Mark Nodwell Nemesis review

I know I am a bit behind...but I thought I'd write about some of my favorite things over the last few months......


Here is..a bit about a cd I got in the last year.

Nemesis was perhaps the best surprise of all the CD's I got, Its really a bit of a revelation, combining "free" and straight jazz texture's with electro-acoustic instrumentation. It's really quite good.
Nemesis the albums title, opens the set..you'd think looking at the artist listings that your are about to embark on a difficult, (hard to listen to) project. However, the sound here is straight ahead modern electric jazz...and to start out..almost mellow. Khabu is just such a superb player. Nodwells decision not to play, but to hire musicians to fulfill his compositions is curious, but clearly well thought out. Nodwell has picked well using the duo of Lande and Young along with long time collaborator Ron Miles crating a "rock" to build around has paid good dividends. The end result is an almost astonishing suite of music, that has me reminiscing to the "good old days" when the mix of electronics, jazz and rock was still fresh. The date is solid throughout, there's no dead weight in either band or compositions...but to me there are highlights: On Sortex, we really get an idea of what Khabu Doug Young is capable of. (what can Khabu do for you!) When my friend from Colorado and I were talking music, David torn came up and somehow we worked to Khabu Doug Young. I had never heard of him. He compared Young to Torn's playing. What I here is more of a young John Abercrombies tone and attack. In fact Sortex, to me feels like it could be a part of Enrico Rava's "the plot" date. Youngs playing has that early 70's Abercrombie sound with a distorted yet almost country tone. It has that Manfred Eicher sound and Ron Miles is so strong here. Ron Miles is such a great player, and another familiar with both Lande and Young. Fleet has the band in one of those goofy "downtown" rollicking messes....Young is again given the lead and he trades off finely with Lande. Flight of the Pterodacty is kinda a psychotic tango. the band blasts through vaguely Latin bizarre chord changes and odd meters, bouncing great solos off each other along the way. Nodwell's musician choices really show how well picked and thought out they were here. There is great chemistry here. Resurrection pulls it back in, Drew Gress's subtle underpinning's remind me why I think so highly of his work. Ron Miles pulls some lovely laid back trumpet out of his bag, sweet stuff. Art Lande's piano tops it all off Landes in charge. This is a definite 5 star effort, Hats off to all involved.

Mark Nodwell (leader)
Ron Miles (trumpet)
Art Lande (piano)
Khabu Doug Young (guitar)
David Gress (bass)
Tom Rainey (drums).


Nemesis
Sortex
Pitfall
Corpse
Fleet
Aura
Flight of the Pterodactyl
Resurrection
Dreamtime (epilogue)

Asaf Sirkis Great new players.... Tassos piliotopoulos

I recently got turned on to these fellows....

“Devastatingly creative” (John Fordham, The Guardian on Asaf Sirkis)Following on from Tony Williams’ ‘Lifetime’, the Asaf Sirkis Trio picks up the baton and finds new space for a drummer-led trio in the noughties. ‘The Monk’, the group’s recording debut, will be released mid-September through Sam Productions. Asaf, a self-effacing Israeli ex-pat living in North London cuts a refreshing dash through London’s fertile jazz landscape. He reflects in a characteristically understated way, “For me, music begins where ideas finish”. Whilst an afternoon spent with Asaf will find him flitting between themes of existentialism, fatalism, political propaganda and loss it’s never something he does to be elitist. Maybe it’s the years working with Gilad Atzmon and the politics that swirl around their BBC-award-winning live performances, or the military service in Rehovot or the spates of self-imposed exile due to extreme tendonitis (the latter of which gave him the required writing time for this album) that have made him such an intriguing figure and have left telling traces on his accomplished musicianship. This group, a new electric power trio plays original material by Asaf and ranges from delicate jazzy ballads to hard rock-ish improvisations. The line up features Tassos Spiliotopoulos (guitar), Yaron Stavi (bass) and on occasion Asaf's long time friend, drummer and keyboardist Gary Husband on keys. Although Sirkis has been described as having the ‘drumming muscle for a thunderstorm’, dust off the surface a little and a sensitive writer shines through. Opening track “Stoned Bird” takes in Chick Corea-esque jazz fusion, whilst ‘Without A Story’ has a more post-rock feel. A piano solo on ‘The Bridge’ shows the variety on offer from a composer with a broad tonal palette, and title track ‘The Monk’ shows the contrast of pastoral organ with the rock antics of Tassos’ guitar - swinging it back into Tony Williams territory. The gothic rock descriptions that floated around his past record may again be referenced, but this album has a subtle style of its own. Asaf has previously collaborated with luminaries including Tim Garland and Larry Coryell, he has traveled across the globe playing with some of the best figures in jazz and won vast critical acclaim for Atzmon’s Orient House Ensemble. Whilst acknowledging the politics and challenges that have coloured his life, this album stands alone as a beacon of contemporary British jazzfrom a truly international trio.

With the zest and zeal of a thunder and lightning storm, Asaf Sirkis takes his new electric trio into blissful states of improvisational glory... and all amidst a multitude of subtle musical delights that can only be described as "pure joy." THE MONK is simply Asaf's best recording to date and his drumming is just phenomenal... every beat... every phrase... every single second!

For this album, Asaf has assembled a truly outstanding group of talented musicians that features Tassos Spiliotopoulos on guitar and Yaron Stavi on bass with the amazing Gary Husband adding keyboards to several tracks.

As a composer, Asaf has branched way out from his gothic jazz journeys with the "Inner Noise," yet still manages to push the jazz-rock envelope into very fresh territory. As any great monk learns from his Masters, Asaf has fused the multi-directional influences of Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette with the adventurous song writing styles of Allan Holdsworth and avant garde composer, Erik Satie.

The overall mix of tunes on the CD runs the entire spectrum from harmonically gentle to brash creativity. Lightning does indeed strike numerous times throughout the album, but it is never overpowering... there is a calm and confident, almost illuminating attitude that is quite refreshing in comparison to Asaf's previous work.

The guitar work of Tassos Spiliotopoulos is gorgeously sparse and minimalistic on the title track, "The Monk" and "The Journey Home", yet can jump into hard rockin jazz genius at the drop of a hat on tunes like "Without A Story" and the very tasty "Dream". Check out Tassos' site at MySpace.com

On the bass, Yaron Stavi, holds down heavy hanging notes on "End of the Circle" and gets super melodic on "Stoned Bird", "The Monk", and "The Journey Home." Like the patience of a saint, Yaron, delivers a solid foundation for the music to build and grow upon. Check out Yaron's site at MySpace.

Not to be missed is the highly spirited fifth track, "Alone", which features soloing from the entire band, ending with an especially tasty bit of drumming between Asaf and guest percussionist, Adriano Adewale.

All in all, THE MONK delivers beyond expectations. It is an album by an ingenious composer and drummer who carries the listener into new and exciting musical heights! It's definitely not for the meek. This CD has balls, yet it is also very quiet and thought provoking. It's bold music coming from a higher plane and from a drummers perspective, it is a major slice of heaven.

Thanks Asaf, you have learned well from your Masters and are definitely walking the path of an inspired Monk of Rhythm!

Highly recommended with 5 stars.


Asaf Sirkis - Drums/Compositions
Tassos piliotopoulos - Guitar
Yaron Stavi - Electic Bass
Plus special guests:
Gary Husband - Keyboards & Piano
Adriano Adewale - Percussion
SAM Productions 9015 (2008)

1 Stone Bird
2 The Monk
3 The Bridge
4 Without A Story
5 Alone
6 End Of The Circle
7 Dream
8 The Journey Home

Khabu Doug Youg (a slight return)

Ok ..the thing is ..I can be so effin lame. I guess everybody who really (really) loves music has a bit of madness/ (slash) depression going on.....between bits of creativity and so called normality.

Anyway, I feel like a bit of a shit.

