Month: November 2017

Steve Roach and Brian Eno Nominated for Grammys

~ Mike
English: Portrait image of Steve Roach at Soun...

Source: Echoes. Yeah, I know, Grammys are artistically limited if not irrelevant. But as John Dilberto writes, anything that brings unconventional music out into the light can’t be such a bad thing.

The Grammy Award nominee announcement which came today is never without surprises, often in the WTF variety, but this year, the New Age Grammy’s are a trove of surprises, most notably, Steve Roach’s Spiral Revelation. Roach has been recording since the early 1980s, he’s approaching 200 releases, and he’s one of the first names mentioned in certain areas of electronic music. But he’s never been nominated for a Grammy award. But this year, through some quirk of coincidence, talent, artistry and persistence, he’s broken in with Spiral Revelation, a quintessential example of Roach’s sequencer driven oeuvre.

Newsbits: The Thing in Bristol / Rez Abbasi / Heterodyne in DC / Anna Webber Wins Award / Lost Hermeto Pascoal Album

~ Mike
Hermeto Pascoal

A recent performance of The Thing and others in Bristol UK is reviewed.

Bandcamp has a feature on guitarist Rez Abbasi.

On December 3, Heterodyne will be performing with Caustic Casanova; Get a Tan; Rom; and Ezra Mae and the Gypsy Moon in a Hurricane Relief Concert hosted by RhizomeDC. The Benefit’s purpose is to raise awareness and donations for areas hardest hit by storms during the 2017 hurricane season. RhizomeDC is located at 6950 Maple St NW, in DC’s Takoma Neighborhood. The event is open to all ages; doors are at 4pm and the suggested minimum donation is $10.

The awesome Anna Webber has won the first ever Canadian Women Artists’ Award.

The release of the lost Hermeto Pascoal album is reviewed.

Avant Scena Reviews

~ Mike

Source: Avant Scena.

Some Some Unicorn – “Live at Iklectik” (ODD7 Records, 2017)

Ivo Perelman – “Philosopher’s Stone” (Leo Records, 2017)

Assem3fly – “Taking Charge” (Albany Records, 2017)

Conrad Winslow – “The Perfect Nothing Catalog” (Innova, 2017)

Alexander Hawkins/Elaine Mitchener Quartet – “Uproot” (Intakt, 2017)

Alexander Sigman – “fcremap” (New Focus Recordings, 2017)

DIE ENTTÄUSCHUNG – “LAVAMAN” (Intakt, 2017)

Cornelia Street Cafe in December

~ Mike

Source: New York’s Cornelia Street Cafe.

Wednesday, Dec 06 – 8:00 & 9:30pm
THE OUT LOUDS
Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Ben​ ​Goldberg, clarinet; Mary​ ​Halvorson, guitar
The​ ​working​ ​method​ ​of​ ​The​ ​Out​ ​Louds​ ​is​ ​sonic​ ​research,​ ​conducted​ ​on​ ​a​ ​decibel-by-decibel level.​ ​Once​ ​ deconstructed,​ ​the​ ​music​ ​can​ ​be​ ​transmitted​ ​to​ ​the​ ​listener​ ​in​ ​its​ ​pure​ ​form​ ​and beauty.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​a​ ​person​ ​contemplating​ ​the​ ​Fragility​ ​of​ ​Existence​ ​soon​ ​passes​ ​from​ ​this world,​ ​while​ ​the​ ​fragile​ ​existence​ ​of​ ​the​ ​ universe​ ​continues​ ​forever.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​for​ ​this​ ​reason​ ​that​ ​the song​ ​titles​ ​on​ ​their​ ​first​ ​record​ ​are​ ​derived​ ​from​ ​the​ ​ names​ ​of​ ​flowers​ ​that​ ​one​ ​can​ ​encounter​ ​at the​ ​Brooklyn​ ​Botanical​ ​Gardens.

Friday, Dec 15 – 8:30 & 10:00pm
SARA SERPA & CITY FRAGMENTS
Sara Serpa, voice; Sofía Rei, voice; Aubrey Johnson, voice; André Matos, guitar; Erik Friedlander, cello; Tyshawn Sorey, drums
Born in Lisboa, Portugal and based in New York since 2008, Sara Serpa is a singer, composer, bandleader and improviser who has been voted by the Downbeat Critics Poll 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 as “Female Vocalist Rising Star”. While Serpa is mostly known for her wordless singing with such jazz luminaries as Greg Osby, Grammy-Award nominee Danilo Perez, or as an interpreter of the Great American Songbook with Guggenheim Fellow and legendary pianist Ran Blake, she has also been collaborating with innovators like John Zorn, Guillermo Klein, Aya Nishina, Kris Davis to name a few.

Tuesday, Dec 19 – 8:00PM
JURE PUKL/DARIUS JONES’ MEAT
Jure Pukl, tenor sax; Darius Jones, alto sax; Kris Davis, piano; Carlo DeRosa, bass; Eric McPherson, drums
Meat is a collaboration of two forward reaching horn players enlisting some of the heaviest hitters in the NY Jazz scene.

Tuesday, Dec 19 – 9:30PM
DOGTOWN + MAT MANERI
Elias Stemeseder, piano; Henry Fraser, bass; Jason Nazary, drums; Mat Maneri, viola Dogtown + Mat Maneri image
Dogtown is an exciting new collaboration between pianist Elias Stemeseder, bassist Henry Fraser and drummer Jason Nazary. This evening they are joined by violist Mat Maneri for an evening of new original music and improvisations.

