Stuart Kremsky was the San Francisco “Short Takes” correspondent for Cadence magazine from 1979-2007. His reviews have appeared in Option, Sound Choice, Cadence, and the IAJRC Journal. He was a sound man at the fabled Keystone Korner and for over ten years was the tape archivist for Fantasy Records, where his production credits include boxed sets of Sonny Stitt, Dexter Gordon, the Modern Jazz Quartet and the Grammy-nominated Sam Cooke With the Soul Stirrers. Email skremsky1 (at) gmail.com
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet : The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions
There was a period in which multi-instrumentalist Eric Dolphy was one of the most controversial figures in improvised music. His contributions were labeled “anti-jazz” by DownBeat associate editor John Tynan in November 1961, in an infamous review of the John Coltrane quintet’s appearance at the Village Vanguard. I guess he was just ahead of his time. Equally proficient and innovative on alto saxophone, flute and bass clarinet, Dolphy was associated with some of the biggest names in the music, including Charles Mingus, Chico Hamilton, Oliver Nelson, and Coltrane. As a leader, Dolphy made some well-received albums for Prestige, later collected in a 9-CD set. His sole Blue Note outing, Out To Lunch!, recorded in February 1964, is on many lists as one of the best jazz albums ever issued. The year before that session, in July 1963, producer Alan Douglas got Dolphy into the studio with a number of like-minded musicians to work on two Lp’s released as Conversations and Iron Man. The former was on Douglas’ own short-lived FM label; the latter came out years later on Douglas Records. By the time I started buying jazz records in the early Seventies, they were long out of print. My first encounter with any of this music was on a budget label, Everest, which omitted any useful information as it coupled the first two tracks on Conversations (Jitterbug Waltz and Music Matador, both long-time favorites) with two totally unrelated tracks by Cannonball Adderley and Gene Ammons (!). Now, after an interval of more than half a century, the music from these sessions has been issued in pristine mono as Musical Prophet : The Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions, a three-LP or three CD set that includes an entire disc of revelatory previously unreleased alternate takes. Among the musicians joining Dolphy on these sessions were the well-established Clifford Jordan on soprano sax, future luminaries Woody Shaw on trumpet, making his recording debut, Sonny Simmons on alto sax, and Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. Bassist Richard Davis (who also recorded with Rahsaan Roland Kirk, James Moody, Milt Jackson, and Ben Webster in 1963) plays wonderfully in duet with Dolphy on the Dietz/Schwartz standard Alone Together, Dolphy’s Ode to Charlie Parker, Ellington’s Come Sunday, and two previously unheard and sublimely beautiful takes of Roland Hanna’s Muses For Richard Davis. The set also includes the only song recorded at a March 1964 session led by pianist Bob James, variously known as Jim Crow or A Personal Statement, with lyrics and vocalise performed by countertenor David Schwartz. Dolphy is brilliant, but as far as Schwartz’s contribution is concerned, the less said the better.
Resonance has pulled out all the stops for this package. The 96-page booklet included with the CD version is chock-full of rare photos, memorabilia from Dolphy’s personal archive, an introduction by co-producer Zev Feldman about the genesis of the project, plus short essays by flute master and co-producer James Newton, who was entrusted with the Douglas tapes, and historian Robin D.G. Kelley. In addition, there’s a short piece by Bill Laswell about working with Alan Douglas, reminiscences by long-time Dolphy friend Juanita Smith (the widow of composer Hale Smith), Richard Davis, Sonny Simmons, Han Bennink, Joe Chambers, and Sonny Rollins, an essay by Japanese scholar Masakazu Sato on the popularity of Dolphy’s music in Japan, and more. There’s also a section of interviews with active musicians discussing Dolphy’s influence, where we get to hear what his music has meant to Nicole Mitchell, Henry Threadgill, Oliver Lake, Steve Coleman, David Murray, Dave Liebman, and Marty Ehrlich.
