Playlist Week of 4-28-12

* Leclair: Sonatas (Holloway/ter Linden/Mortensen) (ECM CD)

* John Holloway/Jaap ter Linden/Lars Ulrik Mortensen: Copenhagen 4-08-08 (FM 2CDR)

* Berg: Chamber Concerto, etc. (Ensemble InterContemporain, et al./Boulez) (Sony CD)

* Messiaen: Èclairs Sur L’Au-Delà… (Orch. de l’Opéra Bastille/Chung) (DG CD)

* Miles Davis/Bill Laswell: Panthalassa (Columbia CD)

* Miles Davis/Bill Laswell: Panthalassa: The Remixes (Columbia CD)

* Weather Report: Ossiach, Austria 6-27-71 (FM CDR)

* Weather Report: Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA 5-05-75 (FM CDR)

* Weather Report: Heavy Weather (Columbia/Legacy SACD)
* Herbie Hancock: Fairfield Theatre, East Lansing, MI 10-28-73 (FM CDR)

* Anthony Braxton: GTM (Iridium) (2007) (Vol.1 Set 2) (New Braxton House FLAC>CDR)

* Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble: The Moment’s Energy (ECM CD)

* David S. Ware Quartet: Wisdom Of Uncertainty (AUM Fidelity CD)

* Matthew Shipp Trio: Elastic Aspects (Thirsty Ear CD)

* Charlie Haden & Pat Metheny: Beyond The Missouri Sky (Verve CD)

* Grateful Dead: Merriweather Post Pavilion 6-27-84 (SBD 3CDR)

* Pink Floyd: Ummagumma (Pinkfloyd/EMI 2CD)

* Pink Floyd: Atom Heart Mother (Pinkfloyd/EMI CD)

* Pink Floyd: Meddle (Pinkfloyd/EMI CD)

* Pink Floyd: Obscured By Clouds (Pinkfloyd/EMI CD)

* Pink Floyd: The Dark Side Of The Moon (Capitol SACD)

* Caravan: In The Land of Grey And Pink (40^th Anniversary Edition) (DVD) (Deram/Decca 2CD/DVD)

* Amon Düül II: Tanz Der Lemminge (United Artists/Revisited/SPV CD)†

* Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac (Reprise/Warner Bros. 2-45RPM LP)

* Big Star: Keep An Eye On The Sky (d.1) (Ardent/Rhino 4CD)

* Thurston Moore: Demolished Thoughts (Matador CD)†/‡

* Jim O’Rourke: Bad Timing (Drag City CD)

* Guided By Voices: Let’s Go Eat The Factory (GBV, Inc. CD)

* Guided By Voices: “Keep It In Motion” (GBV, Inc. 7”EP)

* Guided By Voices: “Jon The Croc”/”Breathing” (GBV, Inc. 7”)

* Porcupine Tree: Stars Die: The Delerium Years 1991-1997 (KScope 2CD)

* Porcupine Tree: The Sky Moves Sideways (KScope 2CD)

* Porcupine: Tree: Signify/Insignificance (d.1) (KScope 2CD)†

* Porcupine Tree: Coma Divine: Recorded Live In Rome (KScope 2CD)

* Porcupine Tree: Stupid Dream (KScope CD/DVD)†

* Porcupine Tree: Lightbulb Sun (KScope CD/DVD)†

* Porcupine Tree: Recordings (KScope CD)†

* Porcupine Tree: In Absentia (Lava/Atlantic CD)†/‡

* Opeth: Still Life (Peaceville/Icarus CD)†

* Opeth: Blackwater Park (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)†

* Opeth: Deliverance (Music For Nations/KOCH)†

* Opeth: Damnation (Music For Nations/KOCH CD)

* Opeth: Ghost Reveries (Roadrunner HDCD)

* Opeth: Watershed (Roadrunner CD)

* Opeth: Heritage (Deluxe Edition) (Roadrunner CD/DVD)

* High On Fire: Death Is This Communion (Relapse CD)†

* High On Fire: Snakes For The Divine (E1 CD)†/‡

* High On Fire: De Vermis Mysteriis (E1CD)†

* Ghost: Opus Eponymous (Rise Above/Metal Blade CD)†/‡

†=iPod

‡=car 

Commentary:

Although it occurred a couple of weeks ago, I still need to mention the mind-blowing Indeterminacies program at Zeitgeist Gallery on April 12th (right before our “Mountains & Metal” getaway) where composer/ethnomusicologist, Michael Gardiner, presented an extended electro-acoustic piece accompanied by saxophonist, Derek Beckvold. Opening with a startling blast of hyper-complicated noise from Gardiner’s laptop, it was like a “barbed-wire Q-Tip” that cleansed the ear and focused the mind for the music’s subsequent unfolding. Beckvold’s mastery of extended saxophone techniques provided a perfect counterpoint to Gardiner’s electronic soundscapes, from keening altissimo crying to balls-out “sheets of sound” fueled by stunning displays of circular breathing. Then sometimes Gardiner would pick up an ancient Japanese bamboo flute to play six-hundred-year-old melodies over the electronically processed voices, instruments and other noises echoing around the room. Remarkably, the forty-minute piece flowed with a profound sense of inevitability yet also remained totally unpredictable, a remarkable fusion of composition and improvisation that left me wanting to hear more. I’m looking forward to checking out Gardiner’s CDs, available on the Centaur and Visceral Media labels.

The group discussion, led by SoundCrawl’s Kyle Baker, was pretty heady stuff: the theories of Baudrillard and Attali were casually invoked and a definition of postmodernism was briefly debated. But the sincerity of Gardiner’s desire to incorporate all of his widely diverse interests—from pure noise to Hildegard von Bingen to Noh theatre—was made obvious. For Gardiner, sampling is not just a technological apparatus residing on a computer: when he plays the Japanese flute amidst all the other electronica, he views it as a sample that happens to be “triggered” acoustically—a postmodern notion if there ever was one. The conversation, as usual, was a fascinating glimpse into the artistic process (as well as the audience’s reception) and is what makes these Indeterminacies programs so unique.

The series continues this Tuesday, May 1st and, wow, it’s going to be a doozy! In conjunction with the Nashville Symphony’s premiere of “The Palmian Chord Ryddle For Electric Violin And Orchestra” on May 3-5, this month’s Indeterminacies will feature a conversation with legendary composer, Terry Riley, electric violinist, Tracey Silverman, NSO conductor, Giancarlo Guerrero, and moderated by Pulitizer Prize-winning music critic Tim Page. Wow! This event is so huge, it will be held at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University with a reception following at the gallery. This is definitely the can’t-miss event of the season and I hope to see you there! In the meantime, check out this video interview with Silverman about the collaboration here.