recorded playbacks of their heartbeats provided them with the tempo.  Drummer Craig Weinrib, moreover, had transducers connected to his cymbals and electronic impulses gave these a different effect in timbre.  It was noted that Threadgill's memoir, Easily Slip Into Another World, was published in conjunction with this release, and that book is very highly recommended, as is this remarkable recording—which is another stunning addition to a vast and versatile catalog!

Songs From Easter Island

The sheer range of music in our world is a reminder both of the vast differences and striking commonalities between the roughly 8.3 billion of us who inhabit this little blue planet in a massive, expanding universe.  Any of us occupying our tiny portion of the globe or even in a larger country that is still a fraction of it can too easily get caught up in what we listen to from our societies and not engage enough with others.

This is one reason why so-called "world music" is so fascinating because stepping outside of ourselves and our society can be so enriching and, hopefully, equip us with a better understanding of how others live in places we likely will never see.  Another aspect that is striking is how areas that have more isolation, fewer resources and limited technology maintain their musical heritage or adapt it, as the case may be.  

In the "western" world, complexity is often celebrated as the highest achievement in music, with so much of this worthy of engagement and support, though some of the most popular performers are those who strip sound to basic elements (beat, rhythm, rhyme, simpler melodies, etc.), such as in the electronic, hip-hop or pop realms.  Essence is often a good reminder of what more strongly affects a listener, whether dancing, sitting, or both.

This Musique du Monde entry from the French Buda Musique label is an excellent example of how "simple" music can be among the most enjoyable and powerful as Songs from Easter Island presents 15 songs sung by a family on the landform, part of the South American nation of Chile and sitting some 2,200 miles from it, being one of the most isolated places on earth (as a part-Hawaiian, this blogger somewhat identifies with this).

Producer Gerard Bages writes, in the liners, that the island, best known for its monumental statues, embodies for many visitors a blend of "mystery, fantasy, irrationality and emotion."  There is, however, no irrationality to this beautiful music and, after Bages reviews some of the culture and history of the island, including its language of Rapa Nui, which he wrote would soon be supplanted by Tahitian and Spanish, he observed that "these 15 authentic songs, sung by the Hotu family and carefully recorded in one of the island's numerous grottos, are the few fragmented and last witnesses of the rich Easter Island traditional history."

Bages adds that the "special beauty of an unknown language" includes the use of "phonetic nuances" as well as rhyme and rhythm and other elements that "are perfectly combined to give a particular charm reflecting a tradition of freedom from care, of love, gai[e]ty, and poetry inherited from the Polynesian ancestors of the Easter Islanders."  Notably, he concludes by asserting that "we modern [people] must also learn from this civilisation and its tragic end, to enlighten us and make us ecology conscious, to help guide our future choices and the development of our great island, the earth."

That's a big ask, understandable as it may be, but enjoyment of this wonderful music at least, hopefully, helps bring more awareness to the amazing diversity of societies on our island, as well as the fragility of all of them, even if some feel they are indestructible.

Harry Partch: The Wayward

In many years of listening to the wild, wonderful and highly idiosyncratic and innovative music of Harry Partch, it was long hoped to see a performance of his work using the adapted and custom built instruments, which are fantastic to see as well as to hear, and that opportunity finally came a few weeks ago at the REDCAT and Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theatre in Los Angeles.  

The Partch Ensemble presented the program "Bewitching Petals," which combines the names of two of the composer's notable works, The Bewitched, of which some excerpts were presented of the 1956 piece, and And on the Seventh Day Petals Fell in Petaluma, from a decade later also comprising portions.  The other two works were "Listening to Lu-Tzu" by Ensemble leader John Schneider, using text from the great 8th -century Chinese poet, Li Po, some of whose verse was put to music by Partch in his early years of writing, this being the early 1930s, and "Parable of the Bitter," a brand-new piece by Daniel Corral, also an Ensemble member.

The concert was just outstanding with the phenomenal sounds of such instruments (Partch had two dozen of his invention) as the Chromolodeon, Cloud Chamber Bowl, Diamond Marimba, Drone Devil, Eroica, Gourd Tree, Spoils of War, Surrogate Kithara and the Zymo-Xyl, tuned to the 43 microtones to the octave that marked Partch's monophonic system.  Because he eschewed Bach's equal temperament, the notes sound out of tune to someone not familiar with Partch's method, but attuning the listening as well as noting the frequent use of small groups, duets, trios and so on, as well as appreciating the heavily percussive nature of the music helps to better understand what was behind the thinking of this unique composer.  A healthy sense of humor helps, too.

The eleven members of the Ensemble also frequently switched instruments, another unusual element of the concert and there were nine guests, some playing more traditional instruments like the bass clarinet, clarinet and piccolo, while there was a soprano voice, as well.  The interplay, often very complex and compelling, drew this listener back and forth, up and down across the stage in a way not experienced with traditional concerts.  Schneider's solo rendering of the Li Po piece was deeply immersive and powerful with his stentorian voice and the Adapted Guitar II sounding like a Chinese ch'in.  In all, it was a truly memorable and unique concertgoing experience and a plan to perform all of The Bewitched next year is eagerly anticipated.

Of three discs by the Ensemble purchased at intermission, the one featured here is The Wayward, the fourth and latest of a series by the group on the small, but important, label, Bridge.  Given Partch's years traveling the country, riding the rails as a hobo, and experiencing first-hand a subculture of Depression-era America that reminds this blogger of the homelessness crisis of our time, it is particularly striking to hear the music and the lyrics to such pieces as "Barstow," "The Letter," and, especially, the amazing "U.S. Highball," all composed between 1940 and 1955, with the former amended in 1968.

Also very impressive is "Ulysses at the Edge," dubbed "A Minor Adventure in Rhythm," and with a bonus impro version of the 1955-1962 work, to boot.  There are various recordings of the pieces on the recording, but it is always interesting to hear those rearranged in various sequences, as well as the quality based on the recording environment, mastering, and other aspects, not to mention the technology of a given time.  This album, like the others acquired, is beautifully played and recorded and the Ensemble and Bridge deserve every kudo for their impressive efforts.

