31 dicembre 2016


Petter Herbertsson cerca altre vite oltre l'orbita Testbild! e una ne trova in Sternpost, poco lontano, con Statues Asleep. "Dark, orchestrated solipsist pop filmed in pseudoscope", per sua ammissione.

https://kalligrammofon.bandcamp.com/album/statues-asleep-2

30 dicembre 2016


Alcuni artisti motivati del giro InPolySons uniscono liberamente sforzi ed intenti e realizzano una No Trumps Compilation niente niente male: Denis Tagu, Klimperei, Pierre Bastien, Dave Willey, Elaine Di Falco e molti ancora.

Unusual, unexpected music, off the beaten track, far removed from commercial interests. The label proposes an alternative to wholesale music, a different musical story which will go round and round your head like another kind of jingle - an uncommercial one. Nostalgic tenderness.
InPolySons produces artists that explore different kind of new musics, such as toy music (based on " simple instruments ", mechanical music (using home-made automats), or even the so-called "raw music" inspired by the raw art of unskilled artists. InPolySons historically produced many compilations, each illustrating different artistic movements (such as Pataphysics) or denunciating stupidity of our governments (against war).
InPolySons also promotes artists who were influenced by a key musical movement in the 70' (Rock in Opposition) that allies original artistic creation with political positions against the power of money in art.

https://inpolysons.bandcamp.com/album/no-trumps-compilation

29 dicembre 2016


Dal marzo 2015 all'aprile di quest'anno Bob Ostertag ha viaggiato il mondo in lungo e in largo con in borsa il necessario per crear musiche e performance interattive per almeno quattro repertori diversi: di uno offre una compiuta sintesi in Wish You Were Here, rintracciabile ora via Bandcamp.

"The music herein is from various performances of one of the four sets I traveled with. My instrument was the Aalto virtual modular synthesizer, which I played with a standard gamepad. making a very portable instrument requiring only a laptop and a gamepad for hardware. I used the Max programming environment to scale and route the gestures from the gamepad to the synthesizer in precise and complex ways, creating a series of what might be called topographies of the synthesizer. With this combination of gamepad and gestural topographies, I have finally found a way to play a modular synthesizer in a manner both musical and constantly surprising, something I have been dreaming of since I first began playing modular synths in the mid-1970s."

28 dicembre 2016


Geoff Leigh apre gli archivi e mette a disposizione del pubblico - ora tramite Bandcamp, precedentemente al blog Aliens@C - alcune sue opere recenti e più antiche, con almeno un paio di documenti imperdibili (e altrimenti introvabili): https://geoffleigh.bandcamp.com

http://aliensatsea.blogspot.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/geoff.leigh.5

27 dicembre 2016

26 dicembre 2016


Era il pezzo mancante nel pacco commemorativo uscito l'anno scorso per i primi dieci anni di attività del gruppo The Unthanks, Memory Box. Molti lo hanno ricevuto ora nella posta di Natale: The Unthanks Memory Book.

25 dicembre 2016


Scegliendo tra i brani del suo recente concerto al Kings Place londinese Mike Westbrook offre oggi al mondo In The Cool Midwinter. Il dolce del Natale.

24 dicembre 2016


Ottima idea quella di Battiti di attingere agli archivi di Un certo discorso per ricordare Pasquale Santoli e nel contempo traghettarci verso il nuovo anno. Si comincia stasera, e con il botto: Blue Notes, con Chris McGregor - che proprio oggi avrebbe compiuto ottant'anni -, Radu Malfatti, Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, J.C. Montredon e la Big Band della Rai dal vivo a Mestre il 2 aprile 1980.

"Per ricordare la figura di Pasquale Santoli, autore, produttore, conduttore di tanti programmi radiofonici, per tanti anni al timone della programmazione jazzistica di Radio3 e quindi responsabile della Documentazione Multimediale Radio e Televisione, Battiti (in onda tutti i giorni dalla mezzanotte all’1.30) ha deciso di riproporre gli storici concerti organizzati nel 1980 per il programma Un certo discorso che coinvolgevano grandi solisti e interpreti internazionali (Gil Evans, Archie Shepp, Steve Lacy, Mike Westbrook, Chris McGregor e tanti altri) e la Big Band della Rai."

www.battiti.rai.it
https://www.facebook.com/Battiti-Radio-3-44450512099
http://tinyurl.com/gn3usgj

23 dicembre 2016


Grazie al cielo non mancano su YT e FB estratti audio e video atti a documentare l'apparizione di Robert Wyatt con Paul Weller, Danny Thompson, Steve Pilgrim e Ben Gordelier dal vivo al People Powered di Brighton (Regno Unito) la settimana scorsa, così da permettere anche agli assenti di apprezzarla, seppur in modo breve. I più curiosi sappiano che il loro concerto è stato introdotto dal magico richiamo - forse fortuito - di un passaggio della September Song di Anderson e Weill proprio nella versione di Wyatt con Pascal Comelade, dopo che nei soundcheck e nelle pause tecniche tra un gruppo e l'altro aveva invece imperversato il faustiano The Sad Skinhead (sempre nella versione haiku di Comelade).

https://www.facebook.com/groups/robertwyatt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzd9E__t3d8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFzx_9d8szQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUuSabK2k94
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4NB1roNZjk

22 dicembre 2016


Chi ha visitato a Londra la controversa esposizione You Say You Want a Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970 - al V&A fino al 26 febbraio 2017 - non avrà mancato di osservare a un certo punto che i curatori hanno posto sullo stesso (ri)piano il primo album dei Soft Machine e L'io diviso di Ronald Laing. Hummm, niente male...