Here's this guy...Khabu, who actually reached back out to me and mailed me a couple CD's MONTHS AGO...(ok, It took him a minute to get it together...but he did a hell of alot better than me.) but, as I said..I been in the grips of the blues.

FOLKS. one of the things I really really like Is when somebody reads my blog a discovers somebody they were absolutely clueless about.

I was clueless about Khabu till a bud told me 'bout him.

This is a killer player, wrapped up in a nice personality (apparently).

AND...to top it off...he's picking up the UKE!!

(I stay in Hawaii, Brah.)

Anyway...here's so updated info...

Nice pic here..and a good place TO BUY MUSIC.
http://downtownmusic.net/khabu-doug-young/ddygg-07-17-2004

these guys write better than me...
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=12817

Why, its the guy!
http://khabu.net/?page_id=2


I git this..if you are feeling adventurous...go for it. If you just want to put your fingers in the waters....check out the reviews below.


Although vocalists ranging from Betty Carter to Ann Dyer to Kitty Brazelton have made exciting contributions to avant-garde jazz, the vast majority of avant-garde jazz recordings have been totally instrumental. So when a vocal-oriented CD that is relevant to avant-garde jazz comes along, one tends to take notice. Avant-garde jazz isn't the only ingredient on OK OK's vocal-oriented Eating Mantis; most of the material combines avant-garde jazz with avant-garde rock, and some fans of art rock and alternative rock are likely to take notice of this experimental recording. But avant-garde jazz is certainly a major part of the equation for OK OK, who have a major asset in lead singer Kyoko Kitamura. Singing primarily in English but occasionally detouring into Japanese, Kitamura is an expressive vocalist who knows how to be quirky and eccentric but is also quite musical. In fact, that is true of everyone in OK OK -- not only Kitamura, but also, clarinetist Michael McGinnis, guitarist Khabu Doug Young and drummer Tony Moreno. For all its eccentricity and oddball experimentation, Eating Mantis is a highly musical album. An inside/outside perspective defines this 2006 session, which chooses melody and harmony over atonal chaos and is a long way from the type of harshness and claustrophobic density that some free jazz is known for. Anyone who expects this 45-minute CD to be a blistering vocal equivalent of Charles Gayle or post-1965 John Coltrane will be disappointed, but those who are looking for something along the lines of Dyer or Brazelton will find a lot to appreciate on Eating Mantis -- which is a promising and engaging effort from this New York City-based foursome.




Here's what the guys up to now............


Using ukuleles, guitars, cavaquinho, harmonica, and voice, Khabu creates music in a spirit of collaboration and interaction, exploring the continuum between improvisation and composition, sculpting sounds into musical journeys of the unknown. Born Doug Young in Lubbock, TX, he grew up in Houston and became known as Khabu while attending the High School For The Performing And Visual Arts (HSPVA). After two semesters at William Paterson College (Wayne, NJ), in hopes of being close to the NYC jazz scene, he found his way instead to Boulder, CO. While there, The Naropa Institute provided fertile ground for integrating his diverse interests in Tai Chi, Buddhist meditation, improvised music, health & healing, and anthropology. He soon became an adjunct faculty member and formed The Russian Dragon Band with Art Lande. Later, he moved to New York City to work with artists from all disciplines: theater, dance, spoken word, film, as well as musicians of many styles (often with unique instrumentation). Khabu has toured the US, Canada, Europe, and India with musicians such as Art Lande and Paul McCandless. Along with his cohorts Bob Bowen, Brian Drye, Mike McGinnis, and Jacob Sacks, he is a founding member of The Creative Music Workshop.


Khabu'Ukulele

This special EP of solo ukulele music is available for free exclusively from Yeah Yeah Records for a limited time only. To download, click "Add to Cart" below. You'll be asked to sign up and checkout as you would with a regular purchase, but at checkout you'll be charged $0.00.





http://yeahyeahrecords.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&products_id=51




Yes...you must do this.



ALSO>>>

I tell ya...Mark Nodwell is murderous.

The book of bhu ...will knock you on your ass.

Khabu Doug Young

Right after xmas 2009 a old friend got a hold of me (merry xmas) and we got talkin music as always, We talked about old favorites like Allan Holdsworth, David torn, Soft Machine and he asked me, what do you think of Doug Young? my answer was...Huh? Never heard of him. Well I checked him out..hell of a pedigree, plays with Art Lande..nice reviews. So I went to All Music Guide to check out what sessions he was on, looking good! then I went Amazon and found a bunch of cd's he plays on. I found some real nice deals and I bought about 4-5 for less than 30 bucks. IT WAS MONEY WELL SPENT!

This is a major new talent people...go to AMAZON...and find the cd's I have noted in this post, they are all five star cd's!


http://khabu.net/ http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=12817
The Book of Bhu

Khabu Doug Young and the Russian Dragon Band (2003)

By Farrell Lowe

Guitarist Khabu Doug Young's first outing as a leader is whimsical, musical, and deceptively deep. It seems he's been saving up his vast musical awareness to simply cut loose with this double album tour-de-force. The music is well-executed, well-conceived, and covers a dizzyingly broad tableau of styles and influences. On the second disc, Young explores guitar sonorities reminiscent of the most subtle of Jimi Hendrix's work on Electric Ladyland, or a delicate Sonny Sharrock approach, along with McLaughlinesque chops. From an overall compositional point of view, fans of Carla Bley, Frank Zappa, or John Zorn could find niches in this silly/serious brew of styles. Young is definitely someone to be aware of in the world of modern music, and if his freshman effort is any indication of what lies ahead for him, we're all in for treats ahead.

Visit Synergy Music on the web at www.synergymusic.com .


Track listing:

1.Brina Chorale;
2.Rhound Things;
3.Ahnimalism;
4.Bhutism;
5.Squishy;
6.Piece in the Middle East;
7.A Perfect Chance;
8.Gas Chamber;
9.NPR;
10.If You Can't Chew It, You Can't Drink It;
11.Old McBhugaloo (had some ducks);
12.Nukeyuler Pop-Tart;
13.Xibalba's Ball Court;
14.Puddin' Time;
15.Bhad,Ahwful Nhoises;
16.Eulogy;
17.Pain Uncramped;
18.Someplace Downunder;
19.Carnivale duh Stupido;
20.Played Some;
21.Ololiuqui;
22.Strange Visit

Personnel:

Art Lande-drums;
Dwight Kilian-acoustic and electric basses, tuba;
Shane Endsley-trumpet, drums;
Mark Miller- tenor, alto,and soprano saxophones, alto flute, flute; Bruce Williamson-alto and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet, clarinet, flute, temper-tampered piano;
Khabu Doug Young-guitar, compositions, and arrangements

The following CD SLOG..is NUTS! man it is sooo freeking good! SLOG was just a real pleasant surprise for me. Its some crazy Garage-jazz stuff. Its gets out at time and others tight in the pocket funkyness. I don't think of myself as a Trombone aficionado, but Brian Dry pulls all kinds of sound out! And of course Khabu Doug Young tears it up.

Just a suggestion...get it. jayD

Slog - Drew Field 45

(NCM East Records 40125)

This concept drawn out by these instruments with this execution is not on the books yet. This said with no mention of the grace and passion that fills Drew Field 45, from compositions of blazing energy to ear-twisting brain prod.

Slog is:
Brian Drye- Trombone
Khabu Doug Young- Guitars, Baritone/alto double neck guitar
Bob Bowen- acoustic and electric Basses
Greg Joseph- drums


Special Guest: Bruse Williamson - Bass Clarinet & Alto Saxophone on Tracks 7 & 9

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=8276

The russian Dragon band...When Kentucky was Indiana is a real solid opening effort from this band, I had heard mention of "The Russian Dragon Band" but somehow, I had mixed them up with the Japanese guitarist Ryo Kawasaki (why does the brain do this...hmmm.)

