This page has been updated 11/12/17. A number of excerpts from some of these cds are on the mp3 page) Below is a table of content you can click for navigation through all these titles, or just keep scrolling.
Songs
Quintet
Recordings
Quartet Recording
Early Vinyl
BassDrumBone
Solo Recordings
Duos
Trios
Chamber Works
Other Projects of Interest
Those
of you familiar with my work will understand that this release is a significant
departure from everything else I've done as a composer. Yet there is a continuum
marked by the presence of a number of musicians (Wolter Wierbos, Ellery Eskelin,
Herb Robertson, James Emery in particular) with whom I have had ongoing associations
for many years. This project started as a challenge to myself to create something
outside my comfort zone of composing and production. The ideas for music and
text developed independently at first and over time began to influence each
other in an organic way. I worked with each musician seperately sometimes with
sequenced tracks, sometimes with some of the tracks I had recorded with others.
Slowly each piece took a shape as I edited and crafted the audio into position
in the computer. The group that accompanies each piece changes on each track
and inbetween each piece there is an audio poem that serves as a link and foreshadow
to some of the content of the next piece. The project would not have been possible
without the singer Lisa Sokolov who transformed my melodic and lyric ideas into
the magic of song. For more info and its available
through this site.
"Johnny's Corner
Song "is the debut recording of my new quartet formation. It's taken from
a live recording made in Groningen, Holland in November of 1997. It features
Robin Eubanks on trombone, Ellery Eskelin on tenor saxophone and Mark Dresser
on bass. It is sold via this web page and at concerts but will not be distributed
to record stores. The CD became available in March of 1998. (available through this site only)
Devils
Paradise is the long awaited second release of my current working quartet. The
personnel features Ray Anderson on trombone, Ellery Eskelin on tenor sax and
Mark Dresser on bass. This recording is the first studio recording I have done
of either my quartet or quintet and its approach is shaped by a concise approach
to the thematic material. Many of these tunes have been recorded before, and
I believe in many ways these versions are definitive. The recording was proceeded
by many months of performances in the US and I think this played a significant
role in the way in which the pieces achieve a singular vitality. I wanted to
make a cd that would withstand many listenings and I think it lives up to that
goal. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
"Outerbridge
Crossing" was recorded in New Haven, Connecticut in 1985. It was released
in 1987 in vinyl and later as a cd by Sound Aspects records of Germany. This
recording is still in print. Much of the music written for this quintet was
composed in 1979 and first performed in 1980 with the Ray Anderson Quartet (the
same band that is documented on Harrisburg Half-Life (Moers Music). The group
has both Ray Anderson and Mark Helias carrying over from our then eight years
of work as a collective trio. I had met Ernst Reijseger two years prior on a
Company performance in N.Y.C. and this was the first time I had found a way
to incorporate him into my music. The baritone saxophonist David Mott became
a good friend during the mid-seventies when we both lived in New Haven. The
title track "Outerbridge Crossing" will be the subject of a future
release that will, among other works, trace the evolution of this piece after
this recording from a performance at the Knitting Factory in 1989, another from
the 1990 quartet tour, and one more recent version by the quintet. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
"Special Detail" was recorded in Bielefeld,
Germany as a co-production between the WDR and HatArt Records. It is the second
release of the quintet, and the personnel for this date in December of 1990
represents a bridge between the instrumentation of "Outerbridge Crossing"
and all of the cds that follow this date. Don Byron is featured on baritone
sax in addition to clarinet, Ed Schuller has the bass chair, Wolter Wierbos
makes his first appearance with the quintet on trombone and Ernst Reijseger
on cello is the only player who carries over from the previous Cd. The pieces,
"Special Detail" and "Taffia" were first developed in an
undocumented cooperative quartet called TenRenRen. That group included both
Don Byron and Mark Dresser along with guitarist Brandon Ross. "Beef"
and "Wooferlo" were previously recorded as trio pieces with BassDrumBone.
