Milford Graves - Peter Brotzmann

Live in Berlin - 2002

65 minutes recording. If someone has more infos, please share with us.

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Sir Richard Bishop - Improvika

"The nine compositions of “Improvika” are influenced by folk music of all corners of the world with the music of India and the Middle East playing particularly prominent roles. This is not, however, post-modern pastiche or multicultural collage. Quite the contrary, it is something that synthesizes all these disparate elements into something wholly new. Bishop has a somewhat improvisational rhythmic language that is all his own as well as a compositional sense that (even if these pieces are, in fact, improvisations as the title might suggest) carries this album easily through its 45 minute running time." - Nick Hennies (Foxy Digitalis)

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Schiano/Rutherford/Mengelberg/Bennink - A European Proposal (1977)

1. Tristezze di San Luigi [Schiano/Rutherford/Mengelberg/Bennink] 18:28 
2. Tristezze di San Luigi [Schiano/Rutherford/Mengelberg/Bennink] 18:58 
3. Tristezze di San Luigi [Schiano/Rutherford/Mengelberg/Bennink] 18:51 
4. Tristezze di San Luigi [Schiano/Rutherford/Mengelberg/Bennink] 20:59 

Mario Schiano : sax alto; Paul Rutherford : trombone, euphonium; Misha Mengelberg : pianoforte; Han Bennink : batteria, percussione, clarinetto basso, giocattoli 

Recorded live at Teatro Ponchielli (Cremona) 4/24/1978 

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Grant Green - The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark

Mp3@320kbps

Over a five-week period in early 1962, Grant Green recorded three amazing quartet sessions with Sonny Clark on piano, Sam Jones on bass, and Louis Hayes or Art Blakey on drums. As magnificent as the results were, the three albums, considered too progressive for Green's soul-jazz following, languished in the vaults for 18 years. In 1980, "Airegin," the session with Blakey, came out in the United States, while the two with Hayes ("Gooden's Corner" and "Oleo") came out only in Japan. Later issued briefly on Mosaic with three bonus tracks, they have since become collectors' items of legendary proportions. Now Blue Note is finally making them available on this specially-priced 2-CD set. Some of the best music Grant Green ever recorded. [Super Bit Mapping]

THE COMPLETE QUARTETS WITH SONNY CLARK includes the albums AIREGIN, GOODEN'S CORNER and OLEO as well as 3 additional tracks.

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Miles Davis - The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions

5 CD 24-bit digitally remastered set includes music from the original albums 'A Tribute To Jack Johnson' (1971), 'Live Evil' (1971), 'Big Fun' (1974), 'Get Up With It' (1974) & 'Directions' (1981). Led by John Mc Laughlin, musicians include Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, Steve Grossman, Herbie Hancock, Sonny Sharrock, Wayne Shorter and more. 42 tracks with 34 of them previously unissued. Over 4 hours of brand new Miles Davis music.

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Sir Richard Bishop - Fingering the Devil (Limited Edition)

Limited Edition CDR. 52 minutes. 9 songs which were recorded at Southern Studios in 2005. Solo acoustic guitar with no overdubs. Originally released by Southern Records, UK on CD and Vinyl, both of which are long out of print. This is your only option. A journey through the shadow worlds of India, the Middle East, and other points along the gypsy trail.

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Sir Richard Bishop - Staged

42 minutes. A release of all live recordings. Includes a couple of pieces from 1998, shortly after Salvador Kali was released. The remaining songs are taken from the 2005 and 2006 tours.

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Derek Bailey/Han Bennink - Han

Derek Bailey, guitar; Han Bennink, percussion, soprano saxophone.

Melancholy babes, part 1 (25.26)

Melancholy babes, part 2 (30.25)

'During March 1986, Han Bennink, the Dutch master drummer, and I played a short tour of England - eight concerts in seven days. Of the many times we have played together over the past twenty years or so, this was probably my favourite bout. Four of the concerts were recorded and this disc is a compilation of five excerpts from these concerts. There is no attempt to disguise the edits but the music is presented as two continuous pieces - the way we usually play a concert.' Derek Bailey.