I mean, check this out:

Russian Dragon Biographies

Art Lande

Grammy-nominated Art Lande is considered one of the premiere improvisational jazz pianists today. He began piano at age 4, studied at Williams College & moved to San Francisco in 1969. He has mostly carved out his own singular path throughout his career, taking the innovations of Bill Evans several steps further. In 1973 he recorded with Jan Garbarek and Ted Curson and in the mid-1970's had started his own jazz school. In 1976 he formed the quartet Rubisa Patrol which recorded for ECM and performed until 1983. After teaching for three years in Switzerland, Lande, in 1987 moved to Boulder, Colorado.

Art appears in many of the "Who's Who in Jazz" encyclopedias available today for his role in the development of "Chamber Jazz." He is also a noted teacher having divised innovative courses for improvisation and ear training and has lead improvisation workshops in many parts of the U.S., Canada and Europe.

Khabu Doug Young

I create music in a wide variety of settings and purposes. The underlying feature to any ‘Khabu’ performance is improvisation, although I have an equal affinity for composition – which I see as opposite ends of the same spectrum.

I use ukuleles and guitars (both acoustic and electric) to create a rich and colorful tapestry of sounds, moods, and atmospheres, in order to tell musical stories of journeys into the unknown. Usually the context is a concert type setting, where the art of the moment can hopefully penetrate the surface layers and offer an engaging adventure or possibly a lucid meditation on the web of existence. At other times, I’m simply plucking along with the family sing-a-long or spontaneously creating the soundtrack along with a gathering.

I’ve worked with artists from all disciplines: theater, dance, poetry (spoken word/storytelling), film, visual forms (painting, etc), as well as musicians of many styles (often with unique instrumentation). My favorite mode of play is collaborative and interactive. Teaching is no different in this regard. I play and create art with my students, regardless of level or style. And my favorite way to teach is team-teaching with my cohorts. Communal work and individual work both are necessary and vital for art to be a transformational process. This is where I find the most love and joy in art.

Dwight Killian

Dwight grew up in Kansas, the “heartland” of America. He started his musical journey by playing guitar, which led to tuba and finally to electric and acoustic bass. He graduated from Russell High School in 1981and received a Bachelor of Music degree from Wichita State University in 1986. From 1982 to 1988, Dwight was a “Kansas Jazz Artist in Residence” and a member of the “Kansas Touring Arts”. He also taught jazz bass at WSU, Bethel College, and Hutchinson Community College. In 1988 he moved to Denver CO. and free-lanced with local and national artists.

Dwight has performed with many top jazz artists such as Sheila Jordan, Art Lande, Herbie Mann, Teddy Edwards, Mark Murphy, Ernie Watts, Richie Cole, Mose Allison, Myra Melford, Jerry Hahn, Milcho Leviev, Claudio Slon, Paul McCandless, Nick Brignola, Lee Konitz, Ken Peplowski, Bob Florence, Lennie Niehaus, and Marvin Stamm. He has performed at many of the major jazz festivals in the Midwest and also at the Holland Blues Festival.

Dwight relocated to Phoenix Arizona, in November of 1998, as bassist with the Discovery Jazz Trio at The Boulders Resort in Carefree AZ for six years. He currently freelances throughout the valley doing Jazz Concerts with some of the area’s top musicians. Dwight’s festival performances while living in Arizona include: 1999 Wichita Jazz Festival, Carefree Music Festival from 2003 to 2007, and the Prescott Jazz Summit from 2003 to 2006. While in the valley he’s taught Jazz Bass at Glendale Community College, Mesa Community College, and Arizona State University from 1999 to 2006. He is currently teaching applied bass lessons and leading Music Serving the Word seminars at Southwestern College. In 2005 Dwight became Executive Director of Music Serving the Word Ministries and the bassist for The Inner Journeys Trio led by pianist Bob Ravenscroft. He also co- leads a concert series in Glendale at New Hope Covenant Church called Jazz For The Soul the 2nd Sunday of each month.

Mark Miller

Mark Milller plays flute, saxophone and shakuhachi, the traditional bamboo flute of Japan. He has toured and recorded with Art Lande, Paul McCandless, Peter Kater, R. Carlos Nakai, David Friesen, Tuck and Patti and Nawang Khechog as well as poets Anne Waldman and Allen Ginsberg. With jazz pianist Art Lande he has recorded three albums of improvised duets, The Story of Ba-Ku, Prayers, Germs and Obsessions and World Without Cars, as well as two award-winning children's albums featuring Meg Ryan and Holly Hunter. With pianist Peter Kater, he has recorded seven albums including Migration, Honorable Sky and Rooftops, as well as sound tracks for television and Off-Broadway.

Mark is a member of the core faculty of Naropa University, a Buddhist inspired liberal arts college in Boulder, Colorado where he pursues an interest in meditation practice and contemplative education.

Bruce Williamson

Bruce Williamson (sax, woodwinds, piano) has performed with a wide variety of jazz instrumentalists; Art Lande, Fred Hersch, Mark Isham, Gary Peacock, Benny Green, Tom Harrell, Dave Douglas, Jim Pepper, Paul McCandless, Toshiko Akiyoshi and Jack McDuff. He has also appeared with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, the NYC Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Manhattan New Music Project, Partita Chamber Ensemble and Spit Orchestra (Bang On a Can Festival). He has worked with director Julie Taymor and composer Elliot Goldenthal on theater projects “Juan Darien” and “The Green Bird” and the films “Titus”, “Frida” and “Across The Universe”. He was recently a featured soloist (along with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman) with the Slovakian Radio Orchestra.

Bruce has received two NEA grants for Jazz Composition. He can be heard on dozens of recordings, including his debut CD as a leader, “Big City Magic” (featuring Randy Brecker) on Timeless Records. Bruce is also on the Music Faculty at Bennington College, Vermont.

Shane Endsley

A Denver native, Shane is a CU alum (if two years of hanging out at the rec center counts as alum) and graduate of the Eastman School where he studied trumpet, drums/percussion and composition.

He has toured and recorded extensively with Ani DiFranco and Steve Coleman and has been doing work around NY with Josh Roseman, Dave Binney, Ravi Coltrane, Donny McCaslin, John Hollenbeck, Erin McKeown, Anna Egge and others. His most consistently working project is with Kneebody. The NY/LA based electro-acoustic quintet that has been garnering international attention during the last few years.

He is currently playing drums and trumpet in a trio with Ralph Alessi and Tim Berne and leading his own group, "Feature", and doing regular work wih Steve Coleman vocalist, Jen Shyu.

Peter Sommer

Peter Sommer, saxophonist and composer, is in demand as a performer, clinician and recording artist throughout the state of Colorado and across the nation. Since establishing himself among the Denver area’s elite jazz musicians, Peter has contributed his muscular tenor playing and creative spirit to a wide variety of musical projects ranging from mainstream bebop to avant garde and beyond. This Spring, Peter is releasing his second album as a leader, Crossroads on Capri Records, which features a two-tenor frontline with New York saxophonist Rich Perry. Peter is also featured on Terra Firma (Synergy Music) by the Ken Walker Sextet, Unfailing Kindness (Capri Records) by Chie Imaizumi, and the debut release from Ninth and Lincoln (Dazzle Records), as well as his first release as a leader, Sioux County (Tapestry Records) which features his duo with jazz piano legend Art Lande.

The Peter Sommer/Art Lande Duo has recently given concerts and clinics at Middle Tennessee State University, Portland State University, Western Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, Baylor University, the University of Colorado, and at the Jazz School in Berkeley, California. This Spring they will also perform and present clinics at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.

Peter has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra, and has appeared at many jazz festivals throughout the state including the Telluride Jazz Celebration, Jazz in the Sangres and the Vail Jazz Festival. Peter was featured as a guest soloist with the University of Wyoming Jazz Ensemble I as part of the North American Saxophone Alliance Region 1 Conference held in Laramie, WY. Peter has also performed at IAJE International Conferences in Anaheim and Toronto, Canada (Jan. 2008), and performed at the World Saxophone Congress in Valencia, Spain. Peter has performed in concert with Greg Gisbert, Ron Miles, Brad Goode, Bobby Shew, John McNeil, Clay Jenkins, Bobby Watson, Dave Pietro, Don Aliquo, Gary Smulyan, Paul McKee, Dale Bruning, Jim McNeely, Joanne Brackeen, Chip Stephens, John Riley, Roseanna Vitro and Ernie Andrews. He has also played for Tony Bennett and John Pizzarelli with the Colorado Symphony.

