HurdAudio Rotation: Drunken Monkeys

Beck: Guero. 2005. Interscope Records: B0003481-02.

Produced, recorded and mixed by Beck Hansen and The Dust Brothers

This one is a triumph of songwriting and musical ideas over bland production choices. Beck has an underrated sense of poetry that gets a little buried under the beats in a string of otherwise hook-heavy songs. His words capture a sense of place and attitude that rings of truth blended with surreal perspective. The Dust Brothers prove to be a bit of a misfit for my ears. In spite of them, this disc has enjoyed some healthy spins.

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is A Rare Thing [disc 5]. 1993. Atlantic Recordings/Rhino Records: RI-71410.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Scott LaFaro: bass
Ed Blackwell: drums

The abundance that pours from this 6-disc box set is particularly evident when you reach disc five. A reminder that Scott LaFaro's tragically short life included this brush with Ornette Coleman at such an explosive period of creative growth. Also a sobering realization that Coleman is now the final surviving member of this timeless lineup. That this significant touchstone of jazz history is receding into an increasingly distant era. This is hard to comprehend given the vitality of the recordings that still leap out and take the ears by the imagination. "Check Up" in particular has taken up residence in my soul as the mind will play this sound back from memory in periods between sleep and wakefulness.

Thomas Chapin Trio: Menagerie Dreams. 1994. (Re-released as disc 4 from the Alive box set in 1999) Knitting Factory Records: 35828-02482-2.

Thomas Chapin: alto saxophone, flute, baritone saxophone, mezzo soprano saxophone
Mario Pavone: bass
Michael Sarin: drums, gongs
guests -
John Zorn: alto saxophone
Vernon Frazer: poetry

Thomas Chapin had a unique talent for channeling a spectrum of life and emotion through his playing. With his long standing trio with Mario Pavone and Michael Sarin that ability became electric. Menagerie Dreams captures a slice of Chapin's range. The brief wisp of the title track shows off Chapin's delicate flute work. While an animal madness abounds and tromps through much of the other works in "Bad Birdie," "A Drunken Monkey," "The Night Hog" and the creative setting of Frazer's poetry in "Put Your Quarter In And Watch The Chicken Dance." Chapin could soar, groove hard and even peel back at the drop of a hat (or a quarter). This document preserves the energy of this creative soul who has since soared to unknown realms and reminds the ears of an era when the Knitting Factory fostered an important and burgeoning scene.

HurdAudio Rotation: Put Your Quarter In and Watch the Chicken Dance

Beck: Guero. 2005. Interscope Records: B0003841-02.

I drank this one in with some reservation in the last two spins in the rotation. But the party is on with this one. Working from the aesthetic school of constantly changing a groove without removing the pulsating consistency of the beat this one churns through moments of inspired high production. Beck's better-than-average lyrics and song writing is the backbone that allows this material to work from multiple angles at once. And when the brain grows weary with puzzling out the pastiche of sounds that make up this recording the party is on.

Thomas Chapin Trio: Menagerie Dreams. 1994. Re-released as disc 4 from the Alive box set in 1999. Knitting Factory Records: 35828 02482 2.

Thomas Chapin: alto saxophone, flute, baritone saxophone, mezzo soprano saxophone
Mario Pavone: bass
Michael Sarin: drums, gongs
guests -
John Zorn: alto saxophone
Vernon Frazer: poetry

There was a time when the Knitting Factory label mattered. Menagerie Dreams is squarely from that time when the New York jazz scene was well represented by a roster of creative improvisers with groups at the top of their game. Menagerie Dreams lurches with the animated qualities of the animals referenced in the titles. The squawking birds emulated on saxophones in "Bad Birdie." The lurching "Night Hog" or the unsteady, unsymmetrical gait of "A Drunken Monkey." The musing of a performer comparing himself - via poetry - to a performing animal in "Put Your Quarter in and Watch the Chicken Dance." Somewhere along the way a satisfying whole emerges from the sum of this listening experience. Imaginative play that withstands the test of time and represents Chapin's all too short legacy as an artist.

Anthony Braxton: Piano Quartet, Yoshi's 1994 [disc 3]. 1996. Music and Arts: CD 849.

Anthony Braxton: piano
Marty Ehrlich: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
Joe Fonda: bass
Arthur Fuller: percussion

The least jagged of the 4-disc set of standards funneled through the ragged and dynamically coarse piano playing of the multi-instrumentalist and genius that is Anthony Braxton. While this collection as a whole does not live up to the lofty expectations set by other Braxton projects, this particular disc produces a hand full of redeeming moments. The quartet's take on Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life" in particular offers up Ehrlich's inspired playing along side a lighter touch at the keys from Anthony Braxton. While there are still waves of plodding from the ivories that leave an unsettled wake behind these achingly familiar standards there is much to be said for taking risks - and falling short - as being preferable to playing things safe.

HurdAudio Rotation: The Tri-Centric Edition

Beck: Guero. 2004. Interscope Records: B0003481-02.

There's been a noticeable dearth of beats in the HurdAudio rotation, or at least anything one could conceivably use to get their freak on. I'm still not a big fan of the Dust Brothers production sound - in many ways they seem like a step backward from Beck's more adventurously over produced outings. Ultimately it's the song writing that holds this one together and elevates it well beyond the average "alternative" rock outing. And it certainly provides some much need balance and perspective to a listening diet that runs heavy on the heady side.

