30 settembre 2014


Il nuovo capitolo Negativland interroga fede, razionalità, sacre scritture e credenze religiose con un denso collage sonoro modellato sulle celebri trasmissioni radiofoniche della serie Over the Edge: It's All in Your Head, doppio cd ospitato in una copia della Bibbia di re Giacomo (una versione alternativa con una copia del Corano pare sia andata subito esuarita, o distrutta). Lo si richiede direttamente al gruppo californiano tramite http://negativland.com

Negativland's new album, It's All in Your Head, finds the group tackling their biggest subject ever: why humans believe in God. Millennia-in-development, this ambitious and densely-crafted double cd is packaged inside an actual Holy Bible which has been appropriately re-purposed into a "found" art object, handmade by Negativland. It's All in Your Head intends to entertain, inform, and provoke. On the cds, Negativland mixes found music, found sound, found dialogue, guest personalities and original electronic noises into a compelling and thoughtful musical essay that looks at monotheism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, neuroscience, suicide bombers, 9/11, colas, war, shaved chimps, and the all-important role played by the human brain in our beliefs. Reading the attached Bible is optional. The audio is presented as a live radio broadcast, modeled after Negativland's weekly Over the Edge radio program on KPFA FM in Berkeley, CA. This theater-of-the-mind project has been assembled from basic tracks recorded live in front of blindfolded studio audiences, and documents the unique style of live collage performances that Negativland has been presenting on stages, and on radio, since the formation of the group in 1980. It's All in Your Head is 100% new and different from the long-unavailable limited edition Over the Edge Live on Stage cd, made from multi-track recordings of entirely different performances and crafted in the studio over a period of several years.

http://negativland.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=8&products_id=85

29 settembre 2014


Documentazione video e fotografica del passaggio dei Doctor Nerve al Centro Stabile di Cultura a S. Vito di Leguzzano (Vi) mercoledì scorso si trova in http://www.doctornervetour.eu/20140924.html.
Tra i materiali in distribuzione a fine concerto c'era anche qualche copia dell'ep The Gift of Shame, breve incursione in studio effettuata nel 2012, a tutt'oggi l'unica prova (semi)ufficiale dell'attuale ottetto: Nick Didkovsky, Leo Ciesa, Yves Duboin, Rob Henke, Ben Herrington, Michael Lytle, Kathleen Supové e il dinamico bassista Jesse Krakow.

http://www.doctornerve.org


28 settembre 2014


Venduto ai concerti statunitensi di questi giorni, e andato quasi immediatamente esaurito, il cofanetto di due cd più libretto commemorativo The Elements of King Crimson è stato distribuito in quantità limitate anche in Europa da Burning Shed, con la clausola che ad ogni acquirente fosse concesso l'acquisto di una sola copia. Probabilmente tornerà in circolazione, con libretto adattato, quando e se il Re si farà in futuro un giretto anche in Europa.

The Elements Of King Crimson is a special limited edition 'tour box' created exclusively for sale at King Crimson's concerts and via the band's official online outlets. The set contains a 24 page tour booklet and two CDs containing extracts, elements from studio recordings, alternate takes, live tracks, rehearsals and finished recordings from 1969-2014 (much of it previously unreleased on CD).

http://www.dgmlive.com
https://www.burningshed.com/store/kingcrimson/product/313/6077

27 settembre 2014


Marcus O'Dair è intervenuto alla conferenza della sezione britannica e irlandese della IASPM, tenutasi pochi giorni fa a Cork (Irlanda), con un intervento mirato a mettere in luce il ruolo - spesso sottovalutato - di Alfreda Benge nella musica di Robert Wyatt:¿Dónde está: the neglected role of Alfreda Benge in the music of Robert Wyatt, nel contesto di una più ampia tavola rotonda dal titolo Collaborative creativity in popular music: ownership, process, constraint and identity. Questo in sintesi il punto di vista di O'Dair: “There is no Robert without Alfie”.

