Friday, December 24th, 2004 ... 12:15 a.m. - 3:00 a.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM
Taking a midnight slot, as I won't be around for my regularly scheduled
afternoon show today. Tried to toss out lots of non-jazz breaks,
mixing up sounds in a way I've been doing less frequently of late.
Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)
* Big Satan -- "Geez" -- Souls Saved Hear (Thirsty Ear, 2004)
* Triage -- "Sidelights" -- American Mythology (Okka Disk, 2004)
* Ben Schwendener/Uwe Steinmetz -- "Noddy Likes to watch the Noddy Show with Tessie Bear, Sometimes" -- Apfelschaun (Gravity Arts, 2003)
* Matthew Shipp -- "Blood 2 the Brain" -- Harmony and Abyss (Thirsty Ear, 2004)
! Amy X. Neuberg and Men -- "Orange County" -- Sports! Chips! Booty! (Racer, 1995)
* EDCA Trio (Emanation Creation Formation Action) -- "3 Eggs" -- Die Faden (Pecan Crazy, 2004)
Nice combo out of the Austin, Texas area, flashing some Ornettish
free-jazz sensibilities and also a taste for elegant chamber-jazz
avantness.
* Rudresh Mahanthappa -- "English" -- Mother Tongue (Pi Recordings, 2004)
* Kimmie Rhodes -- "El Diablo Gallo" -- Windblown (Sunbird, 2004)
Actually a country album, this track being a flowing Mexican/folk
instrumental that seemed to fit nicely.
-- 1:00 a.m. --
! The Beth Lisick Ordeal -- "Hit and Run" -- Pass (DuNord, 1998)
A hilarious mix of spoken word and jazz with breezy vibes and an
upbeat tempo. Beth is a local poet, and this is a great document of the
music she did with bassist George Cremaschi and a couple guys from the
defunct local band Eskimo. Brisk, thoughtful music and words -- and this
is my favorite track, a fun story about the aftermath of a fenderbender,
involving street people, a jolly store owner, and a Parker Posey namedrop.
* Guus Janssen -- "Angelicanzone" -- Hollywood O.K. Pieces (Geestgronden, 2004)
*! Hi Red Center -- "Oskar" -- Architectural Failures (self-released, 2004)
* Steuart Liebig -- "Mosaic" part 21 -- Quicksilver (pfMentum, 2004)
*! Guided by Voices -- "Everybody Thinks I'm a Raincloud (When I'm Not Looking)" -- Half Smiles of the Decomposed (Matador, 2004)
No, it's not jazz ... but come on! The band is on their farewell tour,
with the final show slated for New Year's Eve in Chicago. I couldn't let
my final 2004 show go by without giving them a salty salute!
* Omar Rodriguez-Lopez -- "A Dressing Failure" -- A Manual Dexterity (GSL, 2004)
An interesting album of experimentalism from a member of Mars Volta.
Lots of really quiet sounds ... this particular track, though, is a study for
electric guitar -- tangly slowish stuff. Our music director, Bill, likens
it to the Andy Summers/Robert Fripp work of the '80s.
* Blevin Blectum -- "Your Wish Is Taken for Granted" / "As a Bird Watches the Eyes of a Snake" -- Magic Maple (self-released, 2004)
Yeah, we're pretty much entering the "noise" phase of the program here.
* Joelle Leandre/Gianni Lenoci -- "Balancoire 8" -- Sur Une Balancoire (Ambiances Magnetique, 2004)
* Paul Dolden -- "In the Natural Doorway I Crouch" [excerpt] -- Seuil de Silences (Empreintes Digitales, 2004)
* The Bran (Pos) -- "The Great Mice Detectives on Mars" [excerpt] -- Chirphius (Soundcrack, 2004)
Great local electronics/noise improv. The Bran has done big, loud,
wall-of-noise pieces in the past, but this album brings in some quieter and
even contemplative pieces. Heck wit' dat -- this one is a long, loud,
choppy track that even develops some grooves midway through. Very cool.
* Jeff Parker and Scott Fields -- "Untitled, 1955, Crayon on Kellogg's Corn Flakes Box" [excerpt] -- Song Songs Song (Delmark, 2004)
Delmark is such an awesome label. They've diligently documented
Chicago's jazz and blues stars for more than 50 years ... and yet, every now
and then, they'll record some experimental stuff. These are duets of
electric guitars, and they get pretty "out there" -- ragged, choppy studies
with names drawn from abstract art exhibits (there's no indication whether
these were actual art pieces or just made-up titles). And a couple of the
pieces even get softer and lyrical. Not for everyone's taste, and kudos
to Delmark for giving this kind of stuff a voice once in a while.
-- 2:00 a.m. --
* The Revolutionary Ensemble -- "911-544" -- And Now... (Pi Recordings, 2004)
A major work by Jerome Cooper, the drummer for this trio.
Cooper apparently got to witness the events of 9/11/01 from the roof of
his own building, and this 20-minute suite captures the mood brilliantly,
starting with a calm, sparse demeanor and then plunging into some slow,
dire group improvisation, a gradually unfolding sense of chaos and doom.
Later it gives way to a more manageable sadness and unease. But all is not lost -- the track
concludes with a tight, hopeful free-jazz segment.
Remarkable stuff, and not a good track to excerpt from -- it really needs
to breathe in its entirety (no offense intended to the other artists I've
excerpted, of course).
Joachim Kuhn -- "Para" -- From Time to Time Free (CMP, 1988)
Crisp, fast-paced post-bop piano trio. Nicely straight stuff,
a good tonic after that long emotional piece.
* Francois Carrier Trio -- "Insomnie" -- Play (482 Music, 2004)
Keeping the inside-jazz theme going ... sort of. Kuhn's album
includes lots of highly creative soloing, as does this one. Carrier on
alto sax accompanied by bass and drums, in a session that keeps its
jazz flavor throughout but features plenty of tightrope-walking soloing.
* Ernest Dawkins' New Horizons Ensemble -- "Mean Ameen" -- Mean Ameen (Delmark, 2004)
!? Sally Fingerett -- "Boy on Wheels" -- My Good Company (Shanachie, 1998)
* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library
-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.