For German readers: some thoughts and notes and quotes on the music I'm listening - to be found
on my new blog:
ubus-notizen.blogspot.com

Also check out the great new, independent magazine get happy!?, reporting on music, movies and more:
gethappymag.de

Monday, June 29, 2009

Monk's Casino - Hamburg 1999

And finally, one for young and old, tall and short, smart and dumb... the all encompassing music of one Thelonious Monk, performed by the great group "Die Enttäuschung" with Alexander von Schlippenbach at the piano. Don't miss this one!

It took me a while to figure this out, with the help of the official release on Intakt records, and to re-track it as nicely as possible - hope you'll enjoy it! It's to my knowledge the most complete of the live recordings to be found by this group (well, there may be complete AUD versions, but this one is in perfect FM quality)!



Alexander Von Schlippenbach & Die Enttauschung - Monk's Casino
Hamburg (Germany), NDR, Studio 10
January 28, 1999


Axel Dörner - trumpet (prob. piano on CD3#7)
Rudi Mahall - bass clarinet
Alexander Von Schlippenbach - piano (prob. trumpet on CD3#7)
Jan Roder - bass
Uli Jennessen - drums

CD1/69:14
1. Stage Intro by Michael Naura (2:30)
2. Band Intros by AvSch (2:39)
3. Thelonious (2:51)
4. Locomotive (1:37)
5. Stuffy Turkey (0:38)
6. Trinkle-Tinkle (4:21)
7. Coming On the Hudson (2:26)
8. Evidence (4:05)
9. Pannonica (1:43)
10. Bemsha Swing Intro (Axel Dörner) 1:21
11. Bemsha Swing / 52nd Street Theme (5:59)
12. Misterioso / Sixteen / Skippy (11:32)
13. Monk's Point (1:51)
14. Green Chimneys / Little Rootie Tootie (5:43)
15. San Francisco Holiday (3:14)
16. Off Minor (2:30)
17. Gallop's Gallop (4:58)
18. Crepuscule with Nellie (2:18)
19. Hackensack (3:18)
20. Consecutive Second's (3:31)

CD2/63:34
1. Brilliant Corners (5:47)
2. Eronel (1:55)
3. Monk's Dream (2:40)
4. Shuffle Boil (5:30)
5. Hornin' In (5:42) [might be two tracks, 3:19]
6. Criss Cross (2:12)
7. Introspection (5:18)
8. Ruby My Dear (1:18)
9. In Walked Bud (2:24)
10. Let's Cool One / Let's Call This (4:11)
11. Jackie-ing (3:40)
12. Humph (1:44) [inc]
13. Monk's Mood (3:29)
14. Four In One / 'Round Midnight (7:54)
15. Played Twice (2:27)
16. Friday the 13th (2:35)
17. Ugly Beauty (2:18)
18. Bye-Ya / Oska T. (2:22)

CD3/44:21
1. Bolivar Blues / Well You Needn't (3:07)
2. Brake's Sake (1:32)
3. Who Knows (1:53)
4. Boo Boo's Birthday / Ask Me Now (4:24)
5. Think of One (2:19)
6. Raise Four (1:18)
7. Japanese Folk Song / Children's Song / Blue Monk (4:24)
8. We See (5:20)
9. Bright Mississippi (3:06)
10. Reflections (1:44)
11. Five Spot Blues (1:43)
12. Light Blue (0:56)
13. Teo (2:31)
14. Rhythm-a-Ning (4:12)
15. Epistrophy / Oska T. (5:45)

All compositions by Thelonious Monk
Arrangements by Schlippenbach, Dörner, Mahall

TT: 177:09

Sound: A
Lineage :fm > dat > cdr(n) > eac > flac frontend > flac

:: ubu edits & notes ::

deleted fm intros/outros
re-tracked (some tracks contained two titles, some marks were set too late)

Additional lineage: FLAC > WAV > CoolEditPro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)



MISSING TITLES (I THINK):

CD2
Functional
Work / I Mean You
(possibly missing because they happened after the inc "Humph"
and before CD2#13?)

CD3:
Blue Hawk / North of the Sunset / Blue Sphere / Something in Blue
A Merrier Christmas
Straight No Chaser

Bill Dixon - NYC 1968

And then, one for the avantgarde crowd - beware of the sound again, but hey, this is historical stuff! Bill Dixon was the organizer of the "October Revolution in Jazz" in 1964, and he's still around!

Much more info over here.



Bill Dixon - University of the Streets Orchestra
New York City (USA)
1968


Bill Dixon - trumpet
Leo Jones - trumpet
Jacques Coursil - trumpet
Clifford Thornton - cornet
Richard Dunbar - french horn
Sam Burtis - trombone
Wesley Whittaker - trombone
John Buckingham - tuba
Dave Chamberlain - flute, soprano sax
Marzette Watts - bass clarinet
Sonny Simmons - english horn
Monty Waters - B-natural soprano sax
Leopanar Witlarge - alto sax
Sam Rivers - soprano & tenor sax
Arthur Doyle - tenor sax
Sonny Clark - baritone sax
Warren Chiasson - vibes
Susan Elrauch - mezzo-soprano

1. unknown (43:04)
2. Interview (3:11) [cut]

TT: 46:16

Sound: B+
Lineage: FM->??->CDR->EAC->FLAC

************************************************************************

Thanks to Rick Lopez for his great work on the Rivers discography, which is where this info came from.