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Tony Oxley - Ichnos (1969)

Bass - Barry Guy 
Composed By, Percussion - Tony Oxley 
Guitar - Derek Bailey 
Saxophone [Soprano, Tenor] - Evan Parker 
Trombone - Paul Rutherford (2) 
Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Kenny Wheeler

A1		Crossing (Sextet)
A2		Oryane (Percussion Solo)
B1		Eiroc (Quartet)
B2		Santrel (Quartet)
B3		Cadilla (Sextet)

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Miles Davis - Live in Japan '81

October 4, 1981

Shinjuku Nishi-Guchi Hiroba, Tokyo

Miles Davis Sextet

Miles Davis (tpt); Bill Evans (ss, ts, fl, el-p); Mike Stern (g); Marcus Miller (el-b); Al Foster (d); Mino Cinelu (perc)

 

First set 

Back Seat Betty (M. Davis) 20:13 

Ursula (M. Davis) 2:01 

My Man's Gone Now (D. Heyward-G. Gershwin) 15:44 

Aida (M. Davis) 12:12 

 

Second set 

Fat Time (M. Davis) 12:59 

Jean Pierre (M. Davis) 11:34 

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Peter Brotzmann/Han Bennink - Still Quite Pupular After All Those Years

Peter Brotzmann/Han Bennink 

Peter Brotzmann, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, tarogata, a-clarinet; 

Han Bennink, drums, voice. 

Side I / 320 kbps / 

1. Clarinet/drums (05.35) 

2. Tarogato/drums (06.18) 

3. Clarinet/drums (04.23) 

Side II / 320 kbps / 

1. Clarinet/drums (05.35) 

2. Alto/drums (08.18) 

3. Tenor/drums (05.52) 

Recorded 4/5 February 2004 at LOFT, Koln. 

Design (part of front cover reproduced above) by Bennink/Brotzmann. 

Released January 2005; this is available only on LP.

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Archie Shepp & The New York Contemporary Five

Recording information: Jazzhaus Montmarte, Copenhagen, Denmark (11/15/1963).

Personnel: Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone); John Tchicai (alto saxophone); Don Cherry (cornet); Don Moore (double bass); J.C. Moses (drums).

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Andrew Cyrille & Milford Graves - Dialogue Of The Drums

Track-list
side 1:
1. Message To The Ancestors 10.14
2. Blessing From The Rain Forest 6.16
3. Nagarah (Tymapni Duet) 6.16
4. Rejuvenation 5.19

side 2:
1. The Soul Is The Music 7.46
2. The Substance Of The Vision 7.07
3. Call and Response 6.13

Andrew Cyrille - tom tom,gongs,whistles,hand clapping,words,phonetics,temple blocks,
agogo bells,chimes,tympani,cymbals,darabukkeh,foot rhythms,osi-d,d,
castanets
Milford Graves - honetics,bgo,darabukkeh,whistle,gongs,osi-d,galloping,tympani,cymbals,
balafon,agogo bells,foot rhythms,bells,tambourine,shakere,words,
african talking-d,mnemonics,d

(1974, Institute Of Percussive Studies 001)

Thx to Murksonic and Nonwave.

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friedhelm schönfeld trio & hubert katzenbeier quintett

--side a:
01 friedhelm schönfeld trio - trio dimensionen

friedhelm schönfeld - leader, clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax
klaus koch - bass
günter sommer - drums

--side b:
01 hubert katzenbeier quintett - quartett
02 hubert katzenbeier quintett - ballade
03 hubert katzenbeier quintett - blues-fasching

hubert katzenbeier - leader,trombone
konrad körner - flute, tenor sax
manfred schramm - piano
hans schätzke - bass
wolfgang winkler - drums

ripped from vinyl by gasomat, thanks mate!

recorded at amiga-studio, berlin

(nov 1972, amiga 855 307)

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Bennink\Mengelberg Duo

Han Bennink - Drums, Dhung, rkanglig, log drums, khène, vibra-pan, kaffir piano, dhung-dkar, oe-oelong, voice.
Misha Mengelberg - Piano, Putney synthesizer.

-side a:
and the great spotted woodpecker....? "tsjik, tsjik, tsjik" or "kik" and a very fast roll
(bennink)

-side b:
where is the police? (mengelberg)

Recorded at stedelijk museum, Amsterdam.