(CDR copy
purchasable by request)
"Down to the Wire", our second recording
for HatArt records, was supposed to be the first documentation of the quintet
personnel that continue's to this day. However a few days before this tour of
1990 was to begin our cellist, Ernst Reijseger, found himself unable to walk
due to extreme pain from a slipped disk. So I hastily managed to rearrange the
new repertoire for a quartet of Michael, Wolter, Mark and myself. The material
worked well for quartet as it turned out and this tour and recording's success
planted the interest for me to eventually develop my current American based
quartet. Works included on this recording include the closest thing we have
ever done to a hit, "If you Like", the wintry ode to Vienna, "Waltz
Anywhere", the first recording of "N.T.", "Back Again Some
Time" and a performance from Kito in Bremen of Michael Moore's elegant
ballad, "Debby Warden". (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
Demon Chaser was recorded with and without an audience at the Ottenbruchner
Bahnhof in Wuppertal, Germany. It comes from our tour in Europe of 1993 and
features a variety of works including the first documentation of a piece for
the quintet outside of my own compositions, in this case an arrangement of Dizzy
Gillespie's "A Night inTunisia". Also included is a quintet arrangement
of a work originally recorded with BassDrumBone entitled "More Stuttin'
with Some Mutton. There is a feature for the special vocabulary of trombonist
Wolter Wierbos entitled "Buoys". The piece makes use of a damaged
straight mute that Wolter had plumbed for it's unique buzzing quality. Other
works include the original recording of "Slamadam", the title work
"Demon Chaser" and one of my favorite structured collective works,
"Hollerup". It is unfortunate that this recording is out of print.
I encourage you to write Werner Uehlinger of HatArt records and complain about
this records current unavailability. (re-released and available )
"The
Marmalade King" is an extended suite that was completed, toured and recorded
in 1995. It is made up of five sections that flow one into the next. It is conceived
as a musical equivalent to a children's story, with each section, structured
like a chapter. The titles of each section reflect this idea by suggesting the
opening line of a chapter, such as "Having wandered this far". The
notion is that the music takes over where the title leaves off. Among other
musical elements the suite features five unaccompanied solos by each member
of the quintet. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
This one was released in March of 1995 to coincide with a
tour we did in the U.K and Europe. Most of the material comes from a performance
in Holland that also yielded "The Marmalade King (Hat Art 6164). It features
quintet versions of pieces that were first recorded on the "Down to the
Wire" quartet cd from 1990 including "If you Like" and "Waltz
Anywhere". Also featured is "Slamadam" which was first heard
on "Demon Chaser"cd also on Hat Art. The works have evolved quite
a bit from the time of their first recording. A combination of two earliar works
"Taffia" (Hat Art cd 6000, "Special Detail" and "Threnody
for Charles Mingus" which comes from the quintet's first recording "Outerbridge
Crossing" Sound Aspects (SA 017) is also part of this program. Closing
the cd is a relaxed blues, first recorded with BassDrumBone called "Pumbum".
Overall this record features some wonderful soloing from each member of the
quintet. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
The seventh release of the quintet features two
extended works, "Perfect World" and "Little Suite" both
recorded live in Birmingham, England. "Little Suite" is like a cousin
to it's predecessor "The Marmalade King" connecting a series of shorter
works together with unaccompanied solos from each member of the quintet. The
title track offers the most elaborate multi-layered thematic structure to date,
building upon the tiered-tempo approach of earliar works including "Outerbridge
Crossing" and "The Checkerboard laughed and eluded everyone".
Also included is "N.T. (quintet version)", one of my thornier themes,
first heard on the Hat Art release "Down to the Wire" in a quartet
setting. The album closes with two pieces recorded live at the Stadtgarten in
Koln, Germany. They include an Ellington gem, from his "River Suite"
entitled "Village of the Virgins" and a kwela I wrote called "Sinsulu
Song". (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
This is the eighth and final cd of
the 90's quintet taken from the 1996 tour which was the most ambitous set of
concerts we presented in our many years of playing together (all together 27
gigs in 28 days). I decided to return to shorter pieces, relative to the previous
extended suite works that dominate "Perfect World" and "The Marmalade
King". Taken from radio recordings of performances in Sweden and Berlin
there the group is in pinnacle form, sharply navigating yet another new book
of material with swing and grace. Though advantage is taken again at this group's
collective ensemble interplay, I started to head in the direction of more soloistic
formats that would characterize the quartet work following this band. I live
up to the title as well with a predominance of 3/4 or waltz-like material that
just seemed to be emerging from my pen at the time. The pieces "Gitar"
and "Gospel Waltz" are particular favorites of mine, accentuating
all the best qualities of this special group in it's many shades of musical
endeavor. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
"Kwambe" is my first
recording (vinyl only) and features a collection of projects that overviews