"To many journalists, ‘Alfie’ is simply the woman who picks them up from the station when they come to interview her husband - or, at most, the woman who inspired Sea Song. My paper will aim to document Benge’s multi-faceted role, which may be far more active than mere muse. I will examine her role in the studio (drawing on interviews with Wyatt and Benge themselves, as well as with several other musicians and the engineer Jamie Johnson). This paper will discuss Benge’s pivotal role in securing deals (with Virgin, Rough Trade, Hannibal/Ryko and Domino) as Wyatt’s de facto business manager, and her contribution to the visual presentation of his work (she has designed the cover of every album since 1974’s Rock Bottom). Her creative contribution is evident in the work itself; since 1991’s Dondestan, Benge has written lyrics for a number of the songs that appear under her husband’s name. What is the power dynamic that governs their relationship, both professional and personal? Is the critics’ relative neglect of Benge’s contribution due to sexism, or are there other issues at play? To what extent should her album cover be seen as part of Wyatt’s - or Wyatt and Benge’s - artistic output? Finally, what is the relationship between writing, singing and authorship, particularly in relation to the cover versions Wyatt himself records, and the increasing number of other artists who, in turn, cover his songs?"

Una approfondita conversazione, più o meno sullo stesso tema ma senza alcun tono accademico, tenuta qualche anno fa da Sharon Gal e Edwin Pouncey direttamente con Alfie per Resonance 104.4 FM è archiviata (in due parti) presso l'impagabile Internet Archive.

http://www.iaspm.org.uk/conference2014
http://www.iaspm.org.uk/conference-2014/programme.pdf
http://www.marcusodair.com/#!papersandpanels/cqxp
https://archive.org/details/DiggersWithAlfredaBengeAlfieWyattPart1
https://archive.org/details/DiggersWithAlfredaBengeAlfieWyattPart2

26 settembre 2014


Apre oggi col botto la quarta edizione di Off the Page, festival di musica e letteratura contemporanea a Bristol (Regno Unito), con l'incontro pubblico di Robert Wyatt in conversazione con Marcus O’Dair, autore del libro biografico Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography Of Robert Wyatt. Presso il centro d'arte Arnolfini: http://www.arnolfini.org.uk

Robert Wyatt is an English original. For more than four decades he has cut an idiosyncratic path through the nation’s pop landscape, taking in the psychedelic reveries of Soft Machine, the jazz rock inversions of Matching Mole, political songwriting and campaigning, and collaborations with a wildly diverse cast of musicians, from Pink Floyd to Scritti Politti, Paul Weller to Evan Parker, Mike Oldfield to Björk, all testifying to the universal appeal of his singular music. This month Serpent's Tail is publishing Different Every Time: The Authorised Biography Of Robert Wyatt, for which Wyatt collaborated closely with the author and broadcaster Marcus O’Dair. To mark the publication of the book, for Off The Page’s opening event Robert Wyatt will be talking to Marcus O’Dair about some of the most significant moments and episodes in his half a century of music making. The discussion will be prompted by a selection of tracks from a new anthology of Wyatt’s music, as well as previously unseen photos taken from the biography.
The talk will be followed by an audience question and answer session, and signed copies of Different Every Time will also be on sale.

http://www.arnolfini.org.uk/whatson/off-the-page
http://www.marcusodair.com/#!robertwyatt/ctzx

25 settembre 2014


Il programma Between the Ears della BBC Radio 3 ha trasmesso sabato scorso una nuova versione di Eschatology, recente lavoro di Peter Blegvad realizzato assieme al Langham Research Centrecon l'ausilio in questa occasione di ulteriori voci narranti e recitanti rispetto alle presentazioni in concerto dell'anno scorso, quelle di Harriet Walter, Guy Paul e Susan Rae. Il brano, eseguito dal vivo in studio, si riascolta ancora per qualche giorno presso http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hz0sb. Un estratto del concerto del 2 ottobre 2013 al Cafe Oto londinese è visibile - si fa per dire, l'esecuzione si tenne nella penombra quasi totale - alla pagina YouTube di photocronista.

