Jazz Archives

This is the great late-night Sun Ra chillout album you never knew about. The band had been working in a more groove-oriented setting off and on for over a year, as evidenced by the albums Lanquidity and On Jupiter, with both featuring prominent electric bass and electric guitar. Sleeping Beauty picks up right where On Jupiter left off, with the gentle, swaying "Springtime Again" echoing the same mellow vibe of "Seductive Fantasy" from On Jupiter. A skittering intro coalesces as different instruments pick up bits of the melody, which is then fully expressed by the horn section and ensemble vocals. It's a simple two-chord vamp, with beautiful solos that seem to embody the reawakening and rebirth of springtime. "The Door of the Cosmos" starts with a gospel-like chant and handclaps, with comments from Ra's electric piano and electric guitar. A strong bassline enters, very reminiscent of "A Love Supreme, Pt. 1: Acknowledgement," but the accompanying chant celebrates the mysteries of the unknown rather than the universal truth of A Love Supreme. This track builds in intensity, but never loses its groove or becomes nearly as raucous as the Arkestra is sometimes known for. "Sleeping Beauty" is the album centerpiece, taking up all of side two. Ra's beautiful electric piano gets things rolling, and the band falls into a peaceful groove before the vocals enter, led by the wonderful June Tyson. These songs are all built on the simplest of structures, and the playing from everyone is understated and sublime. Sleeping Beauty is truly a high point in an unwieldy discography, and something of an anomaly at the same time. There's a good reason copies of this album go for several hundred dollars on the collector's market, but it really deserves a proper release so more people can hear it. Outstanding.

:::Review by Sean Westergaard:::

Sun Ra - Sleeping Beauty (1979)

1. Springtime Again 9:17
2. Door of the Cosmos 8:58
3. Sleeping Beauty 11:52

Credits
Sun Ra (synth, organ vocals)
John Gilmore (tenor sax, percussion)
Marshall Allen (alto sax)
Danny Thompson (baritone sax, flute, percussion)
Michael Ray (trumpet)
Noel Scott (alto sax)
June Tyson (vocals)
Eloe Omoe (bass clarinet)
Craig Harris (trombone)
Tommy Hunter (drums)
Al Evans (flugelhorn)
Jarbu Shahid (bass)
Samarai Celestial (drums)
Vincent Chancey (french horn)
Francisco Mora, Tani Tabbal (percussion): Bright Moments (congas)
The Bell Brothers (bells)
John Ore (bass)
James Jackson (Ancient Egyptian Infinity Lightning Drum)

Writing about Led Bib's Mercury Prize-nominated album, the raucous and confrontational Sensible Shoes (Cuneiform, 2009), Britain's Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun newspaper—which speaks with as much authority about jazz as Murdoch's Fox News speaks about politics—declared: "Led Bib are the band bringing jazz back to contemporary music's cutting edge."
A slightly more measured response came from the Guardian's jazz critic, who described the album as "a gale of fresh air." All About Jazz observed that "the band continues its mission of taking jazz by the scruff of the neck [and] punching it in the face."
For all their faults, awards such as the Mercury Prize—which is riddled with weaknesses, beginning with a deplorable lack of transparency of process—do, at least, assist a band in extending its commercial reach. Along with the Sun review, Led Bib got, in 2009/10, a quantity of mass market print and broadcast exposure most bands can only dream about. But an award also presents a problem: how to follow it up. Dumb down and milk it? Or carry on following your muse regardless?
For Bring Your Own, Led Bib's fifth album and Sensible Shoes' follow-up, and another turbulent and in-your-face affair, the band has steered a middle course, carefully negotiating mammon while pursuing art. On the taking-care-of-business front, and in contrast to the first four albums, a producer with a rock track record has been involved: Head, who co-produced art rocker PJ Harvey's 2001 Mercury-winning, Island album, Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, is credited as "recording" the disc. On the taking-care-of-the-muse front, Led Bib continues to scramble dense, high decibel skronk, power beats and ostinatos, futuristic electric keyboards and fierce, free-tinged, jousting alto saxophones. Most of the tunes, also as previously, were written by drummer/leader Mark Holub.
Head has trodden lightly among Led Bib's trademark motifs, his biggest influence (if it is his) being confined to a general shortening of track playing times. These now average a fraction over five minutes, curtailing extended improvisation on all but the longest tracks. But, as tenor saxophonist Ben Webster said: "if you can't dump your shit in two choruses, forget it." And as soloists, Leb Bib saxophonists Pete Grogan and Chris Williams—passionately engaged though they always are—benefit from a little enforced brevity. Less so, keyboardist Toby McLaren, a more harmonically and texturally adventurous improviser, whose relatively extended solo on the 6:44 "Little x" leaves you wanting much more.
The main caveat with Bring Your Own is the same as it was with Sensible Shoes: Leb Bib is undervaluing its considerable facility with lyrical, reflective material. There are even fewer such passages on the new album than there were on the last. A little more light and shade would be welcome.
But that is to tinker round the edges. Bring Your Own is another, benificent hurricane of fresh air.

:::Review by Chris May:::

Led Bib - Bring Your Own (2011)

1. Moth Dilemma 4:18
2. Is That A Woodblock? 4:45
3. Little X 6:44
4. Hollow Ponds 2:41
5. Power Walking 4:07
6. Service Stop Saviour 5:39
7. Engine Room 5:30
8. Shapes & Sizes 5:55
9. Walnuts 5:50
10. Winter 6:18

Credits
Alto Saxophone - Chris Williams, Pete Grogan
Bass - Liran Donin
Composed By - Chris Williams (tracks: 3), Mark Holub, Toby McLaren (tracks: 6)
Drums - Mark Holub
Piano - Toby McLaren

This is a very unique and original record that mixes free jazz and avant-garde music with early 70s hippie jam freakouts and compositional variety. Although this record features a lot of musicians from King Crimson and Soft Machine, and occasionally sounds like either of those bands more "out" moments, a lot of this record has more in common with ultra-expressive jazz musicians such as Albert Ayler or Pharoh Sanders.
Part one mixes semi-Gregorian vocal drones with free jazz sections. Part two opens with a mellow string and soft percussion drone before heading into a bluesy funk jam that eventually slips into a free jazz jam. Part three is probably the most interesting with a long repeating string part backed with drums that is somewhat similar to Crimson's Devil's Triangle or something off of Lizards, especially when Nick Evans and the other horn players pile up chaotic solos on top of each other. This side ends with some layered vocal improvs similar to Cathy Berbarian's work with Luciano Berio. Part 4 is the least interesting, it mostly contains a very 60s sounding utopian socialist hippie chant that has not aged well.
The various soloists add what they can, but the purely instrumental sections on this album are far better than the sections with vocals.
Robert Fripp is the producer on this record and it is interesting to notice how much influence he picked up from working with Keith Tippet. Some of the Crimson cuts that show influence from this record include the quiet opening section on Larks Tounge, the vocal improvs on Formentara Lady, the bluesy funk jams that build into free jazz on Earthbound, and a lot of the improv music on Lizards and Poseidon.
This is a surprisingly good record and different from a lot of the free jazz that was coming out at this time because Tippet broke the improv sections up with unique composed sections that give the record variety in texture and volume. I highly recommend that you get this one on vinyl because the gatefold album cover art is incredible.

