Manny's Miscellany

Assorted Reviews by E. Wordsworth

10 October 2000

"The period between 1450 and 1550 in the history of music has been called 'the age of the Netherlanders.' During this time most of the important musical posts on the continent of Europe were held by composers who came from the region comprising the present territory of…Holland, Belgium, and [parts of] France." (From Donald Jay Grout, A history of Western Music.)

What would happen if you took a country steeped in what one might say was an ancient tradition of European composed music (not just a part of the history, but major participants) and imported the best of the best jazz players from the United States. Think about it. That is what happened in the Netherlands in the 40s and the 50s when American jazz artists were going to Europe because of greater acceptance of jazz and racial tolerance. Many opted to visit and some even stayed in the Netherlands, primarily in Amsterdam. This music that I listened to for these reviews is a product of those two musical histories meeting. And much like "the age of the Netherlands" composers were not actually limited by nationality, but the term became descriptive of a style, so to does this music transcend nationality (with the inclusion of American Tristan Honsinger on cello and Canadian Joe Williamson on bass in the Tobias Delius 4Tet. Delius himself is an English/German/Argentinian/ currently Amsterdamian tenor saxophonist.) But there is a definite stylistic cohesion between the first three albums that goes further than the fact that Han Bennink plays on all of them. It is a style in which you are aware of the culture of composition meeting that of improvisation.

In the space of the first track of The Clusone Trio (Ramboy Disc #01, BVHAAST) the group moves from a frenetic complex interaction of multitudinous timbres (remember: being presented in real time by three people) to a clean very much in the pocket swing where the cello of Ernst Reijseger alternates sounding like a contrabass, ukelele, and plucked electric guitar in the country western style complemented with accentuated mumbling and howling from whom I imagine is drummer Han Bennink and the attack of Michael Moore on reeds. That is a hell of a long sentence that might leave someone out of breath reading it, but punctuation somehow seemed out of place. In this opening track we hear masters at work and they move from idea to idea with nary a comma or semicolon leaving one breathless in the most positive sense of the word. Listening to the improvisation on this CD is like watching three people do some twisted ballroom dance together where the lead passes from person to person with the other members taking the role of complementing or leading as is appropriate. Most of the tunes are fairly inside (including Herbie Nichols covers), but the improvisation is excellent. Both thoughtful and energetic.

In "I am an Indian" by the Clusone Trio (Ramboy #05) we hear the virtuosic playing and interplay as on the previous album, with a little more of a looser, outside feel on the improvisation. Michael Moore’s bass clarinet (missing on the previous reviewed album) is wonderful. Great tone, very dexterous in the use of melodic improvisation as well as extended techniques (the honking and squallering I love so much). Han uses the gamut of his skills as they move from originals to Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Dewey Redman, Bud Powell and Herbie Nichols covers. There is a great sense of humor at times to this music ((Dutch accented "Indian" whoops), which are very enjoyable, but also provides debate fodder for humor in music and improv. [Which brings me around to a side-note not having much to do with this album at all: Why does humor seem to be important for many artists doing new music to have in their performances? I have not seen the ICP in concert, but a friend who saw them said they joked around a quite a bit. I have seen the Breuker Kollektief, and they clowned quite a bit, as have other groups I have seen in the Los Angeles area. There was also quite a discussion on the Zorn Email list about Han Bennink and humor. It is like the artists feel the need to clown and joke to try and make it all more accessible. There seems to be several questions: do musicians want to be perceived as musicians, or clowns? Or is it possible that clowning be an integral part of the music? The danger is in distracting attention from the music. One musician who immediately comes to mind that artfully and naturally integrates humor into his music is Eugene Chadbourne. In the case of Chadbourne it never seems out of place or gratuitous. Humor (and irony for that matter) are all too easy to reference in art and take the focus off of the playing skill, composition, and improvisation, putting it on the non-musical reference points.] The mix quality of this CD varies from track to track as there seems to be places where the drums stick out inappropriately and other instruments are too far in the background, but this happens with live recordings. This album is much looser structurally than the other, yet the band seems more connected in the vocabulary of the improvisations. This tension between feeling free to leave the structures of the tunes and still being together helps create a fulfilling listening experience.

