From: owner-zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (Zorn List Digest) To: zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: Zorn List Digest V2 #886 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 Saturday, March 11 2000 Volume 02 : Number 886 In this issue: - RE: kletka red and dog faced hermans question Recent Goo recent goodies Re: Recent Goo Re: Re: jazz! Re: Recent Goo Re: Re: jazz! zorn can play (was re: jazz!) Jarrett-alikes OT! Stateside Ultima Spiaggia distributors? www.Ljova.com update ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 16:42:23 -0600 (CST) From: pequet@altern.org (Benjamin Pequet) Subject: RE: kletka red and dog faced hermans question >Date: Fri, 03 Mar 2000 10:04:34 EST >From: "margo red" >Subject: kletka red and dog faced hermans question > >I noticed in the post on Kletka Red a while back that the group includes >Andy Moor, formerly of the Dog Faced Hermans. Does anybody know what other >projects he and the other DFH members were involved in after they broke up? >- -Margo Red >______________________________________________________ Hi guys. Late reply because digest version of the zorn list and also my message bounced back for some reason. Anyone, if anyone is (still) interested to hear, Andy is of course the Andy of The Ex, which should account for countless side projects. I can only think of Music for the Little Red Spiders though (name of the band: the Little Red Spiders) MUSIC OF THE LITTLE RED SPIDERS, LITTLE RED SPIDERS, Production TES, 1998. Tony BUCK Percussion, Sampler, Programming / Andy EX Electric guitar, Acoustic guitar / Joe WILLIAMSON Acoustic bass / Stevie WISHART Violon, Voice, Hurdy-Gurdy Marion of Dog Faced Hermans did a couple of things with God is My Co-Pilot these last years (particularly the Peel sessions, and she appears on their Finnish cd as well). I read that Andy played sometimes with GodCo this year, in New York. Other than that I lost track a bit too. Benjamin - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 15:01:06 -0800 From: improv@peak.org (Dave Trenkel) Subject: Recent Goo Here's the fruits of my last shopping spree. Nothing particularly earth-shattering, but I hope it's of some interest: Ray Russell - Live at the ICA/Retrospective(Moikai): Unless I'm really missing something, I don't find this disc as essential as Alan Licht's liner notes make it out to be, but it's still an interesting listen. Russell is a very cool guitarist, and at points (both versions of Stained Angel Morning, IMHO the stand out tracks here) he gets to a very satisfying skree that predates just about everybody like Sonic Youth and Nels Cline. There's also some very nice playing from Harry Beckett (trumpet) and Gary Windo (winds). But some of the compositions, especially on the 2nd disc, are fairly weak and one tune has a really embarrassingly dated synth solo. And when Licht wonders why Hendrix, with much the same equipment, doesn't come up with as interesting sounds as Russell, he really loses me. I mean, Russell is a very interesting guitarist, and he definitely doesn't deserve to be as obscure as he is, but nothing he does redefines the instrument the Hendrix did, and I think it does Russell a disservice to make these claims for his playing. Still, it's a worthwhile disc, and I'm glad that Moikai made it available. Tied + Tickled Trio - EA1 + EA2(Drag City): This is probably my favorite of this batch. The TTT are a German sextet, and they mix European small ensemble chamber-jazz with the low-key electronics of groups like Mouse on Mars or Pluramon. The band feels pretty stiff in places, but the composing, arranging and production are consistantly interesting, and, with 9 tunes in 33 minutes, the disc leaves me wanting to hear more of this group. Wayne Horvitz & Zony Mash - Upper Egypt(Knitting Factory): Another Zony Mash record, and I feel like this band keeps getting incrementally better with each release. The last couple of times I saw them live, they were playing with a real fire that doesn't come through on this disc, but it's a very nice set of tunes. I've always wondered why this band hasn't broken through to the Medeski, Martin and Wood audience, they groove just as hard, and Horvitz is a MUCH better composer than MMW. The introspective quality that defines a lot of Horvitz' work comes through here more than on either of the first 2 ZM discs, and he's expanded his keyboard pallette beyond the Hammond B-3, though it's still a major feature of the band's sound. I've always thought that Horvitz has an incredible talent for orchestrating keyboards/synthesizers, and that is really evident on this disc. Two songs, "Forever" and "Second Time Around", sound like they could be lost instrumental gems from the Band or early Grateful Dead, and I mean that as high praise. Him - Sworn Eyes(Perishable): Him is led by drummer Doug Scharin, and is one of the many Tortoise-satellite bands, with Jeff Parker(gtr), Bundy Brown(bass) and Rob Mazurek(cornet) among others appearing here. Scharin brings