:::Review by Easy Money:::

Centipede - Septober Energy (1971)

Disc 1 (45:17)
1. Septober Energy - Part 1 (21:43)
2. Septober Energy - Part 2 (23:34)

Disc 2 (40:06)
1. Septober Energy - Part 3 (21:21)
2. Septober Energy - Part 4 (18:45)

Credits
- Wendy Treacher, John Trussler, Roddy Skeaping, Carol Slater, Louise Jopling, Garth Morton, Channa Salononson, Steve Rowlandson, Mica Gomberti, Colin Kitching, Philip Saudek, Esther Burgi / violins
- Wilf Gibson / lead violin, conductor
- Michael Hurwitz, Timothy Kramer, Suki Towb, John Reese-Jones, Katherine Thulborn, Catherine Finnis / cellos
- Peter Parkes, Mick Collins, Ian Carr, Momgesi Fesa, Mark Charig / trumpet, flugelhorn, cornet
- Elton Dean, Jan Steel, Ian MacDonald, Dudu Pukuwana / Alto saxophone, Flute, Soprano saxophone
- Larry Stabbins, Gary Windo, Brian Smith, Alan Skidmore / Tenor saxophone
- Dave White, Karl Jenkins, John Willimas / Baritone saxophone, bass saxophone, oboe, clarinet
- Nick Evans, Dave Amis, Dave Perrottet, Paul Rutherford / trombone
- John Marshall, Tony Fennell, Robert Wyatt / drums, percussion
- Brian Godding / guitars
- Brian Belshaw, Roy Babbington, Jill Lyons, Harry Miller, Jeff Clyne, Dave Markee / basses
- Maggie Nicholls, Julie Tippett, Mike Patto, Zoot Money, Boz / vocals
- Keith Tippett / piano
- Robert Fripp / produce

If King Crimson had continued to become an improvising power trio, operating at a level of intensity several degrees above "Starless and Bible Black," it's possible they might have grown to achieve the power of Altered States. Led by Ground Zero guitarist Kazuhisa Uchihashi, this group, liberally augmented by a number of guest musicians on this recording, romps and lurches through rhythmically diverse, brutally strong instrumentals that recall King Crimson at their best, with a more than a dash of bands like Naked City and a dollop or two of funk thrown in for good measure. The level of communication is such that it's difficult to believe that most of the music is improvised; certainly some basic riffs were laid down. But it's just that freedom of interplay that breathes life into what could otherwise be a sterile exercise in math rock. The first ten tracks are all around five minutes in length and inhabit somewhat similar, propulsive territory, with the odd effect (like Koichi Makigami's lunatic vocals on "Issai-Kai-Ku") breaking the seriousness on occasion. The final track, the 30-minute-long "Suite Circle," is more expansiveness, though not much intensity is lost. As the title suggests, it's in a suite-like format, more ethereal sections abutting torrentially frenzied ones full of additional percussion, alongside psychedelia and abstract mutterings, with the basic trio expanded to 12 musicians. If it meanders a bit, it also illustrates the range of these musicians and the amount of ground they were able to cover. It's an altogether fine effort, highly recommendable not only to fans of the Japanese rock/improv axis, but also to adventurous rock fans looking for something with a bit more bite.

:::Review by Brian Olewnick:::

Altered States – Mosaic (1995)

1. Martzmer (4:20)
2. Emer (4:04)
3. Silly Old Bear (5:10)
4. Dan-go (3:26)
5. D*W*D (4:21)
6. Issai-kai-ku (4:41)
7. Billiken (5:37)
8. Motif A (3:00)
9. Sosukan (3:23)
10. Da Dou (5:18)
11. Suite "Circle" (28:12/1:04)

Credits
All music by Kazuhisa Uchihashi, except track 4 by Ned Rothenberg and Altered States, and track 11 by Altered States and the guest musicians

- Kazuhisa Uchihashi / guitar, effects
- Mitsuru Nasuno / bass
- Yasuhiro Yoshigaki / drums, percussion

Guests

- Kazutoki Umezu (10, 11) / alto sax, clarinet
- Shizuru Ohtaka / voice (11)
- Yuji Katsui (5, 11) / electric violin, ponchi
- Hiromichi Sakamoto / cello (1)
- Yuki Saga / voice (11)
- Kumiko Takara (11) / vibraphone, percussion
- Ned Rothenberg / alto sax (4)
- Ichiko Hashimoto (11) / piano, voice
- Junji Hirose / tenor sax (8, 11)
- Koichi Makigami / voice (6, 11)
- Yoshinori Motoki / tapes (9, 11)

This CD reissues what was arguably the finest of the John Coltrane-Pharoah Sanders collaborations. On five diverse but almost consistently intense movements ("The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost," "Compassion," "Love," "Consequences," and "Serenity"), the two tenor saxophonists, pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and both Elvin Jones and Rashied Ali on drums create some powerful, dense, and emotional music. Unlike some of the live jams of 1966, the passionate performances never ramble on too long and the screams and screeches fit logically into the spiritual themes. This would be the last recording of Coltrane with Tyner and Jones.

:::Review by Scott Yanow:::

John Coltrane - Meditations (1965)

1. The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost 12:50
2. Compassion 6:50
3. Love 8:11
4. Consequences 9:10
5. Serenity 3:31

Credits
Bass - Jimmy Garrison
Drums - Elvin Jones, Rashied Ali
Engineer - Rudy Van Gelder
Producer - Bob Thiele
Saxophone [Tenor] - John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders
Piano - McCoy Tyner

As the band who happened to be at the front of the queue when the Wire were distributing the latest batch of slightly grandstanding genre names, Bark Psychosis have gathered quite a reputation among post-rock fans. Sure, Hex may have come after Spiderland and Laughing Stock and Millions Now Living...but it was the album that finally booted the music press into action, and made them see a constellation in the diversity of different bands that were to fall under the term, however unwillingly.
This album is not Hex. It's better than Hex (ho ho ho), if less singular. It has a vibe of its own, and it is a vibe that hides very well the fact that mastermind Graham Sutton has spent the intervening near-decade making, of all things, tech-step. Perhaps it is the presence of Lee Harris in the drumstool, but Dustsucker is very much more in the shadow of Talk Talk than its predecessor. It is easy to forget what a great skinsman Harris actually is, a master of slow but busy grooves with lots of jazzy work on the cymbals and hats. (Most of dustsucker fairly crawls along, rumbling in the lower registers, with the only bright notes coming from those cymbals.)
And if Harris's turn here highlights how Talk Talk was more than Mark Hollis, Tim Friese-Green and a lot of heroin, the overall sound itself brings out the collaborative elements of the original line-up. Those famous dubby basslines have followed their creator off stage, replaced by intermittent threatening growls and a general focus on atmosphere rather than groove. The synths are almost gone, barring some very subtle atmospherics and a 10mph acid line on Miss Abuse.
So what we have is less Hex 2 than Laughing Stock '04. And that's no bad thing, really. It's odd, given how influential that record was, how little use has been made of its most interesting devices; schizoid instrumental performances, wild sweeps in dynamics, intervention of harsh noise in the most soporific possible way - all power Dustsucker magnificently. By turns gorgeous, tense and terrifying, no post-rocker should be without it.