Peter Sommer is Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Saxophone at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins. At CSU, Mr. Sommer directs Jazz Ensemble I and the CSU Jazz Combo program, in addition to teaching courses in Jazz Improvisation and Jazz Pedagogy.

Mark Nodwell: Nemesis

(Songlines 1539) Art Lande


Mark Nodwell, composer

Ron Miles, trumpet
Khabu Doug Young, guitar
Art Lande, piano
Drew Gress, bass
Tom Rainey, drums

Nemesis
Sortex
Pitfall
Corpse
Fleet
Aura
Flight of the Pterodactyl
Resurrection
Dreamtime (epilogue)


Canadian saxophonist/composer Mark Nodwell surfaces as a formidable modern jazz composer on Nemesis, where he puts down his sax in favor of having others carry out his musical plan. Nodwell handpicked these musicians for this set consisting of nine original compositions. Notables such as Colorado-based trumpeter Ron Miles, pianist Art Lande, and others execute the artist's material in superb fashion. With this production, the listener will embark upon a multifaceted expedition, brimming with subtle intricacies and poignant dreamscapes. Electric guitarist Khabu Doug Young is apt to put matters into overdrive on occasion. Yet Lande, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Tom Rainey often engage in odd-metered rhythmic exercises amid a few atypically constructed passages, derived from the free jazz scheme of things. In addition, Miles executes some knotty bop lines via linearly devised themes. The thrust of this outing resides within the rather supple flow, dappled with soft melodies and the soloists' often-striking harmonic excursions. Overall, the musicians perform Nodwell's works with a burning desire as programs like this might insinuate a bit of renewed faith for modern jazz aficionados. ~ Glenn Astarita, All Music Guide

RON MILES

Nemesis was perhaps the best surprise of all the CD's I got, Its really a bit of a revelation, combining "free" and straight jazz texture's with electro-acoustic instrumentation. It's really quite good.
Nemesis the albums title, opens the set..you'd think looking at the artist listings that your are about to embark on a difficult, (hard to listen to) project. However, the sound here is straight ahead modern electric jazz...and to start out..almost mellow. Khabu is just such a superb player. Nodwells decision not to play, but to hire musicians to fufill his compositions is curious, but clearly well thought out. Nodwell has picked well using the duo of Lande and Young along with long time collaberator Ron Miles crating a "rock" to build around has paid good dividends. The end result is an almost astonishing suite of music, that has me reminiscing to the "good old days" when the mix of electronics, jazz and rock was still fresh. The date is solid throughout, there's no dead weight in either band or compositions...but to me there are highlights: On Sortex, we really get an idea of what Khabu Doug Young is capable of. (what can Khabu do for you!) When my friend from Colorado and I were talking music, David torn came up and somehow we worked to Khabu Doug Young. I had never heard of him. He compared Young to Torn's playing. What I here is more of a young John Abercrombies tone and attack. In fact Sortex, to me feels like it could be a part of Enrico Rava's "the plot" date. Youngs playing has that early 70's Abercrombie sound with a distorted yet almost country tone. It has that Manfred Eicher sound and Ron Miles is so strong here. Ron Miles is such a great player, and another familiar with both Lande and Young. Fleet has the band in one of those goofy "downtown" rollicking messes....Young is again given the lead and he trades off finely with Lande. Flight of the Pterodacty is kinda a psychotic tango. the band blasts through vaguely Latin bizarre chord changes and odd meters, bouncing great solos off each other along the way. Nodwell's musician choices really show how well picked and thought out they were here. There is great chemistry here. Resurrection pulls it back in, Drew Gress's subtle underpin's remind me why I think so highly of his work. Ron Miles pulls some lovely laid back trumpet out of his bag, sweet stuff. Art Lande's piano tops it all off Landes in charge. This is a definite 5 star effort, Hats off to all involved.









some vids..................


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=509qQ321xLY



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIeyTfM_hno

Major Talent: Tim Miller

One thing I have noticed about musicians
when I have a chance to talk to them about material.

They are generally a poor judge as to the quality, often
times consigning something I find amazing to the rubbish bin.


So...how did I get to that statement...Hmmm.
we're talking about guitarist Tim Miller, a recent discovery (for me)
and a major talent to be reconded with. (I will show you who's he's hooked up with)


Anyway, I heard a Tim Miller cut at a friends house and I
thought...Cool, Allan's (Holdsworth) playing nylon again!
Ah, but it was not holdsworth, it was Tim Miller.
In fact by the end of the piece I was listening to, it was
pretty clear that this was NOT holds, It was of VERY high
quality but, obviously the player had ideas of his own.

As I turned out, the CD was Miller's "trio 2" release.
and I could'nt tell you the exact cut.
Suffice to say, Miller's got the legato "sheets of sound" (I forget if
this originated from John Coltrane or maybe..John Klemmer!)
He's been listening to Reed players as much as other guitarist's.


So, I've found some reviews and grouped them up, also some links for
you to check Miller out in action.


Here's a quick breakdown:


TimMiller@timmillermusic.com



2008 Live at the 55 Bar - Janek Gwizdala

When I spoke (e-mailed Miller) talking about some of his music,
I asked for recommendations. He left this out. Hmmmm.

well, I think it was just an oversight, Gwizdala is a GREAT bassist!
and Miller burns on this!

2008 Chasing Shadows - Tony Grey
Another bassist here, the session also feature
the FUZE on guitar. But, this did not grab me.



2001 Blown Fuse - Steve Hunt

JUST KILLER..buy it now.I love steve Hunt anyway.
(he was the keyboard player in Allan Holdsworths
band for some of what is my favorite Holdsworth)

Hunt clearly is using Miller as a holdsworth "proxy" here
but the results are amazing.





1998 Corners - Aldo Romano

This is my favorite Non-Miller self release. I mean,Aldo Romano!
The guys a effin genius. Miller is utelized very, very well here.

and he shines!

and these:

Tim Miller Trio 2




Tim Miller
Trio Vol. 2
Avenir Records
2008

Very few guitarists have digested, head-on, the daunting influence of Alan Holdsworth, and then assimilated it into their own playing. Fewer still have combined Holdsworth's no-longer-futuristic linearity with the science of melodic chord permutation, as promulgated by the likes of George Van Eps, Ted Green and Mick Goodrick. Even fewer are in their thirties, like Tim Miller.

These qualities alone would make Miller's current release—the second with his trio including acoustic bassist Dr. Joshua Davis and drummer Take Toriyama—auspicious, but there is much more to consider here. Miller has taken his game up—way up—in terms of the sound he's achieving on record, to the point where his work advancing the breadth of the tone palette alone can now be compared to those at guitardom's highest levels.

Miller's approach is deceptively simple. Driven by his belief that the electric guitar is too midrange-heavy to "work" with acoustic instruments, he chased down the high end by isolating himself in a room with a guitar and a microphone and placing his amplifier in another room. Both acoustic and electric outputs were recorded, and are capable of being blended at will throughout. From a technical recording standpoint, then, the degree of innovation here appears relatively modest.

Aesthetically, though, there is a level of shimmering discernment and detail at play here that pushes the elusive annals of tone. A dazzling bounty of tonal delights—from vintage dreadnought to fat bop, steely Strat to Texas Tele—emerge, played at breakneck speed and sometimes changing from measure to measure. Miller's blistering legato technique is more percussive than Holdsworth's—his chord work even more modern and complex, yet always musical, never guitaristic. Steve Hunt recorded and engineered this outing, making it special by bringing all his previous experience with Holdsworth to bear.

