Jazz Archives

What a wonderful and progressive album, while I don't know whether Stomu would have intend to make a progressive rock album or not.
Stomu Yamashta is a Japanese percussionist and, as everyone has said, one of jazz-rock pioneers all over the world. This 'Raindog' is his fifth album from Island Records, faithfully re-produced with the 'Raindog' event in London - after his previous band East Wind breaking out. The quality and activity of this album can notify us that Stomu would not be depressive in the disbandment and would be still positive for music and creation. The first track Dunes has jazzy and speedy percussive sounds tinged with slight psychedelic or spacey flavour. His wife's violin is very funky and flexible without any restriction - she can absolutely make his percussion more brilliant. Daito Fujita's bass is very simple but very strict for Stomu's percussion - this combination is so terrific.
Heavy and serious atmosphere we can feel strongly and imminently. Wait, in the middle part are steady and relaxed sounds with some pleasure but we cannot be completely relaxed mmm, why? Maybe some dangerous glimmers we can see even in the part. The latter part has an exotic percussion and streaming guitar sound, and Murray Head's melancholic voices plus Maxine Nightingale's graceful scats. Cheers for wonderful 15 minutes! Following track 33 1/3 is, we can say, the one-man show by Stomu. Lots of his percussive equipments - bells, a triangle, a gong, conga or bongo drums, and so on - can hit and blow our brain. There are various musical elements from the whole world. Please enjoy taste of the world itself. In Rainsong Stomu's drums and Hisako's violin can open the door of fantastic 'rainy' stage. The track is the most of rock and roll in this album. Not progressive but very enjoyable song I'm sure. We can sing and dance to it!
The Monks Song is also attractive with percussive sounds in the beginning. The middle part has so sad and painful lyrics by Murray's voices with much passion. Of course, Stomu's percussion should have more passion too - for death and reality. Shadows was composed by Hisako and Brian Gascoigne, not by Stomu. Here is Japanese flavour with fantastic violin and piano. Hisako's violin sometimes sounds like Koto, Japanese harp. What a graceful and with Oriental beautiful gem in this aggressive, progressive work! Ishi(in English, stone? or intention? In fact, the title is written with Japanese Katakana so I cannot realize which is correct.) can start with children's pleasant voices and Stomu's laidback percussion. Added avant-garde violin and hypnotic guitar sounds, Ishi can be completed. As honestly I say, I feel this work is exactly psychedelic rather than jazzy...sorry for jazz-rock fans. :-)
At last I say as follows: On the sleeve, Stomu's eyes should see another world - music scene and mad science.

:::Review by DamoXt7942:::

Stomu Yamash'ta – Raindog (1975)

1. Dunes (15:00)
2. 33 1/3 (7:40)

Side Two
3. Rainsong (5:03)
4. The Monks Song (6:01)
5. Shadows (5:08)
6. Ishi (6:59)

Credits
- Stomu Yamashta / percussion
- Daito Fujita / bass
- Brian Gascoigne / piano, clavinet, synthesizer
- Hozumi Tanaka / drum kit
- Tsuneo Matsumoto / guitar
- Gary Boyle / guitar
- Hisako Yamashta / violin
- Murray Head / vocal
- Maxine Nightingale / vocal

Notes
LP; Island records ILPS-9319
CD; Universal Island Records UICY-94106

One might be forgiven for mistaking the Lounge Lizards' debut album for a traditional jazz release at a glance, what with the two Thelonious Monk covers and the participation of producer Teo Macero (who had previously worked with such heavyweights as Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Ella Fitzgerald, to name just a few). No, while there's definitely great respect shown here for the jazz tradition, the members are obviously coming at it from different backgrounds -- most especially guitarist Arto Lindsay, whose occasional atonal string scraping owes far more to his experience in New York City's no wave scene than to quote unquote traditional jazz. In fact, the two aforementioned Monk covers seem a strange choice when you actually hear the band, which has more in common with sonic experimentalists like Ornette Coleman or Sun Ra. That's not to say that this is too experimental; saxophonist and lead Lizard John Lurie knows when to blow noise and when to blow melody, and ex-Feelies drummer Anton Fier manages to infuse a good rock feel into the drum parts even when he's playing incredibly complex rhythms. The end result is a album that neatly straddle both worlds, whether it's the noir-ish "Incident on South Street," the art-funk of "Do the Wrong Thing," or the thrash-bebop found in "Wangling"."

