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ha’fway 2015
Happy 239th birthday, United States!
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I don’t blog much. Not much time. I haven’t even put out my Favorites from 2013 or 2014… well, here goes for my Top 10 of 2015 so far…
Artist – Album (style)
- Failure – The Heart is a Monster (rock)
- Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell (indie rock)
- Faith No More – Sol Invictus (hard rock)
- Steve Taylor & the Perfect Foil – Goliath (rock)
- Steven Wilson (of Porcupine Tree) – Hand. Cannot. Erase. (progressive rock)
- Daniel Johns (of Silverchair) – TALK (pop, dance, rock)
- John Zorn’s The Dreamers with Mike Patton, Sofia Rei & Jesse Harris – The Song Project Live at Le Poisson Rouge (jazz, avant garde, pop)
- Dave Douglas – High Risk (jazz with electronics)
- Nellie McKay – My Weekly Reader (cheeky 70s rock tribute)
- DRKWAV (Skerik, Medeski & Deitch) – The Purge (doom, jazz, electronic, all over)
What’s still to come in 2015…
Ben Folds with yMusic, Holy Fuck (no release date, but they recorded it in late 2014), John Zorn (about every month), Puscifer (teaser on their Instagram?), TOOL (music done, lyrics nearing completion?), Charlie Hunter, and based on kickstarters/pledgemusic that I’ve supported: Chali 2Na of Jurassic 5 has a couple more EPs due, Dweezil Zappa, Jeremy Enigk of Sunny Day Real Estate, Jude Christodal, Dylan Carlson of Earth, and Fleming & John.
Will I continue with blogs in the future? I don’t know. :P
Dan – np: Critters Buggin – Stampede
PHOTOS: Secret Chiefs 3 – The Seattle Residency (5/7/13 & 5/8/13)
Better late than never, I got the Secret Chiefs 3 Seattle residency photos edited. Two days and four amazing sets by this amazing band. Go here for the SUNSET 5/7 SETLISTS (UR & Ishraqiyun) and here for the CROCODILE 5/8 SETLISTS (John Zorn’s Masada Book Two: Xaphan & FORMS).
Note: The new album, Book of Souls: Folio 1, originally announced to come out in May has now been pushed back.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Secret Chiefs 3 / Web of Mimicry Record Label Site
- Secret Chiefs 3 on Facebook
- My Other Related Reviews~
- SC3 in Oregon 2012 (Eugene & Portland – Feb 2012)
- SC3 @ Doug Fir (Portland – Aug 2008)
- SC3 @ Bowery (NYC – Mar 2007)
- (Timba’s old band) Estradasphere @ 2nd Story (Bloomington, IN – Oct 2006)
- The Sunset’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
- The Crocodile’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
SECRET CHIEFS 3 PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2013 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Secret Chiefs 3 – 2013 SPRING RESIDENCY TOUR
Seattle, WA
Tue May 7, 2013 @ The Sunset
Wed May 8, 2013 @ The Crocodile
San Francisco, CA
Fri May 10, 2013 @ Cafe Du Nord
Sat May 11, 2013 @ Cafe Du Nord
Los Angeles, CA
Sun May 12, 2013 @ Bootleg Bar
Tue May 14, 2013 @ Bootleg Bar
New York, NY
Fri May 17, 2013 @ Mercury Lounge
Brooklyn, NY
Sat May 18, 2013 @ Union Pool
Sun May 19, 2013 @ Union Pool
Chicago, IL
Tue May 21, 2013 @ Schubas Tavern
Wed May 22, 2013 @ Beat Kitchen
Toronto, ON
Fri May 24, 2013 @ The Drake
Sat May 25, 2013 @ The Drake
New York, NY @ The Stone (6 nights, 12 shows)
May 28, 2013
8pm: UR
10pm: FORMS etc.
May 29, 2013
8pm: Tesselations / Magic Squares
10pm: Ishraqiyun
May 30, 2013
8pm: FORMS etc. (expanded set + new material)
10pm: Xaphan
May 31, 2013
8pm: John Carpenter tribute + new material from Forms, UR, etc.
10pm: Tessellation 2: with guests Ches Smith and Gyan Riley
Jun 01, 2013
8pm: FORMS (new material adding Ches Smith, pipe organ favorites etc)
10pm: Ishraqiyun Kenny/Ches double-drum Cthulu mutations.
Jun 02, 2013
8pm: Final SC3 set, best of Stone week recap (with Ches Smith & Kenny Grohowski)
10pm: Masada (adding Gyan Riley to previous ensemble, the whole crew)
REVIEW: John Zorn at 60 @ Walker Art Center & St. Mark’s (Minneapolis, MN – 4/6/13)
John Zorn turns 60 this coming September, and Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center wanted to throw a Zorn Fest of sorts. Since Zorn doesn’t like to travel, he wanted to keep it to a minimum: not a 3+ day fest, but hey, let’s do it all on one day! And thus “Zorn @ 60” at Walker Art Center was born!
Check out what 60 of Zorn’s contemporaries have said about him… Part 1 & Part 2.
There have already been a few great reviews already posted (Jazz Police / Walker Art / City Pages); so I’ll keep my write-up to my own personal reflections, and not as in-depth, per se. Here’s who Zorn had with him for this fest, in different assemblies… Cyro Baptista, percussion; Joey Baron, drums; Greg Cohen, bass; Chris Cunningham, guitar; Marc Feldman, violin; Eric Friedlander, cello; Michelle Kinney, cello; John Medeski, piano, Hammond B3; Ikue Mori, electronics; Marc Ribot, guitar; Joey Schad, electric keyboards; Kenny Wollesen, vibraphone, percussion, and drums.
Well, first off, due to documentaries, I know what Zorn sounds like… and I was getting off the elevator at my hotel and I heard a familiar voice. Then I looked up, and “whoa, John Zorn is getting on the elevator that I’m getting off of.” I almost wanted to act like I forgot something in my room and ride up with him. Alas, I wussed out. Then in the lobby, Marc Ribot was futzing around on his phone, and Greg Cohen’s massive upright bass case was blocking the front desk. It all added to my overall giddiness for the day…
John Zorn discussion w/ Philip Bither
The full day of Zorn @ 60 started at 3pm with a sit down with fest curator Philip Bither. Zorn is a lively, humorous, acerbic character. I kinda love him. Probably more f-bombs and frivolity than most Q&A sessions, the near hourlong session was highly interesting.