a lot of dub, minimalist and ethnic percussion elements into the mix, but there's basic restraint and emotional coolness here that keeps me from really enjoying the disc. I find a lot of the music from this scene interesting but kind of emotionally flat, maybe that's what makes it Post-Rock, I dunno, and it's not like I'm expecting Alber Ayler or anything, but this music just doesn't grab me. ____________________________________________ Dave Trenkel : improv@peak.org Minus Web Site: http://listen.to/minusmusic Minus MP3's: http://www.mp3.com/-minus- ____________________________________________ - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 18:40:27 -0500 From: "Caleb T. Deupree" Subject: recent goodies Here's some of what I've picked up over the last few. Francisco Lopez, La Selva (V2_Archief). Anyone else remember those environment recordings which tried to duplicate sonic environments for apartment dwellers? You would be forgiven for thinking this was one of them, because it was all recorded in a Costa Rican jungle and has undergone very little processing (you can actually hear a bug land on the microphone, then take off). But the album includes a big fat booklet on the compositional decisions involved in the piece, and a recommendation that you not access these referential levels. So, I haven't, and the work is fascinating, particularly knowing that the intentionality exists, but not knowing what it is (and isn't this the case of so much of our music?). One of Lopez' best and most seminal recordings. Fushitsusha, I Saw It! That which before I could only sense... (Paratactile, 2cds). This is my third Fushitsusha album, in addition to one of the PSF live sets (PSF 15/16) and Allegorical Misunderstandings on Avant, and it's by far the most intense and best sounding of the three. Haino's guitar roars throughout, none of the ballads (ha ha) that show up on the other albums. There's no text on the album cover except for the titles of the pieces and the label information, but I believe this is a studio recording, and even with what otherwise appears to be excellent sound, I can seldom hear any drums at all except for an occasional pitty-pat on a cymbal. Is his guitar really so loud it drowns out the rest of the group? Whatever, an excellent album, one I've been listening to a= lot. Bernhard G=FCnter, Brown, Blue, Brown on Blue (For Mark Rothko) (Trente Oiseaux). From one extreme to the other. This is G=FCnter's best work to date (and I think I've become a G=FCnter completist). For the first time, h= e deals with long sustained tones rather than the brittle clicks that populate so much of his work, which almost puts this piece in the same realms as works by Thomas K=F6ner. I'm surprised that Brian's wife finds these so repellent, as the quiet delicacy of all of G=FCnter's work is relatively easy to listen to (especially compared to the racket of Haino et al). Also highly recommended. Bernard Parmegiani, Pop'eclectic (Plate Lunch). Much as I like Parmegiani, I have to say this should be classified as juvenalia. There are four pieces, including a collage piece (with an amusing juxtaposition of Stockhausen and Zappa) where *everything* is in segments long enough to be recognizable (plunderphonicists take note), and an early proto-electroacoustic improv piece where the players had some (unmentioned) constraints in addition to having to play along with the prerecorded tape. Interesting, but probably for Parmegiani completists only. Otomo Yoshihide, Cathode (Tzadik). I got this a while back, but haven't listened to more than the first track until recently. Boy, what a mistake! This could almost be called Otomo's ambient album (he actually recommends that you put it on in the next room), but the sounds are pretty much very delicate. The first track put me off because of the combination of sine waves and guitar, but after reading the Harvey article in last month's Wire, maybe Otomo's another spectralist. A great album, I love where Otomo is going (and that no two albums are alike), and think he is one of the most fascinating musicians playing today. - -- Caleb Deupree cdeupree@erinet.com It is pretty obvious that the debasement of the human mind caused by a constant flow of fraudulent advertising is no trivial thing. There is more than one way to conquer a country. - -- Raymond Chandler - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 15:42:55 -0800 From: "Patrice L. Roussel" Subject: Re: Recent Goo On Fri, 10 Mar 2000 15:01:06 -0800 Dave Trenkel wrote: > > Wayne Horvitz & Zony Mash - Upper Egypt(Knitting Factory): Another Zony > Mash record, and I feel like this band keeps getting incrementally better I was a little bit frustrated by how short the version of Upper Egypt is. I have seen the band stretching it more for than 10mn and here, it is almost just the theme and no improvisation (kind of a radio-friendly version...). Upper Egypt is a not a piece for a single. Patrice. PS: like Dave Trenkel, I was puzzled by Alan Lich's statement on Jimi Hendrix. In