:::Review by Sean Carruthers:::

The Lounge Lizards - The Lounge Lizards (1981)

1. Incident On South Street 3:21 - Written-By - J. Lurie
2. Harlem Nocturne 2:04 - Written-By - Earle Hagen
3. Do The Wrong Thing 2:39 - Written-By - J. Lurie , S. Piccolo
4. Au Contraire Arto 3:22 - Written-By - J. Lurie
5. Well You Needn't 1:53 - Written-By - Thelonius Monk
6. Ballad 3:22 - Written-By - J. Lurie
7. Wangling 2:58 - Written-By - J. Lurie
8. Conquest Of Rar 3:12 - Written-By - A. Fier , E. Lurie , J. Lurie
9. Demented 2:01 - Written-By - J. Lurie
10. I Remember Coney Island 3:27 - Written-By - J. Lurie
11. Fatty Walks 2:51 - Written-By - J. Lurie
12. Epistrophy 4:12 - Written-By - Kenneth Clarke, Thelonius Monk
13. You Haunt Me 3:40 - Written-By - J. Lurie

Credits
Bass - Steve Piccolo
Drums - Anton Fier
Guitar - Arto Lindsay
Keyboards - Evan Lurie
Saxophone - John Lurie

Notes
Recorded at CBS Recording Studios in New York on July 21-22, 28-29, 1980. Mixed at CBS Recording Studios in New York on August 6, 14-15, 1980. Anton Fier uses Sonor drums and Paiste cymbals

After the excellent "Intimate Conversations", Joe McPhee and Mikołaj Trzaska release a new album together, again with Jay Rosen on drums, but now also with Dominic Duval on bass. You might say it's Trio X + Mikołaj Trzaska, and that's correct if you look at the names, but not when you listen to the music. This band does not even touch on the "traditional" Trio X repertoire. McPhee plays sax and pocket trumpet, Trzaska alto sax and bass clarinet.
The album starts with "The Magician", with tribal sounding tones from Trzaska, full of primitive incantations, slowly being joined by trumpet, bass and drums, and developing into a slow, smooth and warm open lyrical exploration. The fit between Trzaska and McPhee is almost perfect, since they have the same attitude to music, one of freedom, respect and authentic warmth. That doesn't mean they don't go wild at times, but the dominant element is careful and reverent. The first track immediately illustrates this range, from tribal over sensitive dialogues to more boppish uptempo steaming improvisations. The second piece is more free form in nature, with Duval playing arco, McPhee delving into the deeper regions of his tenor, Rosen accentuating, and Trzaska's alto adding layers of sensitivity on top. "Sex Toys" is more minimalist and subdued, with the musicians scarcely breaching through the silence, and I think rarely a track has received such an inappropriate name (there isn't even an orgasm of sound to conclude). The first CD ends with "I Remember Max", a luckily not too long drum solo by Jay Rosen, dedicated to Max Roach.
The second CD continues with the minimalist approach, with a long dialogue between the two saxes, interlocking and interweaving calm yet urgent phrases, with McPhee doing some quiet singing while blowing his sax, bursting open into a screaming duel, waking the sleeping dogs of drums and bass in the process.
"Contra-ception" is a bass solo track by Duval, nohting wild, nothing too smooth either, and when he starts using his bow, some shouting brings back the sax for one of the most intense pieces of the album, that shifts mood a little over half-way when McPhee picks up his pocket trumpet: for almost spiritual gospell-like lyricism. One of the most beautiful tracks is the long and slow "Turtles Crossing", a tune that was already on McPhee's Jumala Quintet release with the same name. As the title suggests, there is no need to hurry (from the turtle's perspective of ignorance), but the deep tension of the menace of being crushed is omnipresent, and this horror of course gets articulated musically near the end of the track, but it ends happily.
Again, Trzaska is a perfect fit for this band, who deliver a strong, balanced and varied album of great instrumental power and coherent musical expression, full of emotional depth and moments of fun. Enjoy!
Recorded at Alchemia, Kraków, November 8, 2007

:::Review by stef:::

Joe McPhee, Dominic Duval, Jay Rosen, Mikołaj Trzaska – Magic (2010)

Disc1
1. The Magician
2. War Criminals
3. Sex Toys
4. I Remember Max (Drum Solo)

Disc 2
1. Return of the Terror
2. Contra-ception (Bass Solo)
3. Political Stripper
4. Turtles Crossing
5. A Night in Alchemia
6. Transaction