A live radiophonic drama about the end of the world, witnessed from a liner adrift on a deserted ocean. Written and narrated by Peter Blegvad, Eschatology is a poetic exploration of the end of everything: of land where we take to ships, of radio contact when white noise fills the receiver; of individual sounds as they echo into space. Presented live from Broadcasting House, music and sound effects are composed and performed by Langham Research Centre (Felix Carey, Iain Chambers, Philip Tagney and Robert Worby), using vintage electronic instruments and tape machines. The last survivors are played by Harriet Walter and Guy Paul. Susan Rae delivers updates on the apocalypse as it spreads around the planet. Eschatology is a contemplative piece that encourages us to calmly consider how it would feel to witness the end of the world.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04hz0sb
http://www.hibou-anemone-bear.com/search?q=eschatology
https://www.youtube.com/user/photocronista

24 settembre 2014


Erano a Cap'Découverte (Francia) per il RIO France Event 2014 venerdì scorso, stasera sono a S. Vito di Leguzzano (Vi) al Centro Stabile di Cultura: Doctor Nerve.

Doctor Nerve found its roots in the Creative Music Studio (CMS) in 1980. It was there that Nick Didkovsky took a composition class with Baikida Carroll and Dave Holland. Baikida’s deceptively simple homework assignment was to “write two lines of music that fit together.” Didkovsky brought his two lines back to the studio the next day, sketched the music on the blackboard, and after a few moments twenty student musicians locked into the groove and studio exploded with excitement. Baikida started improvising over the top, while Dave was playing electric bass and smiling radiantly. The experience was very powerful, both musically and emotionally. It laid the foundation of the early Doctor Nerve sound: heavy, modular grooves, spiky horn lines, complexity that nevertheless was felt deeply in the body. Further influenced by the sound of the New York City bands like Noise R Us (Jim Matus, Phillip Johnston) with its successful fusion of heavy rock guitar and counterpuntal horns, Didkovsky saw the potential for an instrumental rock band.

Nick met saxophonist Yves Duboin and drummer Leo Ciesa at CMS. Early versions of Doctor Nerve grew out of their collective experience. When Nick moved to New York City in 1983, earlier incarnations of the ensemble solidified. The band took the name Doctor Nerve, adding Dave Douglas on trumpet, Michael Lytle on bass clarinet, and other players who were carving out their place in the downtown New York scene. Didkovsky self-produced the first Nerve LP, which was later re-released on the German label No Man’s Land. The success of the first record led to the Cuneiform Records release of Armed Observation which was produced by Fred Frith. Concert appearances at the Moers Festival, FIMAV, Musique Action and other international shows helped push Nerve’s momentum forward.

The history of Doctor Nerve is marked by restless experimentation. Didkovsky’s work with computer assisted composition gave birth to a number of idiosyncratic Nerveware pieces. Inspired by John Zorn’s Cobra Didkovsky also introduced conducted improvisation to the band. The composition Ereia saw Doctor Nerve augmented by the Sirius String Quartet, performing an hour long work in three movements which premiered at the FIMAV Festival in Victoriaville, QC.

Today Doctor Nerve consists of a stable line up of players. Trumpet beast Rob Henke leads the four piece horn section. Jesse Krakow (Dot Wiggin Band, Fast ‘n’ Bulbous) has held down the bass chair for a few years now. The virtuosic talents of keyboardist Kathleen Supové and trombonist Ben Herrington (Meridian Arts Ensemble) raise the game of the band and point to an exciting future.

http://www.doctornerve.org
https://www.facebook.com/DoctorNerve
http://www.doctornervetour.eu
http://www.thejazzmann.com/news/article/doctor-nerve-european-tour-september-2014
http://www.centrostabile.it

23 settembre 2014


Esce per Fire Records in cd e in vinile - in versioni non del tutto identiche - il nuovo Pere Ubu, Carnival of Souls. Lo accompagna, come già per il precedente Lady from Shanghai, un libro di storie, testi, aneddoti e materiali aggiuntivi troppo denso per un semplice foglietto di note (sono oltre cento pagine!): Cogs, The Making of Carnival of Souls, scritto e curato da David Thomas.