fact, it would have made more sense to compare Ray with Sonny Sharrock. - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 20:22:26 -0500 From: Rich Williams Subject: Re: Re: jazz! > >It's sad in a way that -- granted, "jazz" means a broad category -- it's >become so specialized. Joey Baron told me once that people think, because he >plays with guys like Zorn, that he probably can't play a bar of straight time >on a ride cymbal. Its not just listeners that fall into this misconception either. Having only previously worked with JZ during his game-call period, a pleasantly surprised Sonny Sharrock, upon hearing him on alto for the first time, remarked "Holy shit! fucking Zorn can PLAY the saxophone!" - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 01:45:40 GMT From: "Bill Ashline" Subject: Re: Recent Goo Dave Trenkel wrote: >Him - Sworn Eyes(Perishable): I find a lot of the music from this >scene >interesting but kind of emotionally flat, maybe that's what >makes it >Post-Rock, I dunno, and it's not like I'm expecting Alber Ayler or >anything, but this music just doesn't grab me. > Actually I quite liked this CD. While it isn't technically brilliant or innovative apropos the interests of most list members, I found its emotional peaks quite inspiring, particularly in the first and fourth tracks. I also liked Scharin's other configuration, Out In Worship, which played at the Knit last April. Again, not very avant, but interesting for those who may favor ambient-dub-electronic and trip hop syntheses. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2000 20:28:35 -0800 From: "s~Z" Subject: Re: Re: jazz! >>>"Holy shit! fucking Zorn can PLAY the saxophone!"<<< I thought this was a remark by Braxton????? - - - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 06:28:23 GMT From: "Scott Handley" Subject: zorn can play (was re: jazz!) Regarding Sharrock's and/or Braxton's comments about Zorn's alto playing: I think there's the suspicion among craftsmen, virtuosos, that "restructural" creativity is a cop-out; that is, that breaking new ground by---_apparently_---TOTALLY BREAKING with tradition, is a simple, sensational way to define oneself and one's artistry: "you can't fire me, I quit"----making up a new game (figuratively or literally). From hearing musicians speak about radical (?) forms of which they disapprove, or which they regard with bemusement, contempt, or suspicion, it seems that there is the idea that some new forms are all theory, no practice (I mean this in several possible ways). In other words: "looks good on paper". I'm thinking less here about "jazz" musicians (whatever) like Sonny and Anthony, both of whom have radically reinvented the use of their instrument and the method of improvising in general. I'm thinking a little more of friends of mine, acquaintances, musicians I've had the pleasure of speaking with and listening with/to, interviews, etc etc. For Braxton, it was hearing the Sonny Clark Memorial group; for my friend Brian, it was Masada, which gradually paved the way from something which he as player-player-player could relate to, to things which might otherwise sound like something from Mars (i.e., GUNDOWN, or Music For Children). Zorn speaks of his "ten hour practice days" in half his interviews: he seems both proud and defensive of the WORK he's put into his technique, and at least once explained the obsessive practicing as 1.) the product of a "late" start, and 2.) the overwhelming desire to be taken seriously by fellow musicians...PLAYERS. He also seems to appreciate people who "play their ass off" (a terms he's applied in turns to Frisell, Douglas, Baron, Wynton Marsalis, and others). I guess what I'm trying to get at is the persistence of practicality and instrumentality (again, take that how you wish) in even the most marginally jazz-related practices. In fact: nix "jazz"----in even the most marginally VIRTUOSIC practices. The discourse of CRAFT and COMPETENCE becomes so important, that being able to "hold one's own" makes redefining the terms seem like the Road Less Travelled For A Reason (i.e. because it's easier than mastering "The Tradition"). I just mention this because it seems to be a persistent theme in this constellation musics we listen to. The challenge: "but can he/she PLAY?" Or: the intense subconscious terror of the threat of the non-musician musician. This theme leading to 1. The desire to be recognized by one's hero-icons (Brax's funny story about giving FOR ALTO to Warne Marsh, who _despised_ it). 2. The establishment of a normalized, standardized, unified, monolithic "tradition" (cf. Marsalis, cf. Derek Bailey's response: "Who's Tradition?") 3. The vociferous avowal of genre ("but is it _jazz_?"