The first part of the discussion talked about Zorn’s age… as the fest was all about his experience and what got him to where he is now in the scene at 60. Zorn talked a little bit about other “60” celebrations he’s doing this year (of all things MySpace has the best list), and one that he’s doing at The Met (NYC) completely intrigued me… ten performances every hour on the hour in different galleries throughout the museum on September 1st (Facebook link). if I can swing a way to be in NYC for most of September, I’d be happy. Unlikely, though.
Some of the best quotes from the interview and Q&A (paraphrased from my scribbles):
[about turning 60]“You don’t have any more doubts.”
“They’ve been saying I’ve been playing ironically for decades… that’s bullshit. But they don’t believe me when I say that’s bullshit.”
“Ribot plays guitar like a mutha’fucka!”
“I live in a library [of books, LPs, CDs, DVDs]… I didn’t have a kitchen for over a decade, but I didn’t have cockroaches either!”
[on creativity] “There were probably Bach-types banging on logs [in the earliest times]. Creativity is mystical, spiritual, ineffable.”
[on his schedule for the day] “Eating is a drag… it’ll only slow you down.”
[on critics] “The secret to longevity is to stay away from negative people… all reviews are bad. We don’t need that bullshit.”
And while I write reviews (and perhaps this is one), I understand his take on the industry of critique.
Marc Ribot plays selections from The Book of Heads
(about 20 minutes)
First music of the day… Marc Ribot by himself with a guitar, some pedals, a violin bow, some balloons, and an intenseness in his eyes. The Book of Heads, an album of solo Etudes composed by Zorn, is a very difficult listen. It screeches, it hurtles into many different directions. It’s hard to follow, it’s hard to even want to listen to at some times. Seeing it live, though, was quite fascinating. It’s highly composed, but seemingly improvised. Just seeing Marc’s stern look at the sheet music showed the composition. He was intently following the haphazard that was on the page. When one of the greatest guitarists is using balloons as a key part of the music making process, you know things are weird. Weird but gripping.
Ribot played the following Etudes (not necessarily in this order): 13, 23, 9, 24, 22, 27, 7, 2.
Game Piece: Hockey with Kenny Wollesen & Erik Friedlander
(about 10 minutes)
The next piece was a trio game piece first created in 1978. Zorn’s game pieces are a strict set of rules and is a structured, improvisational collaboration between the artists. Hockey on record is OK to listen to, but like The Book of Heads and Cobra (below), it’s far more interesting in the live setting.
A game piece is…
As well as a sports game, a game piece may also be considered analogous to language: The performance is directed by a well defined set of rules (a grammar) but by no means fixed or predetermined (just as all sentences generated by the same grammar are not the same). The length of a piece may be arbitrary, just as a sentence can be of any imaginable length while still conforming to a strictly defined syntax.
This time is was Zorn on birdcalls, Kenny Wollesen on bird calls and percussion, and Erik Friedlander on cello. With Kenny and Erik looking intently at Zorn for his verbal and hand motion directions. The level of musicianship of these three players is amazing, and the game pieces are basically a way to stretch their creative musical muscles while making sounds that you’d never expect. It’s not for the casual listener.
Game Piece: Cobra (for 11 players)
(3 games; about 30 minutes total)
John Zorn heard off stage before Cobra started: “Just don’t make any mistakes!”
Cobra takes the game piece concept to whole new levels. The rules are more complex, and John Zorn doesn’t play but directs at the front. Based on the card he holds up and his verbal and non-verbal cues, the musicians go off on an adventure – never the same in any repeat performance.
With eleven players on stage (all listed at the top of this post), they played three games of Cobra. This was my first time seeing Cobra. It’s very interactive, starting with Zorn’s lead, but the players get room to lead things too. It’s improv, but still with a structure. Here’s a glimpse at the cue card structure:
Highlight for me: Joey Baron’s smile. I get such a kick out of watching him play. He’s probably the musician having the most fun ever on stage every time I see him.
Cobra was the end of the first program, and the fest broke for a couple hours.
Erik Friedlander plays selections from Masada Book Two: Volac
Masada String Trio, and
Bar Kokhba Sextet
(a little over an hour – total)
The second program was the chamber music segment (and also the part of the day where my notes have now gone missing).
I’d seen Erik Friedlander before (both solo with his own stuff and playing Volac), and it was a great warm up for the increasingly larger groups playing music from John Zorn’s Masada Book Two set of music. He played a gorgeous 20 minute selections from Volac.
Up next was the Masada String Trio made up of the aforementioned Erik Friedlander on cello, Mark Feldman on violin, and Greg Cohen on upright bass. While the music they played was composed (same with Bar Kokhba Sextet), John Zorn sat on the floor in front of them, conducting. They played about 20 minutes from their Masada Book Two set. Gorgeous players, gorgeous music!
Continuing in the chamber music written & conducted by Zorn, the Bar Kokhba Sextet found the Masada String Trio joined by Joey Baron on drums, Cyro Baptista on percussion, and Marc Ribot on guitar. This was probably the best part of the night for me – outside of the experience of seeing Cobra played for the first time. The group effortlessly brought Zorn’s Masada tunes some groove, and seeing both Baron and Baptista work together percussively was a delight.
John Zorn’s Nova Express & The Concealed
encore:
John Zorn playing to Wallace Berman’s film Aleph
with Kenny Wollesen & Greg Cohen
(about 75 minutes total)
At the beginning of the third program, someone yelled out from the audience, “where’s your horn!?” to which John Zorn yelled back, “at home mother fucker!” Irreverent and hilarious. Even though he was lying (he brought out his alto sax for the final piece).
Nova Express and The Concealed songs were played by Joey Baron on drums, show-stealer Kenny Wollesen on vibes, Erik Friedlander on cello, Mark Feldman on violin, Greg Cohen on upright bass, and John Medeski on piano. These are two of Zorn’s better albums in the recent three years’ output (of ~36 albums!!!!). Partly classical takes on Masada tunes (Nova Express), and partly mystical (The Concealed).
As mentioned, the only time John Zorn brought out his sax was for the visual installation piece Aleph – set to Wallace Bergman’s short cut-up film of the same name. Iit was a ripping, avant-garde piece in the dark, backlit by the film, with Zorn wailing on sax, Kenny Wollesen moving off of vibes on to the drums, and Greg Cohen on bass. Stellar!