The late 1960s were a period of great turbulence and rapid social and political change. You Say You Want a Revolution? examines that moment when youth culture drove an optimistic idealism, motivating people to come together and question established power structures across every area of society. It shows how many of the issues that dominate contemporary discourse - environmentalism, globalization, individualism or mass-communication - have roots that can be traced back to the 1960s. 1960s design culture culminated in an orgy of colour and form: a sensorial overload of Barbarella-style inflatables, plush Verner Panton playrooms and high-tech 2001: Space Odyssey furniture systems. Here, essays on music, politics, the counter-culture, social living, mind-altering experiences, festivals and more chart revolutions across media and culture, illustrated throughout with some of the most iconic images of the time - including the records that provided both the soundtrack and the key means of identification. The idealism of the period informed such disparate phenomena as the high-tech innovations of Silicon Valley and the environmental movement. Half a century later, we can reassess the genesis of these movements and explore whether the revolutions they started can be considered complete, ongoing or interrupted.


21 dicembre 2016


Grégory Schneider presenta ai lettori di Libération il testo di Aymeric Leroy L’Ecole de Canterbury (Le mot et le reste, 2016): "Il aura fallu pas moins de dix-sept années pour qu’Aymeric Leroy, armé d’une solide maîtrise du solfège et auteur d’ouvrages consacrés au genre progressif en général, et à King Crimson ou Pink Floyd en particulier, pour boucler le présent livre: une recension monumentale se voulant à la fois l’ouvrage source (quinze années d’interviews), la référence (il n’existe rien de comparable sur l’école de Canterbury) et la synthèse, l’objectif étant aussi de décrire la résonance du genre avec son temps."

https://t.co/enmrfj3xLe
https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lecoledecanterbury

20 dicembre 2016


Michel Besset gioca d'anticipo e già comunica date e programma della prossima edizione, la decima, del Rock in Opposition France Event: dal 15 al 17 settembre 2017, con Acid Mothers Temple e Slapp Happy with FaUSt tra gli ultimi convocati: http://tinyurl.com/gvxq6ow. I doni sotto l'albero li anticipa invece Olivier Fromentin, passando allo scanner il programma del primo Rock in Opposition, l'originale, a Londra il 12 marzo 1978: http://tinyurl.com/hrcxfjd.

19 dicembre 2016


Le recenti avventure di Chris Cutler e Yumi Hara in Giappone - con il gruppo Half the Sky-Music of Lindsay Cooper al completo, ma anche in duo, in trio, in formazioni allargate ad ospiti, o frutto di attività seminariali - sono illustrate e rilanciate nello spazio FB di Yumi: https://www.facebook.com/yumi.cawkwell

18 dicembre 2016


Tra le molte iniziative che vedono coinvolto John Greaves in questo periodo c'è anche la ripresa del suo preziosissimo lavoro su Verlaine, con una serie di otto concerti a cadenza mensile iniziata il mese scorso presso il club parigino Le Rendez-Vous d’Ailleurs (rue des Haies, 109) cui prendono parte assieme a lui Scott Taylor, Laurent Valero e di volta in volta diversi ospiti. Titolo degli appuntamenti: Rêvons, C’est L’heure…

Rêvons, C’est L’heure… une série exceptionnelle de huit concerts aux Rendez-Vous d’Ailleurs les mardi 15 novembre, 13 décembre 2016, 10 janvier, 14 février, 14 mars, 11 avril, 16 mai, 13 juin 2017 à  20h45. John Greaves (chant, piano, basse, compositions), Scott Taylor (accordéon, cuivres, flûtes, kalimba, compositions) et Laurent Valero (alto, violon, bandonéon et flûtes) et leurs invités, vous donnent rendez-vous ailleurs à chaque deuxième mardi du mois, de novembre à juin, pour une série de concerts au long cours, où chaque représentation sera unique. Et bien qu’il s’agisse d’ailleurs, l’endroit se situe quelque part, précisément au 109 rue des Haies dans le vingtième arrondissement. Et cela tombe bien, Les Rendez-Vous d’Ailleurs c’est aussi le nom de ce cabaret intime et élégant, lieu idéal pour un échange privilégié entre le public et les artistes. Rêvons, C’est L’heure… C’est l’ambition proclamée de cette suite de rencontres musicales pas comme les autres où les artistes résidents  comme leurs invités, façonneront un éphémère spectacle parfaitement singulier, en toute liberté, pour le plaisir d’y croiser leurs univers. Fil rouge de ces huit concerts, Verlaine, que John Greaves a mis en  musique, en y posant sa touche sensuelle et raffinée, soufflant un vent pop voire rock sur la mélodie française. Embarqués dans l’aventure: Olivier Mellano, Valérie Gabail, Denis Péan, Jeanne Added, David Lewis, Belle du Berry, Silvain Vanot, Rodolphe Burger… 

http://www.lesrendezvousdailleurs.com/2016/11/14/revons-cest-lheure
http://www.lesrendezvousdailleurs.com/contacts

17 dicembre 2016


Sboccerà a primavera un nuovo fiore wyattiano dal profumo francese, coltivato amorevolmente da Bruno Tocanne assieme a Sophia Domancich, Rémi Gaudillat e Antoine LängSea Song(e)s.

