HurdAudio Rotation: Even Birds Have Homes (To Return To)

Dave Douglas Quintet: Live at the Bimhuis: October 24, 2002. 2003. Greenleaf Music: GRE-P-011/012

Dave Douglas: trumpet
Rick Margitza: tenor saxophone
Uri Caine: fender rhodes
James Genus: bass
Clarence Penn: drums

It is just a few days past the ten year anniversary of this live recording and it still sounds like lightning captured in a bottle.  This particular vintage of the Dave Douglas Quintet (which has evolved into other amazing things since) is a body of music that inspires enormous enthusiasm with each listening.  And these "paperback series" collections offer incredible insight into the live manifestation of this fusing together of absurdly intelligent musicians.  Only on these live sets can one hear the sprawling, 20+ minute versions of "Penelope" and "Deluge."  It also gives the ears a chance to hear the brilliant segues between "Unison" by Bjork, "Ramshackle" by Beck and "Deluge."  The slide into each piece, often with elements of the previous and next overlapping, is fantastic.  The quotations of other great jazz tunes and sudden appearance of other forms within forms makes for rewarding listening for the alert ears.  I especially enjoyed the emergence of "Giant Steps" for a brief moment in the middle of "Deluge."  And the quick, thoughtfully realized interpretation of Douglas' thorny "Caterwaul" was a particularly engaging moment.  This is one of the great quintets operating at the top of their game and these Dave Douglas compositions are pieces to be savored and reckoned with.

Trio M: The Guest House. 2011. Enja: yeb-7721-2.

Myra Melford: piano
Mark Dresser: bass
Matt Wilson: drums

One of the unique things about Trio M is the role and stature of collaboration in realizing this music.  Each individual in this trio brings such a strong personality and presence that the sense of "shared leadership" takes on a tangible quality rarely found in piano trio projects.  One could easily regard this as a piano/bass/drums trio given the pedigree behind the collaborators involved.  Which is not to say that this music takes on a static quality.  Leaders emerge as the individual composers behind each piece and part of the fun of listening to The Guest House is hearing the clear personality that emerges as the composer for a given piece.  Even so, these players climb deep inside the music regardless of the penmanship behind the sounds.

In the linear notes, Myra Melford describes the composition of this music as a collaboration with chef Paul Canales.  Alluding to the creative impulse that is shared between concocting music and food.  Which is a fair analogy given the spice and flavor that wafts through so much of this set.  The biggest treat of all turns out to be the dessert course of Mark Dresser's "Ekoneni" realized by this ensemble.  With plenty of clarity in the unique amplification of Dresser's bass and the spirited performance that explodes as the full ensemble joins together into an infectious groove.

The Guest House is a solid jazz album first and foremost and the presence of such distinct players in rare form is hardly subtle.  Each brings a deep, mature voice and a strong sense of their own musical identity into this mix and the combination that forms is astonishing.  The mix of serious thematic materials and levity makes for a recording of rare scope that combines immediacy with lasting appeal.  Highly recommended.

The Peter Brötzmann Trio: For Adolphe Sax. 1967. FMP: UMS/ALP230CD.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Peter Kowald: drums
Sven-ake Johansson: drums
plus:
Fred van Hove: piano

When confronted with the music of Peter Brötzmann for the first time (and "confrontation" is certainly a word that travels well with his sound) I was immediately in the thrall of its visceral, uncompromising quality and needed to know where this sound came from.  For Adolphe Sax is Brötzmann's first record.  And it appears that this sound arrived fully formed.  This is a trio of improvisers leaving angry splashes of color along a grand canvas.  And it's the spontaneity of their brash strokes of color that allows for unexpected details to emerge between the layers of dense materials.  Brötzmann's music comes with a surprising range of contrast and it's often the canyons just between his blistering sheets of sound that are the most attractive moments of his performance.  On For Adolphe Sax it's the quiet moments where Peter Kowald's bass comes through that are incredible.  Kowald and Johansson were a rhythm section capable of holding their own within this music and bringing plenty of creative energy to match.  This one is a forceful argument for why the European improvisation scene became a phenomenon that continues to influence players internationally.