Please note that this show is the second show listed below, not the first. I included the info for the first show, as the notes for the second show refer to the first for a probable personnel lineup.

What a cast!

************************************************************************

Bill Dixon University of the Streets Orchestra: [Unissued / Private Tape]
Date ?, 1968
venue?
New York City
Large Orchestra Piece 1 [29:00]
V + VI rehearsal reel [17:50]
"XP" [18:00]
"XY" [17:20]
[Compositions, Bill Dixon]

Bill Dixon (tp; leader)
Leo Jones (tp)
Jacques Coursil (tp)
Clifford Thornton (cornet)
Richard Dunbar (frh)
Sam Burtis (tb)
Wesley Whittaker (tb)
John Buckingham (tuba)
Dave Chamberlain (fl; ss)
Marzette Watts (bcl)
Sonny Simmons (eng h)
Monty Waters (B-natural ss)
Leopanar Witlarge (as)
Sam Rivers (ss; ts)
Arthur Doyle (ts)
Sonny Clark (bs)
Warren Chiasson (vib)
Susan Elrauch (mezzo-soprano voc)

{Primary Source: info via Dixonia, a Bio-Discography by Ben Young.}
Not in my collection.


Bill Dixon University of the Streets Orchestra: [Unissued / Broadcast Tape]
Date ?, 1968
venue?
New York City
unknown title [43:02]
[possibly "Intents and Purposes", mentioned in interview]
Dixon interview segment [3:12] (incomplete, cuts out at end)

[Total time 46:18]
[Composition, Bill Dixon]

Bill Dixon (tp; leader)
Sam Rivers (reeds)
others, possibly as in session above

{Primary Source: CD-R}

Doctor 3 (Danilo Rea/Enzo Pietropaoli/Fabrizio Sferra) - Perugia 1999

And one for the piano crowd - a great piano trio set featuring Danilo Rea!



Doctor 3
Umbria Jazz 1999
Perugia (Italy), Teatro Morlacchi
July 11, 1999


Danilo Rea - piano
Enzo Pietropaoli - bass
Fabrizio Sferra - drums

1. unknown (13:29)
2. unknown (10:10)
3. unknown (4:51)
4. unknown > Ann EP (8:12)
5. unknown (10:27)
6. unknown (3:02)
7. unknown (7:05)
8. unknown (8:37)
9. unknown (8:29) [inc, end of CDR during recording]

TT: 74:25

Sound: A
Source/Lineage: reg via Sat radio 3 , cdr Philips then, flac

:: ubu edits ::

deleted opening fm talk (inc, 6 sec)
moved Ann from beginning of #6 to end of #5
spliced 29 sec of applause to end of #8 (came as #9)
added fade-out at end of #9 (there was a cut)
deleted a bit of noise at beginning of #10
fixed all marks

Additional lineage: FLAC > WAV > CoolEditPro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)



Danilo Rea... i love this man, a very music lover (ALL FORM OF MUSIC HE LOVES...) his solo performances are very magnificient, if you (during an italian holiday) meets this man and his creature (Doctor 3)...don't miss it !

There is only a live official cd edited in dic-2001 and in homage with the Musica Jazz magazine...this is, in this Dime torrent, is the first (and best in my opinion) concert at umbria Jazz

Sound quality is quiet perfect. Sound rating AA

Enjoy it

Pierluigi

Jimmy Heath - Stockholm 1989

This is for the hip crowd... something easier on the ears, Jimmy Heath!



Jimmy Heath
Jazz Festival Stockholm
Stockholm (Sweden), Skeppsholmen
July 2, 1989


Jimmy Heath - tenor sax
Tony Purrone - guitar
Ben Brown - electric bass
Akira Tana - drums

1. Stage Intro (0:44)
2. Invitation (Kaper-Washington) > Ann JH (10:47)
3. Gingerbread Boy (Jimmy Heath) 6:35
4. Lover Man (Davis-Ramirez-Sherman) > Ann JH (8:24)
5. Hi-Fly (Randy Weston) 12:18
6. Blue Bossa (Kenny Dorham) > Ann JH (9:40)
7. 'Round Midnight (Monk-Hanighen-Williams) 7:07 [inc, fm voiceover at end]

TT: 55:38

Sound: A- (hissy)
Source: FM broadcast
Lineage: FM > ? > FLAC > dime


:: ubu edits ::

deleted bit of fm talk (0:06) preceeding #1, added fade-in
deleted 2 second gaps
fixed all marks
deleted duplicated announcement of "Hi Fly"
added fade-out at end

Additional Lineage: WAV > Cool Edit Pro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)

Abdullah Ibrahim & Miriam Makeba - Berlin 1978

This is a very special concert, and it has... ahem, very special sound quality.
The recording is pretty flawed, though in my opinion it's just about listenable.

