HurdAudio Rotation: Midnight Sunrise

Sten Sandell Trio: Face of Tokyo. 2008. PNL.

Sten Sandell is a pianist who knows how to touch upon the extremes of free improvisation.  The extremes of density, the extremes of register and the extremity of duration with a disc that features two long pieces.  The fact that his cohorts of Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and Johan Berthling on bass understand this sensibility adds to an improvised set that skillfully uses extremes to paint contrasts.  The severity of the sparse opening allows one to hear enormous detail in the smallest gestures.  And more importantly, hear these details through the ears of these performers as they respond to these same textures.  The volcanic eruption that builds out of this opening makes for a study in what makes free improvisation so compelling in the hands and ears of such masters.

Stefan Wolpe: Enactments: Works for Piano. 2005.  Hat Hut.

"March and Variations for Two Pianos" (1933)
"The Good Spirit of a Right Cause" (1942)
"Enactments for Three Pianos" (1950-1953)

The chronological sequencing of these three works is hardly a coincidence as this set makes the progression of Stefan Wolpe's piano writing into a kind of focal point.  The "March and Variations" being a relatively tame, but astonishingly detailed piece for two pianos that establishes Wolpe's approach toward thematic development.  This carries forward into the "Enactments for Three Pianos" where he is applying a decidedly different method for ordering notes.  This is a Hat Hut recording, so the performance is crisp and the production values are top notch.  Perhaps the best possible introduction to the Wolpe piano sound and a clear statement that even his most dense textures are never opaque when given a disciplined performance like this one.


Ornette Coleman: Dancing in Your Head. 1975. Horizon Records.

This is how free jazz does the extended 7-inch single.  Two long takes on the insanely hooky "Theme from a Symphony" followed by two radio-friendly duration takes on "Midnight Sunrise" giving just a taste of Ornette's work with the Master Musicians of Jajouka.  This disc marked the first recorded outing of Prime Time, even if it isn't exactly credited as such.  The blend of harmolodics, funk and poly-tonal abandon makes for something worth coming back for time and again.  This is Ornette along a very interesting part of his artistic evolution along with a dose of fun.  For all his fierce, philosophy-driven improvisation Ornette is a blues man at heart who knows a thing or two about fashioning a riff.  And "Midnight Sunrise" gives evidence of how Ornette's sound fit within a global milieu.

HurdAudio Rotation: American Icons

Charles Ives: The Symphonies / Orchestral Sets 1 & 2. 2001. Decca: B00004TTIK

Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
The Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
Cleveland Orchestra
Academy of St. Martins in the Fields

Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 4
Second Orchestral Set
Symphony No. 2
Symphony No. 3
Three Places in New England

My ears were quick to tell me "it's been too long" as they drank in a concentrated helping of Ives' symphonic writing.  This truly is a cornerstone of orchestral aesthetic.  Ives had an ear for texture, for tightly weaving in a rich tapestry of Americana and the Symphony No. 4 adds an astonishing use of quarter tones smeared across multiple ensembles.  The similarities between the final movement of Symphony No. 2  and the "Putnam's Camp" movement of Three Places in New England struck a nerve on this time through.  These pieces have a sense of place even as they reach toward an impossible ideal.  The distance between the student work of Symphony No. 1 and the self-confidence of the Symphony No. 2 is astonishing.  Each one of these begs for repeated listening.

Miles Davis: The Complete On the Corner Sessions [disc 5]. 1974-1975. Columbia Records.

These complete sessions are essentially a series of large jam sessions organized by Miles Davis.  The funk comes in large slabs of drums, congas and electric bass punctuated by Dave Liebman's soprano saxophone, Pete Cosey's electric guitar and smatterings of Miles Davis himself on trumpet.  The form can get fairly free and sprawling while the ears get lost in the groove.  And yet there is enormous beauty lurking in this generous expanse of material.  The start/stop textures of "What They Do" providing a nice contrast between density and individual parts for the ears this afternoon.  And the relatively short "Minnie" closing out this particular disc with a reminder of how tight Miles could make things when he wanted to.

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing [disc 4]. 1959-1961. Rhino/Atlantic.

Free improvisation allows me to hear a musicians ears.  Hearing the same environment and stimulus that is feeding their own playing in the moment.  Their reactions often being a fluid balance between the internal and external sounds of a given occasion.  Free Jazz is the main attraction included on this fourth disc.  After a few tracks that sustain the raw energy of the quartet format from the first three discs of this collection we have a First Take with the Free Jazz double quartet followed by a 38-minute take on the record that helped propel an important discipline of full improvised freedom.  The collection of ears on this session is solid.  Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, Scott LaFaro and Billy Higgins forming the quartet on the left channel while Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell hold down the right.  These are some impressive ears and a forceful statement that freedom can soar and freedom can swing.  Like with so much free improvisation, focused and attentive listening is enormously rewarding even if the music never explicitly demands that one pay attention.  Leaving the pleasure of hearing Free Jazz exclusively to those who make the effort to listen.  And Free Jazz is arguably more rewarding than most.

