interview Jim O`Rourke

May.05, 2011

here it is… the worst interview with Jim O `Rourke ever…

done by yours truly…

unfortunatley (fortunately ?) only in swedish:

http://www.nyaupplagan.se/?p=2452

brötzmann 10tet and other activities in London!

May.03, 2011

BBC is, for a couple of days broadcasting the mighty Brötzmann Tentet from Cafe Oto in London.

Recordings were made two weeks ago and as a special bonus u can hear an interview / discussion w Ken Vandermark & Peter Brötzmann + a concert with Sonore (Brötzmann, Gustafsson & Vandermark) + an amazing solo bass concert with Kent Kessler!!!

120 minutes filled with “!!!”

but this only for a limited time…. check it out! NOW!!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010ntzn

catalytic-sound.com launch!!!

May.01, 2011

now its finally here… a bit delayed but now launched, 1st of may 2011!!!!

Musician cooperative launched: catalytic-sound.com

Peter Brotzmann, Mats Gustafsson, Paal Nilssen-Love, and Ken Vandermark have pooled creative resources to organize a unique music site- catalytic-sound.com. Their individual catalogs of music will be available online for the first time in one coordinated place, and will feature extensive material from all of their discographies, including rare and out of print recordings, as well as special items unavailable anywhere else. New pieces will be added to the site’s collection each week, and downloads of their music will be available soon. If you’re looking for music with one of these artists involved, catalytic-sound.com will be your primary resource.

www.catalytic-sound.com

brötz 10tet in london review

Apr.30, 2011

the brötzmann 70 th anniversary special tentet tour is over …. last gig in Budapest.

its been a BLAST!!!! thanx everyone involved and engaged.

Review: Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet by Geoff Winston

Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet
(Café Oto, 18th and 20th April 2011; nights 1 and 3 of the Tentet’s three-day Residency.

There is arguably no other large improvising jazz ensemble to match the Brötzmann Chicago Tentet for sheer firepower, wealth of musicianship, flair and inspiration. Bound together by shared musical imperatives, the Tentet took root in Chicago in 1997, initially as an octet, and after all these years have made it to London for the first time – and what a treat it was!

The two concerts I saw were successions of seamlessly changing musical combinations – solos, duets, trios … mass band blasts – it was all there! Each night brimmed with surprises. Per Åke Holmander’s solo tuba set on night 1 was muffled growls, breathy sonority and piercing interjections (he also played the rarely seen cimbasso with the large group). Kent Kessler’s dextrous, soft-toned bass solo spot on night 3 with its classical undertone was in sharp contrast to the preceding reed trio which had Brötzmann on alto in hot pursuit of Ken Vandermark on clarinet, all over the registers of their instruments, to be joined by Mats Gustafsson in blazing, honking homage to ‘Machine Gun’.

Joe McPhee’s presence (drawing above) was pivotal in this stellar line-up; like Brötzmann, exemplary in his contribution of poise and pacing to the maelstrom, just when it was needed, he was an anchor in the perpetual flux that is the essence of the Tentet, and perhaps its unsung hero.

The greatest revelation was the lightning speed with which the terrain changed, so adept and intuitive were the powers and skills of each player in maintaining this state of flowing elision. Charting the changes in flow of the musical combinations would have yielded a complex diagram, indeed. Dual trombones, dual drums, pairs of saxes, the bass and cello, clarinet duets, all underscored the importance of the duo, and echoed the sentiment of Ornette’s ‘Free Jazz’ double quartet of 1960.

Whether it was a concerted blasting ramp up the register by the brass, a near cacophonous interlude sounding like ‘The Rite of Spring’ gone mad, or the perfect accord of the two-man percussive force on either side of the stage, the impact was immediate and one could only marvel at the skill with which the balance was sustained throughout their lengthy sets. Brötzmann’s Hawkins-like tone broke in to harsher, poignant middle eastern phrasing in a duet with Zerang, whose hollow beats brought a spacious feel to the texture. Lonberg-Holm added an electronic dimension to his cello input, and Brötzmann’s feisty duel on tenor with Johannes Andreas Bauer’s trombone at the close, preceded the final crescendo which unleashed the full force of the Tentet’s wall of brass.

