Friday, December 15th, 2006 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

Several shows this weekend that I wanted to promote (noted below). Centerpiece of the program was the Amy X. Neuburg show, "The Secret Language of Subways" -- 12 new songs for voice, loops, electronics, and cello trio, being performed three times this weekend. Amy was kind enough to take a 1/2 hour to record an interview about a week beforehand, which I played on the air today.

So, right after my KZSU shift, I hot-footed it up to San Francisco to see the premiere of "Subways." It was amazing, even triumphant. It's obvious they put a lot of work into this. The cello parts don't look at all easy. One early song, "The Closing Doors," included a tangly minimalist odd-time patter. Elsewhere, the cellists added bird-call harmonics and various other improv tricks to the playing. And even when playing standard techniques, they had to worry about syncing up with themselves on the loops constructed by Amy real-time.

The songs themselves were ambitious and soaring. The opener, "One Lie," has a lovely haunting melody. "Someone Else's Sleep," "The Gooseneck," and "Hey" are all hopelessly catchy. "Body Parts" and "Shrapnel" get pensive. Most of the songs construct surreal inner monologues, reflecting their germination in subway transit.

There really is something evocative about the NYC subway, something about being part of those masses of humanity that triggers the creative spirit. Mix in the Iraq war and 9/11, and you've got fertile ground for lots of stray thoughts -- fragments and images that, if I'm interpreting it right, coalesced into the songs that form the "Subways" cycle.

The whole thing was triumphant, nice to see considering the literal years of effort it took from the songwriting to the final presentation. A CD would probably lose a little to the live performance -- isn't that always the way? - - but I hope they do get a chance to record this cycle.

Format:
ARTIST -- "TRACK TITLE" -- ALBUM TITLE (LABEL, YEAR)
Horizontal lines denote microphone breaks.

* David S. Ware Quartet -- "Godspelized" -- BalladWare (Thirsty Ear, 2006)

Previously mentioned here.

* Charles Gayle -- "Healing Souls" -- Shout! (Clean Feed, 2006)

Prevously noted here.

A gradually building 11-minute track of sproingy sounds that gradually builds. Couldn't fit 11 minutes in today, but a middle excerpt of a few minutes set up the mood jsut fine.

High-energy mix of punk and synths, a local band that's gained quite a following. They're playing with XBXRX tonight.

Previously noted here and here.

Beth Custer Ensemble -- "High Sense of Adventure" -- Respect As a Religion (BC, 2004)

Previously noted here. This track has a fun faux-showtune bounce to it.

A tribute to Malachi favors, this one's got a restrained, sad quality. Veteran quartet fronted by Billy Bang (violin) and Ari Brown (sax/piano), with El'Zabar holding down the drums and on two tracks, including this one, playing kalimba (thumb piano) throughout. The sad chiming makes for a nice backdrop.

Forgot how complex this is (there's a chanting underneath -- "sing / shower / dark" -- that doesn't match the main song, creating some synopated looping counterpoint, if I'm using my pretentious music terms properly.

* Cross Border Trio -- "Shorter Than Miles" -- New Directions (Circumvention, 2006)

Previously noted here.

? Gubbish -- "Fake Glossalalia" -- Notations in Tonations (Odd Shaped Case, 2004)

previously noted here. Played this one in conjunction with Kipple, below; both are projects of Aaron Novik.

Guys were playing tonight for their record release party. I'd actually managed to promo them earlier in the day; see here.

Nathan Hubbard -- "Painting on Glass" [excerpt] -- Compositions 1998-2005 (Circumvention, 2006)

Previously noted here. Played the opening movement of a 30-minute piece, quiet stuff for piano and vibes.

Longtime improv trio that's having their CD release concert on Sunday, Dec. 17. Sadly, it's their only local show on their brief 2006-2007 tour. Lisle Ellis (bass), Donald Robinson (drums), and Larry Ochs (sax) have been at this for well over 10 years, IIRC, spinning long tales of improvised trio jazz. The new CD, Sound Catcher, includes vocalist Saadet Turkoz as a guest; she'd done a tour with them a year or two back.

What We Live -- "Especially the Traveller Tomorrow" [excerpt: final 8 minutes] -- Especially the Traveller Tomorrow (Metalanguage, 2002)

A 32-minute piece that comes to a nice, grand conclusion. This snippet starts with a short solo by Ellis, before the band revs up for the coda.

* The Vandermark 5 -- "The Ladder" -- A Discontinuous Line (Atavistic, 2006)

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here. This track has a frantic cartoony feel, loads of fun.

Catchy song from earlier in Neuburg's career. It's got an artsy marimba rhythm going.

Where we discussed the origins of "The Secret Language of Subways" and got a little bit into what the songs are like. Amy tried to emphasize the difficulty of the music, and when I did get to see the show (description up top), the music looked even harder that I'd imagined. It wasn't just that the cellos had to sync up to be properly looped; the parts themselves appeared to take some deep concentration. Serious stuff; I hope it sees light of day on CD sometime.

From her most recent solo album, a dramatic, shrill, dark number. It's catchy, a nice 3-minute length for radio, and shows she doesn't just goof around.

? Kipple -- "Volium" -- Flashes of Irrational Happiness (Evander, 2006)

Concert calendar backdrop. Another nice jamming piece (others on the disk get into a noisier kind of improv).

Previously mentioned here. Yet another artist with a show tonight.

* Green Light -- "Surfing Outside Myself" -- Patient Like the Moon (Starving Arts, 2005)

Guitar-led trio that does noticeably jazzy work, but really it's closer to the hippie-jam ethic. Gets kind of funky; less so than, say, the Living Daylights (but then again, these guys are less flashy, which can be good). I'm on the fence about this one; we'll see how much airplay it gets from other DJs. One discouraging sign is that it sat on our review shelf for many months without anyone picking it up.

This track's got a fast, light groove, and I honestly like it. Elsewhere, though, the get too much of that "rockin' jazz" thing going, which gets cheesy fast.

Previously noted here.

* = Item in KZSU rotation
! = Pop anomaly
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.