Of course hearing Ibrahim (leading one of his best groups, in my opinion, the "Africa - Tears and Laughter" album on Enja is a must!) with Miriam Makeba is a treat, but the rough Berliners (no, I'm not one, he he he) were booing as usual (they can't stand singers in general, I think Carmen McRae was about the only one that survived a whole concert without being booed off the stage).

Anyway, this will keep the South-African flame burning for the weeks I'll be on vacation starting today!

: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :. : . : . : . : . : . : . :

Abdullah Ibrahim & Miriam Makeba
Berlinger Jazztage 1978
Berlin (Germany), Philharmonie
November 3, 1978


Abdullah Ibrahim - piano, soprano sax, flute
Talib Qadr - alto & soprano sax, flute, oboe
Greg Brown - bass
John Betsch - drums

on CD2 add:
Miriam Makeba - vocals
Papa Kouyate - percussion

CD2#1 is a piano solo
CD2#10 is a vocal solo

CD1/61:37
1. Stage Announcer Introduction (1:43)
2. Tsakwe (3:28)
3. Children of Africa (7:21)
4. Imam (11:57)
5. unknown (2:32) [cut] [Bra Joe from Kilimanjaro?]
6. Ishmael (14:30) [cuts in]
7. The Wedding (14:45)
8. Mannenberg (2:44) >
9. Tsakwe (2:30)

CD2/52:30
1. Medley (20:31) [p-solo] >
2. unknown (3:59)
3. Announcement by Abdullah Ibrahim (1:08)
4. Tula Dubula (6:30)
5. unknown (1:41) [Kiolo?]
6. unknown (5:27) [Epilelo?]
7. Ntyilo Ntyilo (3:04)
8. unknown > Stage Announcer Outro (4:56)
9. Announcement by Miriam Makeba (2:26)
10. unknown (2:43) [encore, voc-solo]

TT: 114:07

Sound: B+
Source: audience recording


:: ubu edits ::

run de-click filter (not much use here...)
re-tracked
deleted silence preceeding CD1#1
merged CD1#5 (came in two parts: 2:27/0:04 - with an unrelated 0:02 in between)
added fade-out at end of CD1#9 and fade-in at beginning of CD2#1
merged piano solo medley (came in two parts: 12:09/8:27), deleted a bit of duplication, splice @ 12:09
deleted silence and added fade-out at end of CD2#8
added fade-in at beginning of CD2#9
separated announcement from CD2#10
deleted noise and added fade-out at end of CD2#10

Additional lineage: FLAC > WAV > Cool Edit Pro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)

Seeded on dime by relyles

Comment by relyles:

set list received from trade:

Tsakewe [> Tsakwe]
The Children of Africa
Ishmael Did You Hear That Sound?
Mannenberg
The Dream
Kariba Blue [> Knishna Blue?]
Ballade
African Market Place
Yuokio Khalifa
Liberation Dance
Matsidison [> Matsidisu?]
Anthem for the New Nation
Hintiyan
Tula Dubula
Kiolo
Epelilelo


Note: jazzrita shared another fix on dime, here's some info on that version:

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Lineage: aud > dime > restored with wavelab > flac > dime

UPLOADED BY JAZZRITA 09-04-25

relyles SEEDED THIS CONCERT FEW DAYS AGO.
SEE URL: http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=245875

THE TECHNICAL SIDE OF THIS SEED NEEDS RESTORING. HERE ARE SOME HELP:
- CAREFUL HISS REDUCTION
- MORE CORRECT TRACKING
- ELEMINATE MANY GLITCHES AND CLICKS

THE TAPER HAD DONE NOT HIS BEST WORK: MUCH YAK!!!! HEAVY HISS AND SOME STRANGE HIGH FREQUENCES.

IT SEEMS THAT THE SOURCE ARE NOT ONLY AUDIENCE. IT SEEMS THE SOURCE FROM TRACK 11 ON (WITH MIRIAM MAKEBA) IS FROM A TV SHOW!!!???

THANKS TO UBU FOR HIS SET-LIST AND RESEARCHING ON THE LINE-UP!!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In my opinion, the hiss reduction didn't work that well, and the tracking wasn't perfect, so I kept my own version.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Soft Bounds - Paris 2004

Here's the final Hugh Hopper post - find the other four here.

This particular band features a pair of talented French musicians along with old buddy Elton Dean. Both Sophia Domancich and Simon Goubert were subject of an earlier post, very different in style - a 2008 show of the trio D.A.G. (with Jean-Jacques Avenel) can be found here.

Now back to Hopper... this is a fairly good and very listenable audience recording from the Sunset in Paris. If you prefer, burn it to three discs in order not to interrupt the continuing flow of the music in Set 2.