The key to the functioning of this group is, explained Brötzmann (in the earlier interview with Jez Nelson for BBC’s Jazz on 3, on night 3), “to give everybody responsibility”, and combined with the enthusiasm, respect and sheer enjoyment that each brought to the party, the sum of the parts was often close to overwhelming.

The good news is that Brötzmann hopes to bring the Tentet back, having enjoyed the three nights at Café Oto so much! It just needs another sponsor with the same vision as the Goethe-Institut.

Personnel:

Peter Brötzmann (Reeds)
Joe McPhee (Pocket Trumpet/Reeds)
Mats Gustafsson (Reeds)
Ken Vandermark (Reeds)
Paal Nilssen-Love (Drums/Percussion)
Fred Lonberg-Holm (Cello)
Per Åke Holmlander (Tuba)
Johannes Andreas Bauer (Trombone)
Michael Zerang (Drums/Percussion)
Kent Kessler (Bass)
Jeb Bishop (Trombone)

additional comments and drawings by geoff winston can be seen here:

http://londonjazz.blogspot.com/2011/04/tentet-of-drawings-of-peter-brotzmann.html

BRÖTZMANN TENTET ON TOUR!!!

Apr.22, 2011

London is done… now the rest of Europe will be taken….

large groups improvisations and some amazing solo / small groups activities….
like this spectacular Per Åke Holmlander solo, playing an Abdullah Ibrahim (!) piece:

see u out there…..

barrel fire w Gord Grdina Trio

Apr.20, 2011

the new CD w Gord Grdina Trio + Mats Gustafsson” Barrel Fire” has got shitloads of reviews lately…and a short canadian tour is coming up in june…

it will be something else….

Gord Grdina Trio with Mats Gustafsson, “Barrel Fire”

April 18, 2011

By Mike Griffin

“Barrel Fire” was recorded live in 2009 in Vancouver, a document of a fiery collaboration between the Gord Grdina Trio and Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson. Grdina’s trio consists of guitar, bass, and drums, but in this live set their music mixes elements from jazz and no wave, with a little bit of punk rock for energy and a little bit of ancient folk music tossed in for unexpectedly sharp seasoning.

Gustafsson’s acrobatic screech and bluster fit in perfectly with the Grdina Trio’s cascading and furious sounds. On “F.W.R.” Grdina’s guitar possesses a stinging, nasty tone, mixing a great, unadorned Telecaster sound with fluid, dissonant, and spectacularly fast runs. Gustafsson matches Grdina step for step, while drummer Kenton Loewen pushes the tempo relentlessly. Grdina is no mere chop-tastic player; noise and distortion lurk at the margins of his precise riffing in a way that I have not often heard among jazz guitar players. His amazing intro to “Burning Bright” segues into a headpart that owes as much to Captain Beefheart as it does to Ornette Coleman, and then Grdina yields the floor to Gustafsson for another crisp and intelligent solo. When Grdina rejoins the fray Gustafsson blazes away next to him, while bassist Tommy Babin circles around the two soloists like a wary innocent bystander hoping to avoid carnage before taking a solo of his own. It’s stirring stuff, and the band’s ability to infuse jazz with this sort of manic skronk is not something I’ve encountered much beyond bands like Ultralyd, Universal Congress of, or John Zorn during his Naked City and Painkiller era. Grdina’s willingness to hammer away on one note in true primitivist fashion is rare in a guitarist who has such deep technique, but it lends a simple and effective explosiveness to the end of “Burning Bright” that would be lost under a cloud of notes if it were played otherwise.