Ce projet, à l'initiative de Bruno Tocanne avec le réseau imuZZic, est d'abord une envie commune et irrépressible de ces 4 musiciens proches de l'univers du jazz et des musiques improvisées de s'approprier la chanson Sea Song, chanson phare du disque emblématique de Robert Wyatt Rock Bottom. Cet album qui a durablement influencé les démarches artistiques et intellectuelles d'une partie des musiques improvisées et des musiques actuelles de ces 40 dernières années reste un disque d'une actualité brûlante qui nous offre une vision parfaite de la synthèse entre pop, free, rock, chanson, jazz, électro et psychédélique... Et c'est bien dans cette même démarche musicale que Sea Song(e)s s'inscrit, tout en l'ancrant dans l'actualité, et en y ajoutant des textes d'auteurs proches de cet univers, tels que plusieurs de Marcel Kanche, pour une création collective originale et hybride, à l'image de beaucoup des créations du réseau imuZZic, sans nostalgie ni forfanterie.

http://www.imuzzic-brunotocanne.com/seasongs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDLlsuYF-xA

16 dicembre 2016


Non è ancora certo se Corbyn ci sarà, ma per certo Wyatt ci sarà: People Powered-Concerts for Corbyn debutta stasera a Brighton (Regno Unito) con interventi musicali (e non solo) di Soweto Kinch, Stealing Sheep, Ghetto Priest, Bill Ryder-Jones, Temples, Kathryn Williams e vari altri. Robert Wyatt salirà sul palco con Paul Weller, Danny Thompson, Steve Pilgrim e Ben Gordelier.

https://twitter.com/hashtag/peoplepowered

15 dicembre 2016


Alcune preziose indicazioni di lavoro e di metodo dettate dall'intuizione e dall'esperienza di Charles Hayward, offerte agli studenti dell'University of East London nel corso di un laboratorio musicale tenuto la settimana scorsa, sono ora in un video su YT: youtu.be/se0U5Su2MH8. Tracce di una performance solitaria di qualche giorno precedente - Rattlesnake & Slow Train, presso la Union Chapel di Islington - sono invece in youtu.be/tZGpWGbJAv4.

https://www.facebook.com/charleshayward.org

14 dicembre 2016


Si è appena conclusa a Perth (Australia) un'importante residenza artistica condotta da Keith Tippett su progetto dell'associazione Tura New Music, caratterizzata da numerose attività concertistiche e di laboratorio musicale con il coinvolgimento di oltre una quarantina di musicisti provenienti dalla Western Australian Youth Jazz Orchestra e dall'ensemble iMprov, e il debutto di una nuova formazione ad hoc battezzata Mujician Mosaic. Documentazione, interviste e gallerie fotografiche sono sul web alle pagine di Tura New Music.

https://www.facebook.com/turanewmusic
https://www.facebook.com/events/1601815720122367
https://www.tura.com.au/tura-program/special-events-2016/keith-tippett-residency-2016

13 dicembre 2016


E forse neanche una Bad Alchemy così prima d'ora s'era mai sentita...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERo47ljiLYU

12 dicembre 2016


E' vero, un Uncle Meat così prima d'ora non s'era mai sentito. Sean Westergaard spiega segreti e implicazioni dell'atteso dossier zappiano in 3cd Meat Light-The Uncle Meat Project/Object Audio Documentary: "Who knew there was ANOTHER Uncle Meat?!? Yes, disc two and part of disc three present Uncle Meat: Original Sequence. Many of the tracks are exactly the same, but with different sequencing and some completely unreleased material, all segued together with some additional contributions from the Apostolic Vlorch Injector (responsible for the blasts of noise on Uncle Meat and We're Only in It for the Money). "Whiskey Wah" and "The Whip" are previously unreleased guitar solos. "King Kong" doesn't end the set; it's the end of "Side 2" (of four), and it doesn't include the part that was recorded on a flatbed diesel at a Miami Pop Festival. "Cops & Buns" was included on The Lost Episodes, but in an edited form. Some of the other spoken bits ("Our Bizarre Relationship," "If We'd Been Living in California...") have just a little bit of extra material on them, providing a bit of further insight. "Mr. Green Genes" has a slightly different mix with some additional organ and vocals. The Original Sequence closes with "Cruisin' for Burgers"... but that's not the end of Meat Light! "A Bunch of Stuff" seems to be a spoken intro to the film Uncle Meat. Tracks like "Tango" and "More Beer" are just short cues. The single version of "Dog Breath" is a gas: no main vocals/lyrics -- just prominent (and awesome!) backing vocals with extra guitar and saxophone mixed in. "The String Quartet" is a medley of Uncle Meat tunes that was often performed live by the Mothers, but this sounds like a studio version. "Electric Aunt Jemima" is a different, more modern-sounding mix, while "Exercise 4" is an unused further elaboration of the "Uncle Meat Variations." The alternate mix of "Mr. Green Genes" has a different vocal mix and cool keyboards added. "Echo Pie" takes Jimmy Carl Black's displeasure in "If We'd Been Living in California" and kicks it up a notch or five. "1/4 Tone Unit" is a short, pretty chamber ensemble piece, "Sakuji's March" is a short percussion piece, and "No. 4" is a scored piece with some amazing double piano followed by double marimba. The extended version of "Prelude to Uncle Meat" adds about a minute and a half to the standard version, along with some interesting extra guitar at the end. "My Guitar (Proto 1)" is a ripping instrumental with FZ jamming on the "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" riff. Hearing the guitar from "Nine Types of Industrial Pollution" played at the original speed is extremely interesting. You can hear Frank playing acoustic guitar over a faint, slowed-down drum track. It's rare to hear Zappa play acoustic guitar at all, and his playing here is quite different than what he's normally known for. The live version of "Uncle Meat" sounds great. The instrumental version of "Dog Breath" is a bit more refined and not quite as raucous as the single version... until the guitar solo! Meat Light closes with an alternate mix of "The Dog Breath Variations."
This is a set fans have been waiting for for years. The sound is a huge improvement over all previous Uncle Meat CDs and the additional material is all excellent. Uncle Meat is arguably Zappa's most avant-garde, most dense, most wide-ranging, and one of his most difficult albums for some. It's also one of his very best and Meat Light really does justice to this masterpiece."

