MEV – United Patchwork (Horo Records ‎– HDP 15-16 / 2LP-1978)

Label: Horo Records ‎– HDP 15-16

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold cover / Country: Italy / Released: 1978

Style: Experimental, Free Improvisation

Recorded Rome, November 15 and 16, 1977, Mama Dog Studio.

Antonio Ortolan / art direction

Sandro Lodolo / cover art

Maria Tereza Tannozzini / cover design

Raul Matta / graphic design

Aldo Sinesio / producer

Gianni Gualberto / assistant producer

Raimondo Caruana / recording engineer

Joachim-Ernst Berendt / liner notes

Matrix / Runout (Runout Area Side A): HDP 15-16 - 2 A

Matrix / Runout (Runout Area Side B): HDP 15-16 - 2 2

Matrix / Runout (Runout Area Side C): HDP 15-16 - 2 3

Matrix / Runout (Runout Area Side D): HDP 15-16 - 2 4

side 1:

A  -  Via Della Luce  (Richard Teitelbaum) ............................................................... 23:24

side 2:

B1 - Fox  (Steve Lacy) .............................................................................................. 9:43

B2 - Cross Over One  (Karl Berger) .......................................................................... 2:25

B3 - Slugging Rocks  (Garrett List) ........................................................................... 6:48

side 3:

C1 - Psalm  (Alvin Curran) ...................................................................................... 14:07

C2 - What Is Freedom?  (Frederic Rzewski) ............................................................. 5:25

side 4:

D1 - Dewline  (Steve Lacy) ....................................................................................... 7:54

D2 - Cross Over Two  (Karl Berger) .......................................................................... 3:14

D3 - Cross Over Three  (Karl Berger) ....................................................................... 3:06

D4 - Sea Line  (Steve Lacy) ...................................................................................... 5:25

Musicians:

Frederic Rzewski – piano, electric piano, composer

Alvin Curran – synthesizer, piano, vocal, flugelhorn, composer

Richard Teitelbaum – synthesizer, shells, composer

Karl Berger – vibraphone, piano, electric piano, melodeon, composer

Steve Lacy – soprano saxophone, composer

Garrett List – trombone, composer

One of the most mythical experimental groups of all time, Musica Elettronica Viva was formed in 1966 by a group of American composers in Rome, its nucleus comprised of pianist Frederic Rzewski, sound improviser Alvin Curran, and the improvisatory keyboardist Richard Teitelbaum. Taking cues from John Cage and David Tudor, MEV employed open, limitless structures, using found instruments, toys, a homemade synthesizer, and the first Moog to reach mainland Europe. Improv and critical listening practices aimed to liberate listeners from the constraints of bourgeois capitalism and as their sound evolved, forms of Jewish mysticism and surrealist automaticism pointed to transcendent potential.

An abortive US tour in 1970 split MEV into three units, but the Kabbalistic Dixieland band later reformed with Rzewski, Curran, and Teitelbaum joined by saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonist Garrett List, and keyboardist Karl Berger. The resultant double album United Patchwork, a return to classic form for MEV – after some of the more tripped-out experiments of the early 70s, recorded in November 1977 at Mama Dog for Horo Records, captures MEV in all of their discordant, improvisatory glory, from Teitelbaum's side-long opener, "Via Della Luce", to the honking noise of Lacy's "Fox", the excessive keyboard meanderings of Curran's "Psalm", Berger's vibraphone folly, "Cross Over One" and Rzewski's ponderous "What Is Freedom".
But, the whole album is, thanks to a very freewheeling sense of improvisation, a stunning mix of free jazz and electronics.

Note:

Richard Teitelbaum, an electronic artist, keyboardist and composer who combined an interest in non-western musical languages with a focus on experimental practice, died on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at HealthAlliance Hospital in Kingston, N.Y.

If you find it, buy this album!

MUUN MUSIC UNIVERSE (Ing Rid / Karl Berger / Dave Holland and friends) – Vol. 1 - The Peace Church Concerts (2LP-1974)

Label: Creative Music Communication – CMC 00101

Series: CMC Series – 1

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album, Gatefold / Country: US / Released: 1974

Style: Free Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded in concert on May 25 and May 22, 1974 at the Washington Square Church, New York City.