In questi giorni l'album è segnalato o recensito o copiaeincollato ovunque sulla carta stampata e sul web; di tanta attenzione Keith Moliné tira un po' le somme: "While they can obviously never hope to write as well as they did when they penned their first Pere Ubu reviews, the critics tackling the new album have done a far better job than you might expect from writers that have reviewed as many Pere Ubu albums as they have. At the risk of sounding patronising, or moronic, the sprightliness of their prose is impressive considering their advanced years; one might have been forgiven for assuming their fingers to be too ridden with arthritis to be capable of pressing the keys of their laptops. Of course, these being Pere Ubu critics, their work is essentially incomprehensible. But stick with it and you soon realise that these are possibly the most well-written Pere Ubu reviews since the last time a new Pere Ubu album was declared their best since a Pere Ubu album released some time before that, a particularly impressive feat when one takes into account the fact that the writers' transparently obvious lack of familiarity with anything other than the first Pere Ubu album has clearly necessitated a high level of creativity and imagination in fashioning their critiques. What's doubly amazing is that they have achieved this despite working for editors who, rather like The Fall's Mark E. Smith, have a revolving door policy towards their Pere Ubu reviewers; indeed, in many cases they are the only original Pere Ubu reviewers left, beavering away in the face of their readers' total indifference, producing Ubu review after Ubu review, all of which are, to paraphrase legendary DJ Simon Bates, "always different, always the same." (Except without the "different" bit.)".

Da leggere invece sono l'intervista di David Thomas con Sean Kitching per The Quietus - in cui tra l'altro afferma che furono gli Henry Cow i veri Sex Pistols - e l'eccellente saggio di Christopher Hastings Elitism For The People: In Praise Of Pere Ubu pubblicato al suo blog Entrippy!

https://www.facebook.com/official.ubu
http://www.ubuprojex.com/cos.html
http://www.ubuprojex.com/cos.html#cogs
http://thequietus.com/articles/16183-pere-ubu-david-thomas-carnival-of-souls-interview
http://thisisentrippy.wordpress.com/2014/08/17/elitism-for-the-people-in-praise-of-pere-ubu

22 settembre 2014


Le etichette Strut Records e Art Yard festeggiano congiuntamente il centenario della nascita di Sun Ra producendo In The Orbit of Ra, doppio album in cd e vinile che raccoglie una ventina di brani scelti da Marshall Allen attingendo ai nastri originali di varie epoche, una sua estesa intervista e una galleria di rare immagini firmata Val Wilmer. Ulteriori riflessioni di Allen e di alcuni attuali compagni nell'Arkestra sono raccolte in un video pubblicato su YouTube.

Sun Ra is one of the most respected, and perhaps most misunderstood creative minds in jazz music. To commemorate what would have been Ra’s 100th birthday, we’ve teamed up with Art Yard for a very special release. In The Orbit Of Ra is a new collection presented by the longest serving member of the Arkestra and current bandleader, Marshall Allen. Bringing together Sun Ra highights from over 25 years of music, the album is the first internationally released compilation to provide an introduction to the music of Sun Ra, all mastered from the original tapes.

http://www.strut-records.com/deep-into-the-world-of-sun-ra
https://www.facebook.com/ArtYardRecords
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTSn79p2W4o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myg0VXPWTm0

21 settembre 2014


Per ragioni personali, o per motivi di forza maggiore, cessano le attività due dei siti più interessanti e informativi dell'intera blogosfera musicale: Adventure-Equation, totalmente devoto a Sun Ra in ogni suo aspetto noto e più ancora ignoto, e Birds with Broken Wings, luogo di splendide e personali collezioni monografiche curate dal celebre ex-DJ e musicologo californiano Miles Mellough. Arrivederci, speriamo!