(mar 1971, icp 010)

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Eric Dolphy, Misha Mengelberg, Jacques Schols, Han Bennink - Epistrophy

Eric Dolphy - bass clarinet (track 1)
Misha Mengelberg - piano
Jacques Schols - bass (track 1)
Han Bennink - drums (track 1).

1. Epistrophy (17.52)
2. Eeko (grey red-tail parrot)/Misha Mengelberg (02.00)

Track 1 recorded in Eindhoven, Holland on 1 June 1964
track 2 recorded in Amsterdam on 6 June 1972.

(1974, icp 015)

Sound quality is not nice at all, but... it is a pleasure to listen to Dolphy playing with Mengelberg and Bennink.Enjoy

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DKV Trio - Baraka

by Joslyn Layne [AMG]

This February 1997 studio recording of the DKV Trio finds them in fully energetic and passionate form. Hamid Drake (drums), Kent Kessler (bass), and Ken Vandermark (reeds) kick it off with the fast and fiery "Double Holiday," which drops off into the near-silent opening of "Soft Gamma Ray Repeater," with quiet clarinet meandering. The title track ofBaraka begins on slightly frenetic extended techniques from the trio with Vandermark on the sax, then gives way to hot, upbeat trio action. Nearly unaccompanied clarinet is heard later in this lengthy (nearly 36 minutes) piece, as well as an extremely quiet drum solo and a bowed bass solo; the full trio kicks back in with about ten minutes left. The album closer, "Consequence," is a nice bluesy, downbeat number that grows into a dark groove. Barakamay suffer a bit in comparison to the later, extraordinary Live in Wels & Chicago (1999), but it's still a terrific showcase of the trio and, overall, a great adventurous jazz album. DL

Control

DVD rip. English w/ subtitles (also in english)

Control is the biography of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, taking his story from schoolboy days of 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.

In this time we see Curtis grow from David Bowie-infatuated teen to Sex Pistols-inspired punk, and eventually to rising new wave star.

The movie explores the pressures he felt, from his epilepsy, a failing marriage, his new lover, and a band that relied on him - all in an attempt to explain his decision to hang himself at the age of 23.

The movie is based on Deborah Curtis's biography "Touching from a Distance" .

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As always: download all the 8 parts, put them in the same folder, than extract with winrar ;)

Devotchka - How it ends

by Stewart Mason [AMG]

Listening to DeVotchKa's third album, any aging '80s indie kid will fall into a what-if daydream. Remember when Morrissey broke up the Smiths? Maybe instead of going solo, the Mozzer should have hooked up with Peter Solowka, who at the time was starting up his own solo project outside the confines of the Wedding Present, a tongue-in-cheek blending of U.K. indie guitar pop and the sounds of his Eastern European homeland called the Ukrainians. DeVotchKa's How It Ends is a dead-brilliant amplification of what that fantasy collaboration might have sounded like. Singer Nick Urata only occasionally leans on theMorrissey-like qualities of his voice, most notably on the opening "You Love Me," but the album explores the amalgam of Eastern European folk melodies and instrumentation with otherwise straightforward indie rock to a much greater extent than the Ukrainians ever managed (and unlike the somewhat similar 3 Mustaphas 3, they have a solid grasp of how to write a catchy pop song as well). They even go so far as to interject a little Calexico-style mariachi influence into the mix, possibly under the influence of producer Craig Schumacher, who's worked with that band and Giant Sand. This is a wide-ranging and thoroughly enjoyable album from start to finish. DL

Mare - Mare ep

This was a fantastic post-ISIS band, with a strong personality. But after this superb recording (that runs through-out the concept of post-something) they broke up and formed boring bands.

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cLOUDDEAD - Peel Session

5 songs session.

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Baroness

First 

Second

Red Album

Air - Air Time

Saxophonist Henry Threadgill, bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall originally came together in 1971 as a group designed to play the music of Scott Joplin for a Chicago theatrical production. Air continued as a unit until McCall left the group in

Air (Jazz): Henry Threadgill (flute, bass flute, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Fred Hopkins (bass instrument); Steve McCall (percussion).  