One last word about the show that made it even more memorable.  At the end, the audience was encouraged to go to the stage for the "petting zoo," seeing and touching/playing the instruments, with Ensemble members to answer questions.  A friend that we sat with, Robert Portillo, works on some of these instruments and remarked that he'd never seen such engagement before at these "petting zoos."  The 15-minute opportunity was a great way to end a stunning evening, with the memory enlivened by this and the other discs brought back from the performance.

Mike Sopko, Bill Laswell, Tyshawn Sorey: On Common Ground

This 2020 release on Bill Laswell's M.O.D. Reloaded imprint definitely seems like a descendant of the first incarnation of Arcana, the trio that, a quarter century ago, harnessed crackling power and squalling intensity in intriguing ways with guitarist Derek Bailey and drummer Tony Williams.  Here the ever-explorative bassist and producer is joined by the titanic percussionist Tyshawn Sorey and the very creative guitarist Mike Sopko, who made a 2015 album with Laswell and another awesome drummer, Thomas Pridgen.

On the back of the package under the label logo are the words "Iconoclast Music Dialogue" and that certainly holds true with his uncompromising and bracing quintet of pieces, which begin with ambient soundscapes and, mostly, evolve into powerful and bracing explorations of far left-field power trio dynamics.

  Sopko is heavily featured here and his trebly power chords, often angular, knotty and skittish, are highly expressive in terms of his approaches to structure, manipulation of strings and broader effects.  As with all of his group efforts, Laswell largely holds the rhythm in a consistent way that allows for Sopko to employ a full-range of performance techniques, though he gets center stage for much of "Parascience."  The amazing and very versatile Sorey utilizes the full resources of his drum kit, from heavy fills, thundering rolls, complex polyrhythms, crashing and slashing cymbal work good old bashing and thrashing and dub-like textures.

With his "collision music" ethos of bringing together players from diverse backgrounds with little or no advance preparation, Laswell's approach means these pieces aren't so much songs as acoustical canvasses on which these musical masters apply their media, varying one from the other, sometimes with aggression and little structure, but often with precision and careful consideration.  What also stands out is that it can easily be discerned that the trio listens to each other, following where one leads, not playing over each other and almost always working seamlessly toward resolution.  And, when they don't, it doesn't much matter because exploration and improvisation allow for some level of ambiguity and uncertainty.

On Common Ground is another of Laswell's trio projects that can, at times, confound, but also be highly rewarding in hearing these excellent performers work together, seemingly with little or no composing, to push each other toward what are often the outer limits of musical structures.  With Laswell seriously ill and largely unable to perform, one hopes that he'll be able to recover and reward us with more music as exciting and gripping as this outstanding record.

For Fanatics Only: Miles Davis: The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel, 1965

On 26 May, the centennial of the birth of the great Miles Davis was commemorated with people around the world remembering and celebrating the artist of this musical master.  Though this blogger, born the same year and in the Windy City, has long had a recording of highlights from the classic 1965 concerts of the second classic, acquiring the box set of eight discs documenting two nights of shows at Chicago's Plugged Nickel was a continuing intention until realized just a little more than a week after the 100th birthday.

Not unlike repeated listening of the box of this group's albums from 1965 to 1968, hearing these performances several times is another reminder of how subtle the revolutionary effects that Miles, pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and drummer Tony Williams, really were.  In an era when the ferment and sonic shockwaves of free jazz roiled so many, including Davis (though his own dramatic shift later was pretty stunning, as well), what this quartet did was truly remarkable.

Much of what was experimented with concerned rhythm, most obviously with what Williams, who'd just turned 20 years old, was doing with the beat, his amazing cymbal work and more, while Carter took harmony to a new level for bassists.  Hancock was masterful with space and economical accompaniments, such as through comping, while his solos flowed beautifully and melodically.  Being upfront with the leader, as well as an excellent composer, Shorter drew more attention, both for his melodic gifts and his careful placement of notes that well complemented what Davis always prized.

In his thoughtful notes, Bob Blumenthal observed that, with this young, innovative trio melding so brilliantly with the leader, whose undeniable talent for picking great musicians was never clearer than with this lineup, "ballads might turn into flagwavers, flagwavers into head-shaking groovers," even as Davis relied heavily in his repertoire on such chestnuts as "Stella by Starlight," "My Funny Valentine," "All of You," and "On Green Dolphin Street," while "Agitation" was the only recent original and others, such as "So What," "All Blues," "Walkin'," and "Milestones" hearkened back to Davis' storied career.

It has long been felt that for a few years prior to this period, Davis was in a rut, though the Seven Steps to Heaven box set, to be featured here in the future, shows that there was plenty of great playing then and the Sam Rivers experiment with Miles in Tokyo is, to this listener, a fascinating one.  It is definitely the case, however, as this set amply demonstrates, that this quartet was truly something special and one for the ages.

Orissi Dance Music: An Ancient Performance from Orissa

This is another stellar release in the JVC (Japan Victor Corporation) World Sounds series with great music, generally called Odissi, from the eastern state of Orisha in India that accompanies a form of classical dance that, as the liners note, "is known for the sculpture-like poses of the dancers" and which was said to be influenced by temple sculptures.  

It is added that this form of dance and music began with temple prayers with maharis, or young women who danced for the gods while residing in the religious edifices.  In later times, however, the performance of orissi took place in courts and at festivals, but, despite the location changes, the components remained intact.

While the music here is by those from Orisha, the notes remark that the use of raga melody and tala rhythms originated with the Karnatic tradition of South India, though elements also come from the state of Bengal to the north.  The five instruments include the pakhawaj, a dual-headed drum; the violin, the bansuri, or flute; the manjiri, or gong; and the harmonium, while there are also male and female vocals.

The pieces consist of two pallavi, in which "a simple rhythm gradually grows in complexity" and "the vocal line forming the melody consists entire of meaningless syllables," which, to this listener, means that the voice is one of the instruments.  The third tune, a dashaavatara is a hymn from the Gita Govinda and concerns a description of ten incarnations of the god Vishnu.  Yami He, or "To Whom Shall I Go?" also is taken from that ancient work and is about a female shepherd waiting for the arrival of the god Krishna.  Lastly, Yahi Madhava ("Go Over There") reflects the shepherd reprimanding the god after arriving following an assignation with another woman.

