one man’s meat, etc.
(an occasional series)
The other night I happened upon a live set by this guy on WKCR-FM’s Live Constructions—after a few minutes, it felt as though someone had poured a bottle of Drano down my ears (which, actually, I mean as a compliment).
Rust Worship (Paul Haney), live, New York, 2009
Music? Noise? What’s the difference?
serendipity
(an occasional series)
One of the things I love about radio—and, for my money, being able to tune in to radio stations from all over the world is one of the greatest things about the ’net—is that you can listen for hours, while doing this and that, as I was last night (WFMU-FM, The Push Bin with Lou), and not hear a single track, or even a single artist, that you’ve ever heard before, knowing all the while that whatever is playing means enough to at least one person (the DJ, that is) that, at that moment, it’s being shared, eagerly, with whoever happens to be listening.
Onmutu Mechanicks, “Calyx” (Echocord Jubilee Comp., Echocord, 2011)
Vodpod videos no longer available.What would Monday’s featured artist sound like if he’d come along a generation later?
Tyondai Braxton (Anthony’s son), “Dead Strings,” live, 2009
Part 1
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Part 2
Vodpod videos no longer available.More? Here (with Battles, a group he’s since left).
**********
lagniappe
If you had to take five albums, books or DVDs on tour with you, which ones would they be, and why?
I picked 5 records and they are:
1. Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Marin Alsop: Takemitsu: The Flock Decsends Into The Pentagonal Garden
Honestly I always take this piece and the score with me on tour everywhere I go. It’s one of my favorite pieces.2. Fela Kuti: Underground System
This record is a force. Infectious.3. Black Dice: Miles Of Smiles
One of my favourites from this band. The mood it creates is wholly its own.4. Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Pierre Boulez: Boulez Conducts Varèse
Varese is where my head has been for the past couple of months. Amériques is such a mind boggling piece.5. The Bulgarian State Radio & Television Choir: Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares 1&2
Another go-to old favorite. Stop what you’re doing and order this right now.For DVDs, the complete Six Feet Under, The Wire and Entourage. Is any other network up to the challenge to even attempt to compete with an HBO series?
Books:
Donari Braxton: The Invisible Alphabet
New novel from my brother. It’s seriously amazing. He seems to have an inexhaustible amount of ideas and has such a great sense of control in his craft. I looked to him and his work when struggling to flesh out my own.Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise
Such an incredible book. Ross fed into my already glorified view of the 20th century composers and made them into the lead characters in one of the most compelling stories I’ve ever read.John Adams: Hallelujah Junction
It’s great to hear a very down to earth narration of a composer who you respect.
*****
art beat
Lee Friedlander, Flowers and Trees (1981) (one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen), Tokyo 1977
recipe
Take 1 cup of James Brown’s emphatic funkiness.
Add 1 cup of Fred Astaire’s lighter-than-air elegance.
Stir. Let sit.
Add 2 cups of Jackie Wilson’s liquid grace.
Mix until thoroughly blended.
Michael Jackson, August 29, 1958-June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson does James Brown, live, Los Angeles, 1983
Vodpod videos no longer available.kaleidoscopic, adj. 1. changing form, pattern, color, etc., in a manner suggesting a kaleidoscope. 2. continually shifting from one set of relations to another. E.g., the music of the Art Ensemble of Chicago.
Art Ensemble of Chicago (Roscoe Mitchell, saxophone; Joseph Jarman, saxophone; Lester Bowie, trumpet; Malachi Favors, bass; Don Moye, drums), live, Europe, 1980s
Part 1
One of my all-time favorite musicians—no matter the instrument, no matter the genre—is the guy playing bass. If I’m feeling down, he lifts me up. If I’m feeling good, he makes things even better.
***
Part 2
Vodpod videos no longer available.How many trumpeters play so many different colors?
***
Part 3
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Part 4
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Part 5
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
Part 6
Vodpod videos no longer available.Avant-garde? Their use of polyphony recalls the earliest New Orleans jazz.
***
Part 7
Vodpod videos no longer available.How many musicians not only roam so widely but swing so hard?
