Dopo un'interruzione di quasi un anno, Dave Stewart riprende a scrivere per la serie Inside the Music, analizzando e presentando in dettaglio struttura, notazione e genesi compositiva di alcuni brani della sua produzione con Barbara Gaskin; stavolta tocca a Star Blind, dall'album del 1990 Spin. Nuove speciali edizioni in cd di Spin e The Big Idea sono disponibili proprio in questi giorni presso Burning Shed: fonte di estrema curiosità e, visto il momento, anche una buona idea - una grande idea, anzi - per tirare a capodanno...

http://www.davebarb.demon.co.uk
http://www.davebarb.demon.co.uk/dsbgfeat.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dave-Stewart-Barbara-Gaskin/171696959516360

Oltre al prelibato menù servito in doppia portata al Bob's Drive-In, per gli estimatori di Bob Drake c'è di che abbuffarsi anche presso Soundcloud e Bangsnap: due interi album - Bob Drake and The Quonset Hut Philharmonic, registrazioni del 2008 con Dave Kerman e Professor Lutra e ospiti vari, e Bob Drake 1979-1983, schizzi e prove d'artista degli anni di gioventù - e una miriade di documenti inediti, soprattutto degli anni ottanta e spesso d'intesa con Mike Johnson, con formazioni effimere e geniali come Dry Heaves and the Teenage Corpse Eaters, Great Banana, Whither's Old-Time Town Square Cabaret Orchestra. E c'è anche la promessa di qualche concerto in Europa presto, a marzo 2012, con gli amici del Drive-In e Lukas Simonis. Yummy!

http://bdblog.bdrak.com/?p=759
http://www.bdrak.com/sounds/drive-in.html
http://bangsnap.bandcamp.com/album/bd-solo-1979-1983
http://bangsnap.bandcamp.com/album/bob-drake-and-the-quonset-hut-philharmonic

David Keffer, curatore del sito web dedicato a Keiji Haino, pubblica uno scritto in ricordo di Hans Reichel, recuperando anche il nastro di un concerto di Reichel e Haino in trio con Motoharu Yoshizawa, a Tokyo nel gennaio 1991: http://poisonpie.com/sounds/haino/text/index10.html

Grave lutto anche per il mondo del jazz, che con Sam Rivers perde una delle sue voci più autentiche.

A unique voice on saxophone and flute, Sam Rivers died of pneumonia on December 26th at age 88. A leader of the New York loft scene in the 1970s, Rivers played with a diverse range of innovative artists, including Tony Williams, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Andrew Hill, Cecil Taylor, Dave Holland, Barry Altschul, and more recently, Steve Coleman and Jason Moran; he also played with bluesmen T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker. Although best known for his free approach to improvisation, Rivers was truly an eclectic musician, starting out in bebop, moving into free improv yet continuing his interests in big band throughout his life. Rivers' importance to the American jazz avant-garde extended beyond his recordings and performances. In his demonstration of artistic self-reliance and community-building with his Bond Street loft space Studio RivBea, Rivers (who mostly played saxophone and flute, though he did also play piano) set an example for modern events like the annual Vision Festival; his willingness, even eagerness, to play with musicians decades younger than himself provided a bridge between generations that has always been crucial to jazz's development as an art and a culture.

http://www.samrivers.com
http://www.bb10k.com/RIVERS.disc.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/arts/music/sam-rivers-jazz-musician-dies-at-88.html
http://www.spinner.com/2011/12/27/sam-rivers-dead
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/12/sam_rivers_obituary.php
http://nato-glob.blogspot.com/2011/12/sam-rivers.html
http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/29221-sam-rivers-dies-at-88
http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/9925/79/

Motorhead era il soprannome che gli aveva affibbiato Ray Collins: "Frank had Studio Z at Cucamonga in Ontario, and I'd go down and do a little jamming with them every once in a while. I even lived in the studio with Frank for about six months. Frank and I would get a lot of people over there to do things and he knew Ray Collins. Ray would come over and sing. He was working with Jimmy and Roy who got Frank into the band that eventually lead to the Mothers. Ray was always joking with me because I was working on cars and trucks and motorcycles. He said 'It sounds like you've got a little motor in your head', so they just called me Motorhead and that seemed to stick. I've always been called that ever since." Se n'è andato il giorno di Natale Euclid James “Motorhead” Sherwood, roadie e sassofonista membro delle Mothers of Invention nel periodo epico, da Freak Out a Weasels Ripped My Flesh almeno, e nel film 200 Motels - e ancora del giro successivamente con Grandmothers, Don Preston, Ant-Bee, Sandro Oliva.
Scrive Candy Zappa su Facebook: "This time of year always brings good things and sometimes very sad things. A very sad thing for us, we lost another member of the Zappa troup, Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood, one of Frank's longtime friend and early Mother's member, passed last night around 10pm, on Christmas. I remember when Jim and Frank would come over to our house in Montclair, CA, when I was about 11 and of course, Frank would have his coffee black, and when I asked Jim how he wanted his coffee, he said "Just pour sugar in it till it comes over the side" which today still makes me laugh to tell it. His wife Lynn, Jim's son and his wife were with Jim when he left. Say some healing prayers for Lynn and Jim's family today, they need them".
Aveva 69 anni. Lo si rivede brevemente in Freak Out in Cucamonga.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Sherwood
www.weirdomusic.com/2011/12/26/original-mother-jim-motorhead-sherwood-dies
http://www.united-mutations.com/s/euclid_james_sherwood.htm
http://www.nflguess.com/freakout/extras.html