http://www.allmusic.com/album/meat-light-the-uncle-meat-project-object-audio-documentary-mw0002980907

11 dicembre 2016


Un lungo e dettagliato intervento del fratello di Bob Drake, Dave, aiuta a seguire le incredibili avventure di Dret Tancat nel Multiverso al centro dell'epico nuovo album Arx Pilosa, finalmente concesso alle stampe e alla distribuzione tramite ReR. Con tanto di tavole artistiche in regalo ai sostenitori della prima ora e fiori di scuse al loro indirizzo per l'indesiderato ritardo. Frickin' supah!

Dice Cutler: "This is such a remarkable piece of work I don’t know where to begin. Anyone who liked the idea-rich, sonically breathtaking and compositionally daring pop music of the '60s, will recognise in these 20 perfectly crafted songs a similar mixture of pop-sensibility and radical innovation, but now recast in contemporary terms and not as pastiche or imitation. If you have hesitated thus far, now’s the time to enter the intensely musical world of the Drakian Academy, where unassuming virtuosity and state of the art studio practice are merely means to greater ends. I know we’ve all heard everything these days, but you haven’t heard this."

http://bdblog.bdrak.com/my-brother-dave-reviews-arx-pilosa
http://tinyurl.com/jb9jvug

10 dicembre 2016


Il felice ritorno alle attività concertistiche a Londra e dintorni di Atsuko Kamura - una Frank Chicken dell'era Club Monkey, già in Honeymoons con Tenko e soprattutto in Mizutama Shobodan/Polkadot Fire Brigade - è sottolineato dalla recentissima pubblicazione di un suo album dal vivo presso Linear Obsessional, Speleology. Ne sostiene le iniziative Rob 'Murphy' Storey, suo mentore anche in occasione di precedenti produzioni per Divine Agency, I Am Kamura e Kamura Obscura. Informazioni e discografia: www.kamuraobscura.com

For her first album for Linear Obsessional, the Japanese vocalist and electronics player, and former member of Frank Chickens presents a collection of extraordinary tracks all recorded live. From freaky and extraordinary voice-modulated improvisations to oddly affecting eco-surreal chansons, this is a wonderful introduction to the witty and bizarre world of this singular artist.

http://linearobsessional.bandcamp.com/music

09 dicembre 2016


In attesa dell'album completo - Selfish Sentiments, pronto nel nuovo anno - nelle piste da ballo e nei club sopra le sale da biliardo già impazza il singolo Right Side Of My Brain, anche in versione dub: è un'autocitazione di Bing Selfish - da Dizzy with Success - ben assecondato dai Windsors, lontani eredi dei Kenny Process Team (e chi li ricorda?): Simon King, Matt Armstrong, Chris Cornetto, Tom Murrow, Phil Bartai e la scatenata Jude Cowan Montague. Let's get cerebral!

http://bingselfish.com
https://bingselfish.bandcamp.com
http://mparmstrong8.wixsite.com/mysite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-mpYxmw8eM

08 dicembre 2016


Come è ormai loro tradizione - e carattere evidente di una lunga e tenace autoproduzione - l'annuale rapporto dei Remote Viewers giunge in gran parte dalle isolate stanze dell'Oxo Tower londinese, dove a turno o insieme svolgono trame e interrogano gli accadimenti Sue Lynch, Caroline Kraabel, John Edwards, Mark Sanders, Adrian Northover e David Petts. Lo storytelling sfiora stavolta il culmine in fatto di paranoia e claustrofobia, con parole sparse a milioni senza speranza di comunicazione, e severi dubbi sul senso del reale. Da fuori, nessuna certezza: No Voice From The Hall.

www.theremoteviewers.com

07 dicembre 2016


Il richiamo a Joan Crawford è svanito del tutto, nondimeno qualche oooh! di ammirazione lo ha suscitato la versione manga della celebre immagine di copertina dell'album di Hatfield and the North The Rotters' Club. La storia dell'originale - opera di Laurie Lewis, come quella del primo capitolo Hatfield - è raccontata in dettaglio da Aymeric Leroy al suo blog.

