HurdAudio Rotation: Does It Swing?

Splatter Trio & Debris play Anthony Braxton: Jump or Die: 21 Anthony Braxton Compositions 1992. 1994. Music & Arts: CD 843.

Compositions 40E(+40D) + (40P + 69Q) + 40(O)
Dave Barrett: alto saxophone, saxcello
Keith Hedger: cornet
Curt Newton: drums
Gino Robair: drums
Steve Norton: soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone
Myles Boisen: guitar/bass doubleneck
Arthor Weinstein: mandola, casio, guitar

Composition 48
Dave Barrett: saxcello
Tom Plsek: trombone
Gino Robair: vibes
Keith Hedger: cornet
Myles Boisen: bass
Curt Newton: drums

Composition 23D(+108A)
Steve Norton: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Gino Robair: vibes, toy piano, mandolin
Myles Boisen: guitar/bass doubleneck
Curt Newton: drums

Composition 50(+53)
Dave Barrett: saxcello, tenor saxophone
Gino Robair: synth, electronics
Myles Boisen: conductor
Steve Norton: alto saxophone, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone
Arthor Weinstein: synth, electronics, bongophone

Composition 142
Dave Barrett: tenor saxophone
Randy McKean: clarinet
Tom Plsek: trombone
Myles Boisen: bass
Curt Newton: drums
Steve Norton: baritone saxophone
Keith Hedger: cornet
Arthor Weinstein: guitar
Gregg Bendian: vibes
Gino Robair: conductor

Composition 15
Randy McKean: clarinet
Myles Boisen: guitar
Gino Robair: conductor
Keith Hedger: cornet
Curt Newton: drums

Compositions 69L + (122+69I) + 69D
Dave Barrett: tenor saxophone, saxcello, alto saxophone
Keith Hedger: cornet
Arthor Weinstein: guitar
Curt Newton: drums
Steve Norton: baritone saxophone
Myles Boisen: guitar/bass doubleneck
GIno Robair: drums, conductor

Composition 74 C
Steve Norton: bass clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone
Gino Robair: vibes, toy piano, mandolin

Compositions (120D + 90) + (23C + 133)
Dave Barrett: alto saxophone
Keith Hedger: cornet
Tom Plsek: trombone
Myles Boisen: bass
Curt Newton: drums
Steve Norton: bass clarinet
Randy McKean: clarinet, alto saxophone
Arthor Weinstein: pressure-treated cello
Gregg Bendian: xylophone, vibes, glockenspiel
Gino Robair: conductor

The sheer scope of Anthony Braxton's music is astonishing. His music is like an open embrace of the world and all its possibilities with another outstretched arm looking to take in the universe. On this particular subset of Braxton compositions we have works that feature fully notated materials, open improvisation structured around graphic notation and any other number of methods to instigate improvised music. The interpretive latitude extended toward performers takes on multiple dimensions as the possibility of mixing and matching different compositions and playing them simultaneously in collage gives each performance the potential toward becoming something utterly unique. This is the first recording of Braxton's music performed by players other than Anthony Braxton. The sonic insight into the startling possibilities of interpretive freedoms is a testament to the approach taken by these outstanding players as well as a hint at the limitless discovery yet to be explored.

While this disc has been a favorite with these ears for a long time now, increased familiarity with Anthony Braxton's oeuvre definitely enhances the experience. It also reinforces my own impression of just how substantial this music is.

Terry Riley & Michael McClure: I Like Your Eyes Liberty. 2004. Sri Moonshine: 002.

Terry Riley: piano, electronics
Michael McClure: poetry, voice

I've encountered more than a few composers who dismiss Terry Riley's music as "hippie bullshit." I Like Your Eyes does little to dispel this pronouncement. Terry Riley providing spontaneous, improvised accompaniment to Michael McClure as he reads poetry. Each done in one take. It does take on the quality of a beatnik bar with MIDI adornments. The Riley-esque charms are not as strong for me with this one. The poet and musician do create these textures as equal partners - which is a rare feat with this kind of expression. Yet I can't help wishing this material would draw me in more than it does.

Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers: Paris 1959. [DVD] 2006. Impro-Jazz: IJ 517.

Art Blakey: drums
Lee Morgan: trumpet
Wayne Shorter: tenor saxophone
Walter Davis Jr.: Piano
Jymie Merritt: bass

live at Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France. November 15, 1959

The black and white footage isn't always in focus, the sound is mono and the mix is a bit rough. Even with all the rough technical edges this is one incredible live performance. Lee Morgan's unaccompanied solo on "A Night in Tunisia" is completely devastating in its soul-drenched creativity. Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers crawl up inside this music and swing so hard that I forget to be put off by the head-solo-solo-solo-head form and instead anticipate what flights of fancy the next front man will bring to the table. There aren't nearly enough opportunities to hear Wayne Shorter and Lee Morgan playing together like this. Archival quality footage that is a gift to behold.

HurdAudio Rotation: Songs of Liberty and Bohemians

Terry Riley & Michael McClure: I Like Your Eyes Liberty. 2004. Sri Moonshine: 002.

Terry Riley: music
Michael McClure: poetry

The colorful rantings and mix of verbal words and noises of Michael McClure's poetry reading strike the ears like a lunatic banging on the walls of the asylum. Terry Riley's improvised responsiveness to this poetry transforms the experience from insanity to a charming lunacy. Rich with so many of the qualities that make Terry Riley's music compelling, this one takes on the twin demons of words and collaboration with mixed results. The ears are both drawn in and put off at the same time. The poetry is good. The music is inviting. In the end it feels more like a curiosity than anything else.

Charlie Haden: The Ballad of the Fallen. 1982. ECM: 1248 811 546-2.

Charlie Haden: bass
Carla Bley: arrangements, piano, glockenspiel
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Sharon Freeman: french horn
Mick Goodrick: guitar
Jack Jeffers: tuba
Michael Mantler: trumpet
Paul Motion: drums, percussion
Jim Pepper: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
Dewey Redman: tenor saxophone
Steve Slagle: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, flute
Gary Valente: trombone

Carla Bley arrangements. An inspiring humanitarian message. Music of defiance and hope. These Liberation Music Orchestra recordings bring the ears to a deeper understanding of love and hope through a veil of tears. One of the great jazz recordings of all time. But what Haden/Bley collaboration isn't? The short arrangement of "The People United Will Never Be Defeated" is incredible and the contributions of each one of these players adds up to a rare level of inspired.

Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers: The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia Volume 1 & 2. 1955 (Rudy Van Gelder edition released in 2001). Blue Note Records: 7243 5 32148 2 1 & 7243 5 3249 2 0.

Art Blakey: drums
Kenny Dorham: trumpet
Hank Mobley: tenor saxophone
Horace Silver: piano
Doug Watkins: bass

Ideal for those who need a little bop with their Sunday morning coffee. For monophonic source tapes these disc sound amazing. From a era when covering show tunes was neither an ironic gesture or an obligation to the standards repertoire, these wonderful Kenny Dorham arrangements are drenched within the deep, soul-filled wells that show off the vibrancy and life these tunes had before they were embalmed by generations long since removed from the days when Cole Porter was a contemporary pop icon. It's still possible to play great performances of the standards, but the conservative practice of treating them as museum relics rarely attains the gritty panache achieved at Cafe Bohemia in 1955 by these cats. The irresistible gravity of the feeling these players bring makes Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers an enduring fascination with these ears. Then there's that phenomenal presence of Horace Silver at the keys turning in great solo after great solo on the same stage with the great Hank Mobley.