From: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (Zorn List Digest) To: zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: Zorn List Digest V2 #667 Reply-To: zorn-list Sender: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk Zorn List Digest Friday, May 28 1999 Volume 02 : Number 667 In this issue: - Re: Victo Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666 Bob Dorough Re: Victo Re: SALE: MERZBOW vinyl & CDs Re: Some Victo Views Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666) Re: Victo Re: Victo Re: Victo Re: Bob Dorough Re: Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666) Re: Bob Dorough ISO science ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 May 99 14:22:28 -0500 From: brian_olewnick@smtplink.mssm.edu Subject: Re: Victo Jon wrote: >one thing that I found kind of funny was watching and listening to all of the >improv writers trying to make sense of ISO, Merzbow, and Godspeed you Black >Emperor!, to name a few. the musicians are very open-minded about the >cross-fertilization of electronics and acoustics, and a lot of the fans are >also. but many of the writers just don't quite get it yet. it'll be really >interesting to read Howard Mandel's review of the festival in the Wire. I'm curious to read that myself. Walking between venues after the ISO show, I passed along to someone Patrice's joking comment that he thought he recognized one of the records that Otomo was abusing as 'Les Stances a Sophie' ;-0 ! Apparently, Mr. Mandel was nearby. The next day, at the panel discussion, Mandel expressed bewilderment that someone who knew as obscure and fine a record as 'Les Stances...' could at the same time appreciate (or more) Otomo's spartan electronica forays. I refrained from arguing, but geez Howard, there _are_ some people around who enjoy more than one type of music! And Otomo is a known huge jazz fan, who has covered Rahsaan, etc. With that kind of knowledge, how could he possibly be wasting his time on "sine wave music" (as his concert was disparagingly referred to). *sigh* The more things change.... Incidentally, at the Moore/Renaldo/Marclay show, one of the records utilized by Marclay was the Mantler/JCOA Communications piece which features Roswell Rudd. Interesting choice. Wonder if Mandel picked that up and, if so, what he made of it? In fairness, at least three of the writers present (Michael Rosenstein, Stuart Broomer and our own Mike Chamberlain) evinced very big ears. So there's hope... Brian Olewnick - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 14:55:44 -0400 From: "Vince Bonavoglia" Subject: Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666 Hey, guys... It's not jazz. It may not be art. But it sure as hell is improvisation: http://www.mindspring.net/~ufo1/plastic.htm Do me a favor, willya? Waste some time. If you like what you see, tell a friend. I'd really like to see this edition go to press. If I don't get the orders, I can't go to press. If I'm completely off my rocker, please let me know. Life in a vacuum sure can be difficult... Thanks and sorry for being off topic, Vince - -- Nobrow Graphics!: http://www.mindspring.net/~ufo1/plastic.htm Ain't no good thing ever dies -- Tom Waits - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 14:02:22 -0700 From: Todd Bramy Subject: Bob Dorough On a "jazzier" note - Dorough was also the vocalist on Miles Davis' "Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern)". >Bob Dorough is the guy who originally wrote and sang on most of the = >Schoolhouse Rock stuff. He's the nasally-voice guy who sang Three Is = >the Magic Number, Little Twelvetoes and all those others you remember. = >In addition, the liners to that set say he was a jazz pianist and decent = >enough in his own right, as well as doing some bluegrass stuff. - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 18:36:58 -0400 From: Tom Pratt Subject: Re: Victo > what I'd like to find out is if Tom Pratt was right in saying that Otomo > sampled from Ikeda's +/- during the course of the set. after Tom said that, I > heard the sound he was referring to again, and tend to agree with him, but it > kind of amazes me that not only is Otomo clearly following in Ikeda's > footsteps with this style, but he's also possibly borrowing his sounds. I couldn't find an e-mail address for Otomo, but I did find one for Yoshimitsu Ichiraku. I sent him a note asking if Otomo did in fact sample from Ikeda, though I'm not sure he'll know. Of course, there's really no question in *my* mind that he did. I'm asking more to entertain you, Jon! -Tom Pratt - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 19:23:03 -0400 From: pm.carey@utoronto.ca (Patrick Carey) Subject: Re: SALE: MERZBOW vinyl & CDs >> I have a bunch of MERZBOW vinyl (7"s, 10"s, LPs) and an >> autographed Alchemy 4CD box set up for grabs. All items >> are in great shape and all must go!! >...