Recording Engineer By – Bob Cummins

Cover Design – Joan Eliott

Photographs – Ray Ross

Concept and written compositions by Karl H. Berger

Distributed in the USA – India Navigation Company

Matrix / Runout (Label side A) [etched]: A- 00101-1 A

Matrix / Runout (Label side B) [etched]: B- 00101-2 B

Matrix / Runout (Label side C) [etched]: C- 00101-1 C II

Matrix / Runout (Label side D) [etched]: D- 00101-2 D II

        SPACE IN TIME

A  -  Part I: Live Time ............................................................................................ 14:40

B  -  Part II: Dance Now Is We Are ....................................................................... 24:10

        SILENCE IN SOUND

C1 - Part I: The Continual Pattern ........................................................................ 14:35

C2 - Part II: Music Is .............................................................................................. 9:40

D  -  Part III: Tune In Time In ................................................................................ 22:10

Musicians:

Ing Rid – vocals, percussion

Karl Berger – piano, vibraphone, percussion

Dave Holland – bass

Richard Teitelbaum – instruments [various], synthesizer

Bob Moses – percussion (tracks: A, B)

Betty MacDonald – violin (tracks: A, B)

Garrett List – trombone (tracks: C1, C2, D)

Ilene Marder – flute (tracks. A, B)

Tom Schmidt – bass (tracks. A, B)

Eva Berger and Savia Berger – voice, sounds [initial sounds] (tracks: A. B)

Very rare original 1974? US private pressing on Creative Music Communication (Woodstock NY) (catalog # CMC 00101 / CMC Series No. 1) recording from Washington Square Church (Peace Church) with original gatefold sleeve. This two record set was recorded by Bob Cummins and distributed by his India Navigation label, but was a production of the Creative Music Foundation.

This is wonderful work in spacy and spiritual atmosphere. It's never released on a CD.

If you find it, buy this album!

FREDERIC RZEWSKI – Attica / Coming Together / Les Moutons De Panurge (LP-1974 / Opus One – Number 20)

Label: Opus One – Number 20

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: US / Released: 1974

Style: Experimental, Contemporary, Minimal

A and B1 composed in 1972 and recorded April 20, 1973 at Blue Rock Studio in NYC.

B2 composed in 1969 and recorded at the University of Northern Illinois DeKalb, Illinois, 

May 10, 1973.

Engineers – Eddie Korvin (track A), Jan Rathbun (track B1), Steven Ovitsky (track B2)

Producer – Mike Sahl

Written-by [Text] – Sam Melville (track A), Richard X. Clark (track B1)

Composed By, Liner Notes – Frederic Rzewski

Design [Cover Design] – Herman Zaage

The inks of this cover are fluorescent.

Sponsored in part by the Ford Foundation and Anthony Keashey.

Matrix / Runout (A-Side Runout Etching): OPUS #20 RE <1> CF

Matrix / Runout (B-Side Runout Etching): OPUS No. 20 Side 2 JF

A  -  Coming Together ...................................................................... 19:15

         bass – Richard Youngstein

         piano, electric piano – Frederic Rzewski

         alto saxophone – Jon Gibson

         synthesizer – Alvin Curran

         trombone – Garrett List

         vibraphone – Karl Berger

         viola – Joan Kalisch

         voice [speaker] – Steve Ben Israel

B1 - Attica ......................................................................................... 6:30

         bass – Richard Youngstein

         piano – Frederic Rzewski

         alto saxophone – Jon Gibson

         trombone – Garrett List

         piccolo trumpet – Alvin Curran

         vibraphone – Karl Berger

         viola – Joan Kalisch

         voice [Speaker] – Steve Ben Israel

B2 - Les Moutons De Panurge ........................................................ 16:15

         Blackearth Percussion Group:

         percussion [almglocken] – Garry Kvistad

         percussion [nabimba] – Richard Kvistad

         vibraphone, glockenspiel – Christopher Braun

         xylophone – Anne Otte

Note:

Cover has different typesetting for composer's name (stacked as opposed to on a single line) and lettering is in blue/violet instead of gold. This cover is fluorescent.

Labels on disc are reversed (A-label on B-side). Album has a piece of typewritten paper inserted stating the following:

"Please note: the labels on this record are reversed. We regret the inconvenience."

This brilliant early recording of Frederic Rzewski (unfortunately unavailable of 2002.) showcases the composer emerging from a period in which he was largely involved with free improvisation (with the group Musica Elettronica Viva) and beginning to investigate more structured writing.

