Friday, February 1st, 2008 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

(Return to playlists.)

Tim Berne's Bloodcount has their first reunion gig this Sunday, Feb. 3. The New York Times even gave them a mention in the calendar session. Better still, Berne got a writeup in the New York Sun:

"But the music Bloodcount has now begun to play sounds much different than that, Mr. Berne promised. 'My writing changed a lot when I started writing for keyboards. ... There's certain rhythmic stuff, certain harmonies, I guess rhythmically more than anything, and the counterpoint is stranger.'"

Of course, you're wondering how the whole Bloodcount thing affects me, aren't you? Well:

• I did make it to New York, painfully close to that Feb. 3 date. I got to see Terry Adams and Roswell Rudd, with Tom Ardolino drumming, at The Stone. But I couldn't stay the week and catch the Feb. 3 Bloodcount show.
• But all is not lost! It turns out I'll be able to make it to the Philadelphia show on the 10th. I'm psyched! See me print blog-like exclamation points everywhere!

UPDATE 2/5: The Philadelphia Weekly did a nice writeup including interviews with Tim Berne and Jim Black.

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

* Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core -- "Neonawi" -- Up from Under (Atavistic, 2007)

Previously noted here.

* Marty Ehrlich and Myra Melford -- "I See a Horizon" -- Spark! (Palmetto, 2007)

Previously noted here.

It's got the cool snap of his Demian As Posthuman album, which was noted here, but in a more overtly jazzy context. Cool vibes mix with snapping drums from Tyshawn Sorey. Another nice album from Pi.

Previously noted here.

* Rempis Percussion Quartet -- "A Night at the Ranch, Part 1" -- Hunger-Gatherers (482 Music, 2007)

Previously noted here.

* Mike Tamburo -- [untitled track 7] -- Ghosts of Marumbey (Music Fellowship, 2007)

One of the noisemakers from Arco Flute Foundation. Many tracks here rely on guitars and drums for a folky type of weirdness, but this particular one starts with electronic blips before getting into an absorbing, thumping patter of a beat.

Solo pieces for accordion or clarinet, with Carl switching off between them. He gets into the free-improv mode a lot, but he also shows off traces of traditional European music. Shades of that poignant Euro-sidewalk-cafe accordion music, in particular. Most of the album consists of a live suite where Carl alternates the two instruments; this piece opens that suite with Carl slowly riding one note on the accordion, a drone-like pulse that blended well into the Tamburo piece. "Dampfer Elsa" is about eight minutes long; I played half of it before shifting into ...

Previously noted here.

? Tim Berne's Bloodcount -- "Is That a Gap?" -- Discretion (Screwgun, 1997)

? (Tim Berne's) Bloodcount -- "Sense and Sinsemilla" -- Seconds (Screwgun, 2007; recorded 1997)

I've mentioned the whole Bloodcount fascination here, and Seconds was previously noted here.

* Caramuru/Baldanza Duo -- "In Walked Tom" -- Bossa in the Shadows (Labor, 2007)

Piano and electric bass from two Brazilian bossa nova types: Fabio Caramuru and Pedro Baldanza, respectively. But they take advantage of the sparse duo format to venture into all kinds of territory, including modern-classical-sounding material and free improvisation. Surprisingly adventurous, but often with a velvety air; it reminds me a lot of European chamber jazz, the kind found on labels like Altri Suoni.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

Earplay -- Jorge Liderman: "Swirling Streams" -- Earplay [sampler EP, 2005]

Modern classical from composer Jorge Liderman, an upbeat, slashing piece that lasts about four minutes. It's ear-catching. A Liderman concerto is getting its world debut at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Feb. 4, with Carla Kihlstedt as soloist.

Myles Boisen/Jon Raskin -- "Jen Baker, trombone" -- Music + One (Rastascan, 2005)

Previously noted here. I'm always unsure how to catalog this one; it's listed under Boisen and Raskin's names but consists of solo improvisations by a variety of folks. Baker squeezes all sorts of grumbly noises from the trombone and adds some vocal effects as well.

Experimental noise can get that much more disturbing if strange enough vocals get added. The centerpiece here is a male vocalist who adds various groanings, gruntings, and mumblings, a bit like something out of a zombie film. Behind him is a variety of sounds from drums, sax, guitar, etc., a decent noise palette. "Eh?" is an imprint of Public Eyesore (or perhaps just friends of theirs), producing some really nice improvised noise out of the midwest. We've been playing their albums from Giraffe and Shelf Life lately.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

Son of Gunnar, Ton of Shel -- "Constitution in Three Parts" -- Son of Gunnar, Ton of Shel (Edgetone, 2007)

Previously noted here. I played all three parts of this 15-minute piece.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

(playlist incomplete)

* = 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.