MoonJune is a new progressive music label out of New York City. MoonJune loves progressive music and jazz music, and especially loves those musics were progressive and jazz cross paths! And if it has anything to do with Canterbury or Soft Machine, count on MoonJune to be there!
Arti & Mestieri/First Live in Japan ....CD $13.99
A superb outing from the renowned seven-piece Italian progressive music legends. Captured live in Kawasaki /Tokyo, during the Japan tour in June of 2005, this lengthy 76-minute epic release features most of the material from their two highly-regarded cult albums, "Tilt" (1974) and "Giro Di Valzer Per Domani" (1975), -with several more recent compositions included, also. Driven by the spectacular insane drumming of Furio Chirico (whose style has been often compared to Billy Cobham) and magnificent analog keyboards of maestro Beppe Crovella, this album abounds with beautiful violin passages, killer sax lines, wonderful guitar work, robust bass and challenging vocals. In the vein of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever, Mothers Of Invention, PFM, mid '70s Soft Machine and Caravan, this release will please their many longtime fans and serve to win over new ones. Previously out of print, but now newly pressed!
Machine Mass Trio/As Real As Thinking ....CD $13.99
Originally born as a side-project of douBt, this new trio led by Tony Bianco (on drums and loops) and Michel Delville (on guitar, bouzouki and live effects) comprises emerging Belgian talent Jordi Grognard on saxophones, bass clarinet and flute. "As Real as Thinking" is an amazing mix of fiery licks, catchy themes, telepathic rhythms, shamanic soundscapes and processed loops that testifies to the band's compositional flair and extraordinary musicianship. The music is meaningfully condensed, consistently powerful without being overwhelming and will appeal to progressive jazz fans and well as world music and rock audiences with an ear for the unusual. The CD sounds alternately groovy and meditative, trancy and punkish, modern and ethnic, cloudy and clear. It showcases the musicians' seemingly boundless energy and an extraordinary capacity to listen to each other and improvise over insane chord, rhythm and time changes while handling live electronics.
Boris Savoldelli/Insanology ....CD $13.99
This is the reissue of Boris' breakthrough first solo release, originally distributed only in Italy, in 2007. "An arresting mix of painstakingly overdubbed vocals, human beatbox effects, African-inspired choral music, plus the odd visit to the world of Jimi Hendrix (an extraordinary version of 'Crosstown Traffic'), Insanology is a largely solo album (although two tracks feature tasty contributions from guitarist Marc Ribot) featuring the quite remarkable Italian vocalist Boris Savoldelli. A quick (although lazily inaccurate) way of describing some of this music would be to suggest that it sounds as if Ladysmith Black Mambazo had adopted the techniques utilised by Bobby McFerrin in his solo live performances, but Savoldelli is a genuine original, wholly in command both of his material (self-penned, save for the aforementioned Hendrix piece and 'In the Seventh Year' by Mark Murphy and Uli Rennert) and of the various electronic gizmos (the back cover shows Savoldelli's foot pressing an FX pedal) with which he creates his 'choirs'." - Chris Parker, Vortex Jazz, UK
Copernicus/Live In Prague! ....DVD/NTSC - all regions $13.99
In 1989, after the release of the album "Deeper," Copernicus received many requests to appear live in cities in Europe -- including Moscow, Sopot, Prague, Vilnius and Berlin. It had received a lot of attention from the press and got tremendous radio airplay. This was a time of heightened tension in many countries, separated from the rest of the world by their mostly totalitarian regimes. This concert footage documents the entire experience at Prague's Slavia Stadium. For the nine thousand fans, it was a rewarding experience. Copernicus and the audience interacted in an extraordinary manner. The effects of Copernicus' songs such as "The Authorities" and "White from Black" and others were visibly a big blow to the audience eager to absorb more of Copernicus' lyrics and the gripping original music performed by those musicians -- which included Larry Kirwan of Black 47 on keyboards, guitar and vocals, Mike Fazio on guitar, Thomas Hamlin on drums, and Dave Conrad on bass. The use of split screen technology with footage from separate sources heightens the experience that one almost feels that he is right there at the mixing board watching every move from the stage and from the audience's point of view. This video certainly is a document from the time when bands would go out and venture into these far away places. It is worth its price in gold.
Jean-Paul Bourelly/Boom Bop ....CD $8.99
(excerpt from 'Three Chambers of Diop')
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Boom Bop is Jean Paul Bourelly's tenth outing as a leader. "Boom Bop" features the uniting of two very powerful yet cohesive forces; the soulful modern approach of jazz legend Archie Shepp (tenor saxophone) and the exciting bluesy expressionism of the innovative guitarist/conceptualist Jean-Paul Bourelly. Utilizing African rhythms as the foundation for a new creative experience the compositions on Boom Bop are modern and original and create a diverse array of fiery solos exchanges, harmonic textures, and sound constellations over the irrepressible flow of African rhythms. The group features the powerful tenor voice of Senegalese griot Abdourahmane Diop known as the "African Howlin' Wolf"; the dynamic drummer Felix Sabaal Lecco (formerly with Peter Gabriel, Manu Dibango); the bassist Reggie Washington and a lively Senegalese percussion section comprised of Samba Sock (boograboo) Makha Diop - sabar, dance and Badou M'Baya - sabar, dance.
Barry Cleveland/Hologramatron ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'You'll Just Have to See It to Believe')
When Barry Cleveland isn't talking guitar with people like Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Ry Cooder, Tony Iommi, and John Frusciante, he's busy recording globally acclaimed progressive rock and world fusion music. For more than 25 years, his epic compositions and virtuoso, eclectic guitar work have been celebrated by critics and listeners alike. And for the last decade, he's served as a key editor at Guitar Player magazine, holding court with the world's most important musicians and enabling them to make statements to a massive global audience. Now, it's Cleveland's turn to make his own timely statement with his fifth album Hologramatron. Hologramatron is a 21st Century protest record with songs featuring biting, sometimes brutal, commentary on the state of the Western world. It's a musical response to contemporary social, political, and even spiritual realities. The disc draws inspiration from a musical continuum spanning art rock, psychedelia, metal, ambient, world music, trance, and funk. The cast of players joining Cleveland comprises some of the most respected musicians of the avant-rock scene, including bass innovator Michael Manring; drummer Celso Alberti (Steve Winwood); pedal-steel iconoclast Robert Powell (Peter Gabriel, Jackson Browne), vocalists Amy X Neuburg, Deborah Holland (Stanley Clarke, Stewart Copeland), and Harry Manx. Other renowned contributors include Turkish electro-acoustic guitarist Erdem Helvacioglu, percussionists Gino Robair and Rick Walker, and cymbalom master Michael Masley, a.k.a. the infamous "Artist General."
Copernicus/Cipher and Decipher ....CD $13.99
Copernicus' Cipher and Decipher: The Long-Awaited Adventurous Continuation. After
a two-year wait, it's time for another round of the cerebral sonic mayhem that is
Copernicus! This years' Cipher and Decipher takes up right where Nothing Exists -- his
critically-acclaimed 2009 release -- last left us. Framed by emotionally-charged
group interactions, each of which takes on a life of its own, "Cipher and
Decipher" documents the extraordinary poet/songwriter/vocalist's philosophical
interpretation of the impact of modern quantum physics discoveries upon the human
condition and reality perception.
Copernicus poetry, lead vocals, keyboards
PIERCE TURNER musical director, Hammond B3 organ, acoustic piano, vocals, percussion
LARRY KIRWAN electric guitar, vocals; MIKE FAZIO electric guitar; BOB HOFFNAR steel
guitar; RAIMUNDO PENAFORTE violin, acoustic guitar, cavaquinho, percussion, vocals; CESAR
ARAGUNDI electric & acoustic guitar; FRED PARCELLS trombone; ROB THOMAS violin; MATTY
FILLOU tenor saxophone, percussion; MARVIN WRIGHT bass guitar, electric guitar,
percussion; GEORGE RUSH tuba, contrabass, bass guitar; THOMAS HAMLIN drums, percussion;
MARK BROTTER drums, percussion.