The lineup on this recording is pretty amazing. Rzewski himself plays piano. Jon Gibson, who has worked with the big four minimalist composers (Young, Riley, Reich and Glass) as well as being an excellent composer himself, plays alto sax. Composer Alvin Curran, also of Rzewski's MEV group, plays synthesizer. Garrett List, whose beautiful LP "Your Own Self" already on this blog, plays trombone. Karl Berger play vibes, and has played on some classic ESP jazz recordings as well also working with Don Cherry. Violist Joan Kalisch has played on recordings by Don Cherry and Alice Coltrane, and Richard Youngstein has worked with Paul Bley. The reading is done by stage actor Steve Ben Israel, who was a member of New York's Living Theatre.

Here the burgeoning minimalist movement was a prime musical influence, although on two of the pieces what strikes the listener first and foremost is the political content. "Coming Together" melts a wonderfully undulating and propulsive score that just won't give up with the impassioned reading (by Steve ben Israel) of a text written by Sam Melville an inmate at Attica prison documenting both his woes and his impressive resolve not to knuckle under. The words are repeated with increasing ferocity as the music goes through several permutations, eventually matching the speaker in a roaring finish. When other prisoner Richard S. Clark was released from prison in 1972, he was asked by a reporter how it felt to leave Attica behind him. His response, "Attica is in front of me," provides the text for the powerful and haunting second work here. His words are spoken in additive fashion -- first just "Attica" then "Attica is" -- in a soft, almost ghostly fashion over a gently percolating score that combines sorrow and hope in a complex and rich fabric.

"Les Moutons de Panurge," a completely instrumental composition, uses the same basic structural idea. A 65-note melody is performed in the sequence 1, 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4, and so on, until the entire melody has been read with the understanding of the near-impossibility of the ensemble staying in unison for the duration. Here, as performed by the Blackearth Percussion Group, it takes on the character of a wild gamelan orchestra, perhaps slightly tipsy. It's utterly invigorating, as is the entire record. Very highly recommended.

_ Review by Brian Olewnick

This LP was recorded is on the excellent Opus One records - all the covers of LPs on the label were meant to respond to black light!....... Trippy.



If you find it, buy this album!

GARRETT LIST – Your Own Self (LP-1972 / Opus One – number 15)

Label: Opus One – number 15

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: US / Released: 1972

Style: Contemporary, Experimental, Minimal

Label based in Maine run by composer Max Schubel

Works from 1971

Artwork [Cover Art] – Ursula Belden / ?

There are two colour variations of the cover: Green and Orange

Engineer [Recording] – Mike Wolfe

Executive Director – Max Schubel

Composed By – Garrett List

Matrix / Runout (A): OPUS ONE 15AR

Matrix / Runout (B): OPUS ONE 15B

A - Your Own Self ...................................................................... 18:34

B - Your Own Self ...................................................................... 16:37

VOICE –––

          Joan LaBarbara

          Jay Clayton

          Jerry Kaplan

Jon Gibson ––– Saxophone

Mark Gould ––– Trumpet

Lou Ranger ––– Trumpet

David Jolley ––– French Horn

Garrett List ––– Trombone

Roy Pennington ––– Vibraphone

Barry Jekowski ––– Vibraphone

Rick Cutler ––– Piano

Frederic Rzewski ––– Piano

Gregory Reeves ––– Percussion

Gordon Gottliebs ––– Percussion

Mike Williams ––– bass

This piece is a beautiful example of a minimalist/jazz crossover which is exceptionally unique. It inhabits a somewhat similar world to Fred Rzewski's "Coming Together" and "Attica", but is much more indebted to jazz, with a heavily improvised middle section...

Garrett List ––– Trombone

The piece begins with an organ drone, and some quiet singing and reciting of phrases from the text. Gradually more instruments are introduced, primarily horns playing long tones. After a couple of minutes the bass comes in, and starts playing sparse notes, which over several minutes become more frequent until it's playing a full-fledged jazzy bass-line. The horns follow a similar build-up from long tones to faster playing.

The build up in this piece is perfect. It's so slow and fluid, you barely notice anything is happening, until you compare two points in the piece. At 11:00ish on side A there's a sudden break, and a fast, hihat-based drum beat comes in, the first major change in the piece. This section has a beautiful texture with fast piano scales, sparse bass notes, long horn tones, fast vibes, and vocalists singing and reciting the text.

Side A fades out, and Side B begins where A left off, jumping quickly into a long section of freeish jazz, with a propulsive rhythm section laying the base. This goes on for about 9 minutes, and then the piece goes back into a section resembling the first part, with long tones and quiet speaking voices.

