AFRICANASIA, PART TWO Claude Delcloo / Arthur Jones Africanasia BYG/Actuel : 1969 Claude Delcloo, drums; Arthur Jones, alto sax; Joseph Jarman, Roscoe Mitchell, Kenneth Terroade, flutes; Clifford Thornton, conga; Malachi Favors, log-drum; Earl Freeman, gong, bell, percussion. Africanasia, the two words run together to indicate both the seamless intermeshing of musical influences and the overall flow of the album, a continuous piece that took up two sides in 1969 but inevitably would have been one unbroken composition in [...]
We are honored and overjoyed to be able to present this truly amazing, seriously generous guest post from Taylor Ho Bynum , in which he introduces one of the key figures behind his musical education and development, as well as a member of his current band: Bill Lowe . We have little more to add, other than stay tuned for part two at the end of the month! Thanks, and take it away, Taylor... I am thrilled Destination: Out [...]
Last week, we posted the Top 10 best-sellers from the FMP download store. All of them are terrific albums, but there are also a number of gems that we feel people have been sleeping on. Some of these records never received their due in their day and have since languished out of print for decades. Some may simply have been overlooked in the blitz of additions to the store. Here are our Top 10 overlooked albums from the FMP store. All of them are ripe for (re)discovery. We vouch that each is worth [...]
It's been a year since we launched the FMP download store. We've been incredibly honored to make so many great recordings available for the first time in years - if not decades. We've been generally encouraged by the sales and thankful for everyone who's supported the venture by purchasing one (or more!) of these albums. For those who haven't been sure where to start, we present the Top 10 bestsellers from the FMP store to date. There are some stone-cold classics in here, along with some fascinating outliers that have pricked up people's ears. [...]
We were deeply saddened to hear about the passing of the great Sam Rivers. That last name is as right as rain - his talents were so varied, multifarious, they were like streams that fed into the greater ocean of jazz. Best known as great saxophonist equally adept at the tenor and soprano, he was also a remarkable flutist and pianist, who quietly put his stamp on both instruments. As anyone who has seen Rivers live can attest, he was an astonishing improviser who could instantly summon pieces that were both dramatic and affecting, wrought in [...]
Portrait by SAM RIVERS We had hoped that this would be a celebratory post. Given the passing of Sam Rivers on December 26th, it is necessarily mournful. What started as a jolly contest concludes as a teary memorial. As we work on what we hope will be a fitting tribute to Rivers, and work on coming to grips with this sad news, we nevertheless proceed with the final stages of the giveaway. The Fates have spoken , and the winning number in the Rivers/Mosaic drawing is [...]
Follies by STEVE LACY QUINTET The results of our recent poll to determine the most sought after FMP release (of those that we'd already received from the label) are in, and the outcome is quite clear: the Steve Lacy Quintet was out in front from the beginning, and never lost the lead. Follies by Lacy's 1970s quintet is one of the summits of his intimidatingly large discography . Although it's never been widely available, aficionados have long praised Follies as one of Lacy's finest works. [...]
BEN MUSLUMANIM (I'M A MUSLIM MAN) GECE (THE NIGHT) Okay Temiz + Johnny Dyani Witchdoctor's Son Yonca Plak : 1976 JD, bass, piano, vocals; OT, drums, percussion; Saffet Gundeger, clarinet, violin; Gunnar Bergsten, baritone sax; Oguz (Durukan?), electric bass. The woman across the hall is at it again. She's shouting: "Death to the terrorists!" She's shouting: "Death to the towelheads!" She's shouting, but this isn't her [...]
[Audio clip: view full post to listen] PULSAR Sam Rivers & the RivBea Orchestra Trilogy [Edge] Mosaic : 2011 SR, soprano sax; Jeff Rupert and Chris Charles, alto sax; Charlie DeChant and David Pate, tenor sax; Brian Mackie, baritone sax; Tom Parmenter, Brian Scanlon, Mike Iapichino, and David Jones, trumpet; Keith Oshiro, David Sheffield, and Steve Smith, trombone; Josh Parsons, trombone and tuba; Doug Mathews, bass; Rion Smith, drums. Hot on the heels of our [...]
The Complete Duos: Europa · America · Japan by PETER KOWALD An embarrassment of riches, here is the complete set of duos that Peter Kowald released with FMP, originally across many LPs . Spanning the globe, and approaches to music-making, each release worked beautifully as both a Kowald mixtape and a unified album. Now available together for the first time, THE COMPLETE DUOS is a must for any fan of creative, improvised music.
