Friday, June 13th, 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.

* Lionel Loueke -- "Agbannon Blues" -- Karibu (Blue Note, 2008)

Loueke is an African guitarist who delivers a gently bouncing, breezy session here with his band. We've heard from him before with the trio Gilfema, noted here. Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter turn up on some tracks here, which tells you what Blue Note thinks of this guy.

Solo sax album from a formerly local player, who headed up the longtime club-hopping band Transmission. (They still convene occasionally, with whichever members are available.) This is a nicely experimental disk, covering a variety of saxophones including the daunting bass sax.

See also here.

Fieldwork specializes in hard, complex, twisty beats paired with tough piano hammering (like The Bad Plus but less poppy and ostentatious). Serious stuff that just presses on you like a steady headwind.

This time, they're going for a more organic sound, less of an obvious power punch. I like that. The distictive steel-and-glass sound is still there, as are the electronica influences (no actual electronics, mind you, more the moods and mindset they've tapped), and some of the tracks do get plenty loud. These are studied dissertations, though, not arm-waving rants. I'm trying hard not to use the word "maturity" here, because it's not like the trio ever had an "immature" phase or sound (unlike The Bad Plus, who aren't ever likely to leave that phase). The music, with its unique twist on modern jazz, will still grab the ears of newbie listeners.

There's another note about the band here, and I had a good interview with pianist Vijay Iyer, discussing another project, back in January.

Samarai Celestial -- "Isis Sun" [excerpt] -- Isis Sun (Carrot Top, 1995)

Celestial is a former Sun Ra drummer who died in 1997. This solo album has an early-'90s aura, packed as it is with drum machines and preprogrammed synths, but the overall jam feel isn't as dated as you'd think. Plenty of real drums and free-jazz craziness keep the session cooking. The album is dedicated to Sun Ra, who departed in 1992, and knowing that Celestial would make his own passage shortly after gives the album a poignant touch.

Celestial was honored by his hometown, Knoxville, just this April.

* Boxdeserter -- "One at Home" [excerpt] -- Two Revolutions (Edgetone, 2008)

Two long free-jazz jams from a septet, recorded live in Detroit. Three saxophone/reeds players means you get a good variety of soloing styles and instrumental combinations. There's also a Laotian mouth organ in the mix. The whole project is apparently led by pianist Thollem McDonas, whose multiple oddball styles/ideas were noted here.

The highlight, arguably, comes in this first track, where Brad Duncan delivers a spoken-word passage -- a lecture, really -- about Portugese colonialism and how it was disrupted by two revolutions: one back in Portugal, and one in the New World. Hence, the album title, and the track titles (the other track is "One Abroad.")

A slick, serious contemporary jazz disk. I liked this track, though, where pianist Hamasyan digs into a dusky, gently hammering jam. It made a nice fade-in from the Boxdeserter track. He's backed by some of the Moutin Reunion Quartet guys, by the way -- more on them here.

* Szilard Mezei Quintet -- "Jatek"/"Az A Tanc" ("Play"/"That Dance") -- Cerkno (Leo Records, 2008)

Mezei is a viola player from Hungary, a relative newcomer who's putting out some impressive free-jazz albums. The composing draws from European jazz and chamber music, and the soloing -- including viola, of course -- just burns. He shares front stage with saxophone and piano here, generating some wild abandon but returning to disciplined playing for the composed parts. The sound quality is a bit lacking, but this live session is some terrific stuff.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

* Don Cherry Quintet -- "Complete Communion" -- Live at Cafe Montmartre, 1966 (ESP-Disk, 2007; recorded 1966)

Previously noted here.

A tour diary from saxophonist Ryan, who toured the country playing with different local musicians at each stop. This CD is an extension of the Forward Energy recordings he'd released earlier, as noted here. This time, the group sizes vary and he's got a semi-regular rhythm section in tow.

This particular track is a meditative improvised jam with a very AACM kind of mysticism. It includes Douglas Ewart on didjeridoo and Mankwe Ndosi -- who's going to be important on the next track -- on vocals.

* Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble -- "Adrenalin" -- Xenogenesis Suite (Firehouse 12, 2008)

Mitchell's past albums have been an earthy, organic type of free jazz, well grounded in rich compositions. This one's along those lines but with much more freedom, and an intentionally eerie element, an unsettling quality to some of the group improvising. Very impressive.

The album is a tribute to Octavia E. Butler, a black female science fiction writer who understandably became a role model for Mitchell. Based on the Xenogenesis trilogy, the songs are a windown on a solitary human thrust into an alien world, with Mankwe Ndosi's wordless vocals reflecting the character's emotions and responses. She's often sublime, sometimes freaky. This track impressed me the most; it's got the feel of unease building into a looming, gnawing fear.

Ndosi is clearly center stage here, but the horns and cello, and Mitchell's flute, go a long way toward defining the moods. The album closes with a spoken-word piece backed by grand but gentle music; it seems like the opening to a grand unknown, rather than a resolution.

Here's a good college-radio CD. The band does Norse folk tunes played mostly on acoustic guitar, some electric, with male vocals that often resemble a mystic chant. Mix in some free-noisy percussion, on a subtle level, with some quietly dark electronics like a sedated Bjork project. It's often ominous and dark -- maybe less so once you begin recognizing the rootsy elements in there. Next time I'm on the air at 3:00 a.m., I'm definitely pulling this from the shelf.

Jazz from some of the modern greats: Brown on sax, William Parker (bass), Craig Taborn (keys), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). It's an energetic, sparkling session with solid compositions and some exciting free-jazz solo spaces, as you'd expect. Highly recommended.

I love the sly bassline on this particular track. It's got a funky bounce and a knowing wink to it, setting up a slick, cool little piece.

? Carla Kihlstedt and Satoko Fujii -- "One Hundred and Sixty Billion Spray" [excerpt] -- Minamo (Hencefoth, 2008)

Great duo CD from two women who've become giants of modern music. Most of the disk is taken up with two long pieces. There's a jazzy sense to some of the improvisations -- Fujii, in particular, sticks to jazz idioms with much of her bandleading work -- but also lengthy stretches with a classical influence, which might be Kihlstedt's old training coming to the fore. The latter theme is particularly interesting, as it creates a captivating groove.

Henceforth is a new label deserving of attention. Its roster includes Marco Eneidi, Lisle Ellis, and Gustavo Aguilar; the first two were prominent on the Bay Area scene for years, while Aguilar is a Southern Californian who's turned in a couple of interesting discs for the Circumvention label.

Previously noted here.

* Dr. Ox (Natasha Barrett and Tanja Orning) -- "" -- Dr. Ox (Cycling '74, 2008)

Duets with cello and electronics. Sometimes it's like a cello piece made noisy and experimental; other times, it's an unrecognizable sheen of abrasive sounds. Sublime, artsy tracks sit beside Merzbow-induced noise. A nice, varied journey.

Previously noted here.

* Charles Lloyd Quartet -- "Ramanujan" -- Rabo de Nube (ECM, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Classical-minded project from accordianist Klucevsek. This track is part of a multi-instrument suite that resembles French movie music. Despite the whimsical titles of the subsections (like "Incidentally, the Coroner Called"), It's got a sad overtone to it, particularly in the second section, which mourns for good days long gone.

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.