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: Three Ways to Get Your Freak On

Doctor Nerve with the Sirius String Quartet: Ereia. 2000. Cuneiform Records: rune 126.

Nick Didkovsky: electric guitar, composition
Greg Anderson: bass
Leo Ciesa: drums
Yves Duboin: soprano saxophone, flute
Rob Henke: trumpet
Michael Lytle: bass clarinet
Kathleen Supove: keyboards
Joyce Hammann: violin
Mary Whitaker: violin
Ron Lawrence: viola
Tomas Ulrich: cello
Todd Reynolds: violin
Liz Knowles: violin
Mary Wooten: cello

Ereia is a direct manifestation of the multiple impulses that inform Nick Didkovsky's creative influences. The relentlessly progressive guitar rocker with a slant toward cerebral avant art music finds himself with a band, a string quartet and a commission at his disposal. Conceived as a 3-movement work, Ereia is scored for string quartet alone in the first movement, a conducted improvisation and the third movement as a culmination of the two forces as a composed work for full ensemble. The decision to sandwich the conducted improvisation as a live recording between two studio realizations further adds to the contrast between these three parts. Though there are plenty of similarities to thread the entire work together and challenge multiple assumptions about the artificial lines that divide genre, medium and aesthetic. Ereia sustains an aggressive luminosity throughout while also revealing several moments of human frailty. Beauty and ugly co-mingling within a sonic stew.

Sun Ra: Disco 3000: Complete Milan Concert 1978. (Re-released in 2009) Art Yard: CD 001.

Sun Ra: piano, organ , moog synth, rhythm machine, vocals
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone, drums, vocals
Luqman Ali: drums, vocals
Michael Ray: trumpet, vocals
June Tyson: vocals

Space is definitely the place. A place rich with the blues, dancing aliens, friendly galaxies, somewhere over the rainbows and some far-out analog synth freak outs. Sun Ra's singularity finds particular resonance in this 2+ hour live set from 1978. Clearly an important document of the Sun Ra sound from that era. The stripped down group drawn from members of the Arkestra gives the ears a chance focus on a mature John Gilmore and the explosive energy of Michael Ray.

The Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions. 2007 re-issue of the 1968 sessions. FMP/Atavistic: Archive Edition ALP 262 CD.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Even Johansson: drums
Peter Kowald: bass
Willem Breuker: tenor saxophone
Fred Van Hove: piano
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone
Buschi Niebergall: bass
Han Bennink: drums

Eight improvising musicians assembled in Bremen's Lile Eule in May of 1968 and subsequently changed the world with a blistering performance that still leaves cochlear scars to this day. The backdrop of political assassinations, an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam, the disastrous convention in Chicago and an environment of protests across North America and Europe serves as the spiritual and psychological backdrop for the barely channeled energy of Machine Gun. It's an energy that glows with a different quality. Aggressive and focused, it is clear to these ears why this recording continues to be so important to the local improvised music scene here in Chicago. Harsh and completely necessary. This is a music that could, and has, diverted rivers in the development of free jazz archetypes.

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: Long Views

Marty Ehrlich: The Long View. 2002. Enja: 9452 2.

Marty Ehrlich: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, muted alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Sam Furnace: alto saxophone, flute
Ned Rothenberg: alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Robert Debellis: tenor saxophone, clarinet, soprano saxophone
JD Parran: tenor saxophone, contrabass clarinet
Andy Laster: baritone saxophone, clarinet
Eddie Allen: trumpet
James Zollar: trumpet
John Clark: french horn
Clark Gayton: trombone
Marcus Rojas: tuba
Mark Dresser: bass
Michael Sarin: drums
Mark Helias: conductor, bass
Mark Feldman: violin
Ralph Farris: viola
Erik Friedlander: cello
Eddie Bobe: bongos, cowbell
Bobby Previte: drums, bass drum, tambourine
Wayne Horvitz: piano
Ray Anderson: trombone
Pheeroan akLaff: drums

A multi-movement long-form jazz composition that is highly revered at HurdAudio. Marty Ehrlich's musical ideas are filtered through the shifting instrumentation between each movement to great effect. The all-wind (plus bass) ensemble of the third movement setting a shimmering sonic texture leading into the quartet of the fourth movement. And that fourth movement is achingly beautiful as it opens with an understated set of phrases played on the piano by Wayne Horvitz. The writing and arranging is spectacular. The performances are even more so. It's amazing to me that accomplishments such as this aren't more widely on people's radar.

