Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 ... 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

(Return to playlists.)

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

* Rudresh Mahanthappa -- "Kalyani" -- Kinsmen (Pi Recordings, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Fun long tracks of kind-of-funky electric bass, varied drum machine beats/sounds, and analog synth noise. I guess it would count as "experimental," but this wouldn't be out of place in an electronica set or even as an interlude amid indie-rock tracks. The results are mixed; "Greh Grah" goes a little too heavy on the synth noise, for a distracting effect, while "Grah Greh" has a snappy electric feel that I really enjoyed.

We've gotten a dose of Actoon before from Slusaj, a crazy Croation record label that's been sending us deliciously interesting stuff ranging from amateur living-room-recorded pop to wild experimental noise. Briefly noted here.

Previously noted here.

* Michael Bates -- "Great Exhibition" -- Clockwise (Greenleaf, 2008)

Fairly straightforward jazz with open space for some creative soloing, much like Dave Douglas does (no shock there; this is released on his label). Sax/clarinet and trumpet lead the quartet, with bassist Bates doing all the composing. A very nice "inside-out" kind of session.

Two long tracks that cross between outright noise, industrial dance/synth beats, and a trancey groove that's like Tangerine Dream with sharper edges and brighter colors. Appropriately German stuff that's got shades of Krautrock but gets more experimental than that.

Previously noted here.

*! Jasmina Machina -- "Holy Holy Holy Word" -- The Demolition Series (Staubgold, 2008)

Pop with airy vocals, very pretty and atmospheric stuff. Kind of folky, but with a more modern attitude than that; it's got its darker moments and indie-rock attitude. Extra touches like organ and oboe(?) on this track help add to the whole package. The album ends with "Asleep (Minit Variation)," which piles on the chiming guitars for a nice droney-rock effect.

Previously noted here.

An appropriately fleet jazz improv track from the trio of Jeff Arnal (drums), Jonathan Vincent (piano), and John Dierker (sax). Nice album overall, with Dierker creating toneful, fluid figures and Vincnet painting a mix of cerebral chamber sounds and Cecil Taylor aggresion/precision.

Mix of abstract sound work and some avant-classical musicality. Tracks shift between crazy chamber music, fiercely improvised jazz, and semi-serious experimental vocals. This track is like a series of episodes -- sparse blips of shrillness or odd vocalizing punctuated by little silences. Cool artsy stuff from the Montreal-area collective of musicians that run Actuelle (kind of a parent company to Ambiances Magnetiques and other labels). We've recently received a new batch of disks from them -- the first in a while, and I'm anxious to give them a listen.

* James Zitro -- "Freeken" -- Zitro (ESP-Disk, 2008; orig. released 1967)

Blasting free-jazz tracks from the guy who was apparently drummer on Sonny Simmons' early albums. ESP liked his style and asked him to put a session together. The music is very much '60s jazz, with composed heads that wouldn't seem out of place at a jazz club. But when they take off for the soloing, hang on. Michael Cohen on piano keeps the background chugging at a normal pace, but Zitro's drums are thundering the whole time, and the solos from Allan Praskin (alto sax), Bert Wilson (tenor sax), and Warren Gale (trumpet) are full of squeals and squawks of aggression. (Cohen does turn in a breakneck piano solo on "Happy Pretty," but it still feels like a pause in the tumult.)

* The Lost Trio -- "Misterio Uruguayo" -- Plays the Solid Gold Hits! (Evander, 2008)

*! Eric Chenaux -- "Old Peculiar" -- Sloppy Ground (Constellation, 2008)

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

Previously noted here.

*! Tony Allen with the African Messengers -- "African Message" -- Afro Disco Beat (Vamp Soul, 2008)

Oh, what the heck, a funk groove to round out the show, continuing the groove feel of the Australian Bebop Ragas track. This is from a 2-CD set, with Allen and Fela Kuti joining forces on the first disk, and Allen's own African Messengers performing on the second.

* = 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.