John William Gordon - Technot

Ah, the Jazz Trio. The Jazz Group in its smallest of forms. No room to hide here. Well, John William Gordon and his guitar-trio rise to this formidable challenge with this very decent release of Post-Bop Jazz. The musicians are very talented and do a very good job in both soloing and supporting roles. All 10 tracks are originals. And the music is fairly accessible, never getting too free. Though there may be very little difference betweenÖ‘s, the music is still of high quality. Good stuff from an independent, perfect for WPRB. Play!

Jimmy Greene – Mission Statement

Saxophonist Jimmy Greene (Tom Harrell, Avishai Cohen) has released a very good album of Post-Bop Jazz. All of the musicians are great and get plenty of room to solo. There is very little difference between Ö‘s. But what sets this album apart is Greene’s blowing. At times it is very intense and the saxophonist tends to do a little over-blowing. Nothing Earth-shattering or mind-blowing here. But it is good stuff that deserves to be heard. Play!

Armenian inspired Jazz/Jazz-Rock. Still reading? Pianist Tigran Hamasyan has released a truly unique Jazz record. Mostly Jazz, the album also touches on Jazz-Rock, Metal, and Electronica. And, it is heavily inspired by traditional Armenian melodies and rhythms. It is quite good too. Hamasyan is an excellent composer and virtuoso on the piano who effortlessly jumps from genre to genre. All of the musicians on this record are of the highest quality. But vocalist Areni Agabian is an exceptional talent with her wordless on many songs providing unusual colors. If you like your Jazz a little different than the rest, this is the CD for you. Where else will this be played, but on WPRB. Play!

This is a great album that, according to the press release “… connects the dots between Sun Ra, Eddie Palmieri and beyond!” An accurate description. Or to say it another way: Large-Ensemble Jazz influenced by Cuban and other Latin musics. As to be expected with the mentioning of Sun Ra, the music does get a little out there at times, but never too far. In addition to the superb playing and arranging, what stands out is the brassy feel of this group and the occasional vocals of Jen Shyu (2, 5, 9, 10.) Once again, another fine release from the folks at Cuneiform. Perfect music for WPRB. Play!

Stefon Harris - Urbanus

Vibraphonist Stefon Harris’ latest release could not be better titled. Urbanus is Jazz with a decidedly urban feel. The album comfortably mixes Post-Bop Jazz with obvious influences of R&B, Hip-Hop, Funk & Fusion. Despite the influences, this is not simply Jazz to groove to. The music has plenty of substance, and Stefon Harris is an excellent musician. It is a great album, with more than half of the cuts originals. Covers include Gershwin (#1), Jackie Mclean (#5), Buster Williams (#2) and Stevie Wonder (#6). All of the playing is great, but the use of vocoder (tracks 2, 6, 8) certainly stands out in a good way. Overall this great music with a fresh feel. Play

They’re baaack. Central Jersey’s misfits of “Grind Jazz” are back with their 5^th album. This time they are joined by legendary Avant-Garde trumpeter Herb Robertson. (The CD was recorded at the former “Mothguts Manor” in Piscataway, NJ – zip code 08854 – which was also Mr. Robertson’s former hometown.) For this release the band is much more in the Free Jazz/Avant-Garde camp, with a stronger tendency toward group improvisation with more songs that are sparse and open. Like their previous releases the music is pretty intense, and the music is pretty free in general. As usual, the musicians are top-notch, suitably meeting the challenge of this complicated music. Perfect WPRB music, this is great stuff for a Jazz show, or even an adventurous rock show. Play!

Gutbucket  – Modest Proposal

The Brooklyn-based quartet Gutbucket has released a very good new album that is partly Free Jazz and partly Heavy Metal. Similarities include Sonny Sharrock, and a slightly mellower and more melodic Mothguts. The band features screaming guitar, wailing sax, and thunderous bass and drums. Obviously, this is intense and heavy music. Perfect for WPRB, the music will fit in equally well on a Jazz or Rock show. Play!

Bill Frisell - Disfarmer 

Bill Frisell has released a beautiful new instrumental album that is a successful combination Jazz and Country music. The album was inspired the work of Arkansas photographer Mike Disfarmer. And like Disfarmer’s photos, the music is earthy, rustic and remarkably heartfelt. Frisell adds his unique, hauntingly beautiful stamp on things as well. With much of the music having a dark, sparse, and plodding feel. Most of the songs are of equal high quality, and there is only a small difference between checks. Perfect for WPRB, the CD would fit in well on either Jazz or Rock shows. Play!

