HurdAudio Rotation: Evolutionary Biology Determining The Possibility of Its Own Conceptualization

Muzsikas: The Bartok Album. 1999. Rykodisc: HNCD 1439.

Peter Eri: viola, guitar, percussion, flute
Daniel Hamar: bass, small cimbalom, gardon, percussion
Laszlo Porteleki: violin
Mihaly Sipos: violin
with guests -
Marta Sebestyen: vocals
Alexander Balanescu: violin
Janos Kovacs: tambura
Zoltan Juhasz: long flute
Marton Eri: cello
Zoltan Porteleki: cimbalom
Zoltan Farkas: gardon, drums, dance
Ildiko Toth: dance

I guided journey through the Hungarian folk music that inspired Bela Bartok with an ear for the roots of a rich cultural sound. With a mix of traditional arrangements, original phonograph recordings and Bartok compositions based upon these materials the ears are afforded a glimpse into the infectious qualities that captured the great composer's attention and passions. Muzsikas brings a high level of musicianship to this project that infuses this collection with a vitality that makes this collection far more than a curiosity.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 2. 2007. Okka Disk: OD12068.

Peter Brötzmann: clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, slide saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet, alto saxophone
Hannes Bauer: trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

Observing the occasion of Peter Brötzmann's seventieth birthday with a dosage of one of his outstanding large ensembles. It is exactly this kind of trans-Atlantic collaboration that has given the Chicago improvised music scene a noticeable vitality (as I observed earlier today at Ken Vandermark's Resonance Ensemble performing at the Chicago Cultural Center). Jagged and beautiful. Yet constantly guided by the ears and collaborative dialogue of this great ensemble. The sound spun for American Landscapes 2 paints a thick landscape in a single movement expression. Not unlike the Peter Brötzmann painting found on the cover. It builds as a steady crescendo of barely controlled energy before giving way to desolate textures. An expansive free improvisation built out of dissonance and a multiplicity of moving parts and an unerring sense of sonic integrity.

John Berndt: The Private Language Problem: New Electro-Acoustic Compositions, 2001-2007. 2008. Sort Of Records: 021.

R. John Berndt: electronics, compositions, performances

Each piece on The Private Language Problem carves out its own timbral space. Then derives its energy from within the narrow, compositionally chosen confines of its limited timbral range. Often with the implicit intention of triggering an altered state of consciousness in the listener. Dry achieves this as a steady state, ergodic texture of sine tones derived from a set of frequencies found in a field recording of a fire. Older Now builds a sonically different ergodicity with guitar as the input for a spectrally altered delay signal. While each piece operates within a well defined timbral zone, they vary enormously from piece to piece. Vacillating widely between acoustically rich and electronically primitive tones. Each one throwing out anchors toward a previously unknown shore. John Berndt taps into a modified dream state that skitters along the border between wakefulness and deep sleep.

HurdAudio Rotation: The Illusion of Progress

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 1. 2007. Okka Disk: OD12067.

Peter Brötzmann: clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, slide saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet, alto saxophone
Hannes Bauer: trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

It is an interesting experience to return to this disc after unexpectedly becoming immersed in the Chicago scene in the interim since last studying this recording. The individual personalities are clearer after having experienced so many of them play live over the past few months. This ensemble is a marvelous vehicle and medium for channeling Peter Brötzmann's ideas and approach toward improvisation. The shifting combinations of instruments produces some startling results over this long form improvisation. And there is a beautiful symmetry to this performance as the first ten minutes features a steady build up toward a thick texture and the final ten minutes drops back before building up toward a monstrous energy leading into a brief coda of tranquility. There is a softness to Brötzmann's music that is startling given his well documented ability to play with raw aggression.

Peter Brötzmann/Michael Zerang: Live in Beirut. 2005. Al Maslakh Recordings: 03.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, tarogato, b-flat clarinet
Michael Zerang: drum set, darbuka, percussion

Peter Brötzmann has recorded several outstanding sax and drum duo sessions over the decades. Even within his stellar output on that front this disc is a standout. Michael Zerang dives right into the energy of the moment and brings something amazing to the creativity of this listening experience. The long drum solo early in "Yalla Kholoud" leading toward Brötzmann's tarogato work is particularly thrilling. Particularly as they lock in so quickly. The ragged, confident-yet-aggressive quality of the dialogue between these musicians makes this disc a thrill ride right from the start.

