ACOUSTIC LEVITATION
BEST OF 2016
Dear Readers,
As always, we offer suggestions about our currently
favorite recordings and give praise to the most memorable
performances, as best we can; we can’t hear every CD,
attend every show, nor be everywhere in the world, and yet
we do a lot. I’ve had to downsize my collection and
I’m shedding tears, but meanwhile more is coming in in
various digital formats, for better or worse. Here’s to
our Best of 2016.
Steve Koenig,
Editor
STEVE KOENIG
New York
PERFORMANCES
Angel Reapers. A Shaker dance-theater
piece created by Martha Clarke and Alfred Uhry. Directed
and choreographed by Martha Clarke. I don’t know whether
the performance or the “play” itself was more moving, but
they were inseparable and edge-of-your-seat. Signature
Theater, NY. marthaclarke.com,
signaturetheatre.org
Doublebill: “Interpretations”
Series. Robert Ashley.
Maneuvers for
Small Hands.
Reinier Van Houdt,
piano, played the piece magnificently, with all the
physical hi-jinx built in to this 1961 work. Brian Schober
and librettist Joan Ross
Sorkin’s monodrama
about the 19th century Jamaican legend of Annie Palmer,
The White Witch of Rose
Hall, was
spine-tingling; you were strongly grabbed into her story
by mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert and percussionist Jared
Soldiviero. December 8, 2016. Roulette, Brooklyn, NY.
robertashley.org, reiniervanhoudt.nl,
composers.com/brian-schober,
jaredsoldiviero.com,
cekovskalubica.com, interpretations.info,
roulette.org
Tom Blancarte. Ron Stabinsky. Each solo, each riveting. Blancarte
sculpting magnificent structures with his amplified
upright bass, Stabinsky refreshing the ears with his
piano works which kept you wondering whether they were
improvised or composed. November 15. 2016. Roulette,
Brooklyn, NY. roulette.org
Brooklyn Raga Massive. John
Coltrane Birthday Celebration.
This ensemble of mostly Indian instruments put their own
stamp on Coltrane’s works, including, natch, “India.”
Joy from start to finish. September 23, 2016.
Littlefield, Brooklyn, NY. brooklynragamassive.com,
littlefieldnyc.com
Darmstadt Institute New York:
70 Year Anniversary Celebration
Talea Ensemble:
Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mikrophonie
I (1964).
SEM Ensemble: Petr
Kotik, Music for 3 (1964); Alvin Singleton, Be Natural (1974);
Iannis Xenakis, Mikka and Mikka
“S” (1971, 1976),
Conrad Harris, violin; Morton Feldman, Why
Patterns? (1978)
for Flute, Piano, Percussion; Karlheinz Stockhausen, Zietmasze
(1955-1956) for Flute, Oboe, English Horn, Clarinet,
Bassoon; John Cage, Concert
for Piano and Orchestra (1957-58)
Joseph Kubera, piano (in version with two orchestras).
May 11, 2016. Roulette, Brooklyn, NY. semensemble.org,
taleaensemble.org,
roulette.org
The Death of the Last Black
Man in the Whole Entire World AKA the Negro Book of
the Dead by Suzan-Lori Parks. Lileana Blain, Cruz,
dir. Deeply funny and humorously deep, this play (pun
intended) on Black archetypes strikes many chords.
Signature Theater, NY. suzanloriparks.com, signaturetheatre.org/shows-and-events/Productions/2016-2017/Res-1.aspx
Dover String Quartet. Mozart SQ 22 (K. 589); Britten SQ. 2;
Beethoven SQ 9 (Op. 59, No. 3). December 10, 2016.
People’s Symphony Concerts, NY. pscny.org
Downtown Music Gallery 25th
Anniversary Celebration. Jon
Madof’s Zion 80, Burnt Sugar Arkestra, Bill Laswell’s
Method of Defiance with Mike Sopko. June 20, 2016.
Roulette, Brooklyn, NY. downtownmusicgallery.com,
roulette.org
Downtown Music Gallery Free
Weekly In-Store Performance Series.
Set One: Rob Price, Ellery Eskelin, and Trevor Dunn. Set
Two: Patrick Brennan, Sean Conly, Brian Groder. April
24, 2016. elleryeskelin.blogspot.com,
trevordunn.net,
briangroder.com,
Jason Kao Hwang, violin; Michael TA
Thompson, drums
June 12, 2016. jasonkaohwang.com,
downtownmusicgallery.com
Fully Committed by
Becky Mode. Jesse Tyler Ferguson revealed his chops in
this highly funny story about the running of a high-end
restaurant, in which he plays about forty characters. He
was able to switch not just voices but personas,
midsentence, turning on a pin. Jason Moore, director.