http://gosomewherethere.blogspot.com
http://birdswithbrokenwings2.blogspot.com

20 settembre 2014


"A beautiful spirit that lives on in his music & in our memory". Questo il primo commento di uno degli amici e colleghi a lui più cari, Dave Holland, alla notizia della scomparsa due giorni fa di Kenny Wheeler (1930-2014).
E così Nick Smart, direttore del dipartimento di jazz alla Royal Academy of Music londinese: "It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Kenny Wheeler, the great jazz trumpet player and composer. It is hard to express just how large a contribution he made to the music in this country and around the world, and how deeply he touched the musicians that had the honour of working alongside him. Kenny was an important and much loved figure to the jazz department here at the Academy. He was the founding patron of our Junior Jazz programme and the subject of a year-long exhibition about his life and work. We are extremely proud to hold the archive of his manuscripts and every year award the significant Kenny Wheeler prize, inaugurated after the unforgettable evening in the Duke’s Hall celebrating his 80th birthday. With Kenny’s passing we say goodbye to one of the great musical innovators of contemporary jazz. His harmonic palette and singularly recognisable sound will live on in the memory of all who heard him and in the extraordinary legacy of recordings and compositions he leaves behind, inspiring generations to come. Famously self deprecating, Kenny was always modest and humble about his own musical achievements. But the truth is, he was a genius walking amongst us, and it was the most tremendous privilege to have been able to consider him a dear colleague and friend."

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/19/kenny-wheeler
http://www.ram.ac.uk/news?nid=468

19 settembre 2014


Parte oggi tra mille scongiuri - ché su pubblico e musicisti in viaggio incombe la minaccia dello sciopero combinato del personale aereo di Air France e Lufthansa - il RIO France Event 2014 presso la Maison de la musique a Cap'Découverte (Francia). Protagonisti tra gli altri Les Oranges Bleues, October Equus, Doctor Nerve, Stabat Akish, Artaud Beats, Magma, Fred Frith, Le Silo, Offering e The Young Gods. Programma completo e materiali informativi sono in http://www.rocktime.org/rio, mentre una presentazione radiofonica estiva con l'intervento di uno degli organizzatori, Michel Besset, si riascolta presso Vraiment Autre Chose.

http://www.rocktime.org/rio

18 settembre 2014


Un anno ormai che se n'è andata Lindsay... Ciao, ciao bambina!

17 settembre 2014


Inizia con Fine 'n Yellow l'avventura dei Westbrook nell'insidioso mondo del music download. Ottimo album, e scelta quanto mai opportuna, visto che il cd è al momento indisponibile non solo nella sua prima edizione - quella che nel 2009 circolò in forma ristretta tra amici, parenti di Margery e John Styles e abbonati allo Smith's Academy Informer - ma anche in quella prodotta l'anno successivo da Voiceprint/Gonzo per la generalità del pubblico. Per informazioni e acquisti - i file audio sono in mp3 o FLAC - si può procedere da http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/westbrookrecords/downloads.shtml

An album dedicated to the memory of Margery and John Styles commissioned by the Margery Styles Estate which was distributed to friends and family of Margery and John and to subscribers of the Smith's Academy Informer of which John and Margery were the founders.

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/fineyellowcd.shtml
http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/fineyellow/info.shtml
http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/sai/sai81.shtml
http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/westbrookrecords/downloads.shtml

16 settembre 2014


E dagli altrettanto - anzi, di più! - sterminati archivi di Eugene Chadbourne esce un nuovo volume dedicato ad alcune sue sortite giovanili con John Zorn sul finire degli anni Settanta: Great Duo Live, 1977-'80, Volume II. Il cd è autoprodotto e viene distribuito ai concerti del Dottore - attualmente in giro per Olanda, Germania, Svizzera e Francia - oppure a distanza, da casa Chadula o da Squidco.

Historic recordings from 1977-1980 of guitarist Eugene Chadbourne and John Zorn on sax, clarinet and game calls, performing together or solo in New York, San Francisco, Woodstock, NY, Toronto, ON, and New Orleans, LA. Most of these recordings are from before the downtown scene had formed, but already these two players were taking unusual approaches to improvisation that were mostly unprecedented at the time. These recordings provide a view into the early careers of two artists who helped influence a large community of creative musicians, and who continue to surprise five decades later.

