Friday, October 5th, 2007 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

This week:

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)
Horizontal lines denote microphone breaks.

* David Torn -- "Bulbs" -- Prezens (ECM, 2007)

Utter craziness, a chaotic free jazz that relies on all kinds of electronics squibbing and glitching madly. Packed with tonal sections, such as a major/minor-key shift that's at once trite and revelatory. On a first quick listen, I couldn't place Tim Berne anywhere in the mix, although I'll stress that was a quick listen. My point is, it's that messy and tangled. Very cool.

* Nublu Orchestra conducted by Butch Morris -- "Downstairs" -- Nublu Orchestra (Nublu, 2007)

Morris is famous for conducted improvisations, performing large orchestral works with a definitely avant-garde cast. Here, he's put in front of dance/electronica people, with samplers and turntables, alongside some jazz horns. Accessible stuff overall, although Morris does show his presence by getting different factions of the band into contrasting moods from time to time, while keeping the flow cohesive; you never get the feeling that any musicians' parts are unrelated. This track doesn't get into the jamming, overlapping lines of horns that make some of the best tracks so jazzy and groovy. I'll have to get into them in weeks to come.

By far the most popular CD at the station the past couple of weeks. How could I resist? Of course, the transition was into a cool acoustic bassline for a neat contrast (or so I think).

Local trio, led by drummer Chuck Bernstein, that's been playing regular gigs in San Francisco's Richmond district since 1999. Straightforward Monk readings, with Si Perkoff taking the piano chair and Sam Bevan on bass. Charming, but I'll be curious to eventually compare this with Ben Goldberg's "Plays Monk" project, which has also been playing around town and finally has a CD out.

Kris Tiner/Mike Baggetta -- "Second Preference" -- There, Just As You Look for It (pfMentum, 2003)

Previously noted here, sort of. Improvisations of trumpet and prepared acoustic guitar. The trumpet does threaten to overwhelm the guitar, but they manage to find a good balance on some tracks. Tiner is also part of The Empty Cage Quartet; he's a SoCal guy who performs up here quite a bit.

* Steve Lacy/Roswell Rudd Quartet -- "Light Blue" -- Early and Late (Cuneiform, 2007; recorded 1999)

! John Lennon -- "Give Me Some Truth" -- Imagine (Capitol, 1970)

Because his birthday is Tuesday, and because they're having an exhibit/sale of some of his work at the Stanford Shopping Center this weekend. (Not as cheesy as it sounds; Stanford's is an upscale mall that could host things like serious art galleries.) I used to play this every year around Dec. 8, but after the 25th anniversary passed, I decided it was time to stop commemorating that day.

A random 7" that happened to be in rotation when I first came to the station, in 1998. I included it in my first ever pop show, helping earn me a very nice e-mail from the woman I was subbing for. The track itself is happy and upbeat, mostly instrumental, with enough saxophone to actually qualify for a "jazz" show, sort of.

Completing the family theme. You know, even *I* can't take Yoko Ono's music in large doses, although the exhuberant nature of this track helps propel it. A recent review in Signal to Noise made a good point: Ono was a good artist, well versed in visual and conceptual media, dabbling in film, creating new concepts a la Fluxus ... and because of her relationship to John Lennon, she got shoehorned into a pop-music mold. Maybe it's just not a good fit for the type of artistry she contributes.

Previously noted here.

Noted here.

Eddie Gale -- "Fulton Street" -- Ghetto Music (Water; orig. released on Blue Note, 1969)

Positive Knowledge -- "Ask Eric/Iron Soul" -- Live in New York (Edgetone, 2003)

Traditional Jewish music through the lens of downtown NYC jazz, played by a great band of folks like Mark Dresser on bass.

Coming to rotation soon, this is Shipp's latest piano trio, a heavy-hitting lineup with Joe Morris on bass and Whit Dickey on drums. The sound, though, is close to a conventional jazz trio, quite genteel, at least on first glance. I'm liking it.

UPDATE (11/23/07): Maybe it's just because it's a trio with acoustic bass and drums, but this one's got a more organic and direct feel than many of Shipp's other post-2000 albums. He'd been leaning towards moody chordings, a wintry place, with attempts to blend hip-hop/electronica beats into the mix, with mixed results, IMHO. (Commentary from almost two years ago, here and here.

While those previous albums never jelled, to my ears, this one does, and comes at you directly. That might be just the comfort of the familiar, either for Shipp or for me. It might also be the result of working with two veteran players, Joe Morris (bass) and Whit Dickey (drums). The music comes close to a routine post-bop piano trio, with plenty of freedom allotted the players and themes that fall into an adventurous but accessible zone. The 10-minute title track, longest on the album, moves at a casual pace, but from note one it's recalling piano trios of old -- Bill Evans with a space-age sheen, full of twisty, fluttery lines, and Dickey playing the brushes for a cool-handed atmosphere. "To Vitalize" comes across as a normal jazz stroll, maybe with a free-jazz accent. Other tracks get more forceful and punchy, quite attention-getting. It's a very good album.

So, is this just a case of Shipp moving to safer ground so he can phone it in? The overall sound is within the realm of the familiar, for mainstream jazz listeners, and that might get his some spins on stations that wouldn't otherwise be fans. But in the dense note clusters and the oddball melody lines, there's plenty of Shipp's own personality in here. I prefer to think that having tried out Nu Jazz for a while, he was ready to try this territory. Can't tell yet if it's a major phase or a one-time gathering with friends.

Romitelli was a guitarist at first, and later made the transition to smart-aleck modern-classical composer. Ictus is a Dutch ensemble specializing in the modern and the eclectic. Seems like a good match. "Bad Trip" is a three-movement suite for small chamber orchestra plus electric guitar soloist. Lots of violent swoops and careening from the violins and strings, plus off-kilter tones from the guitar parts (which often stay cerebral and not crazed). A very cool bass clarinet knocking -- a pair of quick notes, like something bounced once after hitting the floor -- serves as a repeated riff early on; it's delicious and catchy, and sets the tone for the playfully dark piece.

I picked this up on a whim from Forte Distribution. The piece was being highlighted by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and in researching it out of curiousity, I decided to give it a try. Also picked up a couple of interesting jazz finds from a label called Budapest Music Center Records that I'll be spinning on air in future weeks.

UPDATE (11/23/07): I still haven't gotten to those BMC records. Soon. But I did end up playing the other two movements of "Professor Bad Trip" in the following weeks.

* David Rogers Sextet -- "The World Is Not Your Home" -- The World Is Not Your Home (Jumbie, 2007)

Previously noted here. This track pulls a fake on you; it opens with homey, old-time jazzy clarinet in a sentimental, sad space, then gives way to a barrage of exotic drums and percussion. Once that fades, it gets into a gentle jazzy stroll, slowish and mellow, comforting twilight music. Really nice. Craig Taborn on piano, Gerald Cleaver on drums.

* = 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.