HurdAudio Rotation: To Say Your Name

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing [disc 2]. 1993. Atlantic Recording Corp: 1-56826-275-2.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Charlie Haden: bass
Billy Higgins: drums
Ed Blackwell: drums

One of the main things this box set gets right is the music.  The electricity between these players still leaps out from the speakers through the decades providing more than enough substance to inspire the free improviser.  Beyond the obvious chemistry is the incredible balance between individuals of remarkably equal force.  Disc 2 opens with "The Face of the Bass" with its intoxicating exposure of Charlie Haden's brilliant bass work.  Followed up by moments of awe for Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman.  Billy Higgins remains a harmolodic obsession, hearing how he carves through the same loose grooves traveled by his musical conspirators.

As an additional dimension to this music (that continues to be "The Shape of Jazz to Come") are these Ornette Coleman heads.  Compositions that have grown into familiar entities that have inspired other versions performed by various players in my personal collection.  "Ramblin'" has taken on a life of its own and the reason for that is abundantly clear on this take.  "I Heard It Over The Radio," a track previously unreleased before this complete Atlantic Recordings collection, has been given an inspired interpretation by Paul Plimley.  And so many other tunes that have become companions in my head (I often hear "Kaleidoscope" or "The Tribes of New York" in my head while commuting to the day job).  Beauty is no rare thing on any disc from this set, and today's disc is a jolt from a deeply creative period from one of Jazz's greats.

Thomas Chapin: Alive [disc 1] - Third Force. 1999. Knitting Factory Records: 35828 02482 2.

Thomas Chapin: saxophones
Mario Pavone: bass
Steve Johns: drums

The spark that catches and sets a sound aflame through Thomas Chapin's preferred medium of the trio is clearly audible on this set.  The kinetic energy realized by a saxophonist with a deep grasp of jazz roots applying his trade to a deft balance of groove, jam and melodic inventiveness.  The explosive quality of these live takes of pieces that would come to define the fleeting Knitting Factory scene of the 1990s.  And not lost on these ears is the forceful quality of his flute playing.  This cat could jam hard, rock out and still navigate his way through linear, melodic development.  Being a multi-instrumentalist with this much talent is almost showing off.

Sadly, Chapin falls on the unfortunate list of jazzmen lost far too soon, leaving behind the agonizing questions about how much the course of improvised music would have been altered had his career followed along the trajectory left behind on recording such as these.  There is also the real celebration of the vibrations captured for posterity.  This is a music that retains so much of its edge and pieces like "Ahab's Leg" or "Iddly" are hard to forget when they've been experienced like this.  Alive is a significant documentation of something significant that the ears seek to hold on to.

Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet: One Dance Alone. 2008. Songlines: SA1571-2.

Wayne Horvitz: piano
Peggy Lee: cello
Ron Miles: cornet
Sara Schoenbeck: bassoon

This one is the second of two releases featuring the understated, detail-rich chamber jazz compositions of Wayne Horvitz.  The brush strokes of these restrained gems colored both by the instrumentation and the improvisation-friendly personalities brought into this project.  Making Gravitas Quartet one of the rare blends of jazz and classical traditions that soars without giving short shift to either side of the equation.  One Dance Alone is held together by interspersing the three movements of "July" (in reverse order) between contrasting compositions.  "July" being a deliciously abstract study in sparse textures that reveal the layer of Horvtiz pathos that exists at the core of his compositional output.  The remaining tracks feature a waltz, a focus on melodic material and brilliant textures (particularly for Ron Miles to play over) that make a strong case for Wayne Horvitz's ability to realize compact, song-like forms by getting all the individual elements of his ideas polished to a pristine shine.

HurdAudio Rotation: Dedication to Poets and Brums

Ornette Coleman: Dedication to Poets and Writers. 1962.
Magic Music: 30010-CD.

Ornette Coleman: saxophones
David Izenzohn: bass
Charles Moffett: percussion
Selwart Clark: violin
Nathan Goldstein: violin
Julian Barber: viola
Kermit Moore: cello

This particular set has been of particular interest for me.  Poised at an early transition point between Ornette Coleman's legendary quartet (the one that propelled him with full force onto the jazz scene) and the body of music that would follow.  This was a concert organized and funded by Ornette Coleman that barely broke even as bad weather kept attendance low.  Which also set the stage for the criminally low acceptance (and encouragement) of Ornette Coleman's forays into composed chamber works.  Hearing his intervallic logic worked out in a string quartet is incredibly fascinating and I wish that more ears perked up when he began exploring this direction.  Coleman's trio work is also presented here as a road he managed to travel more frequently.  We are left with this documentation that manages to hint at both what was to come and what could have been.

Ches Smith: Congs for Brums. 2006. Free Porcupine Society: 015.

