From: Zorn List Digest Sent: Thursday, December 04, 1997 10:01 PM To: zorn-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: Zorn List Digest V2 #186 Zorn List Digest Thursday, December 4 1997 Volume 02 : Number 186 In this issue: - Jimmy O'Rourke Re: kazue sawai Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral CD clarification Re: guitar albums Re: guitar albums Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Re: CD clarification Re: Down Home . . . Re: Colossal Sax solo guitar Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Re: solo guitar Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Re: Jim O'Rourke Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Re: Cobra Signals Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral The Old Office, the new room at the Knit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 12:45:15 -0500 (EST) From: Brent Burton Subject: Jimmy O'Rourke On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Steve Smith wrote: > I'm very much taken with Jim O'Rourke's "Remove the Need" (Extreme)... I > haven't heard his new album on Drag City but I have read great things about > it. "bad timing" isn't technically a solo guitar album, though it is highly recommendable. o'rourke augments his fahey-esque playing on this album with horns, pedal steel, organ and drums. certainly his most accessible record yet and sonically closest to his fahey cover which closed gastr del sol's recent "upgrade and afterlife". b - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 09:44:31 -0800 (PST) From: SUGAR in their vitamins? Subject: Re: kazue sawai On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, gda wrote: > i saw the japanese koto ensemble "kazue sawai" > a few years ago, but have never been able to > find any recordings here in europe. i was under the impression that Kazue Sawai was one person, a female koto player. is this something else? well, the Sawai i'm thinking of has three discs released that i know of: The Wind Is Calling Me Outside (CD, ALM Records: ALM 37) Ta-Wa-Go (CD, God Mountain: GM 017) Three Pieces/Work of Koto (CD, My Record: MY 3) you can order these from Forced Exposure. http://www.forcedexposure.com/ hasta. Yes. Beautiful, wonderful nature. Hear it sing to us: *snap* Yes. natURE. - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 10:41:14 -0700 From: john shiurba Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral > What are your favorite solo guitar albums? I need more. here's some of mine: Top Ten Derek Bailey (roughly in order:) Notes, Incus Taps, Lot 74, Aida, Diverso n2, Lace, Solo Guitar v 1 &2, Domestic & Public Pieces Keith Rowe-A Dimension of Perfectly Ordinary Reality Fred Frith- Guitar Solos Eugene Chadbourne- Solo V 1 &2 Davey Williams- Criminal Pursuits Henry Kaiser-Outside Pleasure, It's a Wonderful Life Zorn (Ribot)-Book of Heads Roger Smith-Unexpected Turns also-- Brian Ferneyhough's Kurze Schatten 2 for solo guitar is incredible-- fully notated hyper-complex music for nylon string guitar (recorded recently by magnus anderson on Montaigne) certainly i've forgotten something... - -- shiurba@sfo.com http://www.sfo.com/~shiurba - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 13:38:42 -0500 From: Steve Smith Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Joseph Zitt wrote: > ...which reminds me to recommend Robert Fripp's albums of Frippertronics > and soundscapes. I'm not familiar with his more recent solo work (I like > it, just haven't gotten the albums) so I don't know which is the best > intro. Hmmm. I havn't heard the most recent Fripp solo release, but of all of the previous ones, "That Which Passes" is both the disc where Fripp really manages to sound like he's gained enough control of his digital rig to be more clearly heard as Fripp. Does that make any sense? What I mean is that earlier soundscape releases didn't have as much of Fripp's stamp as a "composer" on them, whereas "That Which Passes" sounds most distinctly like Fripp. The album is also a rumination of the death of his mother, so it's incredibly poignant as well. But I still think I like the old twin Revox analogue glory of Frippertronics better, just as I preferred Fripp's old crunched analog Les Paul through a fuzzbox sound more than his new digital replication of same. Steve Smith ssmith36@sprynet.