Credits
Joe McPhee - trumpet, alto sax
Dominic Duval - bass
Jay Rosen - percussion
Mikołaj Trzaska - alto sax

The German band Tortilla Flat, named after a famous John Steinbeck novel, released their only record "Für ein ¾ Stündchen" as a, now highly sought-after, private pressing in 1974. The mainly instrumental record presents a Canterbury influenced jazz-rock reminding Dutch bands Supersister and to a lesser extent Focus and the German band Tomorrow's Gift with a strong accent on e-piano and flute. Apart from the musical influence the band showed also some typical Canterbury tongue in cheek humour with the title "Für Ein ¾ Stündchen", pointing in a humerous way to the average length of a vinyl record, the gothic lettered schoolbook cover and some short funny vocal elements.
The record is recommended for Canterbury and jazz-rock fans

:::Review by Martin Horst:::

Tortilla Flat - Für ein ¾ Stündchen (1974)

1.Tortilla Flat (9:59)
2.Temperamente (5:53)
3.Fati Morgani (3:55)
4.Rumpelstiltzchen (4:59)
5.Leere, Chaos, Schöpfung (10:15)
6.Obit, Anus, Obitanus (4:32)
7.Möhre (8:27)

Credits
-Hermann Josef Bosten/ flute, guitar
-Manfred Herten/ guitar
-Franz Brandt/ Keyboards
-Heribert Schippers/ bass
-Hans Friedrich Bosten/ drums, glockenspiel
-Albert Schippers/ percussion

Second album of Soft Heap where Pip Pyle had obligation elsewhere and he was replaced by Dave Sheen, thus Soft Head and the album Rogue Element, of which I'm sure, the elephant occupying the artwork is certainly aimed at. So this album was recorded the following year than the debut and released on the Ogun label, already familiar to progheads for Keith Tippett's works. This is the recording of gig in deep France.
Opening the album on the Dean-penned Seven For Lee, the album starts on a Soft Machine mode with Dean soaring over the rest of the band, but Gowen and Hopper are just behind Elton, making this track the easiest of the album. Hopper's seven Drones veers instantly into dissonant ground, proof that not only Dean was able to follow Marshall around the Machine's fifth album. Nothing too hard for the novice's ears with Gowan's soft electric piano bedding the track. More accessible is the Gowan-penned Remain So, a piano- dominated tune.
The flipside opens on CRRC, written by Alan, and last some 14 minutes, which is enough to let you know that he's a full member of Heap, despite having Gilgamesh still under way (with Hopper appearing), but the "tune" appears more real jazz than fusion or jazz-rock, the mid-song energy outburst not bringing much new. The closing One Three Nine is just more of the same as the album offered you so far.
Ogun released a Mini-Lp reissue of this album in 96, and had the luck to find two extra unreleased tracks (apparently from the same concert, since the ambiance and sound are the same as on the album) and included them as bonus on this release. The 17-mins Dean composition Ranovais a slow starting tune on piano, than sax with Sheen Hoppering on the train a while later. Not too dissonant, but definitely beyond the huge majority of Machine standards, but by Heap/Head standard, quite normal C You Again is really very slow and mega-dissonant, making this track the weaker point on the album, but it remains part off that night's concert.
So the two bonus tracks are excellent added value for the original album, which makes the new version lasting some 60 minutes, which is plenty enough and not lasting too long. I wouldn't call any Heap/Head album essential Canterbury scene music, but they are exactly the kind of albums that consolidate the genre.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Soft Heap - Rogue Element (1978)

1. Seven For Lee (8:51)
2. Seven Drones (4:25)
3. Remain So (4:48)
4. Terra Nova (16:52)

5. C You Again (4:13)

6. C.R.R.C. (14:00)
7. One Three Nine (6:33)

Credits
- Elton Dean / alto sax, saxello
- Alan Gowen / electric piano, synthesizer
- Hugh Hopper / bass guitar
- Dave Sheen / drums

Splatterpink were a Bolognese jazzcore quartet and this is (obviously?) their third album . The music contained is some of the most fiery in the whole genre, even compared to foreign bands. Coarse funk-blues shards, based on crunching, Primus-like basslines and tarry baritone sax bursts. Throaty vocals, often delving in growl and expressionist roars, cynical, crude lyrics and frantic odd-meter tempo shifts are other core elements of Splatterpink's arsonist formula. A scorching, reckless record which bears some resemblances to Anatrofobia, Zu and even King Crimson at times, but with an even more jolting attitude.