Lyceum Theatre, NY. jessetylerferguson.com
Fun Home by
Alison Bechdel. Music by Jeanine Tesori; Book and lyrics
by Lisa Kron, based on the graphic novel by Alison
Bechdel; Directed by Sam Gold. I’d been collecting
Bechdel’s comic book series Dykes
To Watch Out For since
the beginning. This musical based on her autobio-graphic
novel was touching, deep and yet suited for the entire
family. Not dumbed down. Great singers. Circle In The
Square, NY. dykestowatchoutfor.com
William Hooker’s EVIDENCE: The Baldwin Suite. Multimedia
jazz, rap, and dance piece inspired by the works of
James Baldwin. This was a work-in-progress and I can’t
wait to see how it develops. Kimani Fowlin, dance;?Tor
Snyder and Jesse Henry, guitars; Matt Lavelle, trumpet;
AkuStyx, rapper; Mark Hennen, piano; William Hooker –
drums, direction. Roulette, Brooklyn, NY. April 1, 2016.
williamhooker.com,
roulette.org
Leos Janacek. Jenufa.
The Metropolitan Opera,
NY. Karita Mattila (Kostelnicka), Oksana Dyka (Jenufa),
Joseph Kaiser (Steva) and especially Daniel Brenna as
the lost soul Laca. David Robertson, cond. metopera.org,
danielbrenna.com
Juilliard String Quartet. Haydn SQ Op. 20, No. 5; Richard Wernick
(new work); Beethoven: SQ 23 (Op. 130) w/ Grosse Fuge.
I’ve been a longtime JSQ collector on disc, but this was
my first live encounter and they knocked my socks off.
November 5, 2016. People’s Symphony Concerts, NY. juilliardstringquartet,org,
pscny.org
Andrew Lamb’s Circadian Spheres
of Light Project.
This jazz-theatre piece was intended to create brain
stimulation for those with Alzheimer’s disease,
dementia, and post traumatic stress disorder, and
included magic and dance. Roulette, Brooklyn, NY. Feb
29, 2016. roulette.org
Master Harold and The Boys.
Written and directed by Athol
Fugard. This revival
is as heart-wrenching as previous productions I have
seen. The Signature Theatre, NY. signaturetheatre.org/shows-and-events/Productions/2016-2017/Master-Harold.aspx
The Servant Of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni.
Perhaps the most
farcical farce I have ever had the pleasure and pain of
seeing as I split my sides laughing and gasping. Lots of
contemporary (and New York City) references seamless
woven into the text. Adaptation by Constance Congdon,
director Christopher Bayes. and Steven Epp. Theater For
A New Audience, Brooklyn, NY. tfana.org/1617season/servant-masters/overview
Metropolis Ensemble Turns Ten celebrated a decade of innovation in
music with a ROVING PARTY inspired by John Cage’s
“Musicircus.” 36 musicians performing works by 23
composers, in all variety of combinations under the
artistic direction of conductor Andrew Cyr. Highlights were the world premiere
special arrangement of Funkadelic's Maggot
Brain by DD Jackson
for Hammond B Organ, alto sax, and orchestra. Jackson
also did some delightfully intelligent and fun
free-improvisations on themes by Scott Joplin. Sean
Statser, percussionist, played Child
of Tree by John Cage,
for cactus and contact mic. Angel Orensanz Center. NY.
Sept. 27, 2016. metropolisensemble.org,
ddjackson.com,
orensanz.org
Garrick Ohlsson, piano. Beethoven, Sonata 24; Schubert,
Sonata D. 860; Cekovská, Four Movements; Chopin short
works. October 28, 2016. People’s Symphony Concerts, NY.
pscny.org,
cekovskalubica.com
Our Mother’s Brief Affair by Richard Greenberg. Lynne Meadow, dir.
Linda Lavin, Greg Keller, Kate Arrington, John
Procaccino. Manhattan Theater Club, Samuel J. Friedman
Theatre, NY.
Franz Schubert. Winterreise.
Christopher Dylan Herbert, baritone. December
21, 2016. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY.
