PDX Show Announcement: Ceramic Dog with 1939 Ensemble

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog , a noise/avant-garde/free-punk outfit, will be playing at Mississippi Studios Tuesday night , 5/27/14.

Portland's ethereal vibe/drums duo, 1939 Ensemble, will be kicking things off at 8pm.

GIG INFO:
Ceramic Dog
05/27/14
Doors: 7pm, Show: 8pm
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227

Tabor Space is the Place

Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Sun Ra's arrival on the planet Terra...  Tomorrow Tabor Space is the place...

From the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble:
The PJCE celebrates Sun Ra with new pieces by George Colligan, Ken Ollis and Galen Clark.

6:30 — Meet the Composers, Appetizers and Silent Auction

7:30 — Concert

Tabor Space, 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215

$5-60 Sliding scale donation. (All donations above $10 are tax deductible.)



... Be there or be square.

______
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

New York Is Now!

I'm just off off the heels of visiting friends & family in New York.  Lingering on our time spent there I've been dialed into Ornette's 1968 Blue Note masterpiece, New York Is Now!



Although I haven't posted about this album, I'm probably the most familiar with it from Coleman's large discography.  It's simple, well stated, and prominant in its presence.   Since this session is backed by Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison, a unique back drop is created for Coleman to work within.  

In typical Blue Note fashion this album swings, swings, and swings some more.  I love Jone's heavier use of the kick drum here.  It anchors the group with pops and flutters behind Coleman's melodic playing.  And Dewey Redman's presence is a welcomed contrast to Coleman's concepts.

New York Is Now! is a must listen for fans of Coleman, Coltrane's Classic Quartet, and post-bop.   It warrants re-listens, and appears to fit in the background of most situations.  

It's a small drop in Ornette's Large discography, and along with its sister release, Love Call, stands out from anything else he's released.

April Jazz in Oregon / Plus new things from Northern Spy Records

Couple of show announcements ...

Wednesday, 4/16, at Mississippi Studios you can catch the Chris Speed Trio, featuring Dave King of The Bad Plus and Chris Tordini, with the Blue Cranes also on the bill for the night.

Northern Spy recording duo, Jooklo Duo, will be hitting three locations throughout Oregon.  Thursday, 4/17, at Interzone in Corvallis, OR as part of their The Red Room: Improvised Music Series, along with two dates in Portland: Friday, 4/18 at Valentines, and Easter Sunday, 4/20, at Reed College.

_____________

... Speaking of Northern Spy artists, I've been really into Locus by the Chicago Underground Duo.  This amalgamation of genres feels like a love child between The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Aphex Twin, and Thurston Moore. 

We hear processed sounds that are pulled from analog and digital sources, and derive anywhere between a synthesizer and a Game Boy. Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor take us on an adventurous sound experiment across the realms of music.  Heavily rhythmic within its melodies, Locus creates a sense of eagerness from one cut to another.  Each track is like a layer revealing a next step onward into uncharted territory.  Through every listen I find myself wanting to re-cue this record once the last note hits.

_____________

April 19 is Record Store Day.  Northern Spy has an exciting lineup of RSD only releases.  So check in with your local haunt for some shiny new wax from J. Spaceman & Kid Millions, or a Deerhoof + Marc Ribot / Ceramic Dog split 7".

Cloud Becomes Your Hand - Portland Show Announcement

Off the heels of their new album, Rocks or Cakes, Brooklyn based band Cloud Becomes Your Hand will be performing at Valentine's in Old Town Portland.

Cloud Becomes Your Hand joins ambient themes along with well arranged electronics and harmonies. Staggering from Post Punk-esq noise, to whimsical melodies reminiscent of carnival or marching band music, to tracks that create an old school, spacey Sci-Fi feel.

About Northern Spy Records - Weather it be jazz, noise, prog, minimalist, electronic, etc., Northern Spy's portfolio stretches to the far edges of the avant-garde universe. Including the latest release from the Chicago Underground Duo, entitled Locus; dropping this week.

3/26/2014
Valentine’s
232 SW Ankeny
8PM
All Ages

Peter Brötzmann / Paal Nilssen-Love Duo Tonight in Portland

This show is one for the books and a must see for any experimental music fan.  Peter Brötzmann and Paal Nilssen-Love Duo will be performing tonight at the Secret Society thanks to Portland's Creative Music Guild.  There's isn't anything I can say about Brötzmann that hasn't already be said.  So this post is strictly to promote the event.  See you tonight.

Chicago Underground Quartet

 

I only recently discovered this album this year and it has been in regular rotation for me. I am only somewhat familiar with the musings of Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor's successful Chicago Underground Duo and Trio with Noel Kupersmith, but once I learned Tortoise guitarist, Jeff Parker, is a long time collaborator with Chicago Underground I was happy to stumble across this CD. 