Anthony Braxton: Piano Quartet, Yoshi's 1994 [disc 3]. 1994. Music & Arts: CD 849.

Anthony Braxton: piano
Marty Ehrlich: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
Joe Fonda: bass
Arthur Fuller: drums

After finally sinking my ears into the first disc of this collection I move my attention to the third disc... and it's back to struggling to hear through Braxton's plodding piano solos. It's hard to fault Braxton for pushing these jazz standards toward a more open tradition, but I'm struggling mightily with the narrow dynamic range whenever the piano shifts into the focal point and the difficulty of hearing within this music when confronted with that sound. Ehrlich, Fonda and Fuller are outstanding throughout this set. Repeated listening might reveal new layers to this performance, but my initial impression is disappointment. And that's a reflection of the high expectations I have for Anthony Braxton's music. Perhaps the shackles of the jazz standards will always pale compared to the exuberant brilliance of his original compositions.

Anthony Braxton: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006[disc 2] . 2006. Firehouse 12 Records: FH12-04-03-001.

Recorded live: March 16, 2006 at Iridium Jazz Club, New York City.

The Anthony Braxton 12+1tet
Anthony Braxton: composer, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone, clarinet and Eb contalto clarinet
Taylor Ho Bynum: cornet, flugelhorn, trumpbone, piccolo trumpet, bass trumpet, shell
Andrew Raffo Dewar: soprano saxophone, c-melody saxophone, clarinet
James Fei: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
Mary Halvorson: electric guitar
Stephen H. Lehman: alto saxophone, sopranino saxophone
Nicole Mitchell: flute, alto flute, bass flute, piccolo, voice
Jessica Pavone: viola, violin
Reut Regev: trombone, flugelbone
Jay Rozen: tuba, euphonium
Sara Schoenbeck: bassoon, suona
Aaron Siegel: percussion, vibraphone
Carl Testa: acoustic bass, bass clarinet

Disc 2 = Composition 351 - dedicated to the composer/scholar Harvey Sollberger

Thick, wildly varied group improvisation guided by the unifying force of Braxtonian logic. This music is a high achievement in large ensemble improvised sound. I'm particularly impressed by Nicole Mitchell's flute work in this set as well as the sparse vocalizations of the swinging melodic lines that spring into this texture. This is a music of sonic clouds and pulse, a pulse that is often obscured by the density of this sound but never lost. It's original large ensemble music like this that holds these ears in complete awe of Anthony Braxton.

HurdAudio Rotation: Canvasing the Jazz, Classical and Rock Sections of the Music Store

Andrew Hill: Point of Departure. 1964. Blue Note Records: 7243 4 99007 2 1.

Andrew Hill: piano, composer
Kenny Dorham: trumpet
Eric Dolphy: alto saxophone, flute, bass clarinet
Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone
Richard Davis: bass
Tony Williams: drums

The music and the players on this classic Blue Note is an endless source of awe. Andrew Hill wrote these great compositions, and then he has performers the caliber of Eric Dolphy, Joe Henderson and Kenny Dorham improvising within his formal structures. The alternate takes on "New Monastery," "Flight 19" and "Dedication" add new insight into these pieces. And they're every bit as vibrant as the versions from the original album. I'm so taken by "Spectrum" that I wish there was an alternate take on that one as well. The additional material tacked onto the end does alter the beautiful arc of the original sequence. Perhaps these special editions should program a respectful pause before the bonus tracks to preserve the experience as it was originally issued.

Morton Feldman: Works for Piano. Recorded in 1990. Hat Hut Records: 6035.

Marianne Schroeder: piano

"Intermission 5" (1952)
"Piano Piece - to Philip Guston" (1963)
"Vertical Thoughts 4" (1963)
"Piano" (1977)
"Palais de Mari - for Fancesco Clemente" (1986)

Morton Feldman's affinity for the paintings of Cezanne or Degas (or the drawings of Philip Guston) is made audible in these exquisite, intensely quiet piano compositions. Listening to this CD is like entering a spacious wing of a large art museum set aside for displaying these five modern works. "Intermission 5," "Piano Piece" and "Vertical Thoughts 4" are small-scale, beautiful sketches that lead into the larger canvases of "Piano" and "Palais de Mari." Each is rendered with the fewest, most carefully selected strokes possible. I am struck by the vast tranquility of this music and the attractive remoteness of breathing in the midst of soft gestures that barely ripple across the prevailing silence.

Beck: Guero. 2005. Interscope Records: B0003481-02.

I seem to be in a 2-year delay in keeping up with Beck's output as this is the first time I've given this disc a listen. Guero feels like a tame version of Odelay. There's the attention to production detail that one expects from Beck's studio efforts. But this one pulls up short for my tastes as my ears craved wider extremes of sonic variation - or at least hearing some of the sonic territory pushed a little further than the arrested trajectories that box in the sound on this one. However, Beck has a knack for song writing and there's a solid core at the center of each track. Ultimately, that's where Guero succeeds and delivers a quality listening experience in spite of the pitfalls and warts.