WAX POETICS Issue #32 magazine 9.99
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Sly Stone makes the cover (did he really have to wait 'til issue 32?), and inside there's the usual profusely and colorfully photo-illustrated, deep-digging stuff about the likes of Jean Grae, Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince, Jimmy Cliff, Large Professor, Houston rappers HSID, and even South Korean B-boys! Among other things. In case you didn't know already, or figure it out from that run-down, Wax Poetics is THE magazine of cool hiphop/soul/funk/reggae/jazz hipness old and new, for vinyl fetishists and general groove-hounds, and as usual this issue is a must-read if you're at all into that stuff, and why the heck wouldn't you be?!

WAX POETICS Issue #33 magazine 9.99
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Yo, it's the "Philly Issue". Soul masters Gamble & Huff on the cover. ?uestlove from the Roots. Radio DJ Sonny Hopson. Vibraphonist Vincent Montana Jr., and the whole Philly jazz scene back in the day. The Stylistics. And plenty more!! (But wait, where's Schooly D?)
As usual, this magazine of all things groovy (jazz, funk, hiphop, soul, disco...) and worth diggin' delves deep with extensive interviews and colorful pictures.

WAX POETICS Issue #39 magazine 9.99
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It's the special "Africa" issue of this rad journal devoted to jazz, funk, soul, and hiphop grooves past and present. Hence, Fela Kuti on the cover. Inside, you'll also find pieces on Orchestre Poly-Rythmo, Pax Nicholas, Rail Band, Orchestra Baobab, Tony Allen, and plenty more.
As always, the magazine is packed with colorful photos of vintage record sleeves, and plenty of enthused writing about the music from other knowledgeable musicians/DJs/collectors...

WAX POETICS Issue #42 magazine 9.99
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Special RnB issue. 2 different covers, Barry White or Gil Scott-Heron. Back covers too, D'Angelo or Erykah Badu. Inside, all those folks, plus plenty more, including "An Oral History Of The Wah-Wah Pedal".

WAX POETICS Issue #44 magazine 9.98
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The colorful magazine covering all the rad sides of soul, funk, jazz, hip-hop and beyond is back with another classy issue. This time out War and Syl Johnson each get one of the covers. Inside tons of awesome stuff including features on The Budos Band, DJ Muggs, Melvin Davis, Claus Ogerman, Johnny Colon, and Al Kooper. As well as awesome articles on the minimoog, photographer Lyle Owerko's obsession with boomboxes, and our always favorite "re: discovery" section where the best rare groove albums get the page & attention they so totally deserve. As always another smoking issue of Wax Poetics!

WAX POETICS Issue #47 magazine 9.99
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More good readin'. And lookin'. At pictures. It's another thick (112 page) issue of this soul, funk, jazz, hiphop, anything groovy goes magazine, packed with vintage color and b&w photos and album art to make collectors drool. This issue: pieces on Earth Wind & Fire, Ramsey Lewis, Bobby Womack, Lamont Dozier, Solomon Burke, Billy Ocean, Dennis Coffey, and more.

WAX POETICS Issue #50 magazine 11.99
This now-quarterly mag of funk, soul, hiphop, jazz, and anything else groovy presents their 10th Anniversary issue, with his Purple Highness, Prince on the cover. Inside, a lot of Prince-related content, including "33 Reasons Why Prince Is Hiphop" by ?uestlove of The Roots. There's features on Morris Day, Jesse Johnson, Madhouse, The Family, 94 East...
Also: Blood Orange, DJ Quik (talking about some of his favorite records), Larry Graham, Toro y Moi, Frank Ocean, and more. All, as always, copiously illustrated with full color photography. 104 pages.

WAX POETICS Issue #52 magazine 11.99
On the cover(s): Sade and Flying Lotus. Inside, also: Dam-Funk, Betty Wright, Cody Chesnutt, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Gary Bartz, and, uh, Lenny Kravitz. Among other peeps. All colorfully illustrated in the usual Wax Poetics fashion, with vintage photos and album covers and all that.
Oh, and there's a cool piece about the NYC roller disco boogie scene in the '70s!

