HurdAudio Rotation: Texturologie

Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost [disc 5]. 2004. Revenant Records: 213.

November 3, 1966 @ Berlin Philharmonie: Berlin, Germany &
November 8, 1966 @ De Doelen: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Albert Ayler: tenor saxophone
Don Ayler: trumpet
Michel Samson: violin
Bill Folwell: bass
Beaver Harris: drums

The exquisite, sensational performance of these live sets hits against the low ceiling of the badly deteriorated master tapes of these sessions. The renditions of the classic Ayler compositions; "Ghosts," "Bells," "Truth is Marching In" etc. are given outstanding takes here with Michel Samson's violin adding an intriguing layer. Don Ayler is in rare form for these sessions. But the production value will render this particular disc as one for true Ayler fans as it's unlikely to convert the uninitiated.

Sylvie Courvoisier: Lonelyville. 2007. Intakt: CD 120.

Sylvie Courvoisier: piano, composition
Mark Feldman: violin
Vincent Courtois: cello
Ikue Mori: electronics
Gerald Cleaver: drums

This one is as highly recommended as they come. A near perfect blend of disparate elements realized by an outstanding ensemble. The blend between improvisation and composed material is completely seamless. Save that the compositional elements clearly bookend the beginnings and endings of pieces and often feature intriguing formal elements in between. The presence of Ikue Mori's nearly liquid electronic sound is balanced just right with the acoustic instruments. Often giving the piano, cello and drums a sense of occupying a similarly software driven space. Everything about Lonelyville is practically pitch perfect and well worth repeated listening.

Burnt Sugar: If You Can't Dazzle Them With Your Brilliance Then Baffle Them With Your Blisluth. 2005. Burnt Sugar Index Publishing.

Gregory S. Tate: conduction
Jason DiMatteo: acoustic bass
Jared Michael Nickerson: electric bass
Shahzad Ismaily: banjo, stand up electric bass
Chris Eddleton, Trevor Holder, Qasim Naqvi: drums
Rene Akan, Tazayarah: guitar
Julia Kent, Okkyung Lee: cello
Mazz Swift: violin
Matana Roberts: alto saxophone
Petre Radu-Scafaru: tenor saxophone
Satch Hoyt: flute, percussion
Bruce Mack: synth
Vijay Iyer: piano, synth
Jeremiah, Lisala, Justice Dilla-X: voice
Omega Moon: MC

As clear an indication that the vibrations of Sun Ra and Butch Morris will have an unexpected resonance for some time to come. Gregory S. Tate has taken the Arkestra model and applied conduction to a multiplicity of groove and melodic sources and found his way to Saturn and back to bring us this noise. "A Night In Tunisia" gets deconstructed and reassembled with the outstanding talents of Matana Roberts front and center much of the time. Conduction breathing new life into a war horse of a standard. "Himatsuri (Fire Festival)" and "Ostinato for Octavia Estelle Butler" add a sense of ritual as patterns are drawn out to allow for a large canvas of conduction. These are live performances that do an end run around studio realization even as they freely use the sonic materials of studio technique.

HurdAudio Rotation: Empire Smashing

Doctor Nerve: Armed Observation/Out To Bomb Fresh Kings. 1991 re-release of the 1987 and 1984 recordings. Cuneiform: Rune 38X.

Nick Didkovsky: composer, guitars, tiple
Samm Bennett: percussion
Doug Brown: electric bass
Anne Brudevold: violin
Lucian Burg: saxophone
Brian Carter: drums
Don Davis: tenor saxophone
Dave Douglas: trumpet, piano
Yves Duboin: soprano saxophone
Brian Farmer: drums
Mike Leslie: electric bass
Bill Lippencott: saxophone
Joachim Litty: saxophone
Michael Lytle: bass clarinet
Steve MacLean: electric bass
James Mussen: drums
Kyle Sims: electric bass
Marc Wagnon: vibraphone, percussion, piano
Chuck Verstraeten: trombone

An unlikely mashing together of aggressive progressive rock with algorithmic hyper-technique informed by jazz and new music impulses resonating from the time continuum of the late 1980s. In other words, the reverberant soundtrack of my adolescence. It also happens to be a music that has weathered the test of time well. Serving up blasts of sonic materials in short attention span friendly doses. Doctor Nerve is still active as a band and still loudly pointing toward musical directions seldom traveled. Even though it seems like there is little this kind of heady irreverence couldn't cure.

Sylvie Courvoisier: Signs and Epigrams. 2007. Tzadik: 8033.