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 97 18:52:00 PST From: Matt Walsh Subject: CD clarification I was browsing a CD store in my area, when I stumbled upon a CD in the store's glass case (where they store box sets/rare items) with a sticker saying "With members of Ruins & Omoide Hatoba" on it. It was white with 2 red stripe-ish patterns going down the middle. There was no writing on the cover that I could see. I was in a hurry to get back to work, so I didn't ask to see it. By this description, does anyone know what this is? If so, and if you've heard it, could you give me a description/reccomendation? Sounds intriquing, and from what I remember, not terribly expensive. If you decide to send your reply to the list, could you CC me as well, I'm REALLY far behind on my readings for this list. I just finished reading #159, and I think it's at #185 now. What made everyone so talkative all of a sudden?... I missed getting involved in some good conversation... damn job! Thanks, Matt Walsh mattw@smginc.com Currently listening to: Ornette Coleman - "Beauty Is A Rare Thing" (disc 5) - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 18:39:21 -0500 From: Tom Pratt Subject: Re: guitar albums IOUaLive1 wrote: > > In a message dated 97-12-04 04:28:05 EST, you write: > > > From: Tom Pratt > > Subject: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral > > > > What are your favorite solo guitar albums? I need more. > > I just want to second Fred Frith's "Guitar Solos", released on cd by ESD. > AMazing what someone was thinking to do with an electric guitar back in 1974. > I think he was the first person who put a pickup at the other end of the neck, > by the nut. he had that pickups' output going through one volume pedal, and > the normal pickup through another, and when he was playing he could bring each > one in and out with the respective volume pedals... because when you fret a > note or chords on the guitar, there are sounds "behind" your fretting hand > (between your fretting hand and the nut) that are produced, and this way he > could make them audible when he wanted. Maybe this is old news to you, but to > me this is ingenius!! He also made good use of alligator clips, foil, etc. > On the other end of the spectrum (non avant-garde) I like Tuck Andress' > "Reckless Precision". > Jody I really love Frith's 'Guitar Solos' but my favorite solo guitar thing I've ever heard from Frith was the radio broadcast of the Zorn/Frith duo show at the Festival Actuelles (sp?) in Victoriaville (Canada) in '88 when Frith and Zorn both played solo pieces after their collective frenzies. Frith's was INCREDIBLE! Anybody else heard this? -Tom Pratt - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 18:39:21 -0500 From: Tom Pratt Subject: Re: guitar albums IOUaLive1 wrote: > > In a message dated 97-12-04 04:28:05 EST, you write: > > > From: Tom Pratt > > Subject: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral > > > > What are your favorite solo guitar albums? I need more. > > I just want to second Fred Frith's "Guitar Solos", released on cd by ESD. > AMazing what someone was thinking to do with an electric guitar back in 1974. > I think he was the first person who put a pickup at the other end of the neck, > by the nut. he had that pickups' output going through one volume pedal, and > the normal pickup through another, and when he was playing he could bring each > one in and out with the respective volume pedals... because when you fret a > note or chords on the guitar, there are sounds "behind" your fretting hand > (between your fretting hand and the nut) that are produced, and this way he > could make them audible when he wanted. Maybe this is old news to you, but to > me this is ingenius!! He also made good use of alligator clips, foil, etc. > On the other end of the spectrum (non avant-garde) I like Tuck Andress' > "Reckless Precision". > Jody I really love Frith's 'Guitar Solos' but my favorite solo guitar thing I've ever heard from Frith was the radio broadcast of the Zorn/Frith duo show at the Festival Actuelles (sp?) in Victoriaville (Canada) in '88 when Frith and Zorn both played solo pieces after their collective frenzies. Frith's was INCREDIBLE! Anybody else heard this? -Tom Pratt - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:29:38 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Hamilton Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Joseph Zitt wrote: > ...which reminds me to recommend Robert Fripp's albums of Frippertronics > and soundscapes. I'm not familiar with his more recent solo work (I like > it, just haven't gotten the albums) so I don't know which is the best > intro. I second this recommendation. _1999 Soundscapes - Live in Argentina_ is a personal favorite, but all the recent ones I've heard are quite good, and closer to Jim O'Rourke's _Remove the Need_ style (in effect, not technique) than to the King Crimson sound(s) most people associate with Fripp. Another source of excellent solo guitar is Hans Reichel, who specializes in uniquely modified guitars and often includes diagrams of the instruments in the sleevenotes. His style is somewhere between Derek Bailey and John Fahey. Two good albums are _The Death of the Rare Bird Ymir_ and _Bonobo Beach_, conveniently packaged on one disc by FMP. (His recordings on the dachsophone, an instrument of his own invention nothing like a guitar, are also well worth checking out.) And finally, what about John Fahey? I've been mightily impressed by what I've heard of his work, although I don't know enough to recommend specific albums. Chris Hamilton - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 18:36:19 -0800 (PST) From: SUGAR in their vitamins? Subject: Re: CD clarification On Thu, 4 Dec 1997, Matt