WEISS, ALEX QUARTET Make Your Own Lightning (Chahatatadra Music) cd 10.98

WELLS, BILL / STEFAN SCHNEIDER / ANNIE WHITEHEAD / BARBARA MORGENSTERN Pick Up Sticks (Leaf) cd 11.98
Bill Wells and co. keep it short 'n' sweet on Pick Up Sticks (just shy of 21 minutes long) -- a subdued and unobtrusive improv of brass, synths, bass, keyboards and melodica. Although the overall atmosphere is airy and drifting, the focus of the eight numbers is on the smattering of Annie Whitehead's hazily hushed trombone. Slow, cautious and contemplative much like the title suggests. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Family Sighs"
MPEG Stream: "Perfect Window"

WHY BECAUSE, THE Musicshapes (self-released) cd 11.98
The ever-changing roster of the impressive ensemble known as The Why Because is graced with numerous music luminaries from around the Bay Area. The line-up for Music shapes, their third release, is a six member crew including folks from Anticon/Lex avant-hoppers Subtle and Themselves. The disc's five lengthy improvised tracks (recorded live back in 2004) explore the far reaches of jazz, postrock, psych/space rock and ambient experimentation. And they incorporate an even broader array of instruments with trumpet, saxophone and percussion taking prominence amid the Fender Rhodes, other keyboards, bass clarinet, guitar, bass and melodica. Music shapes commences with "Fenced Bird Takes Flight" a barren landscape of faintly blown horns and Spartan drumming. This gradually blossoms into a more fleshed out and sprawling journey with many mesmerizing and meditative stretches as well as more kinetic cyclical passages. Check out "Serpentine Tides" and "We Will Fight For The Things That We Love".
Note: This cd is dedicated to member Dax Pierson who was seriously injured in a tour van accident last year. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Dax Recovery Fund.
MPEG Stream: "Serpentine Tides"
MPEG Stream: "We Will Fight For The Things That We Love"

WIGGWAUM / POOR SCHOOL s/t (Killer Tree) lp+cd-r 14.98

WIRKUS, PAUL Deformation Professionnelle (Staubgold) cd 15.98
Wirkus, Wirkus, Wirkus. We like that name. 'Specially since we now associate it with some great, rainy day glitchtronica music! Subdued, abstract yet melodic drones n' glitch here from Poland-born, Cologne-based electronica artist Paul Wirkus -- a former improv jazz drummer, who has also played in punk and post-rock bands. His calm, clip-clip-clippy electro-acoustical dronological methodology is very lo-fi "live" and melodic, Wirkus creating shimmering, pulsating soundscapes with microphones, minidiscs, samples, loops, effects, and crackly vinyl. Buried in these densely textured tracks you'll hear (what might be) jazz piano, classical strings, and raw electronic noises...it's all layered and distorted and so so lovely. Track five adds a mysterious French (?) male vocal that works quite well. And track eight sounds like Philip Jeck teamed up with Ryoji Ikeda! Highly recommended. We hadn't heard Wirkus' music until now, and we've totally fallen in love. Turns out that this album, while his first for Staubgold, is his fourth solo effort, and he's also done a lot of collaborating as well, so we'll have to look for more of those Wirkus works...
MPEG Stream: "View Finder"
MPEG Stream: "Valore Energetico"

WITCHES AND DEVILS At The Empty Bottle (KnitMedia) cd 15.98
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Tribute to Albert Ayler by a band formed by some Chicago jazz scensters, led by reedsman Mars Williams, and including the ubiquitous Ken Vandermark (tenor sax). Also with cellist Fred Lonberg-holm, bassist Kent Kessler, and others. A very capable group indeed, and they do justice to the following Ayler tunes: "Truth Is Marching In", "Angels", and "Bells". Plus an Ayler-inspired sax/piano improvisation.