15 settembre 2014


Dagli sterminati archivi privati di Alfred 23 Harth esce testimonianza inedita di un progetto di fine anni Novanta condiviso a Wuppertal (Germania) con il contrabbassista Peter Kowald e occasionalmente anche Xu Fengxia, cantante cinese esperta anche di guzheng e sanxian: Region 2 for Seconds, un cd autoprodotto in Corea su etichetta Laubhuette qui con registrazioni del 1998 dei soli Harth e Kowald.

http://alfredharth.blogspot.it
http://laubhuettestudio.blogspot.it/2014/02/region-2-for-seconds.html

14 settembre 2014


L'atteso secondo album dell'Artchipel Orchestra è pronto ed è in distribuzione con il numero di settembre di Musica Jazz: Ferdinando Faraò & Artchipel Orchestra play Soft Machine, registrato in studio a Milano l'inverno scorso, poco prima di Natale. In scaletta ci sono Facelift, Kings And Queens, Noisette, Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening, Mousetrap e Moon In June. Da non perdere nella rivista è anche il prezioso contributo di Alessandro Achilli sulla storia e la provenienza dei brani, tutti scritti da Hugh Hopper e Robert Wyatt ad eccezione del preludio a Facelift, pensato e voluto da Faraò. L'album è dedicato a Hugh (che certamente sta ascoltando!). Bravissimi!

https://www.facebook.com/ArtchipelOrchestra
http://musicajazz.it

13 settembre 2014


Mentre il mondo attende la pubblicazione tra qualche settimana di Different Every Time - prima biografia autorizzata di Robert Wyatt, scritta da Marcus O'Dair e con un'introduzione di Jonathan Coe - il lettore italiano può ammazzare il tempo, se ne ha, con La filosofia di Robert Wyatt (Mimesis Edizioni, 2014), poche fitte pagine in cui l'autore Leonardo Vittorio Arena allinea brani di testi e di sparse dichiarazioni wyattiane interpretandoli alla luce della propria esperienza anche di ascoltatore.

http://www.mimesisedizioni.it/Musica-contemporanea/La-filosofia-di-Robert-Wyatt.html

12 settembre 2014


E a proposito della Ogun, al blog di Pretty Brian si recupera all'attenzione un raro album uscito nel 1977 e mai ristampato in cd: The Cheque is in the Mail, per opera di Elton Dean, Joe Gallivan e Kenny Wheeler.

http://www.discogs.com/Elton-Dean-Joe-Gallivan-Kenny-Wheeler-The-Cheque-Is-In-The-Mail/release/1792874

11 settembre 2014


Dopo un'intensa rassegna di bande e fanfare e vari ensemble fiatistici iniziata lo scorso 4 settembre entra da oggi nella sua fase conclusiva, affollata di ospiti internazionali, il Talos Festival - nato a Ruvo di Puglia (Ba) nel 1993 per idea di Pino Minafra - con una girandola di appuntamenti pomeridiani e serali da capogiro: Instant Composers Pool Orchestra, Han Bennink, Keith & Julie Tippett, Louis Moholo-Moholo, omaggi a Steve Lacy, a Frank Zappa e a Nelson Mandela, mostre, laboratori musicali, un film su Misha Mengelberg e un incontro pubblico con Hazel Miller a ripercorrere quarant'anni di vita dell'etichetta discografica Ogun. Con la partecipazione a vario titolo di Roberto Ottaviano, Gianluigi Trovesi, Riccardo Bergerone, Michael King, Antonello Salis, Livio Minafra, Klaus Paier e Asja Valcic. Il programma completo è presentato in http://talosfestival.it

10 settembre 2014


Un'intervista a John Etheridge a proposito dei suoi anni con Soft Machine prima e con Soft Machine Legacy poi. La propone in forma di podcast - in vari formati audio - LondonJazz.

'Following on from our interview with guitarist/composer John Etheridge about his years with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli, we now present an in-depth interview about his time with Soft Machine, and his continuing work with Soft Machine Legacy. "If Soft Machine had managed their collective career, and had good management like Pink Floyd, there's no reason why there shouldn't have been an equivalence between Pink Floyd and Soft Machine. For various reasons it never happened... the opportunities just petered away."'

