SQUIDCO/SQUID'S EAR NEWS February 5, 2009

48 great releases this time around, hot listening for a cold Northeaset winter! We start with Tzadik's latest, especially Borah Bergman's trio (with Zorn on one track), the quartet of Feldman, Caine, Cohen, Baron, and Jamie Saft's frightening Black Shabbis; Cracked an Egg brings us Vandermark, Nagl, Thomas & Reisinger playing the music of Ornette & Dolphy in c.o.d.e; 5 titles on FMR, including the great trio of Frode Gjerstad, William Parker & Hamid Drake, and Trevor Watt's Moiré Music; Gerard Cleaver with William Parker and Craig Taborn on Aum Fidelity; Peter Brotzmann's visceral Full Blast on Atavistic with a bonus CD; 3 new Emanem releases, particularly Okkyung Lee with Peter Evans & Steve Beresford; Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition on Innova; and Not Two releases the Szilard Mezei Trio, plus the 3D boxset.

Mosz brings the electro-acoustric trio of Fennesz, Brandlmayr & Dafeldecker; NEOS releases Elliot's Sharp and Bernhard Lang's amazing and multi-faceted War Zones; Trio Sawari's (Beins, Denzler, Durrant) second ea-improv release is out on Potlatch; Sunny Murray's classic Big Chief LP is reissued on 180Gm vinyl; and check out Charles Noyes + Mark Miller's amazing early 80's Downtown NY Toykillers retrospective!

Winter also brings out the reader in us, and what better to read about than music? So we've reduced the price of almost every book & magazine we sell by 20% ! Take advantage of this sale to catch up on back-catalog magazines, or to pick up some of the incredible and informative books that we carry. While stock on individual titles lasts, this sale ends February 13, 2009.

Last but not least, at the end of this mailing are 11 new reviews on The Squid's Ear.