Walsh wrote: > I was browsing a CD store in my area, when I stumbled upon a CD in the > store's glass case (where they store box sets/rare items) with a sticker > saying "With members of Ruins & Omoide Hatoba" on it. It was white with 2 > red stripe-ish patterns going down the middle. There was no writing on > the cover that I could see. I was in a hurry to get back to work, so I > didn't ask to see it. sounds like Aka-ten ("red heaven") a project between Yoshida (Ruins) and Tsuyama (Omoide). i've seen it described as "fictional traditional Japanese tunes" and that's probably apt. some improvisation and monkeying around is involved as well. hasta. np: Uzjsem Doma "Hollywood" Yes. Beautiful, wonderful nature. Hear it sing to us: *snap* Yes. natURE. - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:38:51 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Hamilton Subject: Re: Down Home . . . Thanks to all who participated in the spirited thread on this record. I'm still not sure whether I'll pick it up, but I can now make a more informed gamble. Chris Hamilton - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:36:23 -0500 (EST) From: Christopher Hamilton Subject: Re: Colossal Sax On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, David Slusser wrote: > Has this been torn apart on the zorn-list yet? I don't recommend it to list > subscribers. I agree the Konitz/Zorn track is nothing special, but I think the free duet between Zorn and Joe Chambers is really good (but maybe not worth the 2-CD price if you're not into the other featured players). It's a fun record. Chris Hamilton - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 22:05:40 -0500 From: Tom Pratt Subject: solo guitar So there's been lots of response to my solo guitar request. Many of the ones recommended I already have (Bailey, Frith, Kaiser, Ducret, Chadbourne, etc.) and quite a few I don't (Turner, O'Rourke, Sharrock, etc). I would just like to add my two cents on a few that haven't been mentioned. I love Elliott Sharp's solo fretless guitar album 'Sferics' dedicated to Sonny Sharrock. Fretless guitar makes for some pretty trancy stuff. I'd say this album has a definite Zorn influence in terms of the block structure. Great album! You all might like Masayuki Takayanagi as well. I know Henry Kaiser is a big fan. His solo album is called 'Inanimate Nature'. Forced Exposure says this: "A 1990 solo performance for prepared table-top guitar. Great, dense, heavy washes of sound that don't necessarily sound real guitar-like". Masayuki has done some great improv with New Direction including bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa and a percussionist whose name I can't remember. Finally, Miroslav Tadic's 'Window Mirror' is quite impressive! Adam Good, if you haven't heard this, you are missing out big time! solo nylon-string... awesome! Tom Pratt - - ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 22:35:44 -0800 From: "Schwitterz" Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral >I'm hearing some especially lovely playing from Eugene Chadbourne, so I hope that >someone who knows more about his output can talk about his solo recordings, >of which I have none. > >Steve Smith STRINGS on Intakt is 70+ minutes of especially lovely playing sans vocals. Highly recommended. s~Z - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 13:07:32 +0900 From: Akira Saito Subject: Re: solo guitar Tom Pratt wrote: >You all might like Masayuki Takayanagi as well. I know Henry Kaiser is a >big fan. His solo album is called 'Inanimate Nature'. Forced Exposure >says this: "A 1990 solo performance for prepared table-top guitar. >Great, dense, heavy washes of sound that don't necessarily sound real >guitar-like". Masayuki has done some great improv with New Direction >including bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa and a percussionist whose name I >can't remember. Is Jojo (Takayanagi's nickname) well-known in America or Europe? Although I do not have this album, I think the percussionist is Yoshi Toyozumi. This October, he played with Misha Mengelberg here in Tokyo. Jojo thought his technique of guiter to Kazumi Watanabe, one of the top-guiterists in Japan. Akira Saito - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 20:38:42 -0800 From: "Schwitterz" Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral > And finally, what about John Fahey? I've been mightily impressed by >what I've heard of his work, although I don't know enough to recommend >specific albums. > >Chris Hamilton Back in 1975 I went to a Guitar Summit at UCLA's Royce Hall. John Fahey was the opening act. He came onstage, walked up to the microphone, and said, "I prepared 90 minutes of music for this performance, but they told me I can only play for 45 minutes, so this is going to be a little faster than I would normally play." Then he proceeded to play his whole 90 minute program double-speed. It was stunning. Upon completion, he put away his guitar, shrugged his shoulders and walked off stage. s~Z - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 23:50:56 -0500 From: Valkwitch Subject: Re: Jim O'Rourke > > I'm very much taken with Jim O'Rourke's "Remove the Need" (Extreme)... I > > haven't heard his new album on Drag City but I have read great things about > > it. > > "bad timing" isn't technically a solo guitar album, though it is highly > recommendable. o'rourke augments his fahey-esque playing on this album > with horns, pedal steel, organ and drums. certainly his most accessible > record yet and sonically closest to his fahey cover which closed gastr del > sol's recent "upgrade and afterlife". yes, i just picked this up today, and its pretty fahey-esque and very good even though i only have fahey's "city of refuge". its unlike "remove the need" or much of his early recordings. i also recently picked up "third straight day made public" which is o'rourke & eddie prevost(AMM) which i haven't really had a chance to listen much of yet. any thoughts on loren mazzacane-connors? - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 15:40:06 +0900 From: Akira Saito Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Tom Pratt wrote: > What are your favorite solo guitar albums? I need more. I like Duck Baker's "Spinning Song", in which he plays Herbie Nichols' tunes. But, I forgot that label... This was released last year. Akira Saito - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 00:18:33 -0500 From: Valkwitch Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral Schwitterz wrote: > > > And finally, what about John Fahey? I've been mightily impressed by > >what I've heard of his work, although I don't know enough to recommend > >specific albums. > > > >Chris Hamilton > > Back in 1975 I went to a Guitar Summit at UCLA's Royce Hall. John Fahey was > the opening act. He came onstage, walked up to the microphone, and said, "I > prepared 90 minutes of music for this performance, but they told me I can > only play for 45 minutes, so this is going to be a little faster than I > would normally play." Then he proceeded to play his whole 90 minute program > double-speed. It was stunning. Upon completion, he put away his guitar, > shrugged his shoulders and walked off stage. > > s~Z > wow! this sounds really interesting...gee in 1975 i was only 1 year old... - - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 05 Dec 1997 00:51:58 -0600 From: Joseph Zitt Subject: Re: Cobra Signals Dgasque wrote: > Interesting- I kind of imagined it as similar to the Darazj (sp?) method of > hand signaling with choirs. What is this method? Sounds intriguing... - -- - ---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------1---------- |||/ Joseph Zitt ===== jzitt@humansystems.com ===== Human Systems \||| ||/ Maryland? = <*> SILENCE: The John Cage Mailing List <*> = ecto \|| |/ http://www.realtime.net/~jzitt ====== Comma: Voices of New Music \| - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 21:56:07 -0800 From: "Schwitterz" Subject: Re: solo guitar & ethnic orchestral - -----Original Message----- From: Valkwitch > wow! this sounds really interesting...gee in 1975 i was only 1 year >old... Uh...oh yeah...my Daddy took me...I sat in his lap...a mere toddler... s!Z - - ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 01:57:32 -0500 From: Steve Smith Subject: The Old Office, the new room at the Knit So I went to the opening night party at the Knitting Factory for the new room, the "Old Office," so called because it's the old office (i.e., where I used to spend my days). Ladies and germs, you're gonna think I work for THEM again, but so help me I like this new room. It's small, but it's cozy and has ambiance (red velvet and exposed brick, and comfortable chairs, and a booth folks are gonna fight over), very much unlike the Alterknit Theater. It's gonna be a very nice place to hear music cheap ($5!). You may have caught my earlier post which mentioned that the Knit had printed the wrong dates for Tim Berne. Here's the real schedule for the next two months in the new room, which includes some nice surprises. Note that John Medeski has bailed on his previously announced week. Dec. 3-7 Marc Ribot's Los Cubanos Postisos Dec. 10-14 Michael Blake Dec. 17-20 Tim Berne's Bloodcount, 21 Tim Berne's Paraphrase Dec. 26-28 Mario Pavone Jan. 1-4 Joseph Bowie's Defunkt Jazz Quartet Jan. 7-11 Pachora (Chris Speed, Jim Black, Brad Shepik, Skuli Sverrisson) Jan 14-15 Ben Perowsky (of Lost Tribe - this band also features Chris Speed) Jan 16-17 Fred Frith solo Jan 21-25 Bobby Previte's Latin for Travelers Jan 28-Feb 1 Ned Rothenberg and friends Steve Smith ssmith36@sprynet.com - - ------------------------------ End of Zorn List Digest V2 #186 ******************************* To unsubscribe from zorn-list-digest, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe zorn-list-digest" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "zorn-list-digest" in the commands above with "zorn-list". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.xmission.com, in pub/lists/zorn-list/archive. These are organized by date.