It stands to reason that Cecil Taylor's Corona CD, issued in 2020 by Corbett vs. Dempsey Records, would have not made it onto Disaster Amnesiac's perceptual radar until four years later. So much was obliterated and lost in that era (for a giant nothing), there was just no way that I'd have been aware of it. Thankfully for this Taylor fan, a cheap copy emerged from the depths of internet, that super duper fun place, and I snagged it on the immediate tip. Glad to have copped and listened, too. First track Sector 1 features a group of pretty well regarded international improvisors doing some sort of glossolalia (and a few short bars on some reed instrument) in accompaniment to Cecil's deep African Diaspora poetry recitation. His spoken word pieces are always fascinating. The ways in which Taylor parsed words, so abstract and intriguing, are on full display. Sector 2 presents the meat of this 1996 Berlin concert appearance, forty eight minutes of duo exchange between the man at the Bosendorfer and drummer Sunny Murray. Long time fans of creative music will recall that these two men produced some absolutely boffo improvisations in the 1960's, ones which defined a lot of the dynamics of free thought within the Jazz continuum. On Corona, their chemistry is shown to have not been lost. Murray ranges about on his drum kit, getting the wide, powerful sound that he was known for. Sunny pushes and stretches the rhythms in non-linear ways with a brashness that is rooted within his love of the form. Taylor's responses are in keeping with his by-then well established stylistic imperatives: huge block chords on the lower registers, as heavy as the heaviest Tony Iommi riffs (if one listens with, like, their ears), fast runs on the higher registers that fall like cascades of abstract crystal flowers. And of course it's all really sublime and lovely. As Disaster Amnesiac has listened to this track, I continue to hear the Blues that Cecil never denied having been influenced by. If you can't hear that, dude I am so sorry. Try again, and don't listen to twerps that accuse Cecil Taylor of being a fraud. Almost an hour of blissful listening is followed by more abstract verbiage from one of the top pianists of the 20th Century. Very cool how one can actually hear him walking away from the mics at the conclusion of Sector 3. Disaster Amnesiac got to see him play once, at Yoshi's in Oakland, and the man was nothing if not theatrical. I have no doubt that there were deep metaphysics implied and applied within this part of his presentation. Corona gives all of this to the music listener within a tight presentation that Corbet vs. Dempsey Records always has. This album is well recorded, lovely to see, and even more lovely to hear. Find it and study at the feet of two Masters.
disaster amnesiac
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Friday, November 1, 2024
The Fog; John Carpenter, dir. 1980
After Disaster Amnesiac's Halloween ritual of playing spooky chords upon an old, questionably tuned upright piano with the front door of the house open, the missus and I had some time to spend, and we figured a spooky movie would be appropriate. A quick perusal of Kanopy had us viewing John Carpenter's brilliant 1980 film The Fog. I may have seen it during the adolescent years, but that time is quite long gone, and the memories of it were vague at best. This was a good thing, as viewing it again for the first time revealed a fantastic experience. Lovely shots of western Marin County in Spring, clearly after a good rainy season, with the fields showing a shimmering green. Incredible exterior shots of Point Bonita and its lighthouse. Very creative set design and lighting. Excellent soundtrack work from Carpenter, wide shots that approached Minimalist paintings. Adrienne Barbeau giving a quite subtle performance, using her vocal inflections as much as her fine physical looks. Hal Holbrook as a man aware of his impending doom and reckoning with that. Use of horror motifs not as the principal concern but as ways in which to enhance the full spectrum of human experience. Seriously, if you've not watched The Fog for a bit, it's absolutely worth its concise one hour and twenty eight minute running time.
