HurdAudio Rotation: Heavy Improvisation

London Improvisers Orchestra/Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra: Separately & Together. 2008. Emanem: 4219.

London Improvisers Orchestra:
Harry Beckett, Roland Ramanan, Ian Smith: trumpets
Robert Jarvis: trombone
Catherine Pluygers: oboe
Terry Day: bamboo pipes
John Rangecroft: clarinet
Chefa Alonso, Lol Coxhill, Adrian Northover: soprano saxophones
Caroline Kraabel: alto saxophone
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone
Alison Blunt, Susanna Ferrar, Sylvia Hallett, Philipp Wachsmann: violins
Ivor Kallin: violin, viola
Hannah Marshall, Marcio Mattos, Barbara Meyer: cellos
Dominic Lash, David Leahy: double basses
John Bisset, Dave Tucker: electric guitars
Veryan Weston: piano
Jackie Walduck: vibraphone
Javier Carmona: percussion

Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra:
Aileen Campbell: voice
Matthew Cairns, Robert Henderson: trumpets
George Murray: trombone
Emma Roche, Matthew Studdert-Kennedy: flutes
John Burgess: bass clarinet
Raymond MacDonald: alto saxophone
Graeme Wilson: baritone saxophone
Peter Nicholson: cello
Una MacGlone, Armin Sturm: double basses
George Burt: guitar
Neil Davidson: electric guitar
Chris Hladowski: bouzouki
Rick Bamford, Stuart Brown: percussion

A fascinating showcase of the large improvising ensemble sound as practiced on the other side of the pond. A live meeting of conduction inspired musics and creative collectivism. The London Improvisers Orchestra featuring shorter pieces showcasing compositional approaches toward improvisation. With "Too Late, Too Late, It's Ever So Late" offering up literary whimsical touches. Performing separately and as one double improvisers orchestra this collection reveals the richness of creative improvised music on a massive scale as a tremendous medium with limitless potential. And only a fraction of what is possible was explored on this double disc. It does fuel the compositional and improvisational mind.

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet. 2003. Ropeadope Records: 0-7567-93183-2-9.

Skerik: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Joe Doria: hammond organ
John Wicks: drums
Steve Moore: trombone, wurlitzer electric piano
Hans Teuber: alto saxophone, flute
Dave Carter: trumpet
Craig Flory: baritone saxophone

Like a dose of Critters Buggin with a horn section on a long march from New Orleans to Seattle. It's hard to resist the pulsating gravity of the grooves accompanied by the strong horn writing that makes this collection tick. Skerik fearlessly lays down some thick rhythm baritone parts that propel things pretty hard. The live recording offers up plenty of evidence that the heavy punches thrown on this disc are entirely real. This band is a true heavyweight in the ring.

Steve Lacy Quintet: Esteem. 2004 release of the 1975 recording. Atavistic: ALP260CD.

Steve Lacy: soprano saxophone
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Irene Aebi: cello, violin
Kent Carter: bass
Kenneth Tyler: percussion

An almost relentless sampling of the live Steve Lacy experience. The incredible chemistry built up within this long running quintet and the continual refining and reinvention of their relationships with these compositions. It makes me very sad to have missed my chance to see Lacy perform during his lifetime. He was a master. A truly invaluable documentation.

HurdAudio Rotation: The Severe Stylistic Contrast Edition

Steve Lacy Qiuintet: Esteem. 2004 (from the 1975 tapes). Atavistic: ALP260CD.

Steve Lacy: soprano saxophone
Steve Pott: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Irene Aebi: cello, violin
Kent Carter: bass
Kenneth Tyler: percussion

These are old source tapes, not for the casual Steve Lacy fan. But they are filled with interesting details about the state of this quintet and their approach toward improvising withing Lacy's compositions during this period. The rhythm section of Carter and Tyler with Aebi often adding in to the texture with cello is a particular area that catches these ears. The compositions themselves are also something to drink in. Steve Lacy fashioned an incredible sound and one can hear its growth through these recordings.

Kyle Gann: Private Dances. 2007. New Albion: NA 137.

Compositions by Kyle Gann

Private Dances
Sarah Cahill: piano

Hovenweep
Da Capo Chamber Players -
Patricia Spencer: flute
Meighan Stoops: clarinet
David Bowlin: violin
Andre Emelianoff: cello
Blair McMillen: piano

Time Does Not Exist
Sarah Cahill: piano

The Day Revisited
Patricia Spencer: flute
Meighan Stoops: clarinet
Blair McMillen: keyboard sampler
Kyle Gann: keyboard sampler
Bernard Gann: fretless bass

On Reading Emerson
Sarah Cahill: piano

This one completely defies expectations. In a good way. And expectations were pretty high when reaching for this disc. Private Dances is filled with beautiful moments and ideas that "dance" with a translucence of melodic and harmonic ideas creatively and formally developed with the discipline of a writer's sense of pace and editing. The Day Revisited is a particular treasure within this collection of gems as a just intonation ensemble work that unfolds with one delicious bend after another. The solo piano music has a Satie-esque sensibility beautifully realized by Sarah Cahill. Enthusiastically recommended.

Radiohead: OK Computer. 1997. Parlophone/EMI: 7243 8 55229 2 5.