Peter Apfelbaum & The Hieroglyphics Ensemble: Jodoji Brightness. 1992. Polygram Records: 314-512-320-2.

Peter Apfelbaum: tenor saxophone, piano, organ, synthesizer, drums, percussion
Bill Ortiz: trumpet, flugelhorn
Jeff Cressman: trombone, pyramid bell, percussion
James Harvey: trombone
Paul Hanson: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bassoon
Tony Jones: tenor saxophone
Peck Allmond: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, trumpet
Norbert Stachel: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass saxophone, clarinet, flute, piccolo
Will Bernard: guitar
Stan Franks: guitar
Jai Uttal: guitar, harmonium, dotar, percussion
Bo Freeman: bass
Joshua Jones V: drums, timbales, bass drum, congas, bata, vocals
Deszon X. Claiborne: drums, percussion
"Buddha" Robert Huffman: congas, bell tree, gongs, bata, vocals

A couple of things that struck me when revisiting this old friend of a recording; it has aged remarkably well and it's surprising how every sound and nuance is so deeply ingrained in my memory. I swear there's a "picture perfect" replica of it residing in my brain. This is music that takes up the sweep of "world music" without treating any of it as exotic. It is all music, and it is all jazz. The writing and playing on here is fantastic. This is one durable recording.

HurdAudio Rotation: Folk Musics

Muzsikas: The Bartok Album. 1999. Hannibal/Rykodisc: HNCD 1439.

Peter Eri: viola, guitar, percussion, flute
Daniel Hamar: bass, small cimbalom, gardon, percussion
Laszlo Porteleki: violin
Mihaly Sipos: violin
featuring:
Marta Sebestyen: vocals
Alexander Balanescu: violin
Janos Kovacs: tamboura
Zoltan Juhasz: long flute
Marton Eri: cello
Zoltan Porteleki: cimbalom
Zoltan Farkas: gardon, drum, dance
Ildiko Toth: dance

A tour for the ears of the sounds from the Hungarian countryside that inspired the great Bela Bartok. As a younger student immersed in music - and often immersed in the string quartets of Bartok - it was his sense of modernism that drew me to his music and his use of folk materials that puzzled me. Even as I sensed how this fascination with the music of his native Hungary added substantial depth to his compositions. Now the story of the steady growth of Hungarian folk melodies as an attractor and influence helped draw Bartok outside the confinement of middle class sensibility and into physical journeys to study and preserve the traditions of his home country holds a peculiar resonance in this current age of hopeful, patriotic optimism and uncertain change unfolding down in Washington, DC. As the Muzsikas present these melodies set in traditional arrangements that retains the beauty and raw, lilting turns that understandably drew Bartok out into the countryside. A sonic road map of the sound lovingly preserved. One can't help wondering what other traditions - both past and present - would benefit from a similar dedication.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 2. 2007. Okkadisk: OD12068.

Peter Brötzmann: clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafsson: bariton saxophone, slide saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet, alto saxophone
Hannes Bauer: trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

A sonic landscape drawn from intuitive improvisation that shares the characteristic brushstrokes of Peter Brötzmann's forceful playing and painting found on the cover art of this release. A landscape pieced together from a range of rugged, densely dissonant terrain and sparse expanses. The explosive quality of these performers often adding more tension in the quiet sections as the next blast of energetic matter threatens to erupt at any moment. A long form expression that builds nicely on the traditions of Ornette Coleman's Free Jazz and Peter Brötzmann's legendary Machine Gun aesthetics.

Jenny Scheinman: Shalagaster. 2004. Tzadik: TZ 7709.

Jenny Scheinman: violin
Myra Melford: piano, harmonium
Russ Johnson: trumpet
Trevor Dunn: bass
Kenny Wollesen: drums

Here, the "rotation" makes an unusual full circle move toward folk materials of North America folded into compositions for the improvising heavy weights of this fantastic ensemble. The arrangements are neither "traditional" or adapted for a chamber music setting, but a compelling argument for an evolving sense of tradition. Scheinman's compositions deftly weave around and through genre reference points - attaching a folk-like luminescence and melodicism to a music that claims roots in jazz, gospel, Americana and many other sonic gestures found at rest stops along the journey.