Chester Hawkins-Semisolids; Intangible Arts, 2014
Pretty ominous vials of some poison type of injected substance on that cover art for Chester Hawkins's Semisolids, no? The sounds of this 2014 release match quite well with it, too. Brooding electronics are pushed from various electronic sources, all of them captured with clarity and precision. Hawkins is not haphazard with his productions, as Disaster Amnesiac has gleaned from this one and Nil 1, reviewed a few weeks back. These tracks run the gamut from spooky, non-pulsed clashes such as iodine to more rhythmic areas on slender loris and malattia del sonno, the former even utilizing synthetic percussion and the later that would not sound misplaced within a John Carpenter film. the brood crushes the synapses with odd cyber sounds and proximity fuze might make an obsessive type do some cyber stalking of Cosey Fanni-Tutti and Christ Carter. Dramatic zones infuse isle of dogs and from away as Hawkins turns weird knobs on his devices; these zones will surely be pleasing for any fan of well crafted Industrial/Noise/Drone. nematode might very well get that butt out of its chair, with that repeated phrase, in order to perform some kind of improvised dance routine. As Burroughs so succinctly put it: "...dance around in your BONES..." That's been the case for this listener, anyway. Speaking of William S., the liner notes of Semisolids appear to utilize some kind of variation upon the Cut-Up Method. I tried to read them later in the day and found much bewilderment, which is probably at least one element of the intended effect of their screed. The album feels like a kind of concept statement, with that concept being presented in an oblique form that renders it fascinating. What was Hawkins obsessing upon during the production of these tracks? Grab a copy for yourself and attempt to decipher these deeply personal messages from this Tucson Sound Artist of high refinement aesthetics.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Saturday, October 26, 2024
86-s/t; OHP Records, 1985
Some of that 'ole black (vinyl) magic hit Disaster Amnesiac at Bookman's in Tucson as I looked down into the lower shelf of one of their LP bins. Would you not also be intrigued by that mysterious cover imagery? I'm sure you would be. Well anyway, I was, and subsequently the interest went up even further after reading that Mac McNeilly, Jesus Lizard pounder of skins and resonant metals did same on this 1985 release from OHP Records. It must be admitted that some idea of how these seven tracks would sound emerged from the synapses pretty quickly; that idea has proven to be pretty accurate. Bass with a treble edge, likely plectrum picked, guitar sounds that are noisy, pretty clearly pulling from the Post Punk side of available tonal choices in that time, both of them driven relentlessly by Mac. Max Koshewa, bass/vocals, and Ken Schenck on guitar/vocals do not sound bummed by this feature at all. Indeed, the band jams out pretty effectively. 86 obviously were a band that rehearsed and played shows with a focus towards the realization of an actual band sound. In that time frame, many bands chose to pull from ready made templates such as Hardcore or Crossover. The pleasure in 86 comes from the evidence which shows young musicians blending their influences in an attempt to come up with an original voice of their own within the band format. There are recognizable 1980's American underground music tropes, yet 86 transcended them within their jamming (but not Jam Band) songs, and it's really great that they were documented well and with clarity. Was Mac a marching band star drummer in the Atlanta Metro Area? Damn that guy can play. If you see this album out there, grab it for McNeilly's drumming. No doubt Max and Ken were glad to have grabbed him from wherever he was hanging out beforehand.
Friday, October 25, 2024
Phil Lesh RIP
1965-1970-raunch classics, psychedelic Dark Stars, feedback
1970-1974-fine grain woody tones, mastering the song form, strength to strength within the creative music world
1975-1980-guiding the good ship Grateful Dead all the way to the Nile and back
1980-1987-professional touring Rock Star
1987-1995-a participant in great song writing and live music presentation, MIDI pioneer
1995-2024-the best Dark Stars and the most adventurous bands of the post-Jerry Dead sphere
People loved Phil a lot. He played music for people. The Pride of Coucamounga and other kooks, too. Rock on, Reddy Kilowatt.
Thursday, October 24, 2024
Live shot(s) #145
All shots taken at Golden Saguaro, Tucson 10/23/2024.
Below: Cultural Detox Syndicate. Poly chanting with digital saturation and dissolves.
Above: Actor & Parasite play Patch-a-Delic and have the footage to go along with that.
Below: Marcos Serafim. AI elevated to its full Surrealist potential. Erotic intra-dimensional with Illbient sounds.
Golden Saguaro Its Groovy.