Soft Bounds
Paris (FR), Sunset
November 26, 2004


Elton Dean - saxello & alto sax
Sophia Domancich - piano & fender rhodes
Hugh Hopper - bass
Simon Goubert - drums

CD1/62:19

Set 1 (47:18)
1. The Day Before (Sophia Domancich) 15:35
2. Spanish Knee (Hugh Hopper) 6:34
3. Kings and Queens (Hugh Hopper) 11:38
4. Le retour 'Emmanuel Philibert (Simon Goubert) 13:30

Set 2 (51:02)
5. Introduction (0:28)
6. Slightly All the Time (Mike Ratledge) 7:12 >
7. drum solo (7:21)

CD2/70:24

1. Gimlet Abides (Elton Dean) 9:05 >
2. First in the Wagon (Elton Dean) 14:44
3. Grey Day Blues (Elton Dean) 12:08

Set 3 (34:22)
4. One Two One Two (Hugh Hopper) 14:49
5. La part des anges (Sophia Domancich) 19:33

TT: 132:43

Sound: A-/B+
Source: audience recording
Lineage unknown

Note: many tunes are followed by short announcements

Yosuke Yamashita - Paris 1998

Here's a rather nice trio show by Yamashita. I got this from dime and did quite a lot of editing to get this into better shape. Sound is not perfect, but it's still an FM recording, so... definitively listenable, in my opinion.

Yamashita is joined by French bassist Michel Benita and Swiss drummer Daniel Humair. Together, they make for a very fine trio!
Humair was subject of a couple of earlier posts:
Strasbourg 2008 (with Tony Malaby & Joachim Kühn)
Paris 2008 (with Tryptic - Humair/Celea/Couturier)
And finally, he can be heard with Roland Kirk here.



Yosuke Yamashita Trio
Paris (France), Duc Des Lombards
March 18, 1998


Yosuke Yamashita - piano
Michel Benita - bass
Daniel Humair - drums

Set 1
1. For David's Sake (Yamashita) 8:53 [dropouts 3:55-4:56]
2. J.G. Bird (Yamashita) 10:47
3. Spider (Yamashita) 10:16 [inc, fade-out/in & splice @ 7:37]

Set 2
4. After Blue (Yamashita) 10:09 [fade-in, 1 sec missing]
5. unknown (10:59)
6. Echo of Gray (Yamashita) 5:47 [fade-in, 4.5 sec missing]
7. Doctor Kanzo (Yamashita) 7:34
8. Announcement by YY (0:05) [inc]
9. Kurdish Dance (Yamashita) 9:49

TT: 74:22

Sound: A-
Source: France Musique "Jazz Club"
Lineage: FM > ? > dime


:: ubu edits ::

fixed marks
deleted most of the radio intro from beginning of #1,3,5,7
omitted separate fm talk tracks
added fades
merged four parts of "For David's Sake" (8:57, 0:19, 0:16, 4:15) - some transmission issues there!
added 1.5 seconds of silence at end of #3

Additional lineage: FLAC > WAV > Cool Edit Pro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)


Note on sequence:
The broadcast started live with the final 2:41 minutes of #3.
Then, in the break, #1, #2 and the first 7:37 of #3 were played.
Then, the next set was broadcast live again.

In the seed on dime, the second part of #3 was the first title, then followed #1, #2, the first part of #3, and then Set 2.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

r.i.p. Charlie Mariano

I just read the following news on the Organissimo forum:

Dear friends and colleagues,

today I have the sad task of informing you that Charlie Mariano is no longer among us, he "checked out" this morning.
Email is not how I would have wanted to pass on this message to you, but due to his great number of friends, I am not able to call each of you personally.

We will miss his voice, we will miss his humor, and all of you who over the years had the good luck of playing together with him will feel the loss.

He had spent the last weeks in the Mildred Scheel Hospiz where he was given the best possible care. His wife Dorothee had been caring for him lovingly for months. His daughter from the US had come to be with him. Many of you had visisted him during the last months. He was not alone.

Tonite I will sit down to listen to his music. Two new CDs recorded within the last year are to be released, one with Chaouki Smahi and Billy Cobham, one with Jasper and Philip Catherine. At 85 he was still blowing beautifully, touching the hearts of his audience.

An era of great jazz players seems to be nearing it´s end. Please carry on the spirit of great music to which Charlie dedicated his life. Remember him as someone who played with everyone and everywhere, never could say no to anyone wanting him to join-up for a gig. Remember him as a musician who was held in great esteem but other musicians as well as by the listeners for besides his great music he was a sweet, and may I mention it; good-looking man. He was a friend and his loss will be felt dearly.

Sincere Greetings,
sharon


This is so sad!

I somehow thought Mariano would just go on and on and on and make great music forever! Alas, not.

