Daniel Bachman at St. George's Episcopal Church, Fredricksburg VA, December 14, 2014

Incredible show

November 2014 Listening

1.       “Heaven Up Here” Echo and the Bunnymen [Rhino 2564-61162-2] CD

2.       “Wrong Number” Paul Flaherty with Chris Corsano, Bill Nace, Steve Baczkowski, & Dredd Foole [Open Mouth OM 38] LP in edition of 250

3.       “Rejuvenation” Flow Trio with Joe Morris, Louie Belogenis and Charles Downs [ESP-Disk ESP 4052] CD

4.       “Sweatshop” Joe Morris with Sebastian Steinberg & Jerry Deupress [Riti] CD

5.       “Either or And” Evan Parker & Sylvie Courvoisier [Relative Pitch RPR-1024] CD

6.       “Melodies for a Savage Fix” Steve Gunn & Mike Gangloff [Impreac] LP

7.       “Desert Heat” Steve Gunn with John Truscinski & Cian Nugent [MIE 020] LP

8.       “Way Out Weather” Steve Gunn

9.       “Daydream Nation Deluxe Set” Sonic Youth [Goofin' Records] 4 LPs with live and rare b sides

10.   “I Am Here Where Are You (2013)” Peter Brotzmann & Steve Noble

11.   “Opened, But Hardly Touched” Peter Brotzmann with Henry Miller & Louis Moholo [Cien Fuego CF010] LP – this is the finest Brotzmann vinyl reissue to date.  I know that Machine Gun is more important but if you are tracking with the reissues you probably already have Machine Gun.  After Machine Gun get this one. 

12.   “A History of Every One” Bill Orcutt [Editions Mego eMego 173] LP

13.   “Cats and Dogs” Royal Trux [Drag City DC32] LP

14.   “Dr. Ragtime And His Pals” Jack Rose [Tequila Sunrise 12007] LP Limited Edition 960

15.   “Jack Rose & the Black Twig Pickers” Jack Rose [Klang Industries Klang 008] LP

16.   “Afro Blue Impressions” John Coltrane with Elvin Jones Jimmy Garrison & McCoy Tyner [Pablo 2620 101] LP

17.   “Giant Steps” John Coltrane [MFSL UCDC 605] CD

18.   “Offering-Live At Temple University” John Coltrane with Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders and Rashid Ali [Resonance Records] LP  Mitten Hall - 11/11/1966. •180-gram vinyl pressed by R.T.I. Hand # 179 of 4000 – A little overrated after the first listen

19.   “The Mastery of John Coltrane  Vol. III” John Coltrane [Impluse! IA 9360] LP

20.   “Expressions” John Coltrane with Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Jimmy Garrison and Rashid Ali [Impluse! GRD 131] CD  and [Impluse! A-9120] LP orginal mono copy

21.   “Going for the One” Yes [Atlantic SD 19106] LP – this is definitely a guilty pleasure

22.   “Massey Hall 1971” Neil Young [Reprise 43328-1] LP

23.   “Manipulator” Ty Segall [Drag City DC600 LP]

24.   “Wild thing on Sunday” Pelt &Gate [MIE023 LP]

25.   “Effigey” Pelt which is Nathan Bowles, Mike Ganglof & Patrick Best [MIE015] LP

26.   “Complete Basement Tapes” Bob Dylan [Columbia CD 6]

27.   “Rising Above” Jooklo Duo which are Virginia Genta & David Vanzan [Qbico 12"], Single Sided  Limited edition of 99 copies

28.   “Another Side of Bob Dylan” Bob Dylan [Columbia Mono Lp 5121] LP

29.   “Out to Lunch” Eric Dolphy with Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis and Tony Williams [Blue Note RVG edition 7243 4 98793 2 4] CD and [Music Matters MMBST-84163] LP 45 RPM – Spent the extra cash on the 45 rpm totally worth it. 