[deleted]... On Thu, 27 May 1999 08:41:12 -0700 wrote: >Do you listen to the music that you are selling? >Just curious... If you mean do I listen to Merzbow, then the answer is yes. Often times I sell duplicate copies that haven't been played, but I have heard everything I sell. As for why I'm selling it, well ... I have WAY too much noise (Japanese or otherwise)! After being into it for over a decade now, I'm kind of bored with the genre (there are exceptions of course). - -Patrick - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 20:37:37 -0500 From: Mike Chamberlain Subject: Re: Some Victo Views Brian Olewnick wrote: > > My first time there, and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long. Had a > wonderful time, enjoying healthy quantities of fine and unusual music > and, just as importantly, greatly enjoying the company of z-listers, > their spouses and others in attendance. I can't recommend this festival > highly enough. Seconded. A wonderful festival and a great hang. > JIM O'ROURKE/GUNTER MULLER > > Difficult to describe the music, O'Rourke crouched at his powerbook (as > Patrice noted, it looked like he might be answering his e-mail), > generating odd bits of sound, sometimes long snatches of French pop > songs, Muller listening closely and responding with either acoustic > percussion sounds or, more often, with tweakings from his own seemingly > low-fi set-up. Three pieces, the first of which was especially > engrossing, again sustaining attention simply by navigating through > fascinating areas of sound-worlds. Good, subtle music, perhaps easier to > appreciate in the quiet comfort of one's living room than in a concert > hall. This one didn't do anything for me as a performance, and though the sounds were pretty, they didn't add up to anything IMHO. > > MUJICIAN > > Keith Tippett's quartet (Paul Dunmall, tenor and bagpipes; Paul Rogers, > bass; Tony Levin, drums) played an inspired single piece set of lyrical > free improv. Dunmall and Rogers were especially impressive; why the > former receives one tenth the ink of other tenorists in the free scene > (like, oh, say Ivo Perelman, who turned in a lackluster show earlier) is > beyond me. Nice to see bagpipes getting some time in situations like > this! This was what I would call a cleansing concert. Four fine musicians who know each other inside out. Definitely a highlight of the fest and a perfect lead-in to... > PETER BROTZMANN TENTET > > Well, I've stated here before that I like the 3-CD set on Okkadisk very > much but...this concert blew that recording out of the water. Three days > later and I still get a giddy feeling when thinking about it. The reed > line of Herr Brotz, Vandemark and Gustafsson and the percussion duo of > Drake and Zerang were especially powerful but the group as a whole just > killed. Conviction, confidence, great humor, relentlessness--all on > display. I sometimes get weary of current incarnations of "ecstatic" > free jazz, but this band shows that, with the right individuals, there's > life in the old dog yet. As the reader may have guessed, this concert > was my personal festival highpoint. Worth the trip all by itself. A momentous concert, and those who were there should all feel privileged. > > GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR! > > This Canadian nonet (guitars, basses, percussion and strings) is a band > to watch. Their style shifts from soft, elegiac sections that sound > somewhere between Badalamenti and Bryars to rave-ups that approximate a > more tonal Branca. I think they have a small problem in that their music > tends to alternate pretty much between these two areas but, to > paraphrase Harry Partch, they do exactly two things, but those two > things they do superbly. I'm greatly looking forward to hear what they > develop into. (Side note to Mike Chamberlain--when you catch this band > eventually, the cellist will erase the memory of Iva Bittova from your > shiny pate!). Just what I need--another crush. She'd have to go some to top Iva. I was already in love before she caressed my head. I also particularly enjoyed Klaxon Gueule. The concert was different than their album on Ambiances Magnetiques. They are now moving into more work with prepared instruments and the use of somewhat randomly generated analog sounds. Paul Plimley, Lisle Ellis, and Scott Amendola gave what I thought was a scintillating performance of completely improvised pieces. Plimley and Ellis have uncanny communication, and Amendola is a smart player who knows when to stay out of the way, though his bag of tricks is still somewhat limited. You didn't mention Kampec Dolores, who played right