Ches Smith: drums, vibraphone

Ches Smith sustains a 45-minute solo through a careful excursion through distinct territories.  Ches for Brums opens with a handful of notes on the vibraphone that border on being a network call sign.  This is then developed outward as a vibraphone solo that introduces bowed tones and moves toward metal bowls, bells and other percussion instruments along a path that leads toward the trap set.  Later pieces in this set move between the vibraphone and drums, exploring textural and stylistic variants that touch upon experimental percussion music, cool jazz and heavy metal.  Congs for Brums works as a showcase for Ches Smith's personal stylistic sensibilities.  His sense of formal development and his unique attack and tone.  It's less of a showcase of his formal technique.  His concern being weighted toward ideas and less toward flash.  This is is his own musical language and he speaks it fluently.  After a few spins of this disc I've come to appreciate his sense of dynamic variation and restraint.  He comes tantalizingly close to spinning out a sonic world that the listener can fully inhabit with transitions that cut things short before they get too comfortable.  Which is a sure fire way of leaving the listener hungry for more.

Various Artists: Technicolor Hell. 2007. Malleable: 01.

Mincemeat or Tenspeed
Dave Smolen
Newton
Sharks with Wings
Sweet Nothing
Charles Cohen
Joe Lentini
Cars Will Burn
Tweeter
Tim Albro
Drums Like Machine Guns

A compilation of the Philadelphia harsh noise scene that reveals multiple shades of aggressive signal flow.  The stand out for me is the relatively placid "I'll Let the Committee Name It" by Charles Cohen with his electronic textures of drips and liquid bubbling giving way to drumming textures.  It's a piece with a great sense of its own extremes and a sense of form that mines those extremes.  Newton's "Ode To My Bloody Philadelphia Heart" delivers the sharp bursts of static-laden noise that is a therapeutic staple of noise music.  Another track that lulls the ears in with its slow trickle of feedback before turning on the full fire hose of harsh is "Four Color Heck" by Tweeter.  A piece that deftly plumbs the high frequency drones most likely to leave the ears ringing afterward.  As a compilation, there is an inevitable uneven quality to these selections.  Though none of the tracks on Technicolor Hell are sub standard.  There are a few that slave a little too hard to an industrial beat for my taste.  But each does stand up as an aggressive (and necessary) expression.  This is collection is strictly for those willing to expand their awareness of sonic extremities.

HurdAudio Rotation: Drunken Monkeys

Beck: Guero. 2005. Interscope Records: B0003481-02.

Produced, recorded and mixed by Beck Hansen and The Dust Brothers

This one is a triumph of songwriting and musical ideas over bland production choices. Beck has an underrated sense of poetry that gets a little buried under the beats in a string of otherwise hook-heavy songs. His words capture a sense of place and attitude that rings of truth blended with surreal perspective. The Dust Brothers prove to be a bit of a misfit for my ears. In spite of them, this disc has enjoyed some healthy spins.

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is A Rare Thing [disc 5]. 1993. Atlantic Recordings/Rhino Records: RI-71410.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Scott LaFaro: bass
Ed Blackwell: drums

The abundance that pours from this 6-disc box set is particularly evident when you reach disc five. A reminder that Scott LaFaro's tragically short life included this brush with Ornette Coleman at such an explosive period of creative growth. Also a sobering realization that Coleman is now the final surviving member of this timeless lineup. That this significant touchstone of jazz history is receding into an increasingly distant era. This is hard to comprehend given the vitality of the recordings that still leap out and take the ears by the imagination. "Check Up" in particular has taken up residence in my soul as the mind will play this sound back from memory in periods between sleep and wakefulness.

Thomas Chapin Trio: Menagerie Dreams. 1994. (Re-released as disc 4 from the Alive box set in 1999) Knitting Factory Records: 35828-02482-2.

Thomas Chapin: alto saxophone, flute, baritone saxophone, mezzo soprano saxophone
Mario Pavone: bass
Michael Sarin: drums, gongs
guests -
John Zorn: alto saxophone
Vernon Frazer: poetry

Thomas Chapin had a unique talent for channeling a spectrum of life and emotion through his playing. With his long standing trio with Mario Pavone and Michael Sarin that ability became electric. Menagerie Dreams captures a slice of Chapin's range. The brief wisp of the title track shows off Chapin's delicate flute work. While an animal madness abounds and tromps through much of the other works in "Bad Birdie," "A Drunken Monkey," "The Night Hog" and the creative setting of Frazer's poetry in "Put Your Quarter In And Watch The Chicken Dance." Chapin could soar, groove hard and even peel back at the drop of a hat (or a quarter). This document preserves the energy of this creative soul who has since soared to unknown realms and reminds the ears of an era when the Knitting Factory fostered an important and burgeoning scene.

HurdAudio Rotation: Three Faces of Rare Beauty

Muhal Richard Abrams/George Lewis/Roscoe Mitchell: Streaming. 2006. Pi Recordings: 22.