“229? brings sonic heat as well; drummer Loewen is given a spot to display some skill before the band launches into an idiosyncratic take on a more traditional piece. Gustafsson leads things off again with another effective solo, flying around Loewen and Babin’s sped-up walk before Grdina takes his turn after a return to the song’s head. The engines speed up, picks are shredded, fingernails torn, and the trio rides the piece to its outro in heavy fashion, before Babin gently ends things with a solo bass part. “En Shakoota” is the gem here for me, as Grdina exchanges his electric guitar for an oud, and lays down a lengthy, dust-swept, and lonesome-sounding intro. The contrast between the oud’s delicate tones to the round and spiky Telecaster is dramatic and welcome, but there is no loss in intensity here, as Grdina’s oud playing is skillful and dramatic. When the rhythm section kicks in, the effect is tremendous; it nearly forces me out of my chair still on my twentieth listen…murmured vocals, mystic and unintelligible, add to the asskicking exotic feel of it all before Gustafsson’s sax swoops overhead, majestic and suitably mournful. Title track “Barrel Fire” rocks all over the place, evoking a Minutemen-versus-King Crimson mood, complete with staggering no-wave breakdown in the middle. Impeccably recorded too – all instruments come through well in the mix, clear and representative of what must’ve gone down that night in Vancouver. All the musicians shine on this release, and I feel that I must check out more of the Grdina Trio’s work after this one.

9/10

check it out: http://www.dripaudio.com/

Barrel Fire is The Gordon Grdina Trios’ most brutally driving, raw, dynamic record to date. The collaboration between GG3 and Mats Gustafsson at the 2009 Vancouver International Jazz Festival was recorded and Barrel Fire is the first set from that night. There are few edits in order to retain the natural raw power of the original concert. The band expands and explodes through the melodic sketches with inherent interest in the raw dynamic energy of group improvisation. The group sounds at times like a freight train screaming down the tracks in the dark recesses of your city but as the Oud takes the fore ground we are reminded of the sensitive and delicate reflection in this darkness. There are moments of silence and individual exploration filled with the intensity of the search. The search to let go to what will become. The band owes as much of a debt to the energy of bands like The EX, and The Dead Kennedys as it does to the primal melodic sensibility of Albert Ayler and the sophistication of Ornette Coleman. This music is engaging and gripping, an onslaught.

The Gord Grdina Trio is based out of Vancouver, BC and has been a working touring ensemble since 2005. The Trio consists of Gord Grdina (guitar, oud), Kenton Loewen (drums) and Tommy Babin (bass). They have collaborated with many of the world’s top improviser’s such as Fredrik Ljungkvist, Eric Boeren, Wilbert De Joode, Michael Moore, Jerry Granelli, Michael Blake, Jeb Bishop, Kent Kessler, Mark Helias, Ingebrigt Haker- Flaten and Fred Longberg-Holm. They have toured throughout North America and Europe regularly since 2005.

Gordon Grdina is a guitar/oud player that is constantly reinventing himself while retaining an individual voice. Aside from the GG3 he leads the East Van Strings, Haram, and Sangha. He also records and performs regularly with Dan Mangan and The Crackling.

Kenton Loewen has been a seminal member of the Vancouver improvising and rock communities performing in such wide ranging groups as the anarchist punk band Submission Hold, art pop group Mother Mother, The Now Orchestra, Tanya Tagaq, and the Coat Cooke Trio. He is currently with Dan Mangan and is the leader/songwriter for The Crackling.

Tommy Babin started his career in Montreal playing with Jorane, Thomas Hellman, and Les Projectionnistes before moving to Vancouver in 2005. He has played with great jazz and world musicians like Daniele D’Agaro, Hamid Drake, Joel Miller, Ramachandra Borcar, and Paul Plimley. He currently leads Benzene, and Sendero Luminoso.

Mats Gustafson was born 1964 in Umeå, Northern Sweden. He is a saxplayer, improviser and composer. Mats works as a solo artist and tours internationally with Peter Brötzmann, Sonic Youth, Merzbow, Jim O´Rourke, Barry Guy, Otomo Yoshihide, Yoshimi and in working groups The Thing, Sonore, FIRE!, Gush, Boots Brown, Swedish Azz and Nash Kontroll. Mats is a member of the Barry Guy New Orchestra, the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet and the NU – ensemble. Mats has done over 1600 concerts and has appeared on at least 150 records in Europe, North America and Asia.