Make Music New York again presented a spellbinding
performance of Winterreise
migrating every few songs to various stations in the
Garden, with placards designed and held by students
from Parsons The New School For Design as brief
translations. Some audience members held radios
playing the accompaniment in various guises, from
piano (Timothy Long) to synth string trio and beyond
(Jonathan Zalben). Herbert’s voice is a
magnificent thing itself, its timbre holding strong in
the air, and his embodiment of the lost, wandering
narrator was visceral. bbg.org,
makemusicny.org,
christopherdylanherbert.com
Alvin Singleton 75th Birthday
Celebration. Part of
the “Interpretations” series, composer Singleton
presented “Argoru IV” for solo viola, performed by
Stephanie Griffin; “Somehow We Can” and “Secret Desire
to Be Black” by the Momenta String Quartet; “Baked In
The Cake”, “Argoru I”, & “In My Own Skin”, pianist
Joseph Kubera; and “Be Natural” for three string
players, with Meaghan Burke, Stephanie Griffin, and
James Ilgenfritz. Roulette, Brooklyn, NY. March 10,
2016. alvinsingleton.com,
interpretations.info,
roulette.org
Damon Smith, Alvin Fielder, Joe
McPhee Trio. Bass,
drums, horns. Magic. September 13, 2016. Roulette,
Brooklyn, NY. alvinfielder.com,
joemcphee.com,
roulette.org
Igor Stravinsky. The Rake’s Progress. A performance as good as I ever hope to
see. Powerful singer/actors and a band which presented
all of Stravinsky’s flavor. Brilliant, clever direction,
too. Gilad Paz, Tom Rakewell; Benjamin Bloomfield, Nick
Shadow; Stefanie Izzo, Anne Trulove; Francesca Lunghi,
Baba the Turk; The String Orchestra of Brooklyn; Queens
College Summer Chorale; Audrey Edelstein, choir
director; Tito Muñoz, conductor. Roulette, Brooklyn, NY.
thesob.org, roulette.org
THE UNDERPANTS GODOT written and directed by Duncan Pflaster.
This not-quite-campy tale of a theater company trying to
get permission from the Beckett Estate to perform a
all-in-underpants version of Waiting
For
Godot. The writing
cleverly skirts with being a play-within-a-play, as the
characters go through some existential problems of their
own. The Secret Theatre, Long Island City, NY. duncanpflaster.com,
secrettheatre.com,
RECORDINGS
“Another Evening at Logos 1974
79 81- Record One.” Max
Eastley + Logos Ensemble. Feminist Improvising Group
[Georgie Born, Lindsay Cooper, Maggie Nichols, Sally
Potter, Irène Schweizer]. Coum [Genesis P.Orridge et
al.] Logos Ensemble. Derek Bailey.
Historical documents
fans will want this. 2LP in thick gatefold. Sublogos
01. logosfoundation.org,
subrosa.net
Martha Argerich and Friends. Live From Lugano Festival 2015. Argerich
continues her annual series of three-disc highlights
from her festival in a thin box at budget price. Works
by Brahms, Debussy, Glass, Turina, Bartók, Ginastera, et
al. The many performers include Nicholas Angelich,
Gautier Capuçon, Ilya Gringolts, Lilya Zilberstein.
Warner Classics 0825646285495. warnerclassics.com
Ehud Asherie. Gypsy Blues. Pianist Asherle, at times with some
friends, serves up a most enjoyable set of
improvisations on songs from Eubie Blake and Noble
Sissle’s show Shuffle
Along. Blue Heron [no
catalog number given]. ehudpiano.com, blueheronrecords.com/ehud-asherie/
Count Basie & His Atomic
Orchestra. Complete
Live At The Crescendo 1958.
Excellent sound,
superlative performances, five well-filled discs. Five
bonus tracks with Sammy Davis, Jr., added, from the same
year. Informative booklet with many photos. Phono
870245. [No contact information given.]
BassDrumBone. The Long Road. Bass
= Mark Helias, drum = Gerry Hemingway. ‘Bone = Ray
Anderson. That should really be enough for you to pounce
on this, but this,, their seventh CD is, I believe,
their finest set to date, and they’ve all been very
good. Some of it brought to mind the hypnotism (not the
melody) of Julius Hemphill’s “The Hard Blues.” It’s a
double CD, with thirty minutes of live performance
ending the program. One track adds Joe Lovano and
another, Jason Moran. They hold up well. Auricle AUR
16+17. gerryhemingway,com
Tom Blancarte. The Shortening Of The Way. Excellent solo electrified acoustic
bass. One set per side. Fine pressing. Tubapede 02, LP.
tubapederecords.com
Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, Andy
Sheppard. Andando
el Tiempo. All
compositions by Bley, as one can readily hear. ECM
2784. ecm.com,
wattxtrawatt.com,
andysheppard.co.uk
Tim Buckley. Lady, Give Me Your Key. Previously unissued solo acoustic
sessions from 1967. Fan of his first two albums must
have this. Newcomers might want to start with some of
the later discs which can be improv-like (Lorca,
Starsailor) or naughty
R&B (Greetings From
L.A.). Future Days
Recordings FDR 631. timbuckley.net, lightintheattic.net
Mark Dresser Seven. Sedimental You. The bassist’s new album features tricky,
quirky compositions navigated with musical ease by
flutist Nicole Mitchell, clarinetist Marty Ehrlich,
trombonist Michael Dessen, pianist Joshua White, drummer
Jim Black, and David Morales Boroff on violin. Clean
Feed CF385CD. mark-dresser.com,
cleanfeed-rcords.com
Bob Dylan. The
1966
Live Recordings.