Anders Larsson, Timothy Hannem, Marc Adler e Issehn documentano il concerto di Magma e Mëtalïk Orkestra a Les Lilas lo scorso 16 dicembre con recensioni, commenti, immagini e contributi video:
http://tinyurl.com/d4aeknk
http://tinyurl.com/c3ely4h
http://tinyurl.com/d4e6sfo
www.kohntarkosz.blogspot.com

Tuttora citata da qualcuno come una delle migliori canzoni moderne di tema natalizio, Thanks for Christmas nacque per scherzo nel novembre 1983 offrendo agli XTC, lungo il tribolato percorso da Mummer a Big Express, l'occasione di inventarsi un alter ego tradizionale e un po' ruffiano, di basso profilo (si fa per dire), niente affatto quello stratosferico delle vicende immediatamente successive: The Three Wise Men. I Re Magi, addirittura. L'etichetta discografica, la Virgin, così annunciava l'uscita del singolo al cospetto del buon Dio (il produttore David Lord): "Three Wise Men turn up on Virgin, not Mary, but Records. “On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me a partridge in a pear tree ... ” Yes, Virgin enters into the festive spirit with this seasonal offering, ‘Thanks for Christmas’ by The Three Wise Men. The song was penned by well-known writing team Kaspar/Melchior/Balthazar, the Far East's answer to Holland/Dozier/Holland. Production was by The Three Wise Men and the Good Lord himself. Not surprisingly, the release hits the decks shrouded in mystery, intrigue and much speculation. The ‘What's On In Bethlehem’-style sleeve may well proclaim ‘The Three Wise Men’, but this non-de-plume cunningly conceals the identity of one of Virgin's top pop groups! Not that we're telling you which band. Could it be Culture Club, Human League, Heaven 17, China Crisis or even Slapp Happy? Over to you! Just good clean Virgin fun to keep you guessing right into the New Year. It's certainly countdown to Christmas party time. Cheers!"

http://chalkhills.org/reelbyreal/s_Thanks.html
http://www.myspace.com/xtcfans/blog/206748398
http://www.avclub.com/articles/best-christmas-music,66686

Difficile sia ancora in circolazione, lo si trova probabilmente come album digitale in mp3 presso Amazon o iTunes. Era un sette pollici di ispirazione natalizia registrato per la francese Rectangle sul finire del 1997 da Lol Coxhill - sempre molto affezionato al tema - con Phil Minton e Noël Akchoté: Xmas songs.

http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/labels/rectangl/rectn.html

Dal recital di Natale dello scorso anno a Podgorica, nel Montenegro, due celebri melodie arrangiate per Carla's Christmas Carols (Watt/Ecm, 2009) e qualche minuto tratto dalla conferenza stampa: Carla Bley con Steve Swallow e The Partyka Brass Quintet.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJazzArt
http://www.wattxtrawatt.com
http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/Watt/35.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carla's_Christmas_Carols

Altro album natalizio di sostenibile leggerezza - da rintracciare fin che si può presso Cherry Red Records, oppure tramite Amazon, o forse nell'usato - è la strenna 2000 di casa El Records, The World in Winter, ideato da Mike Alway chiamando a raccolta Momus, Would Be Goods, Valerie Masters, Marden Hill e altre formazioni d'occasione. Coinvolto a vario titolo è anche Louis Philippe, col pensiero e lo sguardo oltre i canonici Dodici Giorni.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/el-exd.asp?id=1419
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_records

E' nuovo il disegno di copertina, e il titolo adesso è bilingue, ma i protagonisti sono gli stessi del 1987: Laura Davis e Tony Hymas, Kiki & Nini (che a Gesù Bambino chiedevano, come Spike Jones prima di loro, solo due denti davanti), Ray Warleigh, Mike Cooper e Cyril Lefebvre, John Zorn, Michel Doneda e Beñat Achiary, The Melody Four, Sandra Tavernier e Steve Beresford, Yves Robert, Alan Hacker e Karen Evans, British Summer Time Ends, Tabley Bellows, Norma Winstone e Tony Coe, Lol Coxhill. Torna in cd il classico natalizio di casa Nato, Joyeux Noël.