The Tobias Delius 4Tet, Toby’s Mloby (ICP034, BVHAAST), starts with parallel glissandi in the bass and the cello, going to a sustained simple melodic statement by the tenor sax over walking bass and a somewhat angular countermelody in the cello. This simple idea gets expanded and explored improvisationally, as players pass the themes around. This CD is a beautiful study on the use of space, sparse harmonies and counterpoint: Very economical and smart compositions; quite listenable. Han plays the perfect straight man throughout. The band seldom goes over the top in a high-energy way (excepting the beginning of track 6), seeming very controlled in a chamber music meets straight-ahead jazz-like fashion, while still being on the fringe. At several points Tobias vocalizes through his sax and you think they are about to cut loose, but he keeps it in control and brings things into the flow. Many tracks are combinations of tunes arranged in a medley (a form also employed by the Clusone Trio and others). This creates a nice symphonic type of movement feel, while keeping it mixed up and interesting. They are moments of humor and lightness such as a waltz in track two. This album keeps the focus where it needs to be, and is high quality in skill and content. All in all, an excellent CD.

Tempo Comodo (DATA823, BVHAAST), Solo percussion CD by Han Bennink. When I first glanced at this I thought the title was Temple Komodo, making me think of the few remaining prehistoric "dragons" in Indonesia and a temple dedicated to them. Whoops, wrong…Tempo Comodo is something entirely different. Is it a play on words? Commode and "comodo?" I really don't know…but it is not really important as when the music starts you forget about words and are propelled headlong into Han's world of sound.

On the first track (Walk) it sounds literally like Han is walking around the studio playing whatever he sees…a delightful perambulation that makes one wish there was a surround sound system so you could here more of his motion and more of the sound source changing direction…The next track (Brushes/Airdrumming) is the most mesmerizing on the disc. I have returned to it again and again to hear the rapid brush strokes evolve into the whirr of something spinning through the air and the sound of wood being struck and pitch manipulated with his mouth…odd, virtuosic, thoroughly interesting…track six (Stones) uses of stones for its sound source. I immediately thought of George Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children in which he has the percussionist use Tibetan prayer stones. Here there is a constant pulse for a minute and a half that is varied polyrhythmically throughout…The track Donnerwetter show his skills with the set as he plays it with what sounds like silverware and metal plates…Body Claps and Hums is exactly that. I wish the space it was in was more reverberant, the sounds are quite interesting, but have too much "presence" for my taste. An excellent idea that could be expanded upon…In De Krieps we have a definite mid-eastern/Indian influence with light rapid drumming interspersed with what I first thought was a shawm of sorts, but is actually Han squeeking cymbals and drums with mallets or bows or sticks. Wonderful…In Dropsticks he spends 48 seconds dropping drum sticks. It is a lot of fun to listen to, and I bet even more to watch. Amazing how interesting randomenss can be…On Stroef, the final track, we here a compendium of squeeks and scratches. Delightful sounding extended techniques that make you wonder how the hell he does it. Well, we'll all have a chance to see how on Friday October 20 in Ventura, California…