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16 Horsepower

16 Horsepower is a Denver-based alternative country band revolving around the unique songwriting and singing of David Eugene Edwards. The band made its name with music that combines rural, backwoods kitsch with edgey, off-kilter country-rock. First teaming with drummer Jean-Yves Tola and bassist Pascal Humbert, Edwards lost the latter when the band relocated to Denver from California and added Keven Soll to the lineup instead. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1995 on A&M Records and was followed a year later by Sackcloth 'N' Ashes, which featured a cameo from Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) on fiddle. Humbert returned in 1997, with Soll leaving the band and new guitarist Jeffrey Paul Norlander now included in the lineup. Drafting in PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish to produce the band, Low Estate appeared in early 1998. Secret South followed two years later, but was followed by a well-deserved break from recording. Guitarist Steve Taylor joined before this point when Norlander left the group. The live document Hoarse, released in spring 2001, marked the band's first release for the new millennium. In 2002, the original trio got back together with Taylor and began writing and recording Folklore, which was released that summer through New York indie Jetset. [AMG]

1996 Sackcloth 'n' Ashes

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1997 Low Estate

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2000 Secret South
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2000 Hoarse

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2002 FolkloreDL

Wadada Leo Smith - Divine Love

Underrated jazz trumpeter plays in a quiet mode, demonstrating his own technique of Ahkreanvention"--a creation of simultaneous jazz improvisation and composition. The end effect is more meditative than fiery, but not boring. Three long tunes make ample use of space and silence. Included in the band are Dwight Andrews (reeds) and Bobby Naughton (vibes); guests include Charlie Haden (bass), and both Lester Bowie and Kenny Wheeler who team up with Smith on "Tastalun" for three muted trumpets. Smith, now known as Wadada Leo Smith, sounds similar to trumpeter Bill Dixon and a contemplative Miles Davis.

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The Wizards From Kansas - The Wizards From Kansas

The Wizards From Kansas' eponymous album finds this Midwestern group sounding more like a West Coast hybrid combining rambling, melancholy country-rock elements with harder psych-rock sounds. Their biggest influences seem to have been Northern California-based groups like the Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and the Grateful Dead, and it shouldn't really come as a shock to discover that the Wizards From Kansas was recorded in San Francisco, between July and August of 1970. Radioactive.

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Howe Gelb - Down Home 2000

How does he do it? Not content with releasing the acclaim-garnering Chore of Enchantment last year, Giant Sand head honcho Howe Gelb followed it up with a CD of outtakes that was possibly better than the album itself and now, five months on, comes Down Home 2000 as a taster for his forthcoming solo album out in March. Whew! Going completely solo for the first time in his career, Gelb has produced one of his most essential albums to date, a darker, more meditative work that betrays its charms slowly but surely. Using mainly acoustic guitars, minimal percussion and shots of piano and organ, Gelb constructs a seductive late-night mood that befits his lazy, lingering voice with its sleepy charm and echoes of Dylan and Waits. From the hushed delicacy of The Bargain to the propulsive roll of Horses Still Coming there is a wonderful feeling that all this just came out off the cuff. For the most part Gelb plays it straight, as in the aching ballad Actual Desert, Rose or the folky, self-deprecating Dear Diary. His lyrics are clever, insightful and funny as always, (“And he never got her name / She would never toss it twice / They clung to what mattered / They were drunken with each other’s entice”) while with The Meantime and Tender Trap, he’s produced two of his darkest and most affecting songs yet. This being a Howe Gelb album there is, of course, also a jazzy piano instrumental, snatches of his kid singing, and various other slabs of musique concrete, the most fascinating of which, It’s Yer Ropes, Cisco, consists of an old Giant Sand number played against an ancient blues recording. The juxtaposition of eras and voices is spooky and when Howe intones “They say this place is haunted / But only by a ghost” you know just what he means. Better than Chore, available only through the net, you’d be a fool to miss out on this gorgeous, warm and consistently challenging album.


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Air - Air Lore (1979)

Ragtime and free jazz together? Why not! On this great tribute to ragtime composers everything is possible.

Henry Threadgill -tenor & alto saxophones, flute;
Fred Hopkins - bass;
Steve McCall - drums, percussion.
Recorded in NYC on May 11 & 12,1979.