John Zorn’s The Hermetic Organ (midnight) @ St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral
A special free midnight performance of John Zorn’s The Hermetic Organ was across the street after the final third program of Zorn @ 60. Most of the crowd piled over to St. Mark’s Cathedral to watch the contrasting and turgid organ piece. I stayed for about half of the 30+ minute set and then slowly started my 2 mile, midnight walk back to my hotel – content at the day’s musical gifts.
A brilliant, music-packed day! If you want to check out some videos of what went down, the French Zorn website le zornographe has linked to some performances posted from the Walker Art Center “Zorn @ 60” fest on YouTube:
Bar Kokhba Sextet “Sother”
The Concealed “Towards Kafiristan”
Nova Express “Between Two Worlds”
The Appropriate Linkage:
- John Zorn’s label Tzadik Records
- Tzadik Record’s Social Media Links (see below)
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Zorn’s Masada, Ikue Mori and other shows (New York – Mar 2007)
- Zorn’s Moonchild Trio (Seattle – Nov 2007)
- Medeski Martin & Wood (Eugene – Nov 2008)
- Erik Friedlander’s Block Ice & Propane (Portland – Sept 2009)
- Medeski Martin & Wood (Eugene – Feb 2010)
- Erik Friedlander plays Zorn’s Volac (Eugene – Jan 2011)
- Walker Art Center’s Site / Facebook / Twitter
Next show for me… Soul’d Out Festival’s Charlie Hunter with Booker T. Jones & Carlton Jackson (first time as a trio) @ Dante’s (Portland 4/14)..
~Dan – np: Ellery – Lying Awake
John Zorn @ 60 in Minneapolis (soon)
John Zorn @ 60 in Minneapolis was awesome… I’m still decompressing, but I should have a write-up posted this week sometime…
John Zorn @ 60 – McGuire Theater @ Walker Art Center :: Minneapolis, MN
John Zorn discussion w/ Philip Bither
Marc Ribot plays selections from Book of Heads
Game Piece: Hockey with Kenny Wollesen & Erik Friedlander
Game Piece: Cobra (for 11 players)
Erik Friedlander plays selections from Masada Book Two: Volac
Masada String Trio
Bar Kokhba Sextet
John Zorn’s Nova Express & The Concealed
John Zorn’s playing to Wallace Berman’s film Aleph with Kenny Wollesen & Greg Cohen
John Zorn’s The Hermetic Organ (midnight) @ St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral
Secret Chiefs 3 – the long-awaited Book of Souls
Listeners have come to expect a lot from Secret Chiefs 3, and for Book of Souls, second in the band’s mega-trilogy (first being Book of Horizons, 2004), they expect nothing less than a vertigo-inducing follow up. True to expectation, Book of Souls: Folio A is a full-length album densely-packed with musical skyscrapers. Over a decade in the making along with Folio B, Book of Souls is Secret Chiefs 3’s most elaborate work yet. Following the 7-band schemata laid out in Book of Horizons, both Folios of Book of Souls thoroughly establish the depth of SC3’s journey into otherwise lost musical possibilities. With productions based in studios in the SF Bay Area, NY, LA, Seattle, UK and France over the last 11 years, the band’s leader Trey Spruance enlisted a small army of musicians — or actually not so small, since the orchestral tasks demanded by the music seem effectively unlimited in number.
But familiar names in the SC3 canon form the backbone of the recording-band: Timb Harris, Ches Smith, Shahzad Ismaily, Anonymous 13, Danny Heifetz, William Winant, with live-band initiates Matt Lebofsky, Kenny Grohowski and Toby Driver adding extra life among the zillions of enlisted musical enablers.
On Book of Souls: Folio A, it is evident that Secret Chiefs 3 continues to operate in blissful ignorance of current musical fashions, remaining enchanted only by what can be unlocked in modern mediums by applying a specific recipe of pre-modern (often ancient) processes to them.
While it’s true that the album represents the kind of titanic, almost Faustian undertaking that one would expect as being uniquely appropriate to Secret Chiefs 3, for all the pomp it’s easy to forget that everything having to do with the recording is DIY to the core. Book of Souls: Folio A is a fully organic production. Everything is honed with love in one of the last hermetically-sealed laboratories. Some may snort at the notion that there even could exist such a cauldron of limitless fascination extending so rigorously beyond the time/space boundaries of modern occidental groupthink; a place in-between, suspended, where the simplest motifs have the freedom either to radiate upward into geometric complexities that are beyond description, or to refine downward to a state of simple musical essence. But it’s the usual thing at the SC3 lab.
This press-release is offered as a summons to the impartial jury of all earthly ears. All snorts and scoffs will be answered with a supra-sensory choir. Coming in May and September.
MAY RESIDENCY TOUR – more details here
Two USA/Canada tours are happening in 2013 (May and October), one in support of each Book of Souls release. The first has already been booked: Secret Chiefs 3 will play multiple-night ‘residencies’ in select USA/Canada cities in May, in support of “Book of Souls: Folio A”. These residiencies will involve multiple sets per night. The music of SC3 “Heptad” bands FORMS, Ishraqiyun, UR, as well as other Secret Chiefs 3 material will be performed, including works arranged for John Zorn’s Masada. Check listings soon to see which configurations SC3 will be in on which night.
Seattle, WA
Tue May 7, 2013 @ The Sunset – tickets
Wed May 8, 2013 @ The Crocodile – tickets
San Francisco, CA
Fri May 10, 2013 @ Cafe Du Nord – tickets
Sat May 11, 2013 @ Cafe Du Nord – tickets
Los Angeles, CA
Sun May 12, 2013 @ Bootleg Bar – tickets
Tue May 14, 2013 @ Bootleg Bar – tickets
New York, NY
Fri May 17, 2013 @ Mercury Lounge – tickets
Brooklyn, NY
Sat May 18, 2013 @ Union Pool
Sun May 19, 2013 @ Union Pool
Chicago, IL
Tue May 21, 2013 @ Schubas Tavern – tickets
Wed May 22, 2013 @ Beat Kitchen – tickets
Toronto, ON
Fri May 24, 2013 @ The Drake – tickets
Sat May 25, 2013 @ The Drake – tickets
For a band that has been busy playing over 300 shows in over 30 countries in the last few years, one could imagine how well-seasoned a unit it might’ve become. And yes, the lineup has stabilized over the last few tours into the following elite team, who can handle everything and then some for both tours in 2013:
Trey Spruance, Timb Harris, Matt Lebofsky, Toby Driver, Kenny Grohowski
OCTOBER NATIONAL TOUR, SUPPORTING “BOOK OF SOULS: FOLIO B” (CD) RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER
After a brief pause to digest Folio A, listeners will hear the second installment, Book of Souls: Folio B in September. Intimately thematically-intertwined with the previously-released Folio, Book of Souls: Folio B has more Autumnal sheen. Darker, in some ways more ballistic, but also intoxicated with Beauty and high on diabolical humours, Book of Souls: Folio B remains unquestionably secure at SC3’s well-established fulcrum between rationalistic chaos and anarchistic elegance.