Well, well, well. Another 3 months… Another stack of love. This time, all told, it is 20 CD’s. And only 2 of them are CD reviews. As ussual, there’s lots of variety. Sure, there is Jazz, and all of its varieties. But there is Rock, Folk, Prog, Minimalist Classical, Jam Band and Indian. There’s also some big names – that I’m ashamed to say - that are new to my collection: Duke, Dylan, Mitchell and a Halo. All of the stuff is real good and I would recommend most of it. But anyway… Here is what I’ve been listening to for the last few months, with the most recent on top, followed by CD reviews at the end.
 

Jác – (5 song demo cd)

Joni Mitchell - Blue

Horace Tapscott – aiee! The Phantom

Duke Ellington – The Far East Suite

Bob Dylan – Blood On the Tracks
Terry Riley - Songs For the Ten Voices of the Two Prophets (courtesy Listener Mike)

Lunp N’ Loaf Records – The Happy Freakin’ Holidays Compilation

a Halo Called Fred – NITMFOI

Rudresh Mahanthappa – Kinsmen (previously reviewed)

Miles Davis – Porgy & Bess

Joshua Redman – Compass (previously reviewed)

Bobby Previte – Set the Alarm For Monday (previously reviewed)

The Phish – Picture of Nectar (previously owned)

Cool DJ Marc X – Swingin’ Evil Vol. 1

Ed Palermo Big Band – Eddy Loves Frank (cd review)

Organissimo – Groovadelphia (cd review)

Back on track, and three more books are finished. Two were very good, and one was great. All three are worth reading. So, here is what I’ve been reading since April.

Paul Auster – The New York Trilogy, B+, Three Very good short mysteries. Not my usual bag, but I took a friend’s recommendation. Glad I did.

Joe Torre – The Yankee Years, A+, Was this the best book ever written? By all means no. But, of all of the books I have read on my favorite topics – Jazz/Music, The Beat Generation, The Holocaust, Sports – this has been the most enjoyable. 20 pages in I did not think it could get any better, and I was wrong. Wow. I would highly recommend this to any fan of The Yankees.

William Faulkner – Light In August, B+, Good stuff, though a bit of a downer. Another recommendation by my old man from several years ago.

Ed Palermo Big Band - Eddy Loves Frank 

Once again Ed Palermo has released a fabulous album of Frank Zappa’s music, reinterpreted as Jazz for a Big Band. This time the Zappa selections are a little less popular, but no less just as entertaining. As before, the music features expert, intricate arrangements, tight soloing, and combines Jazz with Rock – clearly in the spirit of Frank Zappa. And like last time the music on this will fit in equally well on a Jazz or Rock show and should result in more than a few phone calls of curiosity. All of the music is very good and there is very little distinction between Ö+ and a Ö++. Great stuff. Play!

when i got over the delaware bridge i looked at the gas tank and the lever was at half way, which i knew was inaccurate.  but the odometer was a little over 320.  i checked my notes from previous trips, and saw what my mileage was.  figured i would need to about 405+ miles on the tank.  checked the owner's manual to see how many gallons the tank held - 11.9.  grabbed a calculator and calculated 37 mpfg's taking 11 gallons - about 407.  figured it was worth a shot.
for the first time in my little honda, i went to/from dc on one tank - 406 miles.  it took 9.4 gallons, which translates as 43 miles per fucking gallon.
not bad for a car with 249,000+ miles on it.

Organissimo (group) – Groovadelphia (album)

Michigan based organ trio Organissimo has released a pretty good new album. Fairly funky, there is a nice mixture of Jazz, Blues and even Jam-Band music.  All of the music is very good, and there is not difference between a Ö+ and a Ö++. (Interestingly enough, it is the slower songs that seem to be the most interesting.) The musicians are equally talented. Each gets plenty of room to solo and work well as a group. Overall this is good stuff. Play!

A friend of mine purchased a Wii not too long ago. He and his wife play Wii Boxing head-to-head. He always wins.

Set I: Chalkdust Torture, Fee, Wolfman's Brother, Guyute, My Sweet One, 46 Days, The Lizards, The Wedge, Strange Design, Tube, First Tube
Set II: Sand, Suzy Greenberg, Limb By Limb, The Horse> Silent in the Morning, Sugar Shack¹, Character Zero, Tweezer
Encore: Joy¹, Bouncing Around the Room, Run Like An Antelope, Tweezer Reprise

I had a real good time. Actually, it was better than that – I had a great time. Was this the best show by The Phish that I’ve seen? No. But this is the most fun I can remember having seeing The Phish, after an individual show, in a long time. Or to put it another way… After the music was over I was left wobbly legged, and alternately grunting and swearing because proper communication – and proper English – were not adequate. Yeah, it was that much fun for me.