Being a massive country within a subcontinent, India has a remarkable diversity in its music and the Orissi Dance Music recorded here in 1986, with the troupe performing at a JVC studio in Tokyo, is representative of a merging of styles from adjoining areas of the Orisha state.  The performances are exquisite, including the singing as well as the instrumental playing and the sound quality is stellar.  Multiple listening is a treat because it is both an aural excursion to eastern India, but also time traveling through a tradition dating back many centuries.

Sonny Rollins: The Freelance Years (The Complete Riverside & Contemporary Recordings)

It is truly the end of an era (though the great Marshall Allen, best known for his incredible work with Sun Ra, just turned 102!) with the death of Sonny Rollins, one of the masters of the saxophone and who was often called "Saxophone Colossus," the name of one his masterpiece albums.  The 95-year old giant had such an indelible sound, with its power, strength of tone, lyrical and melodic brilliance, while he also composed so many classic jazz tunes.  

These include such early tunes written during a very fruitful association with Miles Davis, such as "Airegin," "Doxy," and "Oleo," as well as "Sonnymoon for Two," "St. Thomas," and the phenomenal "Freedom Suite."  Rollins, however, was a remarkable interpreter of classic songs and for incorporating snatches of them in his solos, why he played a key part in the work of other jazz greats, including Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners.

This top-notch box set, issued for the master's 70th birthday a quarter-century ago, presents a quintet of discs demonstrating the range, breadth and depth of Rollins' work in the years 1956-1958, including that classic Monk album, support for trumpeter Kenny Dorham, recordings with vocalist Abbey Lincoln and his own sessions, including for the Contemporary (a Los Angeles imprint that also issued Ornette Coleman's first two albums at about the same time) and Riverside labels.

Recordings include the staggering Brilliant Corners with Monk's absolutely unique approach to piano paired with Rollins' inspired playing leading to one of the great albums in American music history; the surprising, but impressive Way Out West, which was recorded in Los Angeles in one day starting at 3 a.m. with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, and played up the Western theme to the hilt; the spectacular standards-filled The Sound of Sonny with such stalwarts as Percy Heath and Paul Chambers on bass and Roy Haynes on drums; Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders, his second work for the Los Angeles label, and completely comprised of standards; and the great Freedom Suite, with that outstanding sidelong tune complemented by more standard songs.

What is heard on this box is Rollins' consistent greatness as a composer and interpreter as well as a preeminent stylist with amazing consistency and creativity, not to mention stamina (this is especially notable on the live A Night at the Village Vanguard, previously highlighted here.  In really just a few years, the master had a very busy recording and performing schedule and ascended to the heights of the jazz firmament.

In 1959, Rollins, concerned about his health, spiritual development and his perceived shortcomings as a musician, suddenly retreated from the public eye, spending much of his time "woodshedding" on the pedestrian portion of the Williamsburg Bridge connecting that neighborhood of Brooklyn with the Lower East Side of Manhattan as he pondered the next steps in his future.  This was the first of several reinventions over the course of his long, distinguished career and lasted two and a half years.  He followed with a string of records on RCA Victor and Impulse! before another sabbatical in the late 60s and early 70s.  He may never have garnered quite the attention he did in the period this set covers, but he continued working actively until about a dozen years ago, when he retired, largely due to problems with cystic fibrosis.

We may have lost one of the few remaining greats from a golden age of jazz, but his recorded legacy, hopefully, will continue to endure.  Love live Sonny Rollins!

Christian Wolff: For Ruth Crawford

This 1994 release on the Swiss label HatHut presents four works from 1968 to 1993 by the composer whose work was large built, as stated in the liners by Art Lange, on the fact that his "particular interest was in creating circumstances in which the performers would need to react spontaneously—with either precise details or those chosen from variable possibilities—to events occurring within unpredictable conditions." 

This could mean notation that had different forms or the use of graphs, images or spoken instructions "to create such indeterminate conditions of musical activity."  That word in the quote evokes the landmark 1959 John Cage/David Tudor recording, Indeterminacy and Cagean principles relating to chance operations and the choice made available to the performers.  

For Brown, however, it got to the point where his 1968 work, "Edges" was developed for "any number of players, any number of instruments" and no instructions as to harmony, pitch, rhythm, tempo or time.  Rather, players were given 25 symbols, the words "singing" and "slow" and markings of "ff" and "ppp" along with the number "3" randomly placed on a black page.  So, the performers on piano, trombone and viola decided to have four separate types of movements in 20 minutes.  The effect, Lange writes, is that "the sounds are in a constant state of . . . becoming" and "completely dependent upon the commitment of the performers.

1970's "Snowdrop" was written for harpsichord and perhaps other instruments and with notes placed on staves without bars and indications space, with numbers, "between the phrased sequences," emphasizing the importance of space and silence.  The piano, violin and trombone are overdubbed and "they are free to distribute the material at their discretion.

The more recent pieces of "Ruth" (1991) and "Peggy" (1993) are for Ruth Crawford, stepmother of folk master Pete Seeger and an experimental composer who later worked on transcriptions of folk music with Seeger's father Charles, and her daughter Peggy, also a folk singer.  "Ruth" has standard notation, with opportunities for players on piano and trombone to work with microtones, timbre and other elements at their choosing.  Drumming on the piano and whistling are also included.  With "Peggy," overdubbed trombones also perform with mostly a notated score, with some melodic material taken from the namesake's pieces.

Interspersed in Lange's text are quotes from Wolff, such as "I'm trying to see how little I can indicate [to players] and yet come up with a piece that's clearly itself, one that still has a life of its own," or his idea that "we had to liberate ourselves from the direct and preemptory consequence of intention and effect," or "my music is often just material" but that a key to performance was "how the individuals relate to each other as they play."  Perhaps most important are the statements that "all music is propaganda music" and if "you still haven't the foggiest idea what my music sounds like; you have to hear it or play it to find out."  For this untutored listener, the main idea is to go where the performers take you and to enjoy the journey, not worrying about the map.