* NOTE A deluxe vinyl edition of the complete Book of Souls corpus, with expanded artwork and comprehensive conceptual material will be released in October.
** artwork and preview mp3s forthcoming
ha’fway 2012
Happy 236th birthday, United States!
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So, here are my faves of the first half of 2012… and outside of the Top 5, it’s all kind of random order on how I feel today… it’s all bound to switch around by year’s end (click album art for sound samples):
Artist – Album (style)
- OSI – Fire Make Thunder (glitch prog)
- Fiona Apple – The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (jazzy pop)
- Peter Mulvey – The Good Stuff (indie songwriter playing standards with a band)
- Damien Jurado – Maraqopa (indie rock)
- Celldweller – Wish Upon A Blackstar (electronica)
- Sigur Rós – Valtari (ambient icelandic)
- Emily Wells – Mama (chamber hip-pop)
- Floratone – Floratone II (jazz)
- s/s/s (Sufjan Stevens, Son Lux, Serengeti) – Beak & Claw -EP- (interesting)
- Storm Corrosion (Steven Wilson & Mikael Akerfeldt) – Storm Corrosion (ethereal proggy departure)
- John Zorn – The Gnostic Preludes (jazzy experimental)
- John Zorn’s Moonchild Trio (Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn & Joey Baron) with John Medeski – Templars (noise rock)
- Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 2 (drone)
- The Chance Brothers – Growing Concern (indie rock)
- Regina Spektor – What We Saw From the Cheap Seats (pop)
- Ani DiFranco – Which Side Are You On? (folk pop songwriter)
- Buckethead – Electric Sea (gentler instrumental guitar)
- Bad Veins – The Mess We’ve Made (indie rock)
- Cosa Brava (Fred Frith, Carla Kihlstedt, etc) – The Letter (rootsy jazz adventure)
- David Krakauer plays Masada Book Two – Book of Angels, Vol. 18 (Pruflas) (klezmer jazz)
I didn’t get a few that already came out this year (yet) and whatever “et cetera” that the cool kids are listening to these days; but they may make it to the list at the end of the year.
The 2nd half of 2012 promises to bring some potential great ones, too… a few more from John Zorn, Mike Patton & Luciano Berio’s Laborintus II, Ben Folds Five’s reunion studio album, Ric Hordinski’s Arthurs Garden (physical CD, though the download came out a bit ago), the Dusted debut from Holy Fuck’s Brian Borcherdt, Erin McKeown’s kickstarter, and I’ve heard rumors of a new Nellie McKay disc for the Fall.
Favorite concerts of 2012 (so far):
- Penn & Teller and Cirque’s Zumanity in Las Vegas, Jan 18th & 20th
- Secret Chiefs 3 in Eugene & Portland, Feb 6th & 7th
- Nellie McKay’s I Want To Live! in Eugene & Portland, Mar 2nd & 4th
- Puscifer in Portland, Mar 14th
- Seun Kuti & the Egypt 80 in Eugene, Mar 18th
- Radiohead in Seattle, April 9th
- Roger Waters presents Pink Floyd’s The Wall in Portland, May 22nd
- Beck in Bend, May 27th
(click pictures below for review links)
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Wish Upon A Blackstar
Moonchild & Melvins Lite
The upcoming Moonchild record will be the first to feature lyrics that John Zorn has written for Mike Patton to sing. Prior Moonchild albums have been trio affairs of noise/jazz metal glossolalia from Patton, Trevor Dunn (bass) and Joey Baron (drums) with a smattering of guests musicians like Ikue Mori, Jamie Saft and Marc Ribot. The sixth (!!) Moonchild release is set for a 2012 delivery on Zorn’s Tzadik Records. Based on info from Chippy (Tzadik’s art designer), the album name may very well be called Templars.
Here’s some more tidbits from the mixing/mastering crew:
Other related news… Trevor Dunn is also involved in the new stripped-down Melvins Lite band with the Melvins “core” members: King Buzzo and Dale Crover. The debut album from this evolution of the band comes out in June 2012 on Patton’s Ipecac Recordings…
Source: Ipecac
Oh, Freak Puke… such lovely imagery…
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Soundtrack for the Voice in My Head Vol 2, Ch 2
John Zorn guests on upcoming Napalm Death album
Napalm Death’s forthcoming album Utilitarian includes an appearance from John Zorn on track “Everyday Pox“. This isn’t the first time Zorn has appeared with Napalm Death – Mick Harris was the drummer in Zorn’s Painkiller trio (with Bill Laswell) and a split 7″ flexidisc was released in 1990. Utilitarian comes out February 28, 2012, and is up for pre-order now.
~Dan – np: Zakarya – 413A
* Favorite Instrumental Albums of 2011 *
As I start this post, I will say that this is all very subjective and really put together for my own purposes. I’ll also state that, yes, some of the music below does have some vocals (i.e.- the Goddamn Electric Bill & Mike Patton CDs). For the most part, it’s sequestered to a track or two on a long CD of mostly instrumental goodness. My list, my rules, and/or my breaking of the rules. With that being said, all of the artists below tend to be in the jazz and instrumental frame of reference anyway.
As said before… I’ve been buying less music… or, at least a lot less mainstream (major label) music. This is also my fourth year now that I bought more instrumental CDs than vocal CDs. I think as I get older, I am drawn more towards jazz and other instrumental forms of expression. Hopefully my spilling out of music that I like finds interest with someone else. But if not, thanks for stopping by… check out the artists’ webpages, Facebox pages, yadda yadda yadda. Some of these also made it on to my 2011 Mix CD (free streaming/download).
