expectations KEITH JARRETT

so funny this is I've actually owned this LP twice. back in college when I was kinda a jazz snob (and hated rock music...haha) then eventually sold it at some point I think before when I moved away from Indiana. found it used a few months ago real cheap and decided to buy it again. and randomly I keep finding myself coming back to this one often.

this was recorded and released in 1972 right after Jarrett's stint in Miles Davis' electric band. and sorta features the birth of his american quintet (Jarrett, Charlie Haden, Dewey Redman and Paul Motian) plus a couple guests Sam Brown on guitar and Airto Moreira on percussion as well as large string and brass sections. there is a wealth of material here that spans all kinds of genre expectations (i'm guessing the title was kinda a play on jazz criticism at the time). from the beautiful string and piano opener "Visions" to the latin funk of "Common Mama" to the rock tinged "The Magician in You" and on and on including the amazing 17 minute "Nomad" which runs the gamut of jazz and features a lot of great sorta free jazz playing. I even love the tracks when Jarrett switches to soprano sax and duels with Dewey Redman on tenor, even though most critics would tend to pan Jarrett's soprano playing. throughout though you'll only find Jarrett playing piano and a little organ...at this point I think he's forsaken electric keyboards which he began to hate from playing with Miles' electric group.

all in all this is a stellar jazz record that kinda has it all, from free playing to straight ahead soul jazz and all in between. it's not mindblowing by any means but quite refreshing and holds up amazingly well compared to a lot of 70's jazz. listen to it here.

trancfer KLAUS SCHULZE

this is the other Klaus Schulze LP i picked up at Breakaway Records the other day. and it's a nice compliment to "Irrlicht" in that this one, "Trancefer" was released 10 years later in 1981 (also by Brain Records) and was the first Schulze album to feature digital recording and mixing.

this LP is a bit different from "Irrlicht" in that it features other musicians as well: percussion from Michael Shrieve and Cello by Wolfgang Tiepold. using primarily analog synthesizers through digital equipment gives it a different overall feel and ten years later we find Schulze more interested in sci-fi than kosmische. tons of arpeggiated synths float throughout with steady pulsing hi-hats and percussion. less space music and more sci-fi thriller. this is a few years after he did the soundtrack to Dune after all. and the B-side "Silent Running" is based on a recent sci-fi film of the same name starring Bruce Dern.

this kinda brings to mind how a lot of the earlier 70's/80's synth/space music seemed more foreboding and sinister. i mean we were in the beginning of the Cold War and Space Race and things seemed more threatening since space was such an unknown. i find it interested to see how a lot of this earlier music influenced a lot of current synth explorers yet the modern take on it is more etheral and lacks a lot of the dramatic feeling of the earlier stuff...

regardless this is yet another wonderful Schulze album, maybe not as mindblowing as "Irrlicht" but still highly enjoyable. listen to it here.

irrlicht KLAUS SCHULZE

occasionally i'll stop by Breakaway Records here in austin. though they tend to focus on rare soul/R&B and old 45's you can still find a wide variety of great vinyl. and on even better occasions like the other day I stumbled upon two really amazing original Klaus Schulze LP's and Can's "I Want More" 45 12" single. quite a score indeed.

"Irrlicht," released on Brain Records back in 1971 was his very first solo LP (the same year Tangerine Dream (with Schulze on drums) released "Electronic Meditations"). yes you could draw many parallels between the two LP's, and both hold up amazingly well over time, but Schulze's "Irrlicht" (translates as "erring light") is a real monster. Schulze was originally known as a drummer and founding member of Ash Ra Tempel and then went on to play with Tangerine Dream but this is the first solo LP and would kinda pave the way for the work for which he is most commonly known.

what's even more appealing and baffling about this particular LP is that it features no synthesizers whatsoever! All sounds are produced from organs, oscillators and electronically processed orchestral passages. the LP starts with a very intense and full on drone but slowly builds up the drama with grandiose organ chords and then really starts blowing you away with the phasing effects which at times sound almost Steve Reich-esque. it can be a bit dramatic at times but totally mindblowing all the same. unrelenting, pulsating, beautiful space music. highly highly recommended! Listen to it here.

the other side FRODE GJERSTAD TRIO

so incredibly excited to see the Frode Gjerstad Trio tonight in Austin at the Carousel Lounge (in my neighborhood!!). the show is being put on by one of my favorite non-profit austin organizations Epistrophy Arts. A big thanks to PG and Epistrophy Arts once again for bringing more amazing free jazz to Austin. Frode tonight will be joined by the one and only Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and Jon Rune Strom on bass.

