Friday, August 4th, 2006 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

We'd pre-planned for me to go over the 6:00 point a bit, as the next DJ was going to be in a bit late.

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)

* Syntopia Quartet -- "Newton Basin" -- Mars (Nemu, 2006)

Classical-sounding quartet, a European chamber jazz that's often bouncy and inviting while being complex and quite out-there. Track titles mostly come from features on the surface of Mars. Upbeat overall, with some descents into quieter territory or thoughtful pauses as they really get into the improv segments of each piece. Impressive stuff -- we've gotten a few Nemu disks lately, and the label is making quite an impression with me. We'll be playing much more from them in the near future.

Interesting experimental piece with modern-classical/improv music and spoken word, the latter taken from a book of the same title. Big and ambitious, and also quite engaging. The final track is 10 minutes of what sound like dozens of voices speaking, all blurring each other out -- it's the sound of every word in the book, recited by multiple speakers.

Fourth in a series of turntable duets -- not sampling, mind you, just turntable sounds, with needles being scraped, plucked, blown on, and sometimes run across non-vinyl-sounding surfaces. Cool stuff, actually; I've commented on previous CDs in the series.

What's neat about this fourth and final installment is the little map they give you! See, these four CDs are culled from a series of live shows in Europe, but the shows are split up -- each CD features different bits from different shows. The map outlines each entire show in the order it was really performed and tells you which of the four CDs each piece is on. Hey, people like me enjoy geeking out on stuff like that.

Not relevant, but: For another geeky map, check out Jean Derome's Le Magasin de Tissu on Ambiances Magnetiques.

Previously mentioned here.

Abstract improv in a swampy atmosphere with lots of gloopy electronics and stacks of noisy guitar effects from G.E. Stinson (the "strings" of the CD's title). Lots of action in mostly slow-moving contexts, with cavernous scary sounds and murky sour tones. Great stuff for the noise crowd.

* Martial Solal and Dave Douglas -- "34 Bar Blues" -- Rue de Seine (Cam Jazz, 2006)

Bouncy and energetic.

* William Parker -- "El Puente Seco" -- Long Hidden: The Olmec Series (AUM Fidelity, 2006)

Two sides to this CD: "In Case of Accident" is a 14-minute bass solo, hard-digging and energetic arco work, recorded in San Francisco. Then, one of the "Olmec Group" pieces, with touches of traditional Mexican sounds accompanied by some crazy sax.

Stevens on piano, with Herb Robertson (trumpet) and Mark Feldman (violin) for some nicely exploratory and invigorating jazz pieces. Wonderful stuff that wouldn't be out of place at a spot like Yoshi's, IMHO.

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With violin, shakuhachi, and female voice alonside sax, drums and Beresford's piano. A nice Euro-improv crew (John Butcher on sax, among others) spinning a nice chamber-inflected piece as pat of a commission for the Contemporary Improvised Music Festival in The Hague.

* Steuart Liebig/The Mentones -- "Way High Lonesome" -- Nowhere Calling (pfMentum, 2006)

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here. Played this one in honor of "3 Drops of Blood" Installment 10, the final show in the series, which was being performed that coming weekend.

Anthony Coleman -- "By Night" -- Disco by Night (Avant, 1992)

* Actis Band -- "Noche De Fraga" -- Allende (Leo Records, 2006)

Previously noted here.

* Industrial Jazz Group -- "Bandoleero, Part Two" -- Industrial Jazz a Go-Go (Evander, 2006)

A southern-California collective, about 12 or 15 people depending on who's available. Led by composer Andrew Durkin, who has no jazz background per se and didn't listen to the stuff until later in life, but who's managed to crank out a few kick-ass jazz albums with this group. The writing is a fresh take on jazz ideas, with some rock and classical elements. For this album, Durkin throws lots of curves, with most tracks careening through multiple mood changes and styles, including doo-wop piano, New Orleans horns, plenty of Latin influences, and lots of blazing free-jazzy solos from various group members.

* = 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.