"The basic premise of the cover was the existence of an actual organisation named The Rotters’ Club, which wasn’t quite as fictitious as it may have seemed – begun as an informal partnership between Pyle, Elton Dean, road manager Benji Lefèvre and guitarist Bernie Holland (of Jody Grind, Hummingbird and Jeff Beck’s Diamond Dust fame) as a banner for all sorts of extreme practical jokes, it eventually morphed into an occasional gigging band, most memorably for a Christmas gig in 1977 involving Dave Stewart, Gary Windo and assorted members of Patto. As for the front cover, the idea was that the Club would receive fan mail, which would be answered by a beautiful young secretary identified (thanks to her signature) as Ruby Crystal, who happened to resemble a famous Hollywood actress... "

https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/2016/11/02/a-closer-look-at-the-cover-of-hatfield-and-the-norths-the-rotters-club

06 dicembre 2016


Un po' del concerto machinista dell'Artchipel Orchestra a Torino lo scorso 1 maggio va in onda questa sera per Radiotre Suite Jazz. L'inizio è alle ore 20.30.

http://tinyurl.com/j7orl8t
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcKWIa9N7cg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD6vDFVYW7I

05 dicembre 2016


Dalla valanga di titoli vecchi e nuovi da poco (ri)messi in circolazione Eugene Chadbourne estrae un paio di suoi preferiti e saluta così un fruttuosissimo 2016: Let's Get Weird But Comfortable e Monk's Dream With Words.

"In October I rehearsed a quintet for a live recording session in Boston. This material came out very well and I am happy to present Let's Get Weird But Comfortable, a superbly recorded and mixed collection of material featuring myself with Jeb Bishop, trombone, Jorrit Dykstra, saxophone, Nate McBride, bass and Curt Newton, bass. An audience member described the band as "weird but comfortable" and this became the name of the combo, others that have heard this phrase are developing it into a life philosophy. The set includes music by Thelonius Monk, Misha Mengelberg, Steve Lacy, Duke Ellington, Doc Chad, Willie Nelson and The James Gang."

"More of the Monk material with this band spills over into the second disc, Monk's Dream With Words. This disc featuring three different band combinations collects all my material up til now with sets of lyrics for Thelonious Monk tunes. In addition to Weird But Comfortable, there is a track with the Arbe Garbe Band (Berlusconi's take on Ruby My Dear) and the results of three different recording sessions at the Degenfeld "German Hippie Farmhouse" studio with Ekehard Rossli, saxophone and Schroeder, drums, both stalwart members of the ongoing Doc Chad Contemporary Rock Band project. The "super!" Degenfeld collection of vintage instruments is utilized to give this collection a rich guitar sound. If you are familiar with my discography you know I love Monk and creating sets of lyrics is one of my favorite pastimes for his music, meanwhile we all keep practicing trying to play these songs as well as possible."

http://www.eugenechadbourne.com

04 dicembre 2016


L'alleanza tra Andrew Greenaway (The Idiot Bastard Son) e Alan Jenkins (Cordelia Records) colpisce ancora, e lo fa nel giorno dell'anniversario della scomparsa di Frank Zappa, ventitré anni fa ormai: The Idiot Bastard Sons Of Mr. Green Genes, quindici diverse interpretazioni di uno degli indimenticati brani di Hot Rats. Tra i molti partecipano Acton Zappa, Caballero Reynaldo & The Grand Kazoo, Evil Dick, Inventionis Mater, Muffin Men, String Trash e Zappa Early Renaissance Orchestra. Per tutti fa da apripista su Soundcloud la versione dei Kettering Vampires... nutritiousness... deliciousness... worthlessness...

http://www.idiotbastard.com/IBSOMGG.htm
http://www.cordeliarecords.co.uk/Pages/Buy%20Records.html

03 dicembre 2016


Dodici volte Fred Frith in sei giorni consecutivi, per una nuova residenza artistica la prossima settimana presso il newyorkese The Stone: al fianco del chitarrista saranno di volta in volta Ikue Mori, Mary Halvorson, Clara Weil, Sylvie Courvoisier, Ava Mendoza, Okkyung Lee, Zeena Parkins, Yuka C. Honda, Yoshimio, Ches Smith, Nate Wooley, Tania Chen e Nava Dunkelman, con particolare attesa per i duetti con Gyan Riley e con Laurie Anderson. Informazioni: http://www.thestonenyc.com/calendar.php

02 dicembre 2016


Domanda: dov'erano gli Henry Cow quarant'anni fa, esattamente il 2 dicembre 1976? Risposta: alla Facoltà di Lettere di Nizza. Lo sa per certo Philippe de Louraille, e lo può testimoniare: http://tinyurl.com/hjcbb5s

01 dicembre 2016


Dagmar Krause parla con Mike Barnes durante gli ascolti alla cieca proposti questo mese dalla rivista The Wire: Slapp Happy, Faust, Henry Cow, Art Bears, Robert Wyatt, Peter Blegvad con Andy Partridge, Zeena Parkins e Ikue Mori, Ton Steine Scherben e A-Musik...

http://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/394

30 novembre 2016


E dopo il concerto poche sere fa a Colonia avrà certamente un seguito la reunion di Slapp Happy con membri di FaUSt: per esempio, una doppietta - anzi tripletta, vista la grandissima richiesta - al Cafe Oto londinese a febbraio del nuovo anno. Alcuni biglietti sono disponibili in http://tinyurl.com/hucr656

http://tinyurl.com/j9fwu9l

29 novembre 2016


Era stato trasmesso in diretta streaming la sera del concerto, lo scorso 19 novembre, ora è disponibile nell'archivio YT del club Le Triton il concerto super-coltraniano del quartetto di Christian Vander (con Laurent Fickelson, Jean-Michel Couchet, Emmanuel Grimonprez), divenuto per l'occasione quintetto con l'ospite Eric Prost.