OK, now on to the best of what’s hit my ears this year…
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 Cyro Baptista’s Banquet of Spirits plays John Zorn’s Masada Book Two: Book of Angels, Vol. 17 (Caym) :: The Masada Book two series is some of my favorite music coming out of Tzadik. Banquet of the Spirits is the touring band of Latin percussionist Cyro Baptista, a long time Zorn collaborator. Each track touches upon a different world tradition, steeped in Zorn’s klez-jazz score. Lyrical and moving and fun!
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 Artichaut Orkestra – T For Teresa :: Featuring four young musicians from Toulouse, Artichaut Orkestra mix jazz, klezmer and classical music, blending rock energy with improv. This is their debut record, and I’m definitely looking forward to more coming from them in the near future.   |
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 Curtis Macdonald – Community Immunity :: To be honest, this was an impulse purchase. One of my favorite record labels is Greenleaf Music – founded by my favorite living trumpet-player Dave Douglas. I was picking up some new music from DD and figured, “eh, what the hell!” I was impressed with Curtis’ melodic compositions and emotive alto sax playing. |
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 Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will :: Stunning double-disc set from post-rock’s Scottish kings. I’ll still probably forgo seeing them live again (too loud, beyond their needs), but they put out some amazingly beautiful music. |
 (3 CDs) |
 John Zorn – Nova Express / At the Gates of Paradise / A Dreamer Christmas :: Three discs made the cut of the six Zorn releases in 2011. Nova Express combines quirky atonal classical lyricism with a touch of the cut up techniques of Naked City and virtuosity of the Masada songbook. Zorn scored this for Joey Baron (drums), Trevor Dunn (bass), John Medeski (piano), and Kenny Wollesen (vibes).  Paradise features the same band as Nova Express, brings some Medeski organ into the mix and adds more of Zorn’s “mystical” ambiance. The Dreamer Christmas album was an oddity for me. Why would a Jewish jazz musician put out a Christmas album? Because he can! The Dreamers is one of my favorite Zorn-assembled ensembles: Joey Baron (drums), Cyro Baptista (percussion), Trevor Dunn (bass), Marc Ribot (guitars), Jamie Saft (keys), and Kenny Wollesen (vibes). Very accessible, but not smooth jazz! Adventurous! Mike Patton joins them on the final track for a croon-y “chestnut roasting.” The holiday album was also put out as a 12″ vinyl and a 7″ single – both with gorgeous artwork and design by Chippy. |
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 yMusic – Beautiful Mechanical :: The yMusic Ensemble had a kickstarter earlier this year for their debut album – with songs composed by Son Lux, Annie Clark, Shara Worden (aka My Brightest Diamond), Saraha Kirkland snider (who penned a favorite album Penelope last year), and Gabriel Kahane. Their string-heavy, indie chamber rock approach excites me. Being the musical backdrop for My Brightest Diamond’s All Things Will Unwind album (my #2 vocal album in 2011) doesn’t hurt. |
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 Peter Mulvey & David Goodrich – Nine Days Wonder :: Peter Mulvey has toured all over the US and the world for about 2 decades. Some of the first times I saw him in concert, he had “Goody” with him on backing guitar. They don’t get a chance to tour together much lately, but they did find some time to hole-up inside a studio to write and record some instrumental guitar duets. While I love Peter’s vocal storytelling, it’s nice to hear his and Goody’s instrumental interplay tell a different story.  |
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 Goddamn Electric Bill – Jazz :: GdEB is the one-man brainchild of Jason Torbert. He hits the spot for organic electronic meets post-rock for me. Ambient at times, melodic other times. His latest work has featured some vocals, but he’s primarily a groove-induced soundscape kind of guy. Chirps and glitches, too. Excellent stuff! |
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 The Dead Kenny G’s – Operation Long Leash :: The Dead Kenny Gs is a duo started by saxophonist Skerik and drummer/vibes Mike Dillon in 2004. shortly thereafter, they started adding Brian Haas, keyboard genius, when he is able, as well as Brad Houser, bassist from another Skerik band – Critters Buggin. They push through the jazz/rock minefield to fight “injustice, cheese, and dishonesty in music, and society.” |
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 Talkdemonic – Ruins :: Portland-based chamber-indie-post-rock… goodness. So much sound from two people. If you’re in Portland, they’re playing a big NYE show tonight… if in Eugene, they’ll be through our way (at Sam Bond’s) on Feb 24th. Not to be missed! |
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 Mike Patton – The Solitude of Prime Numbers :: I had to put this album as #13. This chiefly instrumental album is a tribute to the book (by Paolo Giordano) and film of the same name. The score is 16 tunes spread out over a 53 tracks, with the only tracks with content being 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, and 53. *slow clap* Clever, Mr. Patton! For people who bought the CD, you can thank me for entering in the info to CDDB (t’was a pain). The score/album fits more with his prior score for A Perfect Place – more accessible when compared to Patton’s usual schizophrenic output. The packaging design is also brilliant – a gorgeous die-cut leaf that fold outwards. I’d always recommend getting physical releases from Ipecac versus the digital download version.
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 Garage A Trois – Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil :: Skerik, Stanton Moore, Marco Benevento (who replaced Charlie Hunter) and Mike Dillon make their way through Oregon quite a bit. They are a sight to see – you don’t know exactly what kind of show you’ll get, but it’s definitely a fun time. Fun, groove-oriented “new jazz.” |
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 Explosions in the Sky – Take Care, Take Care, Take Care :: If not jazz, this list is also overtaken by post-rock. it’s a love of mine, and Explosions in the Sky are one of the best in that game. Epic, sweeping guitars crashing over a hearty drum & bass end. This is another album where I’d recommend the physical edition – the case can be unfolded to form a model of a house, where if viewed from the inside, the view from the door of the house is overlooking a tornado across a plain.
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 Erik Friedlander – Bonebridge :: I started 2011 seeing Erik perform his John Zorn-penned Volac album in its entirety… brilliant and moving. Later in the year, he came out with Bonebridge – a new band/concept that takes his Broken Arm Trio (with Trevor Dunn & Mike Sarin) and adds slide guitar player Doug Wamble to the mix. What you get is a perfect chamber-Americana-jazz album. I hope there are more where this came from… |
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 Kevin Moore – Shine (Küçük Kıyamet Soundtrack) :: Kevin Moore’s main projects are the trippy/sample-heavy Chroma Key & heavier prog collaboration band O.S.I. (with Jim Matheos). Shine is the soundtrack to the 2006 Turkish film Küçük Kiyamet (“Little Apocalypse“). It came out in early 2011 after a successful Kickstarter in 2010. The next album from O.S.I. comes out in February 2012 on Metal Blade. I can almost guarantee it will be my Top album of 2012, and I haven’t heard a shred of it yet. |
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 Reptet – At the Cabin :: This Seattle-based jazz sextet is fuuuuuuuuuun – both on record and in the live setting. I wish the distance on I-5 between me and them wasn’t 5-6 hours, as I’d see them far more often if I could.