Yes, for fans only,
especially as each two-disc soundboard-recorded (a few
exceptions) concert has practically the same program,
and yet... Individual color photos on each sleeve with
track listings on the back, lift-top cube box, booklet,
various original Columbia labels. Sony 88985358192,
38CDs. bobdylan.com
Michael Formanek’s Ensemble
Kolossus. The
Distance.
Saxophones/Woodwinds: Loren Stillman (alto sax); Oscar
Noriega (alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet); Chris Speed
(tenor sax, clarinet); Brian Settles (tenor sax, flute);
Tim Berne (baritone sax)
Trumpets: Dave Ballou, Ralph Alessi, Shane Endsley, Kirk
Knuffke (cornet)
Trombones: Alan Ferber, Jacob Garchik, Ben Gerstein,
Jeff Nelson (bass trombone, contrabass trombone)
Marimba: Patricia Brennan; Guitar: Mary Halvorson;
Piano: Kris Davis?Double-bass: Michael Formanek; Drums:
Tomas Fujiwara
Conductor: Mark Helias.
The title track is an interesting six-minute chamber
piece, but the meat is the extended, eight-part,
53-minute suite Exoskelton for the ensemble. ECM 2484.
amibotheringyou.com,
ecm.com
Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda. Long Song Records LSRDC140/2016. The
pianist and bassist (also flute) on a forty-minute
track. Trumpeter Natsuki Ramura joins for an 11-minute
followup. satokofujii.com,
joefonda,com,
longsongrecords.com
Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo. Peace: Tribute to Kelly Churko. An
extended 32-minute track and three around ten minutes.
The orchestra, in this recording, often brings to mind
the texture of the Liberation Music Orchestra, with four
squealy Evan Parker-ish saxes in the blend. Libra
217-039. satokofujii.com,
librarecords.com
Philip Glass and Robert Wilson.
Einstein on the
Beach. The classic, complete opera finally
officially on disc, recorded in 2013 in the Theâtre du
Châlelet, Paris. Essential. (It had at been for a short
while on YouTube in lower quality.) Opus Arte OA 1178D,
2 DVDs. philipglass.com,
robertwilson.com,
lucindachilds.com, opusarte.com, chatelet-theatre.com
Brian Groder Trio. R Train on the D Line. With bassist Michael Bisio and drummer
Jay Rosen. Latham Records 6001. briangroder.com
Fred Hersch. Sunday At The Vanguard. Bassist
John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson make this a
particularly fine Hersch record. His live albums have
always moved me. Palmetto PM 2183. palmetto-records.com
William Hooker and Thomas
Chapin. Crossing Points. Three
extended live duets by the drummer and late saxophonist.
Intense. NoBusiness Records NBCD 28. 70:51. nobusinessrecords.com,
williamhooker.com
I.P.A. I
Just Did Say Something.
A Scandinavian jazz quintet featuring trumpeter Magnus
Broo and bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten.
The promo material
likens them to Don Cherry and Ornette Coleman’s Atlantic
era recordings, which to me explains their rhythm and
interplay perfectly. The group started in 2007 and now I
have to check out their back catalog. Cuneiform RUNE
422. cuneiformrecords.com
Kamran Ince. “Passions and
Dreams.” Present
Music, Kevin Stahlheim, dir. This Turkish-American
composer presents six recent compositions on a
well-filled CD. Dreamlines is a haunting, twisting “architect’s
prayer” played by piano, cellos, flutes, voices and
other instruments, which has been performed at the Blue
Mosque. Zamboturfidir swirls into a hypnotic dance which would
be great on a program with Adams’ The
Chairman Dances and
Maxwell Davies’ Orkney
Wedding at Sunrise.
Each of the other pieces is just as intriguing and
played with vitality. Don’t let this one fall through
the cracks. Ince has four previous CDs on Naxos which I
look forward to exploring. Innova 931. kamranince.com,
innova.mu
Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo
Smith. A Cosmic
Rhythm With Each Stroke.
