Don Cherry is mainly known as one of the pioneers of free jazz from the trail blazing Ornette Coleman Quartet. Images of him playing some variation of the trumpet (pocket trumpet, cornet, etc...) come to mind. However, much of his musical career involved him traveling the four corners of the earth and participating in musical forms that sometimes had no resemblence to jazz. In time he became a seasoned multi-instrumentalist of a wide variety. He was a true student and explorer. Initially, this seems to have been a personal journey into his African heritage, but it clearly struck an inspired nerve in him that never went away. His experimentation with world music can be heard as early as 1968 on Eternal Rhythm, a live recording from the Berlin jazz festival. Other stellar examples of this progression would include his Mu sessions recorded for BYG Actuel in 69 as well as Actions (co-led by Kryzstof Penderecki) and Blue Lake from 71. Over the remainder of his career he covered a lot of territory. As I researched this, 1978 seems to have been an especially rich year for him in this regard. If you were to listen to the following recordings in their entirety, you might find some things you don't like, or at least I did. Some tunes border too closely to a new age sound that I'm not entirely comfortable with. However, there is a great deal to glean here as evidenced (i hope) by the following selections. Please dig in. I hope this inspires new pathes of interest and research. Cheers!
Another sideman session also done in 1978, but less suited toward this post can be found here.
Below is a short documentary filmed in Sweden the same year and broadcast on Swedish television.
It was the thing that originally inspired this post. Enjoy.
I'm going to resist the tempation to make a Gene Simmons joke here. If you're still with me, I'm actually going to preface this entry with some discussion concerning John Coltrane. I've been listening to a bunch of fantastic audio interviews that he graciously gave on various occasions in the early and mid sixties. This was a very pivotal time for jazz on several levels and the discussions are long, unpolished and very culturally revealing. They portray what I perceive to be a humble, searching man. Anyhow, they deepened my appreciation for his music and personhood and brought me back to what I would consider my desert island song as far as jazz goes. I'm not going to go too deep here, because this is a whole nother post that I most definately intend to write at some point. All the same, John Coltrane's "Ole" recorded in 1961 is a song worthy of your full attention. At some point, carve twenty minutes out of your life, seek out seclusion, sit between the speakers, turn up the volume, and drop the needle on this monster of a tune. Eric Dolphy, Reggie Workman, McCoy Tyner, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Art Davis. It's a game changer.
It should be stated that Coltrane's composition is based upon another, but I'll hold back on those details as well. As I've researched this song, I have come across a few covers (Pharoah Sanders, Noah Howard, etc...). Recently I stumbled upon the following rendition by pioneering Krautrockers Xhol Caravan and have been really taken with it. The others that I've heard have been great, but they've been done too much in the vein of the original and therefore fall terribly short. Mere shadows. The original is foreboding and visceral with a climax that peels the paint. In a very different way, this version grooves. It is at times funky, psychedelic, and slightly vague while staying true to the spirit of the song. Though it isn't close to being in the same galaxy as Coltranes, it is easily my favorite cover. That a couple of freaked out German kids laid this down in 1969 is down right fantastic. Dig the additional videos and note the blonde haired boy playing the guitar against the organ.
Part one of the videos that I had hoped to put up (including the above mentioned blonde haired boy) can be found here. Unfortunately, the person who put them up disabled the embedding capability.
thought it would be criminal not to raise a flag of praise for damien jurado's latest lp. josh & i have had maraqopa spinning on our players & in our heads since its release & it's really ringing our bells. we are both in agreement that this is his best material to date. it has genuinely stimulated great, sprawling discussion between us. you know you have something good when all aspects of the content generate conversations of length & real worth. if you haven't already, grab a copy & listen close! d
Been meaning to get this up for weeks now. This post is the result of unfortunate news, but please do the right thing and enjoy the content - he's worthy of it. If you don't know already, Sam Rivers died the day after Christmas at the age of 88. If you don't know who Sam Rivers is, you're not alone, but it would do you good to familiarize yourself with the man. Hopefully this post will serve as a decent introduction. I will not go into any depth here. There is just way too much area to cover, and many others who are better qualified have written great articles in the last 3 or 4 weeks since his passing for those interested. The ever rewarding destination:OUT put up an excellent post here, and you can listen to a great hour-long audio biography here. Bottom line: there's more to this guy than meets the eye. His influence on the progression and preservation of jazz music is huge and his output was diverse and original. His pioneering in the nyc loft jazz scene of the 1970's alone speaks volumes (here). Both Josh & I seem to gravitate toward multi-instrumentalists in the realm of jazz (don cherry, eric dolphy, yusef lateef, etc...) and in my humble opinion, Sam Rivers is a monster in this regard. He played soprano and tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano as well as others played less frequently. To my ears, saxophone & flute playing was where he thrived most. I have included a handful of my favorite cuts below. They contain original compositions as well as contributions made as a sideman. Session leaders took Rivers on for his traditional slash outward inventiveness. Along these lines, I have ordered the songs to move from a some what traditional tone into a more outward direction. Notice the diversity in his playing. All of these songs represent Sam's original voice. His freedom was boundless. By the way, did I mention that this guy was known as a gentle spirited fellow and a one woman man. He and his wife Beatrice were married 56 years until she died in 2005, and she was his partner and greatest supporter. Classy. Dig in.
