Pheeroan akLaff believes in drums first, rather than last. He can drive an ensemble forward with the machine-gun attack of his snare and the rolling thunder of his bass and toms, compounding and enriching the music with dense polyrhythms, or using the metallic shimmer of his cymbals to surmount it all with a luminous, celebratoryContinue reading “Pheeroan akLaff”
Genre Archives
Olivia Block
FULL-TEXT AVAILABLE IN PRINT EDITION ONLY The sound of a clarinet passage emerges from a quiet section and is punctuated by a series of minute electronic tones. Accompanying the clarinet is a recording of the wind, but the sound is more than just that of a rush of wind; it is the sound ofContinue reading “Olivia Block”
Cage And Duchamp’s Reunion
FULL-TEXT AVAILABLE IN PRINT EDITION ONLY On the periphery of the dimly lit stage of Toronto’s Ryerson Theatre, four musicians are setting up musical instruments, laptops, and various musical gadgets in preparation for the evening’s all-night performance. Audio cables snake across the stage to converge in the centre, where a technician is plugging them intoContinue reading “Cage And Duchamp’s Reunion”
Spring 2013
ReR Megacorp.
If there were ever an ironic name for a record label, it is ReR Megacorp. The label originally consisted of two separate operations: Re Records and Recommended records. These labels were set up in 1978 by the English avant-rock group Art Bears (formerly Henry Cow) and drummer Chris Cutler, out of dissatisfaction with the musicContinue reading “ReR Megacorp.”
Shackle. Shackle Stick and Shackle Multiplayer Music Game.
Dutch duo Shackle has just released their USB music stick, which impresses with its high production values and design, typical of mainstream artists—Lady Gaga, for example, has produced USBs including video, music, and other enriched media. The Shackle Stick features audio and video of the duo—Anne La Berge on flute and electronics and Robert vanContinue reading “Shackle. Shackle Stick and Shackle Multiplayer Music Game.”
Pharoah Sanders. In The Beginning: 1963–1964.
This four-CD set features unreleased recordings of tenor horn player Pharoah Sanders as he plays sets with Paul Bley and Don Cherry, plus two sets of Sanders with Sun Ra at Judson Hall, December 30 and New Year’s Eve, 1964. Also included in this set are recorded interviews with the players, in which Sanders recallsContinue reading “Pharoah Sanders. In The Beginning: 1963–1964.”
Pauline Oliveros’ Eightieth Birthday Releases
Pauline Oliveros. Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961–1970. Important Records IMPREC352. Pauline Oliveros. Primordial / Lift. Taiga Records 22. Deep Listening Band. Octagonal Polyphony. Important Records IMPREC358. Deep Listening Band. Great Howl at Town Haul. Important Records IMPREC359. Deep Listening Band. Needle Drop Jungle. Taiga Records 21. There has been a flurry of activity aroundContinue reading “Pauline Oliveros’ Eightieth Birthday Releases”
Joe Morris Quartet. Graffiti in Two Parts.
Graffiti in Two Parts documents an exceptional moment in improvised music—a one-time performance by a loosely assembled band in 1985. In 1981 Boston guitarist Joe Morris met Lowell Davidson, an elusive figure in the history of free jazz, who had recorded a single CD as a pianist for the ESP label in 1965. The youthfulContinue reading “Joe Morris Quartet. Graffiti in Two Parts.”
Aaron Lumley. Wilderness.
Aaron Lumley is a string bassist who recently moved to Montreal after some years of activity in the Toronto improvising community. Wilderness presents eight highly organic solo improvisations. In an accompanying note, Lumley compares his approach to wandering off a forest path for the chance to encounter moments of sudden and unexpected beauty. There’s aContinue reading “Aaron Lumley. Wilderness.”