The opening track, "Electric," features an airy acoustic head, pulsed by a chord ostinato and propulsed by a beaten snare that sounds copped from rag-tag street kit by Toriyama. Miller begins his solo with a gorgeously sustained single tone. From there he builds, in seconds, two complex, rhapsodic figures that collapse on themselves, all the while adding echo, subtracting sustain, metering metal and pumping air into the tone. He then combines the discerning changes in tonal detail with improvisational detail, repeating a 32nd note motif that subtly changes from measure to measure, developing into its own intervallic song. Toriyama does not keep pulse, challenging Miller at every turn, the clatter abetting what up to that moment, is Miller's (and band's) finest hour.

That five minutes alone anoints Miller as the jazz world's guitar Superboy. The next 40 minutes only get more momentous, with Miller out-playing and out-tone-meistering himself from one tune to the next. He takes respite only to issue a definitive solo spot that sounds like his personal revel to the "Night Sky." Miller also gives composition a twist by intermingling motifs, statements and devices from each of the tunes, to the degree that the recording becomes one labyrinthine compositional whole. Yet many, like "Trace," can stand on their own, as catchy gems chock full of hummable melodies, with flashes of energetic soloing.

Joshua Davis' sense of time is solid—at times locking with the bass portions of Miller's chord voicings—and (thanks to some crafty recording) sounds electrifying yet woody, as on "Trace." Toriyama logs one of his greatest recorded performances ever, benefited by the best recording of it, as evidenced in the turn-on-a dime ride swing melded to crushing jazz-rock stylings slammed against each other in "Thread." Miller dedicated the recording to Toriyama but it's the drummer himself who provides the only tribute needed. Whoever hears this recording will know that during his all-too-short stint here, Toriyama thoroughly mastered the drum kit, fearlessly incorporating some sounds that, previous to his work, seemed not to belong. And whoever hears some of his other work will know he did the same over the complete range of musical idioms.

Miller believes that this is his most personal recording to date, on which the sound he has imagined for so long has finally made it onto record. That's just one reason why Mr. Miller was recently cited by no less than Alan Holdsworth, in the most recent issue of Guitar Player Magazine, as one of two current guitar players to watch.


Tracks: Electric; By The Sea; Elements; Flying; Night Sky; Arc; Thread; Grey To Blue; Trace; Drop of Ink; Recall; Open.

Personnel: Tim Miller: guitar; Joshua Davis: bass; Take Toriyama: drums.



Tim Miller Trio

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=18917



Tim Miller's third indie effort stands out by manifesting his influences as an aural whole. Compositionally, the freedom and openness in the music reflects the deep influence of Keith Jarrett, while sonically, the air-infused yet electric guitar sound dances with bass and drums mixed in a pastoral acoustic style. Even with headphones, the listener hears the trio of instruments entwined in the air, coupled by intense playing and musicianship.

From the perspective of guitar-related influences we hear the chordal inspiration of a fellow Bostonian, voicing-god Mick Goodrick. Linearity is Miller's calling card, seamlessly melding Allan Holdsworth's 21st Century legato technique with a non-guitar-centric, truly jazz vocabulary and phraseology, with notes percussing from the fretboard in pianistic fashion.

Another facet that takes Trio up a notch is the particular attention paid to tone and articulation on the high end. Miller devoted requisite consideration and time to sonics, and the dividends are sumptuous. An advocate of the ergonomically correct Klein axes, Miller's performance on "Untied sounds as if he's playing two of them at once, electric for the atmospheric chords of the intro and acoustic for the quick sixteenth-note turn-backs found on high, doubled by the drums. Take Toriyama's tone is apart from the more athletic norms of the "fusion realm, with more of the room than the kit in the mix. His use of slackened snare, coupled with bassist Josh Davis' booming upright sound, is especially effective on this track.

Miller employs a super-thick tone for his solo, alternating bop-legato mastery with sax-like repeated figures that belie the layout of the fretboard. Miller can lay into a rock'n'roll repeating hyperspeed four-note figure akin to traditional Hendrix or Page twelfth-fret pentatonics, but in the middle of the neck, using four notes at spread intervals of the harmony-of-the moment, something more out of Mike Brecker's vocabulary.

While the recording weighs in at the forty-minute mark, there's much to be said for concentration and self-editing. "Sparkle is ninety seconds of inspired melodic riffing against Toriyama's percussion arsenal and will alone reward consecutive listening surpassing the total of the disc's real time. It would be an interesting musical exercise to map out here where each of Miller's melodic phrases begins or ends, or to pick the midpoint of each. I am sure each roadmap would in turn comprise alternate songs. Similarly, the three minutes of "MG, dedicated to mentor and Berklee fellowman Goodrick, forge a successful marriage of modern rock balladry with jazz.

"Straight Lines is the composition of the set, a mid-tempo cut smoldering with the passion and memorable melody usually reserved for ballads, especially in Miller's opening solo salvo. The two "Density compositions, using minimal themes fashioned from rhythmic chordal materials growing out of and into weaving strands of single-note improvisation, reveal substantial rewards unearthed by exploring repetition as a means of mining new melodic and improvisational territory.

Nothing should stand between this one getting heard and Miller's justifiably meteoric ascension on the worldwide guitar-watchers org-chart.



Track listing: Intro; Untied; Shift; Paris; Sparkle; Straight Lines; The Trees the Sun; Density One; TR; Two View; Density Two; MG.

Personnel: Tim Miller: guitar; Joshua Davis: bass; Take Toriyama: drums.



Tim Miller Trio Sides This apparently is the CD that Mr. Miller considers his "debut".
Its a bit "fuller" than the next two, with the addition of a reed player. I know Mr.
Miller will likely cringe at the Holdsworth compairisons...(I'm sorry,
its apt). But..I always enjoyied Allans work with Gordon Beck (jazz) and Pat Smyth.
He can be a hell of a jazz player.
Here, I get a simelar "legato" playing jazz.



But, I can't find this:


1997 With The Distance




some vids......



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ow7HgUbA0





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0b0YQAD_zU





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcb5ptVgXYk

Soma FM

a shameless plug for Nitya...but he will play some good stuff...and that picture show's exactly how he's furnished his house!


http://somafm.com/play/sonicuniverse

Sonic Universe: NuJazz + avant-garde EuroJazz. Transcending the world of jazz with experimental takes on tradition.

Music Director / DJ: Nitya

All Roads Lead To the Flesh

I wrote the following review for the Detroit Metro Times back in 1995, when this CD was first issued.



Since that time "All Roads" had fallen out of print and was only recently reissued.Kip Hanrahan is a personal favorite of mine, since his early efforts like Coup de Tete and Desire Develops an Edge. Having worked for the Jazz composer's co-op, Hanrahan had plenty of contact's with leading jazz musicians and his session's reflect this with many top names performing.
Pretty much all of his work "stands the test of time" and is just as fresh on every listen.

Here's my review:

“All Roads Lead To the Flesh”

Kip Hanrahan

American Clave/Rounder Records

For the initiated, New Yorker Kip Hanrahan is a jazz and world music renaissance man. He is not only a fine percussionist and composer, but a very talented producer and arranger as well, able to bring together disparate collaborators seamlessly to realize a single project. His previously recorded works are more like novels in sound than conventional jazz outings. They’re all conceptually conceived and feature compositions that are stories within stories: they even develop characters. His music resembles no one else’s, though there’s no question as to his influence on more famous sonic auteurs like Hal Wilner.
That said, on “All Roads Are Made Of The Flesh”, Hanrahan abandons his previous methodology to release a collection of short stories that stand on their own, rather than as chapters in an aural novel. As usual, he has assembled a stellar cast of musicians to help him realize his vision: I only wish I were in the audience-they’ve never played in Detroit.
The disc kicks off with “Buddy Bolden’s Blues,” a tribute to the legendary, but never recorded trumpeter who many credit as inventing jazz.