Dave Douglas Quintet: Live at the Bimhuis. 2002. Greenleaf Music: GRE-P-011/GRE-P-012.

Dave Douglas: trumpet
Rick Margitza: tenor saxophone
Uri Caine: fender rhodes
James Genus: bass
Clarence Penn: drums

An earlier manifestation of a quintet that has since evolved. And a reminder at how good this group has sounded along the way. Two discs documenting two sets at Amsterdam's Bimhuis drawing upon the early Dave Douglas originals found on the first two studio releases from this group and few covers. The take on Beck's "Ramshackle" feels more like a bass feature and transition out of Bjork's "Unison" than a full on arrangement. There's generous helpings of Uri Caine solos (who sounds absolutely smokin' on the fender rhodes) on "Waverly" and "The Frisell Dream." This quintet has been a great vehicle for Dave Douglas that has been generously documented.

The Peter Brötzmann Trio: For Adolphe Sax. 1967 ("Lovingly remastered" in 2002). FMP: UMS/SLP230CD.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Peter Kowald: bass
Sven-Ake Johansson: drums

plus Fred Van Hove (on one track): piano

The debut recording of Peter Brötzmann and his cathartic release of aggression through the saxophone. His role in the European free jazz scene and his ability to completely unload through his instrument is a particular fascination of mine and this recording represents the necessary origin for tracing that noise arc. The bonus track offers an insight into how Fred Van Hove integrated piano improvisation into this brutal texture. It's not as forceful as Machine Gun, but that legendary session is cleanly foreshadowed here. Peter Brötzmann is a forceful argument for trusting one's intuition with musical rage.

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: Spaceways Incorporated

Peter Apfelbaum & The Hieroglyphics Ensemble: Jodoji Brightness. 1992. Polygram Records/Antilles: 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
Rachel Durling: violin
Steven Bernstein: trumpet
Sekou Heath: bata, percussion, vocals

A dear friend, and frequent companion in the rotation, to these ears. Wonderful ensemble writing. A pan-stylistic approach to jazz that folds in a world of materials with respect for the history and humanity running throughout its various roots. Never a phrase or nod that feels anything less than deeply felt and human. One of the great recordings due some kind of revival.

Sun Ra: Disco 3000: Complete Milan Concert 1978. 2007. Art Yard Records: CD 001.

Sun Ra: piano, organ, moog synthesizer, rhythm machine, vocals
John Gilmore: tenor saxophone, drums, vocals
Luqman Ali: drums, vocals
Michael Ray: trumpet, vocals
June Tyson: vocals

How did this dimension contain the force of Sun Ra for as long as it did? Sun Ra with a great band working the outer limits (and a bit beyond) over a prolonged live show in Milan. At the core of the analog technology, the free blowing freak outs and sonic excursions well into the ether is a solid sense of the tunes (or even the blues). Space is a friendly place and Ra owns a big piece of it on this session. Many kudos to the folks at Art Yard for getting this double-CD out where more earth folks can experience it.

The Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions. 1968. Re-released in 2007. Atavistic/FMP: ALP262CD.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Sven-Ake Johansson: drums
Peter Kowald: Bass
Willem Breuker: tenor saxophone
Fred Van Hove: piano
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone
Buschi Niebergall: bass
Han Bennink: drums

The legendary European free jazz bombshell is still lethal. The relentless onslaught would send most running for cover long before one gets past the original LP material in this "complete" collection. A much needed reminder that jazz - and all musics - is entirely capable of working the relaxation-hostile end of the spectrum. Smoothing the rough edges of Machine Gun out would leave nothing in its wake. And it's a necessary and memorable experience for it. But then, they don't call it "pop gun" and these players aren't firing blanks.