Copernicus/Disappearance ....$13.99
(excerpt from 'The Blind Zombies')
The 'disappearance' of which the New York performer-poet Copernicus speaks is that of The Universe itself. His conceptual concerns are not with the everyday. He is not penning couplets about the changing fortunes of human existence, other than on the grandest (or lowliest) scale. He speaks of subatomic matter, and refuses to bear any glad tidings. It all happened in Hoboken, New Jersey, on November 2, 2008, when Copernicus gathered together a large ensemble of improvising musicians and booked a day-long session dedicated to existential immersion (or possibly non-existential immersion). Many of these are artists that he's worked with for more than two decades, all of them attuned to the willing abandonment of pre-meditation, well-versed in the dangers of deliberate free-fall. The longtime musical director of Copernicus' assemblage is the Irish keyboardist and composer Pierce Turner, long resident in New York City. His fellow countryman, Black 47 leader Larry Kirwan is one of the album's four guitarists, along with Mike Fazio, César Aragundi and Bob Hoffnar. Other musicians appearing on the album are: Raimundo Penaforte (violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, vocals), Fred Parcells (trombone), Rob Thomas (violin), Matty Fillou (sax), Marvin Wright (electric bass guitar and additional electric guitar), George Rush (tuba, acoustic and electric bass), Thomas Hamlin (drums & percussion) and Mark Brotter (drums & percussion). Is Copernicus celebrating The Universe, or observing its collapse? This ageless sage orates like a windswept preacher who has just witnessed visions of the apocalypse. Turner is rolling out swathes of Gothic Hammond organ, leading the ensemble in their surging accumulations. A bassline walk begins, a slide guitar floats, a trombone starts up its funereal sway.
Copernicus/Nothing Exists ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'I Won't Hurt You')
After releasing the critically acclaimed Copernicus album, Disappearance, Nevermore, Inc. in association with MoonJune Records is releasing for the first time on CD, Copernicus' debut album "Nothing Exists." It was 1984, and Copernicus was making the transition from being a performance poet to declaiming in front of a full-scale band of musicians. He'd started to play with the saxophonist Melody Peach, in poetry circles, and around the New York City rock club scene. Then, Copernicus witnessed Larry Kirwan and Pierce Turner (both of them multi-instrumentalists) in an East Village club. He suggested an immediate collaborative piece, and from this point the threesome went on to make up a performing nucleus. There was talk of recording an album, but Pierce Turner had a clear view of rejecting some run-down semi-professional operation. So, they went into the slick midtown RCA studios with fifteen musicians, spontaneously laying down the tracks that were to shape Nothing Exists. "All of the Copernicus albums are really a documentation of the evolution of the artist as he confronts the quantum world," says Copernicus. "Nothing Exists established the foundation for all of the albums to come. Poor 1984 Copernicus, barely crawling out alone from the world of illusion with unsteady feet struggles to say what he thinks. In the first piece, apparently a normal love song, he injects the word Nevermore. We wonder, what is he talking about? Nevermore? What is that? He is putting his listeners on notice that possibly there is more of this Nevermore stuff to come. But he sets up his argument just with the mention of a Nevermore buried inside a love song."
Beppe Crovella/What's Rattlin' On The Moon? - The Music of Mike Ratledge ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Slightly All the Time')
With his brilliant new MoonJune Records release What's Rattlin' on the Moon, veteran progressive musician Beppe Crovella (Arti e Mestieri) delivers a heartfelt and long-overdue appreciation of one of the defining voices of the jazz-rock idiom, Soft Machine keyboard player and composer Mike Ratledge. More than any of his more widely recognized former bandmates, it was Ratledge who was truly the heart and soul of Soft Machine, his instantly identifiable sound and forceful, incandescent soloing providing the thread of continuity throughout most of the band's many incarnations. At a time when many progressive rock keyboardists were surrounding themselves with ever more elaborate arrays of futuristic, often sterile-sounding keyboard instruments, Ratledge managed to produce music of arguably greater depth and vitality armed primarily with an inexpensive modified Lowrey organ and a Rhodes electric piano. His signature overdriven organ gave even guitarists like Jimi Hendrix a run for their money and flattened many an unsuspecting concertgoer. Ratledge also contributed a number of the group's most enduring compositions in "Slightly All the Time," "Out-Bloody-Rageous," "Esther's Nose Job," and "Chloe and the Pirates." Sadly for many Soft Machine enthusiasts, Ratledge has been little seen since he left the band in 1976 - all the more reason to celebrate the release of What's Rattlin' on the Moon, on which Crovella breathes new life into a choice selection of classic Ratledge compositions while adding a number of exemplary Softs-inspired tunes of his own. No mere nostalgic re-creation of the Soft Machine oeuvre, What's Rattlin' presents a fresh and bracing take on Ratledge's singular music through novel arrangements and the use of vintage keyboards not normally associated with the Softs, such as (intriguingly) the Mellotron. Beppe plays Mellotron, Fender Rhodes Stage 73 electric piano, Wurlitzer E200 electric piano, Hohner electric piano, Hohner Clavinet D6, Rosler Grand Piano, Hammond Organ M102, Farifsa Professional (neither analog or digital synthesizers, or other digital keyboards were used on this recording).
D.F.A./4th ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Baltasaurus')
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It's been just one year short of a decade since D.F.A.'s second studio album, 1999's critically acclaimed Duty Free Area. Listening to the results now, the impressive amount of musical substance on offer speaks for itself, and more than makes up for the seemingly endless wait. Most of the album is D.F.A. as we know and love them, with their sonic and stylistic trademarks fully intact - the warm analog sounds, the impressive interplay, with guitar (Silvio Minella) and keyboards (Alberto Bonomi) trading or sharing leads over an ever-shifting rhythmic foundation (Luca Baldassari and Alberto De Grandis), and the unmistakably "Latin" extroversion and exuberance. Anyone who liked the band's first two albums will welcome 4th as a worthy successor. In several ways it is even superior - there is more subtlety, restraint and nuance in the instrumental performance, which allows the epic, largely instrumental compositions to unfold naturally and organically, as if created on the spur of the moment. This is saying a lot about D.F.A.'s almost telepathic interplay, as very little of their music is actually improvised. Although it may display strong similarities to 1970s jazz-fusion at times, it ultimately owes more to the (often maligned) tradition of progressive rock, with its heavily structured compositions characterised by a constant turnover of thematic content. It should be noted that D.F.A.'s main composer is drummer De Grandis - ably assisted by Bonomi -, and he is no exception to the rule that drummers usually have an excellent orchestral feel. The way the opening track, "Baltasaurus", slowly but surely builds up to jamming frenzy from its rather minimalist starting point, is a textbook example of how to structure a group performance. Another example of the band's maturity is "Vietato Generalizzare", which balances passages as intricate as the infamous "Trip On Metro" (from DFA's debut Lavori In Corso) with welcome contrasting, quieter sections. In true "progressive" tradition, there are also moments on the album that depart more radically from the established D.F.A. "formula." The piano- and strings-based intro and outro bookending "Mosoq Runa" mark an unprecedented foray into pure classical music. More importantly, "La Ballata de 's'Isposa e Mannorri", a collaboration with the Sardinian vocal trio Andhira, in an oustanding achievement. If anything, it shows that the human voice can be integrated satisfactorily into the D.F.A.'s music - which has long been a moot point despite the best efforts of Alberto De Grandis and assorted guest vocalists - and suggests exciting new developments for the future. ~ Aymeric Leroy
D.F.A./Kaleidoscope ....double CD $18.99
(excerpt from 'Space Ace Man')
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Italian progressive rock cult band with fusion flavor. First two studio recordings Lavori In Corso (1995) and Duty Free Area (1999) digitally remastered with 3 bonus live tracks, while awaiting the first new studio album in 8 years due in the Winter of 2008. For fans of fusiony side of progressive rock, in the vein of Gentle Giant, UK, Gong, National Health, Bruford, Return To Forever.