HurdAudio Rotation: Double-ö Dönkey

Donkey Monkey: Ouature. 2007. Umlaut Records: UMCD 0005.

Yuko Oshima: drums, voice, sampler
Eve Risser: piano, voice, turntables

This one is completely ridiculous. And I say that in the widest sense of joy carried in that word. This one boogies off the track. Then woogies back on. All the while splashing a tight irreverence along a solid piano/drums duo plus turntables, prepared piano, voice and whatever else one can throw at a sound without losing a sense of joy an chops. In short: ridiculous fun! Highly, highly recommended.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 1. 2007. Okkadisk: OD12067.

Peter Brötzmann: clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, slide saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet, alto saxophone
Hannes Bauer: trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

What better way to observe the American traditional Thanksgiving Holiday than a pure blast of Brötzmann driven expression of humanity through a prolonged scream realized in free jazz style through the medium of the Chicago Tentet? A landscape of nuanced brutality. A single movement that snakes through the urban and the underground gritty sincerity of placing horn to mouth and blowing one's brains out the other end. Aggressive, jarring and unbelievably beautiful.

Peter Brötzmann/Michael Zerang: Live in Beirut. 2005. Al Maslakh Recordings: 03.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, tarogato, clarinet
Michael Zerang: drum set, darbuka, percussion

Another concentrated dose of that Brötzmann intensity, this time paired down to the sax and drum configuration that he frequents. The setting of Beirut - something only audible through knowing this was recorded there - adds a dimension to the unflinching coarseness of this duo collaboration. The willingness to apply sandpaper to the eardrums when called for makes the expression more credible. Though there are moments of relative solitude. Often just long enough to allow for healing. This serves to heighten the overwhelming sense of not knowing where the next aggressive gesture will come from. A fitting aesthetic for a city constantly on edge with the unsettling violence that inevitably erupts.

HurdAudio Rotation: 3 Landscapes

Muzikas: The Bartok Album. 1999. Rykodisc: HNCD 1439.

Peter Eri: viola, guitar, percussion, flute
Daniel Hamar: bass, small cimbalom, gardon, percussion
Laszlo Porteleki: violin
Mihaly Sipos: violin
with guests -
Marta Sebestyen: vocals
Alexander Balanescu: violin
Janos Kovacs: tamboura
Zoltan Juhasz: long flute
Marton Eri: cello
Zoltan Porteleki: cimbalom
Zoltan Farkas: gardon, drum, dance
Ildiko Toth: dance

The Hungarian folk tunes that infused the music of Bela Bartok come full circle in this recording as the animated melodies and dance rhythms that appeared in and inspired chamber and orchestral music return to the eastern European countryside where they are played with verve as folk music. One can hear the melodic twists and vibrant qualities that caught Bartok's ear in this recreation of how this music might have sounded as Bartok was documenting and exploring it. Muzikas give this music an energy and vitality that is irresistible that conveys incredible insight into how striking this body of music is and why it triggers a yearning to preserve its spirit and sound.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 2. 2007. Okka Disk: OD12068.

Peter Brötzmann: composer, clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, slide saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet, alto saxophone
Hannes Bauer: trombone
Per-ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

Peter Brötzmann's aggressive energy and harshly beautiful large ensemble sound finds deep resonance with the anxieties and anger lurking beneath the calm exterior of the human experience. These American Landscapes are long-form bursts of sustained sonic intensity that find introspective pockets within a willingness to exude wild bursts of noise. Brötzmann continues to be a fascination at HurdAudio and these Chicago Tentet pieces - with their accurate reflection of the "American Landscape" rendered in sound - lend this German saxophonist and composer an Alexis de Tocqueville quality for a different medium in a different age.

Matana Roberts: Matana. 2007. Individually painted CD-R available from the composer.

Matana Roberts: saxophone

This one is a live solo set dedicated to the great Steve Lacy. Matana Roberts has a riveting voice on her instrument and a deep sense of personal history. This recording is a tantalizing - and all too brief - glimpse of what she has to say and the artistry she brings to what she plays. After hearing her perform live at this year's High Zero festival and putting an ear to this disc I continue to anticipate the music yet to be heard from this emerging artist and happily drink in the music currently at hand.