Mostly low key, Iyer on
piano, Fender Rhodes and electronics. It’s Wadada’s
trumpet, whether sparse or bold, which makes this come
alive. ECM 2486. ecm.com, vijay-iyer.com,
wadadaleosmith.com
Keith Jarrett. A
Multitude of Angels.
The final recordings to
be released “from his early period,” they say, of
Jarrett’s solo concerts of extended improvisations,
these from Italy in 1996. ECM 2500-03, 4 CDs. ecm.com, keithjarrett.com
Jon Lundbom & Big Five
Chord. Make the
Magic Happen..
The players are guitarist Jon Lundbom, alto saxophonist
Jon Irabagon, Balto Exclamationpoint on tenor, prepared
tenor and b alto saxophones, bassist Moppa Elliot, and
drummer Dan Monaghan. Big Five Chord released four
digital EPs in 2016 (this is one; two other strong EPs
are Comedy Gold and
Make The Changes). Hot Cup Records hotcuprecords.com,
www.JonLundbom.com
Meredith Monk. On Behalf Of Nature. Group vocals, ranging in influence from
minimalism and hockets, to murmuring and... well, I
really should say that Meredith Monk is the influence on
others. ECM New Series 2473. meredithmonk.org, ecm.com
Naftule’s Dream. Blood.
The klezmer-based group
continues to thrill with their mix of jazz, rock, and
East European music. It made me giggle seeing their
cdbaby page say “recommended if you like Frank Zappa,
John Zorn, King Crimson,” because that’s pretty close to
the mark. Naftule’s Dream NDR 203. naftulesdream.com
Aruán Ortiz. Hidden Voices. The
Cuban pianist, who has played with Bob Gluck and in
Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, is joined here
by bassist Eric Revis and drummer Gerald Cleaver in
original compositions plus a track by Monk and another
by Ornette Coleman. Perfect for those who like all three
genres equally: free improvisation, Latin jazz and
straight-ahead jazz. Intakt Records CD 258. intaktrec.ch/258-a.htm
Noah Preminger. Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the
Ground. The
saxist’s quartet delivers up nine classic blues in a
jazz framework. It leaves me satisfied’n’tickled too.
(No label or catalog number stated.) noahpreminger.com
Sergei Rachmaninoff. Complete
Piano Music. Now
boxed up, six discs of striking performances by young
mostly Russian or Eastern European pianists, such as
Alexander Gavrylyuk and Nikolai Lugansky. Booklet with
English notes about both the compositions and each
performer. Piano-Classics PCLM01111. piano-classics.com,
alexandergavrylyuk.com,
zlatachochieva.com,
geniusas.com,
alexanderghindin.com,
harrisonparrott.com/artist/profile/nikolai-lugansky,
elisatomellini.com
Otis Redding. Live At The Whiskey A Go Go. Complete
recordings April 8-10, 1966. Six CDs, two per night.
Otis is as powerful and soulful as one could hope for,
and the sets are somewhat varied. First-ever release.
Nice booklet. Shame the Volt Records logo are merely
tiny thumbnails on the disc labels. Stax/Volt/Concord
STX-39646-02, 6 CDs, slipcase, booklet. concordmusicgroup.com
Steve Reich. The ECM Recordings. Master performances now boxed up. Mine
are on the original LPs. On three CDs: Music
for 18 Musicians; Music for a Large Ensemble, Violin
Phase, Octet; Tehillim.
ECM New Series 2540-42. ecm.com,
stevereich.com
Sonny Rollins Quartet with Don
Cherry. Complete
Live At The Village Gate 1962.Rollins,
Cherry, bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Billy Higgins
make up the quartet. Six well-filled discs of previously
unreleased material (except three tracks, which were in
shorter form). Every moment enthralling; nearly half of
it untitled free improvisations. Informative 20-page
booklet with many photographs. Solar
SOL-145880/4569959.
Neil Rolnick. Ex
Machina.
Clever name for a double-disc of works all using laptop.
My favorite is Wakeup, a mashup of the Everly Brothers’ “Wake
Up, Little Susie.” The other is O
Brother!, a
deliciously sly tribute to American roots music.
Co-conspirators on other tracks include Ted Nash on alto
sax, cellist Ashley Bathgate, and pianist Kathleen
Suppové. Detailed, informative liner notes. Innova
950. neilrolnik.com,
innova.mu
“Rothko Chapel.” Morton
Feldman. Rothko
Chapel. Erik Satie. Gnosienne 1, 3, 4; Give 1, 2. John Cage.
