Saturday, December 14, 2024

12/14/24 - Jam_7

"I want to make this clear: I am a jazz artist. I don’t want to pretend to be something that I’m not." - Grachan Moncur III talking about being the first to make trombone central to jazz, incidentally creating avant-garde music and opening the door for other weird stuff to record for Blue Note

 Listen to the show below! 

Artist Track Album Label Year Notes
Grachan Moncur III Air Raid Evolution Blue Note 1964 Ahh yes, the rare trombone bandleader. Grachan is most known for playing on some of Jackie McLean's most acclaimed early sixties records. When this record was released, along with its somewhat sister records a year later titled Some Other Stuff, playing with Jackie was most of what he had done, which makes sense considering Jackie basically picked him up when Grachan was in high school. This recording session features some heavy hitters including Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan, and Bobby Hutcherson, who adds his distinct vibraphone to an already off-kilter post-bop sound. Blue Note was generally not at the forefront of avant-garde stuff, there are a few big ones but not too much there. They put out some Don Cherry, Eric Dolphy, and Cecil Taylor, but were they leading distributors of the free or avant-garde? Not so much. Also, this is one of those somewhat rare intermediate points between post-bop and what had already come but was not yet completely accepted.
Dickie Landry Hang the Rich N/A DFA 1986 Founding member of the Philip Glass ensemble records dance punk in the eighties... a total one-off. A single never released until early this year. I found this completely on accident listening to his usual run of records, all falling into the minimalism category (repetive rhythm, static harmony). Makes this even more interesting as a one-off.
Hans Reichel Bonobo II Bonobo FMP 1976 This is some of the best solo free improv I've ever heard. Though I will say it does feel somewhat structured rather than being completely free. Hans Reichel has collaborated most famously with Fred Frith, a pioneering member of the rock in opposition scene. The structure I'm hearing may or may not be attributed to Reichel's early education in classical violin. He often used either his self-created instruments, such as the daxophone, or a box with his guitars. I think here he is just picking and plucking, but with a lot of overdubbing... it lets him create a great multilayered texture through the record.
New Kingdom Mexico or Bust Paradise Don't Come Cheap Gee Street 1996 An interesting mash of rock and rap primarily through sampling. This duo released two albums, this one being the last. They both met at the thrift store they were working at in NYC. Their records weren't too positively received at the time, but it is pretty unique especially for the time... super fuzzed out and somewhat psychedelic stuff.
John D. Loudermilk Goin' to Hell On a Sled The Open Mind of John D. Loudermilk RCA Victor 1969 The record itself totes the line between pop country and protest-y contemporary folk, this track being more on the latter side. It is a total one-off strange affair... Loudermilk was primarily known if at all for being a songwriter who had many hits under his belt, mostly in the sixties. This record is both a product of its time and a weird detour for someone who had never shown any inkling of writing songs like this.
Eugene McDaniels Supermarket Blues Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse Atlantic 1971 Early sixties pop soul singer turned political progressive soul singer. His biggest hits were "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" and "Tower of Strength" in 1961, neither songs written by him. However, he would go on to be a relatively successful songwriter, including his own material starting in the late 60s. The first notable song of this type, "Compared to What," was recorded by Roberta Flack and hundreds of other important figures in jazz and R&B. His own discography hasn't gotten as much attention, however. Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse is the second of his two politically conscious seventies records. It allegedly caused Spiro Agnew, vice prez to Nixon at the time, to ask Atlantic to withdraw it from sale.
James Blood Ulmer Are You Glad to be in America? Odyssey CBS 1983 James Blood Ulmer is a somewhat towering figure in 80s avant-garde jazz fusion scenes that would draw attention from publications like The Wire or Option while they were both underground-jazz-only mags. James Blood's early career consisted of playing with folks like Art Blakey and Joe Henderson before he stepped into his own bag as a bandleader. I chose his sort-of flagship track to play here... funny 'cause he's not the greatest enunciator in general but especially on this track.
Old and New Dreams Old and New Dreams Old and New Dreams Black Saint 1977 Supergroup of Don Cherry, Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Eddie Blackwell playing somewhat conceptually driven somewhat free jazz. The entire basis for their improv is a set melody for the theme as is typical of any jazz, and then developing specifically only on that melody throughout each song. This track in particular is very atmospheric with the consistent percussion as a backbone and the horns moving in and out.
Yaki Kandru Mare Mare Indianische Musik aus Kolumbien FolkFreak 1982 Native South American traditional music from Columbia. This is actually a duo, though it doesn't sound much like it. They made about two records, this being the intro track from their second.
Billy Hart Rahsaan Is Beautiful Enchance Horizon 1977 Very gentle spiritual jazz, somewhat of a tribute to Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Billy Hart is a drummer most known for playing on much of Herbie Hancock's prime fusion records. This track is from his own debut bandleading record, made some 25 years after starting a recording career. I am suspecting the Roland Kirk connection because of the track title and the way it sounds. They even bring out the koto just for this track alone.
Journeyman Valves Mama 6 Ntone 1992 Ambient dub side project from a standout figure in the genre. Paul Frankland, or Woob as he is more commonly known, started producing ambient music in the mid-90s as Woob. I will say electronic music in the 90s/2000s no matter how much of a cult following it appears to have is very well documented, whether through digital or print publications or other forms of documentation. There is a surprising amount of information about this guy. Ambient is especially an interesting genre... from what I have seen and read, very few people actually intend to make ambient music, it just turns out that way. This form of sample-based ambient is very reminiscent of other murky sound collage experimental recordings.
Palabritas Flojas Isol/Zypce Sima Darla 2008 Art pop collaboration between a children's book writer and an industrial electronic composer. Sounds a bit wild, but is actually quite subdued and subtle. Both are from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Well I am being a bit withholding: Isol was the founding lead singer of the indie pop group Entre Rios for about five years, so it's not that strange of a collaboration, but she is definitely more well known for her books. Isol has won awards for her children's books and other such accolades, but Zypce doesn't have quite the same footprint that she does despite being more involved in music.