Muhal Richard Abrams: piano, bell, bamboo flute, taxi horn, percussion
George Lewis: trombone, laptop
Roscoe Mitchell: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, percussion

Three legends with a lifetime of achievement in creative improvised music collide for a long set of spontaneous dialogue. It's no surprise that Streaming is excellent. The surprise is the calm reactions that develop between these players. The astonishing maturity of George Lewis' electronic vocabulary on the laptop combined with the ways Abrams and Mitchell weave their own textures into that sound. My own ambivalence toward George Lewis' computer music work eroding completely away as it emerges with all the nuance and creative verve of his trombone playing. The sensitivity of Muhal Abrams' touch at the piano combined with his sense of when to insert himself into the real-time composition. Roscoe Mitchell bringing an expansive sense of timbre - particularly his mouthpiece work - in ways that reveals how his ears are interpreting these fleeting moments. I look forward to each time this one comes up in the rotation.

Miles Davis: The Complete On The Corner Sessions [disc 4]. 2007. Sony BMG Music Entertainment: 88697 06239 2.

Miles Davis: trumpet, electric piano, organ
Dave Liebman: tenor saxophone, flute
John Stubblefield: soprano saxophone
Reggie Lucas: guitar
Pete Cosey: guitar
Michael Henderson: electric bass
Al Foster: drums
Mtume: congas, percussion
Dominique Gaumont: guitar

Disc 4 takes the thick, funky stew and breaks it down into two half hour studies of restraint. The invisible hand of Miles Davis can be detected directing this stripping down after the initial burst of energy on "Calypso Frelimo." The Michael Henderson fueled groove holds steady with a rhythmic bed while shards of trumpet and saxophone improvisations emerge and disappear into the salty mist. The overall impression is an admiration of what is possible when time is allowed to recede into the distance without the confines of form. An oddly urban expansiveness in sound.

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing [disc 3]. 1993. Rhino/Atlantic Jazz: R2 71410.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Charlie Haden: bass
Ed Blackwell: drums

The third disc in this box focuses squarely upon the threads spun by this quartet that continues to reside at the roots of free jazz. This time with Ed Blackwell sitting in for the original Billy Higgins - with just a noticeable ripple along the fabric of this sound with the change in drummers. The spontaneity of this ensemble retains the forceful turns and intervallic contours that made this sound such a spark half a century ago. Cascading sheets of melodic material that continue to be such an important part of Ornette Coleman's sound. The value of abundance that this box set offers allows the ears to alternate between the wonder of Don Cherry's improvisation, Charlie Haden's unerring instincts and the raw beauty of the performances offered on such pieces as "Some Other" or "The Legend of Bebop."

HurdAudio Rotation: Chasing Beauty

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings [disc 1]. 1993. Rhino Records: R1-71410.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: cornet, pocket trumpet
Charlie Haden: bass
Billy Higgins: drums

Few recordings capture the birth of a new movement like the sessions found on this first disc. Hitting with a burst of quartet before settling into a long improvisation from Charlie Haden. This the sound of Ornette Coleman hitting upon a nearly ideal format for realizing his musical vision and completely altering the way improvisation would be practiced from that day forward. This music works on so many different layers it is nearly overwhelming. Beyond the great melodies forged for this session ("Lonely Woman," "Focus on Sanity," Una Muy Bonita" and so many more that have taken on a life force of their own well beyond these first recordings) there is what these four players do with this material and an early glimpse of harmolodics in practice. Things rarely fall into place so completely as this - even for Ornette Coleman in his later recording dates. Some of the most enduring and haunting expressions ever captured on record.

Jon Hassell: Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street. 2009. ECM: 2077.

Jon Hassell: trumpet, keyboard
Peter Freeman: bass, percussion, guitar
Jan Bang: live sampling
Jamie Muhoberac: keyboard, drums
Rick Cox: guitar
Kheir Eddine M'Kachiche: violin
Eivind Aarset: guitar
Helge Norbakken: drums
Pete Lockett: drums
Dino J.A. Deane: live sampling
Steve Shehan: percussion

The Fourth World sound pioneered by Jon Hassell gets the full Manfred Eicher production treatment with lush, luminous textures filled with spacious reverberation, real-time sample manipulation and plenty of space for the intricate details of this music to unfold at slow to moderate tempos. With all the attention to sonic detail afforded by the recording process this music never loses its "live" qualities. Sounding more like a band than a highly skilled session players laying down parallel tracks. Peter Freeman's electric bass providing a lyrical grounding point for music that careens with the slightest breeze. The ambiguous forms and slow grooves makes for a beautiful music that nearly suspends time as it bends toward Hassell's unique, vocal-like trumpet tone.

Michael Gordon/Alarm Will Sound: Van Gogh. 2007. Cantaloupe Music: CA21044.

Alarm Will Sound
Alan Pierson: conductor
Sarah Chalfy: soprano
Matthew Hensrud: tenor
Clay Greenberg: bass
Elisabeth Stimpert: clarinet, bass clarinet
Payton MacDonald: percussion
Dennis DeSantis: percussion
Courtney Orlando: piano
Ryan Ferreira: electric guitar
Caleb Burhans: violin
John Pickford Richards: viola
Stefan Freund: cello
Miles Brown: double bass

Sonic arrangements with all the gruesome ugliness and anatomical beauty of a severed human ear. A loud, pulse-heavy setting of letters written by Van Gogh that eloquently depict the stresses, punishments and timeless anxiety of the thoughtful artist. The stubborn dedication to one's own inner demons and drive despite the total lack of external support or encouragement. The brash sonic lines mirroring the brush strokes of the master painter. The relentlessness of the musical texture drawing the listener into the madness of the solitary mind that penned these words. Michael Gordon has painted a tribute to the accomplishments that outlive the pressures they survive by drawing out the words and allowing the struggles and joys to hang and dance in the air along some brilliantly composed music. The words of self doubt and frustrations with society felt by one of the greatest painters to have picked up a brush speaks volumes about the human condition.