the development of my work of the 70's in New Haven, Connecticut. The title
track features an adaption of Anthony Davis' working group of the late seventies
with the inclusion of both Wes Brown on Ghanian flute and bass and Mark Helias
on bass. Jay Hoggard plays both the ballaphone and vibraphone, Anthony Davis
on piano and I play both drums and vibraphone. Kwambe is an extended work in
four sections that makes use of some elaborate phasing patterns and features
some lovely flute playing from Wes Brown. The work "First Landscape: A
Suite in Three Parts" features a trio I would love to revive some day with
George Lewis and Anthony Davis. One of my earliar solo works "Walking Alone
the Tall Trees Sang" is included and the album closes with "Speak
Brother" the first recording of the collective trio, BassDrumBone with
Ray Anderson and Mark Helias. (vinyl only and still available through this site
only)
"Oahspe"
(recorded in the fall of 1978) is the first full
record of the collective trio, BassDrumBone, which was formed in 1977 . The
first recording of the trio is of the piece "Speak Brother" which
appears on Auricle Record's first release "Kwambe" The word Oahspe
(pronounced Oh-wahs-pay) means earth, sky and spirit and comes from a prophetic
book of the same name written by a mid-nineteenth century by ....It served as
the group's name for a short time until it was discovered that there was a practicing
group of Oahspeans based in Anaheim, California. When the leader of this group
informed me that she had contact with 'Jehovah The I Am' and said she had been
told we should switch our name to "Snowflake" and then "our music
would far" we decided a change was in order. The record features works
by everyone including Mark Helias' "Gyro" which features a lengthy
phase repetition (15 against 14 if I remember correctly) which a few customers
mistook for a skip in the record. One of Ray's early works "Gibberish"
receives an inspired performance here. And my first recording of "Beef"
is included that is brandished with a vibraphone solo that ends with light bulbs
being thrown on the keys. Like "Solo Works" this was recorded in New
Haven at a wonderful space, the Educational Center for the Arts, by Dean Roumanis
with M.L.A.S. audiophile analog machinery. It is a recording whose quality,
both technical & musical have held up very well over time (vinyl only and
still available through this site only).
In maybe one of our most strategically
confusing moves, our collective trio finds it's second recording under Ray's
name. At the time Ray had no particular project of his own that he wanted to
do so he asked BassDrumBone (then a trio in search of a name) about doing this
date for Black Saint. What followed was years of misunderstandings about our
collective trio being a group led by Ray, which it never was. All that aside
there are some gems on this date recorded in New York City at Classic Sound
by David Baker. "Tapajack" one of Ray's, dedicated to his tap dancing
wife, Jackie receives its recorded premiere here. Mark's beautiful ballad, "Limbo"
which was slotted to be on the previous Oahspe release but had to be cut, because
of a recording problem, is sweetly rendered here. The only recording of "Paucartambo"
a piece I wrote that features steel drums and a rare appearance of Ray on congas
has a very cooking rendition on this date. (maybe available from Black Saint
or North Country)
"You Be" was recorded in the fall of 1985 at the
famous Ludwigsberg studio in Germany and is the third recording of BassDrumBone.
Our producer Stephen Meyner had overlooked that I don't travel with a drum set
so when we arrived I was faced with rummaging through the closets and basement
of the studio trying scare up something resembling a trapset. In the end you
would never know it, but if you had a look at what I taped together out of microphone
stands and toilet paper rolls you would be amused. Another one of those "challenges"
of being an improvisor. The record open's with Helias' "Question Mark"
a stable in our repertoire ever since. Also by Mark is "Boxcars" for
the traditionally challenged which gets a spirited reading here. Ray has a work
on here we have never done since called "Stole Stroll" and as well
the title track is his, a piece that has had a wide variety of interpretations
in its day. A more extended work of mine dedicated to the late master drummer
and personal friend Edward Blackwell called "Edward's Dance" has a
very niced performance here, as well as the blues "Pumbum" which shows
up later in a quartet version on the cd "Slamadam". (not sure of availability)
Recorded at the Bergozzi studio on BassDrumBone's
1987 European tour, this fourth recording of the trio, was to be followed by
a six year hiatus of the band. The title track, "Wooferlo" has it's
first incarnation here, with a later version showing up for the quintet on the
cd "Special Detail". Also receiving it's first performance here is
my piece "Space" which shows up again in a more orchestrated version
on the cd "Down to the Wire" by the quartet. Mark Helias has many
works featured here including his first recording of the work "Beau Regard"
and also "Sambali" which shows up on the more recent "Hence the
Reason" cd on Enja. But my favorite on this cd is of his much older work
called "Arocka" which sports a quite demented interplay. Ray has his
first version of "Alligatory Crocodile" which was to be later converted
into the moniker for his current funk band. (maybe available from Black Saint
or North Country)
This recording was the first to be released
since the group returned to active touring in 1993 after a six year hiatus.