:::More info about Splatterpink on myspace:::

Splatterpink - Industrie Jazzcore (1995)

1. Treno di pensieri (consequenziali) 4:31
2. Status 5:11
3. Soffocare il topo nella sabbia 5:25
4. Pericolo! 4:34
5. Alex 4:10
6. Dio Squalo 6:02
7. Bestie di cuoio 4:18
8. Teste parlanti 4:19
9. Io? 1:19

Credits
Bass - Diego D'Agata
Drums - Leonardo Saracino
Flute - Alessandro Meroli
Guitar - Federico Bernardi
Percussion - Leonardo Saracino
Saxophone - Alessandro Meroli
Voice - Alessandro Meroli , Diego D'Agata
Written By - Metello Orsini (tracks: 8) , Splatterpink (tracks: 1 to 9)

Notes
Recorded on 16 analog tracks at PEDALE BAROQUE, Bologna.
Mixed at NEW SUBCAVE, Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna.
Digital Editing at LOST LEGION SONIC LAB.

Contemporary Noise Sextet is the band established by Kapsa brothers, who earlier formed Something Like Elvis the legendary emo-hardcore band. Formerly known as Contemporary Noise Quintet/Quartet. CNS musicians are also: Tomek Glazik, saxophones (Kult, ex-4Syfon, Sing, Sing Penelope), Wojtek Jahna, trumpet (Sing, Sing Penelope, Mordy) and the guitar player Kamil Pater who joined the band in November 2006 and lately Patryk Weclawek (bass) who replaced Pawel Urowski.
CNS’s music can be described as energetic jazz with the elements of film music. However, the variety of sounds does not allow pigeonholing their music style unambiguously. The debut record “Pig Inside The Gentleman” was released in autumn 2006. It collected favorable reviews and became one of the records of the year in the plebiscite of III Program of Polish Radio. In November CNQ toured in several cities of Poland. The concerts were enthusiastically received.

What is more, the band gained approving reviews in press:

CNQ convinces straight away to have their own idea for music, which is not only attractive but also perfectly produced. Pig Inside The Gentleman is the record everyone should reach for, the one of the best Polish releases in 2006. (Piotr Lewandowski PopUp Magazine).

SOMETHING LIKE JAZZ Contemporary Noise Quintet: jazz music without jazz, film music without movie but something splendid instead! Despite the band’s name suggesting noisy music for the chosen ones, CNQ appears to be a revelation for everyone. Beautiful, hard, romantic piano tunes in the dialogue with brass section. Simple and extraordinary emotional compositions leading to the climax which makes the flesh creeps while listening. Hair bristle on the heads of those who remember the musical past of CNQ’s members… (Bartek Chacinski Przekroj)

Contemporary impresses with maturity and class. There is elegance as well as punk energy. The compositions are unbelievably spacious but on the other hand all fulfilled with instruments from the superb rhythm combo to the greatly equipped brass section. The roots of the most of CNQ’s musicians reach harder music, sometimes even heavy metal what bears excellent interest. The compositions are vigorous and expressive. The name of the band must be remembered because it undoubtedly is Polish export commodity. (Diggin the Shelf)

Contemporary Noise Sextet - Unaffected Thought Flow (2008)

1. Unaffected Thought Flow (Part 1) 2:20
2. A Girl Killed Nicely 3:58
3. Procession in the Fog (With the Dogs Barkin'...) 10:32
4. Nautilius 5:17
5. New Machine on a Dance Floor 8:33
6. No Marks, No Body, Not Guilty... 3:52
7. Zero Gravity 5:55
8. Unaffected Thought Flow (Part 2) 2:41

Credits
Kuba Kapsa - piano, Rhodes, synthesizer
Wojtek Jachna - trumpet
Tomek Glazik - tenor, baritone saxophones, syntezator
Kamil Pater - guitar, baritone guitar
Patryk Weclawek - bass, bass guitar
Bartek Kapsa - drums