The Jesus and Mary Chain: Psychocandy

This blogger's first purchase of a record by The Jesus and Mary Chain was the group's second, 1987's Darklands, which was greatly enjoyed, but, of course, immediately following was buying the debut, Psychocandy, which raised such a ruckus when released not quite two years earlier.  This was not least because of the attitude of the brothers Jim and William Reid, apparently largely fueled by alcohol and speed, as they bluntly declared their greatness in interviews and routinely played chaotically 20-30 minute sets that often ended in violence.

The following three albums, Automatic, Honey's Dead and Stoned and Dethroned, were also acquired and very much appreciated, especially the latter, but more than three decades have passed, with barely a listen to any of this amazing music until very recently.  It is interesting now to see the 60+ Reid brothers in interviews, being forthright, amusing, disarmingly low-key and refreshingly reflective about their turbulent early years and their mature current ones.

While Darklands and Stoned and Dethroned are personal favorites, though "Reverence" from Honey's Dead is a killer (!) track, there is just no denying the impact and importance of Psychocandy on multiple levels, beyond the performative aspect referred to above.  At a time when British alternative music was almost completely dominated by synthesizers and a pop sheen that reflected much of English society during the 80s, the JAMC were determined to chart a singular course.

This, most obviously, embodied the feedback-drenched guitars, churning and coursing from track to track, as well as the lower-range vocals by Jim, who lost a coin-flip to decide whether he or William would be the singer, and the Wall of Sound production values that were clearest in Bobby Gillespie (later the leader of Primal Scream) and his spare, standing (as per Mo Tucker of The Velvet Underground) and rudimentary drumming.

Yet, there was also another Sixties tie, which was the way that melody, percussion and vocalization were utilized amid the grinding guitars, so that, for all the focus on the feedback, the Reid brothers wrote compact, economical and compelling pop songs that moved effortlessly through the 15-song collections spanning 42 minutes.  The result is not just thrilling, but timeless, not sounding of its time, or really any, to this listener.

Among the 15 tracks, it's hard to choose favorites, but the opener, "Just Like Honey," with its female backing vocal; the bruising "The Living End" with its sardonic lyric about a motorcyclist who is enamored with his style and self and ends up crashing into a tree with his brains oozing into his fine leather boots; "Taste the Floor" and its exhilarating grating feedback-drenched guitar; the almost pastoral "Cut Dead" that hearkens to later JAMC records; the squalling speedy "In a Hole;" first single "Never Understand;" the ruminative "Sowing Seeds;" the anthemic "Something's Wrong;" and the acidic "It's So Hard" with its caterwauling careening conclusion—wait, that's 60% of the album, so, yes, it's very difficult to pick!  

Tim Berne and the Copenhagen Art Ensemble With Herb Robertson and Marc Ducret: Open, Coma

In his nearly half-century of making music, Tim Berne has been exceptionally committed to evolutionary exploration in terms of his compositions, ensembles and the presentation of the two in always unpredictable and exciting ways.  This listener was blown away in 1991 with the purchase of his Pace Yourself album with the Caos Totale collective.  The whole album was incredible, but the centerpiece to these ears was "The Legend of P-1," a 26-minute tour de force with the altoist joined by trombonist Steve Swell, Mark Dresser on bass, drummer Bobby Previte, Marc Ducret on guitar and Herb Robertson playing trumpet, cornet, flutes, flugelhorn and more.

A few years later, the next Caos Totale recording was Nice View, with the group joined by Django Bates on keys, piano and the E-flat horn and stretching, in the best way, for nearly 40 minutes is the astounding "Impacted Wisdom."  Recorded that same year, 1994, and released the following one was Memory Select, the third in a series of live albums by another phenomenal Berne group, Bloodcount, including Ducret along with Chris Speed on clarinet and tenor, bassist Michael Formanek and Jim Black on drums.  Only two tracks were on the recording, including the 51-minute "Eye Contact."

With these three mammoth works performed live for radio broadcast and the new studio-recorded "Open, Coma," the album of this latter name marked the first time Berne recorded with a larger ensemble, including ten musicians and a conductor, allowing him to work with the material and the performers in a different way because he released this stunning recording on his own Screwgun label.  What stands out to this largely untutored listener is how the complex compositions, which already sounded full-bodied with Caos Totale and Bloodcount, become richer and deeper and the sound is more expansive and enveloping.

Robertson and Ducret are part of the ensemble, which includes tenor and soprano saxes, flute, clarinet and bass clarinet, a second trumpet, a cornet, a trombone, a bass trombone, a tuba, a piano and organ and a bassist and drummer.  Berne's compositions often have a classical, orchestral feel in the arrangements and the ways the instrumentation works with harmonies, including contrasting ones, but to have this expanded lineup, they effect is even more striking.

What's great, as well, as that, with this more symphonic character, these extended pieces could each be heard as having a variety of movements, as in classical composition, as tempo, tone, and other aspects of form change, including light and shade and movement from quiet, contemplative sections to powerful, propulsive intensity.  The diversity of color in the types of instrumentation also stand out, so that, even if a listener has heard the Caos Totale and Bloodcount pieces on those three records, there are, of course, familiar aspects, namely melodic elements, but there is a freshness to the larger ensemble performance that makes them sound new, including, as just one example, the use of organ and piano with Ducret's guitar in "Impacted Wisdom" that hearkens somewhat to Miles Davis' In A Silent Way.

In 35 years of listening to Berne's amazing body of work, Open, Coma stands out because of this rare opportunity for a big band-type of ensemble and it should be noted that it took him, Robertson and Ducret traveling to Europe for it to happen.  This was more than a quarter-century ago and it seems only fair and reasonable that Berne be given an opportunity to make more music like this in our country.

Caribbean Island Music: Songs and Dances of Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica

The relationship of Caribbean nations to the United States is often historically fraught with all manner of complexity and complication in terms of economic and political challenges (and the use of "shithole countries" to describe some of them should be an embarrassment far more forcefully countered), with American "intervention" in such places as the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the early 20th century being just one example of a fairly distant past issue, while Kari Lake's very recent nomination to be ambassador to Jamaica a striking development given that nation's generally good ties with this country.