Jack Bruce gives the track a wonderful reading with both his bass and voice, as Allen Toussaint and the late Don Pullen’s piano and organ respectfully give the piece a smoky , stomping New Orleans’s feel.
“The first and Last to Love Me” is a gorgeous version of the track recorded on an earlier, and now sadly out of print, album. It segues beautifully into “The September Dawn”. The band is stripped down with Bruce’s vocals shining on both tracks. As a modal musical interlude gives way to his singing, the effect is smooth, relaxed and resonates with nuance and texture. Here’s where the pace picks up. Percussion and rhythm steer the band into unknown and funkier territory.

The album closes with a gorgeous solo piece by Pullen ( would that he were still with us) and a second instrumental take of “The First and Last to Love Me,” with The late George Adam’s tenor sax in place of Jack Bruce’s vocals. The feel is tender, low-key and provides a fitting, loving tribute to both Pullen and Adams.

“All Roads Lead To the Flesh” is a chronicle of the evolution of Hanrahan’s ideas, and how he transposes them to fit a live setting. How he puts these artists together for tours is amazing. I only hope he sees fit to visit Detroit the next time around. – Jay Dorrance

And here's what wikipedia has to say..(they need an update).

Kip Hanrahan (born December 9, 1954) is an American jazz music impresario, record producer and percussionist. Born to an Irish-Jewish family in the Bronx, New York.

Hanrahan has an unusual role in the albums released under his name, one which he has analogized to that of a film director. He assembles players and materials, combining modern/avant-garde/free jazz figures like Don Pullen and Steve Swallow, Latin jazz players such as Milton Cardona and Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, and occasionally rock singers like Sting and, most notably, Jack Bruce.

Hanrahan produced a number of significant recordings by the Nuevo Tango master Astor Piazzolla in the last decade of Piazzolla's life, as well as recordings by Latin music figures Jerry Gonzalez, Milton Cardona, and others.

Hanrahan also worked with the poet Ishmael Reed on 3 recordings with the Conjure Ensemble, including the 2006 "Bad Mouth." These side projects were not the only poetry based discs; "Darn It!" from 1994 celebrates the work of Paul Haines.

[edit] Discography

This listing includes recordings released under Hanrahan's name, as well as those released under the name Conjure.

• Coup de Tete - recorded 1979-81

Kip Hanrahan, Jerry Gonzalez, Daniel Ponce, Arto Lindsay, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Anton Fier, Chico Freeman, Carlos Ward, Ignacio Berroa, John Stubblefield, Carla Bley, Teo Macero, Bill Laswell, Billy Bang, Lisa Herman, Nicky Marrero, Byard Lancaster, George Cartwright, Orlando DiGirolamo, Dom Um Romao, Fred Frith, Mike Mantler, Dave Liebman

• Desire Develops an Edge - recorded 1982-3

Jack Bruce, Kip Hanrahan, Steve Swallow, Puntilla Orlando Rios, Arto Lindsay, Elysee Pyronneau, Ricky Ford, Ignacio Berroa, Jerry Gonzalez, John Stubblefield, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Anton Fier, Milton Cardona, Teo Macero, Tiplume Ricardo Franck, Frisner Augustin, Sergio Brandao, John Scofield, Jody Harris, others

• Conjure - recorded 1983, released 1985

Taj Mahal, Allen Toussaint, David Murray, Steve Swallow, Carla Bley, Lester Bowie, Kip Hanrahan, Carman Moore, Olu Dara, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Puntilla, Milton Cardona, Kenny Kirkland, Ejaye Tracey, Don Jay, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Billy Hart, Frisner Augustin, Olufemi Claudette Mitchell, Robert Jason, Molly Farley, Brenda Norton, Elysee Pyronneau, Andy Gonzalez, Peter Scherer, Sal Cuevas, Arto Lindsay

• Vertical's Currency - recorded 1984

Jack Bruce, Kip Hanrahan, Steve Swallow, Milton Cardona, David Murray, Arto Lindsay, Ignacio Berroa, Puntilla Orlando Rios, Peter Scherer, Frisner Augustin, Elysee Pyronneau

• A Few Short Notes for the End Run (EP) - recorded 1984-5

Jack Bruce, Kip Hanrahan, Milton Cardona, Giovanni Hidalgo, Ignacio Berroa, Andy Gonzalez, Steve Swallow, Allen Toussaint, Clem Clemson, others

• Conjure: Cab Calloway Stands in for the Moon - recorded 1987-8, released 1988

Ishmael Reed, Allen Toussaint, Don Pullen, Leo Nocentelli, Steve Swallow, Robbie Ameen, Olu Dara, Eddie Harris, David Murray, Bobby Womack, Clare Bathe, Robert Jason, Fernando Saunders, Grayson Hugh, Milton Cardona, Hamiet Bluiett, Giovanni Hidalgo, Frisner Augustin, Ignacio Berroa, Elysee Pyronneau, Johnny Watkins, Lenny Pickett, Diahnne Abbott, Tennessee Reed, Shaunice Harris

• Days and Nights of Blue Luck Inverted - recorded 1988-9, released 1990

Fernando Saunders, Andy Gonzalez, Leo Nocentelli, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jerry Gonzalez, Milton Cardona, Robbie Ameen, Willie Green, Charles Neville, John Stubblefield, Kip Hanrahan, Jack Bruce, Ignacio Berroa, Peter Scherer, Anton Fier, Lew Soloff, Mario Rivera, David Murray, Pablo Ziegler, Alfredo Triff, George Adams, Carmen Lundy

• Tenderness - recorded 1988-9, released 1990

Sting, Diahnne Abbott, Carmen Lundy, Lucy Penebaz, Fernando Saunders, Kip Hanrahan, Robbie Ameen, Andy Gonzalez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Leo Nocentelli, Don Pullen, Alfredo Triff, Chocolate Armanteros, Chico Freeman, Milton Cardona, Richie Flores, Ignacio Berroa, Andrew Cyrille, Marvin Smith, Cecilia Engelhardt

• Exotica - recorded 1992, released 1993

Jack Bruce, Don Pullen, Robbie Ameen, Alfredo Triff, Leo Nocentelli, JT Lewis, David Sanchez, Ralph Peterson Jr., Anthony Carillo, Richie Flores, Milton Cardona, Lucy Penabaz, Andy Gonzalez, Mario Riviera

• Anthology - released 1993

Two disc Compilation

• All Roads Are Made of the Flesh - recorded 1984 – 1994, released 1995

Kip Hanrahan, Jack Bruce, Don Pullen, Charles Neville, Carmen Lundy, Allen Toussaint, Leo Nocentelli, Alfredo Triff, Robbie Ameen, JT Lewis, George Adams, Milton Cardona, Anthony Carrillo, Chocolate Armenteros, Dino Saluzzi, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Michael Reisler, Wolfgang Puchnik, Andy Gonzalez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Jerry Gonzalez, Elysee Pyronneau, Steve Swallow

• A Thousand Nights and a Night (1 - Red Nights) - recorded 1994-6, released 1996

Don Pullen, Robby Ameen, Carmen Lundy, Charles Neville, Jack Bruce, Brandon Ross, El Negro Horacio Hernandez, Henry Threadgill, Silvana Deluigi, Mike Cain, DD Jackson, Anthony Carrillo, Fernando Saunders, Puntilla Orlando Rios, Milton Cardona, Alfredo Triff, Eric Schenkman, Andy Gonzalez, Steve Swallow, Abraham Rodriguez

• A Thousand Nights and a Night (Shadow Nights 1) - released 1998

Don Pullen, Steve Swallow, Robbie Ameen, Carmen Lundy, Charles Neville, Billy Bang, Brandon Ross, El Negro Horacio Hernandez, Henry Threadgill, Mike Cain, Anthony Carrillo, Milton Cardona, Alfredo Triff, Eric Schenkman, Andy Gonzalez

