Friday, January 6th, 2009 ... 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ... KZSU, 90.1 FM

One thing I enjoy about college radio, both as a listener and a DJ, is the way longer tracks get a chance to fully air out. I'll often use excerpts of 15- and 30-minute pieces as a way to flit from one mood to another, but because I've usually got a stack of music I'm hoping to play, I'm stingy with the time I give those tracks.

Given a big expanse of time to fill today, with folks still returning from Xmas break, I decided to take the chance to feature only long tracks: 15 minutes or more. It might sound lazy, but 15 minutes goes by really fast when you're the DJ, trust me.

It turned out to be a fortuitous bit of programming, since a mild cold left me with a sore throat and not much energy today.

As of this writing, the stack of music beside me includes: Cecil Taylor, Weasel Walter, Aruna Sairam, Todd Rundgren, Magma, Tanmoy Bose (do I dare play a 32-minute tabla solo?) and others.

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

* Royal Hartigan Ensemble -- "Anjlo Kete" -- Blood Drum Spirit: The Royal Hartigan Ensemble Live in China (Innova, 2008)

Previously noted here. The spelling of the track is an approximation from the African alphabets used.

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

Frank Zappa -- "The Purple Lagoon" -- Lather (Ryko, 1996)

-- 10:00 a.m. --

* E.S.T. -- "Premonition" -- Leucocyte (EmArcy, 2008)

Previously noted here. A 23-minute suite in two parts: "Earth," which is more aggressive, and "Contorted," a gentle ballad.

* Aruna Sairam -- "Bandanodi" -- Divine Inspiration (World Village, 2008)

Previously noted here.

-- 11:00 a.m. --

* Aruna Sairam -- "Bandanodi" [cont'd] -- Divine Inspiration (World Village, 2008)

Drew Krause -- "Go-Round" [for percussion quartet, performed by The Glass Orchestra] -- Ding (Capstone, 2007)

A relatively quiet and slow piece, even as it gets into syncopated chiming later on. A combination of metallic, bell-like sounds and woodblock rhythm.

I'd wanted to move to the Tanmoy Bose track, but it felt too "obvious" to bunch the Indian music together like that. Consider this a palette-cleanser (or maybe an airwaves-cleanser; I doubt many of the Indian music fans were still around after this one).

Tanmoy Bose -- "Slow Tintal (16 beats)" -- Solo Tabla (Bol, 2002)

Classical Indian tabla, a CD that comes with a 32-page booklet including an interview with Bose and a dissection of the tabla rhythms, patterns, an improvising involved, especially on this 32-minute track. Bol is a record label founded by former KZSU deejay Parag, who's very knowledgeable about Indian classical music and did some excellent shows for us. Bol seems to be defunct now, sadly.

-- 12:00 noon --

* Agnes Buen Garnas and Jan Garbarek -- "Margjit og Targjei Risvollo" -- Rosensfole (ECM, 1989)

"Music based on medieval songs from Norway," the cover reads, with arrangements and all instruments by Garbaret -- that includes not just sax, but lots of percussion and a forest of synths. This 16-minute track has a crisply theatrical feel; it's very busy, but at the same time reflects a barren arctic loneliness. The song has a definite refrain, too; it's some kind of epic that just keeps going and going. With all the synths, you could almost call it new age, but the galloping percussion props things up with a good steady beat.

* New Haven Improvisers Collective -- "Quantum Decoherence" -- Interference (self-released, 2008)

Previously noted here. This is the 18-minute track, a definite exception on here. Heavily improvised, it's credited as a composition to guitarist Bob Gorry, and choppy, rhythmic guitars do figure heavily in the early going, after a drifting intro.

? Peter Evans/Weasel Walter Group -- "The Eyes of Hell" -- Oculus Ex Abyssus (ugEXPLODE, 2008)

Limited release on green vinyl. On a mailing list for local creative-music types, Walter had been talking up the work of Evans, a New York trumpeter who's developed a fast, aggressive sound as noted here and here. Apparently, they got the chance to meet up.

This is a quartet date, with Walter on drums, Paul Hartsaw on sax, and Damon Smith on bass. If you're familiar with the slashing attack of Walter's jazz bands, you've got some idea what to expect here. This session isn't as brutal as Walter's bands with guitarists, but it's still plenty fast and loud.

The album consists of two long tracks. I played side A. Side B, "Ex Malum Adveho, Sonitus," delves into quieter territory, with the horns making low-grade growls or rumbles. There's plenty of perkiness and aggression on side B as well, but it's a different overall vibe, showing these guys didn't just scream into the mics for a few hours.

-- 1:00 p.m. --

Magma -- "Mekanik Zain" -- Live (Utopia, 1975)

* = Item in KZSU rotation
? = Item not in KZSU library

-- Go back to Memory Select playlists.
-- Bay Area free/improv music calendar: http://www.bayimproviser.com.