Dolphy’s music, which Joe Chambers characterizes as “free interplay,” is passionate, inventive, and as Nicole Mitchell notes, “it doesn’t sound dated.” Dolphy was, as Steve Coleman says, a virtuoso on his instruments, and Oliver Lake describes Dolphy’s music as “the epitome of creativity.” Kudos to Resonance for this truly inspirational release, which restores this glorious music to wide circulation, making it available to new generations of fans and musicians alike. Unequivocally recommended! Resonance HLP-9035 (Lp) or HCD-2035 (CD); Eric Dolphy (as, fl, bcl) with Woody Shaw (tp) Prince Lasha (fl) Sonny Simmons (as) Clifford Jordan (ss) Garvin Bushell (bassoon) Bobby Hutcherson (vib) Richard Davis, Eddie Khan (b) J.C. Moses, Charles Moffett (d); NYC, July 1 & 3, 1963, except A Personal Statement [Dolphy, Bob James (p) Ron Brooks (b) Robert Pozar (perc) David Schwartz (vcl)], Ann Arbor, MI, March 2, 1964; Disc 1 (Conversations, 49:56): Jitterbug Waltz/ Music Matador/ Love Me/ Alone Together/ *Muses for Richard Davis 1/ *Muses for Richard Davis 2. Disc 2 (Iron Man, 55:40): Iron Man/ Mandrake/ Come Sunday/ Burning Spear/ Ode to Charlie Parker/ *A Personal Statement (alt.). *Disc 3 (53:02): Music Matador (alt.)/ Love Me (alt. 1) Love Me (alt. 2)/ Alone Together (alt.)/ Jitterbug Waltz (alt.)/ Mandrake (alt.)/ Burning Spear (alt.) All of disc 3, the alternate take of A Personal Statement, and the two takes of Muses for Richard Davis, marked with a *, are previously unissued. www.resonancerecords.org
Monday, January 28, 2019
Black Art Jazz Collective: Armor Of Pride
The Black Art Jazz Collective is a sextet, with Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, James Burton III on trombone, Wayne Escoffery on tenor saxophone, Xavier Davis at the piano, Vicente Archer on bass, and Johnathan Blake on drums. Armor Of Pride is their second recording, featuring eight originals, each composed by one of the band members except for bassist Archer. Pelt, Escoffery, and Blake formed the band, enlisting Davis, Burton and the late bassist Dwayne Burno to join them, with the sextet playing its first gig in April 2013. Vicente Archer came into the group after Burno passed away later that year. The band’s name, the booklet’s inclusion of a Langston Hughes quote about “the duty of the younger Negro artist,” and some of the song titles are indicators of the political impetus for this group. The political implications of most Sixties hard bop, largely expressed through song and album titles, was the emphasis on freedom of expression within the largely African-American art form and by extension freedom within American society. Only sometimes, notably in the work of Max Roach (We Insist: Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite), Charles Mingus (Fables of Faubus) and Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Volunteered Slavery), were the politics up front and in your face. There’s still quite a lot to be angry about in the USA, and while there are a lot of songs and rants out there, the Black Art Jazz Collective chooses to express their concerns via writing music and playing their asses off. Blake’s Miller Time leads off, a mid-tempo groover that lets you know that you’re in good hands for the next three-quarters of an hour. Escoffery’s title track shines the spotlight on the brass section, with a bold solo by trombonist Burton followed by a sly turn by trumpeter Pelt. Escoffery follows with a vigorous solo of his own. Blake’s whirlwind drumming is crucial to the success of this track. Pelt’s ballad Awuraa Amma begins as a feature for the trumpeter’s beautifully rounded sound and his architectural sense of how to build a solo. A romantic sounding Escoffery and some lush piano stylings by Davis complete the picture. The Spin Doctor is a Burton original that smokes from the start. Escoffery tears it up, urged on by the thumping rhythm section. The incendiary Pelt solos as the piece gains intensity, followed by a brisk trombone solo by the composer. And There She Was, Lovely as Ever is another Pelt ballad, and it’s just as charming as you might expect from the title. The luscious blending of the horns as they state the melody leads into a brief piano solo before Pelt takes the lead. At a bit over three minutes, this one is short and sweet. Another Pelt composition, Pretty, moves into toe-tapping territory for more of the composer’s blues-tinged trumpet. Xavier Davis’ When Will We Learn is a real burner, eliciting a furiously convoluted trombone solo by Burton, some exciting tenor playing by Escoffery, and a hard-driving piano solo by the composer. Escoffery’s Black Art concludes the disc with the kind of up-tempo number that leaves listeners excited, drained, and wanting more. True to the ensemble’s name, it’s the collective that shines throughout this set. That’s not to deny the individual talents of the players, which are considerable, but to emphasize that since improvised music is shaped by individuals in the service of the group, the Black Art Jazz Collective succeeds on all counts. Highly recommended.