:::Review by tragiclifestories:::

Bark Psychosis - Codename Dustsucker (2004)

1. From What Is Said To When It's Read (5:27)
2. The Black Meat (6:49)
3. Miss Abuse (6:10)
4. 400 Winters (5:48)
5. Dr. Innocuous/Retarded (1:04)
6. Burning The City (5:10)
7. Inqb8tr (7:59)
8. Shapeshifting (6:02)
9. Rose (5:49)

Credits
- Peter Beresford / vibraphone
- Colin Bradley / guitar
- Anja Buechele / vocals
- Del Crabtree / trumpet
- Rachel Dreyer / piano, vocals
- Lee Harris / percussion, drums
- Alice Kemp / guitar
- T.J. Mackenzie / trumpet
- David Panos / bass
- Silke Roch / vocals
- Mark Simnett / drums
- Graham Sutton / bass, guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals

Over the years Pink Freud gained such a reputation on Polish jazz scene that their every record is impatiently awaited and immediately recognized. New Monster Of Jazz album that came to shops in May is no exception as it again totally surprises all admirers of Pink Freud's music and it proves that their creativity is truly unbounded.
What is really so unique as far as music on this album is concerned? Opposite to their last album titled Alchemia, which was purely acoustical venture in the field of fusion jazz, this album is using all kinds of electronic, experimental and recording tools to strengthen, enliven and stretch the body of modern version of fusion music in order to what? Yes, the idea is really breathtaking!. In order to contain in its language not only jazz but also rock, punk, nu jazz and other musical genres. This is in fact what Monster Of Jazz is all about: melting in one pot all music streams that musicians are dedicated to and draw out of this pot something new and unprecedented as far as jazz, as far as music is concerned. In this attitude towards jazz they are clearly traveling the razor's edge between courage similar in style to the one that was once displayed by Miles Davis and debauchery of such modern artist as Steven Bernstein and his colleagues from Sex Mob and other bands similar.
Because of such a ambiguity that is innate in this music which is both so creative and simultaneously so close to kitsch, I believe it must cause strong and diversified response from the listeners starting from shock and disgust and ending in awe and admiration. I am clearly on the other end and that is why I shall encourage you with all my heart to listen to this record. Before I present you a small sample of music from this CD let me add that when compared to their above mentioned Alchemia album two new musicians reinforced the band in persons of Adam Baron (flugelhorn, tenor horn, trombone) and Jerzy Rogiewicz (vibraphone). With this addition the personnel of the band amounted to six people matching the other Polish excellent new and young band Contemporary Noise Sextet, probably the only other one that should be and could be compared to Pink Freud in terms of artistic impact on Polish jazz scene and similarities of its style.

:::Review by Maciej Nowotny, KochamJazz.Blogspot:::

Pink Freud - Monster Of Jazz (2010)

1. Pink Fruits
2. Warsaw
3. Little Monster
4. Polanski
5. Bald Inquisitor
6. Red Eyes, Blue Sea and Sand
7. Pierun
8. Goz Quarter
9. Braxton
10. Diamond Way
11. Spreading the Sound of Emptiness
12. Monster of Jazz

Credits
Wojtek Mazolewski - bass
Tomek Duda - sax
Adam Milwiw-Baron - trumpet
Jerzy Rogiewicz - drums

Yuji Ohno is a Japanese jazz musician. Ohno is principally known for his musical scoring of Japanese anime television series, of which Lupin III, specifically the 1977 series 'Shin Rupan Sansei' and the feature film 'The Castle of Cagliostro' are his most well known works. Later anime series scored by Ohno include 'Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars' and the 1979 Toei series 'Captain Future'. He has composed scored for live-action films namely the Toei's Japanese tokusatsu series Seiun Kamen Machineman, his only work on this genre to date. Ohno is also a member of a jazz trio with Czech bassist Miroslav Vitous and American drummer Lenny White.

:::Review from wikipedia:::

Yuji Ohno - Cosmos (1981)

01. Prologue
02. Sunset
03. Living Satellite X of Jupiter
04. Sailing
05. Crystal Lullaby I
06. Take it to the Sky
07. Over the Galaxy
08. Saturn - Pierrot in the Heaven
09. Andromeda Smile
10. Landing on the Surface of Venus
11. Crystal Lullaby II
12. Epilogue - Sunrise

Credits
Yuji Ohno (keyboards)
Masami Nakagawa (flute)
Keiko Yamakawa (harp)
Jake H. Concepcion, Takeru Muraoka (saxophone)
Kobayashi Group (strings)
Isao Kaneyama (timpani)
Harumi Mita, Sumio Okada, Yasuo Hirauchi (trombone)
Shin Kasuhara, Toshio Araki, Yoshikazu Kishi (trumpet)
Hiroharu Yamanouchi, Michiru Maki (voice)
Tadaomi Anai (percussion)
Hideo Yamaki, Kiyoshi Tanaka, Yasushi Ichihara (drums)