Manny's Miscellany

Assorted Reviews by E. Wordsworth

1 January 2001

When first listening to Simon H. Fell's Composition No. 30 for Improvisers, Big Band and Chamber Ensemble (Bruce's Fingers, BF27) it is tempting to be moved by the sheer massiveness of the forces gathered and the density of the composition. This would be the musical equivalent of being moved by a novel because it had many pages. On a more critical level I had two immediate reactions: the first being I wished for a better performance of the compositions, the second being what wonderful improvisations. I remember in school studying the scores of one of my hero's, Olivier Messiaen, and being amazed by the complexity of rhythm, timbre, texture; being delighted by the orchestrations. Then when I first heard some old vinyl recordings I said, "This is not it, what is missing?" It wasnât until the 1996 Deutsche Gramophone recordings by Boulez that I was thoroughly moved by the interpretation of Messiaen's score. I have not seen Fell's scores, but I do believe that I would have a similar reaction. There seems to be weak entrances on sections of the composed music, as well as disagreements on articulations and dynamics. From the liner notes: [This music] "combines elements of improvised music, 'classical' composition and jazz, it is no single one of these things and those persons approaching it as such will perhaps be disappointed." He continues on to say that "whilst this occasionally involves the sacrifice of some 'accuracy', this is more than compensated for by the revivification of the stunted, stultifying and disengaged nature of much pitch-obsessed modern performance technique. Anyone interested who is only interested in improvised music will find many sections unnecessary, whilst contemporary classicists will inevitably bemoan the lack of accuracy and control in the realisation of notation." Sounds like an excuse to me, albeit in the Queen's best English. Mr. Fell, your music is worthy of being interpreted correctly. Don't make excuses; just give us the music. This said and done, I love this CD. It has received many listenings and will continue to do so, in spite of excuses by the composer. Delightful dodecaphony, improvisation and small ensemble sections make for a varied and interesting music.

In a similar, but smaller scale mode we have Gebhard Ullmann's Ta Lam Zehn Vancouver Concert (Leo Records, CDLR290). Here we have an excuse free mixture of 'classical' compositions and improvisations. In this CD, I care less for the improvisations, but love most of the compositions and the realization of them. The combination of saxophones and other woodwinds with accordion is pleasing and unique. The compositions have a dodecaphonic feel to them at times, the orchestrations are very nice, with an intriguing sense of harmony and counterpoint. The opening piece, Think Tank, is reminiscent of Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste as it takes a simple melody and develops and expands it very dramatically. While some of the compositions tread to close to the more standard works written for saxophone ensemble (homophonic lines with parallel harmonies, ostinati running underneath), there is much to be liked here when Ullmann delves into the less charted regions. A gifted orchestrator, I hope he stays with the more adventurous.
 
 

Gebhard Ullmann Kreuzberg Park East

Ullmann, tenor sax and bass clarinet; Ellery Eskelin, tenor sax; Drew Gress, bass; Phil Haynes, drums

Soul Note

What first pops into my head is: great sound, exquisitely recorded and mastered. Two tenors playing tight, pleasantly dissonant harmonies of a beautiful blues groove. We quickly leave this for the more varied and active "Kreuzberg Park East" featuring a quirky head interspersed with tenor and bc unaccompanied duos. Later on "Flutist with Hat and Shoe"? (no flute, I don't know about the hat and shoe) shows the versatility of the ensemble as arco bass with bass clarinet sets the smoothly abstract mood of the piece before jumping into the jazzy wackiness of "Almost Twenty-Eight." Strangely boppish. I really enjoyed this CD, particularly the interplay between Ullmann and Eskelin. What great players.
 
 

One Way Out

Biggi Vinkeloe, alto sax and flute; Barre Phillips, bass; Peeter Uuskyla, Drums

Slask Records, Sweden

A fulfilling listen. I am quite familiar with Barre Phillips, but Vinkeloe and Uuskyla are new names to me. Alternating between conversational improvisation and moments of groove/odd ballad-like improvs such as "Pont Nunx", gritty arco bass driven lines such as those in "Almost There" and the col legno in "Ebbes Dirt" help to make Phillips the standout player in this session. The drums and alto tend to be busy and I wish for more varied textures at times. Vinkeloe's flute on "But Peace" is wonderful and when the bass and drums start grooving (drums too hot in the mix for me) it really gets fun. "Zweite Baustelle", a 2:08 drum and bass duo offers an intensely focused performance by Phillips. "Expressivo" is one of my faves on this CD, the flute and bass duet is wonderful contrapuntal playing - not the easy-to-fall-into school of mere imitation, but great complimentary lines.
 
