Friday, June 29th, 2007 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

So, I'm finally getting around to reading Beth Lisick's book, Everybody into the Pool, a collection of short-story memoirs that, in part, details the Bay Area music scene right around the time I started going to avant-garde shows. It's wonderful stuff, funny and even heart-warming, and the fact that Lisick grew up within a couple miles of where I did just adds to the charm. (And the depression -- while I'm quite happy with my life, Beth's has been a lot more interesting.)

Of particular note is a chapter that includes a mention of the Sweat Shop, a vacant, run-down storefront in a cheap Mission neighborhood that served as a living space for Eli Crews and some fellow musicians and, on Saturday nights, hosted some awesome improv and free-jazz concerts. They were the only venue to get Steve Lacy on one of his swings through town, for instance. I saw a Roswell Rudd show that had well over 100 people there. I also saw a Dan Plonsey solo set as the lone member of the audience, unless you count Dan's toddler son.

So today's show included a mini-set of nostalgia. It's down here, if you can't stand the suspense.

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

* The Nels Cline Singers -- "Attempted" -- Draw Breath (Cryptogramophone, 2007)

Haven't had time to give this one a good listen, but at first glance, it's another dose of the same crazy-jazz and out-rock goodness from Nels, along with bassist Devin Hoff (of Good for Cows) and drummer Scott Amendola

Speak of the devils. A bit more info here.

Chicago quintet led by drummer Reed, with a front line of sax, vibraphone, and cello, for a more lower-key sound than a lot of sessions. There's some great speedy modern jazz in here ("Day of the Dead" is a standout track) and some nicely calm explorations, like this track.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here. This title track is a 10-minute excursion with an appropriately soaring feel, and a riff later on that reminds me of some of the quasi-prog-jazz stuff on the ECM label. I know I make that comparison a lot, but in this case, I'm thinking specifically of some of the Eberhard Weber stuff I've heard. Not that I've heard much Weber. Maybe I'm way off base here.

Kind of a noisy rock instrumental combo, but with plenty of out-jazz leanings. Not enough to really call it "jazz" (this track is mostly a haze of cymbal crashes and other sounds, for example) but enough to make it really, really interesting.

* William Parker and Hamid Drake -- "Sky" -- Summer Snow (AUM Fidelity, 2007)

Another set of great duets with an African/"World" music feel. Summer Snow is technically volume 2, the sequel to Piercing the Veil -- more info here. Parker and Drake do take up the bass and drums, respectively, on a track or two, but most of the tracks are dedicated to more exotic instruments, including an African string bass called the doson'ngoni and the Japanese wooden flute known as the shakuhachi.

Solo trumpet disc from Australia. Tinkler does a lot of out-jazz runs, managing some fluidity from a relatively stiff instrument, and he also throws some curves in there. This track was recorded at a drum kit, where the trumpet vibrations are strong enough to cue some rattling from the snare and cymbals. Elsewhere he plays into a piano, using the same idea to resonate the strings, and does the gimmick of playing into a bowl of water. (Nod to John Zorn and Beth Custer here.) The music itself is surprisingly catchy.

Previously noted here. This is the 15-minute suite that closes out the record, alternating some nice grooves and free-jazz attacks with a couple of quiet interludes (a koto solo, even). Always nice to give some air time to expansive pieces like this.

* Scott Dubois Quintet -- "Alone" -- Tempest (Soul Note, 2006)

Always great to get stuff from Soul Note, a fine Italian label that's put out some essential music over the decades but, like many, got squeezed by an uncaring 21st-century economy and therefore cut back on radio promo.

This CD features guitarist Dubois with three saxophonists, including Dave Liebman, in a mostly mainstream setting that gets into creative and edge-walking spaces. This track starts out as one of the prettier, slower ones but ventures into free-jazz sax soloing. Nice stuff; I expect to play this one quite a bit.