Guitarist and composer Yoshie Fruchter is another of John Zorn's recent musical discoveries who works in the increasingly audible and visible world of Radical Jewish Culture. Like Koby Isrealite, Shanir Blumenkranz, Jamie Saft, Jon Madof & Rashanim, Eyal Maoz, and several others on the Tzadik roster, Fruchter's dynamic, highly original music is more aptly described as a sort of avant-garde instrumental rock that draws its inspiration from Jewish traditional themes and forms. Though artists such as Sonic Youth, Masada, Bill Laswell, and Frank Zappa are name-checked in Pitom's press packet, the actual result also bears some resemblance to the great mid-1970s Fripp / Bruford / David Cross / John Wetton incarnation of King Crimson that produced over-the-top prog classics such as Lark's Tongues In Aspic,  Red, USA, and Starless and Bible Black. Though the similarity is partly due to both groups having the same instrumental lineup, the overall sound concept of the two bands is also similar. Both Fruchter and bassist Shanir Blumenkranz like to play fast and loud, and both use a lot of fuzzy distortion. Violinist / violist Jeremy Brown like David Cross - prefers a very natural, effects-free tone. Unlike Cross, Brown plays his instruments like a mad Gypsy with his pants on fire. Kevin Zubek's flowing, jazzy, polyrhythmic drumming provides a palpable link to the world of modern jazz, much like Bill Bruford did for King Crimson. Finally, like mid-70s Crimson, Pitom's music is concise, hard-edged, tuneful, dynamic, and surprisingly free of the excesses often associated with experimental rock.
The CD kicks off in a lighthearted manner with the Judaeo-surf rocker Skin and Bones. On paper this looks improbable, but it works. 'Go Go Golem' is, as its name suggests, an ultra-heavy Crimsoid anthem replete with distorted guitars, pounding drums, and fuzz-bass. Blumenkranz gets a gloriously noisy solo in before Fruchter and Brown take the tune completely out into heavy-metal heaven. Like the other heavy-rockin' tracks - 'Minim' (Parts 1 & 2), and 'Robe of Priestly Proportions (Part 1)' 'Go Go Golem' is blessed with a strong melody, and an interesting non-linear structure. The fact that these guys are superb improvisers only adds to the excitement. Not content to be pigeonholed, Fruchter and his band delve into all sorts of other sounds and rhythms on itom.'Robe of Priestly Proportions (Part 2)' alternates lyrical Klezmer-like passages with holwling slabs of fuzzed sludge, and Zubek gets to flash his formidable jazz chops on 'Davita', a swift, jazzy, Masada-like tune with a bounding 6/8 meter. On the other end of the spectrum, both 'The Binding of Burning Books' and 'Shikora' have a super-chilled late-night vibe that wouldn't be out of place on one of Tom Verlaine's instrumental CDs. 'Minim (Parts 1 & 2)' explores a variety of rhythms and time signatures at breakneck skate-punk tempos the duet between Brown's violin and Fruchter's violently shredding guitar is refreshingly visceral. The CD's lone ballad, the bittersweet 'Sadie's Splinter' closes "Pitom" on a gentle, thoughtful note.
Pitom is a first-rate debut CD by an incredibly creative, remarkably capable, and gutsy band that takes musical risk-taking in stride. This CD is a must-have for Tzadik fans and fans of instrumental progressive rock, as well as for those who simply enjoy intense music in general.

1. Skin And Bones 4:31

2. Go Go Golem 5:22

3. The Robe Of Priestly Proportions : Part I 5:10

4. The Robe Of Priestly Proportions : Part II 3:43

5. Freigel Rock 4:45

6. Lungs And Spleen 4:41

7. Shikora 5:05

8. Minim : Part I 1:02

9. Minim : Part II 2:47

10. The Dregs 4:51

11. The Binding Of The Burning Books 5:05

12. Davita 5:33

13. Sadie's Splinter 5:17

Arranged By - Pitom , Yoshie Fruchter

Bass - Shanir Blumenkranz

Drums - Kevin Zubek

Executive Producer - John Zorn

Guitar, Composed By, Producer - Yoshie Fruchter

Violin, Viola - Jeremy Brown

A first aural encounter with Elliot Bergman's transcultural NOMO ensemble from Ann Arbor, MI, will undoubtedly and correctly stir the soul and move the feet in the same direction as Fela Kuti's Afro-beat orchestra music of the 1960s-1980s. Bergman, the leader and composer, has assembled a large band around the sound of reeds and brass -- and the occasional woodwind -- and a myriad of percussion instruments from a trap kit to all manner of hand drums and small instruments. Also prevalent in the mix are B-3, Fender Rhodes, bass, guitar, and textural instruments like the harp. What it adds up to is a music that indeed uses Kuti's notions of rhythm and melody, but it certainly doesn't stop there. Over the course of these ten cuts, one can hear the deep resonance of the harmony employed in John Coltrane's Africa Brass sessions and the modal notions employed on the Olé Coltrane album as well. There's a deep dub reggae and funk here, too, where King Tubby meets the JB's. With Warn Defever in the producer's chair, Bergman makes sure it's not all dark bubbly groove and vibe -- though they are present on every selection. Bergman is a highly developed, sophisticated composer. His charts reveal a canny knowledge of song forms that come from jazz, soul, and blues and employ a keen, elegant sense of dynamic and texture. There isn't a weak moment on this set, but a couple of the true burners here do stand out. 

"Discontinued," with its spacey funk guitar line, minor groove horn charts coming at the mix deep dubwise, rough-and-ready Rhodes solo, fueled by a rippling, propulsive backbeat, opens the set cooking on high. "Better Than That," with its Afro-Cuban percussion intro and Yoruba-meets-Nigeria modality, is underscored by a knotty melody colored by African thumb piano and a driving B-3. "Moving in Circles" opens with a tough tenor and baritone horn line that gives way to a shimmering yet edgy funk tune with vocals that come out as a perfect, seamless meld of spaced-out soul, Afro-beat, and hard, mid-'70s groove wrapped in post-bop jazz. As the recording continues, it becomes slippery, moving through time while seemingly displacing it. The intoxicating brew of rhythms emerge and disappear only to be replaced with others that push beautifully constructed harmonics and melodic invention through the listener's space, engaging the body as well as the mind. This is one hell of a debut album that uses the past to push righteously into the future.

:::Review by Thom Jurek:::

Nomo - Nomo (2004)

1. Discontinued 8:03
2. Better Than That 6:31
3. Not Wisely ... 0:41
4. Moving In Circles 6:25
5. ... Too Well 2:03
6. Busy 8:42
7. Untitled 0:28
8. Hourglass 7:15
9. The Seams 2:41
10. La La La 3:25

Credits
Congas - Nicole Turney
Djembe, Drums [Kpanlogo] - Antoinette Kudoto
Drums, Percussion - Dan Piccolo , Mike Gabelman
Flute, Saxophone [Tenor] - Leah Paul
Guitar [Fuzz], Percussion - Fred Thomas
Harp - Chilali Hugo
Mixed By, Guitar - Erik Hall
Organ, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] - Alex Chadsey
Producer, Mixed By, Guitar [Wah] - Warn Defever
Saxophone [Alto, Tenor] - Dann Friedman
Saxophone [Baritone] - Dan Bennett
Saxophone [Tenor] - Michael Herbst

Trombone - G. Scott Jones
Trumpet - Ingrid Racine
Vocals, Bass - Jamie Register
Vocals, Composed By, Written By, Mixed By, Saxophone [Tenor], Piano [Electric Mbira], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] - Elliot Bergman
Written-By - Segun Bucknor (tracks: 10)