 

The Robin Cox Ensemble

Robin Cox, violin; Dave Gerhart, percussion; Erik Leckrone, percussion; Manon Robertshaw, cello and bass drum

No label

OK, right off the beginning I have to get something off of my chest that has absolutely NOTHING to do with the music on this CD. Photos of Caucasians holding large native drums have always bothered me, so I have decided to take this moment and figure out why. These photos strike fear into my heart as to what I might be momentarily putting into my ears. Images pop into my head of Robert Bly and James Hillman (at a weaker moment) standing around a circle of pudgy middle-aged men who have temporarily traded their white collars for flannel shirts and a weekend of drum beating and chanting. This would be one room of my personal hell. Ethno-appropriation is not my bag. There are most certainly great composers out there doing it all the time, but after the novelty of the "exotic" wears off, what is left? Usually men in flannel shirts behaving a little too sensitively·

That said and done, let me be clear, I have NOT listened to the music as of the writing of the above, I just looked at a photo·

There is much to like in this recording. Good performers and composers synthesize who they are (an amalgamation of experiences, influences, and personality) into their music. Cox seems to mostly focus on his influences here. These influences seem to be: academic chamber music, world music, and small amounts of jazz. (There are certainly other influences, these three are up-front.) The use of percussion can't help but draw up images of Tom Waits at times, particularly with mallet instrument ostinati. This music is well written, impeccably performed, and varied in mood and timbre. Frequently ostinati play a foundational role underneath lyrical strings. Outstanding for me is the lush cello solo "Reflections on Olivet."

As I said, there is much to like about this recording. All players are good, but it would be nice to hear a little aggressive energy to take this music outside of itself. Let me explain: This music is very well defined (academic, world, jazz) but it never transcends what we would expect from those genres. For me, all great art transcends its sources, integrating influences WITH self. A very good CD, with skills like this, I bet the next will be even better.
 
 

Bob Narthex

Be Concerned

Brad Dutz, handdrums and perc; Chris Wabich, steel drums and perc; Anders Swanson, bas, violin, perc.

AP Jazz

When taking a look at the instruments he plays, it would be easy to accuse Brad Dutz of the aforementioned and egregious ethno-appropriation. However, the extremely prolific and virtuosic Dutz takes any instrument and genre and transcends the expectations, taking ownership and imbuing them with life and personality. On this CD with Wabich and Swanson we have one of the oddest and most enjoyable listens to traverse my ears in months. Bizarre would be too easy a word to use to describe this. At the same time this CD is incredibly fun.

The title of album brings up many questions. What should we be concerned of? The sanity of the performers? Or is it just a pun on the infamous "be happy?" And, anyway, who is this mystery man Bob Narthex? All I know is: this album is amazing. When the first track with its steel drums, hand percussion, bass, power tools, toys, kitchen implements and who know what else gets going and hits your ears and then the vocals come in· a delightful confusion emerges that could probably (at the right volume level) bring about enlightenment as readily as a smack in the head by a Zen Master. But this recording is not just about gags. It is as much about three great talents at work, as well as play. Highly recommended, if for nothing more than the play along with some recording of a calypso singer.
 
 

Double Yellow

Rob Blakeslee, tpt, flgl; Michael Vlatkovich, trb and claps; William Roper, tuba, conch, voice, wine glasses, gong; Brad Dutz, a lot of percussion.

Thankyou Records

What a formidable lineup. Each a solid leader in their own right, as an ensemble they improvise as a unit: What could have been a session to see who could outblow the other, instead becomes a delightful study in interplay. From the opening squeeks and slapped mouthpieces to the closing concertina with brass counterpoint, this is a collection of great improvs that will bear repeated listenings. Birdcalls, trumpeting tuba, harmon (plunger?) trombone, fluttering trumpet interrupted by splashes of percussion, trombone quoting Gershwin behind a groove of shakers·and that is just one track (Ice Flow)·
 
 

Kingcake

Scot Ray, tuba; Brad Dutz, percussion; Matt Zebley, woodwinds; special guest

Bill Barrett on chromatic harmonica.

