Playlist, November 30, 2011

Host: David Ryshpan

Bill Evans - "Gloria's Step" (Sunday at the Village Vanguard)
Keith Jarrett - "You & the Night & the Music" (At the Deer Head Inn)
Frank Kimbrough - "Conception Vessel" (Play)
Paul Motian - "Wednesday" (Time and Time Again)
Paul Motian - "Justice (Evidence)" (Monk in Motian)
Paul Motian Band - "Mandeville" (Psalm)
SFJazz Collective - "Family" (Live 2011)
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - "Eye of the Dove" (The Race Riot Suite)
Miguel Zenón - "Tiemblas" (Alma Adentro)
*Ben Henriques - "A Theory of Consumption" (The Responsibility Club)
Maria Schneider - "Journey Home" (Allégresse)
Fabian Almazan - "H.U.Gs (Historically Under-represented Groups" (Personalities)
Gilad Hekselman - "The Bucket Kicker" (Hearts Wide Open)
Starlicker - "Andromeda" (Double Demon)
Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet - "Part II: Strike" (Apparent Distance)
Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers Ensemble - "Inana's Dance (I-III)" (Inana)
*BEAN - "Fava" (s/t)

May Paul Motian rest in peace. Check out Peter Hum's Jazzblog for many remembrances from notable musicians.

Jazz Euphorium Playlist - Wednesday November 23, 2011

Host:  Lawrence Joseph

1 - Shibusashirazu Orchestra - Kujira (15:50)
    Something Difference (1994) Chitei Records

2 - Iskra 1903 - Cohesion 2B (12:43)
    Goldsmiths (2011) Emanem (recorded March 9 1972)
3 - Hasler / Paeffgen / Berger - Holtondimi (7:06)
    Self titled No Business Records (2011)

4 - Brahja Waldman's Quertet - The Quickness of the Spirit (7:38)
    Self-titled Self released (2011)
5 - Frank Lozano Montreal Quartet -  Twelve Toes / Leuvin Country (10:25)
    Destin Efendi (2011)
6 - Trio Derome Guilbault Tanguay - 17 West (4:36)
    Ambiance Magnetique

7 - Joe McPhee / Michael Zerang - Rise / After the Flood (9:18)
    Creole Gardens A New Orleans Suite No Business Records (2011)
8 - Darius Jones Trio - A Train (6:05)
    Big Gurl Aum Fidelity
9 - Aki Takase / Han Bennink - Locomotive (3:52)
    Two for Two (Intakt) (2011)

10 - Daniel Erdmann / Samuel Rohrer - Broken Tails (8:25)
     How to Catch a Cloud (2011) Intakt
11 - Jurg Wickihalder European Quartet - Last Jump (10:58)

12 - Miles Espanol - Flamenco Sketches (7:09)
     New Sketches of Spain Entertainment One          

Jazz Euphorium November 16th

On This Week's Jazz Euphorium, we take a listen to the music of Juma Sultan's
Aboriginal Music Society off the Father Of Origin Box set just put out on the
Eremite Label


1. Fan Dance, part I

2. Fan Dance, part II
3. Fan Dance, part III
4. Ode to a Gypsy Son
5. untitled
6. Sundance
7. untitled

8. untitled, part II

From Eremite's Site:

Deep archeology into a long buried & previously undocumented chapter in the history of the early ’70s loft era brings forth the revelatory Father of Origin (MTE-54/55/56), Eremite’s box set retrospective of percussionist/bassist Juma Sultan’s Aboriginal Music Society.  Drawn from Sultan’s mammoth private archive of recordings, this ground-breaking set includes two audiophile LPs & a CD, a 28 page 12x12" book featuring previously unpublished photographs & ephemera & a detailed historical essay by jazz scholar Michael Heller, all manufactured to highest quality-freak standards.  This old-school multi-media extravaganza exposes some of the most extraordinary & explosive free jazz of the period to the light of day for the first time.

 Established by Sultan & percussionist Ali Abuwi in Woodstock in 1968, Aboriginal Music Society was both a radical arts presenting organization & a killer band.  Dedicated to musician self-sufficiency and stubbornly non-commercial, AMS waged guerrilla cultural warfare against mainstream America from strongholds in rural Woodstock & from lofts on New York’s Lower East Side.  For ten years, Sultan & the loose alliance of like-minded musicians in AMS produced independent concerts, owned & operated its own recording studio, & collaborated with legendary artist-run New York loft space Studio We on performances & educational programs.  But during that whole time, they never released a record.

Inspired by an emerging understanding of African cultures & the political ideas of the black power movement, AMS synthesized an African approach to percussion and collective performance with the revolutionary jazz of its day.  In open-ended free improvisations they played an incendiary mix of massive trap kit & hand drum grooves & heaven-storming free jazz.  The music was a cry of freedom, a declaration of black cultural artistic & political independence; & until now it has not been heard since the day it was made.