! Ebola Soup -- "Feelin' Logy" -- Feelin' Logy (self-released, 1995)

Getting back to the story mentioned up top ... that particular chapter starts not at the Sweat Shop, but at the Stork Club in Oakland, where Lisick's then-boyfriend's band, Ebola Soup, was celebrating their self-released single. And here it is. Fun out-rock with sludgy slow vocals and a silly outlook; lyrics telling you to stop using such big words, yet tossing in "dipthong" randomly. Something like a saxophone is mixed in with the guitars... maybe a cello too? Nice example of creative, knowledgeable rock, and a good slice of local history -- the kind of thing I'm proud we have in our library.

And, here we have Beth proper, with one of my favorite tracks from what's been one of my favorite CDs at KZSU. Spoken-word tales with lots of snide humor and plenty of vibrant, lasting images -- with a really cool, jazzy backdrop provided by a couple members of Eskimo (an Ebola Soup contemporary) and bassist George Cremaschi. "Hit and Run," about an apparently real-life fenderbender in the Mission, has been an on-air fave of mine for nine years now.

* Tim Brady -- "GO" -- GO (Ambiances Magnetiques, 2006)

Brady is a guitarist and, at some angles, a contemporary classical composer; his stuff walks that border between classical, jazz, and artsy rock. Some tracks here feature soundscape-like floaty electric tones. Others, like this one, sink their teeth into juicy chords and lightly stringy, bouncy single-note work. Parts of this track remind me a lot of Robert Fripp; DJ Mike notes some Steve Reich in the margins, too.

Haunting little sonata, presumably written shortly after Shostakovich's death in 1975. Schnittke himself passed on in 1978, so I do mean shortly. It's got the usual heavy drama associated with modern Russian composing. I've enjoyed what little Schnittke I've heard; the "Monologue" for viola and string orchestra is particularly haunting.

Piano and violin duets from a couple of women who've been active in jazz circles. Here, though, they combine for more of a classical feel. It's not at all stiff or formal, with the same kind of wandering and exploration you'd expect, especially from Melford, but the tonality and the air stick closer to classical than to jazz or improv. Somewhere in there, too, you can supposedly catch traces of Indian music, which has become a fascination for both of them. Most of the tracks are minatures, less than 4 minutes. Very compelling stuff, flashing a variety of moods.

Fairly mainstream saxophonist who's not afraid to color outside the lines once in a while; the solo on this one gets surprisingly "outside." And no wonder -- he's got a backing band of guys that, while often playing in straight-jazz contexts, have shown plenty of aptitude for adventure: Ken Filiano (bass, and the most avant-grade member of the band); Matt Wilson (drums), and Ron Miles (trumpet, who I saw play with Tim Berne in a concert in Colorado). Also a second saxophonist whose name escapes me. (Sorry, man!)

Previously noted here.

Steve Lacy and Mal Waldron -- "Peggy's Blue Skylight" -- Communique (Soul Note, 1997)

Duet CD, a random find in our library that somehow hadn't been entered into the database. Fairly straight stuff, with lots of classic covers; this one's a Charles Mingus tune. As with many groupings of veterans, this one's got an open, friendly feel, like they were just having fun messing around.

While I'm not a fan of everything Wynton does, this one's got the feel of Big Important Project and was compelling enough for me to recommend adding it to rotation. The theme is the status of Blacks in America, and how things haven't gotten better in some senses -- those who were plantation slaves are now prison dwellers. Causes cited by Marsalis include consumerism, the government and the school system, but also what he deems a collapsing of culture. Wynton isn't a fan of hip-hop. As I once heard him put it, music is a reflection of your soul -- and what does it say when all that's in your soul is boom-WHOMP, boom-WHOMP? And that was before gansta rap came over the horizon. While I can respect the artistry behind some hip-hop, I have to agree with him here -- especially when it comes to the top-40 R&B stuff as opposed to the politically informed underground.

The album opens with the title track, which includes some intentionally off-key singing that's eerie and beautiful. Some intsrumentals (like this track) are in the mix, too. The liner notes include listings of the various rhythms that Wynton wove into the compositions -- sambas, Texas two-steps, etc.

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.