WITTWER, STEPHEN World Of Strings (Intakt) cd 19.98

WITTWER, STEPHEN / MARTIN SCH†TZ / PAUL LOVENS Choice-Chase (Intakt) cd 18.98

WOE COLOSSUS First: In A Silent Way, Second: Vanilla (State Of Distress) 12" 14.98
If you've been paying attention to the Aquarius New Arrivals list (c'mon folks, it's summer now but the school of AQ is still in session, and you're gonna get quizzed on this list later) you'll have come across our recent review of a cd by a heavy, rhythmic British avant-rock outfit with the odd name of Hey Colossus. A great album for those into sludgy, repetitive riffing, maybe like the Melvins meet Circle but more aggro than that.
Hey Colossus already employ no less than three guitars to make their noise but on this vinyl-only EP they've teamed up with another UK band called Woe (a skronky, heavy duty improv jazz beast) to get really really loud and ugly/pretty on two tracks, one of 'em a cover of Miles Davis' "In A Silent Way" believe it or not!! With nine musicians -- including two drummers, two trumpeters, two bassists, keyboards and all those guitars -- this has got some serious avant-heft. "In A Silent Way" has never sounded so ominous and heavy, and the flip is full of militaristic rumble as well. Great stuff! Limited to just 200 copies, on nice thick vinyl, and we have but a handful.

WOLF EYES & ANTHONY BRAXTON Black Vomit (Victo) cd 16.98
It was only a matter of time really. The bad boys of noise rock, and the grandaddy bad boy of modern avant jazz... Okay, maybe it wasn't only a matter of time, who would have ever really dreamed up a Wolf Eyes / Anthony Braxton jam session? Braxton maybe. He has a penchant for odd pairings. Remember his saxophone / stand up comedian disc? Well Black Vomit might not be -quite- as whatthefuck as that one, but it is pretty strange. And surprisingly, it's also pretty dang listenable. Especially for a disc called Black Vomit, with tracks called "The Mangler" and "Rationed Rot". "The Mangler" starts off all dreamy abstract soundscape, with the Wolf Eyes boys creating haunting landscapes of scrape and skitter, deconstructed streaks of electronic buzz and thick smears of low end grind, while Braxton sort of soars above it all, his horn emitting thick swirls of resonant rumble, dissonant bleating, and mournful minor key groans. It almost sounds like that guy on the corner playing sax and busking for change being sucked into hell, the ground just opening up as he plunges into a cacophonous wasteland. The last 5 or 6 minutes do finally take the plunge into all out noise, but even then, it's weirdly textural and while not -easy- on the ears, still strangely accessible, even with the swirls of malfunctioning electronic crunch and weird demonic vocals.
Track two is introduced by the Wolf Eyes guys asking Braxton which he'd rather hear, "Leper War" or "Black Vomit"? His response, a hearty "BLACK VOMIT!" gets the crowd cheering and Wolf Eyes immediately launch into a musical world of hurt. The sound blisses out after a few minutes into a weirdly percussive soundscape, of low end throb and high end skitter, but before too long Braxton has joined the melee and they ratchet up the noise quotient and it's a swirling, grinding, churning free noise, wild jazz lead pipe to the side of the head. Wow. How fucking cool is Anthony Braxton? Recorded live in 2005 (the between song banter is pretty funny, especially the "Good night..." bit at the end), rumor had it that Victo didn't even want to release this, but damn if it's not one of the coolest records they've ever put out!
MPEG Stream: "The Mangler (excerpt)"

WOMB Womb (Eclipse) lp 16.98
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This is a seriously intense slab of creepy crawly, droning, haunting, throbbing, pulsing weirdness. Womb was touted to us as an experimental jazz record, but whatever jazz-isms might be found, if they're there at all, are buried in a viscous murky ambient tarpit of rumbling whir and spare percussive clatter. Sort of like a NNCK drone record or Thomas Koner Remixing Sunburned Hand Of The Man. Gorgeously minimal and deeply drone-y and only mildly jazzy. A definite must own for all you free folkers and dronologists out there.