Recorded
at Electric Eye Studio, Szubin, Poland, August 2008

Before the opening fanfare, there are the sounds of a belch, a laugh, and a drum roll. For the first time in any X-Legged Sally recording, here is something you might not want to play again, and the CD has only been on for 20 seconds. Not an auspicious start, and not the only misfire on this wildly uneven album. The Land of the Giant Dwarfs is comprised of 18 often very brief tracks, with touchstones here and there to the inspired mania and occasional subtle charm of the band's previous three albums. There are insistent grooves ("Skip XXI"), waltz and tango-flavored rhythms ("Yesbody 2" and "Yesbody 1"), inventive instrumental combinations (Pierre Vervloesem's heavy metal guitar and Bart Maris' muted trumpet on "Fes II"), atmospheric instrumental blues ("Poor Man's Rain," with some great clarinet from Peter Vermeersch), and even touches of swinging avant jazz and funk ("Starfinger," a showcase for keyboardist Peter Vandenberghe). There are two particularly strong tracks at the CD's close: "Quorns" is moody and ominous, with its tragic tale of doomed lovers (spoken in voice-over by Vermeersch) and stuttering, unsettling unison lines from keyboard and clarinet, and the evocative "Yesbody 1," which builds dramatically to become nearly thrilling before its subtle finish. But elsewhere there are dumb vocal samples ("Skip XXI"), insipid lyrical content ("Hair"), and tunes that seem complex just for complexity's sake ("R.I.P."). As the album leaps from sublime to sophomoric and back again, a sense of disappointment begins to prevail, particularly for anyone who is familiar with X-Legged Sally's previous stellar releases and who might have high expectations for this, the band's first full-length CD released on a U.S. label. Unlike any of the group's CDs on the Belgian Sub Rosa imprint, this one, on Knitting Factory, feels either dumbed down or naughtied up for the American audience. It's as if bandleader Vermeersch decided that the best way to gain popularity in the U.S. would be to push the influence of Frank Zappa more to the forefront, with an unfortunate focus on Zappa's most questionable vocal- and song-based work. How else to explain the vocal samples on "Skip XXI" that fixate on genitalia and masturbation? How outrageous! And doesn't the shopworn sentiment about not judging a man by the length of his hair (in the cleverly titled "Hair") arrive at least 25 years late -- or is there hopefully some sense of irony here? The overdubbed and heavily treated vocals of newcomer Thierry Mondelairs suggest more calculation to expand the band's rock-based audience. At times Mondelairs effectively takes the avant out of X-Legged Sally's avant-prog, turning the ensemble into -- horrors! -- a mere progressive rock band. But of course Vermeersch remains in charge, still writing the lion's share of the material, and now often demonstrating a greater interest in music that is difficult to perform than difficult music that is interesting and fun to listen to. Nowhere is this more evident than on "R.I.P.," an intermittently hard-rocking tune that throws constant changes at the listener; it feels like about ten songs cobbled together into one, with no sense of internal logic. The convoluted structure of "R.I.P." works against one of X-Legged Sally's previous greatest strengths: the ability to lock into a hard-charging groove and drive it to incendiary heights. And yet, 36 of The Land of the Giant Dwarfs' 59 minutes are phenomenal and as strong as anything X-Legged Sally ever recorded. Unfortunately, however, picking and choosing among the tracks is a necessity, something not part of the listening experience with any previous X-Legged Sally release.

:::Review by Dave Lynch:::

X-Legged Sally (XLS) - The Land of The Giant Dwarfs (1995)

1. Anthem - The Land Of Giant Dwarfs 1:05
2. Fes III 4:53
3. R.I.P. 3:36
4. Yesbody 2 2:42
5. Skip XXI 6:27
6. Yesbody 4 2:10
7. Charge 2:08
8. Yesbody 3 1:49
9. Lie To Me 1:32
10. Glad You're Dead 1:27
11. Home 3:04
12. Hair 5:
13. Poor Man's Rain 4:49
14. Starfinger 7:26
15. Mono Dolby 1:00
16. Owl Harry 3:10
17. Quorns 3:22
18. Yesbody 1 2:43

Credits
Bass - Paul Belgrado
Clarinet - Peter Vermeersch
Composed By - Peter Vermeersch (tracks: 1, 4 to 6, 8 to 11, 13 to 18) , Pierre Vervloesem (tracks: 3, 7)
Drums - Danny Van Hoeck
Guitar, Percussion - Pierre Vervloesem
Keyboards - Peter Vandenberghe
Saxophone - Michel Mast
Trumpet - Bart Maris
Vocals - Thierry Mondelaers