Si le nom de Christian Vander est connu par les mélomanes du monde entier, c’est évidemment du fait de Magma, son groupe mythique, sa plus grande réalisation artistique. Pourtant, quiconque connaît Christian Vander connaît immanquablement sa passion (le terme est encore trop faible) pour John Coltrane, le musicien bien sûr mais aussi l’homme, «l’homme suprême». Omniprésent dans l’ensemble de l’œuvre de Vander, Coltrane y est plus que jamais mis à l’honneur dans la formation en quartet du batteur, spécialement dédiée à jouer la musique de son maître. Pour l’occasion de ces concerts, le saxophoniste Eric Prost est l’invité du quartet!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ibRXfF39s&sns=fb

28 novembre 2016


In coincidenza con l'anniversario della nascita del Poeta, torna disponibile in digitale presso il sito del musicista uno dei massimi capolavori di Mike Westbrook, quello sui testi poetici di William Blake scelti e adattati da Adrian Mitchell, The Westbrook Blake-Bright As Fire, pubblicato in vinile dapprima da Original Records (1980) e in seguito da Impetus Records anche in cd e audiocassetta. Alla sua realizzazione presero parte all'epoca, oltre a Mike, Kate Westbrook, Phil Minton, Mike Davies, Dave Hancock, Henry Lowther, Malcolm Griffiths, Alan Sinclair, Alan Wakeman, Chris Biscoe, Dave Barry, Georgie Born e Chris Laurence. Successive riprese di quei materiali, riorganizzati e ampliati sotto il nome Glad Day, hanno prodotto negli anni molti concerti e nuove registrazioni, sia audio che video. Occasione prossima per una presentazione in pubblico sarà a marzo del nuovo anno, al Kings Place di Londra.

Settings of the poetry of William Blake, with music by Mike Westbrook, texts selected by Adrian Mitchell. Much of the material originally commissioned by the National Theatre for the 1971 production of Adrian Mitchell’s Tyger, directed by John Dexter and Michael Blakemore. The Blake settings, sung by Kate Westbrook and Phil Minton, were an integral part of the repertoire of the Mike Westbrook Brass Band from its formation in 1973. The Westbrook Blake (Bright As Fire), a programme entirely devoted to Blake’s poetry, was first performed in 1980 and has been widely performed throughout Britain and Europe, in New York (1983) and at the Adelaide Festival (1984).

http://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/westbrookrecords/downloads.shtml
http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/music/the-westbrook-blake-settings-of-the-poetry-of-william-blake-by-mike-westbrook

27 novembre 2016


(Pauline Oliveros, 1932-2016)



26 novembre 2016


L'eccezionale concerto degli Slapp Happy assieme ad alcuni dei FaUSt, in programma questa sera al Week-End Festival a Colonia, è accompagnato dalla tempestiva ristampa degli album Sort Of e Acnalbasac Noom in speciali edizioni limitate a cura dell'amburghese Tapete Records. E da un messaggio di buon augurio che riporta il commento di tre loro illustrissimi fiancheggiatori: Robert Wyatt, Brian Eno e John Peel.

On the special invitation of Week-End Fest, the avant-garde pop band Slapp Happy will play their first concert for 16 years and will be accompanied on this rare occasion by Krautrock legends Faust. British artist Anthony Moore started the pop project in Hamburg in 1972. Together with German Dagmar Krause and American Peter Blegvad, Moore played enchanting songs somewhere between The Pentangle and The Velvet Underground. Most of the songs were carried by Dagmar Krause’s inimitable voice. Just as on the first two albums 'Sort Of' and 'Casablanca Moon' (which was first released in 1980 in its original version as 'Acnalbasac Noom'), the Krautrock giants Faust will support Slapp Happy in Cologne.

http://www.weekendfest.de
http://www.tapeterecords.de/artists/slapphappy
https://shop.tapeterecords.com/slapp-happy-sort-of.html
https://shop.tapeterecords.com/slapp-happy-acnalbasac-noom.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dmd4EJLc9go

25 novembre 2016


Tornano disponibili per Domino Records le ristampe in vinile di due album di Robert Wyatt già ripresi dall'etichetta qualche tempo fa: Ruth is Stranger Than Richard (inizialmente Virgin, 1975) e Nothing Can Stop Us (Rough Trade, 1982), nella versione originale senza Shipbuilding.

http://www.dominorecordco.com/artists/robert-wyatt

24 novembre 2016


Bel dono benaugurale di Robert Wyatt agli organizzatori del Week-End Festival alla vigilia del suo svolgimento, a Colonia (Germania) dal 25 al 27 novembre: un'ora di dediche e personali scelte musicali pubblicata in forma di podcast tramite Mixcloud. Wow!