WRIGHT, FRANK The Complete ESP-Disk' Recordings (ESP-Disk') 2cd 24.00

MPEG Stream: "The Earth"
MPEG Stream: "Jerry"
MPEG Stream: "Bernard Stollman Meets Frank Wright"
MPEG Stream: "Recording"

WRIGHT, FRANK Uhuru Na Umoja (America Records / Verve) cd 17.98
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WOW. And do we mean WOW!! Fifteen classic free jazz records from the late sixties / early seventies, long out of print, finally getting the ULTRA deluxe reissue treatment. For some reason these are incredibly limited, so these have been a bit tough to get, so we're going to list a few at a time as we can get them. Frank Wright's Uhuru Na Umoja, originally released in 1970, is a two headed jazz beast, one head a moody and smokey slab of dark and slithery moonlit jazz, all sexy horns, dark complex piano, sizzling cymbals, mumbled voalisations, even some harmonica, the other a skronky, wild and wooly post bop workout of crashing drums and interwoven sax melodies. On Uhuru Na Umoja, tenor saxophonist Wright is joined by Noah Howard on alto sax, Bobby Few on piano and Arthur Taylor on drums and the results are divine! The first half of the record is a smoldering late night jazz record, lugubrious and haunting, minor key and romantically melancholy. The second half of the record is rambunctious and playful, a bit chaotic, but never two far out, each sax grounded by the melody of the other, the solid drumming holding both to the ground, while the piano offers wild scattered runs and dark rumblings beneath. So great!
Comes in a gorgeous diecut fullcover three panel sleeve, with new artwork, as well as a huge booklet of liner notes with the original album liner notes, new liner notes in French and English as well as a bunch of cool photos.
MPEG Stream: "Oriental Mood"
MPEG Stream: "Aurora Borealis"

WRIGHT, FRANK Unity (ESP) cd 14.98
The current incarnation of sixties-spawned free jazz & acid folk label ESP has been doing more than just reissuing their old n' obscure classics. They've also been signing up some new bands from the NYC jazz underground (which we have yet to really check out), and, perhaps better yet, have also dug up some hitherto *unreleased* vintage recordings from artists in the ESP orbit. Such as the music on this disc, which barely contains the energetic maelstrom stirred up by tenor saxophonist "the Reverend" Frank Wright and his band, live at Germany's Moers Jazz Festival in 1974. There's two long (almost half-hour tracks) here, full of frenzied blowing from Wright, who after all was inspired by Albert Ayler to take up the sax in the first place, and was discovered by ESP boss Bernard Stollman while sitting in with John Coltrane's band in '64! The other cats on here are certainly up to the challenge of expressing themselves alongside Wright -- you've got Alan Silva on bass, Bobby Few on piano, and Rashied Ali's brother Muhammad on drums! Together they made some truly vital, exciting music that night, and you can hear the crowd at Moers really getting into it!
MPEG Stream: "Unity Part I"
MPEG Stream: "Unity Part II"

WYATT, ROBERT Solar Flares Burn For You (Cuneiform) cd 17.98
Whetting our appetites for the brand new Wyatt album Cuckooland (due out next week), comes this fab collection --curated by Robt. himself-- of material mainly drawn from BBC radio archives circa 1972 and 1974, at the beginning of his solo career, post-Soft Machine and Matching Mole. But the British eccentric's charisma and radical worldview is just as compelling today as back in the '70s, as the two cuts recorded in 2002-2003 with former Soft Machine bandmate Hugh Hopper prove. Also there's a wonderful 2003 demo version of a song that may be appearing on Cuckooland, called "The Verb". If it is any indication, Cuckooland will be a great album -- in fact, we'd like to hear demos of the whole thing, 'cause the home-demo production almost seems like a significant compositional element, the tape hiss drone something that would be intentional in a modern experimental/electronica context. The majority of this disc is the older stuff, though, and there's a diverse batch on offer, everything from the mostly instrumental soundtrack to the short experimental film from whence this disc's title is taken (which is also included as a Quicktime video!) to a live version of his unlikely hit Monkees cover "I'm A Believer" to a take on one of Matching Mole's best, "God Song". Then there's novelties like the Monty Python-esque "We've Got An Arts Council Grant" silliness, and Wyatt's affecting version of Danny Kaye's "Little Child". Don't play those for any dour Wyatt-doubters among your friends -- instead make sure they hear the gritty, lofi "Solar Flares..." which could be something from a New Zealand artist on the Celebrate Psi Phenomena or Psuedoarcana labels, when it's actually a 1974 recording by the ex-drummer of a pioneering jazz fusion band! Definitely an essential collection for fans, who will be delighted by the music as well as the copious notes and photos in the booklet. For those new to Wyatt, it's a good sampler, showcasing his trademark untrained vocals and his quirky songwriting craft. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Alifib"
MPEG Stream: "Solar Flares Burn For You"