Hop revoilà notre Joyeux Noël retitré Joyeux Noël Merry Christmas (internationalisme oblige) augmenté de quelques truffes. Si la couverture d'origine signée Pierre Cornuel orne toujours le livret intérieur, Pic Lelièvre, espiègle dessinateur du Journal de Spirou a dessiné une autre couverture qui réjouira les fans de Nirvana, autant que ceux de Rudolf. Le livret nous offre d'autres dessins, un dessin d’Andy Singer, des originaux de Julien Mariolle, autre dessinateur du Journal de Spirou, de Pic encore, nous conte les origines de Noël, reproduit les paroles originales, donne des coupures de presse de Houppelande, une petite devinette et un salut du chien Papyrus qui n'a jamais voulu tirer un traîneau de sa vie.

http://www.natomusic.fr/actualite-jazz-cd-concert/actualite-detail.php?id=383
http://www.natomusic.fr/catalogue/musique-jazz/cd/nato-disque.php?id=126

Ai lettori del suo blog e agli iscritti alla sua mailing list Gilad Atzmon suggerisce l'ascolto degli ultimi minuti del suo Concerto di Natale al Bonnington Theatre di Nottingham lo scorso 15 dicembre: http://youtu.be/71USvua52qg

"I wish you all a wonderful holiday and a happy New Year (I post it now because i am touring from today). Here is the last nine minutes of our Xmas concert at the Bonnington Theatre, Nottingham UK. We had a great time, we played ‘What A Wonderful World’ hoping that soon our planet will be a wonderful place again - a bit of music and a fair amount of stand up... I hope you like it. Peace & Love. Gilad."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71USvua52qg&feature=youtu.be
http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/merry-christmas-from-gilad-atzmon-1.html

Tutta zucchero innocenza nostalgia e buoni propositi la puntata di ieri di Spinning On Air, su WNYC: ospite di David Garland era John Zorn per parlare dei classici natalizi della sua infanzia e delle versioni adulte raccolte in A Dreamers Christmas.

John Zorn has a reputation for creating challenging, daring music. The MacArthur “genius” award-winning composer prolifically explores atonal improvisation, orchestral pieces, rock, jazz and other genres, and he has been pursuing what he calls “radical Jewish culture.” As Zorn reveals to David Garland here, Zorn’s Jewish family celebrated Christmas throughout his childhood, and he continues to love those memories and the holiday music that evokes and celebrates them. Zorn presents selections from his new album A Dreamers Christmas, an unexpectedly sweet collection of his arrangements of Christmas classics, plus some of his favorite recordings of holiday songs performed by Miles Davis, Frank Sinatra, Vince Guaraldi, and others.

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/spinning/2011/dec/18
http://www.tzadik.com/index.php?catalog=7393

Breve estratto dall'esibizione dei Doctor Nerve a New York un paio di settimane fa durante il programma Cuneiform Occupies The Stone curato da Steve Feigenbaum: http://vimeo.com/33065318

Doctor Nerve just played a monster gig at The Stone in NYC as part of Cuneiform Occupies The Stone. We were even joined by Weasel Walter and John Roulat for a few seconds (literally) of drumming. Videos of the show are in production and will show up on YouTube soonish. But meanwhile you can preview a piece videotaped by Don Mount from that night, entitled Uses Probe Form.

http://vimeo.com/33065318
http://www.doctornerve.org/nerve/pages/nervmenu.htm

Helen Petts e Dave Hunt hanno ripreso Phil Minton e Roger Turner durante la lavorazione del film Throw Them Up and Let Them Sing, parte di un progetto su Kurt Schwitters commissionato dalla Hatton Gallery di Newcastle annunciato per fine giugno 2012.

Artist film-maker Helen Petts with a tiny camera filming percussionist Roger Turner on paintbrushes and pallet knives, and Phil Minton on voice, for "Throw Them Up and Let Them Sing", a film about Kurt Schwitters commissioned by the Hatton Gallery Newcastle and the Cultural Olympiad. Sound engineer Dave Hunt.

www.helenpetts.com
http://helenpetts.tumblr.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/helentonic

Agli spettatori dell'irlandese RTE One The Unthanks hanno offerto pochi giorni fa una splendida versione di Lullaby for Hamza, uno dei capolavori di Alfreda Benge e Robert Wyatt (in Cuckooland, 2003): http://dynamic.rte.ie/av/228-3141399-512-288.smil

Speciale concerto a Les Lilas (Francia) domani 16 dicembre per un'edizione orchestrale dei Magma in formazione estesa a un corposo ensemble, denominato Mëtalïk Orkestra, costituito da membri del collettivo jazz BOA (Bel Orchestre Amateur) e da allievi del Conservatorio di Aubervilliers-La Courneuve. Piatto forte sarà l'esecuzione integrale del brano Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, adattato per l'occasione dal vibrafonista Benoît Alziary. Il concerto è prodotto dal team del club Le Triton, ma si tiene al Théâtre du Gadre Chasse. I biglietti sono esauriti ormai da tempo, forse è ancora possibile assistere alla prova generale questa sera dalle 19.00 alle 21.00.