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 Matt Chamberlain, Viktor Krauss, Dan Phelps – Modular: Sonic Explorations :: Gorgeous soundscapes from Matt Chamberlain, Viktor Krauss, and Dan Phelps. The Modular Project is the collaboration of the aforementioned musicians working together to “discover what the spontaneous and organic manipulation of sound can yield. Inspired by the world around them, they set out to discover what it might sound like when continents shift, clouds form, and roots push through soil.” The track, “Everest,” features one of my favorite cellists – Eyvind Kang (who has worked with Secret Chiefs 3, John Zorn, Bill Frisell, Mike Patton). It’s a great mix of cello, vibes and soaring atmosphere. The album is only available digitally or on vinyl (it’s a luscious triple-gatefold!)… |
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 Dave Douglas – Three Views: GPS Series – Rare Metals, Orange Afternoons & Bad Mango :: Originally released as the “Greenleaf Portable Series” (download only), these three different releases in 2011 finally got a proper physical (boxset) release. Dave’s prolific writing comes out with different bands on each record: Rare Metals features Dave’s most recent band Brass Ecstasy; Orange Afternoons features a specially put together quintet with Ravi Coltrane, Vijay Iyer, Linda Oh, and Marcus Gilmore; and Bad Mango paired Dave’s trumpet with So Percussion’s marimba, drumset, glockenspiel, musical saw, toy bells, shruti box, crotales, and more. Three very different records tied together with Dave’s fantastic playing.
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 Tides From Nebula – Earthshine :: This Polish post-rock group won my heart in 2009 with their debut, Aura (in 2009). They continue to tease me with emails or news that says “tour” until I open and can’t pronounce the names of the cities that they’re hitting. Drat! At least their music will keep me company! Earthshine is perfect for those fans of Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and the like… and seeing as it beat out both those groups on my 2011 list, well, that should tell you something as well.
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 Michael Kelsey – Submerged :: Michael Kelsey is a HUGE amount of what I miss from the Midwest music scene. He’s a musical genius – rarely paralleled on the frets. Seeing him live (which I did any chance I could) was a site to behold. His records do their best to capture his virtuosity, but they usually fail to capture his energy, too. Catching fire in a bottle is tough. Regardless, this one is a gem and also marks his first all instrumental affair. Check him out, and if you live within a state or two from central Indiana, I count you a lucky one. Go see him if he stops by your town.
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 Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1 :: More riff-oriented and melodic compared to the prior drone doom albums, Earth bring a cello into the mix for the first time and create an ominous soundscape that is both elegant and dreadful. The follow-up, Angels & Demons 2, comes out in Feb 2012… and you can almost guarantee it’ll rise to the top of my list next year as well.
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Note: Ric Hordinski’s Arthur’s Garden (which made it on my 2011 Mix) is technically a 2012 release, hence its absence above.
Where do I get most of these jazz and other instrumental releases? My #1 favorite source for jazz is Downtown Music Gallery in New York. Manny and Bruce and their great staff are superb… and being the official distributor for John Zorn’s Tzadik doesn’t hurt my affection for them. I usually do a monthly Tzadik order (if the releases strike my fancy), and they have a ton of other non-Tzadik jazz and avant-garde releases as well.
And, no, I’m not affiliated, I don’t get a commission, and beyond my initial “big tax refund / gotta get caught up on Zorn order of 2005,” I haven’t gotten a discount with DMG. I just love and support what they do.
Enjoy the New Years’ weekend!! Be safe! See you in 2012.
My Other Favorites of 2011 Recaps:
- Fave Concerts & Photos of ‘11 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave EPs/Vinyl/Live/DVDs/more of ‘11 are *HERE*
- Fave Vocal Albums ‘11 are *HERE*
- Old Years:
- 2010: Instrumental, Vocal, EPs/etc, Concerts,
- Best of the 2000s Decade (1-10, 11-20, 21-25)
- 2009: Instrumental, Vocal, EPs/etc, Concerts
- 2008: Instrumental, Vocal, EPS/etc, Concerts
- 2007: Vocal, Instrumental, Concerts
- 2006 & 2005
~Dan – np: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
John Zorn w/ Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn & John Medeski
These posts from Tzadik mixer extraordinaire Marc Urselli made me giddy…
Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn & John Medeski together on a future John Zorn release?! Excellent! It’s not listed on the Tzadik upcoming releases page, yet…
~Dan – np: Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra – MTO Plays Sly
John Zorn – Composer Portrait Preview (NYC 12/9)
Avant-garde composer John Zorn has a “Composer Portrait” performance coming up at the Miller Theatre in NYC on December 9, 2011. Here’s a video composer portrait preview…
I always enjoy him talking about his process… of the “people who love what I do and people who hate what I do,” I’m in the love crowd. He’s definitely not for everyone. But if you dig avant-garde, experimental composed music and live near NYC – I’d highly recommend this show!
~Dan – np: Chevelle – Hats Off to the Bull
Zorn Christmas CD/LP/45 (out now)
Originally mentioned here, the John Zorn / The Dreamers Christmas album is out now on Tzadik. The CD, limited edition vinyl and limited edition 45 rpm 7″ vinyl can be ordered now via Tzadik’s official retailer: Downtown Music Gallery.
The CD & vinyl will also be at Amazon (by Oct 11th), but the 45 rpm single will only be at DMG. It’s also available via Amazon & iTunes as well in mp3 digital download format (but why would you ever get something like this in lower fidelity?)…
The Dreamers band is Marc Ribot, Jamie Saft, Kenny Wollesen, Trevor Dunn, Joey Baron, and Cyro Baptista… and the album also features Mike Patton crooning “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.”
~Dan
John Zorn – The Dreamers’ Christmas (Tzadik 2011)
Update 10/7: go back HERE for CD/vinyl/45 rpm/mp3 download ordering info.