HurdAudio Rotation: Music of Growth

Sleeping People: Growing. 2006-2007. Temporary Residence: TRR123.

Kasey Boekholt: guitar
Joileah Maddock: guitar
Kenseth Thibideau: bass
Brandon Relf: drums
Amber Coffman: guitar

Sleeping People takes musical patterns as a building block and pieces together tight structures built upon oddities. Odd meters, odd juxtapositions and tightly fitted asymmetries. At the same time they also rock. Building these patterns with the instrumentation and sonic language of electric guitars, bass and drums they manage to scratch the cerebral itch without sounding rigid. Mining grooves that both confound and invite the tapping foot. I've been looking forward to having this disc come back around in the rotation and find that Growing has grown on me. If the world actually made sense these guys would be saturating the culture with this intelligent and inviting sound.

Elliott Sharp/Tectonics: Field & Stream. 1998. Knitting Factory Records: KFR-227.

Elliott Sharp: doubleneck guitarbass, electronics, drum programs, tenor saxophone
with guests -
Zeena Parkins: sampler, little green drone guitar
Frank Rothkamm: drums 'n bass

Tectonics is Elliott Sharp's deliriously off-center, thick and subverted stab at electronica. The result is vivid, intense and oddly somewhere between danceable and not. Heavily processed textures develop with Sharp's guitar work or tenor saxophone placing a welcome anchor in the sound. At other times it veers noisily without anchor into a collision of groove and noise. This music probably wouldn't show up in any club, it's far too listenable to bring a crowd to their feet. But what it does do is bring a welcome layer of grit to it's clean beats.

Ornette Coleman: The Empty Foxhole. 1966 (re-released in 1994). Blue Note Records: CDP 7243-8-28982-2-1.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone, trumpet, violin
Charlie Haden: bass
Denardo Coleman: drums

Denardo Coleman is Ornette Coleman's son. And at the time of this recording he was all of 10 years old. Which became the focus of this release when it came out in 1966. On the face of it, it is difficult to reconcile putting someone so young in with the greatest bass player in the world for a session with the prestigious Blue Note label. Billy Higgins he isn't. But then Ornette Coleman's trumpet playing isn't exactly Don Cherry. His violin technique is certainly unlike anyone else. This music does stand up to repeated listening. Ornette Coleman was working with a sound here. And that sound works with this mix of experience and youth. The contrast of Ornette's virtuosity on alto compared to the ragged qualities of his trumpet and violin playing do match the contrast of Charlie Haden's sure presence against the budding technique of Denardo Coleman. The whole thing has to be absorbed as a sound. Harmolodic playing isn't an exclusive club reserved for the extremely well practiced. It only demands a willingness to play from within and that's on here in spades.

HurdAudio Rotation: 3 Reedsmen

Anthony Braxton Sextet: (Victoriaville) 2005. 2005. Victo: cd 098.

Anthony Braxton: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, f soprano saxophone
Taylor Ho Bynum: trumpet
Jay Rozen: tuba
Jessica Pavone: violin
Chris Dahlgren: double bass
Aaron Siegel: drums, percussion, vibraphone

The creative direction and influence upon this sound is unmistakeably Braxton's as this Sextet of improvisers interprets Composition No. 345. And yet it remains a platform for hearing multiple angles from each of these players over this hour long experience. The lines of communication and interaction between players is taut as it crackles with a reserved, collaborative energy. Braxton's own saxophone lines drive home just how much of a master he is at the art of improvised music. The structural underpinnings that make this long form experience possible is also yet another testament to the systems and integrity of Braxton's deeply thought out approach to this music. One can hear these individuals listening just as much as one can hear them performing faithfully within the parameters of Braxton's vision. Beyond the considerable layers of intellect running throughout this music there is also the sonic beauty of it. Which is perhaps the strongest argument of all. An impressive slab from the prolific artistry of Anthony Braxton.

Ellery Eskelin: Vanishing Point. 2001. Hat Hut Records: hatOLOGY 577.

Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone
Mat Maneri: violin
Erik Friedlander: cello
Mark Dresser: bass
Matt Moran: vibraphone

This disc bolts into the air with one of Eskelin's signature tenor saxophone lines. And before long the string section and vibraphone are not far behind him as the individuals of this quintet weave around and respond to Eskelin's playing. Eventually a collective sound emerges that is more collective than individually driven. Unlike the Braxton Sextet - which is undeniably Braxton at every aesthetic turn - this one is a playground of five musicians of equal creative stature. The timbral combination of strings, vibraphone and tenor saxophone is incredibly pleasant. The extended techniques emanating from the string section offering a sharp contrast to the notion of "strings" as a lush backdrop for saxophone solo. The degree of attention at work behind the spontaneity of this sound is deceptive. This is music that finds a form through collective memory that is impressive to hear.