Improvisation:
$29.95  Buy  listen	3D (Dell-Dahlgren-DeMartin): Not 3 (Not Two Records)
	Moody and melodic vibraphone, bass & percussive work from the 3D trio of Christopher Dell, Chris Dahlgren and Maurice De Martin, in a beautiful 2 CD art box.
$12.95  Buy  listen	Bergman, Borah Trio: Luminescence (Tzadik)
	Pianist Borah Bergman in a quartet with John Zorn, Greg Cohen and Kenny Wollesen, lyrical and thoughtful jazz that feels the influence of both Berg and Bill Evans.
$14.95  Buy  listen	Blake, Ran: Driftwoods (Tompkins Square)
	Iconic jazz figure Ran Blake performs solo songs from his favorite singers, including Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, &c.
$17.95  Buy  listen	c.o.d.e.: Play the Music of Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy (Cracked an Egg)
	c.o.d.e. is a tribute to two major stars in the history of Jazz: Ornette Coleman & Eric Dolphy from the quartet of Ken Vandermark, Max Nagl, Clayton Thomas and Wolfgang Reisinger.
$14.95  Buy  listen	Cleaver / Parker / Taborn: Farmers By Nature (Aum Fidelity)
	A live 2008 concert recording from Gerald Cleaver, William Parker and Craig Taborn, their 3rd in an arc of amazing performances at The Stone in NYC.
$12.95  Buy  listen	Dakari, Ori: Entrances (Tzadik)
	New York guitarist Ori Dakari in a quartet of exceptional players, lyrical and powerful compositions rooted in the music of Israeli, East European, North African, &c.
$12.95  Buy  listen	Feldman / Caine / Cohen / Baron: Secrets (Tzadik)
	Debut CD by this new quartet performing the spiritual compositions of Hassidic dynasties of Lubavitch, a rich catalog of music passed down for centuries by oral tradition.
$18.95  Buy  listen	Fine, Milo: Ananke (Emanem)
	Pianist Milo Fine in a two part release of his "Ananke" work in trio and solo settings, playing inside and outside the piano, and with electronics and voice.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Full Blast: Black Hole 2CD (Atavistic)
	Peter Brotzmann's powerhouse trio with Mario Piakas and Michael Wertmueller, bringing Machine Gun visceral intensity into free improv that's not for the faint of heart!
$15.95  Buy  listen	Gjerstad, Frode / Parker, William / Drake, Hamid: On Reade Street (FMR)
	Insanely great improvisation in the 3rd recorded outing for this amazing trio, bringing Free Europe and New York Downtown players together for 3 extended compositions.
$21.95  Buy  listen	Kowald, Peter: Open Secrets (FMP)
	Nine solo bass works, original compositions from the late, influential European free bass legend Peter Kowald.
$18.95  Buy  listen	Lee / Evans / Beresford: Check For Monsters (Emanem)
	Cellist Lee organized this trio with Evans on trumpets and Beresford on piano for a mini-tour; this CD showcases music from concerts in NY and Philadelphia.
$12.95  Buy  listen	Mahanthappa's, Rudresh Indo-Pak Coalition With Rez Abassi/Dan Weiss: Apti (Innova)
	Indian-American alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition synthesizes NY jazz with South Asian improvised music creating a new modern improvised form.
$18.95  Buy  listen	Mcgregor, Chris' Brotherhood Of Breath: Live At Willisau (Ogun)
	Pianist Chris McGregor's 70s free jazz band mixed the European and African improv scenes, with soloists including Evan Parker, Harry Beckett, Gary Windo, &c.
$17.95  Buy  listen	Mezei, Szilard Trio: Barmikor, most / Anytime, now (Not Two Records)
	The incredible music of Serbian violinist Szilard Mezei is informed by the relationship between improvisation and composition, and fueled by his interest in European folk music.
$15.95  Buy  listen	O'leary / Van Der Schyff / Horvitz: Flux (FMR)
	Guitarist O'Leary exchanges musical dialogue with drummer/percussionist Dylan van der Schyff and (prepared) pianist Wayne Horvitz over 15 taut improvisations.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Ochs / Masaoka / Lee: Spiller Alley (RogueArt)
	Tenor and sopranino saxophonist Larry Ochs in a trio with string players Miya Masaoka on Koto and Peggy Lee on cello, subtle and lovely interaction.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Pierrepont / Ladd: Maison Hantee (Haunted House) (RogueArt)
	A work articulated around Pierrepont's main spiral poem and Ladd's traverse poems, with music improvised from a group inc. Hamid Drake, Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, William Parker, &c.
$13.95  Buy  listen	Revolutionary Ensemble: Beyond The Boundary Of Time (Mutable)
	The last live performance of the AACM influenced, legendary Revolutionary Ensemble before Leroy Jenkins's death in 2007, with Jerome Cooper and Sirone.
$21.95  Buy  listen	Rupp, Olaf: Whiteout (FMP)
	Olaf Rupp's first solo disc of electric guitar, recordings from Berlin made in 2008, unusual and extended techniques from one of the mondern masters of the instrument.
$19.95  Buy  listen	Takase, Aki and Rudi Mahall: Evergreen (Intakt)
	Pianist Takase and bass clarinetist Mahal have a long legacy of playing together, here playing duo on a set of standards including Carmichael, Dameron, Ellington, Powell, &c.
$19.95  Buy  listen	Takase, Aki and The Good Boys: Live at Willisau Jazz Festival (JAZZWERKSTATT)
	Pianist Aki Takase in a quintet with the Good Boys (Rudi Mahall, Tobias Delius, Johnnes Fink, Heinrich Kobberling) recorded live at the 2008 Willisau Jazz Festival.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Taylor / Dunmall / Chang: Crossing (FMR)
	The title "Crossing" was penned by the group as a metaphor for the way in which their individual experience and musics meet and interact, fueled by a common love of improvisation.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Thys, Nicolas: Virgo (Pirouet)
	Lyrical work from Bill Carothers sideman Nicolas Thys in a set of original compositions performed by a quintet of New York based players.
$14.95  Buy  listen	Toykillers: Charles Noyes+Mark Miller: Unlistenable Yrs (UGEXPLODE)
	1980-84 studio and live recordings by Charles K. Noyes and Mark. E. Miller featureing John Zorn, Arto Lindsay, Bill Laswell, Elliott Sharp, &c.
$19.95  Buy  listen	Trio 3 + Irene Schweizer: Berne Concert (Intakt)
	New York free jazz Trio 3 (Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille) meets European pianist Irene Schweizer in a balanced and remarkable set of original compositions.
$16.95  Buy  listen	Trio Hot (Jorgensmann / Maurer / Jacquemyn): Jink (Nemu Records)
	The trio of Albrecht Maurer, Theo Jorgensmann & Peter Jacquemyn in a set of original compositions + 1 Mon, melodious, noisy, lyrical, contrapuntal, playful jazz.
$14.95  Buy  listen	Ware, David S.: Shakti (Aum Fidelity)
	Tenor saxophonist Ware's first studio release in 6 years is in a great quartet with Joe Morris, William Parker and Warren Smith playing a set of original compostions.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Watts, Trevor Drum Orchestra: Burundi Monday (FMR)
	Live recordings of the Trevor Watts Drum Orchestra from 1983, a turning point in his career towards evolving a complex, polyrhythmically-driven approach to improvised structures.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Watts, Trevor Moire Music: Moire Music (FMR)
	Watt's supergroup with Lol Coxhill, Simon Picard, Veryaon Weston, &c., amazing rhythmic music recorded live in 1985 for the Arts Council, Contemporary Music Network Tour.
$18.95  Buy  listen	Weston, Veryan: Allusions (Emanem)
	Digital concert recording made in Bordeaux, France from pianist Veryan Weston performing solo, the last part of a cycle of concerts organized by Musique Ouverte.