Four2, ear for EAR (Antiphonies), In A Landscape, Five.
Sarah Rothberg, piano, celesta; Houston Chamber Choir,
cond. Robert Simpson; Kim Kashkashian, viola; Steven
Schick, percussion. ECM New Series 2378. stevereich.com,
ecm.com
Hermann Scherchen. The Art of Hermann Scherchen. I
was very disappointed with the performances in the Tahra
box (Homage à Hermann
Scherchen, Vol. 1),
even though it included many magnificent works. Here
there is no Schoenberg or Krenek or Kalinnikov, but
there is Mahler 1 and 2, Honegger, Orff,
Stravinsky and dozens of others, taken from public
domain (in Europe, at least) official recordings from
1951-62, in (mostly) fine performances. Super-budget
price, about two dollars a disc. Fine sound. No booklet,
but the individual sleeves have the tracks and
recordings data. Scribendum Argento SC801, 28 CDs. I’m
not listing them separately here, but I also highly
recommend their new individual large boxes of the
Barylli Quartet, the mono Vegh Quartet, and the Vienna
Konzerthaus Quartet. scribendumrecordings.com
Dmitri Shostakovich. Complete String Quartets. Quatuor
Danel. Now in a budget-priced box, 5 CDs. Alpha
226. quatuordanel.eu,
outhere-music.com/en/labels/alpha
Sokratis Sinopoulos Quartet. Eight Winds.
“We’re not ‘fusing’
anything,” says Sinopolous in the press release. It’s
perfectly true. His Greek lyra joins perfectly with the
piano-bass-drums, being neither
ECM-over-reverberant-jazz-lite nor ECM-diluted-ethnic
fusion. When they get it right, it’s just like this. ECM
2407. ecm.com,
sinopoulos.com
Wadada Leo Smith. America’s National Parks. Double disc follow-up to the four-disc
jazz suite treat from last year, Ten
Freedom Summers,
on the same label. If you don’t already know the style
of these works, audition this track:
https://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/americas-national-parks.
Cuneiform RUNE 430/431 wadadaleosmith.com,
cuneiformrecords.com,
waysidemusic.com
Ches Smith, Craig Taborn, Mat
Maneri. The Bell.
Low key for the
respective percussionist, pianist and violist, but
beautiful and rich. ECM. craigtaborn.com, chessmith.com,
ecm.com
Ron Stabinsky. Free For One.
Solo piano, relatively short pieces, each with its own
intrigue, sounding like no one else and everyone else at
the same time. His solo concert convinced me to buy the
disc and I haven’t been disappointed. He’s a member of
the savory group Mostly Other People Do The Killing, and
this is on their label. Hotcup 151. hotcuprecords.com
Sun Ra/Merzbow. Strange City.
Japanese noisemeister
Masami Akita (Merzbow) has remixed and intermingles two
Sun Ra albums with his own special brand of noise to
excellent effect. Strange
Strings is rather
accessible Sun Ra; The
Magic City one of the
more difficult ones. I’m told the vinyl LP of the same
title and same cover art has totally different tracks on
it. Cold Spring CSR228CD. coldspring.co.uk
Natsuki Tamura and Alexander
Frangenheim. Nax.
The intrepid trumpeter meets and improvises with the
doublebassist in Berlin. Creative Sources 280CD. natsukitamura.com,
creativesourcesrec.com
Matt Wilson. Beginning of a Memory. The
drummer serves us a set of anthemic, sad or grabbing
tracks. Palmetto (catalog number
unavailable). mattwilsonjazz.com,
palmetto-records.com
Frank Zappa/Mothers of
Invention. Meat Light: The Uncle Meat
Project/Object.
Expanded version of classic 2-LP set now on three CDs.
It should really be titled under the Mothers, but with
the vicissitudes of the Zappa family... Zappa
ZR20024. zappa.com
*
* * * * * * * *
CRAIG NIXON
Beacon, NY
Managing Editor
Like several of my colleagues I
missed many releases this year, due to real life
circumstances. Even so, there's always an avalanche of
great recordings to try to narrow down. I long ago gave
up rankings or and Album of The Year thing, going with
an alphabetical list like this one. But every now and
again something comes along that just slams you, opens
your ears, turns your mind around and stands out as an
important statement. The
Transformations Suite,
created by composer/pianist/director Samora Pinderhughes
(with poems/spoken word by Jeremie Harris and
contributions from Saul Williams and Tupac Shakur), and
released in October, is just that statement. Combining
music, poetry and theater, the 5 movement suite is an
impassioned cry against racial and social injustice and
inequality. The time is certainly right for this piece,
and it grabbed me like nothing else in music did this
year, and chances are it will do the same for/to you.