**********
lagniappe
more
Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass, “Theme de Yoyo” (1970)
More? Here.
sui generis, adj. A person or thing that is unique, in a class by itself. E.g., Anthony Braxton, composer, reed player, professor, MacArthur “genius” grant winner, one-time professional chess hustler.
Happy (Belated 66th) Birthday, Anthony!
(born June 4, 1945)
Anthony Braxton with his 12+1tet, Ghost Trance Music
New York (Iridium), 2008
**********
lagniappe
musical thoughts
I wanted to live. I wanted to be alive. This experience goes by very quickly. Part of the radiance of a moment, in my opinion, involves that which we call music.
***
Suddenly, Coltrane solos become the “it” of music, when in fact, the records and the notated solos are the sonic footprints, the bone structure of what actually happened in the music.
***
I wanted a system that would be equal to the dynamics of curiosity. I wanted to have a music where I could have some fun.
***
There is the wonderful discipline of music and the ability of music to keep on opening up fresh prospects. I must say, what a discipline!
—Anthony Braxton
scenes from New Orleans
an occasional series
Neville Brothers (with Irvin Mayfield, trumpet)
“Indian Red,” live, New Orleans (Jazz Fest), 5/8/11
**********
lagniappe
art beat
Lance Rosenfield, New Orleans, 2/5/08 (young Mardi Gras Indian preparing for his first Mardi Gras with the Wild Magnolias)
favorites
(an occasional series)
She’s going to be a big star someday.
Nneka, live
Vodpod videos no longer available.(Originally posted 2/15/11.)
**********
It used to be that music came from a particular place. No more. Whether it’s Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (the Iranian saxophonist who’s lived in Germany, in Japan, and now in New York City [2/18/10]), or Burkina Electric (whose members come from Burkina Faso, from Germany, and from New York City [by way of Austria] [2/22/10]), or this singer, who’s lived (and has homes) in Nigeria and in Germany, much of today’s most intriguing music has its ears and heart and feet on more than one continent.
Nneka, “Heartbeat”
Take 1: recording/video
*****
Take 2: live, Philadelphia, 2009
*****
Take 3: J. Period Remix, featuring Talib Kweli
(Originally posted 2/27/10.)
Today we remember him with a mix of new clips and old favorites.
Gil Scott-Heron, April 1, 1949-May 27, 2011
new clips
“The Bottle,” live, Jamaica (Montego Bay, Reggae Sunsplash), 1983
Cool Runnings: The Reggae Movie (1983)
*****
“We Almost Lost Detroit,” live, Austria (Vienna), 2010
*****
Interview, England (London), 2010
*****
old favorites
Here’s a voice I didn’t know if I’d ever hear again.
Gil Scott-Heron, I’m New Here (out this week)
“Where Did The Night Go” (Gil Scott-Heron)
***
“Me And The Devil” (Robert Johnson)
**********
lagniappe
I’ve had bad times in my life when I’d rather be somewhere else doing something else, for sure. But you get to my age, that shit happens. You get in trouble; you maybe lose some folks—a parent or a friend. Maybe your marriage breaks up, you lose your wife, lose touch with your kid. But what life does not have those things in it?—Gil Scott-Heron (in yesterday’s Guardian)
(Orignially posted 2/8/10.)
**********
I’m the person I see least of over the course of my life, and even what I see is not accurate.
—Gil Scott-Heron (New Yorker, 8/9/2010 [Alec Wilkinson, “New York Is Killing Me”])
Gil Scott-Heron, “I’m New Here” (2010)
(Originally posted 8/24/10.)
**********
It’s a remix world.
Gil Scott-Heron, “New York Is Killing Me” (2010), Chris Cunningham remix
**********
lagniappe
Here’s the original track, followed by a couple more remixes.
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
With Nas
Vodpod videos no longer available.***
With Mos Def
Vodpod videos no longer available.**********
langiappe
musical thoughts
In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing. About the dark times.
—Bertolt Brecht
(Originally posted 12/16/10.)
**********
langiappe
remembrances
Richard Russell (XL Recordings; produced and released GSH’s last album)
music clip of the day 