http://www.londonjazznews.com/2014/09/podcast-interview-with-john-etheridge.html

09 settembre 2014


La riedizione in due cd di Turns On prodotta or ora da Floating World riprende pari pari l'omonimo doppio volume pubblicato da Voiceprint nel 2001, rimaneggiandone un po' il suono, migliorando il libretto - mantenendo intatte le note di Brian Hopper - e coinvolgendo stavolta anche la vedova di Hugh Hopper, Christine. Sono i Soft Machine d'epoca 1967-1968, come da annuncio: "The Soft Machine along with Pink Floyd and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown were part of the UFO/London Underground scene in the mid-sixties. This 2 CD set combines two separate albums that featured a collection of material that formed much of their live set of the day, and went on to be their classic debut album ‘The Soft Machine’. This set has been re-mastered by Soundmastering and repackaged, and features the original line up of Robert Wyatt, Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers and Deavid Allen. We have done our best to improve, and enhance the sound from the limited material we had, and it sounds pretty good to us! A welcome addition to collectors and fans of all things psychedelic!"

http://www.floatingworldrecords.co.uk/albums/turns-on2
http://www.allmusic.com/album/turns-on-vol-1-mw0000210055
http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/turns-on-v2-mr0000459563

08 settembre 2014


Doppio cd antologico per i Soft Machine con registrazioni domestiche, prove di studio e riprese dal vivo scelte sommariamente negli anni dal 1963 al 1970: Tanglewood Tails, per la londinese Secret Records.

Rare early Soft Machine cuts from 1963 -1970, featuring Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper, Daevid Allen and others. The music contained on this double CD features a retrospective of this initial period of experimental music from home recordings in 1963 to live recordings in 1970, and is an amazing backdrop to one of the most influential acts performing during that most influential of periods of musical inventiveness - the 1960’s.

07 settembre 2014


Termina stasera al Village Vanguard la speciale presentazione dei Libri Secondo e Terzo della serie Book of Angels che per diversi giorni ha visto impegnati - ed emozionati debuttanti nel leggendario locale newyorkese - John Zorn e i tanti gruppi confratelli sorti negli anni attorno all'idea Masada. Un'anteprima si è avuta durante la puntata di domenica scorsa di Spinning on Air, il programma di David Garland su WNYC: http://www.wnyc.org/story/john-zorn-presents-masada-angels-inspiration-and-improvisation

http://villagevanguard.com/html/schedule.html#sep
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/arts/music/john-zorn-at-the-village-vanguard.html
https://www.facebook.com/events/616254725138868

06 settembre 2014


Una personale indagine tra le pubblicazioni in vinile di una sessantina di etichette indipendenti specializzate in free jazz e musica improvvisata nel ventennio precedente l'avvento del compact disc: Free Jazz And Improvisation On Vinyl 1965-1985, di Johannes Rød. Esce per l'etichetta norvegese Rune Grammofon.

Born out of necessity and a love of the music and the records, the aim of this book is to offer a guide to a selection of independent labels and their releases of free jazz, improvisation and generally jazz outside of the mainstream between 1965 and 1985, with 1965 being the year when ESP-Disk' started out as the first independent label dedicated to the music covered in this book, and 1985 being the year that the CD slowly started to take over as the main sound carrier. 60 labels are presented, each with an introduction and a discography, either complete or by the author´s personal choice. There are also 64 sleeve illustrations, including some extremely rare ones, as well as forewords by Swedish sax player and composer Mats Gustafsson and Rune Grammofon founder Rune Kristoffersen, and a conversation between Kristoffersen and music writer Rob Young.

www.runegrammofon.com/artists/various/rbk-2160-j-rod-free-jazz-and-improvisation-on-vinyl-1965-198
www.runegrammofon.com/artists/various/reviews-rbk2160

05 settembre 2014


Tre podcast audio tratti da conversazioni e interviste con Pamela Windo per la presentazione del suo libro Him through Me - Making love and music in the Sixties & Seventies sono negli archivi di Radio Woodstock 100.1, Living JuicySanta Fe’s KVSF 101.5. Il libro ha avuto ampia segnalazione nel notiziario periodico di Gonzo Multimedia lo scorso giugno, una più breve nel numero di questo mese di Jazzwise ed è recensito da Mike Barnes per l'inglese The Wire.

www.pamelawindo.com
http://livingjuicy.org/shows/Livingjuicy-9-4-2014-Pamela-Windo.mp3
http://tinyurl.com/ndrmtvp
http://tinyurl.com/nv9h6c8
http://gonzo-multimedia.blogspot.it/2014/06/gonzo-weekly-81.html
http://www.pamelawindo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/JazzWiseReview.pdf
http://www.pamelawindo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/WirePDF.png