DFA/Work In Progress Live ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Escher')
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Over the last five years DFA has become a household name for fans of progressive/fusion
music. This young quartet from Italy has so far released two studio albums, to growing
critical acclaim, and a token of their international acceptance was the invitation they
received to perform at the prestigious North-East Art-Rock Festival (NEARfest) in
Pennsylvania, in June 2000, sharing the bill with the most famous representatives of the
genre. DFA is a band best experienced in a live context, as demonstrated by "Work In
Progress Live." The repertoire consists of an equal mix of tracks from the
latest album "Duty Free Area" and from their 1997
debut "Lavori In Corso." Sophisticated, complex music served by supreme
musicianship - this is a live album to judge others by.
Elton Dean & Mark Hewins/Bar Torque ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Bar Torque')
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Saxophonist Elton Dean has long been acknowledged as a supreme improviser in many musical contexts, starting with the Soft Machine in the early 1970s, through his large body of work with the cream of the British jazz scene (most notably with pianist Keith Tippett) as well as Carla Bley and most of the musicians associated with the famed 'Canterbury' scene. "Bar Torque" presents an improvised duo session with guitarist Mark Hewins, a longtime collaborator with a unique talent for atmospherics. The music on this release focuses on the most lyrical dimension of Dean's saxophone playing, his melodic outbursts inspired by Hewins' delicate, often abstract, harmonic base. The musical path treaded is unpredictable and utterly original. "Bar Torque" is improvisation at its most touching and universal.
Elton Dean & the Wrong Object/The Unbelievable Truth ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'The Unbelievable Truth')
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Saxophone legend Elton Dean shines on one of his final recordings with powerhouse Belgian improv group, The Wrong Object. Recorded live less than four months before his untimely passing, The Unbelievable Truth demonstrates the remarkable breadth of the late British saxophonist's reach. With Dean originals ranging from the 7/4 jam "Seven for Lee" to the tender ballad "Baker's Treat," The Unbelievable Truth also highlights The Wrong Object's equally diverse writing and freewheeling improvisational ability. From quirky Zappa-esque complexity to ominous material reminiscent of Dean's 1970s tenure with Soft Machine and even a hint of swing, The Unbelievable Truth proves that Dean remained a vital musical force to the very end.
Delta Saxophone Quartet/Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening The Music Of Soft Machine ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Outrageous Moon')
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Featuring guest appearances by Hugh Hopper and Morgan Fisher. Formed in 1984, the Delta Saxophone Quartet has never sought, or needed to find, a level or a comfort zone. Whether performing works by Steve Martland, Mike Westbrook, Steve Reich, Philip Glass or Terry Riley, their musical choices have always come with their own demands and challenges. And what a challenge this new project is! How do you take music from a band as legendary, and even cult-like, as the Soft Machine but make it anew? And how do you do that without destroying the object of fascination itself and without alienating armies of fans, both your own and those of the Softs? Obviously taste and technical ability are essential but as themselves are not enough. It takes a love of the source and a desire to create something fresh and inviting that stands both as a tribute but also on its own terms. That's exactly what DSQ have done. They have invited eight or nine modern composers to do this with them, each one of whom chooses to straddle boundaries and do battle with rigid categorisation in their work. In a sense, this echoes the way the original Soft Machine developed but gradually grew apart. Here different composers provide their vision of what this music could sound like. With Soft Machine, their individual aesthetics would in the end tear them away from their shared goal but would first create some amazing music. It would have been interesting to find ways of recreating those fractious internal dynamics on this record. In fact, Morgan Fisher with Outrageous Moon's medley of Robert Wyatt's Moon In June and Mike Ratledge's Out-Bloody-Rageous comes pretty close. Hopper, incidentally, adds bass and electronics to a fine version of Facelift towards the beginning of the record - something that somehow provides a further thread back through time for this project. But there is so much else to enjoy here and perhaps marvel at.
douBt/Never Pet A Burning Dog ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Passing Cloud')
Featuring Alex Maguire (Fender Rhodes el. piano, Hammond organ, Mellotron, synth), Michel Delville (electric guitar, Roland GR-09), Tony Bianco (drums) with special guest Richard Sinclair (vocals (1, 5) and electric bass (1, 2) ). With moods and registers ranging from heavy-rock riffs to cosmic grooves and on to more lyrical and pastoral flavors, douBt's debut release, "Never Pet a Burning Dog," sound like nothing less than the missing link between Sun Ra, John Zorn's Masada, vintage Terje Rypdal, Sonic Youth and Ennio Morricone. The record also features guest contributions from Canterbury legend Richard Sinclair on vocals and bass. The sheer body of sound produced by the trio is amazing in its intensity and magnitude. As for the state of collaboration, cooperation and complicity between the members of the group, it packs a shock, especially if one knows that this CD consists exclusively of first takes recorded live in the studio. As for the vocals provided by Richard Sinclair, they confer to this disc a refreshingly paradoxical quality which bridges the gap between free improvisation and experimental songwriting, complexity and directness, as exemplified by the psychedelic bossa-nova "Passing Cloud" and the opening "Corale di San Luca", which unexpectedly leads into the polyrhythmic orgy of "Laughter" before the trio takes us into an unusual revisitation of Terje Rypdal's "Over Birkerot." Despite its being rooted in the traditions that have inspired the respective careers of Bianco, Delville and Maguire, "Never Pet a Burning Dog" is one of the most forward looking electric jazz albums released in a long time and sounds like nothing before. It is an ambitious yet eminently accessible release as this experimental power trio never loses sight of grooves and catchy melodies.
Cyrille Dresser & Ehrlich/CDE ....CD $8.99
(excerpt from 'Aeolus')
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Originally formed as a quartet for an appearance at the Knitting Factory's What Is Jazz Festival. 'Free Jazz Economics' dictated another reality that prevented their long time friend trumpeter Bobby Bradford from traveling East. So CDE became a cooperative group of composing performers that dedicated their performances to the music of John Carter and Bobby Bradford, two important avant-garde players from Los Angeles. CDE is the trio of drummer Andrew Cyrille, bassist Mark Dresser, and multi-reedman Marty Ehrlich - three of the leading musicians of the 80's and 90's. Since that first Knitting Factory appearance CDE has evolved a repertoire of seasoned compositions and a distinct ensemble sound. CDE is a band that performs music with deep sentiments without sentimentality.
Finisterre/Storybook ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Phaedra')
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Finisterre is one of the most interesting bands to have emerged from the international 'progressive rock' scene in recent years. While drawing on the rich legacy of landmark 1970s Italian pioneers, Finisterre is a band keen to experiment and explore many different musical directions, while managing to establish a unique and recognizable identity. While their three studio albums to date have been critical and commercial successes, the band's forte lies above all in their breathtaking live performances. "Storybook" documents Finisterre's first American concert, in the Summer of 1997, at the Progfest. and the music here is as adventurous and gripping as we've been led to expect from the band. The repertoire consists of revisited and often extended versions of compositions from Finisterre's first two studio albums ("Finisterre" and "In Limine"), plus a superb cover of PFM's anthem "Altaloma."
Holdsworth Pasqua Haslip & Wackerman/Blues For Tony ....double CD $21.99
Allan Holdsworth guitar, Alan Pasqua keyboards, Jimmy Haslip bass guitar, Chad Wackerman drums. It's the live classic that's waited for three years to happen. Reuniting for a fall 2006 tour to pay tribute to time spent in the mid '70s fusion juggernaut, the New Tony Williams Lifetime, guitarist Allan Holdsworth and keyboardist Alan Pasqua recruited Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip and in-demand drummer Chad Wackerman for an exciting cross-section of material that first saw the light of day on a DVD recorded at Oakland's legendary Yoshi's. Now, Blues for Tony takes the best material from that tour and makes it available in CD form, creating an exciting "you are there" double-disc of music that comprises a full evening of music. Blues for Tony brings four masters of their instruments together for an exciting set that may have started with a tribute in mind, but quickly turned into something much more. Fusion at its best, it combines all the prerequisite energy and virtuosity with a deeper language and freer approach, as Holdsworth, Pasqua, Haslip and Wackerman deliver the goods on what will certainly be one of 2009's hottest jazz and fusion releases.