To mourn and yet at the same time to celebrate his vast musical legacy, I will spin (and recommend you to buy) his great quartet release on Enja, Deep in a Dream, with Bob Degen (p), Isla Eckinger (b) and Jarrod Cagwin (d), as well as the following show which was waiting to be posted for several months. I wasn't of course hoping for the sad event that is his death, rather I just can't post here as often as I would like.

The concert that's subject of this post is a great display of Mariano's musical universe, which unites jazz, rock, flamenco, Arabian and Indian music. To hear him in a straight jazz context, get "Deep in a Dream"!

And I understand I got several of the spellings wrong and couldn't identify various of the tunes - please post a comment if you can help!

: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :. : . : . : . : . : . : . :

Charlie Mariano / Karnataka College of Percussion - Global Music Celebration
Tage der Zeitgenössischen Musik 2002
Dresden (DE), Alter Schlachthof
October 3, 2002


Charlie Mariano - alto sax

CD1#1-6
Dave King - electric bass & double bass
Yahia Smahi - darabuka, percussion
Chaouki Smahi - oud, violin, vocals
Mike Herting - pianos (#6 only)

CD1#8-9, CD2#1:
Quique Sinesi - guitar

CD2#2:
Quique Sinesi - guitar
Mike Herting - piano
Dave King - electric bass
Ramesh Shotam - tabla

CD2#4-9
Mike Herting - piano, keyboards
Dave King - electric bass & double bass
Ramesh Shotam - tabla, percussion (CD1#6-9, CD2#2-9)
T.A.S. Mani - mrindagam, percussion
R.A. Ramamani - vocals

CD1/50:22
1. unknown (10:35)
2. unknown (6:48)
3. unknown (6:05)
4. unknown (5:39)
5. Announcement by Charlie Mariano (0:33)
6. Night (9:31)
7. Announcement by Charlie Mariano (0:20)
8. unknown (6:35)
9. unknown (4:12)

CD2/55:05
1. Berliner Tangismos (Sinesi) 5:38
2. unknown (10:33)
3. Announcement by Charlie Mariano (0:23)
4. unknown (Ramamani) 8:29
5. Announcement by Charlie Mariano (0:22)
6. Sweet Seventeen (Ramamani) 8:59
7. Band Intros/Announcement by Charlie Mariano (0:38)
8. Bangalore (17:04) [some glitches]
9. unknown (2:56) [inc]

TT: 105:27

Sound: A
Source: FM Broadcast (MDR Kultur "Jazz in Concert", 2 broadcasts)
Lineage: cdr in trade--eac--flac level 6--dime.


:: ubu edits ::

fixed all marks
deleted fm talk preceeding CD1#1 and following CD1#9, CD2#8
separated CM Announcements from following titles
manually removed a few clicks and pops
added fades where needed

Additional lineage: FLAC > WAV > CoolEditPro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)

Clear Frame - Zurich 2007 (r.i.p. Hugh Hopper)

Next one for Hugh Hopper...

Funny enough I just found Soft Machine's "Fifth" (and Robert Wyatt's "Comicopera") in the summer sales that are just about to begin.

The previous posts:
Soft Machine - Donaueschingen 1971
Soft Machine - Berlin 1971
Soft Machine Legacy - Lugano 2005

I am ashamed and sorry that I was noth among the 40 or so people who attended this concert - I remember considering if I should make it, but eventually it was one of those days where I was just too exhausted...

Here's an interview with Hugh, published in early 2008, by Bebbe Colli:
http://www.cloudsandclocks.net/interviews/HHopper_interview_08.html

: . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . :. : . : . : . : . : . : . :

Clear Frame
Zürich (Switzerland), Rote Fabrik, Clubraum
September 20, 2007


Lol Coxhill - soprano saxophone
Hugh Hopper - electric bass
Charles Hayward - drums
Orphy Robinson - vibraphone, percussion

1. Improvisation (51:54)
2. Announcement > Lover Man (7:14)
3. Improvisation (11:35)
4. Announcement > Improvisation [encore] (6:50)

TT: 77:34

Sound: A-/B+


Notes:

total audience: not more than 40 people!!!!

enclosed to torrent: scan of programme

recording: original mini-disc recording with
Sony MZ NH-700
transfer: --> wav (sonic stage) --> flac

don't sell this recording and buy the official
releases of the involved musicians.


:: ubu note ::

Lover Man came as "Improvisation"
I don't know if any of the other "Improvisations" are actual compositions.

Erich Kleinschuster Sextett (w/Harry Pepl) - Wie 1976

Here's a post-script to the two posts about Harry Pepl. This is a concert by Erich Kleinschuster's great Sextett.

Kleinschuster was born in Graz in 1930. After studying law and music (trombone and piano), he played in local bands and radio orchestras. In 1958, he was part of the International Youth Band at Newport Jazz Festival, which led to his decision to become a professional musician. In the sixties, he played with Friedrich Gulda and the Clarke-Boland Big Band, and 1966 brought to the fore his own Sextett, featuring among others Fritz Pauer, Erich Bachträgl, Jimmy Woode, Hans Salomon, and such guest stars as Art Farmer, Carmell Jones, Joe Henderson, Clifford Jordan, Jimmy Heath and Slide Hampton.
In 1971, Kleinschuster founded the ORF Big Band (Austrian Radio Big Band), which he led for ten years. In those years, he also appeared with Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass as well as George Gruntz' Concert Jazz Band.
In 1981, he got a call from the University of Graz, where he holds a professorship. From 1998 on, he organized the Grazer Jazz Sommer.

