avant-garde Archive
22 Sep 2016
Hundred-word Reviews for September 2016, Part 4
Five more quick ones. All these albums bear further investigation. Wild Man Fischer – An Evening with Wild Man Fischer Conventional wisdom holds that while Gail Zappa was alive, she prevented reissues of many albums originally released on Frank’s Bizarre/Straight labels. Whether that’s true or not, Gail’s gone now and we finally have a legit
19 May 2016
Asheville Electro Music Festival: High Technology, Human Scale
In his influential 1982 book Megatrends, author John Naisbitt observed that “whenever new technology is introduced into society, there must be a counterbalancing human response, or the technology is rejected.” The very human and innovative nature of 21st century synthesizer-based music is a real-world example of Naisbitt’s observations in action. A local group of musicians
13 May 2016
Roomful of Teeth: Putting Music Where Their Mouths Are
“It’s all about the voice,” says Brad Wells, founder of Grammy Award-winning Roomful of Teeth, a nine-person modern classical vocal ensemble dedicated to “min[ing] the expressive potential of the human voice.” Through use of a wide array of supremely challenging and/or obscure vocal techniques, the group creates a sound like nothing else. “Pretty much all
26 Apr 2016
Rehabilitating Herbie, Part 2
Continued from Part One… “In the ‘60s, Herbie Mann wanted to appeal to younger audiences,” observes Cary Ginell, author of several books including The Evolution of Mann: Herbie Mann and the Flute in Jazz. “And the way to do that was through rock ’n’ roll. He always enjoyed challenging his audiences and thumbing his nose
25 Apr 2016
Rehabilitating Herbie, Part 1
Previously-Unheard 1969 Live Tapes from Jazz Flautist and his Band Nominally a jazz musician, flautist Herbie Mann (1930-2003) enjoyed crossover appeal and success that brought his music to a much wider population than simply jazz aficionados. Mann released dozens of albums, and restlessly explored different styles of music. He sold a lot of records, won
06 Apr 2016
Album Mini-review: Matthew Bourne — moogmemory
File next to: Philip Glass, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Brian Eno The Memorymoog was the last synthesizer produced by Moog Music during the original company’s run; while a deeply versatile and expressive instrument, its complex inner workings made it highly unreliable, and that contributed both to the damaging of Moog’s reputation and to the
25 Mar 2016
Album Mini-review: John Cale — M/FANS
File next to: Leonard Cohen, Diamanda Galas, Einstürzende Neubaten John Cale has never been one to trade on his Velvet Underground fame; he’s long since left behind the music of those days. His main instrument these days is keyboard, not cello. On Music for a New Society/M:FANS, he presents a deeply melodic, meditative approach. His
17 Mar 2016
DVD Review: Frank Zappa and the Mothers — The Lost Broadcast
For an artist who seemingly documented nearly every moment of his live and studio performance – and, not unlike John Lennon and Yoko Ono, considered the entirety of it as a single body of work – the early work of Frank Zappa‘s Mothers (of Invention) was, surprisingly, not as extensively captured and saved as one
11 Mar 2016
Album Review: Jaimeo Brown Transcendence — Work Songs
As a music reviewer, I get a lot of albums for potential coverage. A lot. And to manage the flow, I keep a spreadsheet, cataloging those slated for eventual review according to the date I receive them, genre, and a few other details. It makes for handy organization. But occasionally something comes along that brings
10 Feb 2016
Album Mini-review: Homme — Homme
File Next to: KT Tunstall, The Roches, Radiohead With electric guitars (run through a Leslie speaker cabinet and other assorted effects) and close yet vocal-acrobatic harmonies, the experimental yet inviting sonic approach of this Chicago duo suggests an otherworldly combination of Nirvana and The Roches. Just when you think they’re going to be some kind