Check it out at the URL on the list below...now. You
will not regret it.
Another release that qualifies as
a statement, though a much different one, is
drummer/composer Tony Moreno's quintet release Short Stories.
Moreno was one of thousands of victims that had
homes/studios/possessions/entire careers wiped out by
Hurricane Sandy. In Moreno's case he lost a work studio,
compositions, a great amount of gear, including
irreplaceable items such as cymbals or drums handed down
from an earlier generation of greats like Elvin Jones.
Offered a residency (and even the keys to the club) by
the 55 Bar, he regained a place to get this music
together and resume work. I have had many conversations
with Tony about this time, how hard it was to start the
work from scratch after having it wiped out, and I was
very happy to be by his side at the 55 Bar CD release
event, which packed the house with friends for two sets.
And of course... many thanks to
the artists represented below, and scores of others as
well.
Rodrigo Amado Motion Trio - Desire & Freedom (NotTwo)
rodrigoamado.bandcamp.com/album/desire-freedom
Nik Bärtsch’s Mobile - Continuum (ECM)
ecmrecords.com/catalogue/1450186232/continuum-nik-bartschs-mobile
Michael Bisio & Kirk
Knuffke - Row For
William O. (Relative Pitch)
relativepitchrecords.com/releases/rpr1043.html
Jaimeo Brown Transcendence - Work Songs (Motema)
motema.com/releases/work-songs/
Philippe Cote feat. David Binney - Lungta (Mythology)
philippecote.bandcamp.com/releases
Stephan Crump's Rhombal (Papillion)
store.stephancrump.com/product/rhombal/
Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The Declaration of Musical
Independence (ECM) ecmrecords.com/catalogue/1470403665
Mark Dresser Seven - Sedimental You (Clean Feed)
cleanfeed-records.com/product/sedimental-you/
Brian Groder
Trio – R Train on the
D Line (Latham)
briangroder.com/music.html
Ross Hammond & Vinny Golia - self-titled
rosshammond.bandcamp.com/album/ross-hammond-and-vinny-golia
Rocco John Improvisational
Composers Ensemble -
Peace And Love (Unseen Rain)
unseenrainrecords.com/
James Brandon Lewis Trio - No Filter (BNS Sessions)
jblewis.com/music-1/
Nick Millevoi
- Desertion (Shhpuma)
shhpuma.com/product/nick-millevoi-desertion/
Billy Mintz
- Ugly Beautiful (13th Note)
thirteenthnoterecords.com/
Tony Moreno Quintet - Short Stories (Mayimba)
mayimbamusic.com/artist/tony-moreno
Quinsin Nachoff - Flux (Mythology)
quinsin.bandcamp.com/album/flux-feat-david-binney-matt-mitchell-kenny-wollesen
Samora Pinderhughes - The Transformations Suite
transformationssuite.com
Bobby Previte - Mass (Rare Noise)
rarenoiserecords.com/bobby-previte
Rich Rosenthal - Live at Quinn's (Unseen Rain)
unseenrainrecords.com/
Roswell Rudd-Jamie Saft-Trevor
Dunn-Balazs Pandi -
Strength And Power (Rare Noise)
rarenoiserecords.com/rudd-saft-dunn-pandi
Wadada Leo Smith – America’s National Parks (Cuneiform)
cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/americas-national-parks
Triage
- self-titled
triagemusic.bandcamp.com/releases
* * * * * * * * *
ROBERT
REIGLE
Istanbul
Ethnomusicologist, composer, improviser
BEST DISCOVERIES OF 2016
In alphabetical order:
BRÖTZMANN, Peter. & ICI
Ensemble. Beautiful
Lies. Neos 41601. CD. Published 2016. neos-music.com/
CAGE, John.
Complete Song Books. Performed by Reinhold Friedl.
Karlrecords. 2xLP plus download code. Published
2016. karlrecords.net/
CAIRO CONGRESS OF ARAB MUSIC/Congrès de Musique Arabe du Caire, 1932. Bibliotheque Nationale de
France/Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority BNF
18xCD, 256-page book in French, English, and Arabic.
Published 2015. editions.bnf.fr/congr%C3%A8s-de-musique-arabe-du-caire
DARMSTADT ORAL DOCUMENTS,
Box 3 –
Ensembles. Barden, Barrett, Becker, Billone, Brün, Cage,
Carrillo, Eloy, Erickson, Estrada, Evangelisti, Fritsch,
Gentilucci, Grosskopf, Hoban, Hoffmann, Ishii, Ives,
Jelinek, Johnston, Jungheinrich, Kounadis, Lauck,
Lehman, von Lilienstern, Lim, Marchetti, Moguillansky,
Poppe, Pousseur, Prins, Radulescu, Reudenbach, Riehm,
Rzewski, Wielecki, Xenakis. NEOS. NEOS-11230. 7x CD.
