Archive: June, 2007

the mark weber photo collection

Monday, June 18th, 2007

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"It would be a major disservice to a great art form to contain it within a defined orthodoxy. Without a definition it radiates outward. Nor would I care to venture a speculation as to what jazz is. I'm not too locked in on the word "jazz" anyway. If a cat (or kitty) can play, then he can play. Jazz is not a type of music, it is not a specific form or catagory. Jazz is a manner in which music is played. Jazz is the way you play the music, not the music that is played. Jazz is the original Free Form. It continues to evolve." — Mark Weber.

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trio | boubaker | werchowski | werchowska

Sunday, June 17th, 2007

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Nusch Werchowska: cadre de piano, micros. Mathieu Werchowski: violon. Heddy Boubaker: sax alto

Recorded live, Château de Lafage, 11/03/2007 by Sébastien Cirotteau. Masterised by Heddy Boubaker. Released under the label Insubordinations

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 trio bww part one [6:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup
 trio bww part two [6:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup
 trio bww part three [16:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup
 trio bww part four [8:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

anthony braxton 12+1tet

Tuesday, June 12th, 2007

boxcoverweb.gif9 COMPOSITIONS (IRIDIUM) 2006 Firehouse 12
Compositions 350 to 358, 9 CDs, 1 DVD, 56-Page Booklet

Anthony Braxton / alto, soprano, and sopranino saxophones, clarinet, and Eb contralto clarinet; Taylor Ho Bynum / cornet, flugelhorn, trumpbone, piccolo and bass trumpets, mutes, and shell; Andrew Raffo Dewar / soprano and c-melody saxophones, and clarinet; James Fei / alto and soprano saxophones, and bass clarinet; Mary Halvorson / electric guitar; Steve Lehman / alto and sopranino saxophones; Nicole Mitchell / flute, alto and bass flutes, piccolo, and voice; Jessica Pavone / viola and violin; Reut Regev / trombone, flugelbone, mutes, and cymbals; Jay Rozen / tuba, euphonium, mutes, and toys; Sara Schoenbeck / bassoon and suona; Aaron Siegel / percussion and vibraphone; Carl Testa / bass and bass clarinet.

Recorded: March 16-19, 2006.

Anthony Braxton’s Ghost Trance Music has not only encompassed but fundamentally transformed (“trance-formed”) his entire music system. His GTM compositions can scarcely be considered “compositions,” at least not in any usual sense of the word. They constitute what Braxton call “a continuous state music…a trans-temporal music that can be played in any tempo and a trans-idiomatic music in terms of its structural postulates….Each composition becomes like a melody that doesn’t start and doesn’t end.” (Braxton to Graham Locke, Notes to Composition 192, Leo Records)

In other words, linear form has been set aside in favor of ritual form. Necessary structural determinants (in terms of overall movement from A to B to Z) have been let go of in favor of duration (time), the only underlying determinant of ritual form. In the Ghost Trance Music presented at the Iridium, an hour glass was turned over at the beginning of each piece to set a general time parameter. (Duration doesn’t tell us what music will be played but it sets the open framework within which music can take place.)

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seattle women’s jazz orchestra

Monday, June 11th, 2007
 encontro das aguas | meeting of the waters [5:41m]: Play Now | Play in Popup
 the checkered demon [5:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