Hugh Hopper/Numero D'Vol ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Earwigs Enter')
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Unconventional grooves from bassist Hugh Hopper and his latest project, Numero D'Vol. For those who think that spontaneously created music is inherently unapproachable, Numero D'Vol proves that it's possible to be pull focused music from the ether that's immediate and richly compelling. Saxophonist Simon Picard, keyboardist Steve Franklin and drummer Charles Hayward join Soft Machine Legacy's Hopper for a session that also proves there's plenty of room for a backbeat in extemporaneous music. Franklin's synth washes, layered underneath his more oblique pianism, demonstrate that there's space for contemporary textures and a touch of the ambient while Picard, a member of guitarist Phil Miller's In Cahoots, brings an angular lyricism to this hour-long experiment in rhythm-based collective interaction.
Hugh Hopper & Yumi Hara Cawkwell - Humi/Dune ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Scattered Forest')
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HUMI: Hugh Hopper (of Soft Machine fame and numerous other Canterbury groupings) and Yumi Hara Cawkwell (who has also worked with former King Crimson violinist David Cross) met in August 2007, and they decided to start a new project immediately. Hopper's complex, multi-layered bass sound with various effects and loops, together with Cawkwell's delicate, but at times violent and explosive keyboard playing and her vocalise stemming from Japanese folk singing create a highly cerebral, yet extremely sensual sound world which breaks the boundaries between psychedelic, progressive rock, free jazz, contemporary classical and world music: in other words, it is 21st century international Canterbury music. Their distinctive stage presence, concentration and communication during the performance have to be witnessed live. Album Profile: From soothing moments of calm reflection to jagged swipes at the psyche, the collective voices of HUMI form textures, moods, improvisation and formal compositions into a cohesive, expressive language. Beyond the confines of genre, there's an eloquent, spellbinding quality that arises when two risk-taking players go exploring. Subtle, exotic and eloquent, don't expect anything obvious
Iron Kim Style/Iron Kim Style ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Mean Streets of Pyongyang')
Enthusiasts of critically acclaimed dark progressive band Moraine will welcome Iron Kim Style, a related project in a completely different but equally compelling musical vein. Iron Kim Style is an explosive Seattle-based jazz-rock improv quintet featuring Moraine's Dennis Rea (6-string electric guitar) and Jay Jaskot (drums) alongside Bill Jones (trumpet), Thaddaeus Brophy (12-string electric guitar), and Ryan Berg (electric bass). Drawing on influences as diverse as Olivier Messiaen, electric-period Miles Davis, Terje Rypdal, John Abercrombie, heavy rock, and North Korean martial music, Iron Kim Style conjures spontaneous sonic epics that encompass everything from stomping grooves to grinding noise to passages of eerie beauty. Named after the acrobatic martial arts approach espoused by Grandmaster "Iron" Kim, and taking playful aim at deranged North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il, Iron Kim Style's eponymously titled debut CD is a totally improvised outing that stands in stark contrast to most specimens of the free-improv genre. The quintet has no purist axes to grind here but gleefully blends structure and abstraction, lyrical melodies and scalding noise, wicked funk and weightless balladry, jazz phrasing and bracing experimentalism into a rich and meaty sonic stew. The resulting music frequently sounds as if it were composed, due to the finely tuned listening skills of the participants after years of collective music-making.
Steve Lacy/Snips ....double CD $10.99
An historic recording documenting Steve Lacy's first ever solo performance in America recorded at Environ, New York City March 16, 1976. "The album is evenly divided between the Monk-flavored tunes that Mr. Lacy had perfected and more daring excursions that blur the line between jazz and performance art." New York Times "This record is an incandescent triumph. Let its stirring finesse illuminate your own late-night introspection." New York Press "It's disturbing, brilliant, amusing and amazing." Nashville Scene
Geoff Leight & Yumi Hara/Upstream ....CD $13.99
Geoff Leigh - flute, soprano sax, zither, percussion, nose flute, voice drone, electronics; Yumi Hara keyboards, vocals. It's difficult to discern whether Geoff Leigh and Yumi Hara are improvising freely, or if they've pre-composed the pieces on their Upstream collaboration. If it's the former, then their spontaneity has generated a good degree of melodic invention. If the latter, then their works have an untethered nature, working through a succession of encounters that often sound ritualistic or meditative. Although a multi-instrumentalist, Leigh concentrates mainly on the flute, although it's frequently fed through an entanglement of electronic effects, lending a subtly harmonised burr. Hara plays keyboards, changing her palette from acoustic piano to hard-edged organ sounds. Often, she can be gently ruminative, but there are also spells where Hara rumbles with great intensity on the piano's bass notes or charges up to a Gothic organ sustain. Their music possesses some highly contrasting densities. Leigh coats his small gongs with an effects burnish, spangling into infinity. Hara also alters her voice at times, again with a subtly harmonised displacement. Leigh sometimes overblows, creating a harsh edge, suggesting the sound of a Japanese shakuhachi flute. This is made all the more gripping when surrounded by the overall atmosphere of slowly evolving calm. The pair also evoke a specific Tibetan Buddhist feel, with bells and a vocal drone, or alternatively matching their high-vaulting voice and soprano saxophone ranges to the imaginary sounds of ocean-deep whale communications. Leigh and Hara have produced a deeply sensitive soundscape, populated by a number of surprising (and exciting) forays into a more intense form of expression.
Alex Maguire Sextet/Brewed In Belgium ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Seven for Lee')
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Alex Maguire and the fine fleur of Belgian jazz and jazz-rock musicians team up to launch a repertoire ranging from lyrical to groovy tunes, haunting melodies, free improvisation and high-energy interaction. Maguire's Belgian sextet includes four members of Wrong Object. The quality of this recording, which was captured live by Dutch National Radio, confirms Maguire's status as a vital presence on the international jazz scene. His talents as a pianist and a keyboard player are so diverse, his "touch" so personal, his telepathic conversations with the other musicians in the band so explosive and brilliantly unpredictable that the line that divides the written parts from the collective improvisations is often impossible to draw. It is a tribute to the sextet's improvisational skills that the mixture remains coherent and fascinating throughout despite the wide range of styles that characterizes this highly unusual record. These, of course bear the mark of Canterbury School prog-jazz, but hey also contain swinging upbeat tunes such as "John's Fragment," poignant, meditative and mournful hymns such as "Psychic Warrior" (Maguire's composition dedicated to late Soft machinist and British saxophone jazz legend Elton Dean) as well as faster-than-light melodic improvisations like "Pumpkin Soup" that flow in and out of funky syncopated cadences and English pastoral flavors. Among others, he has worked with Michael Moore, Elton Dean in several projects (including Newsense, Headless, EDQ etc), Pip Pyle's Bash, and was keyboardist of reformed Canterbury scene legends Hatfield & The North (2004-2006, with Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair and Pip Pyle). He is also founding member of newborn InCaHat with Phil Miller, Fred Baker and Mark Fletcher (band performing the music of In Cahoots, Hatfield & The North and National Health).
Mahogany Frog/DO5 ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'You're Meshuga!')
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Graham Epp & Jessie Warkentin electric guitars, MicroMoog, Farfisa Organ, Farf Muff, ARP String Ensemble, Korg MS2000, electric & acoustic pianos; Scott Ellenberger electric & acoustic bass, Nord, percussion; J.P. Perron drums, conch & electronics; Graham Epp & Scott Ellenberger trumpets. Mahogany Frog's "Do 5" is the fifth full-length release from this Winnipeg-based outfit. Over the past decade the group has been saturating their own brand of psychedelic jazz-rock, an instrumental brew that is hard-hitting, challenging, experimental and noisy, but catchy as hell. "Do 5," the most cohesive Mahogany Frog album to date, and it seems that the four members of MF are on a crusade to change the way people listen to music. Melodic, harmonized leads slice through lush walls of thick, warbling, tube-driven vintage organs and analog synths. Snarling, feedback-ridden guitars riff hard in unison with a punchy, fuzzy bass. Amplified glitch-esque electronic beats melt into sporadic, frantic drumming. The themes progress quickly, and the instruments change roles often. Teaming up with Winnipeg recording wizard/producer Mike Petkau, the recording process in itself was a bit of an experiment. Petkau, who's methods were somewhat familiar to the band (he had engineered the Frog's previous two releases "On Blue" and "Vs Mabus"), was open to trying unorthodox mic setups and amplification techniques, using the unique room (which is typically used for acoustic/choral recordings) to it's potential. Everything was amplified full-tilt through a collection of vintage tube amplifiers, from the synths and guitars to electronic beats and acoustic percussion. The result is a heavy, explosive album that sounds like combusting vacuum tubes and tearing speakers, a hot, dirty trip through countless musical ideas. It is a record that fully captures all the elements involved getting pushed to their limit, from the personnel to the equipment... and the listener hearing it.