Ornette Coleman: Sound Grammar. 2006. Sound Grammar: SG 11593.



Ornette Coleman: saxophones, violin, trumpet
Denardo Coleman: drums, percussion
Gregory Cohen: bass
Tony Falanga: bass

A representative sampling of the current Ornette Coleman quartet at this late point in his career. By now the Ornette songbook is overflowing with compositions and the practice of harmolodics is a refined (if still not widely understood) philosophy and improvisational approach. Coleman's voice on saxophone is as strong and personal as it ever was. There's a feeling of effortlessness now with a sound that took a lifetime of struggle to forge. The two-bass quartet manages to find a sonic territory that encompasses the full breadth of Ornette's journey into a sound that is at once joy and a recapitulation of an impressive life in music. A worthy addition to any jazz collection.

HurdAudio Rotation: The Art of the Improvisers

Aaron Dugan: {ten improvisations}. 2006. Jungulous: 001.

Aaron Dugan: electric guitar

A focused burst that places the ears within the creative mental space of Aaron Dugan and the electric pulses of his electric guitar. The use of processing and pedals playing a moderate role in folding noise into a signal of pulsating, angular materials and rhythmic impulse. Thoughtful while honestly taking on the amplified power of the instrument and the language formed behind its use in rock music.

Ornette Coleman Trio: The Ornette Coleman Trio at the "Golden Circle," Stockholm - volume one. 1965 (re-released as the Rudy Van Gelder edition in 2002). Blue Note Records: 7243 5 35518 2 7.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
David Izenzon: bass
Charles Moffett: drums

On this go around my ears are drawn to the cymbal work of Charles Moffett. Panned hard right with an unusual resonance there are these enharmonic drones that emanate from his kit that slide in and around the harmolodic adventures pouring out of Ornette Coleman's alto. The human qualities of his saxophone sound on full display as he weaves between plaintive cries and melodic contours fashioned around his intervallic sensibilities.

Don Byron: Do The Boomerang: The Music of Junior Walker. 2006. Blue Note Records: 946 3 41094 2.

Don Byron: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
David Gilmore: guitar
George Colligan: hammond b-3 organ
Brad Jones: bass
Rodney Holmes: drums, tambourine
Curtis Fowlkes: trombone
Chris Thomas King: vocals, guitar
Dean Bowman: vocals

The projects Don Byron take creative directions that are surprising. Coming from a mind that is not held in place by boundaries between styles and aesthetic directives he is free to explore klezmer, Latin, hip-hop, opera arias, early twentieth century swing tunes and in this case 1960's era soul music. The level of excellence he achieves is not surprising. Music such as this lives and thrives under the feel that this outstanding ensemble brings to it. After a few spins my mind just snaps into the place this music creates and savors the sense of time laid out along the blues changes in this music. "Tally-Ho" and "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" providing the highlights of this listening experience.

HurdAudio Rotation: Suspicious Dancing

The Bad Plus: Suspicious Activity. 2005. Sony/BMG Music Entertainment: CK 94740.

Reid Anderson: bass
Ethan Iverson: piano
David King: drums

For all the immediate appeal the Bad Plus offer with polished and nearly flawless performances on this disc there is also the deft use of form. This trio knows how to shape a musical idea with a triumphant crescendo that pours organically out of quiet development. After multiple spins through the rotation this disc grows more enjoyable. This trio is a great band.

Stefan Wolpe: Enactments: Works for Piano. 2005. Hat Hut Records: 161.

Stefan Wolpe: composer

March and Variations for Two Pianos (1933)
Joseph Christof: piano
Steffen Schleiermacher: piano

The Good Spirit of a Right Cause (1942)
Steffen Schleiermacher: piano

Enactments for Three Pianos (1953)
Josef Christof: piano
Benjamin Kobler: piano
Irmela Roelcke: piano
James Avery: conductor

The blurring of three pianos in Enactments for Three Pianos is the main attraction on this disc. The inventive and spare use of extended technique adding faint ripples of muted strings and pizzicato within the dense textures of sound masses. For these ears, it is the familiar Wolpe piece on this disc (even if this is the first CD recording. I remember wearing out a vinyl recording of this work years ago). March and Variations for Two Pianos is the surprise work here. A glimpse into an earlier Stefan Wolpe working with melodic materials through a series of variations. The density is less deliberate, yet still built upon a collage of parts. Revealing a music of meticulously crafted parts.