Gjerstad has been a fixture on the European free jazz scene for 30 years playing with so many amazing people like John Stevens, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Evan Parker and more.

to get a little taste here is a trio album from 2000 featuring the amazing duo of William Parker on bass and Hamid Drake on drums. great stuff. can't wait for this evening! Listen to it here!

...and I await the resurrction of the pedal steel guitar SUSAN ALCORN

i've wanted to post this LP for a while now but keep forgetting. it's truly a thing of beauty from the music to the absolutely stunning LP gatefold artwork. this was released way back when in 2006 by the always wonderful Olde English Spelling Bee. i'm still surprised this hasn't gotten much attention to this day.

this LP was Alcorn's 5th solo LP, and I haven't heard much from her recording-wise since. I saw her perform in various improv groupings at the No Idea Festival here in Austin a few years ago. but unfortunately have never seen her solo. considering she makes a living playing mostly country & western gigs is a testament to her very different solo music and how unique and heartfelt it is.

about this LP in particular....Alcorn talks in the liner notes about how a lot of this music was inspired by hearing Olivier Messiaen's "Et Exspecto Resurrectionum Mortuorum" while she was driving down the freeway in Houston. the track "and I await...." even shares the first three notes with said Messiaen piece. her playing on that track and throughout the entire album shows a sense of Messiaen's tonal cluster floating chords mixed with a more contemporary free-improv aesthetic. the music moves sometimes at a very slow pace, but patience is rewarded greatly throughout the LP.

this is great improv music and exceptionally beautiful and moving. Alcorn turns the pedal steel into a much richer instrument than just country & western music. physical LP copies still exist at Mimaroglu and I highly recommend getting one because the artwork adds a whole other dimension to the music. listen to it here and then go buy one!

last vacuum demos vol. 1 OUTER SPACE

just got home from work and was so stoked to find this LP waiting at the door for me -- luckily it wasn't warped (considering it's been so goddamn hot here in Austin). listening to it now and it sounds so great on vinyl. from john elliot himself:

“the first in what hopefully could be a long line of low run vinyl documenting underground outsider music, "Last Vacuum Demos" are essentially volumes of previously released low run cassette jams w/unreleased recordings from the sessions. Tracks from the c60 series a while back and the unreleased material from that. Jeff Hatfield on his Moog and John Elliott on various synthesizers and electronics. Clouded out, space music..if you like "Lightyear Demonstrations" or "Pyramids on Mars" era Outer Space styles, you will surely enjoy this album. Limited to 200 hand-numbered, hand stamped, white label, "no test press, just bust" lps in thick recycled chipboard jackets. No repress for any of the upcoming ltd series lps. LPs from Watchword, Headboggle, Lilypad, and more coming later.”

if you like this kind of synth exploration hurry up and get a copy here at Mimaroglu. they still have copies available. Experimedia is sold out (but is still a great place to find small run limited stuff like this and lots of great experimental music). Get it quick it's gonna be gone in a heartbeat!!

for a little taste of similar sounds to this LP check out Outer Space -- Pyramids on Mars


here

this was part of a trio of Outer Space C60 cassettes that also included "Eastern Veil" & "Timespace Projection." completely essential listening.

an empty bliss beyond this world THE CARETAKER

i discovered this record via blogs myself. i kept seeing it at some really great blogs (Dayvan Zombear among others) that I frequent and eventually took a chance on it. The Caretaker is one James Leyland Kirby who has been around for a while under the moniker V/VM doing all sorts of electronic mash-up and sound collage work throughout the late 90's and early 2000's. Kirby created his alter ego The Caretaker throughout this entire time with his first album in 1999. he's been well know in the UK and Europe for some time now but is just kinda getting attention here in the US. supposedly The Caretaker project was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in Kubrick's "The Shining." this is especially apt once you listen to his music.

honestly listening to this record can make you feel like you're in the middle of a 50's black and white movie. kirby takes old recordings of random classical/orchestral/big band music that always seems oddly familiar but completely new and piles on effects...and not noisy, bombastic effects....simple, lush, unobtrusive effects. a little delay here, a little static to make it hazier here. the record is at once completely beautiful but in that sorta archaic, romantic vision of a lost love or lost time. and even sonically sometimes it sounds like it's coming from an old victrola, the actual sound has this dusty and forgotten feel to it.

regardless of my attempts to sound erudite and explain all this. the LP is incredible. so hautingly beautiful. when this LP is playing it's hard to ignore it and that is a great compliment. very highly recommended! get it here.