Anything that has members of Level 42, King Crimson and Egg collaborating together is, to be honest, a very amazing thing. Touching everything from jazz-fusion to psychedelia to the ever interesting and immersive Canterbury Scene, Mr. Jakszyk's "The Bruised Romantic Glee Club" is one of those rare extravagenzas that should be more known about and appreciated than it actually is, because there is an intimacy and chemistry here that you won't find often.
A double album, with side one being originals and side 2 being covers of bands that Jakko admires, 'Glee Club' has quite a few high points on both sides of the coin. Tracks like 'When We Go Home" and "The Things We Throw Away" are appropriately emotional and make very fine use of Jakko Jakszyk's unusually accomplished vocal abilities, while his covering of King Crimson's 'Islands' (which features Fripp himself) is apt and intimate in all the right places. Frequent use of sax, woodwinds and piano flesh out some of the more cinematic touches here and there, while Jakko's distinctive guitar stylings brush in and out to keep the compositions focused and energized when needed.
Basically, while I often consider collaborations overrated and rarely resulting in material that hits the mark more than these artists are capable of doing on their own, the ensemble that Mr. Jakszyk assembled here has worked wonders with material that could have possibly fallen on its face otherwise, and hence I recommend this with little complaint to anyone looking for something good to add to their prog. collection.
So yeah...five stars and a big thumbs up from the Ant-man!

:::Review by Anteater:::

Jakko M Jakszyk - The Bruised Romantic Glee Club (2006)

CD 1

1. The Bruised Romantic Glee Club
2. Variations on a Theme by Holst
3. Catley's Ashes
4. When Peggy Came Home
5. Highgate Hill
6. Forgiving
7. No One Left to Lie To
8. The Things We Throw Away
9. Doxy, Dali and Duchamp
10. Srebrenica
11. When We Go Home

CD 2

1. As Long As He Lies Perfectly Still (incorporating: That Still and Perfect Summer - Astral Projection in Pinner)
2. Pictures of an Indian City
3. Nirvana for Mice
4. Islands
5. The Citizen King
6. Soon After

Credits
Jakko M. Jakszyk - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, keyboards, mellotron, bass guitar, balalaika, sitar, flute, strings, whistles, sound effects, percussion, programming
Gavin Harrison - drums
Mel Collins - alto and tenor saxes, flute
Dave Stewart - keyboards (CD 1 - 9, CD 2 - 1, 3, 5)
Robert Fripp - soundscapes, electric guitars (CD 1 - 6, 11)
Danny Thompson - double bass (CD 1 - 9, CD 2 - 4)
Mark King - bass guitar (CD 1 -3)
Nathan King - bass guitar (CD 1 - 5)
John Giblin - bass guitar (CD 1 - 6)
Lyndon Connah - piano (CD 1 - 8)
Ian MacDonald - flute (CD 1 - 2)
Caroline Lavelle - cello (CD 1 - 2)
Helen Kaminga - viola (CD 1 - 2)
Clive Brooks - drums (CD 2 - 1)
Gary Barnacle - alto flute, flute, bass flute and piccolo, tenor and soprano saxes (CD 2 - 1)
Hugh Hopper - bass guitar (CD 1 - 1)
Pandit Dinesh - tabla, vocals (CD 2 - 2)
Ian Wallace - drums (CD 2 - 4)
Suzanne Barbieri - backing vocals (CD 1 - 11)
Django Jakszyk - voice (CD 1 - 11)
Camille Jakszyk - voice (CD 1 - 11)
Chris Baker - Irish priest (CD 1 - 4)

Maestro Trytony is a musical undertaking by Tomasz Gwincinski, a composer, improviser, guitarist, a leading personality of the "Music from Brain" scene based in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The idea of the "Music from Brain" production is its modern classical chamber music overtones in moder jazz area. Maestro Trytony album Enoptronia" is a turning point in the record collection of the scenes. This recording, inspired by jazz noncomformists (John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman) as well as rock avant-garde composers (Fred Frith, Frank Zappa), combines improvisation with the modern classical form. Doing so, it retains the rock energy, improvisational freedom and wit, the idiosyncratic features of jazz. The recorded music flavors of the Polish soft romantic lyricism so characteristic in the works of Krzysztof Komeda. The quest star is Andrzej Przybielski, nestor of the Polish non-mainstream jazz.