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.

Brötzmann's State of the Alto = LOUD!

Peter Brötzmann/Han Bennink Duo @ An Die Musik, Baltimore, MD
Saturday, April 19, 2008

For all the forceful, aggressive energy that fuels a Peter Brötzmann and Han Bennink collaboration there is the duality of the necessary Dionysian release of such a kinetic sound against the Apollonian subtleties that spring from the ongoing dialogue that has passed between these improvising giants for decades. The reputation for "sonic terror" that precedes Peter Brötzmann gives short shift to the deft manner in which he navigates quiet, introspective territory while still maintaining his considerable intensity. The balance and range of territory explored by this pair carves a wide path of sound delivered in large slabs pouring from Brötzmann's alto and Bennink's drum kit.

Peter Brötzmann's roots as a painter are evident in his approach toward improvisation. The rich sheets of sound pouring from the tarogato, clarinet and saxophones splash against the canvas of time with a deliberate abandon. Leaving behind a music that is at once thoughtful and freed from overly intellectualized constraints.

Han Bennink's sense of whimsy and energetic approach toward percussive textures makes this duo sound complete in its relentless probing. Unwilling to be contained by the kit, Bennink resorts to ad hoc re-arrangements that allow him to focus on exploring the percussive potential of the room. Drum sticks along the edge of the hardwood floor and carpet takes on an expressive focus. The sound of passing sirens outside the venue are folded into the performance as each instinctively pauses and reacts to the sounding reality. These performers tap into a creative wave that unleashes massive tidal forces containing small, detailed parts within its wake. The currents within this music holds considerable gravity for these ears.

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: Two Horn Players Named Peter

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

As ever the master of sustained intensity, Peter Brötzmann is completely in his element when paired up against the percussive battery of Michael Zerang's fantastic drumming. Zerang's percussion work snaps into sharp focus in "Yalla Kholoud" as he fills out his sound with the darbuka - later transitioning to his full drum kit - before Brötzmann makes a return entrance into the soundscape. There is something intrinsically satisfying about the brute force of playing loud - at least as this duo practices it - that speaks toward a Dyonisian release. Yet this performance also lurches toward more Apollonian moments of lyrical warmth and introspective focus as well.

Peter Apfelbaum & The Hieroglyphics Ensemble: Jodoji Brightness. 1992. Antilles/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
Rachel Durling: violin
Steven Bernstein: trumpet
Sekou Heath: bata, percussion, vocals

Great big band compositions and arrangements that have aged well (it is now almost 16 years since the recording date) and continues to sound better on its fourth documented spin through the rotation. Even after countless spins and absorbing this music to its core there are countless fresh details in these smart, creative arrangements that keep the ears reaching for this listening experience.

Peter Brötzmann Octet: The Complete Machine Gun Sessions. 1968. Re-mastered and re-issued in 2007 with additional materials. Atavistic: ALP262CD.

Peter Brötzmann: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Even Johansson: drums
Peter Kowald: bass
William Breuker: tenor saxophone
Fred Van Hove: piano
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone
Vuschi Niebergall: bass
Han Bennink: drums
Gerd Dudek: tenor saxophone (one track only)

This 1968 European free jazz classic of legendary stature is remastered and restored to its intoxicating and brutal, rough edged beauty. This is a completely necessary expression of pure release and relentless barrage. Peter Brötzmann has built a sound and an improvising career from exploring the extremes found on this disc and the abrasiveness of it has a strong hold on my attention. This is the clear antidote to the inevitable "smooth jazz" overdose the holiday retail experience inflicts upon the alert mind this time of year. Turn this one up and savor it over a few shots of whiskey when the sticky sweetness of eggnog tidings and mindless fa-la-la-la-las becomes overbearing.

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."