No Label

Traditional New Orleans Jazz meets Free Improvisation. At the beginning we have a hip tuba groove laid down with hand percussion and a pleasant sax melody flowing on top. This opening track didnât grab me - the solos seemed a little non-committal, but ah! track 2, Bison Will Graze (a pun on Sheep May Safely Graze?) comes up with a characteristically slightly whacked Dutz composition...solos going to group improvisational playing back to the head...very nice, but I still wanted more commitment, more of a sense that Zebley, in particular, was digging into the meat of the piece - he is an EXCELLENT player, but one never feels that he goes to the maximum of his ability. The first sign of a willingness to get even farther off of the beaten path comes when Barrett joins them on "Lucky Dip" A quirky Ray composition leads to a free blow on the way out. Very nice. The traditional "Jah-Duh" offers a standard sounding tuba with Dutz getting all crazy with the hand drums...The CD ends with, what else, [Just a] "Closer Walk" [with Thee]. I have mixed feelings about this CD. This is an ensemble of top-notch players. I would like to hear a CD where they focus more on their strengths. There are a lot of traditional jazz bands out there, these guys have something very unique to offer, and I would like to hear more of that uniqueness represented in a recording.
 
 

Scot Ray

Small Architecture

Scot Ray, trombone, reed driven tromb., electronics; Andrew Barbera, Elec. gtr; David Shaffer, perc.

No Label

The first trombone note says it all: Strength and conviction. This opening track is a powerhouse performance by Ray, with drums and gtr keeping up. Racing between muted, unmuted, legato, rapid tonguing, radical some kind-of-funk outside playing. This track is appropriately called "Gut" and at this moment I donât need to listen to anything else. Totally enmeshing. What a strong introduction. The next track, Architecture 1, risks falling into fusion traps (tight, chopsy oriented playing) but the freedom in the improv section takes you far from that. "Gravel", "Plates", and "Opaque" offer a mellower counterpoint in the heads, but "Plates" and "Opaque" have explosive moments buried away in the tracks. The final track, "Tumbleweed", is a beautiful closer. A tango-meets-happy-trails ostinato in the guitar supports a beautiful trombone melody with cymbals and gongs floating in the background. A nice CD.
 
 

One One & One

One: Henry Kuntz, tenor sax

One & One: Henry Kuntz, sax, musette, flute; Don Marvel, time machine, Prophet Sampler, turntable, live signal processing.

Humming Bird Records

One disk one, Kuntz gives an hour plus presentation of extended techniques on the TS. The warbles, flurries, multiphonics, and harmonics that he presents are an utterly delightful treat to the ears. I found the nuances of the textures/timbres best heard at high volumes, but be forewarned, at that volume the high frequencies can be painful. A little more limiting on the mastering end wouldâve helped bring out those great nuances and subtle details. There is a school of thought (most ably presented by Cadence Magazine) that recordings should be "pure", no compressing/limiting, reverb, eq, et cetera. I donât buy this philosophy as a recording is a physically modeled analogy of the original performance and speakers donât respond like the instruments. I also donât know what school of thought Kuntz falls into...but none of this really matters, because this is a good listen.

One & One starts out with a sax loop that has what at first sounds like an annoying click at the loop points, but these clicks quickly become part of the texture in an enjoyable way. The use of technology was a little coarse on this disk but the extended techniques of Kuntz continue. Very adventurous and experimental.
 
 

Opeye: Moss Îcomes Silk (Avant-Shamanic Trance Jazz)

Henry Kuntz, woodwinds; Ben Lindgren, bass, gamelan; Brian Godchaux, viola, selunding, perc; Esten Lindgren, trb, tpt, conch, voice, uke; John Kuntz, guit, mandolin, toys and more.