Pianist Nik Bärtsch's Ronin has traveled a long way since its formation in 2001, through its early albums on Ronin Rhythm Records, its signing with ECM, and the three discs that label has so far released. Mid-decade, the Swiss band was forging its reputation with a relentlessly beat-centric style which Bärtsch dubbed "Zen funk" and "ritual groove music"—a blend of minimalism and James Brown which gave P-funkster George Clinton's maxim "free your ass and your mind will follow" a new millennial spin. The beats are still present, but are tempered now by other dimensions.
The three ECM discs—Llyrìa follows Stoa (2006) and Holon (2008)—have tracked Ronin's music as, via a series of incremental changes, it has evolved into something richer in content. With Llyrìa, standalone melodic top lines—that is, melodies not generated by the layering of instruments—show signs of becoming almost as important as uplifting rhythms. And throughout the suite of tunes, Bärtsch demonstrates a deeper concern with the nuances of light and shade. The new emphases are welcome: even the most dedicated trance junkies can only surrender to repetitive rhythms, however sophisticated their execution, for a finite length of time, without being buried by them—something which Bärtsch, who intends his music as something other than narcotic, would find abhorrent.
What has remained constant throughout this evolution is Bärtsch's insistence on through-composition: practically every note Ronin plays has been written in advance, with only subtle interpretive deviations permitted to the musicians. We have to take Bärtsch's word for this, because the performances of drummer Kaspar Rast and reed player Sha, in particular, frequently sound so of-the-moment that you'd never guess they're not improvised.
The 2010 edition of Ronin's music is well described by the title of this album. The llyria is a recently discovered luminescent creature of the deep ocean.
The opening track, "Modul 48," captures the picture as vividly as any hi-tech deepwater camera, as exquisite little melodic fragments drift in and out of the frame. Passages like this reoccur throughout the disc. So too, rather less frequently, do the ensemble polyrhythms of the band's first releases—"Modul 52" and "Modul 4" keep the faith and will give Ronin's longtime followers a familiar shot in the arm.
Ronin's growth has been made possible as much by the group's stability as it has by Bärtsch's inquiring aesthetic. In October 2010, the band will play its 300th hometown performance, at the Zurich club where it has maintained a Monday night residency since 2004. Such commitment, to each other and to the demands of live performance, makes for a continuing engine of change. Ronin may have traveled a long way since 2001, but it's a near certainty that the journey is far from finished.

:::Review by Chris May:::

Nik Bärtsch's Ronin - Llyrìa (2010)

01. Modul 48
02. Modul 52
03. Modul 55
04. Modul 47
05. Modul 53
06. Modul 51
07. Modul 49_44

Credits
Nik Bärtsch - (piano)
Sha - (alto saxophone, bass clarinet)
Björn Meyer - (bass)
Kaspar Rast - (drums)
Andi Pupato - (percussion)

:::Review from dripaudio.com:::

Inhabitants - The Furniture Moves Underneath (2007)

1. Kurt's Dirt 8:00
2. Sad Friend 4:56
3. Remember 7:25
4. The Rancher 5:49
5. Phototropism 6:18
6. A Part Of You 5:18
7. Drop Descender 9:03

Credits
Bass - Pete Schmitt
Drums - Skye Brooks
Guitar - Dave Sikula
Trumpet - JP Carter

Something was brewing in the lower east side of New York City in the spring of `66. Released on New Year`s Day 1967 this relic is probably the coolest, hippest and farthest out and overlooked recording of the `60s bar none. These cats ventured where no one dared tread in 1966, blowing every band away in their path with their galvanizing psychedelic performances that contained an uncanny concoction of blues, rock,folk, East Indian and be-bop. Considered by afficiados to be the first jazz-rock recording ever The Free Spirits`Out Of Sight An Out Of Sound was exactly as the title implied, radical stuff, as guitarist Larry Coryell would recall years later.
The band consisted of players who were mostly weaned on more traditional jazz stylings started out playing just that before being swayed by mastermind Coryell more in the direction of rock with his affections for the music of Bob Dylan and The Beatles. Reluctant at first, the other members which included Jim Pepper on woodwinds, Chris Hills on bass, Bob Moses on drums and second guitarist Columbus Baker, the only member with no jazz backround, eventually took his cues and consolidated their individual virtuosic musical abilities to create hybrid music that wasn`t heard until several years later by such groups as Tony Williams`Lifetime, Weather Report or during Miles Davis`Bitches Brew Sessions. Even so, at the time these young aspiring musicians could not be considered musical visionaries in the least, they were just five cats who hooked up and were just doing their thing much in the same way as many bands were doing back in the free thinking latter half of the sixties.
After a scant two month`s tenure at one of New York City`s east end`s grooviest clubs, The Scene, they were invited to cut a record for ABC records with veteran engineer Bob Theile who had previously worked with the likes of jazzmen John Coltrane and Charles Mingus. Unfortunately, Theile didn`t hold rock musicians in the same regard and the recording didn`t come off as most of the band expected and was hurriedly completed with none of the original compositions exceeding much more than 3 minutes which didn`t allow for much freaking out instrumentally. The album didn`t compare to the intensity of their live performances which , according to many who witnessed them, were full of improvisation and flair. Notwithstanding the shortsightedness of corporate types the album featured competent musicians who could hold their own in any jazz ensemble of the day while at the same time playing music which was socially and culturally in tune with the hippie generation, singing about peace and love which could be compared to The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas and The Beatles complete with stoned out vocals and twangy guitar by Coryell who even played sitar on a couple of tracks. What really made the music jive was the inclusion of Peppers avant crazed tenor sax and flute cries on tracks like the acid soaked Don`t Look Now, the hippie anthem I`m Gonna Be Free and Storm which was certainly one of the first pop songs to feature the flute. Bob Moses` pertinacious be-bop tendencies on the drum kit, which are in evidece throughout, also gave their sound a certain smoothness which gave the record even more groovy hip feel.
Don`t expect any of the improvisational guitar wizardry of Larry Coryell here ( he hardly solos ), but it`s interesting to hear this early marriage of different musical sensibilities from a group of cutting edge musicians which just grooves and moves. One of the few examples of psychedelic jazz from the sixties. Imagine John Coltrane and Wes Montgomery meets The Beatles and Hendrix. Those who think Miles invented fusion should definitely give this gem a spin. A veritable unsung artifact of rock 'n roll history.

:::Review by Vibrationbaby:::

The Free Spirits - Out Of Sight And Sound (1967) (2006)

1. Don`t Look Now ( But Your Head Is Turned Around ) 2:19
2. I`m Gonna Be Free 3:30
3. Lbod 3:05
4. Sunday Telephone 2:57
5. Blue Water Mother 2:46
6. Girl Of The Mountain 2:42
7. Cosmic Daddy Dancer 2:36
8. Bad News Cat 3:26
9. Storm 2:15
10. Early Mornin`Fear 2:39
11. Angels Can`t Be True 2:43
12. Tattoo Man 2:59
13. I Feel A Song 2:36

Credits
- Larry Coryell / guitar, sitar, vocals
- Jim Pepper / saxophone, flute
- Columbus Baker / bass
- Bob Moses / drums

:::Review by Michael G. Nastos :::

Mikrokolektyw - Revisit (2010)

1. Revisit 5:34
2. Rocket Street 2:52
3. Running Without Effort 5:45
4. Tiring Holiday 5:40
5. Almost a Good Mood 2:06
6. Attention! 2:13
7. Lupiko 5:08
8. Casio 4:56
9. Tar Man 4:14
10. Watermelon From the 80s 2:16
11. Gift 1:35