HurdAudio Rotation: The Euro-centric Edition

Ludwig van Beethoven: The Symphonies [disc 1]. Recorded in 1994. The International Music Company: 205297-305.

Performed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Symphony No. 1 in C Major (op.21)
Barry Wordsworth: conductor

Symphony No. 2 in D Major (op.36)
James Lockhart: conductor

Insanely familiar and incredibly refreshing all at once. The flashbacks to undergraduate music history courses have subsided to the point where I can put fresh ears on the most "glue-like" of the war horses. Beethoven at his most politely classical at four movements each. And the third movement is the shortest, and lightest in contrast to the other three movements in each of these symphonies. To my ears, these movements stand on their own and sound less integrated with these works as a whole compared to his later symphonies. And that third movement from the first symphony may be the original "short ride in a fast machine."

Donkey Monkey: Ouature. 2007. Umlaut Records: UMCD 0005.

Yuko Oshima: drums, voice, sampler
Eve Risser: piano, voice, turntables

There's a playful energy to this music that will have you bouncing off the walls and uttering "Donkey Monkey, Donkey Monkey" over and over again with gleeful abandon. And that's just in the first twenty seconds of this rockin' experimental boogie jam fun-fest. Eve Risser flashes some impressive piano chops that veers through an omnivorous pool of contrasting styles as Yuko Oshima propels things along with her energetic drumming. There's also a wonderful take on Carla Bley's "Wrong Key Donkey" in this set. These ears could go for a lot more of this.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 1. 2007. Okkadisk: OD12067.

Peter Brötzmann: composition, clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, cover art
Mats Gustafsson: baritone saxophone, slide saxophone
Ken Vadnermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet, alto saxophone
Hannes Bauer: trombone
Per-ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

Time is the canvas, and the music on this disc - like the watercolor painting that shares the 'American Landscapes' name on the cover - is painted by the ferocious and captivating sensibilities of German saxophonist/painter Peter Brötzmann. His willingness to shade toward towering dissonance and deep layers of noisy excess gives rise to textures of captivating beauty and raw emotional energy that speaks directly toward the aggressive and often angry side of the human condition. The single movement work of American Landscapes 1 draws its own watercolor sheen from this large ensemble of sympathetic improvisers to produce a sound that veers wildly between extremes of densities in the service of a large scale sonic image. An image that reflects the complexities, anxieties and beauty of contemporary life within the "American Landscape."

HurdAudio Rotation: Some String Theory, Some Chicago Deep-dish Dissonance and Some Bop

Laurie Anderson: Life on a String. 2001. Nonesuch: 79539-2.
Laurie Anderson: vocals, keyboards, violins, gongs
with various (small) combinations of:
Elena Barere: concert master - Joey Baron: drums, percussion - Martin Brumback: percussion arrangement - Vinicius Cantuaria: percussion - Mino Cinelu: percussion - Timothy Cobb: bass - Greg Cohen: acoustic bass - Jill Dell'Abate: orchestra conductor - Enrico DiCecco: violin - Jonathan Dinklage: violin - Karen Dreyfus: viola - Barry Finclair: violin - Danny Frankel: percussion, hand claps, "box-o-toys" - Eric Friedlander: cello - Bill Frisell: guitar - Jean Ingram: violin - Mitchell Froom: keyboards, claviola, mellotron, wurlitzer - Liheng: baritone banhu - Vincent Lionti: viola - Eyvind Kang: violin - John Kelly: background vocals - Ann Leathers: violin - Jeanne LeBlanc: cello - Dwight Mikkelsen: copyist - Heidi Modr: violin - Jan Mullen: violin - Tom Nelis: vocals - Van Dyke Parks: string arrangements, conductor, keyboards - Ellen Payne: violin - Joel Pitchon: violin - Sue Pray: viola - Lou Reed: guitar - Ben Rubin: bells - Peter Scherer: keyboards, percussion - Jamshied Sharifi: additional keyboards, strings - Ricky Sortomme: violin - Skuli Sverrisson: bass, little organ, percussion programming, high bass, sounds, bowed guitars, keyboards - Chris Speed: saxophone - Cuong Vu: trumpet - Carol Webb: violin - Judith Willmer: viola - Hal Willner: turntables, samples - Mocean Worker: beats, keyboards - Fredrick Zlotkin: cello

I'm unusually sensitive to the brevity of the song forms upon this particular listening. Even within these tight, almost haiku structures Laurie Anderson finds plenty of room to disrupt expectation. The vernacular language of popular musics bend under all the deviations and odd twists upon the timbres as even the poetry takes some halting turns in the service of Anderson's unique story telling method. There's a lot going on in this studio set and the quality of the players makes for a rewarding listen.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 2. 2007. Okkadisk: OD12068.

