Ja Ja Ja...

I'm not really one for the youtube video posting, but I was really surprised when I stumbled across the video below. It took me 10 years to find an Aventuras de Kirlian record. I finally managed to get my hands on one of their singles. It's more awesome than I expected. Then I saw that there's a video on youtube.

CGYT on WHFR (8)

Last week's show was full of short songs, which is kinda taxing, since neither of my record players can cue. So this week I went with long songs. I hadn't exactly planned it to go that way, though. I was looking for something relaxing, and I was listening to 10,000 Maniacs (I know, but you really should hear their song "Tension") and thinking of the Julius Eastman compilation Unjust Malaise that I just bought. Somehow that lead me to start with Pauline Oliveros, except I didn't start with Pauline Oliveros:

CGYT on WHFR no. 8 (broadcast July 6th, 2008)

Megan Roberts, "I Could Sit Here All Day,"
     New Music For Electronic And Recorded Media
Pauline Oliveros, "I of IV,"
     New Sounds In Electronic Music
Michael Nyman, "1-100,"
     Decay Music
Bobby Naughton, "Ordette,"
     The Haunt

I'm posting this before the actual show airs; so here's a reminder: you can listen to it as it's broadcast on Washington Heights Free Radio by going to WHFR.org.

Unrelated: I was urged by a friend to try recording again. I think the last time I tried to record anything was last summer, when I recorded this heavily-Laurie-Spiegel-inspired thing. I recently got sheet music for a bunch of Wim Mertens stuff, so I thought I'd try my hand at something from him. What I'm aiming for is a version of the 5-piece "Struggle for Pleasure" on saxophone, organ, and melodica, with hand percussion (maybe). My organ skills are horrible though, so it's gonna be a while. Here is what I have so far, which sounds nothing like Mertens', nor anything like what I'm aiming for, but was fun to make.

CGYT on WHFR (7)

What happened to four, five, six? They'll be posted soon. Along with my last DJ night recording, maybe. Along with maybe some new records soon.

My right turntable seems to have a problem. I'm not really sure what's causing it, first the right channel goes a bit low, then gets fuzzy, then the needle starts to skip. Happens with many records—including some on this show, so excuse the occasional skip. Also excuse the incredibly poor condition of "Carrie-Anne," I forgot that it sounds like a song pressed onto a piece of sandpaper.

CGYT on WHFR no. 7 (broadcast June 29th, 2008)

Isao Tomita, "'Star Wars' Main Title"
Buddy Holly, "Crying, Waiting, Hoping"
Roy Orbison, "Crying"
Cliff Richard, "The Young Ones"
Petula Clark, "Downtown"
Cat Stevens, "Lovely City,"
     Very Young and Early Songs
Everly Brothers, "Cathy's Clown"
The Hollies, "Carrie Anne"
The Coasters, "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart"
The Impacts, "Tears"
Them, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"
Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town"
Loudon Wainwright, "Clockwork Chartreuse,"
     Attempted Mustache
Richard and Linda Thompson, "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight,"
     I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Joe South, "These Are Not My People"
The Kinks, "Apeman,"
     Lola versus Powerman and The Moneygoround
Hunger, "Workshop,"
     Endless Journey: Phase Two
The Music Box, "Take A Look Outside"
The Blackbirds, "Golden Sun,"
     No Destination
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, "Transparent Day,"
     Part One
Dion, "Josie"

I picked up the 1-buck Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and Cliff Richards best-ofs in the last week, and was motivated to pull out some of the light pop I have on hand. It's summer, it's either that or a Jamaican themed show. I thought I might do an entire show of songs that skip. Maybe next week.

CGYT on WHFR (3)

Last night's Come Get Your Tomorrow (number 3, MP3 and playlist below) had a bit of an Asian theme. I've been reading The Last Samurai by Helen Dewitt (the book has nothing to do with that movie with the midget from Top Gun) and there's lots in that about The Seven Samurai, and so I was also then listening to some Kurosawa soundtracks. Radio show no. 3 starts out with a Masaru Sato song from Sanjuro, which is followed by some Japanese and Chinese pop, and then some Indian stuffs, which leads into jazz, and um, Donovan.

CGYT on WHFR no. 3 (broadcast May 18th, 2008)

Playlist:

(I can't recall exactly what all of them are and some are also not in languages I understand, but I'll fill in the blanks later.)