So it should be quite clear by now, that Kleinschuster is one of THE main characters of Austrian modern jazz. He also programmed many a jazz radio show, including the ones from which this music of his own band was taken.

Austrian Universal has released two very good 2CD sets with music by the Kleinschuster Sextett, Vol. 1 with guests Carmell Jones, Joe Henderson and Clifford Jordan (rec. 1968/1969), Vol. 2 with guests Art Farmer, Slide Hampton and Jimmy Heath (rec. 1968/1971). Both are highly recommended! (dusty groove)

I'm not sure if Kleinschuster can actually be heard there, but Universal has also more recently reissued a box set of Peter Herbolzheimer's MPS & Polydor albums (amazon.de).

The edition of the Sextet in this particular concert is partly electric, and features the great Carl Drewo on saxophone (another musician connected to the Clarke-Boland Big Band for a while in the Sixties), and Fritz Pauer on both acoustic and electric piano. Pauer is another mainstay of Austrian modern jazz, with his own albums (some on MPS, for instance), a long tenure with Art Farmer (who called him his favourite pianist), and long (musical) friendships with many of jazz' greatest. I had the joy to catch him live backing Sheila Jordan when in Vienna some time back.

There's some great music to be heard here - go for it even if you're completely unfamiliar with the musicians!



Erich Kleinschuster Sextett
Wien (Austria), Konzerthaus, Mozartsaal
October 4, 1976


Erich Kleinschuster - trombone
Carl Drewo - tenor & soprano sax
Fritz Pauer - piano & electric piano
Harry Pepl - guitar
Heinz Jäger - electric bass
Fritz Ozmec - drums

CD1/49:06
1. Autumn Lady (Pauer) / Autumn Air (Pauer) 18:44
2. Peach Cup (Pauer) 10:07
3. Maurische Anekdoten (Kleinschuster) 20:13

CD2/32:16
1. Selbstgespräch (Kleinschuster) 9:58 [cuts in]
2. Symphony For A Lady (Kleinschuster) 23:16

TT: 81:22

Sound: A-
Lineage: fm > cd trade > flac > dime

This came in two parts, two seeds on dime: #3,5,1 and #2,4

:: ubu edits ::

deleted all fm talk
added fade-outs

Additional lineage: FLAC > WAV > Cool Edit Pro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)

:: notes ::

No music is missing at end of the "Autumn" Medley, but the radio announcer started talking right as the applause began, so there's a very quick fade-out there.
"Selbstgespräch" started beneath the fm intro, hence there are a few seconds missing and a quick fade-in at the beginning.

complete setlist:
1. Autumn lady (Pauer) 11:56 >
2. Autumn air (Pauer) 6:36
3. Brave knight (Pauer) 13:13 - MISSING
4. Peach cup (Pauer) 10:46
5. Maurische Anekdoten (Kleinschuster) 20:19
6. Selbstgespräch (Kleinschuster) 10:49
7. Symphony for a lady (Kleinschuster) 21:58
8. D-E-E-G (Kleinschuster) 15:11 - MISSING

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Soft Machine - Berlin 1971

Number 3 in the small series dedicated to the late Hugh Hopper.
There will be two more, both audience recordings in acceptable sound, one by Soft Heap and one by Clear Frame. They'll be posted on the weekend, I hope.

Today's Guardian contains an obituary which can be read online as well.

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Soft Machine
Berlin (DE), Jazzfest
November 7, 1971


Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello, electric piano
Mike Ratledge - organ, electric piano
Hugh Hopper - bass
Phil Howard - drums

1. FM intro (0:26)
2. Neo-Caliban Grides (6:08) >
3. All White (5:56) >
4. Slightly All The Time (13:23) >
5. Drop (7:43) >
6. M.C. (2:40) >
7. Out-Bloody-Rageous (15:01) >
8. Pigling Bland > FM outro (6:15)

TT: 57:37

Sound: A-/B+
Source: radio broadcast (host: Achim Hebgen)
Lineage: rb > ? > dime > CDR > EAC (secure, log) > FLAC (8,asb,verify)


This is one of a few radio broadcasts this lineup did in late 1971 - probably the most jazzy the Softs ever got. The sound isn't great, but it's quite listenable.

The original was seeded (last year, I think) as one continuous track - I converted it to AIFF using MacFLAC 2.1.2, edited it with Audacity, and converted it back to FLAC.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Soft Machine Legacy - Estival Jazz 2005 (r.i.p. Hugh Hopper)

Number two of the Hugh Hopper posts, this again features old buddy and also recently deceased and much missed Elton Dean. John Etheridge is on guitar here, and Liam Genockey on drums.