Credits
Jakub Suchar: drums
Artur Majewski: trumpet

Elvis Schoenberg's Orchestre Surreal is a "twenty-five-piece group of daring top Los Angeles studio musicians, that fuse classical, jazz, rock hip hop, world music and just about anything else," founded in 1997. "Elvis Schoenberg" is the persona of Los Angeles-based composer Ross Wright, who has been described as "either a musical madman or an eclectic genius." The group has marched in the Pasadena Doo-Dah Parade. In a 2003 review of a performance at the Ford Amphitheater, the Los Angeles Times wrote that:

Not merely content to perform shotgun marriages between the likes of Wagner and Nancy Sinatra, Mussorgsky and Santana, etc., [Ross Wright] (er, [Elvis Schoenberg]) took on a more ambitious task Friday night at the Ford Amphitheatre -- a "book musical" of a sort called "Symphony of the Absurd!" It was, as Ed Sullivan would have said, "a really big shew" in which Wright incorporated many of his set pieces and some newer numbers into a hellzapoppin' revue, with an eclectic assortment of dancers, sexy girls, pulp novel narrations, lighting effects, dry ice.

Ross Wright AKA Elvis Schoenberg received a Masters of Music degree from California State University Los Angeles in addition to a variety of other degrees and certifications.

The Orchestre Surréal was created by Elvis Schoenberg AKA Ross Wright who Derived the name from Classical Music Icon Arnold Schoenberg and Pop Icon Elvis Aaron Presley. The name summarizes the spirit and content of the group much of the groups material are modern classical arrangements of Classic Rock Songs.
As if Arnold Schoenberg were hired to write arrangements for Elvis Presley.
The Group’s size and configuration was designed to (as efficiently as possible) be able to perform classical orchestral music, Big Band Jazz music and Rock and Roll all simultaneously. So for this task the ensemble consists of three woodwinds players who all double: ww1. Piccolo, Flute, Soprano and Alto Saxophone, ww2. Flue and Tenor Sax, ww3 Clarinet, Bass clarinet, Baritone Saxophone, Two French Horns, Two Trumpets, Trombone, Tuba, Electric Guitar player who also plays sitar, Pipa, and almost anything with strings and frets. Keyboards, Electric Bass, 2 Percussionists playing mallets, timpani and a wide assortment of hand percussion. Violin 1, violin 2, viola, Cello, and Contra Bass, The size of the string section varies from 6 to 1 on a part.
Elvis Schoenberg, writes all the music for the group and is the group’s conductor. Fronting the group are a variety of singers and performance artists.
Angela Carole Brown AKA The Fabulous Miss Thing, Dan O’Callaghan AKA Dangerous Dan, April Fissell AKA Diva Lynn, Susan Asbjornson AKA High-D, Jason Paige, Becky Baeling. The musicians are working studio musicians who perform regularly on Hollywood soundtracks of major feature films.
Schoenberg and company have made a name for themselves locally in Los Angeles over the last several seasons both as superb musicians and as performance artists who bring a robust theatricality and strong visual elements to the stage, while their music fuses traditional classical music with rock classics. Jim Morrison meets Stravinsky. Prokofiev mixes it up with John Fogerty. The Allman Brothers merge with Rossini. Mick Jagger encounters Ravel and Copeland. No genre is off-limits to Schoenberg and crew, equally adept at playing classical music, rock, jazz, hip-hop, samba, TV theme music and hard-driving rock-and-roll.
The Orchestre Surréal’s mission is to “boldly go where no orchestra has gone before.” The purpose is to blend musical styles and thereby blend cultures together equally. Demonstrating that if all musical styles can co-exist harmoniously then so can all people.
1998 and was immediately recognized by Music Connection Magazine as one of LA top unsigned bands two years in a row. The group earned: Best Rock Opera Of The Year, Best Orchestral Arranger, and Outstanding Performance Award by the Los Angeles Music Awards in 2003 and 2004. The group has written and produced three fully staged musicals. The first: “Dismembering the Classics” a Shakespearian twist that connected Classic rock tunes together in a The Next one was “Symphony Of the Absurd” Which ran one night at the John Anson Ford Theater “ Concerto For the Committed” Jon Pepper Music Connection Magazine Elvis Schoenbergs Orchestre Surréal plays an odd, yet entertaining musical blend of rock, classical, big band jazz, lounge, and just about every other type of music. Most of the lyrics are from rock songs like Purple Haze and Ramblin man, but the arrangements by Schoenberg are what set this band apart. Philosophical and humorous, this is music that while remaining entertaining, does not take itself too seriously.

:::Review by wikipedia:::

Elvis Schoenberg's Orchestre Surreal - It´s Alive! (2004)

1- these boots are made for walking (hazelwood / strauss)
2- interlude
3- live and let die (paul & linda mccartney / carl orff)
4- interlude
5- evil ways (clarence henry / modest mussorgsky)
6- interlude
7- nessun dorma (giacomo puccini)
8- interlude
9- blue suede shoes (carl perkins)
10- interlude
11- takin' care of business (randy bachman / georges bizet)
12- interlude
13- little wing (jimi hendrix)
14- interlude
15- jive talking (barry gibb, robin gibb, maurice gibb)
16- interlude
17- the stompin' five (ludwig von beethoven)

Credits
ross wright as "elvis schoenberg": conductor, arranger, vocals
angela carole brown as "the fabulous miss thing": vocals
daniel o'callaghan as "dangerous dan": vocals
chantelle louise krenn: soprano vocalist
tom vos: violin
ted falcon: cioling
elizabeth chorley: violin
rosio arron: violin
patrick morgan: violin
caroline buckman: viola
alma lisa fernandez: viola
sara rilling: viola
john krovoza: cello
david takahashi: cello
jean marinelli: french horn
danielle ondarza: french horn
ron king: trumpet
tim wendt: trumpet
larry williams: trumpet
john grab: trombone
brent fischer: electric bass
mike faue: percussion
chris wabich: drums and percussion
ken rosser: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, pipa
terry landrey: flute and tenor saxophone
robert kyle: flute and tenor saxophone
david arana: piano and keyboards
jennifer hall: piccolo, flute, alto and bartitone saxophone
mike nelson: clarinet, bass clarinet, alto and baritone saxophone