Recorded with and without an audience at the Bim Huis in 1995 the recording
combines a few new versions of previously recorded material including "Speak
Brother" (originally released on "Kwambe") retitled "Speak
Again Brother". Most of the rcording features previously unrecorded material
including two from Ray, "Lips Apart" and the title track "Hence
the Real Reason" several from Mark including "Moto Proto" , "Last
One in, First One Out". Also featured on the recording is one of mine we
have played for years, often as an encore but never recorded, "When Zweeble
Walked By". The recording is by my one of favorite engineers, Dick Lucas,
who did many of the quintet recordings (CDR copy
purchasable by request).
BassDrumBone's sixth and most recent release
finds it's home on my recently recussitated Auricle Records. Culled from our
private archive this record features a number of works that were never released
on record by this group, including Ray's "Elegy for Willie Vargas"
which was recorded under a differnt name on his 1980 quartet album for Moers
Music, and also "Portrait of Mark Dresser" which also originally hailed
from that same record. Mark Helias ' "Question Mark" has a very powerful
live performance here along with a magical version of a piece originally titled
"Mudpie Anthem", here retitled "Mississippi Mud". A work
I later developed for quintet and released on the record "Outerbridge Crossing"
called "Endorphin" is heard here in it's original trio version and
a newer work, part of my meat series, called "Pork" is featured as
well. That work dates from a performance in 1996, but most of the rest of the
pieces come from live recordings from 1986 and 7. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
This
BassDrumBone CD was recorded in 1997 at the Bim Huis with one of my favorite
engineers, Dick Lucas. The plan was to have this released on Enja to followup
with Hence the Real Reason, but it never came to be. Dick Lucas felt so strongly
that this recording should be out there that he offered to put it out on his
own label, Data Records. There is some
wonderful performances here, including a trio recording of two pieces that turned
up soon after on Johnny's Corner Song (AUR-4), including that title track, here
renamed as "Johnnie Jones" and also a trio version of Mark's beautiful
ballad, "Gentle Ben". Also featured is a tipping (our word for, among
other things, swinging) "Kinda Garnerish", a piece of Rays for pianist
Errol Garner. Perhaps the most distintive work is the title track is Mark Helias'
"March of Dimes" which gets off to an unexpected start with a vocal
rendition of the theme. Rendition is one word, perhaps oral reconstruction might
be another. Tipping over!. The recording marks the group's 25th anniversary
and needless to say is beautifully recorded. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
"Solo
Works"- (vinyl lp) was recorded by Dean Roumanis in 1980 in New Haven,
Connecticut, with the high end analog equipment of Mark Levinson. It is comprised
of four compositions, including a fully scored work (see Nagual Music) for trapset
entitled "Black Wind" which concentrates on sounds created by combining
cymbal and drum resonances. Also featured is a work by composer/bassist Mark
Helias called "The Heming Way", which as I recall took me months to
master all it's polymetrical layers. Composer Earl Howard has his first documented
work included here, "C & D". It is a piece constructed from a
rigorous process of cataloging my entire repertoire of extended techniques.
Finally a work for tape in the classic concrete style, realized in the summer
of 1980, "The Dawntreader" complete's this first solo record. The
material for that piece is culled entirely from barely audible sound techniques
that were mostly ineffective in performance but rich material for tape manipulation.
(vinyl LP only still available through this site only)
"Tubworks" is a program of acoustic
solo works for the trap drums. I developed & toured most of these compositions
between 1983-5. Most of these recordings were engineered by Dean Roumanis at
his home in the summer of 1985 using the M.L.A.S. rebuilt Studer analog recorder.