—, "?,"
     ?kids record?
Masaru Satô, "Sanjuro,"
     Sanjuro
?, "?,"
     "?Japanese pop record?
Kyo Sakamoto, "Sukiyaki,"
     7"
The Lucky Trio, "?,"
     ?Lucky Record?
Andy MacKay, "The Loyang Tractor Factory,"
     Resolving Contradictions
—,"?,"
     ?kids record
Sri Chimnoy,"Invocation,"
     Music For Meditation
Pia Srinivasan,"?,"
     Music For Vina, South India
Buddy Rich and Alla Rakha, "Rangeela,"
     Rich á la Rakha
Daniel Lentz, "Is It Love?" or "Wolf Is Dead..." (I can't remember),
     On The Leopard Alter
—, "?,"
     ?kids record?
Donovan, "I'll Try For The Sun" (with skip and double start),
     Fairy Tale
Blackbirds, "Golden Sun,"
     No Destination
Pharoah Sanders, "Japan,"
     Tauhid
John Tchicai & Strange Brothers, "Lost And Found,"
     John Tchicai & Strange Brothers
Ornette Coleman, "Friends And Neighbors (vocal),"
     Friends And Neighbors

The show lacked a bit of cohesion, but I'm happy without it came out. That Andy MacKay record is surprisingly good. And the Buddy Rich & Alla Rahka track is much better than I remember it being the first time I heard it.

CGYT on WHFR (2)

Come Get Your Tomorrow week number two aired yesterday on WHFR. The MP3 and playlist are below. I realize that since this post is immediately proceeded by the first CGYT post, I have clearly failed at my goal of posting once a week. It's partly because I have a bunch to do at work lately, and also that many of the records I've been listening to most lately are still available. I only want to post here records that are unavailable—both out of print and very hard to obtain.

Currently on repeat: Pete Seeger's soundtrack to Indian Summer which is available on CD, I believe, from the ever-in-print Folk Ways (or at least soon available as download from the Smithsonain), which combines great folk melodies on Banjo and rustic flute with sounds from the film such as dynamiting and barn-burning. Archie Shepp's Live at the Pan-African Festival, available on CD and vinyl (and probably MP3) from that label that keeps doing the BYG/Actuel reissues (sun-something? or is this one Get Back?), on which Shepp and I forget who else play soulful free jazz over north African drones and percussion. And John Tchicai and Strange Brother's self-titled release on the FMP label's sublabel, SAJ (FMP stands for Free Music Production and is Germany's most famous free jazz label; I don't know what SAJ stands for), which sounds very much like late 60s Ornette Coleman—fluid and somehow lyrical. The Shepp was on the last radio show. The Seeger is on this radio show. The Tchicai is not, though I had hoped to fit it in, so maybe next week.

CGYT on WHFR no. 2 (broadcast May 11th, 2008)

Playlist:

—, "Lion,"
     Sounds Of Our African Heritage
The Apollo Stars, "We're Moving In,"
     Power Of Source
Frank Lowe, "Chu's Blues,"
     Fresh
Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre, "Sun Spots,"
     Forces And Feelings
—, "Elephant,"
     Sounds Of Our African Heritage
Oliver Lake, "Whap,"
     Passing Thru
Richard Landry, "4th Register,"
     A First Quarter
—, "Hippo,"
     Sounds Of Our African Heritage
George Lewis, "Triple Slow Mix,"
     Shadowgraph
Pete Seeger, "The Many Colored Paper,"
     Indian Summer
—,"Leopard" & "Vervet Monkey,"
     Sounds Of Our African Heritage

CGYT on WHFR (1)

I'll be preparing a weekly radio show for Washington Heights Free Radio (WHFR), a free-form pot-luck community internet radio station broadcast out of NYC.

The name of my show is Come Give Your Tomorrow (CGYT). You can hear it on WHFR by tuning in to whfr.org on Sundays at 4pm EST, which is 10pm CET.

I'll also be posting the mp3s here with an eventual podcast link to come.