--->in case you think this irrelevant, consider that Louis Armstrong's famous aphorism cuts both ways: if you don't already know, you'll never know, i.e. if you had common sense, you'd know, i.e. I already know, i.e. myself and people who agree with me on _____ level know, definitively, what jazz is, and what it is not, and---somehow---it matters). Sorry for the long post, but the idea of competence and standards vis-a-vis "experimental music" remains, to me at least, interesting, problematic, unresolved, even fertile. - -----s N.P. Tetreault/Drumm - PARTICLES AND SMEARS (Erstwhile) ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 01:46:01 -0500 From: "Ljova" Subject: Jarrett-alikes Hi, List. Today, I ventured "forth" in my life, and bought Keith Jarrett's CD 'La Scala', upon recommendation of a friend. Though I have heard other Jarrett improv-cds before, I have never heard quite anything like this. So, two questions: 1) Anyone know when he's going to do an improv concert in New York (solo, not with the trio) and 2) Are there any other *SOLO* artists who do whole concerts of free-improvs? Thank you!, Ljova - -------- Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin L@Ljova.com http://www.Ljova.com/ "There is no spoon." -("The Matrix") - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 03:59:14 EST From: Dgasque@aol.com Subject: OT! Stateside Ultima Spiaggia distributors? Anybody know of a Stateside distributor for this label? From Wayside, I picked up Roberto Colombo's _Botte da Orbi_ CD- a bigband CD from 1977 that somewhat reminds me of the British jazz/prog bigbands of the early 70's ala Centipede. Anything else on this label worth searching out? Tia... - -- =dg= - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2000 04:57:24 -0500 From: "Lev \"Ljova\" Zhurbin" Subject: www.Ljova.com update From: Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin / composer & violist, New York City website: http://www.Ljova.com music: http://www.mp3.com/LevZhurbin (compositions) and http://www.mp3.com/Ljova (improvisations) - ----------------------------- IN THIS UPDATE: 1. At last, streaming MP3s, 1a. including four previously unreleased items! 2. "Juvenilia" promo CD now available 3. Juilliard Graduation (viola) recital info 4. Who? Why? Remove! - ----------------------------- 1. At last, streaming MP3s!: I have been promising MP3s of my music for months, and, finally, I'm happy to present them to you. In order to make room for future developments, I have split up my MP3 collection in the following way: http://www.mp3.com/LevZhurbin holds my compositions; http://www.mp3.com/Ljova holds my improvisations. Alternatively, you can see all this on one page: http://www.Ljova.com/listen/mp3.htm 1a. Thanks in part to the mammoth composition recital of February 17th, four new pieces are now also available as mp3s in gorgeous, live recordings: > "Sturm" for one cellist (1995) -- Ariel DeWolf > "Tango for a Cold Wintry Day" (1999) -- Elizabeth Morgan > "Sicilienne" for violin and piano (2000) -- Jesse Mills / Soyeon Lee Additionally, I recorded a new improv, while on a recent trip to California: > Improvisation #2: "California" (2000) Please check these out, and let me know what you think! - ------------------------------------- 2. "Juvenilia" promo CD now available! I am now offering a Promotional CD, which includes selections from the mp3 collection. If you are interested in obtaining a copy, please check out http://www.Ljova.com/listen/juvenilia.htm. - ------------------------------------- 3. Juilliard Graduation (viola) recital info Hard to believe, but, this May, I will graduate from Juilliard. My graduation recital will be on April 24th, at 8pm, in Morse Hall. It will include works by Bach, Hindemith and Shostakovich - as well as a couple of other things I forgot to mention. Mark your calendars! - ------------------------------------- 4. Who? Why? Remove! My name is Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin, and I am a composer/violist in New York City. You are on my mailing list either because you signed up for it, because you are my friend, or because I stole your email address from somebody else - in which case, I thought you might be interested in what I do. I am on a lot of mailing lists, and I personally find the "delete" key very handy. Sometimes, I have time, sometimes not. If you're not sure that you want to be on my mailing list, then that's your best option. *However, if you do not want to receive email from me ever again, please reply, and write "remove" in the subject line. That will do it. But beware -- who knows if I'll ever get to steal your email address again! Merry Weekend to all of you bums celebrating it. :) Cheers, Ljova - -------- Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin L@Ljova.com http://www.Ljova.com/ "Do not fear mistakes -- there are none." - Miles Davis - - ------------------------------ End of Zorn List Digest V2 #886 ******************************* 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. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "zorn-list-digest" in the commands above with "zorn-list". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.xmission.com, in pub/lists/zorn-list/archive. These are organized by date. Problems? Email the list owner at zorn-list-owner@lists.xmission.com