Well, I've been banging on about these chaps for months now and I've finally gotten round to adding them so I suppose a review is in order.
This album (to date the only one I've heard by the group) is just irresistable. Often complex, endlessly quirky and inventive yet accessible enough to play to just about anyone on one condition: That they possess a sense of humor. For, ladies and gents, I can think of few artists other than the great Zappa himself who are quite as relentlessly silly, whimsical and playful in their approach to music than Eskimo.
Right from the off you know you're in for a pretty crazy time of it as the first song "Bones of the Saints" leaps from style to style at least five times in just over two minutes. From its quirky avant-prog opening strains through metal to tribal beats and nonsensical a capella lyrics, it's a positively bewildering opener. And it doesn't get much more predictable through the rest of the album, either.
Really, there's little point me attempting to describe the myriad of sounds and styles showcased on this album, save to say that Eskimo still manage to build up an impressively distinct character by instrumentation alone - the dominant trombone and marimba call to mind the Magic Band (particularly around about the Shiny Beast era) and basically nobody else. As I mentioned in my the biography page, most of the stylistic changes are borderline-pastiche rather than a serious attempt to fuse countless genres. However, the album is none the worse for this playful attitude towards composition.
It's hard to pick favorite songs as most of their tracks are quite short and they simply allow the album to ebb and flow from one idea to the next. It's both a fragmented and deeply unified piece of work. However, if I'm forced to, I'd say the borderline jazz-hop/patriotic pomp of "Bughead", the out-and-out avant-funk of "Dado Peru" and the silly, mystical and at times even unsettling "Kill the Great Raven" are all stand-out tracks.
In conclusion, if you're anything like me then the terms I've used to describe Eskimo (such as quirky, complex, bewildering, playful) will have already got you salivating at the mere thought of this album. If those words do nothing for you, stay well clear. You'd simply be wasting everybody's time.

:::Review by The Hemulen:::

Eskimo - The Further Adventures of der Shrimpkin (1995)

1. Bones Of The Saints (2:04)
2. Bughead (3:18)
3. Count Rock(u-ass)ula (1:07)
4. The You're So Slender (1:30)
5. Dado Peru (5:46)
6. O Those Eyes (1:24)
7. Pumpkins (1:11)
8. Babykins (1:04)
9. Kill The Great Raven (2:57)
10. Young Mr. Plum (1:48)
11. Schmeknicolor (1:22)
12. McDung Lung Tongue (1:08)
13. (The Assassination Of) Principal Poop (1:10)
14. Ribbit (5:42)
15. Bellyup (0:53)
16. Buttplug (1:13)
17. Blue Pepper (Far East Of The Blues) (2:53)
18. Lil' Surfari Girl (0:53)
19. Oops (1:28)
20. Wooden Shoes (0:30)
21. Colonel Plank (0:14)
22. The Ho Chi Minh Trail (0:16)
23. Mammy, Cold And Clammy (0:43)
24. Electric Acid Pancake House (plus bonus track) (15:00)

Credits
- Eric Bonerz / drums
- David Cooper / vocals, marimba, vibes
- Mark Landsman / bass
- John Shiurba / guitar, vocals
- Tom Yoder / trombone

Guest appearances
- Ralph Carney / reeds
- John Yi / reeds
- Angela Coon / vocals
- Damien Rasmussen / vocals
- Lars Fox / vocals
- Arline Klatte / vocals

Claudia Heuermann's "A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: Twelve Stories About John Zorn" is not quite what it seems. Expectations ran high, a documentary about John Zorn, the man who rarely grants interviews and when he does, seems to say everything and not say anything at all, whose music jumps genre to genre in a matter of seconds, captivates some, horrifies others, and has a strange sway over its fan.
What Heuermann did though was quite a bit different-- she told the story about her trying to make the movie, about her relationship with Zorn, from the moment she first discovered him (a friend playing her Naked City's "Torture Garden") to her meeting him for the first time, travelling to New York and deciding to make a movie about Zorn. It's really a piece about self-discovery, about learning to be one's "own parent".
Along the way, we get snippets of interviews with Zorn, brilliant statements, footage of rehearsals, recording sessions, remastering of "The Big Gundown" and live performances from Naked City, Painkiller, Masada, Bar Kokhba, Emergency, and "Rituals". We also get a brief explanation of game pieces and a picture of a frustrated artist who can't stop looking, who views music as problem solving, and who does it not for listeners, but for himself and the musicians.
This is the second time I've watched this-- the first time was when it first came out, and I was still in the process of discovering Zorn's work through a chance encounter at an independent movie theater (Naked City was the house music before the show, and somehow I knew who it was). Three months and a dozen or so Zorn CDs later and this came out to guide my way, to help put the pieces together.
A year after that and my Zorn collection is bordering on obscene and the piece still holds weight. It still is entertaining, and yeah, its not a lot of revelatory stuff, but it's a worthwhile viewing. Truth to be told, in many ways, the piece gave validity to my own view on my choice of career and my great passions. And I keep thinking that maybe when my coworkers ask why I'm making the four hour trip to New York City yet again to see some obscure musician who they've never heard of (and who if they did hear, they'd probably dislike), maybe in those situations I should let them borrow this and certainly Heuermann's experience isn't really that much different from mine. Isn't that powerful enough to merit a recommendation to someone else?
If you're just learning about Zorn, get this, it's critical. If you're already initiated, you probably already have it. It's got its flaw, but invariably, it's a deeply personal expression, how could it not? Either way, it's a fun film to watch. Recommended.

:::Review from amazon.com:::

John Zorn - A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories about John Zorn, DVD (2004)

Credits
- Cyro Baptista
- Joey Baron
- Stefan Blum
- Anna Carewe
- Jennifer Choi
- Greg Cohen
- Anthony Coleman
- Ariadne Daskalakis
- Uwe Dierksen
- Dave Douglas
- Mark Dresser
- Yamataka Eye
- Mark Feldman
- Erik Friedlander
- Bill Frisell
- Fred Frith
- Mihoko Fujimura
- Joyce Hammann
- Wayne Horvitz
- Susie Ibarra
- Matthias Kaul
- Otis Klöber
- Briggan Krauss
- Bill Laswell
- Hartmut Leistritz
- Dave Lombardo
- John Medeski
- Ikue Mori
- Nele B. Nelle
- Mike Patton
- Jim Pugliese
- Marc Ribot
- Roberto Rodriguez
- Josh Roseman
- Jamie Saft
- Astrid Schmeling
- Michael Schröder
- Stefan Schäfer
- David Shea
- Chris Speed
- Jim Staley
- Mason Wendell
- William Winant
- Kenny Wollesen
- John Zorn

Releases information
DVD Tzadik (TZ 3001), Mar 2004

Top jazz rock ensemble with one of Germany's leading guitarists (Toto Blanke) and great jazz musicians in the band (Charlie Mariano, Joachim Kühn and others). The only drawback: it lacks originality. This could be a John McLaughlin & Mahavishnu Orchestra record.

Amazingly excellent heavy fusion or instrumental hard rock. Charlie Mariano is underutilized.  Great grooving playing from Blanke, John Lee on bass, Joachim Kühn on keys and Gerry Brown on drums. Very heavy.

Elegant prog fusion laced with latin touches. Recommended.