30.   “Bee Thousand” Guided By Voices [Scat SCAT36] LP

31.   “Exotic Heartbreak” Frank Lowe with Butch Morris Amina Myers, Wilber Morris, & TIm Pleasant [Soul Note SN 1032] LP

32.   “Monster Movie” Can [Spoon] LP

33.   “Bunny Get's Paid” Red Red Meat [Sub Pop SP 318 B] CD

34.   “Polar Satellites” Nathan Bowles & Scott Verrastro [MIE 019] LP

35.   “Lick My Decals Off Baby” Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band [Straight RS 6420] Vinyl

36.   “To Be Kind” Swans [Young God YG45] Vinyl

37.   “Skies of America” Ornette Coleman [Columbia KC 31562] LP

38.   “Chappaqua Suite” Ornette Coleman with Pharoah Sanders, Charles Moffett and David Izenzon [Columbia] LP Very very underrated Ornette album.  The strings and the trio are very integrated and his horn works so well in this setting.

39.   “Tied to a Star” J Mascis [Sub Pop SP 1083] LP

40.   “Solos Duos Trios” Steve Lacy [Black Saint/Soul Note 8XS 1013] CD

41.   “The Flame” Steve Lacy with Dennis Charles & Bobby Few [Soul Note SN 1035] LP – Charles is one of the more amazing drummers.  He doesn’t have a large discography but he is so lyrically and rhythmically interesting

42.   “Phallus Dei” Amon Duul

43.   “Czech Music for Violin” Dvorak, Janacek &Smetana [Nonesuch H-71350] LP

44.   “Drive Like Jehu” [Cargo Records #008] LP

45.   “Exile on Main Street” The Rolling Stones [EMI 142013-01] LP 180g

46.   “His Band and Street Choir” Van Morrison [Warner WS 1884] LP

47.   “Alternation” Exceptor

48.   “Hit and Run” Jack Ruby

49.   “Soused (2014)” Scott Walker & Sunn O)))

50.   “Monoliths & Dimensions” Sunn O))) [Southern Lord Sunn100] LP

51.   “Babi (1976)” Milford Graves - Arthur Doyle,reeds Hugh Glover,reeds [IPS 004]

52.   “Birth of a Being” David S Ware with Marc Edwards & Geney Ashton [hathut] LP

53.   “Onecept” David S Ware with William Parker and Warren Smith [Rank & File RFS-33-203] LP

54.   “Exploring the Axis” Thin White Rope [Frontier Records FLP 1015] LP

55.   “Traffic” [Island 7 90059-1] LP

56.   “Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts” Velocity Girl [Sub Pop SP 350] LP

57.   “Pretty in Pink” VA [A&M SP 5113 LP]

58.   “Fruit Tree (includes: Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, Pink Moon & Time of No Reply)” Nick Drake [Hannibal HNBX 5302] LP

59.   “The Transcendental Waterfall - Guitar Excursions 1962-1967” John Fahey [4 Men with Beards] 4m600 LP 6 limited #138 of 3000

60.   “Discipline” King Crimson [Warner BSK 3629] LP

61.   “People's Historia” Estamos Trio with Thollem McDonas Milo Tamez & Carmina Esocbar [Relative Pitch RPR1013] CD

62.   “Disreali Gears” Cream with Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker [Reaction 594 003] LP

63.   “Bee Thousand” Guided By Voices [Scat SCAT36 LP]

64.   “The Complete Decca Recordings” Billie Holiday [GRP D217027] CD

65.   “III” Sebadoh [Domino DNO 089] CD

66.   “A Brief History of the 20th Century” Gang of Four [Warner 9 26448-2] CD 

Remembering Jack Rose, Ian McLagan and Bobby Keys

Jack Rose made me hear the guitar differently.  He pasted on December 9, 2009 at the age of 38

Bobby Key sax solos for the Stones are part of my musical memory forever.

Ian McLagan defined the language of the keyboard for Rock and Roll

Pairing #5 - San Diego via New Zealand - Green Flash Green Bullet with Drive Like Jehu & Dead C

This one is not going to be too complicated.  This is a San Diego beer with New Zealand hops.  In anticipation of this combination, I pulled from the library music synonymous with both these locations.   Rocket from the Tombs & Drive like Jehu (who recently reformed for one show) hails from the San Diego area.  I was lucky to catch both of these bands led by David Reis with the high power guitar output.  Dead C is from New Zealand and they have a noise tag on them.  Their primitive aesthetic plays into an early Sonic Youth comp but there are stronger punk ties but from the New Zealand perspective.  Who knows what the punk scene would be like in New Zealand and how it was influenced by social impact and music.  This compilation called “Vain, Erudite, and Stupid: Selected Works 1987-2005” on Ba Da Bing! is a mystery to me and keeps me coming back. 