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frank wright - stove man, love is the world

absolutely amazing free jazz


Possibly the most "underground" of all free-jazz musicians, Frank Wright (1935) took the scene by storm with the three jams of his Trio (november 1965) and Your Prayer (may 1967) for a quintet with alto saxophone and trumpet, containing his zenith of pathos, the 15-minute Your Prayer, as well as the 12-minute Fire Of Spirits. While influenced by Albert Ayler, Wright was largely endowed with his own vision of earthly and supernatural sounds. His style displayed little of Ayler's populist and folkish overtones while harking back to Charlie Parker's agile delivery. A bass-less quartet with alto saxophone, piano and drums recorded One For John (december 1969), Uhuru Na Umoja (1970), on themes by Noah Howard, and especially Church Number Nine (march 1970), a massive 45-minute improvisation. Wright experimented with free-form vocals (vocalist Eddie Jefferson) on Kevin My Dear Son (october 1978), that featured trumpet, piano and a classic rhythm section (bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Philly Joe Jones).

Wright died in 1990.

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Public Image Ltd. - Peel Session 1979

3 songs session recorded in 1979.

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Bill Dixon/ Franz Koglmann/Steve Lacy - Opium

Opium has pieces from two very rare LPs on trumpeter Franz Koglmann's Pipe Records Label—Opium/For Franz (1976) and Flaps (1973).

The CD includes two pieces by Koglmann from Opium/For Franz: "Der Vogel/Opium" and "Carmilla"—both feature themes with multiphonic improvisation. Trumpeter Bill Dixon's "For Franz" is a more composed piece which features some excellent interaction between the trumpets and with Alan Silva's pizicatto and arco bass.

The four pieces from Flaps consist of two compositions each from Koglmann and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. Lacy's "Flops" starts with the theme, then goes into free improvisation and includes a bass solo and a dual soprano sax/trumpet improvisation. Koglmann's "Bowery I" starts with arco bass. Koglmann uses muted trumpet and there's some somewhat dated sounding electronic solo pulses and bleats from Gerd Geier. "Bowery II" is rather tuneful, and almost sounds like a bopish blues. The album closes with Lacy's "Flaps," which uses some typical Lacy song structures, including repetition and variation of phrase. The piece gets very free with independant simultaneous solos.

[Side note one: Unfortunately, the original tapes for these sessions were lost, and they had to be remastered from vinyl. There is some distortion, most prominent on some of the higher trumpet notes. Some pieces were omitted because the quality of Koglmann's only vinyl copies weren't good enough to remaster from.]

[Side note two: So far all of the Between the Lines releases have featured cover paintings by artist Jutta Obenhuber. Most of them have been rather subdued, but the cover for Opium is her most exuberant cover painting yet, and features streaks of translucent paint—bright, hot, red and orange over cool blues and greens, with some magenta peeking through.]

I'm glad that at least a portion of these sessions of New Orleans counterpoint meets post bop free jazz are available again.

— Alan Lankin

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Ali Farka Touré - Niafunke

Ali Farka Toure's first album since his 1994 collaboration with Ry Cooder, Talking Timbuktu, makes a convincing argument for the adage that home is where the art is. Recorded in an abandoned brick edifice located between Toure's extensive rice fields and the Sahara-bordering village of Niafunké, Mali, this is the guitarist's most purely African album yet. Local percussionists, a sensuous village chorus, and a lonely one-stringed njarka violin accompany Toure here, replacing the Western guests who've tended to stilt his prior records. More relaxed and less gratuitously ornamental than before (especially when he plays acoustically), Toure digs deeply into spare, loping pentatonic grooves that extend beyond the usual John Lee Hooker blues comparisons into territory older, richer, and more folkloric (and Islamic) than earlier records have approached. --Richard Gehr

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Red Red Meat - There's a Star Above The Manger Tonight

Red Red Meat has a lot of nerve. Unlike so many of its too timid indie rock peers, the Chicago quartet dares to tamper with what brung 'em. Yes, remnants remain of the Stones-inspired chunky chords and driving beats that marked the early work of frontman Tim Rutili and company. With There's a Star, however, the Meat men dig deeper into that "Main Street" morass than ever before, emerging on turf they can call their own. Not that they don't get lost occasionally along the way. Mixing everything from dissonant guitar skronk to backwoods banjo music, they frequently find themselves clinging to the unsteady frame of these songs by the tips of their red, red fingers. But perhaps they had to venture into uncharted territory to arrive where they have. --Steven Stolder

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Original Silence

Those inclined toward improvised music can usually find something worthwhile in all forms of it. But even the most blindly faithful recognize when a session shoots so high that it sounds more like a rocket than a record. The First Original Silence is that kind of instant attention-grabber. Original Silence use the same tools as many improv groups: rolling percussion, squawking horns, guitar feedback, and scraggly electronic noise. But these six sound-crushers have added some sort of performance-enhancing drug, injecting their sound with energy rare to any music, improvised or otherwise.