With music truly being an "international language," the cultural connections between the Caribbean and  our society should be strengthened.  This, hopefully, better improves understanding, especially as so many immigrants in recent decades have added greatly to our diversity and democracy.  With this being the 250th year of the Declaration of Independence and some balanced reflection on that founding document and American history at hand, listening to this remarkable early 1970s recording from the Nonesuch Explorer Series is a reminder of how we might find ways to enhance our ties, rather than sunder them.

John Storm Roberts, who handled the recordings, points out in his liner notes that "the rich and various music of the Caribbean lies among a spectrum from country worksongs and lullabies to 'sophisticated' urban dance music of international influence," this latter most notably from many African sources, as well as those from England, France and Spain.  

Roberts programmed the selections so that "this album offers examples of the three major traditions—Afro-Hispanic, Afro-British, and Afro-French—and ranges from rural to urban music, and from the large European to the largely African."  He acknowledges that "no single record can give an adequate impression of Caribbean music," so this highly enjoyable and edifying disc is really an aural snapshot of a very diverse portion of the world with so much interaction and interrelationships.

It should also be noted that there are only two tracks, out of 18, from Haiti, but these, from the Orchestre Jazz Corondo of Port-au-Prince, are very exciting and reflect urban popular music from more than a half-century ago.  Eight tunes in the last section of the album are from Jamaica, but from the rural sections, so no reggae or ska here, but they are remarkable in representing dance, game and work songs found in the country areas of the island nation.  As for the Dominican pieces, the first two are heavily African-inflected and most of the remainder show the strong influence of Spanish tradition and are also mainly rural.

Roberts was a British anthropologist so his approach to the recordings was generally to embed in communities and so, as the sleeve observes, the performances included "incidental dialogue, passing vehicles and barking dogs," so the field work is very distinct from the more pristine environment of the studio and adds greatly to the enjoyment in terms of the feeling that the listener is there as the music is made and not at a more distant vantage report—something that makes so much of the Nonesuch Explorer series remarkable.

John Williams: Guitar Recital—Paganini, Scarlatti, Giulani and Villa-Lobos

When discovering classical music more than 35 years ago, this Sony Essential Classics was an early favorite and John Williams (not to be confused with well-known film composer) demonstrates his utter mastery of classical guitar with this compilation of recordings made from 1965 to 1976 and released in 1996.

These interpretations of works dating back to Domenico Scarlatti ad up to Hector Villa-Lobos are impeccably performed, beautifully recorded and remastered, but the liner notes by Jackson Braider observe that "the guitar was like a spinster aunt in a Jane Austen novel—a presence of sorts, but not one to be reckoned with.  

This was because, as volume became more predominant, the instrument could not satisfy the demand and so it became "something of an afterthought, when it was thought of at all.  Key to its revival was Andrés Segovia, the Spanish master, whose use of the guitar was, Braider notes, a kind of antidote to the massive symphonic sounds of Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner and others, so that it "offered listeners a sonic respite after all that noise.

  Segovia not only transcribed works from established composers, as is the case with these recordings, but also encouraged new compositions, though it was pointed out that the relentless attention to solo guitar recitals and recordings, with ensemble work not part of his approach.  From the 1950s, however, the efforts of Williams, Julian Bream and others challenged that orthodoxy.  

Braider described the "strange and sometimes sorrowful history of the guitar," though he notes that Paganini was a virtuoso on the instrument, though best known for playing and composing for the violin.  As for Scarlatti, while not a performer of or composer for the instrument, Italy was a guitar-playing country and some of the composer's works contained writing for the harpsichord that were guitaristic.  With respect to Giulani and, especially, Villa-Lobos, they were master players who wrote for the instrument.

For this blogger, this album was played frequently upon its release and purchase three decades ago and, though it has been many years since, returning to it brings back all of the enjoyment and appreciation for Williams' mastery and the composers' excellence.

Cabaret Voltaire: But What Time Is It Really?

I never thought it would happen, having learned about Cabaret Voltaire from a 1985 interview in the Los Angeles Times as the duo of Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder were in town to play a show at the Palace.  Shortly afterward came the purchase of the Drinking Gasoline EP and, having become a devotee, I assumed CV would be back to perform in the Angel City at some point in the not-too-distant future.  Well, it turned out to be a fleeting hope . . . at least until last night.

It was a surprise to most everyone who's a fan to hear a year ago today that Mallinder and original member Chris Watson announced that they were reuniting as the Cabs for a festival in their hometown of Sheffield, England named after their best-known song, 1984's "Sensoria" from the Micro-Phonies album.  This comeback also marked the 50th anniversary of the group's first and notoriously riotous performance, just a year or two after the trio launched their highly unconventional, DIY project in the attic of Watson's house.

Initially, it looked as if the reunification was to be brief and confined to the United Kingdom, though some of us unable to attend shows there at least hoped for a live album.  Then came the announcement of a series of North American gigs including last night's show at The Bellwether in DTLA.  Finally, after four decades and with it clear that this would be it for CV's existence, the opportunity to hear the band live arrived.

Watson was unable to make the trip, so Mallinder was joined by opening act Tara Busch, a.k.a. I Speak Machine, who gave an intense electronic/industrial performance, and his British compatriots Ben (Benge) Edwards, a frequent collaborator in recent years, on electronic drums and another long-time compatriot, guitarist and keyboardist Eric Random, who made vital contributions to CV in the Eighties.

It has been said that Kirk, who died in September 2021 at 65 and who was a favorite of this blogger, would have been displeased by the idea of reconstituting the Cabs for a career retrospective, but Mallinder and Watson have embarked on the project in memory of and out of "massive respect" for their former bandmate, who revived the CV name in 2009 for remix project, some live shows and a quartet of recordings just before he died that represented his uncompromising and highly creative approaches.

What was great about last night's show was that the core components of the original versions of the tracks, spanning from the earliest recordings through the end of the Eighties, are retained, but the arrangements reworked to sound fresh and updated.  Mallinder's voice, often processed, keeps many of its attributes from days of yore, while he also played bass on much of the pieces.  Benge's simple drum set-up provided the right level of punch with pre-recorded percussion and Busch greatly helped to layer the digital and electronic sound palette.  Especially welcome was Random's guitar, which evoked Kirk's work on that instrument, but he added his contributions on keyboards, as well.  The effect was an excellent concert, well-played, smoothly paced and highly appreciated by the crowd which looked to have filled the room.