YAKUZA Samsara (Prosthetic) cd 14.98
A weird musical mix here from this brutal metalcore / post rock / uh, jazz fusion? band from Chicago. We were prepared for it, though, having previously liked and reviewed their debut album Way Of The Dead a couple years ago. In that review we said that only weirder metal band on the Century Media roster was Japanse black metal bizarros Sigh (both bands have moved on to new labels since then). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the saxophone player (yes, saxophone player) from Yakuza guested on the most recent Sigh album. And now Yakuza are back with a new full-length, just as heavy and arty as before. They remind us a bit of Iceburn (the vocals, the jazz influence) but heavier, more in the direction of Neurosis and Isis. Massive sonics throughout, with unexpected styles and instrumentation mixed in. The songs here blenderize tech grind mayhem, hardcore screaming, Alice In Chains style clean vocals, chamber music, and smooth jazz chops, and don't make as much a mess of it as you might expect... No, this works for us. If you're into the likes of Fantomas or Kayo Dot we'd imagine this might work for you too. Avant-cellist Fred Lonberg-holm shows up as a guest, as does one of the Mastodon dudes. That maybe tells you something right there.
MPEG Stream: "Cancer Of Industry"
MPEG Stream: "Exterminator"

YAKUZA Way Of The Dead (Century Media) cd 12.98
No, Yakuza aren't Japanese (but the way they blur genre lines is typical of quite a few Japanese underground acts). They're a Chicago-based metalcore band on giant metal label Century Media, but one that's weird enough to get reviewed in The Wire! Imagine Coalesce or Dillinger Escape Plan colliding with the Vandermark Five. Avant-jazz, post-rock, death metal, hardcore, etc. get blenderized here, thankfully without any of the tongue-in-cheek affectations of a Mike Patton or John Zorn project. Weighty grooves worthy of Neurosis find common cause with jazz saxophone soloing, the emotional vocals bleed into droning soundscapes and furious mosh pit frenzies both... Bands like Isis, Engine Kid, Hint and Guapo that also operate(d) at the fringes of metal and avant-rock come to mind. Along with Japan's Sigh, Yakuza are definitely one of the most extreme, inventive, unusual bands on Century Media. If you have any doubts about that, check out the eighth and final track on this disc, "01000011110011"! It's an ambient, electric, instrumental, psychedelic Miles Davis-ish jam that goes on for 43 minutes!! Pretty cool indeed.
RealAudio clip: "Miami Device"
RealAudio clip: "Chicago Typewriter"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Nu Frequency (Tzadik) cd 16.98
The fourth solo album from the undeniably talented and deniably normal Boredoms guitarist (also of Omoide Hatoba, Rovo, etc.). There's less "fuzzy groove" than his last album, more of the abstract textural noisescapes and improv guitarisms heard on his first two solo discs on Alchemy, though with a distinctly "cool" vibe, jazzier than those other records for sure. Definitely makes sense it's on Tzadik, it's as much downtown New York as downtown Osaka. It's a varied menu of avant-delicacies from glitchy gamelan-like tones (generated with guitar?) n' skittery percussion to jazz bass and high-pitched electronics, all sorts of stuff goin' on -- some of it quite pretty. Far from Boredoms insanity/energy however. A nice album, though it probably can (and will) be safely overlooked by those without already a shelf full of Boredoms/Zorn/Tzadik stuff, though you'll never know what you might be missing...
MPEG Stream: "Seed"

