Friday, July 2nd, 2004 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

Starting a new quarter with DJ Popcorn before me (conventional jazz and blues) and my prog-loving buddy Ragnar of Ravensfjord afterwards. I'll probably have an extra 10-15 minutes after the 6:00 hour and plan to fill it with pop/rock stuff.

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)

* John Abercrombie -- "Dansir" -- Class Trip (ECM, 2004)

I've always associated guitarist Abercrombie with "soft," friendly jazz, and this certainly fits that bill, but the album gets more adventurous and wandering than I'd expected. He's got an all-star avant-jazz cast on here: Joey Baron (drums), Marc Johnson (bass), Mark Feldman (violin).

Eric Boeren 4tet -- "Free/EB" -- Joy of a Toy (BVHaast, 1999)

* Noertker's Moxie -- "Telephone Grilled Sardines at the End of September" -- Sketches of Catalonia, vol. 1: Dali (Edgetone, 2004)

Nice stuff from local bassis Bill Noertker, who performs frequently as part of the monthy SIMM music shows in San Francisco (see Bayimproviser.com's calendar listings for details). As DJ Ben puts it, "Good modern bop ... reminds me a lot of something you might hear on CIMP" (CIMP being an independent label specializing in free jazz).

* Lunchbox -- "Crispy Duck" -- Anyways (The Agriculture, 2004)

* Rich West -- "Tribology" -- Bedouin Hornbook (pfMentum, 2004)

* Gary Windo -- "Standfast" -- Anglo American (Cuneiforn, 2004; recorded 1971)

Windo was a saxophonist best known for playing with NRBQ. This is a retrospective of his work, collecting live tracks from various bands mostly from the '70s. A couple tracks feature NRBQ as his backing band. Windo could really blow, as shown on this track -- madly scattered free jazz with an electric-bass fusion touch.

* Glenn Branca -- "Bad Smells" [excerpt] -- Lesson No. 1 (Acute, 2004; orig. released 1982)

Five guitars including thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, of (soon-to-be) Sonic Youth fame. Plus bass and drums. A mad stomp, very rhythmic and rocking.

* The Vandermark 5 -- "Knock Yourself Out" -- Elements of Style ... Exercises in Surprise (Atavistic, 2004)

*! Elf Power -- "Never Believe" -- Walking with the Beggar Boys (Orange Twin, 2004)

* Craig Taborn -- "Stalagmite" -- Junk Magic (Thirsty Ear, 2004)

* Kenny Wheeler -- "Causes Are Events" -- Song for Someone (Psi, 2004; recorded 1973)

* Dave Rempis Quartet -- "Out of Season, Part II" -- Out of Season (482 Music, 2004)

* Wimme -- "Rudni" ["The Ice Hole"] -- Gapmu [Instinct] (NorthSide, 2003)

* Trio Derome Guilbeault Tanguy -- "Pangolin" -- 10 Compositions de Jean Derome (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2004)

* Baby Dodds -- "Spooky Drums No. 2" -- Talking and Drum Solos (Atavistic/Unheard, 2004; orig. released 1946)

Archival recordings made by historian Fred Ramsey. Baby Dodds was the original jazz drummer, backing up the likes of King Oliver and Jelly Roll Morton, and this 1946 recording captures both his drumming and, through interviews, his memory. Includes some amazing drum solos on par with what you hear from today's drummers. The album also includes a couple of marching bands playing the proto-jazz that existed in the Civil War days -- again, this was an attempt by Ramsey to record bits of history that would otherwise be forgotten.

* ROVA::Orchestrova -- "An Alligator in Your Wallet" -- An Alligator in Your Wallet (East Works Entertainment, 2004)

! Eugene Chadbourne/Paul Lovens -- "Marlon Brando" -- Young at Heart/Forgiven (Leo, 2000)

Not really a song, this is a snippet of the Marlon Brando recorded without his knowledge as he proceeds to rag on Burt Reynolds (for reasons that aren't that bad, actually). This 2-CD set is sprinkled with snippets like that. Most tracks have Chadbourne and Lovens doing random rock and country covers, like this Willie Nelson tune:

* Steuart Liebig and The Mentones -- "Graveyard" -- Locustland (pfMentum, 2004)

This track fit beautifully following the Chadbourne avant-country sound! Locustland is a rockin' little record, loud fast jazz-rock played with twinges of honky-tonky and roadhouse blues. Nice stuff.

Eric Dolphy -- "The Meeting" -- The Berlin Concerts (Inner City, 1978; recorded 1961)

* MTKJ Quartet -- "Like That, She's Gone" [excerpt] -- Making Room for Spaces (Nine Winds, 2004)

John Shiurba 5x5 -- "1.1.1" -- 1.1=M (Unlimited Sedition, 2004)

Featuring Matthew Sperry on bass, and he's the "M" in the title. Matthew was killed in an auto accident last year, and the Bay Area improv community still mourns his loss. Played this one to note a tribute to Matthew being performed tonight in San Francisco, at the Meridian Gallery.

"Unlimited Sedition" is the composed-music spinoff of Shiurba's "Limited Sedition" label, the latter having been founded to document improvisations. The label is also selling a memorial series of Matthew's recorded performances, with all proceeds going to his wife and daughter. For more information, see http://www.limitedsedition.com/matthewsperry.html.