• A Thousand Nights and a Night (Shadow Nights 2) - recorded 1994-8

Don Pullen, DD Jackson, JT Lewis, Erica Larsen, Alfredo Triff, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Robby Ameen, Fernando Saunders, Paoli Mejias, Richie Flores , Anthony Carrillo

• Drawn from Memory (Greatest Hits, Or Whatever... Kip on Campus) - 2000

Compilation

• original music from the soundtrack to Piñero - recorded 2001, released 2002

Kip Hanrahan, Benjamin Bratt, Jerry Gonzalez, Andy Gonzalez, Chocolate Armanteros, Peter Scherer, Robby Ameen, Puntilla Orlando Rios, Milton Cardona, Richie Flores, Mario Rivera, Edsel Gomez, Lysandro Arias, Fernando Saunders, Yomo Toro, Alfredo Triff, Papo Vasquez, Mauricio Smith, Abraham Rodriguez, Felix Sanabria, Brian Lynch, Carlos Alberto Gonzalez

• Conjure: Bad Mouth - recorded 2005, released 2006

Ishmael Reed, David Murray, Kip Hanrahan, Leo Nocentelli, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Fernando Saunders, Anthony Cox, Yosvanni Terry, Pedro Martinez, Billy Bang, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Robby Ameen, Richie Flores, Dafnis Prieto

• "Beautiful Scars" - released 2007

Some links....


http://www.americanclave.com/



http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:t69fs36ba3pg~T0


http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/9j54/


some vids

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r-_-6AbEcc


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8Dp21T8c7c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eP12wbsdR4

Fresh Talent: Scott Mcgill

Talent deserving wider recognition guitarist Scott Mcgill



Frankly, I figure if Downbeat can do it why not me!

Its ALL Allan Holdsworth's fault really (hows that for a logic dis-connect). What I am talking about is this...every once in a while a musician comes along with a whole new style or sound, their ideas change (or add) to the musical paradigm and I would argue that Mr. Holdsworth is one of those very musicians.

Back in the late 70's early eighties I used to get in discussions about who gets the credit for the legato "sheets of notes" with accompanying slurring lay-off's so familiar in Holdsworth's playing. Not to mention the bizarre fingerings and speed...it was nuts! My rocker/metal Friends would claim that Eddie Van Halen led the way, I scoffed. I mean certainly Eddies got loads of talent, but he's not Holdsworth.

.

That point made, and now 20+ years down the road there is a whole "holdsworth school". Fairly or unfairly, guitarist's get clumped into this.


Enter Scott Mcgill.


Mcgill does play at times in the holdsworth school..but more like a metal version of Holdsworth's I.O.U. band. Its good. CRUNCHY. Also..I gotta tell you MCGILL STANDS OUT. The trio stuff with Manring et al is great music, you need this. I am just about to spin over to mcgill own site to load up on a couple of his newer releases..since he hooked up with David Torn his playing has taken the great leap forward (sorry Mao).
There's also a trio with percy jones, for some reason the only way to get it is I-tunes (yow) It's nuts. I detest I-tunes...but ...I had to.

Scott, some oddballs (like me) like to actually hold a CD.



Do this now....The download of percy/mcgill is the best thing I have heard all year!





the album...

Scott McGill: Freak Zoid

Scott McGill (Guitars, iGuitar Synth, Roland GR-33, Fretless Guitar on "Seven Zoid"); Ritchie DeCarlo (Drums, Battery 2 Softsynth Percussion, Theremin, Gongs, Vibes, Moog Voyager); Kjell Benner (Fender Bass, EHX Bi Filter, Midi Moog Voyager on "Ginger Canyon"); Dave Kloss (Chapman Stick, Midi Moog Voyager); Special Guest: Percy Jones (Fretless bass on "Anvil Purse"). With the dissolution of McGill Manring Stevens, Scott McGill continues to explore the outer realms of rock and fusion with his new band Freak Zoid. On board is Ritchie DeCarlo on drums and assorted analog keys, Kjell Benner on bass and Dave Kloss on Stick. Percy Jones is the guest bassist on one track. The music has a far more experimental quality than MMS. Freak Zoid buries its roots in improvisation resulting in a more band oriented sound than McGill's previous solo album Awareness. The refinement and restraint is most welcome.

A great guitarist...but where is his music?

Great Great guitarist...and I can find no links to his music at Amazon.



Philippe Caillat - Fire Brigade

1. Hardtwist (3:35)
2. Invaders (3:59)
3. Space Blues (4:07)
4. Big Ben (4:57)
5. Fire brigade (2:45)
6. Vanzaline (4:25)
7. Récréation (2:35)
8. Marie-Madeleine (3:00)
9. Eros (3:00)

Songs composed and arranged by Philippe Caillat


Philippe Caillat:

electric & acoustic guitar, guitar synthesiser (Arp Avatar) (5), electric bass (7)

Alexander Scheliga:

acoustic bass

Stephan Riemer:

acoustic bass (3 & 4)

Joel Allouche:

drums, percussions

Ulrich Hornberg:

keyboards (1, 2, 5, 6, 8)


Produced by Jaques Andre Martin
Recorded at Cottage Studio, Spenge Germany, September 1982
Engineered by Wigbert Pieper
except (3. & 4.) recorded at Studiop du Village, Montpellier France, April 1982
Engineered by Guy Simon
Mixed at Cottage Studio by Wigbert Pieper & Jacques Andre Martin
Cover Photo: Jacques Andre Martin
Cover Concept: PEF.
Copyright: Editions Musicales Jaques Andre Martin


Triggering a MIDI synthesizer with his guitar, usually a Fender Telecaster, Philippe Caillat takes a harmonious, deeply personal, approach to improvisational jazz. Classically trained and thoroughly schooled in European music, he skillfully weaves a unique blend of classical, jazz, avant-garde, and world music influences. A native of Paris, Caillat was raised in Montpelier in southern France. Residing in Germany for nearly three decades, he has taught at the jazz academy in Dortmund since 1997.
Craig Harris, All Music Guide

Jon Hassell

Jon Hassell Has a new album!

Ah, this is big news for me...I love hassells music, and I think Marifa Street is a wonderful band!

To that end..I have purchased all of Hassells work as well as Mr. Rick Cox, a frequent contributor to Hassells projects. I highly recommend Mr. Cox's solo atmospherics as well....

I currently have copies of the following for sale at AMAZON.

Sulla Strada (out of print)
The Million Dollar Hotel
Power Spot
Dressing for pleasure
The Surgeon of the night sky..
OST (score) Trespass


25 YEARS AFTER his last ECM recording, the highly-influential Power Spot (recorded in 1983/84), Jon Hassell returns to the label with a new album—issued to coincide with the trumpeter’s first US tour in two decades.

Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street takes its title from a line from a 13th century poem by Jalaluddin Rumi:

Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street.
I took it as a sign to start singing.
Falling up into the bowl of sky.

The striking, almost surreally-vivid image (in Coleman Barks’ contemporary translation) seems to speak to Hasssell’s aural re-imaginings. His own ‘singing’ opens up new angles of vision, as his very vocal trumpet lines are reframed in works that contrast, combine, or melt together aspects of ancient and hypermodern idioms in a musical meta-language which can embrace sounds from all the compass points, sounds of the city, sounds of the natural world. In the past Hassell’s termed his personal genre Fourth World: by any name inspirational, its implications have registered with pop and rap and jazz artists as well as classical chamber musicians and filmmakers... And purely as an instrumentalist, Hassell’s influence has been widely felt, too. Nils Petter Molvaer , Arve Henriksen and Paolo Fresu are but three ECM-associated trumpeters who acknowledge a debt to the liquid tone and weightless, floating quality of Jon Hassell’s trumpet improvisations, and to his pioneering use of electronics in tandem with his horn.

Hassell describes the music of Last night the moon as “a continuous piece, almost symphonic, with a cinematic construction” and drifting “clouds made out of many motifs”. Core material is drawn from a session at Studios La Buisonne near Avignon in April 2008, with detail added in Los Angeles in November and December. Live recordings from Courtrais, Belgium and London, as well as a remix of a piece originally created for a Wim Wenders movie, are also integrated into the atmospheric, filmic flow, along with short samples snared throughout 2008.