------------------------------------------------------------ Beatrice-Sam Rivers (from Fuchsia Swing Song- 1964)
Once again, thank you to Aquarium Drunkard for the fresh tips - this time on Michael Kiwanuka (i swear AD's got a deal w/ the devil). AD recently put up the official video for this number, so shoot over there to hear the studio cut w/ some absolutely stunning musicianship across the board. I don't know what else Mr. Kiwanuka has up his sleeve, but this one is dead-on. Can't wait to hear more. The above video comes via Black Cab Sessions. If you haven't already, check them out for certain, cause they're got a treasure trove of goodness (be sure to see Bill Callahan, Fleet Foxes & Damien Jurado). Sorry for the lag & tiny output here at !!crescere!! as of late - the weather is fine, life is busy & the personal creative processes are at work! Wishing everyone the best ~ Dougie F.
as it fertility-grasps the buried hand of earth awakening the unbarren memory of her seeping bosom her perpetuating loins with the hazy shake of muffled promise – be sure to give thanks.
and if your taut, startled flesh comes swimming crude stroked to the dank surface of night and your story goes stuttering like wounded wings your visions all sullied dim with slag and soot if mourning comes as bone spurs frosting up from earth’s dizzy body her fractured lungs wheezing gasping for the damp, recurring meal – then go on set your body faltering down cover the beached fish muscles over writhe the sleepless static mumble wet the dark smoke dirge wail the body unbroken and once you’ve stared down that cold horizon viridian emerald pear tangerine limp hands cradling at unseen waters eyes unscaled voice unfurled be sure to give thanks.
japanese island - mal waldron ------------------------------------ ----------------------------------- atomic energy - mal waldron ----------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ it would seem that mal is on the move here at !!crescere!! i hope you'll agree that this is a very good thing. he is fast becoming a new favorite of mine. many thanks to bacoso over at o.i.r. for this session as well as "reminicent suite" which reaped the beast that is "black forest." i posted that one back in february. on both of these recordings, mal is supported by a full on japanese backing band with no repeats of personnel from one session to the other. this one finds mal working in a trio, and like josh, i do love me a smokin' piano,drum & bass trio. these two tracks will tell you why. ------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- also included in this post is my last {cold horizon} poem for this season. i have thoroughly enjoyed this experiment and intend to pick it back up sometime early next winter. i hope you've enjoyed it also. this one was written days after the earthquake/tsunami struck japan's coast, and was definitely provoked by it. i had hoped to get it up sooner then this. all the same, enjoy: --------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the same spirit as Part One, my focus on the rich artistic contributions of Japan are intended to draw our attention toward their present needs and to cause us to ask the question, "What can I/we do?" In answer to this question, any comments or suggestions are very encouraged. Beyond this, I hope that you enjoy the content. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I first latched on toGary Snyderwhen I started getting serious about poetry - about a decade ago I guess. He's a very interesting man & much more than just a poet. He's accomplished a great deal in his 80+ years. If his work inspires you I would recommend reading up on him a bit. He lived in Japan from 1956 to 1964 I believe, studying Zen Buddhism & poetry. My original intention was to use his poetry exclusively, but after reading thru some of his translations ofKenji Miyazawa, a Japanese poet, science teacher & social activist (1896-1933), I felt compelled to use several of his poems. I'm gonna start out with one from Gary & follow up with three from Kenji:
Man oh man! Please know that on this fine afternoon, I am here to serve up the goods! Once you hit play & begin to take in Andrew Hill's"Illusion" I'm hoping you'll agree with me. No credit here - like most things, i just stumbled onto it, and it doesn't take an insider's ear to recognize just how good this is. Let me expand a bit:
a few haiku from the master as well as two ode's to Japan via some fine jazz compositions (one original & one reworked). for part two i intend to flip this scenario with a poem that is an ode to Japan from a non-native followed by some excellent Japanese jazz - please look for it. lastly, if you're a person who prays, as you enjoy the contents of this post, please pray for Japan. let's encourage one another to support them in this and any other way. doug