Magma est le seul groupe français à avoir dépassé les barrières des générations, des frontières et du temps. Christian Vander, son leader depuis 1969, en nourrissant le répertoire contemporain d'oeuvres aussi insolites qu'inouïes, aura provoqué un véritable séisme chez de très nombreux auditeurs. La force de Magma, au-delà d'une identité unique, est d'être parvenu à une universalité à laquelle ne peut prétendre qu'un petit nombre de grands compositeurs. Après quarante ans d'existence, Magma est plus qu'un groupe, c'est une légende qui continue à s'écrire. Pour ce concert, Magma s'engage sur le terrain de la transmission. Des musiciens amateurs éclairés issus du BOA (Bel Orchestre Amateur) et du Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional d'Aubervilliers-La Courneuve partageront la scène avec Magma pour interpréter Ëmëhntëhtt-Ré, pièce d'une heure, dernier CD du groupe, arrangée pour l'occasion par Benoît Alziary.

http://www.letriton.com/fiches%204-2011/1216-magmatheatregardechasse.html
http://www.theatredugardechasse.fr/agenda/1156/magma
http://www.jazzbank.com/atelier/BOA.html
http://www.conservatoireregional93.fr/wikid11/wikka.php?wakka=Newsletter_0112

Tatsuya Yoshida sintetizza in un album - Alone, LP e CD su Magaibutsu e Skin Graft - l'esperienza individuale degli anni recenti successiva alla dipartita dell'ultimo bassista ufficiale dei Ruins, Sasaki Hisashi. Versioni di studio di classici dai repertori del duo e di Koenji Hyakkei, e in segreto anche dei famigerati medley ProgRock e HardRock, prive però - inevitabilmente - dell'irresistibile impatto delle performance solitarie dal vivo.

http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/ruins/eng/index.html
http://www.squidco.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=15433

Il gruppo bielorusso Rational Diet ha preso parte alla realizzazione di un album dedicato a Czeslaw Milosz, premio Nobel per la letteratura nel 1980, accompagnando e integrando la lettura di sue poesie da parte di Andrej Khadanovich: Milosz pa Bialorusku.

http://www.myspace.com/rationaldiet
http://rationaldiet.info/albums.shtml

Ferdinando Faraò porta a Trento il suo progetto Darwinsuite: domani sera alle ore 21.00 al Museo delle Scienze, per Sonata Islands.

www.ferdinandofarao.it/html/darwin.html
www.dodicilune.it/ed261.htm
www.sonataislands.com/sonata_islands/page/festival_2011.html
www.mtsn.tn.it/eventi/2011/calendari/MTSN_cal_dic2011_stampab.pdf

Nel suo breve giro di concerti in Italia fa tappa nei pressi di Rovereto (Tn) Franz Hautzinger, trombettista austriaco originale e innovatore noto sulla scena internazionale per i suoi progetti come compositore - soprattutto Speakers Corner e Regenorchester XII - e per le frequenti sedute di improvvisazione ad esempio con Radu Malfatti, Otomo Yoshihide, Christian Fennesz e Axel Dörner tra gli altri. Ha suonato con Derek Bailey e per qualche tempo è stato membro dell'ensemble Zeitkratzer. Stasera sarà ospite di U-Man per un concerto domestico a Marano d’Isera in via G.B Miori n.4; l'inizio è alle ore 21.30.

www.franzhautzinger.com

Photocronista propone un 'momento eureka!' dall'esilarante e istruttiva conferenza dell'Archimedes Quartet al Cafe Oto londinese sabato scorso: Peter Blegvad, David Thomas, John Edwards e Chris Cutler in 'How I Invented Time'.

http://www.youtube.com/user/photocronista
http://inventingtime.wordpress.com
http://cafeoto.co.uk/thomas-blegvad-cutler-edwards.shtm

Più delle luci e degli addobbi natalizi nella St James's Church in Piccadilly a Londra venerdì scorso brillavano le voci di Rachel e Becky Unthank: il concerto, primo di una serie che le sorelle e il gruppo The Unthanks al completo hanno in calendario questo mese in Gran Bretagna e Irlanda, riprendeva quelli dello scorso anno - ora documentati in Diversions Vol. 1 - con un set dedicato alle canzoni di Robert Wyatt e uno ad Antony & The Johnsons. Di Wyatt erano in scaletta Stay Tuned, Dondestan, Lisp Service, Cuckoo Madame, Free Will and Testament, Alifib/Alife (una versione solo strumentale, qui in prima assoluta), Lullaby for Hamza, Soup Song, Out of the Blue, Sea Song e un breve cenno finale a Forest. Una cronaca del bel concerto si legge in http://tinyurl.com/cuhfauu mentre un paio di video amatoriali sono in www.youtube.com/user/photocronista.

