William Parker Quartet -- Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity, 2008)

Source: AUM Fidelity

The 17-minute "Groove Sweet" is a great example, a suite composed of a few different grooves serving as bedrock for some tasty soloing. "Talaps Theme" is another nice jam, one that's down at a more radio-friendly six minutes. "Four for Tommy" is forcefully chugging bop, a jazzy good listen, while "Malachi's Mode" inserts a touch of joyous South African tones.

It's only towards the end of the album that the quartet explores more experimental, inner-space territory. "Dust from a Mountain" opens with mystical wood-flute tones, later opening up for a big-sky, searching sax solo. "Shorter for Alan," which I'm guessing is a play-on-words tribute involving Wayne Shorter (I'm drawing a blank on the "Alan" part, though), has its jamming aspects but uses a dark, abstract theme and incorporates some free-form group work as well as an introspective unaccompanied bass solo.

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

David S. Ware -- "Panoramic" -- Cryptology (Homestead, 1994)

Source: Rolling Stone
As noted last week, David S. Ware is in need of a life-saving kindey transplant, blood type O. Details are here, on the AUM Fidelity Web site.

Cryptology was my first exposure to David S. Ware, triggered by, of all things, a review in Rolling Stone (as also mentioned last week). It was that issue's lead review, even.

I didn't dislike the album but had never heard music of such intensity and such seeming chaos. Some of the tracks -- including the opener -- just blast you into the fray. It's a white-knuckle ride.

Closer listens do reveal differences in the tracks, of course, and there do seem to be composed ideas in there. "Panoramic" features some repeated piano motifs -- maybe not in a note-for-note sense, but a certain sound seems to spike upwards from the piano many times during the early minutes. Maybe that's part of the composition, or maybe it's an improvising choice by Matthew Shipp, I don't know. That's part of what makes this such a compelling listen.

And I love the cover art, which was done by Ware himself, using what appear to be colored pencils. For me, it just conveys the right feel for this music.

* Mostly Other People Do the Killing -- "Fagundus" -- This Is Our Moosic (Hot Cup, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

* James Zitro -- "Freeken" [excerpt] -- Zitro (ESP-Disk, 2008; orig. released 1967)

Previously noted here.

Poole was a well respected guitarist from L.A. who was tragically and senselessly murdered in 2007 after a dispute in a parking lot. Click on his name above, and you'll see a tribute page that includes news of the convictions of the people responsible.

At the start of this album-long solo improvisation, Poole plays around with harmonics -- quiet, spacious stuff that eventually gets into a piano-like patter. And that patter is characteristic of much of the piece; he coaxes that kind of percussive feel from the strings, the music building into a hypnotic John Fahey-like weaving.

Later on, the piece gets more aggressive and dissonant (the latter being a byproduct of the just intonation that Poole favored).

You can have a listen on the Different Waters blog.

Ambient washes of sound from guitars and synths, no percussion. I don't know about the "Valentine" part, but the arctic-plains atmosphere is quite "northern."

Source: Atavistic

Another Atavistic reissue of music from Sun Ra's own Saturn label, from back in the day. Music that sits between Sun Ra's more conventional, composed jazz and the way-out free stuff. Most tracks carry a familiar '60s or late '50s vibe, feeling tuneful and danceable while serving as a vehicle for some freer soloing or strange sounds, as on this track.

There's quite a sci-fi vibe (a retro one, of course) to the way flutes and horns get used on some of these tracks. The surprise bonus is the 17-minute "Flight to Mars," which does include some oddball piano but is otherwise a straight jazz groove, with some terrific solos (including guitar) and lots of drums towards the end.

Cool side note: A young Eddie Gale appears on the track, "Space Aura."

* William Parker Quartet -- "Talaps Theme" -- Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity, 2008)

See above.

Modern classical songs, done by soprano and piano. The opening suite is a set of e e cummings pieces, including this one -- I picked it for its spiky melody, as opposed to the more calm, flowing pieces.

Previously noted here. A touch of rolling Klezmer 5/8 rhythm to lead into the next set.

Next week, Stanford Lively Arts is putting on "Akoka: A Messiaen Remix," a program by David Krakauer and Matt Haimovitz. They'll be presenting Olivier Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" from three angles: A Klezmerized version, a "straight" classical version, and a hip-hop/sampling version led by DJ Socalled. Details here (free registration required).

David Krakauer -- "Klezmer a la Bechet" -- A New Hot One (Label Bleu, 2000)

Matt Haimovitz -- "Gordon" [composed by Adrian Pop] -- Goulash! (Oxingale, 2006)

Solo cello, an energetic classical piece. This album also has a four-cello rendition of "Kashmir," but that seemed too ... obvious. The rest of the album includes some straight classical repertoire from the likes of Bartok and Ligeti.

* Rudresh Mahanthappa -- "Ganesha" -- Kinsmen (Pi Recordings, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Anti-folk hero Kimya Dawson puts out what you could call an anti-children's album. The songs are all appropriate for kids, and they include some kids' backup singing, but there's more bodily-function humor than most parents would want. I have not looked up Dawson's bio lately to see if she had a kid, but it seems really likely given the overall tone here. (I'm basing that on personal experience, not on any social stereotypes.) This song's chorus just slays me for some reason: "I like bears / I like bears / I like bears a lot!" (It's the "a lot" part that makes the song.)

Previously noted here.

? Mats Gustafsson -- "Untitled (Shield)" -- The Vilnius Explosion (NoBusiness, 2008)

Previously noted here.

? Mats Gustafsson -- "Untitled (Shield)" [cont'd] -- The Vilnius Explosion (NoBusiness, 2008)

? Edmund Welles (The Bass Clarinet Quartet) -- "Synge" -- Tooth & Claw (Zeroth Law, 2007)

Previously noted here.

Hank Jones and Cheik-Tidiane Seck -- "Tounia Kanibala" -- V/A: Mondo Africa (Mondo Melodia, 2001)

Originally released in 1995 on a Verve album, Sarala, and featuring a band called the Mandinkas, this track features Hank Jones soloing over a band from Mali. Jazz and African music make for a nice mix, much better than jazz and hip-hop (a pairing that invariably chooses the worst aspects of both musics). Jones slides right in and grooves along with the beat. Quite nice.

I played this one after noticing that Hank Jones, who's 90 years old, is coming to Yoshi's in February. Ninety years old! I'm barely half that age and struggle to drive to Yoshi's, let alone tour around the country and perform. Even with handlers, that's a lot more than I'd expect from a 90-year-old. We should all be so lucky at that age.

From what appears to be an album of unaccompanied ballads, a straight shot of Hank.

* Carlos Giffoni -- "A Son with No Father" -- Adult Life (No Fun, 2008)

Coming out of Hank Jones territory, we go for a noisy ending. Droney analog synth soundscapes with an abrasive edge. Check out his Web site for info about the No Fun Festival.

I'm curious about how his Jan. 16 performance with Okkyung Lee went; she's a cellist who laid down some interesting droney lines when she guested with Larry Ochs' band Kihnoua very early in 2008.

What I said about their last album kind of holds here. I'm liking these guys.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

* = 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.