Marbin/Breaking The Cycle ....CD $13.99
"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible — and achieve it, generation after generation." Author Pearl S. Buck's famous quotation seems especially appropriate when discussing the musical configuration called Marbin. Hailing from Israel, Marbin's young duo of guitarist Dani Rabin and saxophonist Danny Markovitch exhibit the energy and passion of youth, combined with a technical prowess seemingly well in adavance of their tender age (incredibly, they are both in their twenties). The two "Dannies" are among the newest members of the recently surging Israeli-grown jazz scene — whose artists like Avashai and Anat Cohen, and Anat Fort, have taken the world by storm. Rabin's assured and expressive guitarwork has been favorably compared to guitar greats Terje Rypdal and Jimmy Hendrix but with a jazzier feel, some acoustic strumming and killer slide licks, while the highly talented Markovitch resembles a younger and edgier Jan Garbarek. Of course, technique in a younger player is rare enough, but not unheard of; more astounding perhaps is that both of co-leaders also are gifted with an impressive ability to play with a noteworthy and heartfelt sense of feeling. "Breaking The Cycle" is the incredible sophomore effort from Marbin. Ably assisted by a veteran all-star cast, featuring Pat Metheny Group veterans (and multiple Grammy Award winners) Paul Wertico (drums) and Steve Rodby (bass), the early reviews are already piling on the praise for a work that is certain to be heralded as a modern world music classic for years to come.
Mary Ann McSweeney/Thoughts Of You ....CD $7.99
(excerpt from 'R. B.'s Tribute')
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Thoughts of You is the debut release by Mary Ann McSweeney, an exceptional jazz bassist who has been paying her dues on the New York Jazz scene since 1993. For her debut Mary Ann has assembled a band comprising some of the stellar talent that reside in the jazz capitol of the world, New York City. Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, an alumnus of the Mingus Big Band has already made his voice heard on the scene releasing a new CD on the Arabesque, "View From Above". Mary Ann's band mate and husband, Mike Fahn, is considered by many to be one of the next stars of the valve and tenor trombone carrying on the tradition of valve trombone master Bob Brookmeyer. Pianist Henry Hey is currently working with vibraphonist Joe Locke and drummer Tim Horner is the rhythm behind the Maria Schneider Orchestra and can also be heard propelling bands lead by Dave Stryker and Virginia Mayhew.The music on Thoughts of You includes five originals demonstrating Mary Ann's compositional skills and the classic spiritual hymn, Amazing Grace, a piece by Wayne Shorter, Yes Or No and evergreen You Don't Know What Love Is. Thoughts Of You is straight-ahead mainstream jazz performed by the next generation of emerging stars on the New York jazz scene.
Phil Miller & In Cahoots/Conspiracy Theories ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Lydiotic')
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Two years in the making, Conspiracy Theories features Miller's jazz-centric but groove-happy In Cahoots sextet along with numerous guests including Gong alumnus Didier Malherbe (sax/flute), ex-Hatfield members Dave Stewart (tuned percussion) and Richard Sinclair (bass) and others. With ensembles ranging from five to eleven pieces, Miller's writing has never been more complex while providing ample solo space. Jazz fusion with a British sensibility, there's fiery funk, ambling swing and soft balladry, all anchored by a guitarist described as someone who "...would rather play a wrong note than a note somebody else had played." Conspiracy Theories is a strong return for Miller that will appeal to fans of contemporary jazz based on detailed form and cerebral yet visceral playing.
Moraine/Manifest Density ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Manifest Density')
You could describe the output of this towering electric string quartet-plus-drums as "heavy chamber music." With its several writers and full complement of ace instrumentalists, arrayed in striking combination, Moraine achieves a coherent sound while drawing on forms ranging from math-rock to fractured bebop to Chinese folk music to unleashed, plugged-in power jazz, and more. You have to love a band that lists its influences as Mahavishnu Orchestra, King Crimson, Terje Rypdal, John Abercrombie, Oregon, Art Zoyd, Univers Zero, Dr. Nerve, traditional East Asian music, and hurdy-gurdy music. Particularly one that adds plenty of its own to that diverting mix. At the center of the sound are Dennis Rea's stellar guitar inventions. The much-praised veteran has deployed fierce, elusive imagination to build on decades of engagement with countless musical styles of multiple regions of the globe. He creates a dynamic, lyrical, enigmatic blend of modern jazz, boundary-pushing rock, experimental music, and world musical traditions. On the band's debut CD Manifest Density, Rea enjoys ideal support from all quarters in what is truly a collaborative endeavor of composition and performance: Ruth Davidson's cello and Alicia Allen's violin slash and singe with uncanny unity of purpose and design. Bassist Kevin Millard and drummer Jay Jaskot boast drive and thrust ideally suited to the task. All that begins to explain why Moraine has been embraced by audiences ranging from jazz aficionados to metalheads. The band squalls, sears, soars, and lilts over a novel musical terrain.
Moraine/Metamorphic Rock (Live at NEARfest 2010) ....CD $14.99
Since releasing its widely acclaimed debut CD 'manifest deNsity,' Seattle's Moraine has quickly built a reputation as one of the most electrifying and original instrumental rock bands anywhere, winning over listeners across the globe with its unique amalgam of art rock, forward-thinking jazz, world music, and a host of other musical ingredients. Metamorphic Rock captures Moraine in peak form at NEARfest 2010, the world's preeminent showcase for progressive rock, where the band wowed listeners with its inventive compositions, formidable musicianship, and tightly meshed instrumental interplay. The first Moraine release to feature woodwind virtuoso James DeJoie and powerhouse drummer Stephen Cavit, Metamorphic Rock marks a major advance in the group's evolution from its chamber-rock origins toward a more forceful and dynamic sound. The album consists largely of new and previously unreleased material, including striking arrangements of ancient and contemporary Asian music, augmented by a number of radically retooled tunes from 'manifest deNsity.' Moraine has been compared to King Crimson, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Curved Air and Terje Rypdal, but though these comparisons are sometimes apt (and humbly appreciated on the band's part), the group has forged its own distinct sonic identity, whether engaging in jazz-inflected improvisation, executing intricate ensemble passages, or dishing out crushing, twisted riffs, while displaying a warmth and lyricism often lacking in avant-rock. As Metamorphic Rock amply demonstrates, Moraine, like its geological namesake, is truly a force of nature.
Dennis Rea/Views from Chicheng Precipice ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Days by the Sea')
Internationally acclaimed for his work with art-rock juggernaut Moraine and free-jazz provocateurs Iron Kim Style, guitarist and composer Dennis Rea presents a completely different but equally compelling facet of his musical personality with his most ambitious release to date, Views From Chicheng Precipice. A key presence on the Pacific Northwest creative music scene for decades, Dennis Rea was also a pioneer in introducing modern jazz, adventurous rock, and experimental music to Chinese audiences, as detailed in his book Live at the Forbidden City: Musical Encounters in China and Taiwan. While living in both locales from 1989 to 1993 and on subsequent concert tours and travels, Rea became deeply enamored of the traditional music of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Views from Chicheng Precipice is Rea's homage to the music of East Asia, a collection of uniquely personalized interpretations of traditional pieces and original Asian-inspired works, performed by some of the Pacific Northwest's most renowned instrumentalists, including trombone avatar Stuart Dempster and koto master Elizabeth Falconer. Blending striking arrangements of ancient and contemporary themes with sonic experimentation and expansive improvisation, Views from Chicheng Precipice is at once boldly unorthodox in its choice of instrumentation and treatment of traditional musical material, and warmly respectful of its sources. The result is a sonorous and surprising listening experience that goes far beyond typical attempts at 'East-West fusion.'
