Curlew: 1st Album + Live at CBGB 1980. 1981, 1984, 2008. Landslide Records: DMG/ARC-0704.George Cartwright: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Tom Cora: cello, indingiti
Nicky Skopelitis: guitar
Bill Laswell: fender bass
Bill Bacon: drums, percussion, gamelan
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George Cartwright: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone
Tom Cora: cello, indingiti
Nicky Skopelitis: guitar
Bill Laswell: fender bass
Denardo Coleman: drum kit
It's hard to stop smiling when hearing all these early Curlew creations. I was fortunate to catch this band live a couple of times in a slightly later incarnation, one that included the riveting Tom Cora on cello. This music grooves along with plenty of odd contours and free improvisation sitting in the pockets formed along the seams of these arrangements. One can practically hear the birth of the "downtown" movement as it forcefully careened over to where the gentrified and packaged world of "fusion" utterly failed. A lot of great music followed in the wake of Curlew, but these early pieces have an ageless charm.
Sun Ra: Strange Celestial Road. 1987. Rounder Records: CD 3035.Sun Ra: keyboards
Michael Ray, Curt Pulliam, Walter Miller: trumpet
Craig Harris, Tony Bethel: trombone
Harry Wilson, Damon Choice: vibraphone
Richard Williams, Steve Clarke: bass
Vincent Chancey: french horn
John Gilmore, Marshall Allen, Elo Omoe, James Jacson, Danny Thompson, Kenny Williams, Hutch Jones, Sylvester Baton, Noel Scott: reeds
Luqman Ali, Reg McDonald: drums
Artaukatune: percussion
Skeeter McFarland, Taylor Richardson: guitar
June Tyson, Rhoda Blount: vocals
"Traveling. Strange celestial road. A strange celestial road. To endless heaven." The road is not so hard. Buoyed by the sonic signposts thoughtfully placed by Sun Ra as he made the advance journey ahead of us all. Here we have a document of a time when these musicians assembled and played with feeling before so many of them were to embark upon their own journey down that road. Hinting only at the length and transcendence of that road through a brief burst of joyous sound. One suspects that the road itself continues long after the double bar lines at the end of the score.
David Lang: Child. 2003. Cantaloupe Music: CA21013.performed by Sentieri Selvaggi
Carlo Boccadoro: conductor, piano, brake drum
Paola Fre: flute, piccolo
Mirco Ghirardini: clarinet, bass clarinet
Andrea Rebaudengo: piano
Thomas Schrott: violin, brake drum
Antonello Leofreddi: viola
Marco Decimo: cello, brake drum
Andrea Dulbecco: vibraphone, percussion
Filippo Del Corno: brake drum
A work of minimalist simplicity that drifts along in wisps like the breeze from my open window. The steady growth, and formation of motif-based ideas building upon layers as understated sonic expression of biological growth that unfolds with equal softness all around us.
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