Electro-Acoustic/Electronic:
$14.95  Buy  listen	Fennesz Brandlmayr Dafeldecker: till the old world's blown up and a new one is created (Mosz)
	Polwechsel alumni Fennesz Brandlmayr Dafeldecker in a CD + 3" CD release of beautiful and complex compositions drawn from individual improvisations.
$16.95  Buy  listen	Pateras, Anthony &Amp; Robin Fox: End of Daze (Editions Mego)
	3rd release from this experimental duo, rapid paced contact-miked futuristic meta-language influenced by the early electronic masters, bizarre sound poetry, vintage synth festishism, &c. &c.
$18.95  Buy  listen	Sharp / Lang: War Zones (NEOS Music)
	"War Zones" is a project by Elliott Sharp and Bernhard Lang with a band including Hans Koch, Fredy Studer & Philip Jeck, dark and amazing music for a dangerous age.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Trio Sawari (Beins, Denzler, Durrant): Shortcut (Potlatch)
	Trio Sowari's second recording, subtle interactions using a wide palette of sound and approaches, mixing electronics and acoustics in amazing improvisation.
$15.95  Buy  listen	Warburton, Dan: Profession Reporter (Aural Terrains)
	Warburton's latest in his Walk Series, using field recordings from Morocco to study the fragile barriers between composition, improvisation, natural, and man-made sound.
$16.95  Buy  listen	Zeitkratzer & Terre Thaemlitz: Electronics (Zeitkratzer)
	Presenting a 2nd volume of collaborative works between European avant garde ensemble Zeitkratzer and modern electronic composers, here with electroacoustic composer Terre Thaemlitz.

Rock/RIO/Prog:
$12.95  Buy  listen	Saft, Jamie: Black Shabbis (Tzadik)
	A surprisingly dark release from NY Downtown heavy Saft, a heavy metal rocker with Painkiller overtones from a band including Trevor Dunn, Bobby Previte, Mike Pride, and Dorgon.
$59.95  Buy  listen	Various Artists: Art Of Field Recording Volume II 4CD BOX (Dust-to-Digital)
	The 2nd volume in the Art of Field Recording series, traditional American Music on 4 CDs and a 96 page illustrated book, an essential history of folk music and culture.

Compositional:
$16.95  Buy  listen	Ferrari, Luc: Archives Genetiquement Modifiees/Societe II (Robot Records)
	Two historic compositions from the late Luc Ferrari, an electroscoustic work for "memorized sound" and an early acoustic work subtitled "And if the piano were a body of a woman".

Vinyl:
$59.95  Buy	Doo Soo, Kim: 10 Days Butterfly [VINYL] (PSF)
	Very limited repress of this 2007 double LP from Korean acid folk singer Kim Doo Soo mining 'productive veins of profound melancholy, animistic nature, and unfathomable, hermetic affection'.
$16.95  Buy  listen	Kam Hassah: This forest (Dokuro)
	"This Forest" is a single sided LP from Italian noise artist Kam Hassah, dense stratas of sounds moving in hypnagocic ways, a gloomy forest of sounds.
$25.95  Buy	Murray, Sunny: Big Chief [VINYL] (Eremite)
	A 1969 masterpiece of free jazz, Sunny Murray leads a group including musicians from France, South Africa, Jamaica and the US in Murray's amazing compositional structures.

DVD:
$15.95  Buy  listen	Centazzo, Andrea : Einstein's Cosmic Messengers [DVD] (Ictus)
	A multimedia concert for solo performer and video images in collaboration with Ligo Scientific performed, recorded live by percussionist Centazzo playing sounds and sequences in real time.
$14.95  Buy  listen	Centazzo, Andrea: Eternal Traveler [DVD] (Ictus)
	Composer / percussionist / video artist Andrea Centazzo in a six part DVD inspired by different facets of the work of Leonardo Da Vinci through image and sound.

Book:
$59.95  Buy	Various Artists: Money Will Ruin Everything, The Second Edition 2CD/BOOK (Rune Grammofon)
	The overdue 2003 release of Rune Grammofon's 10 year anniversary book and 2 CD set, revised and superior to the 1st edition with new art, more tracks, more pages, &c.
$8.95  Buy	Wire, The: #300 February 2009 (Wire)
	February 2009 issue with Jeff Mills on the cover, anda rticles about William S Burroughs, Mary Halvorson, Hamilton Yarns, Martyn, No-neck Blues Band, James Plotkin, &c.

Miscellaneous:
$18.95  Buy  listen	Gamelan Son Of Lion: Sonogram (Innova)
	2 CDs from this NY collective who explore & expand the musical styles performed using Javanese & Balinese percussion orchestra; guests include Miguel Frasconi & Denman Maroney.