Boris Savoldelli/Biocosmopolitan ....CD $13.99
Boris Savoldelli's new MoonJune Records release Biocosmopolitan is nothing short of a tour de force of vocal artistry. Listeners who are only familiar with the singer's previous MoonJune CD – the edgy, shape-shifting Protoplasmic duets with legendary guitar innovator Elliott Sharp – will be little prepared for the euphonious aural feast that awaits them on Biocosmopolitan, which represents a new pinnacle for this unique and wholly engaging vocal performer. Biocosmopolitan would be a remarkable album even if it were performed by a large ensemble of singers and instrumentalists, but the fact that these intricately layered songs were performed in real time by a single vocalist – apart from the brilliant contributions of rising trumpet star Paolo Fresu on two tracks, fusion bass acrobat Jimmy Haslip on another, Savoldelli's own piano accompaniment on "Biocosmo," and subtle use of sound-effects recordings – is difficult to believe. Using only a microphone and a compact, customized setup of looping and sound-processing devices, Savoldelli constructs exquisitely crafted, self-contained sound-worlds replete with elaborate multipart harmonies, complex interlocking rhythms, and a panoply of globe-spanning musical influences old and new, ranging from vintage jazz crooning and calypso to Renaissance polyphony, R&B, South African mbaqanga choral music, psychedelic rock, beat poetry, his native Italian folk heritage, and a sort of mutant doo-wop. Seldom has vocal music been heard that conjures both the Beach Boys and Stockhausen in the same track. What unifies all of these wildly varied influences is Savoldelli's inimitable, outgoing musical personality.
Boris Savoldelli & Elliot Sharp/Protoplasmic ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Prelude to a Biocosmo pt. one')
Following a Milano gig by New Yorker Elliott Sharp's Terraplane, the Italian singer Boris Savoldelli handed the guitarist a copy of his freshly-recorded solo album Insanology. Sharp was blown away, and the pair met again a year later in Padova. Savoldelli announced his plans for a Manhattan jaunt, and promptly invited Sharp to guest on his September 2008 gig at The Stone, composer John Zorn's Lower East Side venue for experimental sounds. The day before the show, the pair entered Sharp's own Studio zOaR and set its controls for an extended improvisation. The result was a session of communicative depth, and its highlights are now presented as Protoplasmic. Both players are continually seeking the pitch-shifting wobble, constantly discovering fresh ways to manipulate their real-time output. Effects boxes are liberally used, but always with a focused sense of purpose. The knobs and buttons never get beyond the control of Savoldelli's and Sharp's fingers. The guitarist makes glassy shard-cascades, whilst the singer wields frosty sustain-tones, the twosome sculpting as quickly as they invent.
simakDialog/Demi Masa ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Forever Part 1')
Demi Masa is the fifth album from Indonesian progressive jazz ensemble simakDialog. Led by keyboardist and composer Riza Arshad, the band also features guitarist Tohpati and bassist Adhitya Pratama, working alongside the twinned percussion thrust of Endang Ramdan and Erlan Suwardana. This latter pair are specialists in traditional Sundanese kendang drumming. Arshad's compositional approach opens up from a jazz-rock palette, but his Fender Rhodes electric piano is clearly influenced by the crisp ring and shimmer of the Indonesian gamelan's array of gongs, metallophones and double-headed drums. There's a clear recalling of the classic moves made by Chick Corea and Terje Rypdal in the 1970s, but this is laced with authentic gamelan elements utilised as part of this jazz-rock vocabulary. The result sounds both natural and fully integrated. This a particular realm that couldn't be reached either by Western progressives or a traditional gamelan ensemble. The simakDialog involves a unique combination of both spheres, without making the commercially tempting mistake of cultural dilution.
SimakDialog/Patahan ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Spur of the Moment')
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Compelling Indonesian electro-acoustic jazz/fusion with a distinctive cultural bent. For its first international release Indonesia-based simakDialog delivers Patahan, a live recording that suggests how Pat Metheny might sound were he from the Far East rather than the United States. A combination of electric and acoustic instruments, the 14 year-old group is innovatively propelled by two percussionists rather than a conventional drummer, but the result is no less powerful. Keyboardist/composer Riza Arshad, guitarist Tohpati and bassist Adhhitya join vocalist Nyak Ina Raseuki 'Ubiet' and percussionists Endang Ramdam and Emy Tata for five lengthy, episodic and finely detailed compositions that create a unique nexus of jazz and less-traveled ethnicity. Expansive solos, rich harmonies, telling interplay and propulsive rhythms make Patahan a genre-busting album that demands to be heard.
Slivovitz/Bani Ahead ....CD $14.99
Anyone who has sampled their namesake plum brandy knows that it packs an impressive kick, and on their new MoonJune release Bani Ahead, Italian septet Slivovitz deliver an equally intoxicating musical concoction that's even more savory than their widely hailed MoonJune debut, Hubris. On Bani Ahead, Slivovitz's delectable instrumental casserole of violin, woodwinds, harmonica, electric guitar, and rhythm section exhibits such finely calibrated ensemble playing that the players sound like a single organism, whether executing dizzying unison passages, engaging in ingeniously dovetailed melodic counterpoint, or supporting as impassioned solo. There's a lot of richness of detail on Bani Ahead with a wholly refreshing lack of attitude or affect – there is no grandstanding here, just seven gifted, highly attuned instrumentalists playing their hearts out across a selection of exhilarating genre-agnostic original compositions that draw equal inspiration from art-rock, jazz, European classical music, and ethnic influences. Slivovitz's music has been likened to that of the great maestro Frank Zappa and at times recalls the rarefied chamber-rock of RIO artists such as Henry Cow, but is possessed of a sunnier Mediterranean temperament befitting the group's origins. Much has been made of the Italian gift for melody, and Bani Ahead serves as a stunning example as the musicians seemingly effortlessly unspool one memorable, emotionally resonant melody after another as though melody were the very air they breathe. Bani Ahead represents a new high-water mark for a band that is quickly cementing a reputation as one of Europe's upcoming purveyors of progressive instrumental music of any kind.
Slivovitz/Hubris ....CD $13.99
Slivovitz's Hubris, their second disc, opens with a Middle Eastern shimmy, led by Domenico Angarano's slippery bassline, but moments later, as soon as Pietro Santangelo leads his horn attack, the mood is transplanted to Gypsy territory before exploding into a free jazz cacophony that could have been prompted by Frank Zappa. Such swift alteration of tactics is often the Slivovitz approach, usually within the space of a six minute composition. Santangelo's tenor and alto saxophones can be soothing as well as rippingly percussive, simultaneously inspired by Sonny Rollins and John Zorn. Slivovitz might take their musical foundation from the likes of Zappa, but they are also highly receptive to the ethnographic sounds of the globe. These elements are confidently and knowledgeably handled, as they're fed through the jazz rock mincer. Voices and drums rattle out of the tribal village, but this folkloric authenticity is immediately followed by Hawaiian surf guitars in Senegal. Slivovitz don't quite engage in a fully disorientating cut'n'splice, but their pieces certainly slide through a number of contrasting movements. There's reggae, again given the loopy lilt that Zappa occasionally offered in this style, complete with vibraphone skitters and slithery voices. At other points, there are also traces of Canterbury style jazz-fusion, with strong solos delivered throughout by Santangelo, guitarist Marcello Giannini and violinist Riccardo Villari. Singer Ludovica Manzo steps forward to lead a pair of wedding party scampers, with one of these boasting an incredibly abrasive harmonica solo courtesy of Derek Di Perri. Even towards the album's close, Slivovitz still have a few more stylistic surprises, with funky Brazilian samba rock and coasting Argentinean tango, paying homage, it seems, to Os Mutantes and Astor Piazzolla. Once bubbled up together, this astounding set of influences is distilled into the distinctively impressive Slivovitz sound.