after the Brotzmann Tentet. Funky Hungarian rock 'n roll with a Central European woman playing violin, singing, and telling funny stories (a theme emerges, no?) was the perfect comedown from one of the transcendent concert experiences of my life. Oh yes, and I have to mention Iva Bittova, who charmed everyone, especially me--and that was before I met her. Other highlights: - --meeting Howard Mandel, James Hale, Stuart Broomer, and Michael Rosenstein - --meeting Brian, Tom, Jon, Ken, Patrice, and Ken and Patrice's wives - --talking hockey with Mats Gustafsson - --speaking with Peter Brotzmann for about 30 minutes over breakfast (sausages and eggs for me, white wine for Herr Brotzmann) on Monday morning - --Iva Bittova (think I mentioned her already) > Can hardly wait 'til next year. I'm hooked now too. - --Mike > - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:19:49 -0700 From: Herb Levy Subject: Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666) >Bob Dorough is the guy who originally wrote and sang on most of the = >Schoolhouse Rock stuff. He's the nasally-voice guy who sang Three Is = >the Magic Number, Little Twelvetoes and all those others you remember. = >In addition, the liners to that set say he was a jazz pianist and decent = >enough in his own right, as well as doing some bluegrass stuff. > >So, I imagine that that's how he heard of him. While asll of the above is true, Zorn's old enough & has been interested in jazz long enough, to have heard Dorough in his jazz mode before his schoolhouse rock period. Dororugh's was fairly readily available in the vinyl days of yore as a vocalist on two tracks with Miles Davis Blue Xmas & Nothing Like You (recently recorded by Dave Douglas with the string quintet). I don't know if these tracks have been re-issued, they're both pretty good. Bests, Herb Herb Levy herb@eskimo.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 20:57:04 -0500 From: Mike Chamberlain Subject: Re: Victo brian_olewnick@smtplink.mssm.edu wrote: > > Jon wrote: > > >one thing that I found kind of funny was watching and listening to all of the > >improv writers trying to make sense of ISO, Merzbow, and Godspeed you Black > >Emperor!, to name a few. the musicians are very open-minded about the > >cross-fertilization of electronics and acoustics, and a lot of the fans are > >also. but many of the writers just don't quite get it yet. it'll be really > >interesting to read Howard Mandel's review of the festival in the Wire. > > I'm curious to read that myself. Walking between venues after the ISO show, I > passed along to someone Patrice's joking comment that he thought he recognized > one of the records that Otomo was abusing as 'Les Stances a Sophie' ;-0 ! > Apparently, Mr. Mandel was nearby. > > The next day, at the panel discussion, Mandel expressed bewilderment that > someone who knew as obscure and fine a record as 'Les Stances...' could at the > same time appreciate (or more) Otomo's spartan electronica forays. I refrained > from arguing, but geez Howard, there _are_ some people around who enjoy more > than one type of music! I took Mandel's statement to mean that he was impressed by the range of musical knowledge among the fans at the festival. But he sure wasn't impressed by I.S.O., who I thought were exploring some very interesting terrain, although I must admit that I cut out about halfway through due to fatigue. And Otomo is a known huge jazz fan, who has covered > Rahsaan, etc. With that kind of knowledge, how could he possibly be wasting his > time on "sine wave music" (as his concert was disparagingly referred to). *sigh* > The more things change.... A side note. The Doneda/Montera/Erik M performance divided the critics. Mandel and I walked out. It was the only concert where I broke the 15-minute minimum rule. Broomer, Rosenstein, and Marc Chenard came back raving about the energy and intensity of the performance. I still halfway think Broomer was jiving us, but I know that Chenard at least was serious. > > In fairness, at least three of the writers present (Michael Rosenstein, Stuart > Broomer and our own Mike Chamberlain) evinced very big ears. I've gotta give credit where it's due. What I've learned from reading this list has helped a lot. It's my lack of knowledge that I have to overcome. But I can say that Victo rearranged most of my molecular structure--I may never be the same. - --Mike > > - - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:24:35 EDT From: JonAbbey2@aol.com Subject: Re: Victo In a message dated 5/27/99 6:35:49 PM, tpratt@ctech.smtc.net writes: << Of course, there's really no question in *my* mind that he did. I'm asking more to entertain you, Jon! >> well, thanks for indulging me, Tom. brief report from tonight's Vision Fest: I only saw the