As for But What Time Is It Really? (a comment, perhaps, on the way the music was presented in seamlessly blending old and new?) Benge's considerable engineering, mixing and production skills, the latter done by Mallinder, result in developing a beautiful sound, with separation of the elements (live instruments, pre-recorded material, vocals) expertly handled.  The album is not only a valued souvenir of this last tour, but reflects the fact that Cabaret Voltaire's music, going back a half-century, remains timely and timeless, and forty years after this blogger discovered the group, it was really fulfilling to have the opportunity to hear this great music from this amazing band and project live and live.

Erroll Garner: Dreamstreet & One World Concert

The jazz pianist Erroll Garner is not as well remembered as he should be, even among the many giants on that instrument in the genre, but this disc combining two of his recordings from 1959 and 1963 on his own Octave label, and re-released on the Telarc label in 1995, reflects his brilliance in both the studio and in concert.

The Pittsburgh native was something of a child prodigy, beginning his playing at age three and performing professionally just four years later, while playing by ear and never learning to read music.  Before his teens, he was playing on boats plying the Allegheny River, but was not as well known in the local jazz scene as his older brother Linton.

Though he moved to New York City as the bebop scene was developing and he played with Charlie Parker among others, he was most often compared to the likes of Art Tatum, Earl Hines and Fats Waller.  From 1950 until his death more than a quarter century later, he was managed by Martha Glaser, who contributed notes to this set and wrote that, as the conversion from the original master tapes to the digital format was made, she and others "found the material fresh, exhilarating and totally contemporaneous.

Glaser also notes the difference between the studio recording, Dreamstreet, recorded in 1959 and released two years later, and the live One World Concert, presented during the world's fair in Seattle in 1963.  Donald Elfman, in his contribution to the liners, observed that Garner's work "has the power to make us smile one minute and then gape in amazement the next."  

It is also noted that, with his own label, Garner had complete freedom in the studio and "reveled in this atmosphere" and his rhythm section of bassist Eddie Calhoun and drummer Kelly Martin keep things as straight as could be, supporting the master with little other than the most basic of accompaniment.  Then again, that's what listeners would expect from someone as phenomenal as Garner, but the Seattle show really stands out for the energy inspired by a wowed audience—Garner's signature composition, "Misty," is always a highlight, but the many covers, including "Sweet and Lovely," "Mack The Knife," and "Lover Come Back" are all thrilling.

This double recording is an excellent showcase of one of the finest pianists America has ever produced and this remastered disc provides clear, crisp sound to enjoy Erroll Garner demonstrating his abounding and amazing talent. 

Iran: The Masters of Traditional Music, Vol. 1

The war in Iran, regardless of the views of who is at fault or not, is mostly a tragedy for the people of that amazing country, which has offered so much in the cultural realm for millenia.  This blogger's first exposure to the stunning music of the Persian people came in 1990, a few years before my wife and I began our relationship and there are fond memories of listening and discussing some of these performances with my late father-in-law, who hailed from Hamadan and then lived in Tehran before migrating to the United States in the late 1950s.

This recording from the stellar Ocora/Radio France label dates from 1979, the year that the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in a revolution led by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and which was followed by the establishment of the Islamic Republic now attacked by the United States and Israel.  It features a quintet of pieces by Dariush Tala'i on tar and setar, Mohammad Musavi on the ney and Majod Kiani on the santur.

The depth and breadth of this music is also a reminder of the influences that span large segments of our little blue planet and defy borders, boundaries, ideologies and politics.  These masters deliver stunning performances with beautiful melodies, great technical skill, and a high degree improvisational ability.  As the liner notes explain, an effort was undertaken in the mid-1800s to preserve ancient musical concepts from throughout Iran, yielding a repertoire called radif.

This involved collating many melodic ideas, as well as the structures of tunes in modes, so that there are up to 300 of the first and a dozen modal systems and most of the radif are comprised of solo pieces in five genres.  There is, however, ample room for master musicians to express their own styles, including methods of improvisation.  This latter means that this trio of players are able to both follow the strictures of tradition while providing a freshness in their performances and delivering music remarkable for its richness as well as skill.

As this conflict continues, it is well for us to remember that the Iranian people are enmeshed in a terrible crisis not of their own making or desire, but their culture, including the incredible music in this recording, remains above the fray.

Frederic Chopin: Piano Works

During these even more than usual turbulent times, immersion in the amazing sound world of Frederic Chopin is a badly needed balm and tonic and this six-disc set by the British label Nimbus Records provided six hours of enjoyment and escape.  There are some less-than-flattering reviews out there concerning the quality of the recordings compared to others made with Vlado Perlemuter (1904-2002).

Amazingly, these performances were set down between 1974 and 1992, when the Lithuania-born pianist was between 70 and 88 years old, but, to these untrained ears, they don't sound like the work of someone whose technique or abilities diminished much if at all.  Incredibly, his concert career stretched through three-quarters of a century and, while his earliest recordings were in 1939, he didn't work much in the studio until the mid-Fifties, but did so consistently, including sets for Nimbus of works by Beethoven, Fauré, Liszt, Ravel and others.

An obituary in The Guardian observed that Perlemuter's renderings of Chopin were "more unique and inimitable" than those he did of Ravel, which others prefer, and that his efforts were "simple and conceived of structurally," while "he put line before detail, large patterns before small."  The point seemed to be that the pianist was less concerned with the virtuosity in performing Chopin's works rather than evoking the structural brilliance of the composer and that he prized the left-hand work to reveal the underpinnings of the music.

Another reviewer remarked on the directness of Perlemuter's approach, with clarity and the tonal color employed also of note, while excessive ornamentation was largely eschewed, though some might view this as a colder, more clinical approach to Chopin's work, which many view as requiring an emotive approach.  For this listener, there are qualitative differences between the types of works in terms of what differentiates the Nocturnes from the Mazurkas or the sonatas from the Preludes, these last being some of the earliest Chopin works heard, so they have more memorable resonance.  