There's Fred Rzewski on piano, Jon Gibson on sax, and vocalist Joan LaBarbara (who is an excellent composer as well, and appears on the classic 70s recording of Philip Glass' "Music in Twelve Parts").

Excellently pressed. Great dynamics and sound. Stunningly beautiful piece to be listened to at high volume. Wonderful!

Your Own Self, sought and received, mister ..... correct silence.

If you find it, buy this album!

LA MONTE YOUNG / MARIAN ZAZEELA - The Theatre Of Eternal Music – Dream House 78'17" (LP-1974)

Label: Shandar – 83 510

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: France / Released: 1974

Style: Modern Classical, Drone, Minimal

Cover [Label, Design, Calligraphy] – Marian Zazeela

Photography By [Cover Photo] – Robert Adler

Liner Notes – Julian Cowley, La Monte Young

Matrix / Runout (A): 83 510 A

Matrix / Runout (B): 83 510 B

A - 13 I 73 5:35-6:14:03 PM NYC ............................................................... 39:03

       trombone – Garrett List

       trumpet – Jon Hassell

       voice – Marian Zazeela

       voice, Electronics [Sine Waves] – La Monte Young

B - Drift Study 14 VII 73 9:27:27-10:06:41 PM NYC .................................. 39:14

       electronics [sine waves] – La Monte Young

Side A - 13 I 73 5:35 - 6:14:03 PM NYC is a sub-section of Map Of 49's Dream The Two Systems Of Eleven Sets Of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery, begun in 1966 as a section of the even longer work: The Tortoise, His Dreams And Journeys which was begun in 1964 with The Theatre Of Eternal Music. Performed 17 January 1973 at La Monte Young's private studio.

Side B - Drift Study 14 VII 73 9:27:27 - 10:06:41 PM NYC Three sine waves. Frequencies and voltages of the sine waves determined and tuned by La Monte Young using oscillators custom designed by Rober Adler to generate specific frequencies and voltages of great stability. Performed 14 July 1973 at La Monte Young's private studio.

For the maximum fidelity on Side 2, reduce the treble controls on your pre-amplifier to minimum. Since the sine waves have no harmonic content, and all are below 202.5 Hertz, this will reduce the surface noise which is normal on most discs. Note: Be sure to keep the treble controls normal on Side 1.

Sleeve Notes:

“Frequencies and voltages of the sine waves generators were determined and tuned by La Monte Young using oscillators custom-designed by sound technician Robert Adler to generate specific frequencies and voltages of great stability. The sine waves produced are such that they interfere with each other, creating changes of volume both in time and space that can be experienced either walking within the room or staying put. If one chooses to walk, he will change the sound experience of other people in the room by moving the molecules of air.”

Dream House 78’17” was originally released by Shandar in 1974. I touch on the label’s history in my piece on Steve Reich’s Four Organs / Phase Patterns. Of all the releases in the label’s catalog, Young’s is the most sought after. It contains two single-sided works. 13 I 73 5:35 – 6:14:03 PM NYC is a sub-section of Map Of 49’s Dream The Two Systems Of Eleven Sets Of Galactic Intervals Ornamental Lightyears Tracery, which extended from the iconic The Tortoise, His Dreams And Journeys. The recording features a later incarnation of The Theatre Of Eternal Music, with Garrett List on trombone, Jon Hassell on trumpet, Marian Zazeela singing, and La Monte Young singing and playing electronics. It’s pretty mind bending – with Young and Zazeela’s vocals droning away over the sustained electronics and horns. The tonal relationships between the five elements are hypnotic and totally engrossing. One of the first things you’ll notice about the piece is that it stretches a shocking 39:03 – almost double the standard length of an LP side  – but, they are managed the impossible.

The second side finds the third issue of Young’s Drift Study – in this case 14 VII 73 9:27:27 – 10:06:41 PM NYC. Two shorter versions were released during the late 60’s in Aspen, and S.M.S. This is its definite rendering – stretching to 39:14. Drift Study is built from three sine waves which are precision tuned and run through oscillators. If you’ve ever been to the Dream House in NY, this is the same technology (though in the record features a higher frequency). It can be incredibly dislocating. My first few hours in the space (of countless hundreds) were spent trying to work out how the sounds were fluctuating and changing. It messed me up. It’s the closest auditory equivalent to Brion Gysin’s hallucination-inducing Dream Machine. The tonal shifts are created by altering your physical proximity to the waves – thus where in their path or reflection you encounter them. I’ve spent untold hours moving around the Dream House like a turtle, trying to grasp its totality. The recording goes a long way to recreate this experience at home, making Dream House 78’17”.