Father of Origin for the first time reveals the cross fertilization between the New York loft scene & an extremely rich Woodstock music scene, a powerful confluence of artists & sensibilities that has long gone unacknowledged.  In Woodstock Sultan & Abuwi were tight with members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, including saxophonist Gene Dinwiddie, guitarist Ralph Walsh, bassist Rod Hicks, & the late, great AACM drummer Philip Wilson, all of whom crop up on different sessions in Father of Origin.  Sultan himself easily bridged musical genres.  He was a member of Jimi Hendrix’s Gypsy Sun & Rainbows & performed in the band's legendary Woodstock Festival concert.  In New York, AMS worked with a huge cross section of the wildly fertile & creative loft scene, including saxophonists Frank Lowe & Julius Hemphill, trumpeter Earl Cross, cellist Abdul Wadud, & drummer Charles “Bobo” Shaw, who are all heard from on Father of Origin.

The first of the set’s two LPs, a 1970 Boston studio date, features a New York-Woodstock sextet—including Sultan, Abuwi, Dinwiddie, Wilson, Walsh, & Cross—engaged in a characteristically percussion-heavy improvisation.  The African-to-free percussion maintains a relentless rhythmic pressure on the band, and Dinwiddie responds with a powerful performance whose genuine free-jazz fire will completely re-write the book on the late saxophonist.  The fourteen minute "Ode to a Gypsy Son," Sultan's meditation on Hendrix, finds Sultan, Abuwi & Cross over-dubbing flutes, home-made wind instruments, chanting & percussion into a startlingly original & deeply psychedelic veneration.

The other vinyl disc features a private jam session by Sultan, Abuwi, & saxophonist Frank Lowe at the Broadway headquarters of AMS.  Recorded in April 1971, it predates by several months Lowe's recording debut on Alice Coltrane's World Galaxy & by over two years his debut recording as a leader, the classic ESP side Black Beings, making it the earliest example of the free jazz titan’s music currently available.  The circumstances were casual, but definitely not the music.  Lowe was reaching a coruscating early career peak & the percussionists goad him to some very intense playing.  The session is the best illustration we have of Lowe's stated early ambition to fuse Pharaoh Sanders & John Coltrane into a single cosmic cry.

The CD features yet another historic meeting—an undated concert with the Woodstock crew & a trio of Midwesterners recently relocated to New York—saxophonist Julius Hemphill, cellist Abdul Wadud, & drummer Charles “Bobo” Shaw, all members of the St. Louis music & arts collective, Black Artists Group.  Wadud & Hemphill are outstanding in this sprawling Aboriginal Music Society collective improvisation with soloists weaving in & out of the teeming drums & percussion.

Whenever they performed—whether in the studio, the bandstand, in private jam sessions or on the Woodstock village green—Juma Sultan & the Aboriginal Music Society played with a full sense of the occasion.  Every opportunity to make music was an event and they knew it, throwing everything they had into the music every time.  Father of Origin presents three of the most memorable of those events, played by a band previously lost to history.

Father of Origin is presented in a heavyweight telescoping box in paper wraps screen-printed by Alan Sherry at Siwa, who also screen-printed the LP sleeves, CD jacket & additional loose memorabilia.  Audio restoration & mastering from the original analog tapes by Michael King at Reel Recordings.  LPs cut by Steve Fallone at Sterling & manufactured by RTI.  Edition of 600 copies.  First 100 copies purchased at eremite.com include a promo only 7" featuring two-track "dub" re-mixes by Joshua Abrams of 'Ode to a Gypsy Son' & MTE-55 'untitled'.

Jazz Euphorium - Wednesday October 19, 2011

Host: Lawrence Joseph

1.  Paul Bley Quintet - Ictus - ESP Disk (5:40)
2.  Marion Brown Quartet - Capricorn Moon - ESP Disk (22:28)
3.  Brahja Waldman's Quartet - The Quickness of the Spirit - self (7:36)
4.  Remi Bolduc Jazz Ensemble - Donna Lee - Effendi (7:16)
5.  Lina Allemano Four - Wayne's Shorts - Lumo records (5:20)
6.  Anthony Braxton & Dave Holland - The Song is You - Sackville (11:44)
7.  Anthony Braxton - No. 69 M - Black Saint (7:14)
8.  John Coltrane - Mars - Impulse Records (10:41)
9.  Olaf Rupp / Joe Williamson / Tony Buck - Shantung - Creative Sources (25:48)
10. Aki Takase & Han Bennink - Hat and Beard - Intakt (3:12)  

Collective Wonder - SFJAZZ Collective preview

Launched in 2004, the SFJAZZ Collective regularly unites eight of modern jazz's most compelling voices. Each year, the octet comes together during a multi-week residency in San Francisco to create new work and pay homage to a selected composer. Past honorees have included Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner and John Coltrane; this year, the group has chosen to tip its hat to Stevie Wonder. This year's incarnation features alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón (the only member to have been in each iteration of SFJAZZ since 2004), tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, trumpeter Avishai Cohen, Robin Eubanks on trombone, Stefon Harris on vibraphone, Matt Penman on bass, Eric Harland on drums (who will be subbed by Kendrick Scott in Montreal), and pianist Edward Simon.