And now the gory details.

Set 1   For years I’ve said to people at shows that I would love to see the band fire off a dozen songs, maybe nothing longer than 7 minutes long. You’re in, you’re out, on to the next song. That’s what this first set was like. Everything was fairly tight, nothing really jammed out. Sure, I was a little nit-picky that I didn’t get at least one long song. But it didn’t hit me until after the end of the set that I got what I wanted. Highlights, more for song selection, included “Guyute,” “Lizards,” and “Strange Design.”

Set 2   Where to begin… I really liked the way this started off “Sand” à “SITM.” Sure, the songs were good. But as a DJ, to me, the songs all fit together well. If I were to play a set of The Phish on my show it might go like that. Not that I love those songs, but they have a similar sound. Nice. And just as I got what I always wanted in the first set, Set 2 was how I like my Set 2’s: a good bit of jamming and the occasional short tune to catch your breath. Highlights, more for execution, included “Sand” and “Tweezer.” [And I don’t even like “Tweezer.”] More on those later.

Encore   A 4 song encore, ‘nuff said. Not. I will use another DJing story to better explain myself. When I’m rocking the mic I always try to end my show with a song that I really like. That way, no matter how many times I may have messed up or had dead-air, I will leave with a good taste in my mouth. Not to take anything away from this encore, but they ended on as high a note as you can end. “Antelope” then “Reprise” unfathomable in an Encore. Just nuts.

More nerdy notes   The band really was like a band, and not just Trey wanking. This was especially evident during "Sand" and "Tweezer".  In "Tweezer" after the composed parts were done and it was time to improvise, the band hit a little bit of a riff/groove.  Normally, after a couple of minutes of this riff/groove Trey would take off into the stratosphere and do his thing.  I expected it.  I knew it was going to happen. But it never did.  The band stayed together and Trey pushed a little, but it wasn't like normal. Trey never really took over.  Quite refreshing.  I noticed some of this in Hampton, and was pleasantly surprised to see it again. Maybe the band is playing better as a unit. Maybe Trey finally has ego in check. Maybe the band is not fully comfortable playing together again. Whatever the reason, I really dug it.

Final nerdy notes   Ese understandably bowed out at the last minute, and Herby filled in in the clutch. Always good to hang out with H-Dog. The lot scene was nice. Met some cool new folks. Also met up with the whole Dirty Hippie Clan. I had a phenomenal cheeser – rosemary-garlic-olive oil. Having a seat at Camden for the first time was pretty cool. And the view from the seat was truly impressive and I’m not talking about seeing the band either. Parking and driving to/from the gig was pretty smooth too.

What can I say… I really had a great time.

It has been almost 3 months and I’m done with another stack. Between my own listening and CD reviews, that’s 18 CD’s. And a good variety too: Free Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Avant-Garde Jazz, Post Bop Jazz, Afro-Beat, Hip-Hop, Industrial, Folk, Caribbean, and Spoken-Word/Comedy. All of it is pretty good, and I would recommend all but a few. So, here is what I’ve been listening to for the last few months, with the most recent on top, followed by cd reviews at the end.

Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV (2 CD)

Michael Orell – (2 song CD)

Jaco Pastorious – Word Of Mouth

Lord Buckely – Jet Ride (courtesy Listener Mike)

Fela Kuti – Red Hot & Riot (courtesy Listener Mike)

Lord Buckely – Bad Rapping of the Marquis de Sade (courtesy Listener Mike)

Lord Buckely – His Royal Hipness (courtesy Listener Mike)

Exuma - II (courtesy Listener Mike)

Exuma - I (courtesy Listener Mike)

Lord Buckely – Raw Wild Truth (courtesy Listener Mike)

Pat Metheney/Ornette Coleman – Song X

Miles Davis – Broadcast Sessions 1958-1959

John Stowell – Solitary Tales (cd review)

Sun Ra – Featuring Pharaoh Sanders & Black Harold (cd review)

Miles Davis – Kind of Blue w/ extra bonus material (cd review)

Isotope – Golden Section (cd review)

Jeff Johnson – Tall Stranger (cd review)

Flow Trio – Rejuvenation (cd review)