HighNote HCD 7313; Jeremy Pelt (tp) James Burton III (tbn) Wayne Escoffery (ts) Xavier Davis (p) Vicente Archer (b) Johnathan Blake (d); Brooklyn, NY, February 11-12, 2018; Miller Time/ Armor of Pride/ Awuraa Amma/ The Spin Doctor/ And There She Was, Lovely as Ever/ Pretty/ When Will We Learn/ Black Art; 45:24. www.jazzdepot.com
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Anne Sajdera: New Year
When San Francisco Bay Area pianist and composer Anne Sajdera traveled to Prague in 2014 to visit with family members that she’d never met, finding new musical partners wasn’t part of the program. But it happened just the same as she encountered two world-class players in trumpeter Miroslav Hloucal and alto saxophonist Jan Fečo. The pair is featured on New Year, an enjoyable post-bop collection of songs recorded back in California. The tunes are mostly by Sajdera, with a few by Hloucal and one traditional Roma piece arranged by Fečo. Even with a changing cast of bass players and drummers and various guest stars, including tenor saxist Bob Mintzer on the title track, the music remains consistently swinging and absorbing. A fine soloist and generous accompanist, Sajdera has a brightly propulsive style at the keyboard, distinctly modern and harmonically astute. Hloucal shines on his own Butterfly Effect, which also features a lovely piano solo by Sajdera. Changeling is also by Hloucal. His thoughtful opening solo leads right into a bouncy piano solo, followed by a rather laid-back alto solo by Fečo. Sajdera’s regular trio with bassist Gary Brown and drummer Deszon Claiborne is heard on two of her originals. The first is Treasure, the most ambitious piece of the set. Her European friends lay out in favor of trumpeter Erik Jekabson and alto saxist Lyle Link. Rita Thies, on flute, and Joyce Lee, overdubbing violins and cellos, add fresh colors to this calm and relaxed ballad. The other song to feature her trio is Bright Lights, which also includes Jekabson and Link on a straight-ahead up-tempo number that swings hard with some of Sajdera’s best playing on the disc. Fečo’s arrangement of It Depends on That fits right into the modern jazz ethos of the session, as the horns play and repeat the melody over the gently churning rhythm section. Sajdera goes it alone on the brief Even the Sun Sets, a peaceful ballad that sets the stage for the finale. Sajdera’s Azul was the title track on her first release in 2012, and this graceful samba is reprised for this album’s only location recording, ending the disc in style. The satisfying New Year offers further proof that music really is the universal language. Bijuri 2083; Miroslav Hloucal (tp, flgh) Erik Jacobson (tp, flgh on 3,6) Jan Fečo (as) Lyle Link (as on 3,6) Bob Mintzer (ts on 1) Rita Thies (fl on 3) Joyce Lee (vln, clo on 3) Anne Sajdera (p) Dan Feiszli (1,2,4,5,7,9) or Gary Brown (3,6) (b) Jason Lewis (1,4,5,7,9), Alan Hall (2) or Deszon Claiborne (3,6) (d); Berkeley, CA, & Oakland, CA (8), no dates specified; 1.Pictures/ 2.New Year/ 3.Treasure/ 4.Butterfly Effect/ 5.Changeling/ 6.Bright Lights/ 7.It Depends on That/ 8. Even the Sun Sets/ 9.Azul; 46:57. www.bijurirecords.com
Friday, January 18, 2019
Keith Oxman: Glimpses
I know I’m far from alone in being a fan of the two tenor saxophone plus rhythm section quintet format, epitomized by the Johnny Griffin/Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis quintet from the early Sixties. Denver-based tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman’s Glimpses, featuring Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano, starts out in that vein, swinging hard on the Oxman original Shai. A pair of potent tenor solos bookend a nicely flowing piano solo by Jeff Jenkins. Oxman is up first, playing a more inside style than we hear from the flamboyant Liebman. As they do throughout the proceedings, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Todd Reid provide a firm foundation for the soloists. Lenny is another Oxman original, a polite ballad that tends to drag a bit. It’s also the occasion for a particularly sweet soprano saxophone solo by Liebman. Oxman also composed Trane’s Pal, a successful mid-tempo swinger with fleet piano work by Jenkins, and Louminus, a snappy number with some surprising twists in the melody. A wailing Liebman tests the limits of his tenor in his most Coltrane-influenced solo of the date, while Oxman takes a more nuanced approach in his well-constructed solo. And dig how the saxes trade licks after the sparkling piano solo. Jenkins on piano and Liebman on tenor play a duet on Ellington’s timeless In a Sentimental Mood, stretching out but sticking closely to the beautiful melody in a lovely performance. The lone standard is the 1946 composition I Sold My Heart to the Junkman, a feature for Oxman at his most lyrical. The quintet has a lot of fun with the funky Afreaka, a Cedar Walton tune plucked from Lee Morgan’s 1967 album The Sixth Sense. Liebman contributes the title track, an uptempo romp that concludes the set and leaves you wanting more. Glimpses is a solid session of modern jazz, well worth your time.