all the noises in the world have found there way in become the noises in your head and you seem all smothered you’re surrounded you say hemmed in by all the things of the groping void so that everything just dulls into an all pervasive nothing and there you lie lost & stuck in a hundred different ways retreating inward reaching out for the slow-motion floating refuge of the dark womb of God’s love to be unalone & silenced dreaming the nothing dream growing into the warm bliss of the soft tissue embrace entranced by nothing more than the gentle hum of the Holy Spirit & the muffled world to come
Almost always judge an album by it's slammin' good cover art. Definetly true in this case. Great cover art leads to great LP leads to great story. In fact, the intigue that lead me to this post has been more about the man than the music - but don't hear me wrong, the music is stellar! Here's the short skinny: Giuseppi Logan, a multi-instrumentalist from outside the scene emerges from the shadows into the New Thing/Avante Garde/Free Jazz movement that was thriving in New York City in the mid-sixties. With the help & musical assistance of Milford Graves (more on him in the coming weeks) he lays down his first ever recording session (as a leader nonetheless) along with Don Pullen & Eddie Gomez (this was the first recording session for all four players). From the many articles I've read, it seems that Logan was always perceived as his own man with his own approach to both people and his many instruments - unpredictable seems a good word. He lead two other sessions, one of which has never received a pressing, and sat in on a handful of others before disappearing back into the shadows in the early seventies. Gone. Decades without even a word. Incarcerated, homeless, locked away in mental institutions, thought dead, only to re-emerge from thin air in 2008 with a bushy white beard & a passion to get back on top in the world of Jazz music. Thus far he's released one live session with the same label he started with - ESP. Giuseppi Logan is very endearing & there's so much more to this story. If you're intrigued, please dig around. Signal To Noise put out a fantastic article in the Spring of 2009.
In terms of the album, if you're into the genre, I couldn't recommend it more. From 1964, it has an incredible rythme section & is very free. Track one, Tabla Suite is perhaps more outside than the other four tracks, it includes a Tabla, a Pakistani Oboe, and a strummed piano & is a highlight for me - it definetly speaks of things to come with Milford Graves. Dialogue is also highly recommended along with Bleeker Partita which you'll find below. The later is accessible while containing the fullness of diversity that you get from the other four numbers. Just below, please check out a bit from a short documentary on Logan from 1966 and be sure to check recent footage in the side panel of the youtube page. -------------------------------------------------- Bleeker Partita- The Giuseppi Logan Quartet --------------------------------------------------
when you rise up, quietly sing the humming wordless song that lights you - strum strum for the dancing curtains of the wintry morning - for if we’re to live for all of eternity - wheels that keep turning - pulling us further & further until they’re worn into nothing but a vanishing memory of time - than we should say so
go out - walk the treeline - feel the sun - cast your shadows – mutter afresh the story and listen – for if this day you can walk as you do - flannel flag flying free in the pink edges of an orange sky that is pink edgedly orange in just this way, never to be repeated - then you should say so
and if i – today - can tow with ease this chain of glinting thoughts & sounds as they unravel from me endlessly in just this way - churning & bobbing within my dome only - here & gone as quick as they came – than i should say so
for if we are immortal as we sleep in our tangled dreams & cotton sheets - if we are fixed in the sky of God’s good pleasure - a fixture of His golden gaze - set free to shine in ceaseless stardusting reverie - if we are loved - not merely tolerated beneath a pact of unspeakable bloodshed (holy & worthy of perpetual praise) but actually & truly befriended – invited – pursued – embraced – wanted – then strum strum - ring the bells - and let us say so!
crack the roof, empty the sky, and cultivate the eminence of it's rippling expanse
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