(Review by Bradford Bailey)

Note:

Though I’ve seen reissue of La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela & The Theatre Of Eternal Music’s – Dream House 78’17“, I didn’t hold my breath. Every fan of Young knows of his refusal to grant his blessings for reissues, and of the scarcity (and extremely high price) of originals. Aguirre Records, the label responsible for its return, somehow obtained the record’s license – though I’d be surprised if La Monte gave his permission, making it a curious ethical line.  Since the label did their due diligence, and it’s hard to know what La Monte’s thoughts are (not to mention the fact that he can be a pain in the ass), I’m letting my excitement get the better of me, and giving this one a plug.

If you find it, buy this album!

WILLEM BREUKER KOLLEKTIEF – Driebergen - Zeist (LP-1983)

Label: BV Haast Records – BVHAAST 050

Format: Vinyl, LP / Country: Netherlands / Released: 1983

Style: Contemporary Jazz, Free Improvisation

Recorded at Sound Push Studio's, Blaricum the Netherlands, Sept. 12th./13th. 1983.

All arrangements by Willem Breuker

Cover design / Photos by – Reinko Kuiper

Mixed September 15th 1983

Engineer by – Jan Schumman

A1 - Wolkbreuk III ............................................................................ 5:54

A2 - No Wave Samba ...................................................................... 6:06

A3 - Benares. (From Mahagonny) ................................................... 3:50

        Composed By – Kurt Weill

A4 - What? ....................................................................................... 4:59

A5 - Lied Van De Zware Toffe Jongens /

        Pirate Jenny (From Three Penny Opera) ................................. 2:24

        Composed By – Kurt Weill, Vocals – Dick Swidde

B1 - Driebergen – Zeist .................................................................... 9:56

B2 - Dance Of The Knights (From Romeo And Juliet) ..................... 3:55

        Composed By – Serge Prokofiev

B3 - Creole Call Love ....................................................................... 6:30

        Clarinet – Michiel de Ruyter, Composed By – Duke Ellington

Willem Breuker – saxophone, clarinet

André Goudbeek – clarinet, saxophone

Maarten van Norden – saxophone, clarinet

Bernard Hunnekink – trombone

Garrett List – trombone

Andy Altenfelder – trumpet

Boy Raaymakers – trumpet

Henk de Jonge – piano, synthesizer

Arjen Gorter – double bass

Robbie Verdurmen – drums, percussion

 Willem Breuker / Maarten van Norden

 Arjen Gorter / Robbie Verdurmen

Boy Raaymakers / Bernard Hunnekink

Driebergen-Zeist is one of two or three albums released by Breuker's Kollektief in the early- to mid-'80s that represent this band at the absolute peak of its considerable powers. At this point, all the energy that had been a central part of the group since its inception in 1974 combined seamlessly with Breuker's elaborate and complex compositional skills to produce music unlike anyone else's at that time or since. It was a music both experimental and surprisingly accessible, connecting disparate points between 20th century classical music, street songs, and avant-garde jazz, all soldered firmly together by Breuker's devilish sense of humor. Much of the album is given over to covers, all of them performed superbly. Breuker's long-time affinity for Kurt Weill is made clear both in the version of "Benares" (from Mahagonny) and, utterly wonderfully, in his "Pirate Jenny," featuring vocals and new lyrics by the gruff, elderly Dutch actor/singer Dick Swidde, who growls and sputters his way through hilariously. There's also a lovely and straight reading of Prokofiev's Dance of the Knights (from Romeo and Juliet) and a creamy, adoring rendition of Ellington's "Creole Love Call" with guest clarinetist Michiel de Ruyter. Many a "traditional" jazz band could take a lesson from this heartfelt performance. Breuker's own cleverly titled composition "What?" comes about as close as possible to duplicating "Take the 'A' Train" without ever quite getting there -- a bravura demonstration indeed. But the real highlight of this LP is the title piece. Ten minutes long and apparently through-composed, "Driebergen-Zeist" sounds like some otherworldly melding of Ellington, Gershwin, and Carl Stalling as themes collide, disappear, and arise from nowhere, each more gorgeous than the last, and are undermined by false starts, fake endings, and composed "mistakes" (the latter including a delightful section where drummer Rob Verdurmen makes several "wrong" entrances). It's an astonishing work and illustrative of what this ensemble was capable of at its best.

Very highly recommended.

If you find it, buy this album!