:::Reviews from rateyourmusic:::

Toto Blanke - Spider's Dance (1975)

A1. Lady's Bicycle Seat Smeller 7:00
A2. Intermission 6:58
A3. Rocbaron 2:45
A4. Toto 6:22
B1. Spider's Dance 4:33
B2. Prelude 0:58
B3. Slight Touch Of Hepatitis 14:28

Credits
Bass - John Lee

Drums - Gerry Brown
Guitar - Toto Blanke
Piano - Joachim Kühn
Saxophone, Flute - Charly Mariano

For decades, Crimsonheads around the world, if you wanted to know what the second-era KC sounded like, you either had to buy the USA live album with its rather muddy sound or had to rely on diverse quality bootlegs. One may understand that bootleggers are ripping off the artistes, but in Crimson's case, the fact that the only live albums available were rather poor quality (listen to Earthbound to dig what I mean), and the many improvisations that the group was experimenting on stage were excuses enough for fans dishing out money for pirated tapes. In the mid-90's, some groups became well aware that those bootlegs were of extreme quality and there was not reason for them to bootleg the bootlegs and making money of those now-finally legal tapes. ELP, Tangerine Dream and Crimson are three of the groups in progressive rock that have adopted this strategy, and are we not so happy they just jumped the gun?
But now Crimsonheads are faced with a dilemma: Which of the three main releases to get? The four CD box-set being reviewed here, the single concert release of The Nightwatch or the finally re-released (and improved sound wise and great bonus tracks) USA Live? Clearly on of the main criteria of selection will be the sound, which would almost automatically dismiss the third potion if it was not for the fantastically superb and superlative improv Asbury Park still not available elsewhere. Another criteria will be the price for a single Cd (USA), a double set (Nightwatch) and this heavy box-set (probably a limited edition too and a hefty price) and in this case the first eliminated in the previous criteria is the clear winner.
The first Cd from this set is made up of one concert in Providence (stretching on to the second Cd) where the sound is as pristine as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, but the track list contains absolutely awesome and one of the two improv Cosmos is simply astounding (and maybe the closest sounding to Asbury Park from USA), only two tracks for the patchy SABB album, a superb rendition of Easy Money and icing on the cake a version of Starless with David Cross on violin: fabulous. The Providence improv is much more entertaining than on the studio album too.
The second 2 finishes the Providence concert, gives a piece of a Penn State Uni concert (with a superb improv to closer off the disc) but is mostly concentrating on a Glaswegian concert ending with a rare Cat Food and the Peace theme from the Poseidon album. Even with those minor surprise and many improvs, this second disc is not as brilliant as the first one, partly because the track selection is less successful, but the continuity is broken by three separate entities. Only one declared improv but another four are just as well improvised.
The third disc is a bit less disjointed, but another piece of the Penn State concert ends it. A whopping four improvs (most of them average quality - which means they develop into nothing special - but great to hear anyway) grace this disc and one strange Doctor Diamond, which is (as far as I know) a full composition never available anywhere else - and a worthy one too. The closing improv is one hell of a scorcher too!!!
The last disc is certainly not the least of the four is also split in two concerts, one at Toronto's Massey Hall (I am just sick thinking I was only 10 when this gig happened around my turf) and a Swiss show. The Canadian gig has a demented improv and a calmer based on Trio. The Swiss has some rather unusual improvs on the No Pussyfooting theme but also another two part improv and a definitive version of Talking Drum as a closer.
As far as repeats arte concerned, throughout the four Cds, the only track you will hear more than twice is Easy Money (3.5 times) and Night Watch (three times), which out of 47 tracks total is rather fair.
But life is never that simple, and soon or later, the Crimsonhead will want the other releases, which is another debate altogether, is it not?
In my case, I consider this box-set indispensable and even more than absolutely essential (it has a superb booklet and tons of improvs), and I still like the USA live album for historical reasons, so The Nightwatch might just be the odd one out. Any takers for my copy of it? ;-)

:::Review by Sean Trane:::

King Crimson - The Great Deceiver Live 1973 – 1974 (1992)

CD ONE

Palace Theatre, Providence, RI

June 30th 1974

1. Walk On ... No Pussyfooting (0:49)
2. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two (6:24)
3. Lament (4:39)
4. Exiles (8:57)
5. Improv: A Voyage to the Centre of the Cosmos (15:03)
6. Easy Money (7:13)
7. Improv: Providence (10:19)
8. Fracture (11:14)
9. Starless (12:04)

CD TWO

Providence ... continued (encore)

1. 21st Century Schizoid Man (8:27)
2. Walk Off From Providence ... No Pussyfooting (1:21)

Walk On to Glasgow ... Glasgow Apollo

October 23rd 1973

3. Sharks' Lungs in Lemsip (3:22)
4. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One (7:50)
5. Book of Saturday (3:03)
6. Easy Money (6:41)
7. We'll Let You Know (4:55)
8. The Night Watch (5:17)
9. Improv: Tight Scrummy (8:58)
10. Peace - A Theme (1:01)
11. Cat Food (4:36)

Penn State University

June 29th 1974

12. Easy Money... (2:20)
13. ...It Is for You, But Not for Us (9:12)

CD THREE

Pittsburgh, PA - Stanley Warner Theatre

April 29th 1974

1. Walk On ... No Pussyfooting (0:59)
2. The Great Deceiver (4:27)
3. Improv: Bartley Butsford (3:12)
4. Exiles (7:19)
5. Improv: Daniel Dust (4:09)
6. The Night Watch (4:40)
7. Doctor Diamond (5:12)
8. Starless (12:26)
9. Improv: Wilton Carpet (5:53)
10. The Talking Drum (5:29)
11. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part Two (abbreviated) (4:08)

Penn State University

June 29th 1974

12. Applause & Announcement (2:12)
13. Improv: Is There Life Out There? (14:51)

CD FOUR

Toronto, Massey Hall

June 24th 1974

1. Improv: The Golden Walnut (11:47)
2. The Night Watch (4:27)
3. Fracture (11:53)
4. Improv: Clueless and Slightly Slack (8:12)

Zurich Volkshaus

November 15th 1973

5. Walk On ... No Pussyfooting (0:53)
6. Improv: Some Pussyfooting (2:27)
7. Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part One (8:16)
8. Improv: The Law of Maximum Distress, Part One (6:32)
9. Improv: The Law of Maximum Distress, Part Two (2:33)
10. Easy Money (7:32)
11. Improv: Some More Pussyfooting (5:53)
12. The Talking Drum (6:04)

Credits
- David Cross / violin, mellotron, electric piano
- Robert Fripp / guitar, mellotron, electric piano
- John Wetton / bass guitar, vocals
- Bill Bruford / drums, percussion

Hi Jazzlovers!

I have decided to suspend my blog. 

Bringing up my child have become more fun and responsibility, obviously.

Literally, It does not give me much time for my 'free time' projects at the moment. 

Another thing is, that I have moved to another place leaving my CD collection in hometown.

Sadly, my music backup HD broke down.

Links will be active for month or so.

After that time I am going to cancel my blog.

Hope you enjoyed my music experience.

Keep it real!

Peace!

jazzlover