FIFTEEN Tyshawn Sorey Oblique - 1 Pi Recordings : 2011 TS, drums; Loren Stillman, alto sax; Todd Neufeld, electric guitar; John Escreet, piano; Chris Tordini, bass. It's been a while since we've had a contest on the site, so this holiday season we're doing two giveaways. We're proud to kick things off by offering a brand new copy of one our favorite releases of the year: Tyshawn Sorey's Oblique - I [...]
Günter "Baby" Sommer, 1979. Photo: Dagmar Gebers. Dedication by WAUER | SOMMER Looking for mind-scrambling new sounds? We guarantee this spellbinding combination of church organ and percussion is unlike anything you've heard. Recorded in a Berlin cathedral in 1981, brilliant classical organist Hans-Günther Wauer and world-class percussionist Günter "Baby" Sommer summon a series of cosmic drones, hypnotic soundscapes, and spiralling cascades of echoing notes. It evokes vintage Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh, while remaining simply sui generis .
He was always there. Like a trip to Liberty Island, a ride on the Cyclone, or a visit to the Frick Collection, there are things a New Yorker believes he should definitely get around to checking out, at some point. There would always be time to see Paul Motian at the Village Vanguard. After all, he was always there. His seeming ubiquity made news of his death hit all the harder. He won't always be there? The fuck is that? Also: he was eighty? Many extremely fine tributes have been written [...]
Pearls by GLOBE UNITY ORCHESTRA We're proud to offer one of the stone masterpieces of European jazz. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Globe Unity Orchestra convened an astonishing group of Europe's finest musicians - plus Anthony Braxton! Pearls showcases the band's many modes, from the epic title track - which generates noir-ish dramatic tension through unusual groupings - to a passionate rendition of Monk's "Ruby, My Dear." Essential listening . A Penguin Guide 4-star record, much lauded in its day and [...]
TRAVELIN' MAN DEPARTURE #1 Stanley Cowell Musa: Ancestral Streams Strata East : 1974 SC, piano, electric piano, kalimba (African thumb piano). We're not sure why it's taken us so long to devote a post to the wonderful pianist and composer Stanley Cowell . Like many fans and critics, we're probably guilty of overlooking and underrating his work from the late '60s and early '70s. He recorded [...]
Photo: Dagmar Gebers / FMP-Publishing ...Superstars by BREUKER | CUYPERS A true gem - and never before available on CD or digitally. Willem Breuker, best known for his big band efforts , has a rare chance to stretch out in this intimate duo setting from 1978. His partner is the under-recorded and brilliant pianist Leo Cuypers. The pair offers up startling stylistic juxtapositions from pop melodies to manic marches to stirring Klezmer; quote Beethoven and Charlie Parker; and deliver humorous interludes [...]
SUNDANCE [edit] Father of Origin Juma Sultan | Frank Lowe | Ali Abuwi eremite : 2011 (rec. 1971) JS, bass, hand drums & percussion, alto saxophone; FL, tenor sax, percussion; AA, bass, hand drums & percussion, alto saxophone . Perhaps in your web searches you have come across a site called Juma's Archive. Perhaps, on finding Juma's Archive , you have drooled (as we have) at the seeming bounty held within, teased and tempted by the short sound snippets [...]
We are extremely excited to be able to present a guest post from musician/producer/label operator Jeff Gauthier. Jeff - in addition to having a superlative first name - has a new album (see below), just out on his Cryptogramophone label. He recently co-produced the latest Angel City Jazz Festival , and followed up on that by herding a number of his favorite West Coast musicians into The Stone in NYC's East Village. Gauthier, in fact, is in the middle of presenting a two-week run of Crypto- and Crypto-friendly bands at The Stone. Do check [...]
ENLEVEZ LES BOULINS, LE CROISEUR SE DÉSAGRÈGE AUSSI LARGE QUE LONG QUAND LE SON DEVIENT AIGU, JETER LA GIRAFE À LA MER Jacques Thollot Quand Le Son Devient Aigu, Jeter La Girafe À La Mer Futura : 1971 JT, drums, percussion, piano, organ You may recall Brian Roessler 's name from the marvelous series of three posts [...]
Hello, friends of D:O! Just wanted to take a moment to alert one and all to our inaugural radio show, which is kicking off today, 31 October, at noon EST (or 4pm GMT) . It is going out via the WFMU 24-hour web stream Give the Drummer Radio , run and hosted by 'fmu DJ and music maven supremo Doug Schulkind . Here is: our playlist page . Here is: a link that will open right [...]
Destination: OUT
Download: James Blake Live Album (Unofficial)
My Funny Valentines
The Kills on Letterman (Video)
Lana Del Rey - Without You (Kill Paris Remix) [Dubstep]
