Braxton’s Arista output is available.

From Mosaic Records.  Lots of related text/video/linkery at the link.  Unfortunately there is no option but to buy the whole wad on 8 cd’s for three figures, but it’s worth it.

This is stuff from the seventies, Dave Holland and Barry Altschul are all over it, Kenny Wheeler and George Lewis are somewhat all over it, and appearances are made by, among others, Richard Teitelbaum, Henry Threadgill, Leroy Jenkins, Frederic Rzewski, Leo Smith, Muhal Richard Abrams, Roscoe Mitchell, Oliver Lake and other WSQ’ers.

Braxton on the web, on wikipedia, Mosaic Records main page.

The first Orthotonics record…

…is over here.  The second one is still here.

I played with Audacity and the results amuse me.

Link.  They sound glitchy, in both the technical and idiomatic senses.  See if you can tell which one is illegal.

Recent Acquisitions, 20080703: Modern Classical

Olivier Messiaen’s (wikipedia)(see also) Complete Bird Music for Piano Solo, performed by Carl-Axel Dominique.  Probably best if I don’t start, I love Messiaen so much.  I’ll just point out that Malcom Ball’s website has a page whereon you can compare the actual birdsongs to OM’s transcriptions, and another page containing midi examples to accompany his manifesto, Technique de mon Langage Musical (see the see also above).

Magick by John Zorn.  Since I’m a drooling bass clarinet fetishist I had to have this for “Sortilege,” a bass clarinet duo by which I was not disappointed.   The accompanying string quartet is also great.  The thing about Zorn is, since he wears his technical limitations as a sax guy on his sleeve, and since he helms alot of high risk endeavors that frequently flop, it’s easy to underestimate both the clarity and potency of his vision, as well as his skill as a composer.  Buy a disc from Tzadik, mp3’s from Amazon.

Codex Seraphinianus as a cbz.

Alot of the traffic that I get here is from folks googling the Codex Seraphinianus, about which I posted a little more than a year ago.  The post was to a flickr set that has since gone dark.  However, you can download the codex as a cbz via torrent here.  You’ll need ComicBookLover or Comical or some goddamn thing to read it.

Thank you, Inconstant Sol

I’ve been trying to reunite myself with this record, Bush Baby by Arthur Blythe, for a long time.

The Outsider, a BBC doc about Harry Partch.

It’s on YouTube in 6 parts.  Here’s part one.

Direct YT link.

HP dot com.   The American Mavericks site  has some Flash simulations of some of his instruments.  These guys worked with him alot, and care for his instruments in their instrumentarium.  (now is that a word, or what?)

A few recent aquisitions.

Foamy Lather by Ultralash.  MP3 samples at link.  Arty folk rock that incorporates electro-techno sounds in an organic way that does niether interferes with the folkiness nor brings annoying club music to mind.  It is a sad comment on our times that it’s taken civilization this long to come up with “World of Suck, ” now that Karry has it seems so obvious.  

Sings by Patty Walker.  She somehow marries the Miles/Gil Evans vibe with the Ayler/Ornette/Sun Ra vibe, and her piano playing uses alot of Hindemith/Milhaud kinda colors (in a good way).  Wikipedia, AAJ, Perfect Sound Forever.  Here’s a tune.

Ersen Post-psych almost-prog vaguely folksy rock from Turkey, 1971. Good stuff, lotsa oud ‘n’ saz, etc. Info at label’s site, order page with mp3 samples.  More info over here.  It was on when I walked into Amoeba, that’s the only reason I know about it.

Ken Vandermark special on KFJC this Tues.

Per his website.  The 5 hour show, called “Applying The Principles Of The Jazz Dialectic: An Aural History of the Vandermark 5,” will include unreleased/rare music and an interview.  Here’s KFJC’s programming info, and netcast info.  

via (via) 

Henry Brant (1913-2008) memorial linkfest.

Website.  Wikipedia.  Interviewed by Charles Amirkanian, August 2001.  Audio interview at American Mavericks.  Buy some records.

Obits: NYT; SF Chronicle;  Arts Journal;  New Music Box;