This is my own mono/minidisc recording and I don't see it fit for dime, but it certainly sounds good to my ears! I'm not sure if I've missed the SBD over on dime (many Estival Jazz concerts are shared in perfect SBD quality), or if I decided to skip it and just keep what I've got... hope you don't mind and enjoy it like this!

Here are the covers for the SBD, the setlist on the traycard is the same but the timings and announcements differ a bit, likely they cut out some bits of applause for the broadcast, hence my tracks are shorter.




There's a recent video of the post-Dean edition (with Theo Travis on tenor sax) of this band from July 27, 2008 at the Jazzaldia Festival in Donostia-San Sebastian here. Of course you'll find much more on Youtube!

Finally, here's a great photo of the Carla Bley Band that included both Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper (subject of this earlier post). Funny enough, I already posted this photo but not where it should be, but rather with a 1978 Bley concert, so allow me to repeat myself and post it out of context once more. The source is this great Elton Dean page.



Soft Machine Legacy
Estival Jazz 2005
Mendrisio (CH), Piazzale alla Valle
July 1, 2005


Elton Dean - alto & soprano sax, saxello, fender rhodes
John Etheridge - guitar
Hugh Hopper - electric bass
Liam Genockey - drums

1. Ash (13:35)
2. Seven for Lee (8:40)
3. Baker's Treat (6:40)
4. 1212 (9:55)
5. Kings & Queens (25:39)
FM outro (0:25)

TT: 64:56

Sound: A/A- (mono)
Source: RSI 2 "Live di mezzanotte" / 2007-07-25
Lineage: FM > HD > Cool Edit Pro > FLAC (8,asb,verify)
Recorded & shared by ubu

Monday, June 08, 2009

r.i.p. Hugh Hopper

Bass guitarist Hugh Hopper has died yesterday, at age 64.
Here's a short note on the website of Jazzwise.

Here's a lenghty interview on AAJ.



Hugh Hopper, April 29, 1945 - June 7, 2009


Here's a first upload in tribute, featuring Hopper in the only Soft Machine show I have that is in very good sound. Dean and Hopper are re-united again now, I hope...

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Soft Machine
Donaueschinger Musiktage
Donaueschingen (Germany)
October 17, 1971 (MP2)


Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello, fender rhodes electric piano
Mike Ratledge - organ, fender rhodes electric piano
Hugh Hopper - bass
Phil Howard - drums

1. Gribes-Bloody-Rageous (41:04)

Sound: A
Source: DVB-S@320, 48kHz > raw data > ProjextX > mp3DirectCut > mp2
(lossy recording seeded in its original broadcast codec)

Nicolas Simion Group feat. Zoltan Lantos - Berlin 2000 (re-up)

Here's a re-up on request - the very first show I've shared here, ages ago...
The original post:

Here then is my first share on the blog, a nice radio broadcast by the Nicolas Simion group with Zoltan Lantos on violin. Both musicians are eastern european, though Simion has been based in the western part. I first heard Simion on the ORF produced CD of his and the great Iancsi Körössy's. They led a quartet together a few years ago, likely just for that one tour that ORF recorded in Graz. On that occasion, they also had Lee Konitz sitting in as a guest.
I have a live recording from Bucharest from that fall 2001 tour, sans Lee, that I could post later if there's interest.



Nicolas Simion Group
featuring Zoltan Lantos
Berlin (DE), Haus der Kulturen der Welt
June 17, 2000


Nicolas Simion - tenor & soprano sax, bass clarinet
Zoltan Lantos - violin
Norbert Scholly - guitar, Wald-Zither
Martin Gjakonovski - bass, oud
Johannes Bockholt - drums, percussion

1. (14:08)
2. (6:58)
3. (5:27)
4. (9:19)
5. (11:14)
6. (6:39)
7. Lullaby (2:11)

TT: 55:59

Sound: A/A-
Source: OE1 "Jazznacht" / 2006-06-18
Lineage: FM > Minidisc > analogue to HD > GoldWave > FLAC (8,asb,verify)

burned at end:

FM intro (1:41)
FM outro (0:31)

TT (all): 58:13

As mentioned before, this was recorded to MD in longplay (LP4, to be exact) mode. I decoded the FLAC files w/FLAC Frontend and created MP3s @ 320 kbs with CDex, using lame encoder.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Elton Dean - Amsterdam 1977

Here's another UK show... why another, well, because the South African jazzers eventually did mix up with the UK scene to some extent, even though in the early years, they weren't welcome.

Anyway, here's Elton Dean, the late great alto and saxello player, with Keith Tippett at the piano and the powerhouse rhythm section of Miller/Moholo.

Thanks a lot to "jazzrita" for sharing this over on dime, some time ago!

Please Note that the info-file and the folder give the date as September 8, which seems to be wrong. I only found out about that just now, doing some searching before posting this. I added a note below with the info given on the Elton Dean chronology for September 1977.