The record opens with "Four Studies for Single Instruments" which
successively explores a wide pallette of sonic material for the snare drum,
hi-hat, bass drum and cymbal, each one seperately. The record also features
"Trance Tracks" which is a polymetrical work, interlacing rhythmic
phrases of different lengths on each limb. "Like So Many Sails" is
a percussion work employing a collection of wood blocks and junk metal which
I somehow managed to drag all over Europe in a trunk. Closing the record is
a recording of the first performance of "Dance of the Sphygmoids"
from 1983 at Roulette in New York City. This record is only available in vinyl
and there are very few copies left. A remixed version of "Trance Tracks"
and a studio version of "Dance of the Sphygmoids" can be heard on
the cd "Electro-Acoustic Solo Works 1983-94." You can now purchase
this in cdr format, in a digital repackaging of this out of print LP, complete with all cover pic and info.
"Acoustic Solo Works 1983 -1994" is comprised of
an overview of a very active decade of solo work for the acoustic trap set.
Three works that were a part of the "Tubworks" Lp appear on this collection,
including the opening track "Trance Tracks". This version is identical
to the one that is on "Tubworks" except that it has been remastered
with, I feel, a much better and clearer sound so that all of the details are
more perceivable. "Trance Tracks 2" never was released before, it
was planned as a bonus track to the cd release of "Tubworks" but in
the end that never happened. Also included is the piece "Dance of the Sphygmoids"
which was also on "Tubworks" but on this cd is heard in a later, faster
and more intense version. "Extensions" was a work that predated the
Tubworks program, one which I ceased performing as some of the techniques I
can no longer reproduce. "Tyrolienne" has been a part of my solo concerts
since around 1987, it culminates many of my extended techniques from this period.
The cd closes with an homage to Art Blakey, "For Buhaina" that was
improvised at the end of a quintet concert soon after hearing of Boo Boo's passing.
(still available through this site only, very few
left will not be reprinted)
I like to think of this recording of "Electro-Acoustic
Solo Works 1984-95" as a collection of stories. Each piece on the collection
was an extended project that developed over a year to two year's time. The media
involved for each project is different. The earliar works involve analog tape
in the classic "concrete" style. Despite all our advances in the digital
domain I still find this methodology fresh and exciting. As strides in the technical
realm of electronic music have developed, the evolution of my work in this domain
reflects my changeover to live digital electronics which offer exciting possibilities
for live interaction. Most of the works on the record involve some acoustic
percussion as well including "Chatterlings" for midi triggered sampler
and drums which is in my current repertoire. Mostly though this recording documents
works I no longer perform and that were quite elaborate efforts to perform.
Probably chief among them is "Aivilik Rays" which was originally an
hour and fifteen minute long concert length work inspired by the Artic landscape,
it's people and the peculiar history of the outside world's confrontation and
manipulation of it's unique character. (still available
through this site only and very few left, will not be reprinted)
This
is "Tom & Gerry", look very carefully on the cover and you will
see extreme cloeups of our cartoon namesakes. Tom is Thomas Lehn an analogue
synthesist who plays a British 60's synthesizer called the Synthi, which was
the UK's answer to the Moog. We ended up doing a duo tour in 1997 after first
attempting to get a quartet off the ground with Mats Gustafsson and Barry Guy.
But the gigs that came did not support but two of us and what resulted was a
very rich and sastifying duo which we documented assidously for our own research.
The more we listened to the results of our improvisations together, the more
it felt that the material comprised a CD, so I compiled and edited and mastered
what I thought was a good overview from the tapes. Years passed nothing happened
and then Jon Abbey of Erstwhile Records
took an interest and his enthusiasm and Thomas' hours of intensive relistening
to all of the concerts yielded two cds of very rich, diverse and compelling
material. I think each cd forms a very complete itinerary and you will be suprised
by where you go with this music. (available through
this site)
The second release of Tom & Gerry is entitled "Fire Works" and
was released on a small label, Umbrella
Recordings of a big
supporter of ours, Ian Davis of Carrboro, NC. His enthusiasm for what we were
doing went so far as to bail of us a cancelled gig by offering his house for
a concert at the last minute. It is culled from a series of performances done
while touring the South and Midwest of the US in 2000. The material of the cd
overall could be characterized as more intense and decidedly energetic then
its predecessor. The titles of the cd are also quite colorful being adopted
from various explosives and fireworks we perused while driving in the South.
There are some very special moments recorded in Larue's Bar in Chatanooga, Tennessee
which reachs a level of density that barely can manage to be held in the the
grooves of the cd player. I am also quite fond of the last work on the cd which
as it fades away way intesects with a truck driving by and a church bell in
a completely magical way. It was one of those moments in a concert where a roomful
of people share an experience in sound that is discovered only through the collective
participation of everyones concentration and willingness to open their ears.