Jon Hassell: “The word ‘montage’ pops out of my memory bank...Not only does it describe the little montages that serve as transitions between longer pieces (themselves montages of motifs that keep reappearing in new contexts) but the music presented here is a montage of the last years of concerts and the changing cast of the group I call Maarifa Street—all musicians who have contributed their personalities—the way an actor does to a film—to this living, morphing process that occasionally gets set down as a ‘record’.”

Jon Hassell was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and grew up with ears alert to divergent aspects of the jazz tradition, one early influence including Maynard Ferguson’s “stratospheric” trumpeting with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. While studying at the Eastman School of Music Hassell became increasingly interested in serial music and more experimental expressions of the new music avant-garde, in the mid-60s travelling to Cologne to study with Karlheinz Stockhausen. Returning to New York in 1967 he met and befriended Terry Riley. Hassell played on Riley’s landmark recording In C, and was introduced by him to La Monte Young with whose Dream House project he toured through the 1970s. An encounter with the music of Indian singer Pandit Pran Nath proved pivotal. Hassell studied extensively with Pran Nath, subsequently incorporating vocal inflections of raga into his trumpet playing, developing a new style for his instrument and his music as a whole. Vernal Equinox (1977) laid down the matrix of the idiosyncratic yet wide-open idiom Hassell has continued to develop and redefine over the last three decades: “My aim was to make a music that was vertically integrated in such a way that at any cross-sectional moment you were not able to pick a single element out as being from a particular country or genre of music.”

In 1986 Brian Eno, a frequent collaborator, would observe that “Jon Hassell is an inventor of new forms of music—of new ideas of what music could be and how it might be made. His work is drawn from his whole cultural experience without fear or prejudice. It is an optimistic, global vision that suggests not only possible musics but possible futures.” An enticing proposal for the most diverse musicians, Hassell’s collaborators over the years have ranged from Peter Gabriel to the Kronos Quartet, Ry Cooder and Bono, and his trumpet performances have featured on recordings with Björk, Baaba Maal, Ibrahim Ferrer, Ani di Franco, David Sylvian, the Talking Heads and many others.

Additionally his playing and/or music has been heard in numerous films including The Last Temptation of Christ, Trespass, Wild Side, Greenwich Mean Time, Angel Eyes, Owning Mahowny, Million Dollar Hotel and more.

Jon Hassell’s albums as a leader are Vernal Equinox (1977), Earthquake Island (1978), Fourth World Vol 1: Possible Musics (1980), Fourth World Vol. 2 : Dream Theory In Malaya (1981), Aka-Darbari-Java / Magic Realism (1983), Power Spot (1986), The Surgeon Of The Nightsky Restores Dead Things By The Power Of Sound (1987), Flash Of The Spirit (1988), City: Works Of Fiction (1990), Dressing For Pleasure (1994), Sulla Strada (1995), The Vertical Collection (1997), Fascinoma (1999), Maarifa Street / Magic Realism 2 (2005), Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street (2009).

Since 2005 he has led the collective Maarifa Street, with whom he will perform on his February 2009 tour. Dates are:

February 5: Columbus, OH (Wexner Center)
February 6: Knoxville, TN (Bijou Theater)
February 8: Philadelphia, PA (World Cafe Live)
February 10: New York, NY (Zankel Hall)
February 12: Minneapolis, MN (Walker Arts Center)
February 13: Los Angeles, CA (Royce Hall)
February 14: Vancouver Jazz Festival (Chan Center for Performing Arts)

http://www.jonhassell.com/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Hassell


Jon Hassell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jon Hassell
Born March 22, 1937 (1937-03-22) (age 71)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Genre(s) World music
Instrument(s) Trumpet

Website www.jonhassell.com

Jon Hassell (born March 22, 1937) is an American trumpet player and composer. He is known for his influence in the world music scene and his unusual electronic manipulation of the trumpet sound.




Life and career

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Hassell received his Master's degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. During this time he became involved in European serial music, especially the work of Karlheinz Stockhausen, and so after finishing his studies at Eastman, he enrolled in the Cologne Course for New Music for two years (founded and directed by Stockhausen). Hassell returned to the U.S. in 1967, where he met Terry Riley in Buffalo, New York and performed on the first recording of Riley's seminal work In C in 1968. He pursued his PhD in musicology in Buffalo and performed in La Monte Young's "Dream House" (aka Theatre of Eternal Music) in New York City.

On his return to Buffalo in the early 1970s, Hassell was introduced to the music of Indian Pandit Pran Nath, a specialist in the Kiranic style of singing. Hassell, Young, Marian Zazeela (Young's wife) and Riley went together to India to study with Nath. His work with Nath awoke his appetite for world music, and on the album Vernal Equinox, he used his trumpet to imitate the vocal techniques of Nath (treated with various electronic effects) where he stated:

"From 1973 up until then I was totally immersed in playing raga on the trumpet. I wanted the physical dexterity to be able to come into a room and be able to do something that nobody else in the world could do. My aim was to make a music that was vertically integrated in such a way that at any cross-sectional moment you were not able to pick a single element out as being from a particular country or genre of music."

In 1980, he collaborated with Brian Eno on the album Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics. Hassell's 1981 release, Dream Theory in Malaya, led to a performance at the first World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) Festival, organized by Peter Gabriel. In the late 1980s, Hassell contributed to Gabriel's Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, the soundtrack album for Martin Scorsese's film, The Last Temptation of Christ. Hassell and Pete Scaturro composed the electronic theme music for the television show The Practice.

Style

Hassell coined the term "Fourth World" to describe his musical style, as expressed both in his trumpet playing and in his approach to composition. This musical conception combines the philosophy and techniques of minimalism with Asian and African styles, and relies heavily on the use of electronic instruments. Critics of Hassell's style have noted its incorporation of New Age and world music styles, but have also detected the influence of Miles Davis, particularly Davis' use of electronics, modal harmony and understated lyricism.[1] Both on record and during live performances, Hassell makes use of traditional western instruments--keyboards, bass, electric guitar, and percussion--to create modal, hypnotic grooves, over which he plays microtonally-inflected trumpet phrases in the style of Nath's Kiranic vocals.[2]



Jon Hassell
Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street



Jon Hassell trumpet, keyboard
Peter Freeman bass, percussion, guitar
Jan Bang live sampling
Jamie Muhoberac keyboard, drums
Rick Cox guitar
Jon Hassell violin
Eivind Aarset guitar
Helge Andreas Norbakken drums
Pete Lockett drums
J. A. Deane live sampling
Steve Shehan percussion

Aurora
Time And Place
Abu Gil
Last Night The Moon Came
Clairvoyance
Courtrais
Scintilla
Northline
Blue Period
Light On Water

Recorded November 2008
ECM 2077

25 years after his highly influential “Power Spot” album, Jon Hassell returns to ECM with his collective Maarifa Street and some spacious Fourth World dub-montage music, his uniquely vocal trumpet sailing forth into mysterious soundscapes. Jon Hassell describes “Last night the moon” as “a continuous piece, almost symphonic, with a cinematic construction” and drifting “clouds made out of many motifs”. Core material is drawn from a session at Studios La Buissonne near Avignon in April 2008, with detail added in Los Angeles in November and December. Live recordings from Courtrais, Belgium and London, as well as a remix of a piece originally created for a Wim Wenders movie, are also integrated into the atmospheric, filmic flow, along with short samples snared throughout 2008.

This album can be ordered in the USA from February 10th and via the ECM webshop from March 20th

ECM Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street PAGE

http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/2000/2077.php?cat=&we_start=0&acat=Artists%2FHassell+Jon%23%23Jon+Hassell

ECM power spot page

http://www.ecmrecords.com/Catalogue/ECM/1300/1327.php