Saturday, Dec 23 – 6:00PM
AVANT-GARDE JAZZ TRIO
Eli Asher, trumpet; Barbara Haimowitz, piano; Giacomo Merega, bass
Presenting a Mix of the Masters, such as Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and others. Also, we will do some avant-garde improvisation. Inviting everyone to come to the Cornelia Street Cafe to enjoy the fun with us. Thank you to Robin and Josh for the opportunity to play Underground!

Tuesday, Dec 26 – 8:00 & 9:30pm
ERI YAMAMOTO TRIO
Eri Yamamoto, piano; David Ambrosio, bass; Ikuo Takeuchi, drums
Since moving from Kyoto, Japan to the United States in 1995, Eri Yamamoto has established herself as one of jazz’s most original and compelling pianists and composers. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has said, “My hat’s off to her… already she’s found her own voice.” During the past twenty years, Eri has been sharing her uniquely lyrical and evocative music with listeners in New York City, throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Jamaica, and Australia; with appearances in concerts, clubs, and major festivals.

Saturday, Dec 30 – 8:30 & 10:00pm
TOM RAINEY, OBBLIGATO TRIO
Kris Davis, piano; Drew Gress, bass; Tom Rainey, drums
Tom Rainey – Obbligato, is a band dedicated to the redistribution of melody and improvisation on the standard song form. The entire group, comprised of Kris Davis and Drew Gress, contribute their musical prowess in a group improvisation that expresses standard songs in a fresh way.

Vital Weekly Reviews 1108

~ Mike

Source: Vital Weekly.

JAAP BLONK – IRRELEVANT COMMENTS (CD by Kontrans) *
TONOMI ADACHI & JAAP BLONK – ASEMIC DIALOGUES (CD by Kontrans) *
ANDREY KIRITCHENKO – OVERT (CD by Spekk) *
BO WIGET – BUKOLISK MIMIKRI (CD by Bo Wiget)
NATURA MORTA – ENVIRON (CD by Neither/Nor)
MERIKEINI LUOTO – METSANPEITTO (CD by Merikeini Luoto)
ERLEND APNESETH TRIO – ARA (CD by Hubro Music)
NARWAL – NIRVANA (LP by Ongehoord) *
DOC WÖR MIRRAN FEAT RE-DRUM & SASCHA STADLMEIER – 24/3/16 (LP by Attenuation Circuit) *
SONMI451 – PANTA REI (CDR by Eilean Records) *
THE IMPOSSIBLE & DIVIDED SEA (CDR compilation by Bearsuit Records)
BRUNO DUPLANT & PEDRO CHAMBEL – ALL WE HAVE LEARNED AND THEN FORGOTTEN (CDR y Eter Editions) *
SARAH HENNIES & TIM FEENY – NESTS (CDR by Rhizome.s) *
DANTE BOON – DÜSSELDORF RECITAL (CDR by Rhizome.s) *
MATTHEW ATKINS & HARVEY SHARMAN-DUNN – STILL FILMS (CDR by Minimal Resource Manipulation) *
ARMOTQUE – DUSTING THE PLANTS (CDR, private)
JASON E. ANDERSON – TRUTH (cassette by Draft Records)
DR:WR – SCI-FI MORALITY PLAY (cassette by The Slightly Off Kilter Label)
HEY EXIT! – INHALE EP (cassette by Of Plants)

The Roulette in December

~ Mike
George Lewis (cropped version)

Source: Roulette.

ACFNY PRESENTS: ENSEMBLE SD’S BREAKING NEWS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2017 @ 8:00 PM
US premiere performances of commissioned pieces by George Lewis, Oxana Omelchuk, and more from Austria’s Ensemble SD.

JEREMIAH CYMERMAN: SYSTEMA MUNDITOTIUS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2017 @ 8:00 PM
A hypnotic and mysterious piece for clarinet and percussion inspired by psychologist CG Jung from Jeremiah Cymerman.

DARIUS JONES: SAMESOUL MAKER // LAWNORDER
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017 @ 8:00 PM
A follow up to 2014’s The Oversoul Manual, Samesoul Maker is a new composition for male voices in an invented language.

INTERPRETATIONS: GRAHAM HAYNES // DAVID TAYLOR’S CALITHUMPIANS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2017 @ 8:00 PM

DENNIS RUSSELL DAVIES & MAKI NAMEKAWA: CELEBRATING PHILIP GLASS
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2017 @ 8:00 PM
Dennis Russell Davies and Maki Namekawa celebrate Philip Glass with an all-Glass program for two pianos and piano four-hands.

PHILL NIBLOCK: 6 HOURS OF MUSIC AND FILM
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2017 @ 6:00 PM

Phill Niblock’s annual Winter Solstice concert is six sublime hours of music and film.

The Best New Ambient Music on Bandcamp, October/November 2017

~ Mike

Source: Bandcamp Daily.

There are infinite atmospheric worlds available on Bandcamp, from the dreamy to the nightmarish, and the meditative to the deeply unsettling. These compositions often fall under the ambient umbrella, albums without words that are both thoughtful and thought-provoking in their own way. Every month, Aurora Mitchell will take you through the best ambient releases. In this edition covering both October and November, there’s fluid sounds from rural Russia, dark, wintry ambient from France, and music inspired by a famous battlefield in West Japan.