Published 2016. neos-music.com/
DARMSTADT ORAL DOCUMENTS,
Box 4 –
Pianists. Andre, Aperghis, Apostel, Baltakas, Barden,
Barlow, Bartók, Boucourechliev, Boulez, Bussotti,
Castiglioni, Clementi, Criton, Engelmann, Evangelisti,
Febel, Ferneyhough, Ferrari, Flammer, Heyn, Kagel, Kayn,
Killmayer, Krebber, Kubisch, Kurtág, Lachenmann, Lang,
Mack, Marie, Mochizuki, Poppe, Rayeva, Rihm, Rothman,
Saunders, Schönberg, Sciarrino, Sessions,
Steen-Andersen, Stiebler, Stockhausen, Tanaka, Webern,
Wolpe, Xenakis, Zimmermann, Žuraj. NEOS. NEOS-11630.
7xCD. Published 2016. neos-music.com/
HENNIX, Catherine Christer. Live at Issue Project Room.
Just-intonation ensemble with Imam Ahmet Muhsin Tüzer,
Amir Elsaffan, Amirtha Kidambi, Paul Schwingesnschlögl,
Elena Kakaliagou, Marcus Pal, and Stefan Tiedje.
Important Records, IMPREC-434. CD. Published 2016.
importantrecords.com/imprec/imprec434
HOUBEN, Eva-Maria. Works for tromba marina. Edition
Wandelweiser Records. EWR-0712. CD. Published
2007. wandelweiser.de/_e-w-records/_ewr-catalogue/ewr0712.html
HOW TO BE A TUDOR: A
Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life. Ruth Goodman, read by Heather Wilds.
Unabridged, 11 hours. Highbridge Audio. 9xCD. Published
2016. highbridgeaudio.com
IRAN.
Iranian Zoroastrian Ritual Religious Music: Avesta-Khani
& Gata-Khani in Yazd. Regional Music of Iran, Volume
60. Mahoor Institute of Culture and Arts, MCD-443. CD.
Published 2015. mahoor.com
IRAN.
Music from Loristan. Ayene-o avaz [Ceremony and Song,
also translated as “Mirror and Song”], Volume 22. Edited
by M.R. Darvishi. Tehran: Hoze-ye honari-e tabliqat-e
eslami. Cassette. Published 1997.
IVES, Charles. Orchestral Works 2. Holidays Symphony,
Three Places in New England, Central Park in the Dark,
Unanswered Question. Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sir
Andrew Davis. Chandos CHSA-5183. Super Audio CD, hybrid
multi-channel and stereo. chandos.net
KRIEGER, Ulrich. /RAW:ReSpace/. XI Records, XI-137. 2xCD.
Published 2016. xirecords.org
LANG, Klaus.
Organ Works Vol. 2. God Records. God-26. LP. Published
2015. godrec.com
LUZZASCHI, Luzzasco. Madrigals, Motets, & Instrumental
Music. Profeti della Quinta. Note 1 Music, Pan Classics,
PC-10350. CD. [No home page.] Published 2016.
MONTEVERDI, Claudio. The Mirror of Claudio Monteverdi. Huelgas
Ensemble, directed by Paul Van Nevel. Monteverdi’s
“Messa in illo tempore,” with Vicentino’s “Laura Che’l
Verde Lauro,” and one madrigal each by Tudino, De Wert,
and Marenzio. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 88875143482. CD.
Published 2016. [No home page.]
OLIVEROS, Pauline. Four Meditations for Orchestra; Sound
Geometries for Chamber Orchestra, Expanded Instrument
System, and 5.1 Surround Sound System. Sub Rosa, SR422.
CD (LP sold out). Published 2016. subrosa.net/en.html
RADULESCU, Horatiu. Piano Sonatas & String Quartets 1.
Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 5, String Quartet No. 5. Mode
Records, Mode-290. CD. Published 2016. moderecords.com/
SCHWARTZ, Jay. Music for Orchestra. Wergo. WER-65722.
CD. Published 2009. en.schott-music.com/wergo/
ZENDER, Hans.
Adónde? Wohin?. With 72 micro-intervals per octave.
Wergo. WER-73362. CD. Published 2016. en.schott-music.com/wergo/
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