That shouldn't be a surprise given the pedigree of the participants. High-level improv is routine for sax player Mats Gustafsson and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (both from free jazz dynamo the Thing), guitarist Terrie Ex of the Ex, bassist Massimo Pupillo of Zu, and guitarist Thurston Moore and Jim O'Rourke (on electronics here) of whatever it is they do. But improv history is littered with mediocre records made by well-heeled musicians unable to get out of each other's way.

Original Silence avoid such pitfalls by committing to improv-rock, the kind that actually sounds like experimental rock music rather than just rock musicians noodling. This is due mostly to the heavy gravitational force of Nilssen-Love and Pupillo, whose metallic rhythms swing between structure and freedom. The closest parallel to their bombastic stomp is the hammering lurch of Norwegian trio Noxagt; in fact, much of The First Original Silence sounds like Noxagt gone free-jazz, an enticing prospect to be sure.

Recorded during a 2005 tour of Italy, the album gets off to a ferocious start, grafting Minutemen-like bounce to Gustafsson's guttural horn playing. "If Light Has No Age, Time Has No Shadow" continues to hurtle forward from there, remaining insistent and vigorous through 15 minutes of tonal changes. Most impressive is how the musicians never step on each other; their fluid exchange of sonic positions almost feels conducted. When Pupillo backs down, Moore or Ex fills in with cutting string-work, only to slip underneath O'Rourke's squiggly slashes, which in turn make way for Gustafsson's full-body bellows.

The 45-minute closer "In the Name of the Law" is understandably not as high-speed. It does have stretches of mass hysteria, especially a crazed section starting around eight minutes in, where a nearly-4/4 beat, wailing guitar noise, and Gustafsson's Albert Ayler-esque squalls evoke the Stooges' "L.A. Blues". But even the most placid moments crackle. Stretches of electronic whirr, minimal guitar clang (reminiscent of Evol-era Sonic Youth), and thick atmosphere all emit an electric charge. Even the final 15 minutes, a nearly rhythm-less denouement, has enough plot points to keep you turning the sonic pages.

Long improv tracks have become such a cliché that they often seem doomed to fail. But Original Silence attacks these two epics like sprints instead of marathons, and The First Original Silence proves you don't have to stop playing to catch your breath.

- Marc Masters

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Ralph Towner - Anthem

Ralph Towner recently turned 60, and his age has only made him more eloquent, more imaginative, more able to cast a spell. Anthem, his new solo guitar record and his 20th title for ECM, is the follow-up to 1997's solo recital, Ana. It also coincides with ECM's reissue of Diary, Towner's 1974 effort, on which he plays both guitar and his first instrument, piano. (He didn't begin playing guitar until age 23.) These solo albums are precious few in number—be sure not to overlook 1980's Solo Concert—and Towner has never before released two of them consecutively.

Unlike Ana, the second half of which was devoted to the 12-string, Anthem finds Towner mainly playing nylon-string. The exceptions are the opener, “Solitary Woman,” with its ringing harmonies and loose, flowing rhythm; “Three Comments,” a minimalist mini-suite; and “Goodbye, Pork Pie Hat,” the Mingus classic, offered as a brief and moving finale. The nylon-string pieces are characteristically brilliant: no one but Towner could think up the spine-tingling arpeggiated runs of “The Lutemaker,” or the entirely single-note storyline of the “Four Comets” suite, or the soulful mood and tempo of “The Prowler,” or the crystalline chords of “Very Late”—clearly a rejoinder to Bill Evans's “Very Early.” Towner also puts his stamp on Scott LaFaro's “Gloria's Step,” which like the Mingus tune is one of jazz's more enigmatic masterpieces.