Sylvie Courvoisier: piano

This collection features solo piano compositions by the master improviser. The continuity between her improvisations and compositions means these pieces uniquely expose the creative choices Sylvie Courvoisier makes as a creative musician. The decisive quality of both keyboard and extended technique into a multi-dimensional, multi-timbral whole. A sense of harmony that expands and contracts between single tonal centers and an explosive freedom. The multiple moments of brilliance spread throughout this hour-long performance keeps this music engaging and particularly rewarding to the active ear. Highly recommended.

Billy Bang: Vietnam: The Aftermath. 2001. Justin Time Records: JUST 165-2.

Billy Bang: violin
Ted Daniel: trumpet
Frank Lowe: tenor saxophone
Sonny Fortune: flute
John Hicks: piano
Curtis Lundy: bass
Ron Brown: percussion
Michael Carvin: drums
Butch Morris: conductor

This record has a strong pull on multiple levels. An incredibly positive expression born out of the trials and tribulations of the Vietnam experience (an experience shared by several members of this group who served). It took Billy Bang more than thirty years before he could confront his personal demons and experiences from that war. That gestation period allowing for a maturing of ideas. The Vietnamese folk melodies recalled by bang mingle within a swing groove equally informed by the blues and conduction methodologies. The camaraderie shared between these excellent players is hard to miss. Few records deliver such a lasting and decisive blow along such an emotional and intellectual level.

HurdAudio Rotation: Downtown Past and Present

Albert Ayler: Holy Ghost box set [disc 1]. 2004. Revenant Records: 213.

Herbert Katz Quintet - June 30, 1962, Helsinki, Finland
Herbert Katz: guitar
Albert Ayler: tenor saxophone
Teuvo Suojarvi: piano
Heikki Annala: bass
Martti Aijanen: drums

Cecil Taylor Quartet - November 16, 1962, Copenhagen, Denmark
Cecil Taylor: piano
Jimmy Lyons: alto saxophone
Albert Ayler: tenor saxophone
Sunny Murray: drums

Albert Ayler Trio - June 14, 1964 - Cellar Cafe, New York City
Albert Ayler: tenor saxophone
Gary Peacock: bass
Sunny Murray: drums

The first disc from the excellent Holy Ghost box set is a frequent aural companion in the rotation. One that unfolds the great Ayler narrative as a mild mannered tenor saxophone player treading in hotel lounge territory before finding his own voice as a fire-breathing, free improviser with the forces of Sunny Murray and Gary Peacock to back him up. Along the way is this curious and unbelievably compelling stint with Cecil Taylor. Clearly, the world lost Ayler much too soon. What documentation we have makes a sustained case for unflinching honesty in honing a uniquely personal sound.

Doctor Nerve: Armed Observation/Out To Bomb Fresh Kings. 1987/1984: Cuneiform Rune: 38X.

Nick Didkovsky: guitar, composer, tiple
Samm Bennett: percussion
Doug Brown: electric bass
Anne Brudevold: violin
Lucian Burg: saxophone
Brian Carter: drums
Don Davis: tenor saxophone
Dave Douglas: trumpet, piano
Yves Duboin: soprano saxophone
Brian Farmer: drums
Mike Leslie: electric bass
Bill Lippencott: saxophone
Joachim Litty: saxophone
Michael Lytle: bass clarinet
Steve MacLean: electric bass
James Mussen: drums
Kyle Sims: electric bass
Marc Wagnon: vibraphone
Chuck Verstraeten: trombone

Nick Didkovsky -- and by extension his long-running Doctor Nerve -- are a necessary part of the "Downtown" ecosystem. A band that explores the excesses and mathematically jagged-yet-pure sonic pulse of progressive rock that draws upon the fertile talents of New York's avant jazz music scene. In other words: exquisite. This re-issue of Doctor Nerve's early efforts is essential listening for any ears tracking the New York sound over the past few decades. It's also fiercely kinetic and rewarding listening.

How is it that uncompromisingly angular lines and aggressively odd meters is regarded as a formula for alienating listeners? With Nick Didkovsky leading the way, his push toward algorithmic structure and thorny rhythms never comes close to antiseptic in its realization of a music that rocks with plenty of feel around every odd bend and turn. The thick texture of math and substance is delicious ear and brain candy.

Sylvie Courvoisier: Signs and Epigrams. 2007. Tzadik: TZ 8033.

Sylvie Courvoisier: piano

The presence and deliberate approach to the piano that marks a live Sylvie Courvoisier experience is evident in this solo recording. Each tangling within the innards of the piano, struck keys or articulated line bears that aggressive force that makes up Courvoisier's sound. The chance to hear her improvisations and crafted compositional ideas in this documented presentation is a welcome splash against the ears. Even the shortest pieces on this disc display the intensity of concentration and focus upon the form and overall sound. A fascinating pianist that turns up surprises with each listening and each sonic encounter.