first set, the Brotzmann Die Like A Dog quartet. I went because I wanted to see more of Hamid Drake and Toshinori Kondo than I got to in the Tentet, and I got my wish. it was much freer than the Tentet performance and featured some superb work by Brotzmann on bass clarinet. Drake and Kondo were both in superb form again, and William Parker played his customary bass, and added percussion to Drake's seriously funky drums at times. they played two half hour long pieces, and the crowd went crazy after each one, giving them a standing O at the end. I would have liked to have seen the Leandre/McPhee/Hemingway trio also, but they weren't coming on for another three hours or so. Jon - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:32:45 EDT From: JonAbbey2@aol.com Subject: Re: Victo In a message dated 5/27/99 11:25:38 PM, mikec@rocler.qc.ca writes: << A side note. The Doneda/Montera/Erik M performance divided the critics. Mandel and I walked out. It was the only concert where I broke the 15-minute minimum rule. Broomer, Rosenstein, and Marc Chenard came back raving about the energy and intensity of the performance. I still halfway think Broomer was jiving us, but I know that Chenard at least was serious. >> there certainly was a ton of energy, but that's about it. I thought that Montera was fairly wanky, Doneda blew his head off most of the time with no discernible purpose, and Erik M wasn't too impressive. I was really looking forward to this one, and found it pretty disappointing. Jon - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:59:51 -0400 From: Steve Smith Subject: Re: Bob Dorough > >Bob Dorough is the guy who originally wrote and sang on most of the = > >Schoolhouse Rock stuff. He's the nasally-voice guy who sang Three Is = > >the Magic Number, Little Twelvetoes and all those others you remember. = > >In addition, the liners to that set say he was a jazz pianist and decent = > >enough in his own right, as well as doing some bluegrass stuff. In the last sentence, the word "was" should be replaced by "is" - Dorough's quite alive and active, doing jazz stuff and also occasionally doing performances of the "Schoolhouse Rock" material. Steve Smith ssmith36@sprynet.com NP - nothing... Peter Brotzmann's Die Like a Dog is still ringing in my ears from earlier this evening at the Vision Fest... first time to hear Hamid Drake live... geez, what a monster... - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 99 08:03:39 -0500 From: brian_olewnick@smtplink.mssm.edu Subject: Re: Dorough (was Re: Zorn List Digest V2 #666) >Dororugh's was fairly readily available in the vinyl days of yore as a >vocalist on two tracks with Miles Davis Blue Xmas & Nothing Like You >(recently recorded by Dave Douglas with the string quintet). I don't know >if these tracks have been re-issued, they're both pretty good. Isn't Dorough also responsible for the all-time best baseball song, 'Van Lingo Mungo'? You know, the one whose lyrics consist of nothing but the names of ballplayers and which always gets passed over for the sappy 'Talkin' Baseball'? Brian Olewnick - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 09:24:41 EDT From: Nvinokur@aol.com Subject: Re: Bob Dorough Bob is also featured on the Jazz Passengers In Love album, on the tune Ring the Bell. He also wrote the lyrics. - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 10:47:30 -0400 From: Tom Pratt Subject: ISO Otomo apparently didn't have '+/-' with him at the I.S.O. show, and neither Sachiko or Ichiraku used samples. So I guess I was wrong about that whole thing, and Jon was correct to doubt me... (grrr) I have a hard time accepting that, though. Regardless, they played a great show. Get their most recent disc on Alcohol. I'm a big fan. Has anybody heard the '98 cassette on Terminal Body by the Otomo/Sachiko/Ichiraku trio before they were I.S.O.? Judging from the trend of this group, I doubt it's very good. I'm curious nonetheless. -Tom Pratt - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 09:25:43 -0700 (PDT) From: Yuri Vasiliev Subject: science Hi everybody! I am here for a first time. Has anyone any idea where to find SCIENCE resourses (no labels, maillists a.o.) about "East - West" sound connections (like Zorn, Laswell, Trane and may be earlier)in the Web? Thank to all of You, Yuri Vasiliev, Ass. Pr. for "Musical Cultures of the World" branch, Institute for Asian and African Studies, Moscow, _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com - - ------------------------------ End of Zorn List Digest V2 #667 ******************************* To unsubscribe from zorn-list-digest, send an email to "majordomo@lists.xmission.com" with "unsubscribe zorn-list-digest" in the body of the message. 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