Simon, entering his second year in SFJAZZ, calls it "one of the most exciting, challenging and rewarding experiences of my career." Having played extensively with Harland, Turner and Zenón, his contributions to the group are highly informed by his history with these artists. Simon admits to only being "vaguely familiar with [Wonder's] music; I really didn't investigate it deeply until preparing for this project." Nevertheless, his arrangement of "My Cherie Amour" and his composition, "Young and Playful," are two of the standouts in SFJAZZ's repertoire this year.

SFJAZZ Collective plays the music of Stevie Wonder tonight, Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at L'Astral at 8 pm. Tickets are $31.50 (plus taxes). More information at www.sfjazz.org/about-collective and www.montrealjazzfest.com

- David Ryshpan

Playlist October 5, 2011

Artist - Album - Song


René Sandoval 4 - Action/Reaction - Try Me
*Gypsophilia - Constellation - Montreal (October 6 @ Upstairs, 8pm)
Build an Ark - The Stars are Singing Too (10 Years) - Mother (Nate Morgan Solo Rhodes)
*Harris Eisenstadt - Canada Day II - Cobble Hook


Andrew Hill - Black Fire - Pumpkin
Jan Shyu & Mark Dresser - Synastry - Floods, Flames, Blades
Kneebody - You Can Have Your Moment - No Thank You Mr. West
Brad Shepik Quartet - Across The Way - Garden
Adam Rudolph & Moving Pictures with Organic Orchestra Strings - Both/And - Love's Light


L'OFF Festival de Jazz PREVIEW


*Tania Gill Quartet - Bolger Station - Bicycle (October 9 @ Upstairs, 9:30pm)
*Maïkotron Unit - Ex-Voto - Tabula... (October 14 @ Casa del Popolo, 10:30pm)
*Cheminées Roulées - OFF! Jazz Festival Compilation - La Qunizaine & Le Point sur le I (October 11 @ Casa Del Popolo, 10:30pm)


*Collard-Neven/Derome/Tanguay - OFF! Jazz Festival Compilation - Rencontre Cinéma et Musique (On-air giveaway - October 11 @ Chapelle Historique du Bon Pasteur, 8pm)
*Brahja Waldman Quartet - Brahja Waldman Quartet - Sermon of the Inanimate (October 12 @ Casa Del Popolo, 10:30pm)
*Trio Jean-François Groulx - OFF! Jazz Festival Compilation - Voyage Part 1 (October 8 @ Dièse Onze, 5pm)
*Murray Street Band feat. Joe McPhee - Live @ L'envers
*Thom Gossage & Other Voices - In Other Words - Your Number(s) (October 13 @ Sala Rossa, 8pm)
*Quartette Alexandre Côté - Jackie's Elements (October 12 @ Dièse Onze, 5pm)


My Silence - It Only Happens At Night - The Secret Dreams of Mothers To Be
Eric Hofbauer & the Infrared Band - Level - Murder For A Jar of Red Rum


*Adrian Vedady - In Three Acts - Little Sketch (October 9 @ Dièse Onze, 5pm)


Host: Parker Mah

September 28, 2011

Hosted by Alanna

Max Roach - Drums Unlimited - Nommo

Eddie Rosner - Caravan - Caravan

School Days (Steve Lacy, Roswell Rudd, Henry Grimes, Dennis Charles) - Improvisations on compositions by Thelonious Monk - Bye-ya

Art Blakey and the new jazz messengers - Buttercorn Lady - Secret Love

Max Roach and Abdullah Ibrahim - Streams of consciousness - Streams of consciousness

John Coltrane (with McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison, Donald Garrett, Pharoah Sanders, Elvin Jones, Frank Butler, Juno Lewis) - Kulu Sé Mama - Kulu Sé Mama

David Binney (with Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn, Eivind Opsvik, Kenny Wollesen) - Out of Airplanes - The forgotten Gems

Matana Roberts - Coin Coin - Rise

Gordon Grdinaès Box Cutter (Gordon Grdina, Francois Houle, Karlis Silins, Kenton Loewen) - New Rules for Noise - The Bad News