Jason Smith with Gary Husband & Dave Carpenter/Tipping Point ....CD $13.99
A live set led by Los Angeles based rock and jazz drummer Jason Smith (Mike Keneally, Sextus), featuring bassist Dave Carpenter (Allan Holdsworth, Peter Erskine) and Gary Husband (Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin), who leaves the kit to Smith and focuses exclusively on keyboards, Tipping Point bristles with rock and fusion energy, yet remains unequivocally a jazz record. Featuring original material alongside tunes by Kenny Wheeler and John McLaughlin with a couple of standards thrown in for good measure, Smith's trio "...avoids any kind of stylistic purity, while still feeling completely natural and unforced." (AllAboutJazz.com). Harmonically rich and metrically complex yet equally capable of understatement and nuanced elegance, this trio skews tradition while remaining fully conversant in it. Honest and unassuming, Tipping Point represents a refreshingly contemporary piano trio that substitutes honesty and commitment for shtick and artifice.
Soft Machine/Drop ....CD $14.99
Mike Ratledge Lowrey organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano; Elton Dean saxello, alto sax, Fender Rhodes electric piano; Hugh Hopper bass guitar; Phil Howard drums. This CD documents an often overlooked phase in the long and complex history of Soft Machine - Australian drummer Phil Howard's five-month interim behind the drum stool between Robert Wyatt's departure and his eventual long-term replacement John Marshall. It did last long enough to record half of the studio album "Fifth" (1972) and a couple of BBC radio sessions, but until now no official document of that line-up in its preferred environment - the stage. Howard was brought into Soft Machine by saxophonist Elton Dean, both being members of Elton's side project Just Us, and under their combined influence the band became freer and wilder than ever before (or after) in its existence, pushing longtime leaders Mike Ratledge and Hugh Hopper into unchartered areas of electric madness. Before long they'd decided this wasn't the way to go, but meanwhile the line-up had antagonised audiences throughout extensive tours of the UK and Europe. This CD documents the German leg of the tour and, as veteran music journalist Steve Lake notes in his detailed liner notes, is a revelation - a glimpse of a highly exciting alternative route Soft Machine decided not to explore further. Recorded live during the German tour in the Fall of 1971. Original recordings edited and remastered by Mike King in October of 2008, with thanks to Aymeric Leroy for pitch correction. Dedicated to the memory of Elton Dean (1946-2006).
Soft Machine/Floating World Live ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Land of the Bag Snake')
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This CD marks the first release of a live performance by Soft Machine's Bundles line-up featuring Allan Holdsworth on guitar. This concert, recorded for Radio Bremen in January 1975, consists of most of the Bundles material, which hadn't yet come out although in the can since the previous summer, plus a couple of band improvs and solo showcases for Mike Ratledge, Roy Babbington and John Marshall. That era of Soft Machine was unique in that, taking the band's long established tradition of continuous change to an extreme, when Holdsworth joined all the previous repertoire was abandoned, literally at once, in favour of brand new material written by Karl Jenkins and, to a lesser extent, Mike Ratledge. This made the new Soft Machine even more difficult to compare with its predecessors, and gave the band a well-deserved chance for critical reappraisal. At long last, reviewers stopped bemoaning the loss of the band's father figures to judge the new line-up on its own merits. As a consequence, positive reviews again began to pour in, and 1974-75 was to prove Soft Machine's second golden age in many respects. Classic Allan Holdsworth, in one of his best performances ever, monster bass and fuzz-bass lines by Roy Babbington, psycho analog synths and an incredible polyrhythmic drumming by John Marshall! Think of a jazz-rock jam band excuting killer riffs, atop attractive Canterbury-style overtones. Soft Machine fans will rejoice!
Soft Machine Legacy/Live Adventures ....CD $13.99
The beauty of Soft Machine's legacy – and of Soft Machine Legacy the band – is that nearly a half-century after the original group's inception, that legacy is far from stagnant but continues to evolve to this day. With the untimely passing in June 2009 of the brilliant and widely mourned bassist/composer Hugh Hopper, Soft Machine Legacy lost its last link to the formative 1960s incarnations of Soft Machine. Happily – and in a fitting case of deja vu – his place has been taken by the only other bassist capable of filling the role, Roy Babbington, who after having made cameo appearances on Soft Machine's 4 and 5 went on to replace Hopper as the group's regular bassist from 1973-76, notably on the unfairly overlooked Seven. A prodigious player and improviser whose impressive curriculum vitae includes stints with such groundbreaking units as Nucleus, the Keith Tippett Group, Ovary Lodge and Delivery, Babbington injects fresh energy and musical intelligence into a lineup that already boasts such formidable instrumentalists as drum statesman John Marshall, guitar sorcerer John Etheridge, and woodwind player extraordinaire Theo Travis, who, while the only SML member that is not a Soft Machine alumnus, clearly has fully internalized the SM ethos. On their rousing new live disc for MoonJune (recorded during the European tour in October of 2009), Live Adventures, SML covers more vintage Soft Machine repertoire than on previous releases, yet reinvigorates the tunes by means of fresh arrangements and expansive, protean improvisation. Soft Machine partisans will rejoice at the inclusion of such repertory gems as "Gesolreut," in which the band lays bare the funky heart of its signature elliptical ostinato with steaming soli and propulsive grooves; "As If," an oblique rereading of the Mike Ratledge piece marked by spectral guitar shadings and Travis's shakuhachi-like flute etchings; and the stirring, elegiac "Song of Aeolus." And fittingly, the band pays heartfelt tribute to the dearly departed Hugh Hopper with a rendition of his iconic "Facelift," artfully investigating the intricate twists and turns of its singular long-form melody.
Soft Machine Legacy/Live In Zaandam ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from '1212')
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Featuring Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall SOFT MACHINE is a legend and an institution of British music, a band who included Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen, Mike Ratledge, Kevin Ayers, Andy Summers (later of The Police), Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Roy Babbington, John Marshall, Karl Jenkins, Allan Holdsworth, John Etheridge, Percy Jones, Rick Sanders, Dave McRae and Jack Bruce among others (Jimi Hendrix briefly jammed with the band in 1968!). Since its creation in 1966, this band pioneered Progressive Rock, led the 'Canterbury' trend, pioneered jazz-rock, and then guitar-led fusion (launching the guitar god Allan Holdsworth in 1974), influenced generations of musicians. Disbanded in 1978, recreated in few occasions in 1981 and 1984, the band resurfaces in 1999 under the name of SOFT WARE (Dean, Hopper, Marshall, Tippett), having the brief blast under the name of SOFT WORKS (Hopper, Dean, Holdsworth, Marshall) between 2002 and early 2004, and assuming the final shape in the Fall of 2004 under the name of THE SOFT MACHINE LEGACY (Dean, Etheridge, Hopper, Marshall).
Soft Machine Legacy/The Paris Concert ....DVD $16.98
This performance was recorded on December 12th 2005 at the "New Morning" club in Paris, one of the most important European Jazz clubs. Forty years later, The Soft Machine Legacy musicians have not forsaken their dreams. Immune to the leveling pressures of show biz, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall, John Etheridge and Elton Dean - who died shortly after this last reunion at the New Morning - still mesmerized their fans. Four cameras captured the spectacular performance professionally on digital tape and sound engineers ensured perfect stereo sound in Dolby Digital 5.1. Bonus material includes "In conversation with Soft Machine Legacy."
Soft Machine Legacy/Soft Machine Legacy ....$13.99
(excerpt from 'Twelve Twelve')
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The last studio album by Soft Machine, this essential rock band since the sixties, was ten years ago. So this release from Soft Machine Legacy is a strongly anticipated release. Unfortunately it's the last with Elton Dean on sax, who sadly and unexpectely passed away since its recording. Soft Machine alumni Hugh Hopper, John Etheridge and John Marshall complete the line-up for this album which includes classics like "Kite Runner" and "Strange Comforts" along with new songs. As always Soft Machine's music is undefinable, a mix of jazz, rock, blues, and a lot of improvisations: a sort of "jazz free." It's a last occasion to hear again Elton Dean's exceptional sax playing in a brilliant and eclectic album.