CGYT on WHFR no. 1 (broadcast May 4th, 2008)

Playlist:

Van Q. Temple, "Down on the Highway,"
     "It's a Riot" no. 2: Allow Me To Demonstrate
Rahsaan Roland Kirk, "Celestial Bliss,"
     Prepare Thyself To Deal With A Miracle
Archie Shepp, "We Have Come Back Part 1,"
     Live At The Panafrican Festival
Van Q. Temple, "Black Power,"
     Allow Me . . .
ZANU choir, "Zvinozibwa ne ZANU,"
     Chimurenga Songs: Music of the Revolutionary
     People's War in Zimbabwe
Les Troubadours du Roi Baudouin, "Sanctus,"
     If... soundtrack 7"
Longfellow Martin Magarula, "The Freedom Of Africa,"
     Uhuru Wa Afrika
Pompey, "Vampire,"
     12"
Sonny Okosuns Ozziddi, "Mother & Child,"
     Mother & Child
Van Q. Temple, "King Of The Road,"
     Allow Me . . .
Eddy Grant, "Hello Africa,"
     Message Man
Van Q. Temple, "Grand Wizard,"
     Allow Me . . .

Imagine the Sound

Archie Shepp / Bill Dixon - Peace (BYG 196?, recorded 1962)

Yesterday, on my way from work I was listening to Archie Shepp and Bill Dixon's record Peace and noticed that what really makes it such a great record is the rhythm section. Or really the way the two lead men play against the rhythm section.

The record starts off with staccato melody from the leads—syncopated harmonies, Dixon out in front with flourishes, Shepp playing every other note and mixing in sax-growls. Shepp's skipping of notes in the melody reminds me a bit of Steve Lacy & Don Cherry's version of Thelonius Monk's "Evidence." Right off the bat the rhythm section provides the propulsion for the song: Paul Cohen lays down a tinkling metronome on the drums that accents the On/Off feel of the melody with three beats of symbol play followed by three full of snare. Don Moore alternates between two heavily plucked chords. Bludgeoning his bass from the sound of it. Really beating it and getting such a thick sound.

But then the melody tapers off and the end of the opening is signaled by one last heavy pluck from Moore. The song sets into its groove: Shepp drops out (the song is called "Trio"), Cohen plays an unceasing cymbal tick with the occasional snare accent, and Moore changes tack completely, playing a fast and funky walking bass line that is changed up occasionally for heavy beating of the bass and some high end frills. The rhythm section reminds me a lot of Ornette Coleman's "Friends and Neighbors" (a record that's also been on my turntable a lot lately). The momentum of the rhythm section in Coleman's song allows the chorus to sing a sloppy, playful pop song; here it allows Dixon to play a slow, clean solo full of drawn-out, austere notes. Shepp pops up a little ways into the solo, first grumbling and growling, like a little kid complaining he's not being heard, and then peeping a really catchy riff, like he's goating Dixon into quickening his pace. And Dixon responds: Shepp stops, Dixon plays a couple last long notes and then starts again, this time overblown and quicker.

Dixon ends his solo and drops out, Cohen reduces his playing down to a ringing ride, and Moore is back to alternating chords; then Shepp enters with barely-audible breathy growls. He proceeds to lay down one really soulful solo. He takes advantage of everyone nearly dropping out but Moore, and starts off really busy, nearly covering the full range of his sax. He brings the pace of the song up, not by making it faster, but by packing more notes into the measure. Moore catches up, playing harder, jumping around more. Cohen comes back in with much less subtlety, adding more snare, many more accents. Dixon comes in now and then, as Shepp did during his solo, but in juxtaposition to Shepp's accompaniment to his solo, he adds drawn out background notes to Shepp's chaos. It builds and builds and then it ends. Everyone comes together again to play the melody and then seems to collapse from exhaustion.

I don't wish to dissect every song and I think I've already said too much, so I think I'll just leave the rest of the record to be discovered without description.

I'm surprised that the recordings don't seem to be available anymore. The record was originally on Savoy, but the copy I have is on BYG. I'm surprised that whichever label is up to all the BYG/Actuel reissues hasn't hit this one yet. I've seen mention of a Savoy CD, but the Savoy Jazz website, Amazon, nor the internet in general turns up info on its availability. But there is another release: a split LP of the Bill Dixon 7-tette and Archie Shepp with the New York Contemporary 5, which is really good, but doesn't have Shepp and Dixon on any tracks together.

Shepp and Dixon both played in Cecil Taylor's group in the 60s appearing on some of his records, but never at the same time: Shepp was in the group briefly in 1960, and Dixon for a short while in the middle of the 60s. The only recording I know of them together is this record. An amazing record.