Some lazily relegate Towner (and other ECM artists) to the New Age category. But New Age music is notorious for its stasis, whereas Towner's is full of movement. The improvisational energy and highly involved counterpoint that Towner brings to all his pieces is cut from an entirely different cloth. Moreover, Towner's restless straddling of genres speaks to a depth of musical knowledge that purveyors of “mood music” rarely possess, if ever. His guitar may soothe, certainly. But with its Bach-like propulsion, its exquisitely balanced blend of solemnity and playfulness, and its references to classical, jazz, and avant-garde musics, Towner's work is not a lightweight thing. Anthem is perhaps the finest example yet of its luminescence. David Adler

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ANDY DALE PETTY - ALL GOD'S CHILDREN HAVE SHOES"

From the desk of Reverend Beat-man: One day I was in my office and a letter came from King Khan with a CD of Andy Dale Petty. He said Andy is a Trainer, a boy that runs freight trains with his Guitar and travels from town to town and sings Songs... The CD he send was probably recorded somewhere in a train or in a car... It sounded Fantastic so I put him in a Studio near where he lives to record those 13 Songs for Voodoo Rhythm Records.

Andy has a great way of playing his instrument and his voice is sometimes so wrong that it’s Beautiful to listen too, and he’s only fucking 18 years old godamit! Andy Takes the Roots of Woody Guthrie and Young Bob Dylan and makes them his own. On this Album there are 13 songs, including a couple covers and Traditionals, but most of them are written by Andy himself, and they are Great Songs in the Tradition of Americana Folk and western Ballads; with Banjo, Guitar and sometimes a sweet little church Organ that catapults you into another dimension and pushes you into another world.

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Butthole Surfers - Clean it up

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Morphine - Yes

In a rock & roll world divided between guitar bands and synth bands, Morphine exist in a no-man's zone. The Boston trio has neither guitars nor keyboards and gets by with just drums, sax, and bass. In a pop universe where every singer, guitarist, and keyboardist instinctively goes to a higher note to attract attention, Morphine stay hunkered down low. Billy Conway's tuned drum kit, Dana Colley's baritone sax and Mark Sandman's baritone vocals and two-string slide bass all occupy the same low-end band of the sound spectrum. Morphine's odd configuration would have no more than novelty value if Sandman's songs weren't so good. This album's first single, "Honey White," for instance, rides the back of a fast, angular baritone riff to describe a pretty, young girl hooked on drugs. In the dark comedy of Sandman's rock-noir purr, Honey tells her dealer, "You'll get me when I'm old and wizened and not a day before that." He replies, "It won't be that long." The beat and the humor are essential, for otherwise these jazzy, elliptical mood pieces would become unbearably pretentious. The broken relationship described in "Radar" is a pop cliché, but it's given new life by the shattered R&B riff and by the nit-picking bickering of lines like "If I am guilty, so are you. It was March 4, 1982." In similar fashion, modern paranoia and sexual gamesmanship are nailed to the wall in "Sharks" and "Whisper" respectively. --Geoffrey Himes

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Bow Gamelan Ensemble

Bow Gamelan Ensemble

Anne Bean
Richard wilson
P.D. Burwell

SIDE 1
1.Water/Iron/Glass/Gas Burners/Water Jets/Motorised Wire Brush/Metal Plate/Caps/Pipes
2.Pyrophones i)Tapped ii)Gas Jets3.Tumble Dryer with Mixed Contents
Side1
4.Motorised Metal Percussion
5.Arc Welder i)Acoustic ii)Electric

SIDE 2
1.Whistling Worm Fan/Bagpipes with Dinghy Pump/Hooters and Horns
2.When I Grow Rich ( Extended Version)
3.Steam Whistles/Blow Torches/Siren
4.3 Solos and 1 Trio

All Compositions © Pulp Music
recorded by Peter Cusack

(1985, Audio Arts Supplement Cassette)

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Ali Farka Touré - Savane

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Beck - Mutations

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Fennesz/O' Rourke/Rehberg - The Magic Sound of Fenno'berg

Three of avant music's brightest lights (the Mego label's Peter Rehberg and Christian Fennesz, and the ubiquitous Jim O'Rourke) sit down with their laptops, and create a disarming and beautiful collection of electronic free improvisation. You'll find only trace elements of established genres here, as the three lob samples and tones back and forth: recognizible instruments blend with "pure" electronics, pop structures dissolve into the irradiation of noise and static. The fact that it's all done in real time, with little to no premeditation, makes it all the more intriguing. This _isn't_ techno, despite what the racking system might tell you. Whatever the old farts of free improv tell you, this _is_ the future of avant garde, improvised music. Let whatever hang ups you have about music created on computer go, and lose yourself in the journey.