04 settembre 2014


Diversamente dal primo - Irène Schweizer, Live At Taktlos - il secondo titolo del catalogo della svizzera Intakt non ha mai visto la luce in formato cd, e la sua diffusione negli anni è rimasta affidata al solo vinile, del 1988: si tratta di Canaille (International Women's Festival Of Improvised Music), tratto da una rassegna internazionale di sole donne musiciste tenuta il 17 e 18 ottobre 1986 alla Rote Fabrik di Zurigo, cui presero parte tra le altre Maggie Nicols, Elvira Plenar, Annemarie Roelofs, Marilyn Mazur, Lindsay Cooper, Joëlle Léandre e Co Streiff. Chissà che l'etichetta non pensi a ripubblicarlo, magari nel quadro dei festeggiamenti quest'anno dei suoi trent'anni di attività. Intanto lo recupera il rinato Lucky Locus.

http://www.intaktrec.ch
http://www.discogs.com/Various-Canaille-International-Womens-Festival-Of-Improvised-Music/release/1721966
http://luckylocus.blogspot.it/2014/08/canaille.html

03 settembre 2014


Con un intervento di Alessandro Achilli dal titolo Memoria o nostalgia? prende il via oggi a Lainate (Mi) la seconda edizione della rassegna Alterazioni, progetto diretto da Massimo Giuntoli con "la volontà di indagare le molteplici forme ed esperienze che concorrono a delineare il composito panorama della scena musicale contemporanea, con una spiccata predilezione per i linguaggi di frontiera." Concerti e incontri fino al 2 novembre in vari luoghi di Lainate, dalla Sala della Musica di Villa Visconti Borromeo Litta alla Carpinata nel centro del parco facente parte dello stesso complesso, fino al centro culturale Ariston Urban Center. In programma la partecipazione di Angelo Avogadri, Marco Dalpane, il trio Fracture di Luciano Margorani, Luca Pissavini e Ferdinando Faraò con ospite Massimo Falascone, Loomings, The Wrong Object e un duetto dello stesso Giuntoli con Esther Flückiger.

https://www.facebook.com/AlterazioniRassegna

02 settembre 2014


Avrebbe compiuto settant'anni lo scorso aprile il grande contrabbassista tedesco Peter Kowald, figura fondamentale nell'evoluzione e nella storia del free europeo, scomparso a New York dodici anni fa. L'etichetta Jazzwerkstatt ha compilato per l'occasione una sua dettagliata discografia, Discography appunto, riccamente illustrata con le copertine di oltre 140 album, disegni e altre opere grafiche dello stesso Kowald, producendo un box che contiene anche quattro cd audio, tratti da concerti e registrazioni in studio con Floros Floridis, Andrew Cyrille, Louis Moholo, Marilyn Mazur, Gunter Baby Sommer, Conny Bauer e Wadada Leo Smith tra i molti altri.

This discography of music work by the bassist Peter Kowald, who died in 2002, was compiled in honor of his 70th birthday. It includes an alphabetical catalogue of all 143 published recordings up to 2014 by and with Peter Kowald, as well as the cover designs and additional information relevant to the discography. The 208 page book also contains an index of all the films that Peter Kowald was included in, texts by Bert Noglik, Floros Floridis, Wolfgang Schmidtke, and Gunter Baby Sommer, and several photos and drawings by Peter Kowald. A register of all the participating musicians makes this discography into a scholarly reference work of 20th century music history.

http://records-cd.com/news

01 settembre 2014


Nuovo box antologico di cinque cd dal titolo The 80's-Selected Concerts per il poliedrico Sven-Åke Johansson, atto a documentare alcuni suoi concerti tra il 1982 e il 1990 con vari compagni di avventura, tra cui Steve Beresford, Rüdiger Carl, Wolfgang Fuchs, Tristan Honsinger, Hans Reichel, Alex von Schlippenbach e Richard Teitelbaum. Gli album si possono reperire anche singolarmente: Rimski, Erkelenzdamm, Splittersonata, Umeå e BBBQ Chinese Music.

www.sven-akejohansson.com