Avant-Shamanic Trance Jazz in any other world is freely improvised jazz, and this is freely improvised galore. A dynamic and colorful smorgasbord of sounds. There is a density and consistency to these pieces that could be overwhelming, but with the many colorful instruments being played (in an often non-traditional method) there is always something interesting going on.
 
 

Two Gentleman in Verona

Chris Cutler, drums and electronics; Fred Frith, elec. guitars, voice

ReR Megacorp

Recorded at a live concert in Verona, Italy, this is a timbral, melodic, electronic, and improvisational gourmand treat. From the opening dronings and groanings, the pained twang of the electric guitar strings being bent in ways that the manufacturers did not intend. Pounding drums, screaming/scraping/plucking/grunting lead - one cannot even touch on the variety of textures and timbres. This is some very fine music. Buy this one.
 
 

Uitti 2 Bows

Frances-Marie Uitti, cello with two bows

[Note: Southern Californians will have a chance to hear FM solo, in Ventura on March 16·]

From the opening of this CD, I could tell I was in for some great music. Playing with two bows in her right hand, FM creates a low chorale that is rich in harmonic and overtone content, geologic in its pace. It is a grand introduction to this virtuoso. "fffff" has her skittering around the mid to high range of the instrument with sul ponticello harmonics. "Double" is a rhythmically driving, moto perpetuo piece with offbeat accents and angular harmonic movement. What is amazing about this bowing technique is that you would expect a lot of similar and oblique direction in the counterpoint, so it is delightfully surprising when the contrary motion happens. "Double Chorale" visits some areas touched on in track one, but is more evolutionary in its form. I can't get over the beauty of this music! "Phoenicis" sounds like the cello is detuned lower (maybe prepared?) and is struck, plucks, and bowed very dynamically. "Rolf's Chorale" starts on a unison and moves to seconds and they the harmony expands to greater intervals - reminiscent of Ligetti's "Lux Aeterna", but done by one cellist! "Message to G. Kurtag" has a low drone with skittering line in counterpoint over it. 3-4 part counterpoint! Absolutely stunning technically and musically.
 
 

Improvisations

Frances-Marie Uitti, cello with two bows; Elliott Sharp, doubleneck guitar, bass clarinet

On the last disk FM owes much to contemporary classical music, this CD goes firmly into the camp of the more aggressive/energetic improvisational world. Of course, with maestro E#, what else could it be? Track one is an immediate (and wonderful) sonic and rhythmic assault that shows off the skill and musicality of both. 8:45 into the track the texture suddenly changes from distorted to clean tone rhythms that give it a wild funky feel. A little later that leave for more of a free blow. What a great listen. Track 2 has the most noticeable difference being E# going to bass clarinet, on track 3 he goes back to elec. guitar. I tend to prefer when he is on elec. guitar as the tracks have a more confident and aggressive feel - even in the more spacious and pointillistic sections.
 
 

Uitti/Vitiello

No other information given

This single serving CD has 1 track that is 19:57 long. It is an excursion through burbling and chirping electronics, scratchy cello sounds, breathing, staticness till around 8:20 when the sul ponticello cello loops begin evolving into low drones and such. The form of this work is evolutionary as one idea gets treated, then morphs into the next and so on. As there are no liner notes, I cannot say for sure, but I would bet this is computer processing of the cello, with all the sounds originating from the cello. This is quite static and abstract. Rewards close listening with its subtlety.

Manny's Miscellany

Assorted Reviews by E. Wordsworth

11 March 2001

The Darkest Corner, The Most Conspicuous

Jack Wright: alto sax, sop. sax, tenor sax; Bhob Rainey: sop. Sax; Bob Marsh and Fred Lonberg-Holm: cellos

Label: CIMP

It is going to be a very good day. In honor of the title of this piece, I went into a dark corner of my favorite coffeehouse in the middle of Santa Barbara’s State Street area and popped on my headphones. I was immediately rewarded with beautiful improvisation of subtlety and depth. Double sax/double cello is a statistically unusual grouping, in fact, maybe this is a first. It doesn’t matter…this is the kind of music you should put on to introduce friends who are into contemporary classical music to free improv. This is what it is about: impeccably recorded music, wonderfully performed. At times spacious-whispery-blinky-blonky at other times gloriously sustained overlapping harmonically driven textures.