Also, do check the previous post for more related music!

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Elton Dean Quartet
Amsterdam (NL), Melkweg
September 16, 1977


Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello
Keith Tippett - piano
Harry Miller - bass
Louis Moholo - drums

1. (36:14)
2. (9:53) [fade in/out]
3. (9:03) [fade in - mono - #2 ctd.?]

TT: 55:10

Sound: A-/B+ (#1,2), B+ (#3, mono)
Lineage: AUD > cd on trade > flac > dime


Note from dime seeder (jazzrita):

I GOT THIS IN TRADE.
THE FIRST TWO TRACKS ARE IN STEREO, BUT THE LAST TRACK ARE ONLY IN MONO, BECAUSE THE LEFT CHANNEL WASN'T USEABLE, SO, I HAVE DONE THIS TRACKS IN MONO ONLY.

:: ubu note ::

came as September 8, but the Elton Dean chronolgy gives the following info:

1977 - September

[01-08] European tour [Carla Bley Band]
[09] Emmen (Netherlands), Tin Pan Alley [ED Quartet]
[10] Oudenbosch (Netherlands), Try [ED Quartet]
[11] Bergen-op-Zoom (Netherlands), De Bottehommel (afternoon) [ED Quartet]
[11] Breda (Netherlands), De Bommel (evening) [ED Quartet]
[13] Den Bosch (Netherlands), De Kakatoe [ED Quartet]
[14] Amsterdam (Netherlands), Bimhuis [ED Quartet]
[15] Nijmegen (Netherlands), Doornroosje [ED Quartet]
[16] Amsterdam (Netherlands), Melkweg [ED Quartet]
[17] Eindhoven (Netherlands), De Effenaar [ED Quartet]
[18] Maassluis (Netherlands), De Toverbal (afternoon) [ED Quartet]
[18] Schiebroek (Netherlands), Nullispretii (evening) [ED Quartet]
[late] Italian tour [ED Quartet]

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Harry Miller - BBC 1975-1977

[EDIT] The first two titles of this post have been officially released on Reel Recordings. I deleted the links and will offer a new set of links minus those two tracks - sorry for the inconvenience! Go and order the Miller (and some other) discs from the Reel Recordings site, so support those folks crazy enough to still be releasing our manna from heaven! [/EDIT]

First of a series of South African posts to follow... not in any planned or quick way, but several more instalments will eventually follow (a dozen or two, just so you get a rough idea).

The opening is made by the great bass player Harry Miller (1941-1983). He was one of the doomed South African exiles, but his forceful music, his thumping bass playing, his dynamic interaction with frequent parter-in-crime Louis Moholo (one of the survivors) continues bringing incredible pleasure to my life - and I hope many others' lives, too!

Miller's official releases on Ogun have been reissued in a great 3CD set that is - alas - out of print again, but if you're a fan, you'll absolutely need that! (info)
In addition to that, Cuneiform has a great Isipingo live recording available, very much worth buying!

Louis Moholo, by the way, has been featured in a couple of earlier posts here:
Louis Moholo/Keith Tippett/Julie Tippets & MinAfrica Orchestra - Sant'Anna Arresi 2008
Louis Moholo-Moholo Quintet - Roma 2007

Also, there's my South African blindfold test, posted last spring, and then there's this post with many useful links (I hope they're still good, too many to check them, sorry):
The Joy and Pain of South African Jazz

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Harry Miller Isipingo - 1975

Mongezi Feza - trumpet
Nick Evans - trombone
Mike Osborne - alto sax
Stan Tracey - piano
Harry Miller - bass
Louis Moholo - drums

1. Whey Hey! (15:35)
2. Good Heavens Evans (11:59)

Harry Miller Isipingo - 1976

Marc Charig - trumpet
Malcolm Griffiths - trombone
Mike Osborne - alto sax
Stan Tracey - piano
Harry Miller - bass
Louis Moholo - drums

3. Family Affair (9:58)
4. Where Now Then? (9:53)

Harry Miller Quintet - 1977

Trevor Watts - alto & soprano sax
Alan Wakeman - tenor & soprano sax
Berni Holland - guitar
Harry Miller - bass
Louis Moholo - drums

5. Orange Grove (9:22)
6. A Traumatic Experience (17:20)

************************************

7. radio announcer (1:03) [between #1 and #2]
8. radio announcer (0:38) [between #3 and #4]
9. radio announcer (0:41) [between #5 and #6]
10. radio announcer (0:30) [following #6]

************************************

TT: 77:04

Sources:
#1,2,7: Jazz in Britain broadcast 24-2-1975
#3,4,8: BBC broadcast early 1976
#5,6,9,10: Jazz in Britain broadcast 24-12-1977(?)

Lineage: FM > Sony reel to reel > standalone cd recorder > EAC > WAV > FLAC

Note on second broadcast (#3,4): There is probably a third piece missing for some reason I can't remember.