Friday, December 29th, 2006 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

My first experience at playing tracks from a laptop computer on-air. We've got a way to plug it in, though an amp, and it seems to work OK. The only handicap is that MP3s sound cruddy over the airwaves (and in general, according to musicians). I didn't happen to record the show, but things seemed to be working well enough when I listened to the air sound from the studio. Hope it worked.

I did this because I didn't have another way to broadcast the Real Vocal String Quartet -- there's a whole story that, articulated below.

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

* Vinny Golia Quartet -- "Repetition" -- Sfumato (Clean Feed, 2006)

Free jazz, brash and intense, almost always busy, although you've got a couple of sparse, cerebral tracks too. Features SoCal legend Vinny Golia on his usual variety of woodwinds (sax, clarinet, flute) and former Ornette Coleman sideman Bobby Bradford on trumpet. The stuff is bright, in an Ornette kind of vein, and it's got a sustained energy level that's impressive.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

Kuntz has been on the local scene for a long time, but he seems to record only sporadically. He's developed an aesthetic all his own, involving very quiet sounds on the saxophone, often just the rushing of air blown through the horn. Sometimes this triggers ghostly little harmonics; sometimes not. A very Pauline Oliveros approach.

This CD features two suites. The first is a series of solo pieces, often quiet and still. The second, played here, is a two-parter for four tenor saxophones, all played by Kuntz overdubbed. The stuff takes patience sometimes, and it might be difficult to hear over the radio (especially for listeners in their cars), but it's certainly a different sound and one I'm glad to share with listeners.

Previously noted here. This is the least of the three "Lontano" pieces (all 15 minutes, with placid themes that lead into deeply creative free jamming), but it's still good, and besides -- the other two got played on the air by other DJs, and someone had to give this one a chance.

I've no idea what "Lontano" means, but it's used in a ton of song titles. Apparently it means "slow" or "peaceful," because that's how this track feels. I enjoy doing these kinds of stupid database tricks, looking up new CDs based solely on words and titles. Our database, Zookeeper, makes this ridiculously easy, and sometimes the temptation to geek out like this is just too much.

Actually, I've made some nice discoveries this way. This particular CD arrived at KZSU before I did, so I'd never heard it. It's a piano/bass/drums trio in that European chamber style, with classical leanings to it. The CD has a couple of peppy, free-jazzy pieces that I'm going to have to spin later on, and its longest track (15 minutes) wouldn't be that far out of place in a NYC jazz club -- an open-minded one, of course.

* Antoine Berthiaume, Michel Donato, Pierre Tanguay -- "La Betterave" -- Ellen's Bar (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2006)

Previously noted here.

My kids love this one. "Sound Poetry" is apt; Lisker speaks words here and even managed to create narratives, but the "art" is in his relishing particular words or phrases by repeating them in spirited fashion, testing out different emphasis or tone over and over. This one's an extreme example, where he says the title phrase, or fragments of it, until the meaning gets all twisted up. Another track called "That Bad Bat" does something similar. One of the other tracks uses the same technique but moves forward, tracing the demise of the dinosaurs. The most serious track is an artsy reading of someone eles's Reaganomics economics lecture (my guess being that Lister isn't a supply-sider himself).

While it's hard to listen to the whole thing in one dose, it's a delightful CD with a sense of humor, even though the project itself is no joke. At least, I don't think it's one. Be sure to check out the link for Lister above; it leads to a site packed with info about Ferment, an indie magazine he published for some time (the "income statement" is particularly amusing).

One of the Sun City Girls members, doing solo guitar snippets lasting one or two minutes. This one had a chuggy rhythm that I thought would fade in well from the repetitions of the Lisker piece.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

Solo percussion, kind of a local classic considering all the contributions Gino has made to the Bay Area scene. Great showcase for his dextrous style.

Previously noted here.

Steve Lacy apparently left behind a library of hundreds of cassettes, taped live shows documented meticulously. Atavistic is apparently going to be releasing some to CD, starting with this one, a session from his days in Paris as an ex-patriate. It's a nice peek at Steve Lacy's working band during those years, and a glimpse at some of his compositions in raw, early form. The band includes Irene Aebi on cello, of course, along with bass and drums ... and Steve Potts on tenor sax. Potts is going nuts on these tracks, particuarly "The Crust," which opens up the set, where he launches a 10-minute sax tirade early in the piece. Awesome stuff.

Previously noted here.

* Kahil El'Zabar Ritual Trio -- "Kau" -- (Delmark, 2006)

Previously noted here.

String quartet that infuses their classical music with elements of folk, world, and country, including occasional vocals. Sophisticated stuff that would appeal to an NPR kind of crowd, musically speaking. One member, Irene Sazer, was a founding member of the Turtle Island String Quartet, which gives you a point of reference.

I discovered the RVSQ by researching the players in Amy X. Neuburg's project, The Secret Language of Subways, in preparation for an interview. Cellist Jessica Ivry's name sounded familiar, and I was trying to figure out why. (Turns out she was part of local band People's Bizarre, which has nothing to do with the rest of this story.) Ivry also plays in the RVSQ, so I saw the site, listened to the clips, and was pleasantly surprised to discover they had a show in early January. Great.

Some time later, I checked the Freight & Salvage site to discover the Jan. 4 show had changed -- it was now a benefit for Sazer, who had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Lots of her musical colleagues were ganging up for the benefit, including the other RVSQ'ers and Neuburg, who would do an acousticized version of some of the "Subways" songs.

So, I played this track off the site (we're able to plug computers into the air feed now; very exciting although it's always sketchy sending an MP3 file over the air), just to help promote the show. Turns out I didn't need to; Sazer, a longtime Bay Area resident and teacher, managed to pack the house. It was a wonderful event, full of the warmth that can only come from shared sense of community.

Sazer is apparently responding well to chemotherapy, and it appears the RVSQ still plans to record their first CD this year. Great news all around.

The rest of this set involved folks who were slated to perform that night at the Freight.

Upbeat acoustic music led by Flexer on violin, with traces of jazz and Mediterranean folks in there. Also some Klezmer, especially on this track, which gets fast and fevered and fun. This one brings back some memories, as it was one of the earliest CDs I reviewed for KZSU.

Bouncy "avant-cabaret" stuff from earlier in Neuburg's career. Kinda wacky.

Previously noted here.

Part of our modest and underappreciated Threadgill collection on vinyl. Picked this one out of the blue; it turns out to be loads of fun, with a chipper marching-band sound emerging in places.

* = 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.