Da quella che è ritenuta una delle migliori esibizioni - se non la migliore in assoluto, in un anno e mezzo di concerti - viene la registrazione integrale di Talking Light da poco pubblicata su dvd (da MVD): The Residents, dal vivo al Bimbo's a San Francisco il 16 aprile 2011. Per acquisire invece in mp3 documentazione di (quasi) ogni singolo concerto del tour c'è tempo fino a fine dicembre: http://theresidents.downloadcentric.net

In April 2011 The Residents brought their acclaimed Talking Light tour to Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco. The inspiration behind the Talking Light tour is The Residents' fascination with spooky stories. The Residents realized that what they saw as "Ghost Stories" had become a show about aging & death. They wanted to have fun with the concept and, in true Residents' fashion, their idea of fun is darker & scarier than the mainstream defines it. All of these ghost stories share a common theme, centered around TV culture & commercials, which ultimately asks the question: In a world where nearly everything has been categorized, how do we fulfill our need for the Fuzzy, the Vague, or the Supernatural. with TV commercials? The Residents have more creative answers for you.

http://www.residents.com
http://www.seeofsound.com/p.php?s=MVD5251D
http://theresidents.downloadcentric.net

Sun Ra: un nome, un mito, una leggenda. Le rivelazioni cominciano!

"The box works like a marathon radio broadcast that drifts in and out of consciousness, between truth and guesswork. By hook or by crook, you end up within spitting distance of what Sun Ra's early years were like, with jazz, R&B, Afro-Cuban and popular music of the day all woven into a homemade patchwork of obsessive but intuitive genius". (Derek Walmsley)

http://sunraarchive.webstarts.com/archive_productions.html
http://fromnowherehere.blogspot.com/2011/11/eternal-myth-reviewed.html

Le interpretazioni del 2004, pur plausibili, avevano lasciato un amaro retrogusto di artefatto e di tardivo. La riesumazione integrale delle registrazioni originali, nel consegnare alla storia materiale finalmente autentico, dovrebbe riuscire a dare profondità e dolcezza al sorriso più enigmatico e irrisolto della storia del pop: The Beach Boys SMiLE Sessions.

http://www.thebeachboys.com/main.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/beachboys#p/u/5/dw09zOhZ_Ck

Al sito web della BBC Radio 3 si può riascoltare - ancora per qualche giorno - Use It or Lose It, lavoro radiofonico di Peter Blegvad e Iain Chambers trasmesso sabato scorso da Between the Ears: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017sr7g
Elisabeth Mahoney ha commentato sul Guardian: "A really good Between the Ears makes you think and makes you listen. The weekend's edition – a "radiophonic rumination on memory failure", written by Peter Blegvad did just that [...] tautly produced by Iain Chambers to be a rich seam of sound layers that could feel roomy and beautiful, with snippets of poetry and music on the theme of memory, but also stifling and oppressive."

www.fallingtree.co.uk/broadcast_history/2011/use_it_or_lose_it
www.guardian.co.uk/profile/iainchambers
http://idiot-dog.com/music/blegvad.peter

Dal concerto tenuto al festival di musica contemporanea di Huddersfield lo scorso 25 novembre, Annie Gosfield, Roger Kleier e Chris Cutler nell'esecuzione di Combustion Chamber-EWA7: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CNkZvrZDvk

Uno speciale su Louis Philippe va in onda oggi all'interno del programma 'Un Privé A Babylone' di Principe Actif, piccola emittente radiofonica francese con sede a Evreux, nell'Alta Normandia.
La puntata si può ascoltare in diretta dalle 12.00 alle 13.30 in http://www.principeactif.net/#unpriveababylon, e successivamente anche come podcast.

www.louisphilippe.co.uk
http://www.principeactif.net/#unpriveababylon

Ha buttato lì qualche idea su nomi celebri, proverbi ed esclamazioni che iniziano con E, assumendo di aver inventato il Tempo: ora è il caso che ne riferisca in pubblico. The Archimedes Quartet - David Thomas, Peter Blegvad, John Edwards, Chris Cutler - debutta al Cafe Oto a Londra domani sera.

The Archimedes Quartet is a project driven by method, mystery and miasma. Five years ago David Thomas described a bath tub epiphany to Peter Blegvad at a chance meeting outside an architectural college in Oxford. "Edison, Einstein, Eisenhower and Elvis - The Four 'E's Who Invented The 20th Century." This evolved, in the way of these sorts of conversations, into a Big Idea - a lecture / symposium slamdown to be refereed by Chris Cutler. A few emails were exchanged, words beginning with "E" were accumulated but, in the way of these things, the Big Idea withered on the vine. Well, it's back and it's bigger than before and it's booked, Saturday, December 3 2011, at Cafe Oto, London.

http://inventingtime.wordpress.com
http://cafeoto.co.uk/thomas-blegvad-cutler-edwards.shtm

Prende il via domani a Londra, in St. James's Church a Piccadilly, un nuovo ciclo di appuntamenti dal vivo con le mirabili interpretazioni dei repertori di Robert Wyatt e Antony & The Johnsons ad opera del gruppo The Unthanks, proprio mentre esce l'album tratto dai concerti dell'anno scorso alla Union Chapel: The Songs of Robert Wyatt and Antony & The Johnsons, Live from The Union Chapel (Diversions Vol 1.), primo di una serie di volumi atti a documentare le esperienze compiute di recente dalle sorelle Rachel e Becky in vari contesti e occasioni. Informazioni e recensioni su tour e album sono al sito web del gruppo, e un video promozionale è anche su YouTube.