Ornette Coleman: Dancing In Your Head. 1973, 1975 (re-released in 2000). Verve: 314 543 519-2.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Robert Palmer: clarinet
Charles Ellerbee: guitar
Bern Nix: guitar
Jamaaladeen Tacuma: bass
Ronald Shannon Jackson: drums
Master Musicians of Jajouka: ghaita, stringed instruments, percussion

The polytonal, funk driven explosion that came just before Prime Time. The harmolodically rendered hook of "Theme From a Symphony" weaving through the two long variations built upon an improbable bed of elastic rhythms from the two guitar, bass and drums rhythm section. Then there are the two takes of "Midnight Sunrise." A mere taste of Ornette Coleman's collaboration with the Master Musicians of Jajouka. And according to Coleman, the closest he's come to realizing his creative ideal.

HurdAudio Rotation: Icons of American Symphonic Works and Free Jazz

Charles Ives: The Symphonies/Orchestral Sets 1 & 2. 1973, 1976, 1994, 1995, 2000. Decca Music Group Limited: 289 466 745-2.

Symphony No. 1
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta: conductor

Symphony No. 4
The Cleveland Orchestra
Christoph Von Dohnanyi: conductor
Jaha Ling: second conductor
The Cleveland Chorus
Gareth Morrell: director

Orchestral Set No. 2
The Cleveland Orchestra
Christoph Von Dohnanyi: conductor

Symphony No. 2
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta: conductor

Symphony No. 3 "The camp meeting"
Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Neville Marriner: conductor

Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1)
The Cleveland Orchestra
Christoph Von Dohnanyi: conductor

Is there any particular reason the Charles Ives Symphony No. 4 isn't the most revered work in the orchestral canon? It has all the substance, formal depth and psychological impact of any of the war horses. The creative and well arranged use of chorus equals - if not surpasses - the "Ode to Joy" of Beethoven's Ninth. The quarter-tone harmonies offer up a harmonic density that matches the rhythmic innovations that require a second conductor. And none of these devices slip into gimmick or superficial effect. I think that some of the resistance to a full embrace of this piece has its roots in the American-ness of its themes and its composer. Audiences of orchestral music - and lets be honest, they're a conservative assemblage by and large - are geared for Germanic heft and much less generous toward domestic accomplishments of equal quality and importance.

But time is on the side of the timeless. Audiences will lose their teeth and fade away. But the substance of these Ives symphonic works will endure and will eventually earn its own abuses of Ives Festivals equal to those afforded Beethoven, Mahler and Mozart. Fortunately, there are recordings such as these to reinforce such convictions for ears hearing well beyond what today's symphony subscription holder is prepared to accept.

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing. [disc 4] 1993. Rhino Records: R2 71410.

Sessions from August 2, 1960 and December 21, 1960 in New York City
Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Charlie Haden: bass
Ed Blackwell: drums
Scott LaFaro: bass
Billy Higgins: drums
Eric Dolphy: bass clarinet
Freddie Hubbard: trumpet

This is the disc that contains "Free Jazz." The ground breaking 1960 session that turned a double quartet loose for an extended period of free improvisation. The musicians and their ability to hear contributing to the outstanding results that have since opened up generations of players to free improvisation and ushering in a body of music that is profoundly inspiring. I notice that this session fell one day after a large ensemble collaboration with Gunther Schuller that produced an adventurous, meticulously arranged and innovative sound. There was something in the air in New York at this time that opened the minds and ears to this incredibly successful experiment. There was a willingness to mine a new sound coupled with a need to break past all rigid structural pre-meditation. So much was made possible by this music. An important touch stone buried within a box set rich with so many vibrant works from this initial period of Ornette Coleman's early sound.

Thomas Chapin Trio plus Brass: Insomnia. 1992 (re-released as disc 3 of the Alive box set in 1999). Knitting Factory Records: 35828 02482-2.

Thomas Chapin: alto saxophone, flute
Mario Pavone: bass
Michael Sarin: drums
with
Al Bryant: trumpet
Frank London: trumpet
Curtis Fowlkes: trombone
Peter McEachern: trombone
Marcus Rojas: tuba
Ray Stewart: tuba

All the reasons Thomas Chapin is remembered fondly documented in sound. The core trio that was Chapin's creative vehicle of soaring material combined with the arranging prowess of an expanded ensemble of brass. And there's not a weak musical link between each individual involved. The groove heavy, cathartic release of Coup D'Etat balancing well against the smooth choral arrangement of Equatoria. The two trio tracks turning inward to the core group that allowed so much improvisational freedom for every member. Music that spans an expanse that embraces whimsy and focused seriousness with the same degree of sweat. The lurching, pulsating grooves giving this sound an infectious physicality that effortlessly buoys the crackling whit and intelligence coursing through every vein of this breathing music. Heart and mind are rarely so cooperative as this.

HurdAudio Rotation: Bassoons, Grooves and Harmolodics

Wayne Horvitz/Gravitas Quartet: Way Out East. 2006. Songlines: SA1558-2.

Wayne Horvitz: piano, electronics
Peggy Lee: cello
Ron Miles: trumpet
Sara Schoenbeck: bassoon

Composed jazz from the melodically centric - and deceptively ingenious arranger - Wayne Horvitz. Each one of these pieces bears the harmonic turns and phrasing that marks so many of Wayne Horvitz's pieces. And that is a good thing given the addiction my ears have built up for that sound. Added to that is the "chamber jazz" quartet of piano, cello, trumpet and bassoon. An instrumentation uniquely suited for (and to) these pieces. Given the luminescence each of these players brings to the session this music hovers in the air along a sinewy strain quirky beauty. This one meets my high expectations for Wayne Horvitz and adds bassoon.