We have since done more touring in the US and also in Europe. There is more
to come. (available through this site)
This duo grew out of project initiated by choregrapher Daria
Fain that took place in Paris in 1996 which also include the poet Andrew Levy.
Andrea among her many gifts has been reading the Tarot for many years and has
been using the Voyager Tarot cards which are exceptionally rich for their archetypal
imagery. One can investigate the symbolism and infered meaning of the collaged
imagery on these cards for many years. The cards became our way of establishing
a framework for improvising. We recorded music inspired by cards that we randomly
selected in our first session and after listening to the results, Andrea contacted
the creator of the cards, James Wanless, to involve his input into making a
set of recordings of particular cards in the set. On our second session in April
of 1997 we had the benefit of James Wanless' reflections of the cards many meanings.
The musical results have a unique clarity no doubt arising from the unconscious
structure the cards offered. (available through this
site)
This
duo recording was made prior to our 1992 Marathon European Knitting Factory
tour with and is our only document so far of our longstanding duo. I have a
few pieces on the vibraphone, and their is one work with an instrument I built
years before that can be best described as a giant wind chime made of industrial
pipes that you dip in a bucket of water. Marilyn contributed a number of lovely
pieces, including one that also appears as a trio work on the Kitchen Concerts
cd. CDR copy
purchasable by request
This collective trio with Marilyn
Crispell and Barry Guy came about at the 1993 Vancouver Jazz Festival. This
recording was made at the Western Front without an audience, well actually Ken
Pickering, Kevin Whitehead and John Corbett found a quiet place in the corner
as witnesses. We had performed the night before at one of the other venues of
the festival, as I remember I had a double header that night, two sets with
Georg Graewe, John Butcher and Marcio Mattos, and then two sets with this trio.
Got up early the next day to make this recording with Russ Summers as our producer.
If you think there might be some fairly intense interplay in this combination,
you would be correct. But my biggest surprise in listening back to this recording
several months after it was made was no matter how ripping some of the material
gets, there is remarkable harmonic continuity. I am particularly fond of "Violet
Sparks in Soft Air" which made use of a Javanese gong I found lying about
the Western Front. (still available through this
site)
The idea to form this trio grew out of spending time together in the context
of several Klaus Koenig projects in the mid 90's. "Gestalten" was
recorded on the first tour we did in 1995 and at the time we were inbetween
being a collective group or a trio led by Frank Gratkowski. This first record
has pieces by each of us and a few collective improvisations. One interesting
moment emerged when I discovered that the radiators in the Loft where we were
recording had sonic possibilities. I found more and more ways to elicit musical
texture from the heating system and so the resulting piece. "Stag Rustler"
was born. You never know where the next sound will take you. Release on the
Jazz Haus label from Koln this record remains available at this time. (available
through this site)
This is the second recording of a trio I have
been involved in since 1995. The first entitled "Gestalten" is on
the Jazz Haus label of Koln. That recording included some collective works along
with some of my own compositions and some collective pieces. The trio is led
by clarinetist, bass clarinetist and alto saxophonist Frank Gratkowski whose
compositions, are the focus of this second record. I got involved in producing
this record as I felt the first set of choices taken primarily from a concert
in Wuppertal did not in some cases bring out the best that the trio acheved
on its two week tour in 1997. So along with my brother Jim, who mastered this
recording we worked on the sound of some of the recordings we made ourselves
on the tour and the result I feel captures some of the best work this trio has
done. Frank's dedication to John Coltrane "Feld" is particularly riveting
and I also am quite fond of the more languid and in this case stretched out
version of "California Roll" which is dedicated to our good friend
Michael Moore. This trio has evolved into a quartet led by Frank that includes
Wolter Wierbos on trombone, Two great titles to look out for are "Kollaps"
on Red Toucan and "Spectral Reflections" on Leo Records with a cd
cover that is unappetizing but the music is superb!!!! (available
through this site)
This was recorded during the 1991 Vancouver
Jazz festival at the Western Front. It was the second release of this trio which
specializes in creating improvised pieces that are well constructed and formally
shaped works. This recording, which was produced by the ever enthusiatic Russ
Summers, opens with an extended work "Lighthouse" that evolves from
it's pastoral beginnings (bowed vibraphone, harmonized with bass harmonics from
the piano) through several tiers of rhythmic density. Monk-ey-ing manages to
evoke a playful reference to it's namesake and offers a different kind of swing
feeling from standard 4/4. Speaking of 4/4 there is a high speed interhange
that displays some ridiculous virtousity on the part of Georg and Ernst. There
is a rich variety of material here but somehow there is also an overall cohesion