Soft Machine Legacy/Steam ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'The Steamer')
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Soft Machine alumni and legends Hugh Hopper, John Ethridge and John Marshall join with emerging saxophonist Theo Travis. The group's new release, "Steam," combines collective freely improvised jams with new writing from Hopper, Etheridge and Travis. Gone are the keyboards that so defined 1970s Soft Machine. In their place are modernistic sampling/looping and sonic processing, creating expansive soundscapes not possible during Soft Machine's heyday. Between Etheridge's broad sonics, Hopper's legendary bass loops and "fuzztronics" and Travis' system of ambitronics - allowing him to sample his saxophones and flutes in real time and naturally layer unpredictable harmonies - Soft Machine (Legacy) often sounds larger than a quartet. Powerful rock rhythms, funky jazz-rock grooves and abstract interaction are interspersed with muscular soloing and dense textures. A modern look at 'Chloe & The Pirates' from 1973's "Six" is brought into the 21st Century, anchored by Etheridge's loops and the light but insistent groove of Hopper and Marshall. The group is driven by a tradition of experimentation and unfettered improvisational abandon that remains purposeful, hard-edged and exciting. The limitless possibilities of the band's forward-reaching innovations will not only appeal to fans of 1970s Soft Machine, but to anyone who likes their fusion wide open, their jams loose and totally spontaneous, and their jazz combined with potent grooves and fiery energy.
Soft Works/Abracadabra ....CD $14.99
(excerpt from 'Baker's Treat')
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"British jazz-rock pioneers Elton Dean, Allan Holdsworth, Hugh Hopper and John Marshall known for their work with Soft Machine, deliver their most impressive performance to date on 'Abracadabra.' Soft Machine and Holdsworth fans alike will enjoy this contemporary jazz-rock set which at times revokes memories of the band's 'Bundles' era. Soft Machine and Allan Holdsworth each individually have tremendous bodies of work which comprised the cornerstone of UK jazz-rock as well as joint recordings from the Seventies which are legendary among the genre's cognoscenti." - Guitar Nine Magazine
Jorge Sylvester/The Ear Of The Beholder ....CD $7.99
(excerpt from 'Songoajira')
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In the Ear of the Beholder is Jorge Sylvester's first release since the critically acclaimed Musicollage a Billboard Critics Choice that received a Downbeat four star rating. Sylvester's collaborative ensemble, The Afro-Caribbean Experimental Trio, with percussionist/drummer Bobby Sanabria and bassist Donald Nicks, slips deeper in to Sylvester's concoction of jazz brewed with Afro-Caribbean forms. The Panama-born soprano and alto saxophonist has worked with the Oliver Lake Big Band, David Murray Big Band, Sekou Sundiata, The Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, Michele Rosewoman, Sonny Fortune, Joe Bowie's DeFunkt Big Band, and numerous of his own ensembles, including The Jorge Sylvester Quintet, Next Legacy Orchestra, and Jorge Sylvester's Musicollage. He is member of Collective Identity Saxophone Quartet. The Ear of the Beholder features six original compositions and two vintage classics arranged by Jorge; Sly Mongoose and Corazon Rebelde. Sylvester samples the Brazilian tambor de mina, coco, and carimbo, plus the Cuban songo and guajira. He also dissects the clave in the title cut, revisits a bolero his mother sang along with the radio, and treats us to his hometown calypsos, and a modal reggae tribute to his West Indian neighbors in Brooklyn. The music on this recording unfolds a journey of artistic imagination through a great planetary crossroads and crucible – The Caribbean.
Tohpati Ethnomission/Save The Planet ....CD $13.99
With his new MoonJune release Save the Planet, simakDIALOG's gifted guitarist Tohpati—in other contexts, one of the best-known and most highly regarded guitar players in all Indonesia—ventures out on his own with his crackshot unit Ethnomission. Make no mistake—this isn't your mother's Indonesian music. As a guitarist, Tohpati references such impeccable influences as Terje Rypdal (the opening "Selamatkan Bumi"), John McLaughlin (the Mahavishnu-inflected arpeggios and ripping Lifetime-esque single-note bursts of "Bedhaya Ketawang"), and Robert Fripp ("Drama," reminiscent of King Crimson's classic carpal-tunnel recipe "Fracture"). Yet Tohpati is every bit his own axeman, equally at ease unspooling fleet-fingered chromatic runs ("Inspirasi Baru"), pointillist intervallic leaps ("Gegunungan"), pastoral melodies ("Hutan Hujan," with its sunny flute lines suggestive of Irish traditional music), buoyant fusion ("Biarkan Burung Bernyanyi"), sinister metal crunch ("Amarah"), country twang ("Perang Tanding"), and enigmatic, freely improvised soundscapes ("Pesta Rakyat"). Possessed of a soulful, meaty tone suggestive of John Scofield, Tohpati spices up the proceedings through sparing and tasteful use of pitch shifter, ring modulator, delay, and MIDI guitar synthesizer, all the while retaining an emotive, organic quality.
TriPod/TriPod ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Dance of the Kabuki')
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"The trio's first effort for this enterprising New York City-based progressive rock record label is a powerpacked affair indeed. Think of asymmetrical parts, Van Der Graaf Generator, Morphine and King Crimson morphed into one neat little package, enhanced by twelve-string bassist Clint Bahr's zealous vocalizations. The instrumentation consists of drums, bass, and sax, as the band's scorching rhythmic maneuvers complement a fast track methodology. They circumvent any perceived limitations due to the lack of a guitarist or keyboardist. Feverishly recommended." - All About Jazz, USA
Various Artists/Gospel For J.F.P. III - Tribute to Jaco Pastorius ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Teen Town')
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Featuring jazz and fusion legends, band mates and colleagues of the legendary electric bass virtuoso and innovator Jaco Pastorius, among others: Alex Acuna, Carles Benavent, Charles Blenzig, Delmar Brown, Hiram Bullock, Kenwood Dennard, Hugo Fattoruso, Michael Gerber, Gil Goldstein, Danny Gottlieb, Billy Hart, Toninho Horta, Bireli Lagrene, Armando Marcal, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer, Othello Molineaux, Jorge Pardo, Felix Pastorius (Jaco's son), John Patitucci, Mike Stern and more. As a musician, John Francis Pastorius III (Jaco) brought change. He boldly took his instrument, the electric bass guitar, to uncharted waters, and an instrument that is commonly placed behind the music, to the front. As a musician, Jaco's talent was not confined to the bass, more than a musician, Jaco was music. The focus of this project, Gospel For J.F.P. III, is on Jaco, the composer, a man with an extraordinary ability to create music. The body of material that he himself composed is not enormous, further proof that less is more, as these compositions rightfully fall into the status of contemporary standards, and sure to pass the test of time. Involved here are many of the musicians that were part of his life, as well as others his music has touched. Needless to say, Jaco's own renditions of his wonderful compositions could never be surpassed, only interpreted, and serve as an inspiration to all those who love his music.
The Wrong Object/Stories From The Shed ....CD $13.99
(excerpt from 'Unbelievable Truth part 1')
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All music recorded live in studio in La Louviere & Waimes (Belgium) with no overdubs, in October of 2007. Belgian heavy avant-prog-jazz-rock combo The Wrong Object returns with a brand new studio release of their trademark instrumentation and sonic landscapes. Laden with a full load of heavy guitar riffs, extravagant jazz themes and electronic sounds, this CD marks a return to the rockier and densely overdriven stance that characterized the band's earlier productions. The sheer sonic texture of this album is driven by a combination of tight prog-rock sequences alternating with more open, freely improvised material. This explosive package consists of a solid, pulsing rhythm section capable of performing with versatility in any situation, aggressive guitar riffs and solos, unusual guitar-synth soundscapes, and fuzz bass guitar laced with a fiery horn duet. With influences ranging from Zappa's whimsical complexities to Squarepusher's glitchy electronics, from Soft Machine and Electric Miles to Stravinsky and Bela Bartok, "Stories from the Shed" will surprise prog-rock fans and modern electric jazz aficionados alike with its genre-defying compositions, eclectic jam improvisations and intricate arrangements. Eclectic band for fans of Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, Primus, King Crimson, Terje Rypdal, John Zorn and jazz-oriented jam-band scene. Check their related release Elton Dean & The Wrong Object "The Unbelievable Truth."
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