Posted on (Tzadik designer) Chippy’s Facebook page earlier this weekend…
The biggest surprise of the year is John Zorn’s beautiful Christmas CD. Zorn has hand picked seven of his favorite Christmas songs, penned two lovely originals and they are performed here in classic Dreamers style with plenty of exciting solos, exotic colors and catchy lyricism. Filled with a joyful holiday spirit, innocence, a touch of nostalgia and a charming lyricism, this is music for all ages that will make you smile with delight from the very first notes. As a special treat, vocalist Mike Patton delivers an intimate and heartfelt rendition of “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” making A Dreamers Christmas an instant classic, and an essential CD for any contemporary Christmas celebration.
This album will also feature The Dreamers band: Marc Ribot, Jamie Saft, Kenny Wollesen, Trevor Dunn, Joey Baron, and Cyro Baptista. It will be out in CD and vinyl LP.
My guess is it’ll hit in October or November as Tzadik tends to not release anything in December. I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I tend to not like Christmas music that much (there are only a few). I find it funny that a record label entrenched in Jewish music and jazz would put out a Christmas album with Santa on it… but, well, that’s John Zorn for you. Not following the protocol.
And that’s why we love him!
Update 7/28, the cover for the 45rpm vinyl single…
~Dan – np: Silverchair – Frogstomp
Packaging Art : Design in front of the Music
A big piece of what still links me to music is the artistic approach that goes into the whole package. Sure, break it all down, and the actually music hitting my ears is the “most important” component, but I still dig the physical product (CDs & vinyl).
Two of my favorite record labels go out of their way to create stunning packaging: the John Zorn-run Tzadik Records and the Mike Patton co-owned Ipecac Recordings.
For Zorn, the die-cut and gorgeous lettered detail in Tzadik’s Masada Book Two series jumps to the forefront, as do many of the stunning titles in the Archival series (The Dreamers, etc). For Patton, the gold-embossed Mit Gas from Tomahawk was a first step, and the Peeping Tom & Mondo Cane packaging was colorful and stupendously took Ipecac’s level of art-packaging to a new level.
Both labels obviously believe in the physical artistic value, otherwise, they wouldn’t bother. Well, this post delves a little bit into that process with two designers for Tzadik & Ipecac, respectively…
In a recent interview with Chippy from Tzadik…
Poor quality digital artwork is a shame because the original art/packaging is an extension of the concept. Most people therefore will not be able to fully appreciate/experience beyond the music. At the same time, the low quality is a good reason to truly really seek out the hard copy because there is so much more beyond the digital world. People forget about the beauty of books and print. The paper, the binding, the thread, glue, etc. There’s a reason why artists/designers use a certain ink, stock, varnish, diecut, emboss/deboss, etc. Dismissing this part of the experience minimizes the experience.
READ the FULL INTERVIEW with CHIPPY
Aaron Lazar from Tzgani Design worked on the most recent Book of Knots release from Ipecac. The original design would have cost too much ($6-7/per unit), but would have been a three piece laser etched packaging design that would cradle a CD (printed in aqua, yellow and orange) and would function as a working astrolabe. Check it out in higher-resolution. I wish this could have come to fruition, but I guess you have to be realistic in your artistic pursuits, too.
It is works of art like this that make me seek out more than just a download version. Even if “CD quality” 320 kbps, it still seems hollow to me. And more than just design… with music moving to a cloud-based platform now, here are eight reasons why vinyl is cleaner than “the cloud”… READ HERE at DigitalMusicNews.
~Dan – np: John Scofield – Up All Night
Rova:Zorn – The Receiving Surfaces
The Rova Quartet, who began in 1978 and have worked with many legendary acts like John Zorn, released their 33 1/3 anniversary live album with Zorn, The Receiving Surfaces, on June 1st on vinyl LP. It’s available now on the not-for-profit organization Rova:Arts…
~Dan – Elysian Fields – Last Night On Earth
The future of Zorn’s Masada Book Two
Every time I talk about it, I’ll state that Masada Book Two is one of the best series on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. The quick premise: One page of music in a book of 300+ tunes, given to others to interpret and record.
Who has done it so far (bold being my faves so far): Jamie Saft Trio, Masada String Trio, Mark Feldman and Sylvie Courvoisier, Koby Israelite, The Cracow Klezmer, Uri Caine, Marc Ribot, Erik Friedlander, Secret Chiefs 3, Bar Kokhba Sextet, Medeski Martin & Wood, Masada Quintet featuring Joe Lovano, Mycale, The Dreamers, Ben Goldberg Quartet, Masada String Trio, and Cyro Baptista’s Banquet of the Spirits.
All seventeen thus far as stupendous releases… you can’t go wrong, especially if you love improvisational jazz and klezmer. Listen: Amazon search page.
Good Aural blog posted the following yesterday:
According to John Zorn, Tzadik records will release about four—possibly five—more Masada Book Two albums in 2012. It’s amazing to think that we’ll be hearing volumes 18, 19, 20, 21, and maybe even 22 of Zorn’s Book of Angels by the end of next year.
Want a preview of who’ll be playing on these upcoming volumes? Here are the new Book of Angels releases planned for 2012:
New Klezmer Trio
Clarinetist Ben Goldberg is a pioneer in avant-garde Jewish music. His New Klezmer Trio released their first album, Masks and Faces, in 1992; it was reissued on Tzadik in 1996. New Klezmer Trio has since released several more albums on Tzadik: Melt Zonk Rewire and Short for Something.
In 2010 Goldberg recorded Baal: the Book of Angels vol. 15 with Masada book veterans Greg Cohen, Jamie Saft, and Kenny Wollesen. This new Ben Goldberg Quartet was assembled and conducted by Zorn himself.
Finally, Goldberg plays clarinet with the acoustic ensemble Tin Hat, which appeared on the Masada anniversary album Voices in the Wilderness.
David Krakauer
David Krakauer is a clarinetist firmly rooted in both klezmer and classical music. His band, Klezmer Madness!, incorporates elements from funk, jazz, and a variety of other genres. He has collaborated with the Kronos Quartet and made several releases on Zorn’s Tzadik label, including Klezmer Madness! and Klezmer, NY.
Given that Krakauer has collaborated with Uri Caine and played both clarinet and bass clarinet on John Zorn’s seminal Kristallnacht, it’s only natural that he should (finally!) record a set of tunes from The Book of Angels.
Pat Metheny
Guitarist Pat Metheny recorded the acclaimed free jazz album Song X with Ornette Coleman and recorded Steve Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint” with Kronos Quartet. Metheny’s upcoming Book of Angels entry is planned as a solo performance.