Capri; Keith Oxman (ts) Dave Liebman (ts, ss) Jeff Jenkins (p) Ken Walker (b) Todd Reid (d); Denver, CO, November 1, 2017; Shai/ Lennie/ Trane’s Pal/ In a Sentimental Mood/ Afreaka/ Louminus/ I Sold My Heart to the Junkman/ Glimpses; 55:06. www.caprirecords.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Teddy Wilson: Classic Brunswick & Columbia Sessions 1934-1942
The brilliant swing era pianist Teddy Wilson came to prominence as a member of the Benny Goodman trio and quartet, starting in 1935, and as a frequent accompanist to Billie Holiday from 1935 to 1942. Those are the roles he’s largely remembered for, and that’s the material that’s been issued and reissued over the decades. That left a lot of other quality work dwelling in obscurity and is why the Mosaic boxed set of Classic Brunswick & Columbia Sessions 1934-1942 is such a treasure chest: the bulk of the music heard on the seven discs has never even been on Lp. Statistics, as always in a Mosaic collection, tell us a lot. The 169 selections on 7 CDs are drawn from 33 separate sessions, a mix of small group dates, solo piano recordings, and a few quartet and trio sessions made for the Brunswick and Columbia labels. As is typical for Mosaic sets, we’re treated to some unissued alternate takes, notably from the marathon trio session with bassist Al Hall and drummer J.C. Heard in April 1941. This set doesn’t represent Wilson’s total output for the period, although it comes close. The easily obtainable Holiday sides are absent. A producer’s note in the detailed and well-illustrated booklet details a few other exceptions.
Many of the jazz stars of the day make memorable appearances in the Wilson orchestra, including tenor saxophonists Ben Webster and Vido Musso, alto saxophonists Johnny Hodges and Benny Carter, clarinetist Benny Goodman, trumpeters Harry James and Bobby Hackett, trombonist Benny Morton, vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Helen Ward, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, bassist John Kirby, drummers Cozy Cole and Gene Krupa. Cole in particular is a mainstay of the Wilson group, appearing on eleven sessions from 1935 to 1938. Saxophonist and educator Loren Schoenberg contributes an extensive session-by-session musical and historical analysis to the booklet. While the occasional rawness of the sound might put off a few modern listeners, with a little time and attention to acclimate your ears, the warmth and beauty of the music will come through loud and clear.
Teddy Wilson, because of his impressive playing with Goodman, was my father’s favorite piano player, so I was introduced to the joys of his music at a relatively young age. When I started developing a record collection, I was very happy to find a copy of a French CBS compilation entitled The Teddy Wilson Piano Solos, one of the few available collections. In a sense, I’ve been waiting for this collection for years and didn’t even know it. In any particular musical scene, there are always seem to be a few key performers who raise the game of everyone around them to heights that they might not even have imagined. Judging from the unerringly positive results of just about everything that involved Wilson, I’m inclined to think that he’s one of that rare breed. You could almost keep these seven CDs in constant rotation for a few weeks and never grow tired of them. Highest recommendation!
Mosaic MD7-265; Disc 1 (71:16): Session A (5/22/34)-session I (6/30/36); Disc 2 (64:50): Session J (8/24/36)-session O (6/30/37); Disc 3 (73:05): Session P (8/29/37)-session S (3/23/38); Disc 4 (76:70): Session T (4/29/38)-session X (7/26/39); Disc 5 (72:25): Session Y (9/12/39)-session CC (4/7/41); Disc 6 (69:29): Session DD (4/11/41); Disc 7 (75:30): Session DD continued-session FF (1/21/42). Complete discographical details available at http://www.mosaicrecords.com/discography.asp?number=265-MD-CD&price=$119.00&copies=7%20CDs. Limited edition of 2,500 sets available at www.mosaicrecords.com.