Far too many folks I respect and read in various online communities profess a profound regard for Radiohead for me to continue to ignore this group. And I confess to being more than a little behind in warming up to the band named after the Talking Heads song that inspires the same kind of regard for me that so many express for Radiohead. That said, this is my second spin of OK Computer and I'm "getting it" a little more than the first spin. In many ways, this collection of songs hits the same mark as Remain in Light or Fear of Music in the way that I remember those "classics" of my own youth. That is, it feels and sounds good and invites further listening - the effect that vaulted its position of adulation more than ten years ago when it was released. And the years haven't taken too much of a toll on this sound either.

HurdAudio Rotation: Feeling the Taint, Feeling the Esteem, Puzzled About the Computer

Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet: Skerik's Syncopated Taint Septet. 2003. Ropeadope Music Entertainment: 0-7567-93183-2-9.

Skerik: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Joe Doria: hammond organ
John Wicks: drums
Steve Moore: trombone, wurlitzer electric piano
Hans Teuber: alto saxophone, flute
Dave Carter: trumpet
Craig Flory: baritone saxophone

A big horn section steeped in the dirty dozen brass band sound combined with a rhythm section steeped in funk, this disc packs some serious groove, stunning arrangements and a healthy dose of the old New Orleans vibe. The wurlitzer electric piano of Steve Moore combined with Dave Carter's trumpet evokes the Zawinul and Miles sound of In A Silent Way on "Bus Barn" while the even spread of compositions from all members of this group draws from several quarters of jazz history that favors the ensemble sound over showcasing extended individual solos.

Steve Lacy Quintet: Esteem. 1975. Released in 2004. Atavistic: ALP260CD.

Steve Lacy: soprano saxophone
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Irene Aebi: cello, violin
Kent Carter: bass
Kenneth Tyler: percussion

This one is a slice of the great soprano saxophonist with his quintet in the midst of a long-running stint at La Cour des Miracles in Paris. And there's a quality to these performances that comes from like minded improvisers with a long history - and secure future - of playing together. With Aeibi on the violin this music reminds me of the sonic qualities of Albert Ayler's quintet's stint at La Cave in Cleveland (as found on the excellent Holy Ghost box set). There are even a few gestures from Lacy that sound like signature Ayler riffs. But these compositions are unmistakably Lacy's and there's some great takes on several of them. The appeal of "The Uh Uh Uh" is immediate while the sprawling, long version of "The Duck" offers plenty for the ears to sink into.

Radiohead: OK Computer. 1997. EMI Records: 7243 8 55229 2 5.

I may be the last pair of ears to finally get around to Radiohead - more than a decade after OK Computer was released. It's odd how it's fine to revel in something Ornette Coleman recorded in 1959 while taking in the 1998 nominee for Best Alternative Music Album and Album of the Year this late in the game feels like a form of cultural delinquency. Triple platinum or not, this is my first time hearing this material and my first Radiohead listening experience. The consistent buzz surrounding this band - and this release in particular - in the music blogs makes a strong argument for the durability of this music. And I really don't know what to say about it. It's good. Good enough to warrant further investigation of Radiohead's other releases. But I'm puzzled about the enthusiasm. Perhaps this one needs a few more spins in the rotation to get a handle on it.

HurdAudio Rotation: Another Return into the Circular Temple of Esteem

Forbes Graham: Another Return. 2007. CD-R available from the composer.

Forbes Graham: trumpet, laptop computer

With the assistance of amplification and digital manipulation, hearing the trumpet in this sound is like scanning the horizon with a microscope. There are plenty of nice pauses and silences contained within these five compositions. "You're Here with Us Now" in particular has an interesting quality as the sound has a hard threshold so that past a particular amplitude it simply falls into an abrupt silence for the perceived duration of the gesture that crossed that threshold. There's a beautifully austere quality to this music as the active ear adjusts its focus upon it.

Matthew Shipp Trio: Circular Temple. 1990. Infinite Zero Archive: 9 14506-2.

Matthew Shipp: piano
William Parker: bass
Whit Dickey: drums

Circular Temple is Matthew Shipp at his most intense, and prolonged mode as these four tracks make up four movements for a singular compositional expression. And this has many of the qualities of an epic piano solo as Parker and Dickey seem to fuse into the same focus that Shipp brings to this outing. The synthesis of jazz history at work in this music is compelling as one can hear elements of bop and Cecil Taylor at work behind the concentrated intensity.

Steve Lacy Quintet: Esteem. 1975 (released in 2006). Atavistic: ALP260CD.

Steve Lacy: soprano saxophone
Steve Potts: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone
Irene Aebi: cello, violin
Kent Carter: bass
Kenneth Tyler: percussion

The source material for this set comes from a cassette recording from Steve Lacy's personal archive of a show recorded at La Cour des Miracles, Paris, France on February 26, 1975. And the production quality reflects the limitations of the source media. So it's a testament to the quality of these compositions and the outstanding treatment these improvisers bring to them that overcomes - and even allows one to forget - the limited frequency range captured from this session. "The Uh Uh Uh" grooves incredibly hard and provides an unbelievable vehicle for solos from Lacy and Potts. There's a satisfying element of funk running through this rhythm section balancing out Lacy's rapid-fire sheets of sound.