Rachel and Becky Unthank have long found kindred energies in the proudly maverick English soul of Robert Wyatt. Their interpretation of his ‘Sea Song’ was one of the real jewels of Mercury Music Prize nominated second album ‘The Bairns’, and regarded by Wyatt himself as the finest interpretation by another artist of his songs. Wyatt was helpful and enthusiastic to the band in their preparations for this project, pleased that his songs are being performed live, given that he himself chooses not to perform these days. Similarly, they have previously dipped their toe in the water with Antony Hegarty’s music. ‘For Today I Am A Boy’ was a showstopper in the early days of Rachel Unthank & The Winterset. With a December tour to mark the release, a Scottish premiere at Celtic Connections in January and a promise of more Wyatt / Hegarty songs not featured on the album, the project appears to have a life of its own, as The Unthanks continue to explore two of the most adventurous songbooks of the last half-century.

http://www.the-unthanks.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTXLCEKFXgs

Ultima occasione per quest'anno di seguire la conferenza-concerto Chinese White Bicycles presentata da Joe Boyd e Robyn Hitchcock 'dal vivo e direttamente dal 1967': domani sera a Londra, Southbank Centre, alla Purcell Room.

In this show legendary record producer Joe Boyd reads from his memoirs concerning the magic years 1965 to 1969, while Robyn Hitchcock sings songs that came to define the era. Together they discuss this period and the discoveries and experiences of their younger selves. Between these years, the young American Joe Boyd discovered, nourished and worked with The Incredible String Band, Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention and Nick Drake among others, producing records by them which have become seminal classics.

http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/gigs-contemporary/tickets/chinese-white-bicycles-59478
http://www.joeboyd.co.uk
http://www.robynhitchcock.com

L'originalità dell'inventore e il finissimo talento dell'artigiano erano tratti di Hans Reichel ben noti anche nel settore del disegno dei caratteri tipografici, dove Reichel aveva ottenuto consensi e grandi successi soprattutto con la creazione, nel 1995, del font FF Dax, divenuto subito celebre e da allora pressoché onnipresente in ogni tipo di stampato professionale: la sua storia è richiamata in www.fontfont.com/fonts/dax e in www.fontfont.com/news/hans-reichel-1949-2011.
Il 1995 fu anche l'anno in cui Hans Reichel, in sodalizio con Tom Cora e con sigla Angel Carver, accompagnò con una dozzina di concerti a raffica la nascita ufficiale in Italia del circuito autogestito di diffusione delle musiche eterodosse Circ.a. Dio gliene renda merito!

https://www.fontfont.com/fonts/dax
https://www.fontfont.com/news/hans-reichel-1949-2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FF_Dax
http://www.fontshop.com/fonts/downloads/fontfont/ff_dax_ot_collection
http://new.myfonts.com/person/Hans_Reichel

Un bel ritratto di Mike Westbrook è su All About Jazz, firmato da Duncan Heining: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=40693&page=1

Keith e Julie Tippett erano in concerto a Gradisca d'Isonzo (Go) la settimana scorsa; una breve ripresa amatoriale è su YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/photocronista

Grazie a Shuffleboil si può rivedere in azione con uno dei suoi meravigliosi strumenti il compianto Hans Reichel, ospite dell'edizione 2009 del festival austriaco Phonomanie, quell'anno curata da Paul Lovens. Inconstant Sol ha nei suoi preziosi archivi una registrazione non ufficiale di trent'anni prima, Reichel in duo con Rüdiger Carl a Lovere, il 15 giugno 1979.
Un ricordo personale del musicista è nelle parole di Bruce Lee Gallanter, di Downtown Music Gallery: "Hans Reichel was a unique improvising guitarist, a pioneering instrument maker and guitar manipulator. In the early eighties when Fred Frith was living in New York I caught these two distinctive guitarists playing together in solo, duo & trio combinations on several occasions at places like P.A.S.S.. One of Hans experiments was to take two guitars, get rid of the bodies and attach two necks together with one bridge at the midpoint joining so one could tap on both necks simultaneously. The first time I heard this on record was on Fred Frith's 'Guitar Solos 2'. Another brilliant modification was to cut out the area around the bridge and the reattach it in the same place on an axle perpendicular to the neck, so that the body itself became a sort of whammy-bar.
Hans had also recorded a half dozen solo records on FMP ('Bonobo Beach' & 'Death of the Rare Bird Ymir') which were great but are now sadly out of print. I was fortunate to hear Mr. Reichel with the East-West German Quartet (with Rudiger Carl & Sven Ake Johanssen) in the mid eighties and at an FMP Festival in Chicago in the mid-nineties. This was his last appearance in the US as far as I know. 
Hans other noted invention was the daxophone: a flat strip of wood with various patterns cut into it - for tuning - that is held off the edge of a table by a vice. The inserted wood is bowed, struck and manipulated to get those unique and sometimes vocal-like sounds. Hans became a master at playing the daxophone and making several recordings, including a dax opera. Check out 'Yuxo' if you can find it. Other musicians also played daxes made by Hans include Fred Frith, Mark Stewart & Kazuhisa Uchihashi. I suggest guitar enthusiasts and lovers of unusual instruments seek ANY of Hans Reichel's recordings, each one is a gem. He will be missed."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8uGNY2Qf9Y
http://inconstantsol.blogspot.com/2009/08/hans-reichel-rudiger-carl-live-in.html