Press:

“…this is a stunner.” – The Province

“There is so much power behind the drum hits, so much pent-up frustration in the guitar entanglements and as usual, Gustafsson makes the sax sound like a rabid beast rather than a musical instrument. Seek this recording out.” – Beat Route

“Grdina’s guitar and oud playing acts as a good foil to Gustafsson, with Babin and drummer Kenton Loewen supplying just the high-octane rhythm section required. Thrilling stuff.” – All About Jazz

“After its initial impact, relentless fury soon becomes one-dimensional, but Grdina and his rhythm section leaven Gustafsson’s bluster and he responds, making this music for repeated listening as well as catharsis.” – The Wire

“Fast-paced heads, smoking improvisations, and a high level of interaction between everyone.” – Monsieur Délire

“…the resulting sound is as violent as the cover art.” – Pop Matters

“Free, yet focused, intense and over-the-top, this is one of heaviest discs I’ve recently reckoned with.” – Bruce Lee Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery)

“Egged on by a worshipful audience, the band rips through five pieces like a rabid dog on the attack, the musicians’ sound at times reminiscent of Naked City in intensity and of Ornette Coleman’s (original) Prime Time in harmolodic approach.” – Textura

“…from acid-toned string-tickling skitter to boring-down relentlessness…” – Paris Transatlantic Magazine

“There is freshness and vitality to the performance, tight ensemble playing, power, subtlety – what’s not to like?” – Hour

new vinyl trades… april 2011

Apr.17, 2011

up for trades NOW……

a new list of amazing vinyls… classic FMP´s and a polish free jazz bomb… and the bomb of the bomb … with young Albert Ayler….

http://matsgus.com/archives/category/vinyl/trades

email me with your trade suggestions and we make a deal…..

mats@matsgus.com

TRADES april 2011

Apr.17, 2011

… time again… NEW vinyl trades…. a bunch of classic FMPs and related such…

the first one that emails me with a good trade (preferably vinyl shaped) offer, gets the goods.

mats@matsgus.com

and hurry up… my experience is that the offers that comes in during the first 24 hours are the ones that gets the trades… but of course there is still trades available from the old published list. check the whole list:

http://matsgus.com/archives/category/vinyl/trades

some records are still available , since offers hasnt been good enough… and there are some real goodies left….

one BOMB at the end of this list…….. for trade or in this case even cash offers possible…

A CLASSIC!

GLOBE UNITY ORCHESTRA LIVE IN WUPPERTAL – 73 on FMP !

early globe unity monster! amazing music and great material. kickin ASS!!!!!!

all the major players on the european scene is on this beauty….

great shape both vinyl and cover.

TRADED!

Günter Sommers Hörmusik on FMP

if u like solo percussion, if u like Günter Sommer… this is the ONE to get!!!

STILL AVAILABLE….

nothing else but a FMP bomb… a BRÖTZ bomb:

OPENED BUT HARDLY TOUCHED on FMP

killin unit with Harry Miller on bass and Louis Moholo on drums with Brötzmann. This is really one of the all time best in the Brötzmanns discography. it CURES everything!

and pretty freakin rare these days. first one with a good trade offer gets it…. amazing…. amazing music!

and amazing design by Brötzmann. it doesnt get better than this!!!
TRADED!!!

a classic sven åke johansson item…..

…über ursache und wirkung… on FMP S

just the line up… the cream of the european scene. lovens beating the shit outa the music.

all Johansson vinyls is to get… and this one is one of the best! ( idylle und catastrophen on Po Torch is the classic of the classics…. masterpiece of european free improvisation ). rare! and great music…. mint condition….

STILL AVAILABLE!

a polish free jazz bomb:

WLODZIMIERZ NAHORNY TRIO on muza / polish jazz

this record…. it took me years to find a 2nd copy…. its a free jazz monster from 1967!

Wlodzimierz on alto sax and piano simply just ROCKIN around. timeless free jazz with insane powers and energy.

a personal favourite! a REAL FIND! the 1st pressing is the one to get… here it IS!!!!!!

vinyl in good condition but cover w taped seams. highly recomended!!!