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Schlippenback trio - Detto fra di noi (Po Torch, 1981)

Po Torch Records PTR/JWD 10/11 Detto fra di noi: live in Pisa 1981

Schlippenback trio
Alex von Schlippenbach, piano, Evan Parker, soprano and tenor saxophones, Paul Lovens, selected drums and cymbals, sage.

Ciclone (15.53) Fra di noi (32.16) Abbondanza (12.09)

'This album presents the complete recording of the performance given by the Schlippenbach trio during the final concert of the 6 Rassegna Internazionale del jazz on June 21st, 1981, in the Teatro Verdi of Pisa. The Rassegna Internazionale del jazz is organised yearly in Pisa by the Centre for the Research into Improvised Music (CRIM).'

Review by Peter Kostakis in Downbeat, vol. 50, no. 4, (April), 1983, pp. 30-32; 4 star rating

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Khanate - Capture & Release [EP]

Slow, deep, powerful, tortured, evil. This is SunnO)))'s twisted older brother. Guaranteed to clear the room of all who don't wish to plunge this far into the blackened depths. Be you willing, put on some headphones and take a stroll with Khanate. Pure bliss.

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Johnny Dyani, Okay Temiz, Mongezi Feza - Rejoice

I dunno the Tracklist, any help is appreciated

Johnny Dyani - Bass, Vocals
Mongezi Feza - Trumpet, Vocals
Okay Temiz - Drums, Percussion

(Oct 1972, Cadillac 1017)

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Bill Dixon - Odyssey [solo works] (2001, box set 6cd)

A labor of love, this marvelous self-produced six-disc set collects trumpeter Bill Dixon's previously unreleased solo recordings since the 1970s. (Actually, a few of the many tracks add minimal accompaniment.) The final disc presents highly intelligent, fascinating oral commentary by the trumpeter on his life and music. Included in the oversized box are booklets containing several essays by two critics and two former students, and a collection of Dixon's beautifully reproduced artwork in color. At the time of this release in 2001, the trumpeter and retired professor was in his late seventies and in peak form, both intellectually and artistically. While five hours of solo trumpet is exhausting to hear (it should never be attempted at a single sitting), there is no denying Dixon's original voice, individual style, and astonishing technique. Space plays an important role in his sound, the trumpeter knowing when to harness the power of silence. Purity of sound is another important element, Dixon's pristine tone a pure pleasure. Dixon occasionally adds reverb, giving his notes a slight echo. Other distinguishing characteristics include his use of the full range of the horn, from the pedal tones to the highest reaches, and his extraordinary use of breath, pushed through the horn at varying volumes. Granted, this is not easy listening, and there are few melodies or conventional signposts. Listening to all these hours of solo Dixon takes self-discipline and might be compared to hearing a long postmodern poetry recital. But, for those willing to make the effort, and who can appreciate the contributions of an extraordinary talent, this boxed set will bring endless hours of pleasure. - Steven Loewy

CD1
CD2
CD3
CD4
CD5
CD6

Sonny & Sunny

Nov 1968
Berlin Jazz Fest

Sonny Sharrock Guitar
Sunny Murray Drums

Here's a little bit O' History for ya.

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Phillip Wilson & Olu Dara - Esoteric (Hat Hut)

Phillip Wilson - percussion
Olu Dara - trumpet, horn (serpent)

Recorded in paris

(1977-1978, Hat Hut)

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Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - Strange form of life

'Strange Form of Life' was without a doubt my favourite track from last year's stunning 'The Letting Go' album, and shows Will Oldham at his emotional best. Singing side-by-side Faun Fables lady Dawn McCarthy Oldham sounds perfectly at ease, and the track is a lazy paean to love and sunnier times. The B-side tracks are fairly lo-fi recordings (compared with the high budget recording of the album) and these show Oldham at his intimate best. Closing on 'The Seedling' we find Oldham in pure 70s folk-rock mode, warbling triumphantly over simply picked acoustic guitar. This is truly a fantastic package, and re-affirms the reason for buying cd singles - it's nice to see someone doing it right!

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