I’ve received complaints in the past about my mention of recording quality — some people say I should just focus on the "music." This CD is a perfect example of why recording quality is important. Subtle, quiet passages that could be overwhelmed by a high-level noise floor come through with clarity, as do the loud sections come through distortion free. And believe me, Jack and Bhob and the boys can be very loud.

Oh baby, the clarity of the rapidly articulated contrapuntal improv sections accented with an occasional holler from who the hell know where…is wonderful….an album worth having in your collection…ahhh, a good day.

Places to Go

Jack Wright: Saxes

Label: Spring Garden Music

Recorded at various places and times (Baltimore, Boston, his kitchen) "Places to Go" is a lovely self-portrait in vivid colors. Wright pulls (and drags screaming) every possible nuance of sound out of his saxes. Tongue pops, groans, air — yes, and even traditional playing — are used to create improvisations that are never staid, always evolving, moving, drawing the listener in. The extended techniques are never about novelty, always about music. This is an album of beauty.

W.O.O. Revelator

The Theory of Reversed Effort

Bonnie Kane: saxes, flute, electronics; Chris Forsyth: elect. guitar; Ray Sage: percussion

Label: Evolving Ear

Right off the start: kick-ass improvisation. The wild, more raucous they get the better the music. These folks have a wonderful energy, among the best when they explore the denser textures. When it gets sparse, it creates a nice counterpoint, but, wow, when they hit you hard…it feels sooo good. An exciting blend of punk and improv aesthetics.

Elements of Suspense

Mark Kissinger: prepared guitars; Ernesto Diaz-Infante, prepared guitars, voice; Rotcod Zzaj: Kurzweill PC 88

CDR available at: www. users.tm.net/rotcod/cds.htm

Driving, pulsing, lo-fi, funky-noise improv that is at once engaging. The joy and delight of these three very creative musicians shine throughout this CDR as they weave their way through audio textures of great intrigue. These are some very dense sound collages that are quite enjoyable listening.

At times the noise floor from the recording overtakes the instruments, but that seems to be part of the aesthetic. A listener must leave concepts of hi-fidelity in recording behind to be able to enjoy this CD (and the next one that is reviewed). Which can be very difficult. I must admit that I did enjoy these two CDs, but I do consider fidelity important. I don’t listen to CDs for the noise and hum from inexpensive mics and lo-fi tape decks and distortion from digitally peaked signals. I listen to CDs for the noise, hum and distortion from the instruments! It is about representing the artistry of the performers, not the limitations of the recording equipment…but this is an old debate among DIY artistes…all said and done: I like these CDs, but think the music is worthy of being better served by being recorded better.

Speeches for the Schizoid

Ernesto Diaz-Infante, prepared guitars, voice; Rotcod Zzaj: Kurzweill PC 88

CDR available at: www. users.tm.net/rotcod/cds.htm

Oh Yes! The wall of noise of the opening track (Speeches for the Schizoid) is cathartic. Make that Cathartic. I love this type of texture that surrounds you and does not let go until your neighbor is banging on the wall yelling, "Shut that off" or until the next track starts…Wait! It doesn’t stop with the next track…it is unrelenting, the Energizer Bunny of noise, make that two Energizer Bunnies of noise. Besides serving up a feast of improvised sound, this album also has my favorite title of late, "Orkin Man on Ludes," which reminds me of a friend who was an exterminator for a large company. (This is a true story, really!) He was called to Charlie Sheen’s house to get rid of some pests. According to my friend, he and Charlie got stoned and went hunting for the little fellers together. (Obviously pre-Christian Charlie.) The story ended sadly as Charlie got irritated with my friend coming over repeatedly, and so kicked him off the property. Anyway, this track could easily be the soundtrack to that story…This album is recommended for those who like noise improv.