Miles Davis: The Complete On The Corner Sessions [disc 3]. 1972 recording, 2007 release. Sony/BMG Entertainment: 88697 06239 2-D3.

Miles Davis: trumpet
Carlos Garnett: soprano saxophone
Cedric Lawson: organ
Reggie Lucas: guitar
Khalil Balakrishna: electric sitar
Michael Henderson: electric bass
Al Foster: drums
Badal Roy: tablas
Mtume: congas
Dave Liebman: soprano saxophone
Pete Cosey: guitar

Such large sheets of funky material like this is best served by the box set format that allows for so many alternate takes and sprawling expanse of jam sessions. This one fills the ears and the soul with heavy jams. The louder you listen to these, the closer you get to 1972. As expansive as this material is - and it comes off in enormous sheets - there's also the detail and variety within this sound. "Peace" and "Mr. Foster" building up from smaller units in the wake of thick textures makes for striking contrast. And sewn into the wicked pulse of this music are these spectacular solos. Rich material that call for soaking within them.

Ornette Coleman: Beauty is a Rare Thing [disc 2]. 1959 (1993 re-release). Atlantic Records: R2 71410.

Ornette Coleman: alto saxophone
Don Cherry: pocket trumpet
Charlie Haden: bass
Billy Higgins: drums
Ed Blackwell: drums

On a pair of October afternoons in the Radio Recorders studio of Hollywood in 1959 the Ornette Coleman Quartet forever changed the course of jazz with material that eventually ended up on Change of the Century. Music that still crackles with "it" factor to spare decades later. The second disc of the Atlantic Records Beauty is a Rare Thing opens with "The Face of the Bass" as the ears are reminded of the "it" factor of Charlie Haden. The aural treasures continue from there. Don Cherry's halting solo on "Forerunner" is astonishing. The sound rolling off of Billy Higgins' cymbals behind that solo is another fascination. The spark that this quartet possessed in these early recordings is understood. Yet it's still a jolt to confront the ears with just how rich this music is.

HurdAudio Rotation: Music of Feedback and Forces

Jonathan Zorn: for Rob Powers: Suite no. 2 - additive feedback. 2004. Set Projects: set-03.

Jonathan Zorn: electronics

From the liner notes: "Suite no. 2 is an additive feedback loop that grows module by module, track by track, causing the sound to become increasingly unstable." Process music with a nearly pure realization. The first twenty minutes existing just on the edge of human perceptibility. Rotating one's head relative to the speakers altering the high pitch tone psycho acoustically. The change in perceptual loudness into the other tracks feels enormous. The increasing instability of the tone taking on an electrical, free improvisation-like of compounding intensity. The thinness of sound taking on a beautifully deliberate quality. A slow, thoughtful alteration of electronic tone.

Elliott Sharp/Tectonics: Errata. 1999. Knitting Factory Records: KFR 255.

Elliott Sharp: electronics, drum programming, guitar, saxophone

Dense, heavy slabs moving along their own timetable. Indifferent to the earthquakes triggered along the way. Errata builds its density with beats, pulse, groove and a constant shifting of timbral elements often bearing Elliott Sharp's characteristic preference for sonic abrasion. While built with the sonic materials of electronica this could hardly pass for drum 'n bass or be found spinning where DJs expect people to dance. The illusion of dance is never far from the surface of this music - but it is frequently thwarted or overwhelmed by the density of textures. The ears and the body are lured into a hostile ground. It is ugly. And it is an old favorite for these ears.

Ornette Coleman: Dedication to Poets and Writers. (a.k.a. Town Hall, 1962). 1962, re-issue date unknown. Magic Music: 30010-CD.

Ornette Coleman: saxophone
David Izenzohn: bass
Charles Moffett: percussion
Selwart Clark: violin
Nathan Goldstein: violin
Julian Barber: viola
Kermit Moore: cello

The legendary concert and transition point between two major phases of Ornette Coleman's career. The trio of Coleman, Izenzohn and Moffett that would become an important and well documented facet of his music is given its first public appearance in this concert. The string quartet writing realized on "Dedication to Poets and Writers" is an exciting, vibrant realization of Coleman's Harmolodics Theory through composed music. This important aspect of Coleman's music has not been well documented and the few recordings that do exist are a miracle given the fierce resistance he has encountered in realizing his composed music. A revival of "Dedication to Poets and Writers" and his orchestral work "Skies of America" are long overdue. The interaction between both trio and string quartet on "The Ark" suggests that the separation between these two sides of Coleman's creativity were not as far apart in his mind. The sudden winter storm that kept attendance low for this concert is a potent metaphor for the various forces that have contrived to keep a deserving genius from wider recognition and unprejudiced love of his melodic sensibilities.