TRADED…..

ok, here it is…. the CLASSIC document of free improvised ensemble playing:
GLOBE UNITY – IMPROVISATIONS!!! on Japo records

they are all playing on this one… derek, peter b , peter k, mangelsdorf, lovens…

the whole freakin european scene is here and the music is TOTALLY FREAKIN GREAT!!!!

a record collection is not complete without this one… seriously….

this is really the SHIT! the best Globe unity record ? yes it is….

STILL AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

for the 2nd time in this list of trades. a completely great early 7″ vinyl document of Brötzmann & Kowald. The earliest released …. recorded in 1965. first time on vinyl…. limited edition….

all you need……

TRADED…….

ok… another FMP bomb!!!! 7″ vinyl … the ULTIMATE 7″ document!

one of my TOP 3 fav releases in the 7″ format… the classic brötzmann trio playing Brecht´s and Eisler´s

EINHEITSFRONTLIED on FMP S

I dont know if music gets any better than this…. sorry about that….

vinyl in great condition but cover teared at the bottom… but completey ready to put in your jukebox right away!!! a MUST HAVE! a freakin MUST HAVE!!!!!!

TRADED………

Giorgio Gaslini & Jean – Luc Ponty

a very surprsing meeting… and really fantastic!!!

this is the rare 2 nd pressing of this italian jewel….. and check the line up:
Tony Oxley (!!!) Steve Lacy (!!!) and Paul Rutherford (!!!) and a whole bunch of like minded.

this music is blowing my hair and mind away every time… even if there is violin on it….;))

TRADED……..

a true masterpiece of early free scandinavian music. CLASSIC!!!

SART w the Jan Garbarek group on ECM… recorded 1971… this a really amazing piece of music. I kid you not!

they are all RIPPING on this one… yes, I know it´s ECM…. but… believe me… this is GOOOOOD!!!!

STILL AVAILABLE!!!!

CLUB JAZZ 2 , w Staffan Abeleen group and Sten Öberg group.

The Swedish Radio was releasing a serie of vinyls in the late 60´s… with ass kickin swedish jazz and free jazz… it is worth having them all. a very very valuable collection of GREAT music and great sound as well!

this one is highly sought after because of the Abeleen/ Färnlöf group ( which is great! ) but the real treasure is to find on the B – side with the MIGHTY Lars Göran Ulander on reeeds w the great Sten Öberg on drums!

totally KILLIN music! free jazz from Umeå, Sweden…. this one is amazing!

great condition of vinyl and cover.

STILL AVAILABLE!

CLUB JAZZ 7 w the Red Mitchell kvartett & Jazz i Uppsala

another in the same serie as the above. and a highly interesting one.

seriously —- you gotta have this whole serie… its an amazing document of swedish creative music.

a young Lennart Åberg playing wonderfully and KICKIN! rare to find now. and in great condition.

STILL AVAILABLE!

another amazing swedish anthology!!!

Det nyJAZZte från Göteborg w Mount Everest a.o. on Caprice records

amazing tracks by the mighty Mount Everest Trio…. one of the best swedish jazz units fuckin ever!!!! some hip shit! I shit you not! this is just GREAT!

and the other tracks are really interesting as well… early Opposite Corner w legend Gunnar Lindgren on tenor sax , early Mwendo Dawa and the legendary experimental Soffgruppen ripping flesh….

STILL AVAILABLE!!!!

and finally THE BOMB!!!!!

ALBERT AYLER – SOMETHING DIFFERENT !!!!!! on BIRD NOTES BNLP1

the very 1 st pressing!!!!

the first Ayler Lp … in great condition. the rare white label release…. only 200 made in total including the white and the green label.

Torbjörn Hultkrantz and Sune Spångberg playing with and behind the young Albert Ayler in Stockholm 1962… recorded by Bengt Frippe Nordström. THIS RECORD HAS IT ALL!

The combination of Sonny Rollins related material and the freer jazz Ayler was aiming at is just MINDBLOWING!

you never see the 1 st pressing these days…..

TRADED AND GONE…..

and for this one we consider not only trades but also bid offers….

Good Luck!

…. one piece of vinyls per day keeps all the doctors away……..