Viele Künstler reden nicht gerne über ihre Kunst. Schließlich soll sie für sich selbst sprechen und jeden ganz individuell berühren. Manchmal braucht es einen kleinen Umweg, damit sie sich öffnen: Indem sie etwa über andere Künstler reden, die ihnen viel bedeuten. Ein wunderbares Beispiel ist der Podcast, den Robert Wyatt extra für das Week-End Festival gemacht hat. Indem er über seine 'most personal recorded souvernirs' redet (und sie spielt), gibt er einen persönlicheren Einblick in seine Welt, als in vielen Interviews über sein eigenes Werk. Wir erfahren, von wem er seinen 'singing not-singing'-Stil hat, was man vom Sänger Berthold Brecht lernen kann und welcher R’n’B-Song 1964 eine wichtige Rolle dabei spielte, dass er Profimusiker wurde.

http://www.weekendfest.de/mixtape.php
https://beta.mixcloud.com/WEEKEND_Festival/week-end-mixtape-3-robert-wyatt

23 novembre 2016


Dalle pagine del suo splendido blog Legends In Their Own Lunchtime Aymeric Leroy indaga - come forse mai nessuno prima - sulle vicende di due musicisti che in epoche diverse han fatto parte dei Soft Machine, prima di affrontare incerti e oscuri destini: Phil Howard e Larry Nowlin.
Destino incerto e oscuro spetta al momento anche all'altro e più celebre spazio informativo di Leroy, lo storico Calyx, temporaneamente inaccessibile sul web: "The website has been down as a result of my Internet provider of 18 years (SFR, formerly Club-Internet) deciding to unilaterally suspend all users’ personal pages with no explanation, excuse or compensation. An announcement to this effect was made some months ago, to widespread disbelief, and I assumed this was a blunder or joke on their part. Unfortunately, this decision is now in effect, and Calyx has been taken down. Needless to say, I will cancel my subscription and change providers as soon as possible, and the website will be back online. Sorry for the inconvience."

https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/2016/11/03/the-phil-howard-enigma
https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/a-mystery-unveiled-original-soft-machine-guitarist-larry-nowlin
https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/2016/11/22/calyx-website-update

22 novembre 2016


E qualche impressione sugli splendidi concerti dei giorni scorsi di Mike Westbrook e della Liberation Music Orchestra al London Jazz Festival è riportata da Richard Williams al suo blog TheBlueMoment:
https://thebluemoment.com/2016/11/20/mike-westbrook-at-the-piano
https://thebluemoment.com/2016/11/20/liberation-music-orchestra

21 novembre 2016


Qualche impressione sul neoeletto Trump la esprime in questi giorni Bobuck - stella fissa nell'universo Residents - con un brano disponibile gratuitamente al suo spazio Bandcamp. Per un parere più articolato si può leggere Noam Chomskyhttp://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/38360-trump-in-the-white-house-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky

20 novembre 2016


A poche settimane dall'evento Robert Wyatt parla a Dave Larder della sua partecipazione a fianco di Paul Weller a uno dei concerti di People Powered a sostegno di Jeremy Corbyn, a Brighton il prossimo 16 dicembre. E chissà che davvero non si faccia introdurre dalla sigla di Last of the Summer Wine...

https://www.facebook.com/davelarder2/videos/1718846725101752
http://www.hibou-anemone-bear.com/search?q=people+powered
http://brightondome.org/event/10732/people_powered

19 novembre 2016


E' per questo pomeriggio al Kings Place a Londra l'appuntamento del pubblico del London Jazz Festival con Mike Westbrook per la presentazione del suo album per solo piano Paris. Accompagnerà il concerto una conversazione guidata da Philip Clark.

Composer Mike Westbrook, ‘Britain’s most innovative Big Band leader’ (The Wire) is 80 this year and he celebrated this milestone by releasing the album A Bigger Show with his 22-piece Uncommon Orchestra. The Orchestra made its London debut before a capacity crowd at Kings Place in May, a concert described in Jazzwise as ‘ambitious, unapologetic and uncategorisable’. This time, in complete contrast, as part of the London Jazz Festival, Mike returns to Kings Place to give a solo performance and to launch his latest album Paris which was recorded in Paris in July. In a 75-minute set Mike improvises on themes from his own musical history and on songs written in collaboration with his wife, artist, vocalist and librettist Kate Westbrook, and with references across the spectrum of genres: Jazz classics, Pop music and the Blues.
The performance will be followed by a conversation between Mike Westbrook and the musician and music journalist Philip Clark. ‘Mike Westbrook has produced music that is by turns exciting, thoughtful and thought-provoking’ (London Jazz).

18 novembre 2016


Son tornate in pista più vispe che mai Irène Schweizer, Maggie Nicols e Joëlle Léandre, con concerti in questi giorni a Brighton, Derby, domani a Londra e poi Bristol: Les Diaboliques!