YAMATAKA EYE & JOHN ZORN Naninani II (Tzadik) cd 16.98
To certain ears, to fans of fucked-up avant-garde noisy ridiculousness (like us), the names John Zorn and Yamataka Eye separately but especially together are magical ones. To be perfectly honest, I (Allan) would have to credit the two of them, via Zorn's seminal genre-gargling "jazz" group Naked City for which Eye vocalised, for helping me on the way towards first experiencing some of the really fundamental, now-long-time-fave artists of my personal musical pantheon...(Eye's band) the Boredoms, then the Ruins, and from thence the whole Japanese noise (and psych, and prog) scene... So this disc is for folks like me/you/us. The extreme sax of Zorn, the extreme vocals of Eye, the additional extreme musical imaginings of both of 'em, combined on one crazy disc, the follow-up to their previous Naninani album on Tzadik from about nine years ago...wow, has it been that long? The obi strip on this cd points out that Eye and Zorn have been occasional musical collaborators for about twenty years now, having first met in Japan in 1986! So yeah, good thing we weren't holding our breath for this one. But it had to happen. And it holds up with the first Naninani (though, there's no beating "Bad Hawkwind") and their psuedo-historical disc of cantorial-inspired singing Zohar as well. The tracks here are quite diverse -- the first sounds like hysterical foreign children trapped in some physics experiment, while others are textural/drone experiments or are more overtly sax/jazz oriented freekouts. But even in a blindfold test, after hearing a few tracks fans of the duo should have no trouble guessing who is (ir)responsible for this.
MPEG Stream: "Fuckxotica"
MPEG Stream: "Bar Time With Eno"

YESTERDAYS NEW QUINTET (MADLIB) Yesterday's Universe (Stones Throw) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Bitches Brew"
MPEG Stream: "Barumba"

YESTERDAYS NEW QUINTET (MADLIB) Yesterday's Universe (Stones Throw) lp 16.98

YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & SATOKO FUJII Erans (Tzadik) cd 16.98

YOSHIZAWA, MOTOHARU Outfit: Bass Solo 2 1/2 (Kinroad) cd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

YOUNG COMPOSERS COLLECTIVE cd 13.98
From Seattle, a half-jazz big band, half-orchestra that writes their own material and has worked with Eyvind Kang and Bill Frisell. This a self-released cd in a shiny metal sleeve, embossed with a skull, very nice.

YOUNG, LARRY Lawrence Of Newark (Perception) lp 12.98
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YOUNG, ROLAND P. Isophonic Boogie Woogie (EM Records) cd 23.00
Sometimes you know a record is gonna blow your mind before you even throw it on. Such is most definitely the case with Isophonic Boogie Woogie by Roland P. Young. Heck, it's called Isophonic Boogie Woogie after all! And it's on the seemingly infallible (and impossible to pin down) EM records from Japan who have quickly become our new favorite label, having released Jim Fassett's Symphony Of The Birds, Moolah's Woe Ye Demons Possessed and Sam Moore's MOOOHIEEE! and those are just the ones we've reviewed so far. Plus it's got super tripped out black and white hand drawn cover art, three heads, presumably all Mr. Young, one with a well groomed afro, one with headphones, one with crazy hair that drifts skyward like tentacles, and a third eye right in the center of his forehead, while surrounding the heads are leaves and electronic equipment, and ankhs, and black suns, scorpions, saxophones, sailing ships and cars and pyramids, and a bunch of little Roland P. Young's walking up hillsides, jamming on guitars, getting into cars... you get the idea. This is some seriously far out stuff, and we haven't even heard a note of music, and that's a heck of a lot of trippiness to live up to.
Thankfully, Isophonic Boogie Woogie is as weird and as wacked as all the above business would lead you to believe. Originally released in 1980, Isophonic Boogie Woogie was the first realization of Young's unique version of free jazz music, which he referred to as "Afro spiritual minimal electronic space music" which on closer listening is WAY more spot on. Young employs an unlikely arsenal: kalimba, saxophone, voice, clarinet, electronic bass clarinet, bells, chimes, electronic drones, electronic pulse and electronic accoutrements (!), to craft his spaced out free jazz minimalism. The first track is a warm melodic fugue, woven from the reverberating steel of the kalimba (sounding like a muted mellow version of Konono No.1 actually) with soaring falsetto vocals, before eventually a saxophone joins in, playing soft moody melodies over the rich bed of the kalimba. So nice. Wouldn't mind a whole record of this. But Young has different ideas. The second track is a brief but aggressive blast of solo clarinet, emitting gritty rumbles, a series of droney duck calls, very textural and oblique, and really mysterious sounding. As is the next track, an ominous low end groove, warm distorted and muted melodies, the electronic bass clarinet strangely alien sounding, a groovy jazzy thrum, pulsing and throbbing each note with a strange texture and a bizarre electronic after image that makes the whole thing sound that much more dark and droney. The record's centerpiece (and longest track) is "Loveliness", a 15 minute drift of dense ambient whirs, subtle drones, tinkling chimes, softly struck bells, sizzling cymbals and all sorts of percussive clatter, all beneath a wild free jazz workout, skronks and squeaks and trills, impossible melodies, a tangled free form melodic freakout. Afro spiritual minimal electronic space music indeed! The last track is another long one, with more of that alien sounding electronic bass clarinet, the notes and tones low and rough, with lots of reverbed echoes, the track starts as a thick corrosive drone of rumbling warbling horns, mumbled vocals and all sorts of spacey effects, swooping and swooning, before the clarinet begins to explore its freedom and offers up a litany of strange sounds, from free jazz skronk to percussive patter to playful melodic figures, before drifting back into a droning murky swirl.
Some of the coolest, weirdest, most far out free jazz we've heard for sure, and another check in the 'right fucking on!' column for EM!
This reissue includes two bonus tracks, one a shuffling funky rhythm, with primitive drum machine over a warm distant sonic glow. swooning sax, like mood music from some long forgotten eighties soundtrack, the other a soft stretch of dreamy mediation music, subtle electronic pulses beneath a swirling wash of moaning horns and shifting subtle tones. Both more melodic and less tripped out than the original tracks but cool nonetheless.
Like all the EM reissues, this includes extensive liner notes (all in Japanese, sorry), tons of photos, original album artwork and more.
MPEG Stream: "Crystal Motions"
MPEG Stream: "Row Land"