Mutant Sounds recupera alcuni nastri non ufficiali dei Muffins epoca 1977, dal vivo a Washington (e forse altrove): http://mutant-sounds.blogspot.com/2011/11/muffins-live-washington-dc-1977-usa.html

Debutta con una serie di quattro concerti a Dartington, Nottingham, Huddersfield e Liverpool il nuovo lavoro di Annie Gosfield Floating Messages and Fading Frequencies, ispirato ai messaggi in codice trasmessi via radio dai gruppi della Resistenza europea durante la seconda guerra mondiale. In scena l'Ensemble Athelas, alle prese con una fitta partitura, e il trio di improvvisazione costituito dalla stessa autrice con Roger Kleier e Chris Cutler.

http://www.thirdear.co.uk/projects/floating-messages-and-fading-frequencies
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/8879874/Annie-Gosfield-inspiration-from-the-messages-of-the-Resistance.html

E purtroppo oggi ci lascia anche Hans Reichel. Sessantadue anni. Un uccello raro. Un genio.

Der bekannte Wuppertaler Designer und Musiker Hans Reichel ist tot. Er starb gestern (22.11.11) überraschend im Alter von 62 Jahren. Als Designer entwickelte er mehrere Schriftfamilien. Als Gitarrist gehörte er bereits in den 60er Jahren zur ersten Generation frei improvisierender Musiker. Er erfand ein völlig neues Streichinstrument, das Daxophon. Konzert-Tourneen führten Reichel in über 40 Länder in Europa, Amerika und Asien, seine Musik ist auf mehr als 40 Solo-LPs und CDs zu hören.

http://www.daxo.de/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Reichel
http://jazzblogger.de/index.php/hans-reichel-rip
http://www.wdr.de/studio/wuppertal/nachrichten/index.html#r10
http://www.wz-newsline.de/lokales/wuppertal/hans-reichel-im-alter-von-62-jahren-gestorben-1.826589

Aveva compiuto ottant'anni il marzo scorso, se n'è andato poco fa uno dei batteristi più importanti del jazz moderno, Paul Motian.

Although he studied drums in the Navy School of Music in Washington, there has never been anything militaristic about Motian's prolific work as a jazz drummer. In the mid-1950s, he played with a host of jazz stars including Stan Getz, George Russell and Thelonious Monk, but his major association was with pianist Bill Evans, both in Evans's trio and as a member of other groups, such as the quartet led by clarinettist Tony Scott. With Bill Evans, he developed a way of playing that mirrored the pianist's phrasing and approach, often abandoning aspects of the drummer's traditional time-keeping role. He went on to prove that he is one of the finest trio drummers in jazz history, working with the free-jazz influenced group of Paul Bley and the more wide-ranging Keith Jarrett Trio.
During the decade he played with Jarrett (1967-76), Motian developed a particular rapport with bassist Charlie Haden, in whose own groups he toured and recorded from time to time, from the 1960s to the 1990s. From the late 1970s, Motian has mainly fronted his own groups, ranging from the excitement of his Electric Bebop Band (which pitted two guitarists against a saxophone player, backed by bass and drums) to more conventional jazz trios and quartets. His long-standing trio with saxophonist Joe Lovano and guitarist Bill Frisell is particularly noteworthy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Motian
www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/arts/music/paul-motian-jazz-drummer-is-dead-at-80.html
http://jazztimes.com/sections/news/articles/28981-paul-motian-dies-at-80
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/11/drummer-paul-motian-dies.html

Dave Stewart e Barbara Gaskin in alleanza con Burning Shed annunciano per inizio dicembre la ristampa degli album The Big Idea e Spin in speciali edizioni ricche di brani inediti e libretti informativi in una veste del tutto simile ai precedenti, splendidi, Broken Records-The Singles e As Far As Dreams Can Go. E non finisce qui!