Blurring the lines between free improv and cabaret, with a wickedly satirical edge, three fiercely independent spirits draw on some five decades of creative energy at the heart of European free improvisation with a collective history that stretches back to the Spontaneous Music Ensemble of the 1960s, and an extraordinary catalogue of collaborations, from Derek Bailey to Han Bennink to Louis Moholo-Moholo to much, much more. British vocalist Maggie Nicols, French bassist Joëlle Léandre and Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer formed Les Diaboliques in the early 90s – this is a rare opportunity to experience the artistry and intuitive chemistry of a seminal European ensemble.

les-diaboliques-uk.tumblr.com
https://soundcloud.com/kings-place/efg-london-jazz-festival-2016-les-diaboliques-a-kings-place-podcast

17 novembre 2016


Ultima in ordine di tempo nella brillante serie di interviste realizzate da David Schroeder per la New York University Steinhardt è una conversazione dello scorso giugno con Carla Bley: "As the director of jazz studies at NYU Steinhardt I oversee a thriving jazz studies program in New York City. I am constantly surrounded by students and internationally acclaimed artist faculty who invariably end up holding court in my office to candidly discuss their musical experiences. Anyone who has visited my jazz program would compare the musician traffic to that of rush hour at Grand Central Station. With the constant flow of musicians moving in and out, my days are filled with conversations that range from the casual to the profound. The NYU Steinhardt Jazz Interview Series on YouTube developed as an outgrowth of my daily interaction with musicians, students and music fans. The series has developed into an open exchange of knowledge for anyone interested in understanding the musician's process and the human side of being a jazz artist. With the start of the series in the Fall of 2014, our YouTube Channel has received nearly 300,000 visitors and our live audiences have been thrilled to interact with legendary jazz artists up close and personal." (David Schroeder)

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/music/jazz/interviews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InmPzLSo_CI

16 novembre 2016


Un affascinante ritratto di Annette Peacock realizzato da Barry Hecker all'epoca di An Acrobat's Heart (Ecm, 2000), con una rara intervista tra registrazioni in studio, conversazioni, ricordi, spiritosaggini e lezioni su come si attraversa la strada sulle strisce. E' da qualche giorno su YT: Unsung Heroine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrlHECcQGfo

15 novembre 2016


Collaborazione a distanza con esito prodigioso: Beauty Is In The Distance, di Luciano Margorani e Federico Zenoni con Dave Newhouse. Esce ora per ADN/ArtistiDel900, e potrebbe esserci presto una seconda puntata...

Spiega Newhouse: "When Luciano asked me if I'd like to add some tracks to an improvisation of his, I naturally said yes (I'm always open to making music with my overseas friends). I was shocked, however, when he sent the reference track for me to load onto my studio software; it was over 40 minutes long! And it was one complete entity! Listening back to it, I realized that he and Federico had recorded this monster live, together, in one sitting. It was clear that the two of them already shared a very strong musical bond. But what really grabbed my attention was how structured it seemed to be; it had many varied musical elements, moments, and stages already enmeshed in it - powerful jazz rock sections, quiet modern classical bits, straight up jazz improvisation, moments of RIO, etc. And the pacing of it came off as very natural. It seemed to breathe as it moved along. I decided early on that I wanted my tracks to sound like I was also right in the room with them as they played, to try to come off as natural as Luciano and Federico already sounded together. I hope I succeeded in that."

https://www.facebook.com/luciano.margorani
https://www.facebook.com/david.newhouse.9699
https://www.facebook.com/ArtistiDel900
https://www.discogs.com/Federico-Zenoni-Dave-Newhouse-Luciano-Margorani-Beauty-Is-In-The-Distance/release/9107124

14 novembre 2016


Sergio Nachira ha colto qualche attimo del concerto di Hobo - Eloisa Manera con Massimo Giuntoli - nella serata per Robert Wyatt allestita con Alessandro Achilli e organizzata da Musiche Nuove A Piacenza lo scorso 4 novembre: lo condivide alla sua pagina FB.

https://www.facebook.com/sergionachira/videos/10209472701288035
http://www.massimogiuntoli.com/hobo

13 novembre 2016


Tra i documenti usciti dallo speciale weekend di festeggiamenti tenuto a Londra la settimana scorsa per l'ottantesimo compleanno di Steve Reich c'è su YT una ripresa dell'amabile conversazione pubblica tenuta al termine della prima serata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEQCZxa-puI

http://www.londonjazznews.com/2016/11/review-steve-reich-at-80-at-barbican.html

12 novembre 2016


Sempre molto presente agli appuntamenti londinesi che danno spazio alla musica improvvisata, Steve Beresford è stato visto di recente alla festa d'anniversario di Mark Wastell per la sua Confront Recordings al Cafe Oto - dove rimpiazzava Keith Tippett, assente per motivi di salute - e giocoso protagonista poche sere dopo di una delle imprevedibili iniziative di Strange Umbrellas da Foyles, in questo caso in compagnia di Mandhira de Saram, Jack Goldstein, Anna Homler e dell'immancabile Blanca Regina. Geoff Winston scrive in LondonJazz del suo sublime intervento al Cafe Oto: "Beresford shares with Tippett a supremely inquisitive route to the potential of the instrument. The area above and within the piano wires became the playground for a train of part-predictable events which he set in motion with a variety of interventions and implements - some tiny and battery-operated with their own lives - in tandem with direct, virtuosic keyboard technique. This two-pronged attack enshrined the aims of engaging and surprising the audience but also set in train an overlapping sequence of events which would surprise and occasionally ambush him, too. As with Tippett, jazz in all its flavours is a fundamental reference for Beresford and at the keyboard suggestions of lyrical Ellington rubbed shoulders with the attack of Cecil Taylor."

http://strangeumbrellassite.tumblr.com
http://www.londonjazznews.com/2016/11/review-confront-recordings-20th.html