Saturday, December 7, 2024

12/07/24 - Jam_6

"Now, I don't really think it matters where you're based. The internet provides more self-managing platforms for promotion than you could have dreamed of ... It's how you use those opportunities that matters now." - Graham Lambkin, WFMU interview

 Listen to the show below! 

Artist Track Album Label Year Notes
Graham Lambkin The Brendan Drill Salmon Run Kye 2007 Independently released musique concrète from England. Graham Lambkin is generally a audio-visual artist, and as such makes experimental music that is common of such folks (e.g., Yoko Ono, Laurie Anderson, Ryoji Ikeda). Lambkin is most well-known for being in The Shadow Ring, a 90s experimental rock outfit that remains still obscure relative to similar groups from that time. I think this track, along with many others from the album, has a great mix of textures and works well as an opener to today's program.
Ünol Büyükgönenç Japon Balıkçısı Güzel Günler Göreceğiz Armoni 1988 Turkish folk with some quirky elements. This song, "The Japanese Fisherman," has the sound of water splashing throughout it and an approximation of Japanese chanting. Ünol was a member of Kardaşlar, a 70s anatolian rock band, before recording this album in 1979. It was not released until nine years later due to the September 12 coup carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces in 1980.
Ernest Hood The Secret Place Neighborhoods Thistlefield 1975 Ambient exploring the peaceful sounds of neighborhoods. Specifically, suburban neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon. Ernest Hood was a jazz guitarist and played with his brother in the Portland area in the 1940s. In the 50s, he contracted polio. He had limited mobility and had to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He could no longer hold the guitar. So he picked up the zither, which is not held but lays flat and can be picked or strummed. This record is one of two that he ever recorded.
Beverly Glenn-Copeland Ever New ...Keyboard Fantasies... Atlast 1986 One of the most critically acclaimed new age artists, and his most famous song "Ever New." He was on of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal. Prior to Keyboard Fantasties, he had released two folk albums. This album was rediscovered and promoted by Ryota Masuko in 2015. the record subsequently recieved quite a few reissues and reprints thereafter.
Lewis Like to See You Again L'Amour R.A.W. 1983 Sparse ambient adult contemporary. He released two albums in the eighties that remained under the radar until they were re-released in 2014 (Light in the Attic!). During the making of these two albums, Lewis worked as a stockbroker in Calgary. It is hard to paint an accurate picture of him because there are so many rumors. One of them is that he was a scammer. This one is connected to him disappearing after not paying the photographer for this record's album cover. Another is that he didn't know how to play any instruments and somehow created a cohesive musical soundscape by himself. He plays all the instruments on this record. But in general, there is very little known about him, and he continues to retain an air of mystery about his life and his music. Even his family lost contact with him; however, he is still alive as LitA reached out to him in order to reissue the albums, and his real name is known as well.
B.W. Stevenson On My Own B.W. Stevenson RCA Victor 1972 Mellow progressive country from the early seventies. B.W. Stevenson, or Buckwheat Stevenson, had a decently sized hit in 1973 titled "My Maria," landing on no. 9 on Billboard. Interestingly, it didn't chart on the country chart at all. This song, however, is from his debut album, which has received little attention in comparison to his one big hit. If you only heard his hit, you would not be prepared for how this record sounds. It is a very gentle listen throughout, this track included.
The Five Stairsteps In The Beginning 2nd Resurrection Dark Horse 1976 Progressive soul. The Five Stairsteps are best known for their song, "O-o-h Child" in 1970 which you have most likely heard. At that time, they were a group of six siblings. But by 1976, only four had stayed in the group. Fun fact: the sister left in 1972 and went on to graduate from and work at Emory. The group rebranded as just Stairsteps and released their last record, 2nd Resurrection. This whole album is fantastic and very consistent, which is surprising considering this would be their last. It has yet to be reissued.
Woo The Heart Sleeps Into the Heart of Love Cloud Nine 1990 Somewhat experimental, sort-of new age ambient music. This is a British duo consisting of two brothers Mark and Clive Ives. This track is from their third and most well-known album. They appear to be a very ground-up sort of group musically -- they constantly experimented with new technologies as they were coming out. They are very prolific, so if you're interested you can definitely hear more.
Kaliyuga Pro Untitled This One n/a 2004 Soft instrumental hip hop from Finland. Kaliyuga Pro has been making beats since 1998. This record, along with his others, was self-released which was easier to do by the 2000s (CDr). The song I chose is from an album of untitled tracks, this one being the sixth.
Lewis Taylor Lucky Lewis Taylor Island 1996 Lush neo-soul with psychedelic elements. Lewis Taylor was originally a guitarist touring with the psychedelic rock band Edgar Broughton Band. In the 80s, he released two psychedelia-tinged new wave records under the name Sheriff Jack. The song I've chosen is from his debut album under his own name. it was released as a single, but the album didn't garner too much attention. He had a hard time getting his music out due to label expectations and requirements, which may have had a hand in him not being very well known.

04/12/25 - Jam_15

"Yes, you’ve got to sing from the depths of the heart. Without heart you cannot be a Qawwal. You sing the songs every day, so e...