pannonica

Monday, June 11th, 2007

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Opened to the public in 1994 in Nantes (France), Pannonica is a cultural space dedicated to live music. It is directed by the Nantes Jazz Action association which handles the programming and manages the place itself. In ten years and more of existence it has helped to further develop and promote the local, national and international Jazz scene as well as new and improvised music, by welcoming young artists as well as some of the most famous names in the Jazz and Free music fields. A true crossroads for Jazz Music in the West area of France, Pannonica supports, hosts and promotes young artists and independent labels versed in contemporary Jazz such as : Jazzophone Company, Quartet Ixi, Alban Darche and Yolk records, Jean-Louis Apple tree, Survivors of Infinite, but also some major American and European artists such as Ray Anderson, William Parker, Scott Coley, Abbey Lincoln, Lee Konitz, Aldo Romano, Henri Texier, Louis Sclavis, Bruno Chevillon, Marc Ducret, François Raulin, Dianne Reeves, Tom Harrel, Stenson Sore, Gary Peacock, Archie Sheep… Not forgetting some of the most considerable activists of the international Free Music scene : Luc Ex, Domenica RĂ©pĂ©caud, Ron Anderson, Eugene Chadbourne, Walls Furnace, Assif Tsahar, Axel Dorner, Alan Licht, Loren Mazzacane Connors…

Pannonica organizes approximately a hundred concerts a year, from September to June. It is administered and directed by a private, non-profit association actively supported by the City of Nantes and the French Ministry of Culture and Communication via the Regional Direction of Cultural Affairs. Pannonica is part of the Jazz Scenes and Improvised Music Federation, which gathers about thirty jazz clubs nationwide.

The artistic project: Pannonica defines its artistic activity as “art et essai” applied to music, a concept to which we are strongly attached. In order to provide a more precise understanding of our activity, it may be helpful to expose some of our primary objectives, which make Pannonica more than a mere concert hall. We seek to :- defend an artistic and cultural project primarily devoted to modern creation in the field of Jazz and improvised music,- devote a broad space to the expression of original ideas and current creations,- set up a scheme of action designed to help the artistic growth and professional development of local artists,- allow the public to discover rare, creative music often ignored by the media.- reaffirm Pannonica’s vocation as both a relay and initiator of many different projects for festivals and other big structures- develop a coherent policy to seduce the public by keeping our prices interestingly low.- work for the consideration of jazz and new music in the debates on public policies and cultural development at national level. Please visit Pannonica’s website for more detailed information.

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evan parker and friends

Thursday, June 7th, 2007

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Evan Parker Photo: Gérard Rouy

PERFORMANCE OF FEBRUARY 9, 1978 at North London Poly, England.

Evan Parker / soprano and tenor saxophones, John Russell / guitar, David Holmes / percussion.

PERFORMANCE OF FEBRUARY 12, 1978 at London Musician’s Collective.

Evan Parker / sopranino, soprano and tenor saxophones, David Toop / flutes, etc., Paul Burwell / percussion.

Evan Parker’s search into the extensions of saxophone language, greatly aided by a keen ear for timbre, lightening reflexes, and a remarkable control of breath, was much in evidence in these two concerts. The former began auspiciously, with John Russell experiencing amplification problems, forcing him to play acoustically and thus virtually inaudible (at least where I was sitting) most of the time. David Holmes, a new player, revealed himself to be quite a compelling drummer - his playing full of tension and little, sudden implications that always changed quickly - and functioned well with/behind Parker. Parker, as familiar to the readers through his playing on various recordings on the Incus label, performed with his usual inventiveness. His soprano has the ability to cut through whatever is going on around him, no matter how deafening (not that it was deafening on this occasion) and assert its presence. Perhaps what is most important in his playing at this time is the elevation of his tenor playing to that of the soprano. The one-note “chording,” the rapid timbral/pitch changes, common to his soprano playing, are now prevalent in his tenor work as well, something I had not heard before (not that he was ever a slouch on tenor…). My one reservation was that with the several short sets they played they did not seem to fully develop their playing and exchange as much as they could have. This was (I believe) the first time they had performed together as a trio, and perhaps this was partially the reason for the short sets.

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dominic duval | cobble stones

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

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Dominic Duval

cobble stones a title from the upcoming Songs for Krakow album released under the NotTwo label.

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 cobble stones [8:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup

evan parker | paul lytton - at the unity theatre, london 1975

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

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AT THE UNITY THEATRE Incus 14

Evan Parker / soprano and tenor saxophones, lyttonophone, etc., Paul Lytton / percussion and live electronics.
Recorded: January 7, 1975.

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