Chet Baker and Flea talk about Clifford Brown

Maikotron Unit (Michel Cote, Pierre Cote, Michel Lambert)- Ex-voto - Mare

Der Heisser

September 21, 2011

Host: Stephanie Khoury

Matthew Shipp, Songs: “There Will Never Be Another you”

Joe McPhee, Nation Time: “Nation Time”

Mace Hibbard, Time Gone By: “Slip and Slide”

Wadada Leo Smith – Organic, Heart’s Reflections: “The Well: From Bitter to Fresh Sweet Water”

Farmers be Nature (Gerald Cleaver, William Parker, Craig Taborn), Out of This World’s Distortions: “For Fred Anderson”

Didier Petit, Don’t Explain (3 Faces): “Alfonsina Y El Mar”

Francois Houle, Aerials: “Tuilerie”

The Reggie Workman Ensemble, Synthesis: “Earthly Garden”

Bill Dixon, Tapestries for Small Orchestra: “Slivers: Sand Dance for Sophia”

Hamid Drake and Sabir Mateen: Brothers Together: “Brothers Together”

Sun Ra and His Arkestra: Love in Outer Space - Live at Utrecht: “Love in Outer Space – Space is the Place”

Playlist: Wednesday August 17th, 2011

Hosted by Katerina

Exploding Star Orchestra - Impression #1 (Stars Have Shapes, Delmark, 2010)

Anna Webber - Parallelissimo I (Third Floor People, Nowt Records, 2010)

Harris Eisenstadt - To See/Tootie (Canada Day II, Songlines, 2011)

Meredith Monk - Travelling (Dolmen Music, ECM, 1981)

Patty Waters - Wild Is The Wind (College Tour, ESP-Disk, 1966)

William Parker/ In Order To Survive (Cooper-Moore/ Rob Brown/ Susie Ibarra) - Posium Pendasem #1 (The Peach Orchard, Aum Fidelity, 1998)

Joelle Léandre/ François Houle/ Raymond Strid - Last Seen Headed II (Last Seen Headed - Live at Sons d'Hiver, Ayler Records, 2010)

Bang on a Can - Amalia's Secret (Classics, Cantaloupe Music, 2002)

Nicole Mitchell/ Black Earth Ensemble - Sanctuary: Aaya's Rainbow (Vision Quest, Dreamtime Records, 2001)

Lawrence Ferlinghetti/ The Cellar Jazz Quintet of San Francisco - Junkman's Obbligato, 1957 recording (A Coney Island of the Mind, New Directions, 2008)

Liberty Ellman - You Have Ears (Ophiuchus Butterfly, Pi Recordings, 2006)

Kornstad Trio (Hakon Kornstad/ Mats Eilertsen/ Paal Nilssen-Love) - Arched Shape (Space Available, Jazzland, 2001)

Playlist August 10, 2011

Host Steph Khoury

Vijay Iyer, Prasanna, Nitin Mitta, Tirtha: “Entropy and Time”

John Zorn, Nova Express: “Lost Words”

John Zorn, Nova Express: “Between Two Worlds”

John Zorn, Nova Express: “Blue Veil”

Henri Texier, Canto Negro: “Sueno Canto”

Zimbo Trio, Bossa Nova and The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960s: “Zimbo Samba”           

Jorge Ben, Bossa Nova and The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960s: “Rosa, Menina Rosa”           

Joao Gilberto, Bossa Nova and The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960s: “O Sapo”           

Gilberto Gil, Bossa Nova and The Rise Of Brazilian Music In The 1960s: “Viramundo”           

Bill Frisell & Vinicius Cantuária, Lágrimas Mexicanas: “Cafezinho”

Bill Frisell & Vinicius Cantuária, Lágrimas Mexicanas: “Lágrimas Mexicanas”

Satoko Fujii Orchestra Tokyo, Zakopane: “Inori”

Kenny Wheeler, One of Many: “Anticipation”

Weasel Walter, Mary Halvorson, Peter Evans, Electric Fruit: “Metallic Dragon Fruit”

Kit Downes Trio, Quiet Tiger: “Fonias”

Paolo Fresu, A Filetta Corsican Voices, Daniele di Bonaventura, Mistico Mediterraneo: “Sanctus”                        

Steve Earle, Treme: Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 1: “This City”           

Soul Rebels Brass Band, Treme: Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 1: “Drinka Little Poison (4 U Die)”

Scott Fields Ensemble, Fugu: ”The Plagiarist“           

Regina Carter, Reverse Thread: “Mwana Talitambula”

The Peter Evans Quartet, Live in Lisbon: “For ICP”  

Rebirth Brass Band, Treme: Music From The HBO Original Series, Season 1: “Feel Like Funkin' It Up”