HurdAudio Rotation: Of Signs, War and Seafaring

Sylvie Courvoisier: Signs and Epigrams. 2007. Tzadik: TZ 8033.

Sylvie Courvoisier: piano

This disc is everything I'd hoped to hear after seeing Sylvie Courvoisier perform earlier this year. There's the same deliberateness to this sound as she works deftly between the keyboard and the interior of the instrument. The improvisations and through-composed pieces on this disc are clearly from the same creative impulse. Courvoisier's attention to the details of this sound emerge as compelling explorations of piano timbres with an ear for harmony and gesture.

Billy Bang: Vietnam: The Aftermath. 2001. Justin Time Records: Just 165-2.

Billy Bang: violin
Ted Daniel: trumpet
Frank Lowe: tenor saxophone
Sonny Fortune: flute
John Hicks: piano
Curtis Lundy: bass
Ron Brown: percussion
Michael Carvin: drums
Butch Morris: conductor (on one track)

This is a great recording from Billy Bang. The combination of these players realizing such profoundly personal compositions makes for an incredible balance of introspective expression and group improvisation. Given the difficult subject matter of coming to terms with Bang's service in Vietnam there's a surprising range of warmth (and funky groove) that fits along side the darkness and pain. Bang adds material from the musical traditions and sounds of Vietnamese culture to his jazz palette for a sound with deep roots.

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

The oceanic themes woven throughout this disc provides a story-telling unity to a collection of creative songs accompanied by textures performed by a small army of musicians from the New York "downtown" scene. The result is a Laurie Anderson listening experience I have a particular fondness for. Anderson is well beyond stretching formulaic song-form structures as she crafts beautiful slices of appealing and unpredictable sonic poetry.

Chamber Music/Extended Technique/Creative Improvisation Synthesis @ An Die Musik

Vincent Courtois/Sylvie Courvoisier/Ellery Eskelin Trio @ An Die Musik, Baltimore, MD
September 14, 2007

Vincent Courtois: cello
Sylvie Courvoisier: piano
Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone


From the first deliberate sound of the opening set - a natural harmonic from a piano string with one hand muting the node and the other bringing the hammer solidly against the string from the keyboard - Sylvie Courvoisier
possessed an aggressive and uncontainable creative edge that had her springing from the piano bench. Even the idiosyncratic creaks and squeaks from that very bench were seized upon as a coherent answer - and brilliant accompaniment - to Courtois's amplified micro-sound explorations on the cello.

The convergence upon the similarities of bow scrapes, tenor keypads and a piano bench is just one example of the reactive approach toward improvisation that marks the textural territory mined by this fantastic trio. These master improvisers fill the sonic canvas by matching one another and making transitions through subtraction and addition as they tastefully withdraw their own contributions to expose duos and solos before finding a new texture to match. Vincent Courtios made his own "perfect pitch" abundantly clear several times as he answered several gestures with an exact match of his own.

Ellery Eskelin has made a career out of crafting and creating situations that allow these kinds of textures to emerge and transform. Much of this is well documented (and quietly emerging as a point of fixation at HurdAudio) as he has developed an approach toward weaving his own sound and impulse into an astonishing range of situations. Here, his linear contributions and deft pointillistic exchange made for a nice counterbalance to the elastic timbral explorations of the piano and cello. The moments of piano and tenor saxophone duos that emerged from time to time within these free improvisations took on beautiful, Messiaen-like hues.

The use of amplification brought out an interesting dimension to Vincent Courtois's cello sound. As the only amplified instrument on stage, it wasn't used to "compete" with the piano and saxophone volumes. It did bring out the micro-sounding world of cello string and body sounds as scrapes and percussive taps were brought into sharp focus. The dynamic use of the volume pedal had me wondering how such technique might be employed for the extended piano sounds. And in a moment of improvisative generosity, Courtois angled his cello so that the contact microphone would pick up Eskelin or Courvoisier's playing, adding the resonance of the body of the cello and the emanation from the amplifier to the overall sonic image. This worked particularly well.

Sylvie Courvoisier has impressively integrated extended techniques into her overall approach. Each movement toward the inner guts of the piano was a natural part of her sound. With mallets, gaffer tape, metal balls and picks within easy reach she shaped the piano sounds with an even consistency no matter what method was employed to vibrate the piano wire. There was a period of strummed chords across the strings with the harmonic tones silently depressed from the keyboard - a technique reminiscent of Henry Cowell's Aeolean Harp - that unfolded with fantastic spontaneity and textural logic. The restlessness of constantly folding new material and timbres into her playing combined with an unfaltering deliberateness that made the live Courvoisier experience a revelation.