Chicago Underground Quartet is a near flawless listen which is partially owed to its stylized production. With a nice amplifier and good set of speakers you're treated with lush low ends complimented by bright highs, and the warmth of acoustic meets electric happenings in between. This is particularly observed in Four in the Evening where a simple theme is tooled between Kupersmith's bass and Mazurek on cornet. It's a short spacey piece that leads right into my favorite track, A Re-occurring Dream. Another minimalist themed composition that highlights licks over a simple blues line. For me, I can't help but think of "Audrey's Dance" from Twin Peaks.

Those two slow paced tracks are the perfect setup for the fast tempoed, free-form movement, Welcome. Which begins with a burst of cymbal splashes and an intriguing guitar melody. The melody is repetitively emphasized here before the formation of the Quartet's improvisation skills kick in.  It may seem abrasive at times but everything is weighted nicely here.

Total Recovery mixes it up with a tight groove that offers a platform for Parker and Mazurek. It's the perfect piece before the next improve cut, Sing, Charge, Fixture. Where, different from Welcome, the spacing and silence is as much a part of the composition as the instruments being played. Nostalgia, the concluding track, sounds as if it would fit perfectly over an obscure Science Fiction movie with the galactic sounding moog. It's the perfect segue out the album's atmospheric setting. But even afterwards, there is a short Easter Egg for those who are patient enough.

The self-titled Chicago Underground Quartet is a strong album. I would imagine that anyone who is interested in the Chicago Underground Duo probably already owns it, but if you are fan of contemporary jazz and experimental music this is a must for your library. 

2001 - Thrill Jocky.
Noel Kupersmith - Bass; Rob Mazurek - Cornet, Electronics; Jeff Parker - Guitar; Chad Taylor - Percussion, Vibraphone.  

"... isn't it too dreamy?"

Creative Music Guild Outset Series

Last night the Creative Music Guild hosted their twice-monthly Outset Series at Revival Drum Shop.  Before the show it was announced that German, free-improv icon Peter Brötzmann will be playing Portland on November, 17.

Playing as a duo Joe Cunningham and Reed Wallsmith (of Blue Cranes, and Battle Hymns & Gardens) performed a set that contained an ocarina, utilized plastic wrappers as percussion pieces, and the bells of their saxophones placed together during their fiery conclusion (pictured above).  

Following Cunningham and Wallsmith was the project Ifsh by Ryan Steuwe of Eat.  Offering a droned-out, spontaneously combustible set of sounds and samples; his work felt as much analog as it did electronic.

ESP-Disk' Findings and Burton Green in Portland

Couple of recent vinyl purchases from Burton Greene and Gato Barbieri.  Both ESP-Disk' titles.  Each of them fierce in their own way.  Greene offering a physical enduring adventuring while Barbieri drives your spiritual sensations.  

I have had digital versions of both albums for years, but I love the opportunity to rediscover records on vinyl.  It's all about the surface noise.

Burton Greene visited Portland back in April for two live performances.  I caught one of them at the Camellia Lounge in NW Portland.  Greene is a legiy improver and seeing him at work was electrifying and immersive.  It's refreshing to see players like Burton Greene continue to push musical boundaries in person.

"Life In The Sugar Candle Mines" - Black Host

The new Northern Spy release from Black Host, Life In The Sugar Candle Mines, is textured and far out.  Cooper-Moore (piano, synthesizer), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Darius Jones (alto sax), and Pascal Niggenkemper (bass) join drummer Gerald Cleaver here.  Much like Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers, leader Gerald Cleaver allows Black Host to act as catapult for the collective endeavor of his bandmates. Yet each individual identity from this quintet acts as their own appendage within this improvising ensemble.

Life In The Sugar Candle Mines is a collective romp that certainly stands out within Avant-Garde Jazz.  And each cut seems to be more exciting than the next.  The first two pieces, "Hover," and "Ayler Children" present a fierce momentum early on in the record, but later tracks such as "Test-Sunday," and "Wrestling" still anchor my attention with their building intensities.  While numbers such as "Citizen Rose" and "Amsterdam / Frames" offer spacey explorations reminiscent of prog/psychedelic and thrash rock.  I bet Thurston Moore listens to this album on repeat.

Still, there are melodic parts along with creative ensemble bits that inspire a conceptual motive here; much like succussful visual, abstract artists.  If you're into experimental music but are searching for the right diving off point for the Jazzier side then Life In The Sugar Candle Mines will hit the sweet spot.  With its forward-looking approach and strong roots in the NYC Avant-Garde scene experienced listeners have an album worth checking out as well.