:::Review by mozg.art.pl:::

Maestro Trytony - Heart Of Gold (2004)

1. O.R.G. (4:30)
2. Van Worden In Serra Morena (5:01)
3. Jocasta (11:24)
4. Snowboarding Alchemysta (5:12)
5. Heart Of Gold (5:26)
6. Tax Collector (0:47)
7. Magic Tiara Part 1 (7:27)
8. Magic Tiara Part 2 [Cherub. Wand.] (6:23)
9. Nanotechnology (4:39)
10. Epilogue (1:05)

Credits
Tomasz Gwinciński - guitar, electronics, leader
Tomasz Pawlicki - flute, keyboards, spinet, piano prepared
Patryk Węcławek - bass
Rafał Gorzycki – drums

Guests
Małgorzata Skotnicka - spinet
Jacek Majewski - percussion
Łukasz Gorewicz - violin
Martin Franken - gamelan

Wow! How one does not commit suicide after falling from the window on the fourth floor and realizing that he will never walk again. I think I have never heard such a personal album like this one and the Syd recordings do not come close as those were so sloppy. This is rather a healing job as the open wounds just start to cauterize , but as he says in the booklet of the remaster, he realized also that he would not have to write music according to his different band mates as it will be impossible to tour again especially with a band, so this would give him more artistic freedom in the writing dept. Everyone ot these tracks is an absolute gem and his voice has never been so fabulous. Nerve-wracking, hair-raising, flabbergasting, spine-tingling. But nevermind me, I'll let my trusted collabs talk about this album.

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974)

1. Sea Song (6:31)
2. A Last Straw (5:46)
3. Little Red Riding Hood Hit the Road (7:38)
4. Alifib (6:55)
5. Alife (6:31)
6. Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road (6:08)

Credits
- Robert Wyatt / vocals, keyboards, percussion, guitar
- Richard Sinclair / bass
- Hugh Hopper / bass
- Laurie Allan / drums

With

- Mongezi Feza / trumpet
- Ivor Cutler / voice, baritone concertina
- Gary Windo / bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Fred Frith / viola
- Mike Oldfield / guitar
- Alfreda Benge / voice

While most of the discussions of Frank Zappa have to do with his satirical and off-color lyrics, the fact remains that he was one of the finest and most underappreciated guitarists around. This collection places the spotlight squarely on Zappa's mastery of the guitar. Recorded for the most part in 1979 and 1980 (with a few tracks dating as far back as 1977), Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar is simply a collection of guitar solos. Even though most of the tracks were just edited out of their original song context, they fare well as stand-alone pieces, as Zappa was an ever-inventive player. Take, for example, the three versions of "Shut Up." These tracks were simply the guitar solos from "Inca Roads," but thanks to Zappa's ability for "instant composition," each version has its own complete story to tell, without ever being redundant. Other highlights are the reggae-tinged "Treacherous Cretins" and the beautiful "Pink Napkins." In addition to the electric guitar mangling contained on Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, there are a couple of rare tracks that feature Zappa on acoustic guitar in a trio with Warren Cuccurullo on acoustic rhythm guitar and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums. In fact, special mention goes to Colaiuta for his polyrhythmic daring all over this album. All bandmembers play great throughout, but Colaiuta's playing is mind blowing. The album closes with another oddity: a gorgeous duet between Zappa on electric bouzouki and Jean-Luc Ponty on baritone violin. This is an album that should be heard by anyone who's into guitar playing. Highly recommended.

:::Review by Sean Westergaard:::

Frank Zappa - Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar (1981)

1. Five-Five-FIVE 2:31
2. Hog Heaven 2:44
3. Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar 5:30
4. While You Were Out 5:33
5. Treacherous Cretins 5:26
6. Heavy Duty Judy 4:35
7. Soup 'N Old Clothes 7:40

Credits
- Frank Zappa / lead guitar
+ Arthur Barrow / bass (1-2-3-5-6-7)
- Vinnie Colaiuta / drums
- Warren Cucurullo / rhythm guitar(1-3-4-5)
- Bob Harris / keyboards (2-6-7)
- Ed Mann / percussion (1-3-5)
- Tommy Mars / keyboards (1-2-3-5-6-7)
- Steve Vai / rhythm guitar (2-6-7)
- Denny Walley / rhythm guitar (1-3-5)
- Ray White / rhythm guitar (2-6-7)
- Ike Willis / rhythm guitar (1-2-3-5-6-7)
- Peter Wolf / keyboards (1-3-5)