Green Flash has been a brewery that makes a lot of variation on the IPA in the “bomber” format or crack for hop heads.  Bomber format are a lot like box sets to me, but they don’t pack the value box sets give you but there is usually something rare in there.  The Green Bullet has New Zealand grown Pacific Gem and Green Bullet hops to create a big Triple IPA (10.1 % ABV ; 100 IBU). It has complex fruit flavors like mango and pineapple and an earthiness.  Very yummy!

Lately Listening

1. Henry Flynt, Ascent to the Sun (Recorded CD): One of my favorites from Flynt.
2. Joe McPhee, Tenor & Fallen Angels (HatHut CD): Solo McPhee
3. Joe McPhee, Nation Time (Atavistic UMS CD): Feeling the spirit.
4. Ken Vandermark & Paal Nilssen-Love (Laurence Family 2LP): A really nice package. Music is good, too.
5. Sun Ra, Space Aura (Art Yard 10" LP): Recorded at SUNY Buffalo. Some good stuff here, but probably not essential. Looking forward to hearing that shelved ABC-Impulse! album that Roaratorio plans to release.
6. The End of the World Championship, Balance Beam (Sacred Phrases CS): Really intense drones.
7. Tom Blancarte, The Shortening of the Way (Tubapede LP): So much more than a solo bass record.
8. Nate Wooley/Hugo Antunes/Chris Corsano, Malus (NoBusiness LP): Very atmospheric. Lots of breathing room.
9. Motion Sickness of Time Travel, Ballades (Hooker Vision 6CS): Beautiful. Very happy to have this.
10. John Dikeman, The Double Trio (Astral Spirits CS): A mixed bag. Some strong stuff on the B-side. Jeb Bishop is the man.
11. Sound Out Light, I'm Leaving This World (Digitalis CS): The title says it all.
12. Dylan Golden Aycock, Guitar Meanderings (Cabin Floor Esoterica CS): Pretty much.
13. Grasshopper, Dark Sabbath: Symbols of Evil (Hausu Mountain LP): Bow your heads.

Box Set Fever #1 - John Fahey "The Transcendental Waterfall - Guitar Excursions 1962-967"

New series of posts called “Box Set Fever”.  There some serious vices going on in this blog but one that is not as transparent are the need to acquire box sets.  They are not just another LP/CD they are an historical artifact, a knowledge base and very cool to own.  Now the problem comes when you justify anything to get the box set no matter what.  Unlike a single LP/CD box sets have a lot more to be judged on.  Packaging and contents are much more important.

The first in this series is John Fahey’s Transcendental Waterfall six LP set.  This is the heart of Fahey’s early career and defines him as a player.  It is mainly acoustic guitar and sparse accompaniment.  The material is sublime and I have been listening to this music for at least a decade plus.  The packaging includes replicated sleeves of the original album, each album has a couple pages of write up associated with it, a single double-sided liner notes of the box, a poster, a post card and EVEN a t-shirt.  The feel of the box construction and material is barely passable. There is a lot of space when you take the t-shire out and thus I don’t think it is going to wear well over time.  The albums are pressed on blue vinyl and the surface noise level is high.  I do believe that colored vinyl is not as good sounding and choose black when that option is available.  I can’t tell if the material is re-mastered but I would not give this box set high mark in that category.  I really glad I got the box just wish it was a little higher quality given the importance of the material.  

Happy 65th Birthday David S. Ware

David S. Ware dies in 2012 but his music and his energy live on.  He would have been 65 on Nov 7, 2014.  A true fire breather with the horn and his skill and range made him a giant in free jazz.

Ware's discography is on a variety of labels.  There are some Columbia releases that are easy to get compared to the DIW, Silheart, and HatHut.  Anything with Matthew Shipp is a must have.  Shipp really is up for Ware's challenge.  My library includes some good vinyl, including a rare copy of "Birth of a Being" on Hat Hut.  Also, be on the look out for the Andrew Cyrille & Maono releases with him and the Cecil Taylor release "Darkness Unto Themselves"