In terms of discerning the finer points of performance (touch, tone, tempo, dynamics, etc.) or studio recording quality, none of this substantially determined the enjoyment of the set.  Listening through these six discs several times in the last couple of weeks, Chopin's compositional wonders and Perlemuter's beautiful playing, even if more understated and conservative than other masters shine through, especially with all of negativity in the world right now.

The Best of John Fahey, 1959-1977

There are always musicians that we hear about as worth discovering but that step isn't taken for whatever reasons, often because there are others being followed or because there is only so much time or, more likely, money to spend on this habit/passion.  It may also be that some of these performers are in genres (generally defined arbitrarily) that are unfamiliar or that might be though alien to current tastes.  But, as we evolve, the opportunities may arise for reconsideration or reorientation and those names, brought up long ago, recur and the thought is that maybe it's long past time to give them a listen.

This was certainly the case recently with John Fahey.  It may have been reading an interview with another musician, say, Jimmy Page, or a long-ago album or concert review.  Whatever the dimly recalled source, it was remembered that Fahey was considered an incredible guitarist and composer who never sold a great many records, but was highly respected by fellow musicians.  So, at long last, The Best of John Fahey, 1959-1977, was purchased and, as is so often the case, this led to the question, "why did this take so long?"

The album was released in 1977 on Fahey's Takoma label (named for his Maryland hometown) with 15 tracks selected by him as best representative of his nearly two-decade recording career, though this 2002 CD reissue added two long pieces and a shorter blues, to fill out to the near maximum of the medium.  What a powerful and incredibly entertaining experience this has been and listened to many times since its acquisition.

With "Sunflower River Blues," one can easily hear why Page was so taken by Fahey's mastery (it is obvious in the Led Zeppelin guitarist's acoustic pieces like "Bron-Yr-Aur" from Physical Graffiti, for example).  Moreover, another great guitar player and songwriter who was finally listened to at this time, Leo Kottke, was given his first recording opportunity by Fahey and the kinship obviously shows.  Another like example is John Prine.  This album is full of amazing recordings, so that there really aren't any highlights, just a consistently brilliant set of tunes, all beautifully played, complex and immersive as Fahey called his approach "Bartok with syncopation."

This listener did find the longer-form pieces particularly striking, these being "America" and "Fare Forward Voyages," but the truth is that this nearly 80-minute recording goes by so quickly that picking favorites is just not feasible.  While Fahey long dealt with alcoholism, financial problems, divorces and worsening health in his later years, there was a resurgence near the end of his life as his music was reappraised by so many other musicians.  In the late 90s, he co-founded Revenant Records which issued many remarkable recordings including Nefertiti, the Beautiful One Has Come, Cecil Taylor's famous 1962 Copenhagen concert and the astounding box set, Holy Ghost, of Albert Ayler's music, both of which have been featured here.

It may have taken far too long to get to the point of finally hearing John Fahey's music, but what a revelation this anthology has been and it inspired the belated discovery of Kottke and Prine, both of whom will be highlighted in future posts here.

Abraham Adzinyah/Anthony Braxton: Duo (Wesleyan) 1994

In Anthony Braxton's vast catalog of recordings dating back almost 60 years, he has worked in so many different environments from large orchestras to quartets as well as solo, but much of his oeuvre has thrived on duo recordings, live and in the studio.  None of his collaborations, however, are quite like this one, released by Leo Records in 1995, with the Ghanian percussionist, ethnomusicologist and instructor, Abraham Adzinyah.  For nearly a half-century, from 1969 to 2016, Adzinyah taught at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where Braxton was a colleague from 1990 to 2013.

The meeting of these musical masters is remarkable because Adzinyah is, of course, not a jazz drummer or percussionist, but this actually provides a palette that presents Braxton with a different way to improvise.  This is hardly an issue, as it might be for others, because Braxton is uniquely situated in jazz because of his omnivorous openness in musical expression to develop his playing in sync with his playing partners.  Adzinyah creates rhythms and colors in his performance that support his fellow musician while also demonstrating his keen understanding of using percussion in a way that makes Braxton's music sound less formal and forbidding than it often is.

This is also a live recording at Wesleyan, so there is the nature of working in that environment, though there isn't audience reaction included.  There aren't any, to this listener's untrained ears, any real structure in terms of a melodic theme or rhythmic development; it sounds as if the two simply walked on the stage and began playing—whether any rehearsals were undertaken is an interesting question.  With Adzinyah providing accompaniment, with occasional solo performance, Braxton utilized his usual broad array of reed instruments, exploring a wide dynamic range.

Braxton's duets with drummers, like the incomparable Max Roach, usually yield power and heaviness, while his work with guitarists, bassists, keyboardists and others provide other avenues for his expression of all kinds.  Perhaps a somewhat relatable example of difference, as with Adzinyah, are Braxton's recordings with Richard Teitelbaum, in which the accompaniment is strikingly unusual, but also highly stimulating.  This album really stands out amid Braxton's incredibly prolific and distinctive oeuvre and was certainly a pleasure to discover!

African Rhythms and Instruments, Vol. 1

The Lyrichord label has long released music from all over the world that help us better have access and exposure to recordings, live and in the studio, that enrich the experience of what constitutes music when we're born and trained to listen in a certain way to specific forms and means of performance.  Much of what Lyrichord does is also historical in helping to preserve traditional musics that face uncertain futures for a variety of reasons, economic, political/military or social.

African Rhythms and Instruments, Volume 1 was recorded at the first Pan-African Cultural Festival, with the liner notes remarking that "the primary scope of these recording is to document the highlights of one of the most important cultural events in the history of contemporary Africa," which was held from 26 July to 1 August 1969 in Algiers, Algeria.  It features performances by percussionists and others from a half-dozen nations: Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).

The liners add that the event was "an immense, exciting political and cultural manifestation" as some 5,000 persons from throughout Africa attended an "enormous stage for music, dance, cinema and theater."  Of course, it continued, the recordings could not capture the experience, but they were asserted to be "attempts of the African nations to develop their own modes of expression and communication . . . as a foundation for their emancipation from colonialism," which took place since World War II.