that give this set of works it's own particular flavor. (available
through this site)
From the ever mysterious Sound Aspects label
comes the trio's third entry recorded over the duration of the November 1990
FMP festival. We actually performed for three nights in a row on the festival
and this recording is taken from the last two nights, hence this cd's title
"Zwei Nachte in Berlin". The titles of the work were created from
somewhere in Ernst's father's memory/imagination and defy any direct translation
into english (not neccessarily so definable in German either). The fourth selection
on this cd "...und sie hatte den czardas im blut" I often use as demonstration
of swinging pointalism (as opposed to the more calculated enterprises of the
serialists). There is a moment where in one of the spaces of the sound canvas,
you can hear something (a glass bottle is my guess) dropped on the concrete
somewhere in the hall. Ernst, who has developed an artform out of reacting to
the indiscretions of an audience/environment, deftly echoes this sound therby
transforming, in a way Cage would admire, this ambience into the musical flow
and cosequent direction of the music that follows. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
Released around the same time as the earliar recording date"Saturn
Cycle", "Flex 27" which is back in print after being unavailable
for some time, is distinguished from the other trio recordings, by a series
of short vignettes recorded in a studio situation. "7 Saetze" was
a different tact for a group so indebted to spontaneous creation with no preordained
plan. In these seven pieces, none over two minutes length, we instead worked
collaboratively to shape each piece, sometimes doing three or four takes of
the same material. The recording is rounded out with some live performances
in Germany and Amsterdam. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
Recorded at the Loft in Koln on November 13th of 1994 this
cd captures most of a night that found a focus on the exploration of a lot of
rhythmic material. The opening piece "La Bonne Vitesse Pt. (approximation1)"
is also a good example of how the lead voice in the interplay of the trio is
fluidly passed around; the interchange of roles seemless. Recorded by Ansgar
Ballhorn and mixed by Georg, this collection is full of detail. As this group
has evolved it seems the pieces have taken an even more crystaline form. These
pieces are something that through composed composition can not be, in my opinion.
We are often dumbfounded after a performance as to just how it all happened
and why it works so well. I must admit this is my current favorite though the
next one recorded in Istanbul promises more amazement. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)
La Bonne
Vitesse, the sixth cd of the trio has had an auspicious beginning. It was listed
for release in Random Acoustic's catalog for ages, recorded in Istanbul in 1994
around the same period as "Saturn Cycle" and "Flex 27".
It still remains unreleased officially. However I pressed a small quantity of
cdrs of it so we would have available on our tour in the US in November (99).
The performance takes yet another direction from previous performances of the
trio living up in every way to the cystaline forms and unpredictable twists
and turns of this durable chemistry. However the recording quality leaves much
to be desired, as the piano suffers in the balance. The plan according to Random
Acoustics is to try to improve the balance before the recording is officially
released on RA. I am bit dubious about the possibility of repairing the sound,
but wonders can be worked in the digital domain. Meanwhile, for the hard core
among you, check out the music on the cdr I have bootlegged. (available
through this site only)
On
the occassion of our tenth anniversary of playing improvised music together
we did a tour in the United States and Canada that culminated with a performance
at Ann Arbor's Kerrytown Concert House. Russ Summers seized the occassion for
his NuScope label which had been inspired in part from his passion for improvised
music, which took hold around the time he produced the "View from Points
West" recording. David and Deanna from the Kerrytown went the extra mile
and rustled up a vibraphone for the recording, so more colors are at hand. Once
again we find new ground, and with a multitrack recording there is an extra
level of transperancy and clarity in this live recording. Everyone is in fine
form, there are several textural excursions which defy explanation, and the
culminating energy in some of the longer works is perfectly over the top. (available
through this site)
The first recording of this collective trio was
recorded by Michael McDonald at the stellar, ? studio in Stamford, Connecticut
in the summer of 1997. The concept of recording a cd with this combination had
been brewing for some time. There is Michael and Fred's long association, having
been classmates together at the New England Conservatory in the 70's, and their
more recent work together under Michael's leadership in a trio that included
Mark Helias. Michael had also brought the three of us together on one of his
first Ramboy recording's "Home Game". That meeting inspired Fred and
I to get together from time to time as a duo and improvise. Fred I had met originally
while working together with Jane Bloom in the early 90's. The material on the
record comes from all three of us and includes the title piece by Fred based
on a William Carlos Williams poem "Thirteen ways of Looking at a Blackbird".