Thursday, January 10, 2019
Dennis Lichtman: Just Cross The River
I’m not certain that you need someone who grew up in Queens, New York, to appreciate Just Cross The River, a new project by clarinetist Dennis Lichtman, but it sure helps. It takes a Queens resident to chuckle knowingly at song titles like Road Street Court Place Avenue Drive or 23rd Between 23rd and 23rd, two tributes to the borough’s genuinely odd street naming system. Any jazz fan who’s been paying attention knows that Louis Armstrong lived in Queens, but so did a number of other early jazz stars. The handsome package includes plenty of photos and memorabilia plus liner notes by Armstrong specialist Ricky Riccardi to look at while you’re enjoying the sounds of the sextet and their guests. The ensemble performs a nicely balanced program of the clarinetist’s perfectly idiomatic originals alongside five of what Armstrong would call “good old good ones.” The sound of the band, which Lichtman has dubbed the Queensboro Six, harks back to the classic jazz period, but with an attractive liveliness that keeps them from coming off as a mere nostalgia act. Trumpeter Gordon Au played with Lichtman in the Grand Street Stompers and Mona’s Hot Four, which also included trombonist J. Walter Hawkes, which helps to explain the easy-going rapport of the front line. Pianist Dalton Ridenhour has an old-fashioned approach to the keyboard, anchoring the rhythm section with the capable Nathan Peck on bass and the extremely adaptable Rob Garcia on drums. Mazz Swift adds some lovely violin stylings to a few tracks. She also sings Armstrong’s Someday You’ll Be Sorry. Guitarist and vocalist Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton sings and plays on the justifiably obscure chestnut Just Cross the River From Queens and returns to sing the finale, the oft-played Cake Walking Babies From Home, composed by Clarence Williams, Henry Troy and Chris Smith. Williams also had a hand in Squeeze Me, co-written with the great Fats Waller, another one-time Queens resident. Terry Wilson, making her recording debut, sings that one for us here, along with Waller’s immortal Blue Turning Grey Over You, with lyrics by frequent collaborator Andy Razaf. And Nick Russo, also a member of Mona’s Hot Four, adds some rhythm guitar to a couple of tracks. I have to say that I’m not that impressed with the vocalists, but the overall level of the musicianship is high and the sextet’s evident feeling for early jazz makes this CD quite enjoyable.
Triple Treble TTM-CD-007; Gordon Au (tp) J. Walter Hawkes (tbn) Dennis Lichtman (cl) Dalton Ridenhour (p) Nathan Peck (b) Rob Garcia (d) Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton (g on 8; vcl on 8,14) Mazz Swift (vln on 3-5; vcl on 5) Terry Wilson (vcl on 9,11) Nick Russo (g on 10,12); Brooklyn, NY, no dates specified; 1.7 Express/ 2.For Bix/ 3.Midnight at the Piers/ 4.Road Street Court Place Avenue Drive/ 5.Someday You’ll Be Sorry/ 6.Waltz for Camila/ 7. L.I.C. Strut/ 8. Just Cross the River From Queens/ 9.Blue Turning Grey Over You/ 10.23rd Between 23rd and 23rd/ 11.Squeeze Me/ 12.The Power of Not Then/ 13. I’d Remember Having Met You/ 14.Cake Walking Babies From Home; 53:45. www.dennislichtman.com
Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Sean Moran: Sun Tiger
You might think that changing from the bass in a guitar, bass and drums lineup to a cello wouldn’t alter the band’s dynamic that much, but Sun Tiger, the new album and band led by guitarist Sean Moran will make you rethink that proposition. It turns out that the extraordinary versatility of the cello, especially when played by the veteran Hank Roberts, forces everyone to adjust to a new balance in this trio, rounded out by the drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. The band shakes things up from the start with the boldly exploratory Suns, the first of seven Moran originals. Ably setting the stage for the whole disc, the piece covers plenty of ground in just over 7 minutes, with heavy grooves spotlighting Moran’s brash electric guitar, sections of light swing with Roberts’ cello out front, and a delicately polite passage with subdued guitar and some richly melodic cello that fades to silence. Roberts’ plucked cello leads us into the snaky One For Lacy, a tune that spotlights Roberts and Moran trading licks while a low-key Sperrazza keeps things buoyant. The vigorous three-way conversation of Arc makes the 9 minutes mostly seem to fly by, with just a bit of a lull during a quiet passage around the 7 minute mark. Next up is the peaceful and serene Cheyenne, with sweet arco cello lines shadowed by Moran’s electric guitar. That’s followed by the nervous-sounding Big Shoes, a mutated R’n’B exercise with insistent drumming and Roberts improvising with verve over Moran’s continuously repeated fuzz guitar lick in the opening minutes. A wild guitar solo becomes the focus around the halfway point of this especially spirited track. The vaguely Ellington-ish Eye Eye is sweet and relaxing, a showcase for Roberts’ cello in a deeply tender mood. The session wraps up with a gritty taste of Moran’s slide guitar on the rocking Percival. Sun Tiger is a total winner from start to finish, and is warmly recommended.