Peter Brötzmann: composer, clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafson: baritone saxophone, slide-saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet
Hans Bauer: trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

It takes several minutes for the steady crescendo of energy, intensity and volume to build in this second landscape. After more than 12 minutes most mere mortals would have peaked. But this is a Peter Brötzmann composition, so there's plenty of rocket fuel to throw onto the fire as he brings a unique intensity that has become a point of fixation in the HurdAudio landscape for the past few months. When things eventually do crest this music continues to surge with a quiet dissonance that fills out this long-form composition. There's plenty of room within these thick textures for the individual qualities of the improvisers to cut through. Sometimes ugly beauty such as this possesses the greatest degree of honesty.

Kenny Dorham: Trompeta Toccata. 1964 (re-issued in 2006). Blue Note: 0946-3-62635-2-6.

Kenny Dorham: trumpet
Joe Henderson: tenor saxophone
Tommy Flanagan: piano
Richard Davis: bass
Albert Heath: drums

While on an Art Blakey listening binge last year I began to focus on the great compositions, arrangements and playing of "Messenger" Kenny Dorham. A 1964 session with Dorham as the leader and the great Joe Henderson on tenor, this one is every bit the can't miss Blue Note bop record of that era I expected and then some. The title track in particular is a knock-out. The technical re-mastering for this Rudy Van Gelder Edition is also right on target as the balance between this great rhythm section and horns draws the ear right into these inviting bop soundscapes.

HurdAudio Rotation: Music for Large Ensembles from the 3 B's (Braxton, Beethoven, Brötzmann)

Anthony Braxton 12+1tet: 9 Compositions (Iridium) 2006 - disc 2. 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
With thick, dense textures from a 12+1 ensemble this big band may be the ideal medium for Anthony Braxton's ghost trance music. It certainly makes a suitable send off as a grand expression of an aesthetic that has preoccupied the MacArthur Genius Award winner for more than a decade. Composition 351 inspires the awe of a natural wonder in a perpetual state of flux - like a large river after a rain storm and spring thaw or an erupting volcano. Individual details are picked out from time to time, but it's the constant state of churning that draws my ears closer.

Ludwig van Beethoven: The Complete Symphonies - disc 1. Recorded in 1994 by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. The International Music Company: 205297-305.

Symphony No. 1 in C major (op.21)
Symphony No. 2 in D major (op.36)

Beethoven at his most "classical," two symphonies in 4 easy movements. At least before he stretched and redefined the medium permanently. Though I find it interesting that the third movement of each of these works is substantially shorter than the other movements. It's so like Beethoven to cut the second-to-last movement short in favor of the lengthy finale and eternal codas of V-I progressions. Such habits aside, these pieces have grown on me and are well worth revisiting often.

Chicago Tentet: American Landscapes 1. 2007. Okkadisk: OD12067.

Peter Brötzmann: composer, clarinet, tarogato, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mats Gustafson: baritone saxophone, slide-saxophone
Ken Vandermark: clarinet, baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone
Joe McPhee: trumpet
Hans Bauer: trombone
Per-Ake Holmlander: tuba
Fred Lonberg-Holm: cello
Kent Kessler: bass
Paal Nilssen-Love: drums
Michael Zerang: drums

Peter Brötzmann, and his brand of "sonic terror," leads a 10-piece in a full scale assault in this 53-minute work. The texture shifts around to expose the individual players in this stacked group of master improvisers and the overall density and dynamic level has a surprising amount of variety. But at the same time there is an emotive aggressiveness running through it all that is clearly driven by Brötzmann and the result is beautifully ugly and defiantly real. The duration of this expression is stunning - like a prolonged scream.