Also of note was that "these recording were made under very difficult circumstances" with regard to these happening in a large stadium as well as in city squares, so the sound quality varied significantly because microphones were placed in the best position possible given the environment.  The idea, ultimately, was to "preserve the atmosphere of enthusiasm and participation in which these performances took place."

So, this is not a "high quality" recording, but it is a fascinating document, albeit "low fi," of dances and performances of highly complex and compelling music in a large section of a continent undergoing tremendous transformation.  Among this listener's favorites are the fast-paced and hypnotic Ghanian singers and percussionists, the Malians with excellent xylophone playing along with female vocalists and drummers, the Nigerian Tiv performance with the reedy undulating sound of the oboe, and, especially, the intense and joyous playing by musicians, utilizing rattles, whistles, xylophone and singing from Upper Volta.

Listening to this album is an uplifting and moving experience, as well as a musical journey back almost six decades when enthusiasm and hope for post-colonial Africa was in full display, even if much of what transpired afterward belied the aims and ambitions of much of what was expressed.  In these days of much turmoil there, here and elsewhere, music like this is a needed tonic.

Pauline Oliveros: Lion's Eye/Lion's Tale

From the mid-1960s, composer Pauline Oliveros employed a variety of means to develop her concept of Deep Listening, including innovative uses of electronics, works based on gamelan music from Southeast Asia, drawing from atmospheres in unusual recording locations and much more.  In the last half of the 1980s, she created music from gamelan influences, including the two pieces for this recording released in 2006.

This blogger's first experience with gamelan was about 35 years ago through one of the many amazing recordings from the Nonesuch Explorer series and the effect on hearing this amazing music was powerful and immediate.  The hypnotic effects of percussion, chanting and singing and the instruments was just phenomenal and it was great to later see how classical composers like Lou Harrison and King Crimson guitarist and songwriter Robert Fripp adapted it to their work.

Oliveros, in the liners for this excellent recording, observed that "in Gamelan music the interlocking elements of traditional forms create a colorful, shimmering global sound.  The color shifts in beautiful and subtle ways with many instruments playing the same melody, but with a variety of ornamentation and punctuation peculiar to each instrument."

The 46-minute "Lion's Eye for Gamelan," dating to the mid-1980s and recorded with The Berkeley Gamelan Ensemble, finds Oliveros writing the orchestration so that the instruments are clearly heard, which distinguishes it from traditional performance.  Another notable element is that while higher pitched instruments are played faster or lower ones slower in gamlan, Oliveros used a computer-controlled sampler to sustain notes for up to a minute or longer, as well as having some at speeds as fast as 1,800 beats per minute.  The intent was to create an environment in which those rhythms might sound like waves.

Oliveros added that the piece could be played with a gamelan ensemble or with a sampler and music programming language called HMSL (Hierarchical Music Specification Language), which creates changing patterns every 30-beat measure, with the tempo going as fast as 72 beats per measure.  For the album, Carter Scholz of the Berkeley Gamelan wrote and performed the sampled portion.  "Lion's Tale for Sampler" was created four years later and involves speeds of up to 1,800 bpm with intricate patterning of polymetrics and polyrhythms and Oliveros added that it could be reprogrammed in new versions, as well as one in the MIDI format for keyboardists.

While computers and electronics are utilized heavily on this record, they work beautifully with the gamelan style and structure, enhancing its deeply immersive and spiritual character and truly reflecting Oliveros' concept of Deep Listening.

The Mars Volta: The Bedlam in Goliath

This post was begun just about three months ago, on 27 November 2025 and it was mentioned that, having seen The Mars Volta at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium two nights prior, it was going to take some time to process what the show did to this listener.  It shouldn't have taken this long!  Part of the issue was what seemed like a muffled sound and a mix that submerged the distinctive and impressive vocals of Cedric Bixler-Zavala, while it was also often the case that there were passages of sheer walls of sound that, for the group, was characteristic in intensity and power and definitely pushed the needle close to overwhelming, while totally thrilling.

Bixler-Zavala's harmonizing with Teri Gender Bender, partner of guitarist and instrumental mastermind Omar Rodriguez-López, was every effective, while the Cameroonian-German drummer Linda-Philoméne-Tsoungui was astounding in her playing, bassist Eva Gardner was deep and dependable in the pocket and other contributors offered stellar support.  The playing was superb, even as there were some points, especially early on, in which the band seems uncertain where to go in extending a piece.  This is understandable when a group has the ambition and audacity to push limits, though TMV has been oft-criticized for indulging in wild musical excess.

Speaking of which, the featured album here is 2008's The Bedlam in Goliath, the fourth TMV collection and, from start to finish, it is a roller coaster ride of experimentation, intensity, mystery and power.  Some of that mysterious element is from a backstory concerning the purchase in Jerusalem of a Ouija board and its purported effects on the band, crew and recording process.  Whatever the situation with that, the word "bedlam" is definitely a key one for much of this recording.  

Two tunes, "Wax Simulacra" and "Tourniquet Man," while hardly pop tunes, clock in at not much over 2:30 each, and do provide something of a break from the sheer heaviness of the rest of the album.  But, it does feel like The Bedlam in Goliath is more consistent and moves more smoothly (not quietly!) from song to song.  There is also a determined funkiness to much of the record that sets it apart from its predecessors while some of the more powerful moments, including on the last three minutes of "Goliath," most of the last 1:30 of "Agadez," and much of the closer "Conjugal Burns," for example.  "Soothsayer," the name given to the board has an eerie Middle Eastern vibe concluding with found sounds of group singing that adds to that sense of mystery, if not dread.

Rodriguez-López is a remarkable sonic architect, keeping the sound interesting and schizophrenic befitting the story of the Ouija board and what is was said to have done to everyone involved in the making of the album and the sound is heavily driven by the awesome guitar playing of John Frusciante, a consistent guest on these recordings, as well as the staggeringly propulsive and prodding percussion of Thomas Pridgen.  The late keyboardist Isaiah Ikey Owens, bassist Juan Alderete, Rodriguez-López' brother Marcel on keyboards and percussion, Adrián Terrazas-González on horns, winds and percussion and sound manipulating by Paul Hinojos all make vital contributions to this strong, unsettling and sometimes bewildering record—which seemed like the obvious choice to highlight after that concert!