And Beyond…
Whatever Masada Book Two compositions remain will be recorded on one or two albums by artists not yet announced. Once those are completed, we’ll have finally reached the end of this chapter in Masada’s legacy. But for hardcore fans of this music, there’s still plenty to come.
On the horizon: Masada Book Three.
Good Aural apparently heard the news from John Zorn himself. I had heard rumors of the Pat Metheny one in the past, and the other conspirators are consistent with who Zorn has worked with in the past. I’m hoping Mike Patton’s Fantômas does something in this series in the future. It’s not out of the realm – they did one song for the Unknown Masada album in 2003 (a pre-cursor to the Masada Book Two concept). Oh, or the Moonchild Trio!! That would kick ass.
~Dan – np: Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium 
Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane – North American Tour
Update July 2011: it looks as though funding fell short for a North American Mondo Cane tour for 2011.
Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane was one of the absolute best albums of 2010… and by far the best packaged piece of musical art. He took it on the road for a few European dates and a San Francisco date in 2010, but sadly nothing else. Well, just announced on Cyro Baptista’s Facebook page and confirmed on Patton’s PR firm The Agency Group’s bio page (quote below), Mondo Cane will be at New York City’s Lincoln Center (in August – no specific date yet) with a North American tour as well:
Upcoming appearances include a concert at Lincoln Center with John Zorn, presented by New York City Opera, and a North American tour of Mondo Cane.
I’m hoping there is a good West Coast date or two… Portland? Seattle? Vancouver? Hell, I’ll even hit San Francisco if I can. No word on dates yet, but once they’re announced, be sure I’ll post them! Note: There is already a confirmed date in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 17, 2011.
If you don’t know about Mondo Cane – it’s not like Mike Patton’s other work (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk, et cetera). It’s his 50s Italian pop big band group… listen to some samples over on the Amazons:
~Dan – np: Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA
John Zorn’s Masada Marathon 2011 (via Aural Addict)
Great review from Jeff from AuralAddict of the recent John Zorn Masada Marathon in New York City… CLICK BELOW…
via Aural Addict
A to Z / Music Packaging Today
Check out this cool article/interview from last Thursday with A to Z Media‘s Sarah Robertson and Scott Pollack to discuss the state of physical media in 2011. Click here or the pictures below to go to the interview…
John Zorn‘s Interzone
John Zorn‘s The Dreamers with Chippy’s artwork
A to Z Media covers a lot of John Zorn’s Tzadik and other record label releases, which are all quite stunning mini pieces of art.
~Dan – np: Over the Rhine – Good Dog Bad Dog
REVIEW: Erik Friedlander plays John Zorn’s Masada Book Two @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – 1/8/11)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
NYC-based cellist Erik Friedlander is a favorite musician of mine. I have only a handful of his solo works, but he shows up in the subtlest of places… I mean, if I do a quick search for “Friedlander” in my iTunes, I show 32 and a half hours of music (Tzadik Records & DMG are a key component of my monthly music budget). He has worked with Courtney Love, Dar Williams, the Mountain Goats and many more… but I primarily know his work in the NYC jazz & avant-garde scene: Dave Douglas, Ikue Mori/Death Praxis, Jamie Saft, Yuka Honda, Wadada Leo Smith, Tim Sparks, Ned Rothenberg, and of course… John Zorn.
With John Zorn, Erik has been involved in several Masada incarnations, notably the Masada String Trio (with Greg Cohen & Mark Feldman) and the Bar Kokhba Sextet. When John Zorn was done writing music for the original acoustic Masada Quartet, he sat down and penned over 300 songs that became the Masada Book Two: Book of Angels. I’ve talked a lot about Masada Book Two on this blog… it is the most consistently amazing set of music out on Tzadik (John Zorn’s 503(c)3 record label). MBT is essentially John Zorn’s Masada tunes, covered by those around him. Some of my favorites are Secret Chiefs 3’s Xaphan, Bar Kokhba Sextet’s Lucifer, and Medeski Martin & Wood’s Zaebos… but quite honestly, all sixteen releases (to date) have been stunning and essential.
Erik was one of the early invites to the Masasa Book Two Club… releasing Volac (volume 8 in 2005). The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts in Eugene commissioned Erik Friedlander to come in a perform these Volac songs last night. I had seen Erik in Portland in 2009 with his photography & music piece – Block Ice & Propane (his music set to his father Lee Friedlander’s photography); so I knew Erik would deliver a wonderful performance. Set-up in the Shedd Recital Hall, just off the courtyard, Erik went on around 7:40 and entranced us with his playing…
He was playing his carbon-fiber “alien cello.” I imagine that was his easiest axe to bring for a two-night Seattle & Eugene weekend before heading back home. Its sound was quite similar to a wooden cello – at least to my untrained ears. Per Erik, it’s not as ornery or sensitive as a wooden cello.
The Masada songs have a definitive Jewish klezmer feel in points of the melodies. Erik’s arrangements and playing definitely bring in a chamber music and jazz improviser aspect to the Volac songs. He played roughly half of the songs bowed, and the rest either plucked or strummed. Switching between the styles for each song for the most part – as is one of John Zorn’s “rules” which Erik joked about. Hush, don’t tell John, but Erik acknowledged that he broke a few “rules” during the night.
Setlist: about 70 minutes
- Harhazial
- Yeruel
- Ylrng
- Haseha
- Sannul
- Rachsiel
- Kadal
- Anahel (the 1st written by Zorn for MBT)
- Zumiel
- Ahaniel
- Zawar
- Encore: Sidriel
Essentially the entire Volac album, just in a different order. Erik doesn’t make it out to the Pacific Northwest as much as I’d like, but when he does make it out, I’m going. If you love cello or other chamber music – you should go, too! Nary a disappointment. Oh, also check out his free podcast First Light which features a weekly early morning improvisation.
more photos below
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Erik Friedlander’s Site
- Erik Friedlander’s First Light podcast (*free*)
- Erik Friedlander’s Social Media Links (see below)
- My Other Related Reviews~
- Erik Friedlander’s Block Ice & Propane (Portland – Sept 2009)
- The Shedd’s Site / Facebook
Next show for me… Reptet (jazz combo from Seattle) at Luckey’s in Eugene, Friday, January 14th!
~Dan – np: Nine Inch Nails – Ghosts I-IV
ERIK FRIEDLANDER PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2011 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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