Skirl 040; Sean Moran (g) Hank Roberts (clo) Vinnie Sperrazza (d); Brooklyn, NY, January 25, 2017; Suns/ One For Lacy/ Arc/ Cheyenne/ Big Shoes/ Eye Eye/ Percival; 46:13. skirlrecords.com
Thursday, January 3, 2019
Simon Barker, Henry Kaiser, Bill Laswell & Rudresh Mahanthappa: Mudang Rock
Sometimes I think that guitarist Henry Kaiser and electric bassist Bill Laswell have performed or recorded with every musician in the world. Maybe it just seems that way. On Mudang Rock, inspired by “rhythms and Spirit of the Korean shamanic tradition,” the quartet of Simon Barker, Henry Kaiser, Bill Laswell & Rudresh Mahanthappa finds them teaming up with percussionist Barker and alto saxophonist Mahanthappa for a wild and woolly batch of improvisations. The pieces tend to be long, ranging from the seven hard-driving minutes of Logarhythm to Yongari vs. Bulgasari, clocking in at 19:18, making for a lengthy CD at over 74 minutes. Orange Kut plunges us right into their collective vision, with Laswell and Barker laying the groundwork for a typically passionate and keening alto solo by Mahanthappa. Kaiser soon joins the fray, bobbing and weaving through the rhythms with his wailing and piercing approach to the electric guitar. On Emphyrio Salpuri, Soo-Yeon Lyuh is heard on haegum, a traditional Korean stringed instrument with a sound like a sad violin with overtones of an Indian veena. She lends an exotic feel and a mournful tone to this relatively laid-back piece. The Story Changes brings the piano of Tania Chen and the cello of Danielle DeGruttola into the picture, contributing to a mysterious atmosphere of collective improvisation. Silappadikaram Pacifica features Barker’s African-influenced drumming dominating the proceedings while Mahanthappa and Kaiser conspire to weave swirling bursts of sound in response. (The Silappadikaram is a Tamil epic poem, composed between the 4th and 6th centuries AD.) Appropriately for a piece named after a couple of movie monsters, Kaiser’s effects-laden heavy guitar sound opens Yongari vs. Bulgasari. Mahanthappa’s solo follows with a series of increasingly harsh licks over a spare, dub-influenced accompaniment. That gets us to the half-way mark of this track. Kaiser and Mahanthappa trade the lead in the second half, sometimes with regular rhythms, sometimes with more spaced-out atmospherics. The whole effect is trippy indeed. More of Barker’s pounding drums are at the heart of The Final Ritual, with an especially active bass line by Laswell and more twisting and turning improvisations by Kaiser and Mahanthappa. Mudang Rock is an inspired exercise by a genre-busting unit, and it is definitely recommended.
Fractal Music 2018-001; Rudresh Mahanthappa (as) Henry Kaiser (g) Bill Laswell (b) Simon Barker(d) Soo-Yeon Lyuh (haegum on *) Tania Chen (p on #) Danielle DeGruttola (clo on #); prob. West Orange, NJ, July 2017; Orange Kut/ Logarhythm/ Emphyrio Salpuri*/ The Story Changes#/ Silappadikaram Pacifica/ Yongari vs. Bulgasari/ The Final Ritual; 74:26. www.henrykaiserguitar.com