There are some duos as well, one featuring steel drums with Micheal's clarinet,
another of "Star Eyes" for me and Fred, and a remarkable rendition
of "Speak Low" with Michael and Fred. This tour eventually inspired
our 1999 tour in Canada and the USA which yielded our second record, "Focus".
(available through this site)
This second recording by our collective trio, whose
title track of our first recording became our namesake, was recorded again by
Michael McDonald, also in the summer but this time at Palmetto Record's studio
near the Deleware river in Buck's County, Pennsylvania. It came towards the
end of a very successful tour of the US and Canada in June and July of 1999.
More original's by all three of us populate the offerings including Michael's
title track "Focus", as well as a work of Fred's that dates back many
years, I remember doing it with Jane Ira Bloom ten years ago based on "Confirmation"
by Charlie Parker called appropiately "Janeolgy". I have two works
on the record that by occassion also appear on the trio record with Michel Wintsch
(on Leo Records), "En Tee", a thinly veiled trio interpretation of
N.T., which appeared several time before on previous quintet (Perfect World)
and quartet (Down to the Wire) recordings as well as "Identity" rendered
here with remarkable delicacy. Two repertoire works appear as well, Jackie Byard's
"One Note to My Wife" and Misha Mengleberg's "Habanera".
When the cd arrived in the mail, and having not heard it in some time, I was
moved by what this trio conveys in it's interaction. There is a chemistry here
that is formidable. And good news, this one is not so difficult to find (well
maybe in Europe it remains a problem), distributed by Allegro. (available
through this site)
Ever since the beginning of the nineties it has been
a desire to assemble a collection of chamber works. Around 1990/91 I was commissioned
by two brave, maybe reckless composers to write a work for programs they were
assembling at the time. The first was Don Byron, who had a sextet at the time
called Semaphore. I composed "Circus" for the group and the premiere
was something of a disater. I saw I had alot to learn about writing for an ensemble
who stuck to the page, even as the ship was sinking. Still I felt the material
with revision would be interesting, and I think the version, now pared down
to a quintet on this cd bears that belief out. The other commission from bass
trombonist, David Titcomb, for a very interesting instrumentation of violin,
cello, contrabass, piano, percussion and bass trombone fared better on its premiere,
but also needed more development and revision. Featured on this cd are two string
quartets, both new works. One of them, "The Visiting Tank" also features
a cameo by yours truly on sampler. (available through
this site)
If I had to pick
my favorite Braxton CD this would be the one. Recorded after six nights in Yoshi's,
which was documented in the earliar release on Music & Arts. I think it
captures the group at it's pinnacle, and the recording done by the local public
radio station has immediacy lacking in the Yoshi's recording. This is the quartet
with Marilyn Crispell and Mark Dresser which performed together for nine years
from 1985 to 1994 when it gave it's last performance in Paris. The reaction
was so strong after the first set that we received a three minute standing ovation,
it is a moment I will never forget. But it is actually the second set that brings
chills and tears to my eyes each time I listen to it. It reaches a level of
intensity that is nothing short of explosive. The experience of working with
Anthony Braxton made a huge impact on me and my musical development, one that
I am forever indebted to. If you were ever lucky enough to hear this band perform,
or even if you weren't this document makes quite clear that passion and intellect
can be melded into an art essential for survival. Find this cd, own it and share
it with others (re-released as two seperate discs (Set 1 and Set 2).
A very special group, Tambastics
began as trio with Robert Dick, Mark Dresser and myself, and just prior to this
recording being made, hyperpianist, Denman Maroney joined the group. Recorded
in 1990 and 91 in Brooklyn with tremendous care in recording and mastering,
this quartet explores a very wide world of sound, and with compostions from
everyone in the group, harnesses this spectacular vocabulary into formally coherent
and wildly coloristic pieces. Regrettably the group has been peripheral to the
individual offerings of it's members, and so has remained on the sidelines as
far as touring and appearances. But it still goes on with an appearance in 1999
at the Ulrichsberg Kaliedophon most recently. Its in print still available from
me directly, Music &
Arts website has some Real Audio files of each piece. (CDR copy
purchasable by request)