Friday, March 21st, 2008 ... 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

(Return to playlists.)

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

* Josh Roseman -- "I Should Have Known Better" -- New Constellations (Accurate, 2007)

Previously noted here.

*! Dengue Fever -- "Sober Driver" -- Venus on Earth (M80, 2008)

Multicultural L.A. band that's described as Khmer rock, probably because many songs are in the khmer language. Lots of groovy stuff, some pop, some psych, some loungy touches.

Solid straight-jazz quartet led by two saxes and Hammond B3, plus drums. They've had a regular after-hours gig at the Green Mill for 15 years. They're pretty tight. They know what they're doing.

Previously noted here

* Lucien Dubuis Trio -- "Gagon" -- Le Retour (Unit, 2007)

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

A 37-minute improvisation, from which I took the first six minutes, an active and bustling brew -- in contrast to the quieter, concentrated flow AMM is better known for. It's a quartet album, with Lou Gare on sax/violin joining the usual three of Eddie Provost, Keith Rowe, and John Tilsbury.

* Alberto Braida and Wilbert de Joode -- "Leprechaun" -- Reg erg (Red Toucan,2007)

Avant-garde piano-bass duets, freely improvised. Relatively short pieces where the bass (Wilbert De Joode) often feels like the lead instrument. Alberto Braida's piano favors chords calmly painted into the air or stridently punched out, offering more space than the Cecil Taylor-like continuous flow you often hear.

Charming, precious folk from a local duet. I first became aware of them at the Irene Sazer benefit held a year ago. Friendly, likeable stuff that's built quite a following 'round these parts. "Code Red" refers to a type of Mountain Dew, apparently, but the song itself is quite uncaffeinated.

Previously noted here.

Nathan Hubbard -- "Is That You (Earl)?/Dogs Don't Bark at Ghosts" -- Skeleton Key Orchestra (Circumvention, 2003)

I was going to play just an excerpt of it, and then blend it (at a raucous point) into the hovering guitar buzz of Korperschwache, but I got so much into the groove of the first half that I decided to keep it running ... through the tumbling, quieter free improvisation interlude ... through the careening fast horn-led coda.

Skeleton Key is Hubbard's big-band outlet, large groups playing jazz suites that can groove and swing in a modern way, but also dip into untethered improv and risk-taking solos. The "(Earl)" half of this track provides some of the catchiest moments on the two-CD set, including a wild blowout baritone sax solo that appears to be by Gabriel Sundy. (Or maybe it's Jason Robinson on tenor?) Awesome stuff that obviously took a lot of work and preparation; it's a shame projects like this can't have a longer lifetime or get more exposure through the media.

Previously noted here.

John Blum -- "Rain Dark Rain" -- Naked Mirror (Drimala, 2001)

From an album of solo piano, a 10-minute piece packed with spiky trad-jazz chords assembled into an improvised package, like a really good monologue.

Previously noted here.

Authentic Armenian and Greek oud music. Some are folksy melodies with a sparse band, like this track. Others get the full treatment of strings or synths, like pop-radio oud.

Purely improvised duets, sometimes guitar and drums, sometimes two drum sets. Fairly heavy stuff but not as interesting as it could be; the guitars disappoint, in particular. Tracks like "Mass Ejection" have a nice heavy tone and some pyrotechnics but overall this music doesn't conjure the dark energy of, say, Ettrick. The all-drums tracks tend to catch my ears more; maybe that's just me.

* Joe Fielder -- "Jesse's Little Freakout" -- The Crab (Clean Feed, 2007)

Previously noted here.

Another great session from this Bay Area collective, the ongoing brainchild of composer Peter Martin. This time, it's a kind of country/folk and/or soul/blues feel, with a vaguely twisted air even on the straightforward tracks. You'll be at home if you've often visited The Residents. Acoustic guitars tend to dominate, whereas other Eddie the Rat albums had me noticing the piano or the jazzy touches first. Those elements are still here -- touches of trumpet on tracks like "Piecemean 835 Blooze," for instance. (Aside: What's with the trumpet+folk/country trend? Pop bands Nathan and Porlolo did the same thing -- to excellent effect, I should add, but it's in danger of being overdone.)

So, I find this catchier than previous Eddie the Rat albums (in my limited experience). Roots music has always been a part of Martin's plan, I suppose, but I found that Once Around the Butterfly Bush had a more delicate and dreamy sound, maybe because of the instrumentation? Doesn't matter; this is another fine effort.

Well, come on. What better way to close out the set? This album was Douglas's tribute to the electric Miles period, IIRC, and this track's opener includes a blazing tabla solo to let you know things aren't all business as usual.

Graham Connah -- "Escape from Theme Park Pokey" -- Because of Wayne/The Only Song We Know (Evander, 2001)

Is it Connah who's been performing occasionally as Admiral Ted Brinkley? If so, I've got to check the Admiral out. This 3-CD set captured the days when Bruno's, a Mission district restaurant, gave Connah a weekly gig; the owners back then were big supporters of adventurous jazz. The collection is fantastic, mixing jazz, surf, fusion, rock, and occasional singing by Jewlia Eisenberg of Charming Hostess. Bruno's is still standing, but the gig for Connah is long gone; if only there were more venues willing to give truly adventurous jazz a home.

Previously noted here.

Nice long-form improv from a trio of veterans, plus Lou Gare on saxophone, for a particularly free-jazzy touch.

* = 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.