Dave & Barbara are pleased to announce the re-release of their albums The Big Idea and Spin. These are the third and fourth releases in the Stewart / Gaskin Special Edition reissue series, which started last year with Broken Records-The Singles and As Far As Dreams Can Go. Featuring contributions by Gavin Harrison (drums), Jakko Jakszyk (guitar), Jimmy Hastings (flute) and the amazing Amorphous Choir, this pair of critically acclaimed albums by the 'intelligent pop' duo are now available worldwide for the first time.
Remastered from original digital sources, each CD ships in a full colour digipak with a lavish 20-page booklet featuring new artwork, archive photos and the continuing history of Stewart / Gaskin written by the musicians. Each disc contains one previously unreleased bonus track. Copies signed by Dave & Barbara are also available.
The reissue of these two titles means that the entire Stewart / Gaskin catalogue is now available on CD. The duo's early years are documented in Broken Records-The Singles (Special Edition) and As Far As Dreams Can Go (Special Edition), which between them contain remastered, full-length versions of all Dave & Barbara's '80s singles (including the number one hit 'It's My Party') and 12" mixes, the entire contents of the US compilation Up From The Dark and 47 minutes of extra material which includes previously unreleased bonus tracks. The more recent releases Green and Blue & Hour Moon (2009) and The TLG Collection (2010) complete the Stewart / Gaskin collection to date... and there's more to come.

www.burningshed.com/store/davebarb/multiproduct/326/2702
www.burningshed.com/store/davebarb/multiproduct/326/2701

È disponibile da qualche giorno il nuovo libro di Edwin Prévost - tra i fondatori negli anni sessanta del 'gruppo aperto' AMM - The First Concert: An Adaptive Appraisal Of A Meta Music, pubblicato da Copula per Matchless Recordings. L'uscita del libro sarà ufficializzata con un concerto al londinese Cafe Oto il prossimo 18 dicembre:

Percussionist Eddie Prévost is publishing a book of his personal philosophies of musical practice. The First Concert: An Adaptive Appraisal Of A Meta Music discusses his weekly London improvisors workshop within the context of adaptionism (which differentiates products of evolutionary adaptation and products of other processes) and takes in folk, jazz, improvisatory techniques, and Prévost's ideas about what he calls metamusical practices.

http://www.matchlessrecordings.com/the-first-concerthttp://cafeoto.co.uk/edwin-prevost-meta-music.shtm

Sylvia Hallett dal vivo, filmata da Helen Petts il 19 settembre 2011 al Vortex Jazz Club londinese.

http://www.youtube.com/user/mopomoso#p/a/u/5/SPAIzgy7-Pg
http://www.sylviahallett.co.uk

Keith e Julie Tippett sono stasera alla Sala Civica Bergamas di Gradisca d'Isonzo (Go), ospiti della rassegna All Frontiers, in programma nella cittadina friulana dal 18 al 20 novembre con concerti, proiezioni e vari eventi musicali.

Acknowledged as two of the most distinctive and original musicians in jazz and improvised music, Keith and Julie Tippett perform an evening of spontaneous composition; the architecture being complete only when the last note has drifted into silence.

http://www.moremusic.it/2011/programma-2011
http://www.mindyourownmusic.co.uk/project-couple-in-spirit.htm

Sonata Islands ha in cartellone due appuntamenti con Alt Rock for chamber quartet, musiche di Fred Frith e Univers Zero - trascritte da Giovanni Venosta - Guillame Connesson, Nico Muhly, Francesco Zago, Tiziano Popoli e Stefano Zorzanello interpretate da Emilio Galante (flauti), Valerio Cipollone (clarinetti), Andrea Pecolo (violino) e Bianca Fervidi (violoncello). Questa sera a Trento, Teatro Portland via Papiria 6, e il 20 novembre a Milano, Zona K via Spalato 11.

www.sonataislands.com/sonata_islands/page/festival_2011.html

Odd Time è il titolo che Eugene Chadbourne ha scelto per l'album di canzoni registrato con Warren Smith lo scorso marzo, titolo che certamente allude al libro di esercizi di lettura a prima vista - Odd Time Reading Text, di Louis Bellson - che Smith gli regalò in occasione di un concerto tenuto nel suo appartamento all'epoca della "loft jazz scene" nella New York di fine anni settanta. L'episodio è stato riferito tempo fa dallo stesso Chadbourne, nel redigere una breve biografia del veterano batterista: si legge ad esempio in www.cmt.com/artists/az/smith_warren_percussion_/bio.jhtml. Su YouTube si trova un momento della seduta di registrazione di Odd Time, mentre una recensione del concerto in solo che Chadbourne ha tenuto poche sere fa al londinese Cafe Oto si trova in LondonJazz, introdotta da un disegno di Geoffrey Winston.

www.youtube.com/user/EngineStudiosNYC#p/u/2/7gUV_gIf3ug
http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-eugene-chadbourne.html