YOUNG, ROLAND P. Isophonic Boogie Woogie (EM Records) lp 22.00
Finally available on VINYL!!
Sometimes you know a record is gonna blow your mind before you even throw it on. Such is most definitely the case with Isophonic Boogie Woogie by Roland P. Young. Heck, it's called Isophonic Boogie Woogie after all! And it's on the seemingly infallible (and impossible to pin down) EM records from Japan who have quickly become our new favorite label, having released Jim Fassett's Symphony Of The Birds, Moolah's Woe Ye Demons Possessed and Sam Moore's MOOOHIEEE! and those are just the ones we've reviewed so far. Plus it's got super tripped out black and white hand drawn cover art, three heads, presumably all Mr. Young, one with a well groomed afro, one with headphones, one with crazy hair that drifts skyward like tentacles, and a third eye right in the center of his forehead, while surrounding the heads are leaves and electronic equipment, and ankhs, and black suns, scorpions, saxophones, sailing ships and cars and pyramids, and a bunch of little Roland P. Young's walking up hillsides, jamming on guitars, getting into cars... you get the idea. This is some seriously far out stuff, and we haven't even heard a note of music, and that's a heck of a lot of trippiness to live up to.
Thankfully, Isophonic Boogie Woogie is as weird and as wacked as all the above business would lead you to believe. Originally released in 1980, Isophonic Boogie Woogie was the first realization of Young's unique version of free jazz music, which he referred to as "Afro spiritual minimal electronic space music" which on closer listening is WAY more spot on. Young employs an unlikely arsenal: kalimba, saxophone, voice, clarinet, electronic bass clarinet, bells, chimes, electronic drones, electronic pulse and electronic accoutrements (!), to craft his spaced out free jazz minimalism. The first track is a warm melodic fugue, woven from the reverberating steel of the kalimba (sounding like a muted mellow version of Konono No.1 actually) with soaring falsetto vocals, before eventually a saxophone joins in, playing soft moody melodies over the rich bed of the kalimba. So nice. Wouldn't mind a whole record of this. But Young has different ideas. The second track is a brief but aggressive blast of solo clarinet, emitting gritty rumbles, a series of droney duck calls, very textural and oblique, and really mysterious sounding. As is the next track, an ominous low end groove, warm distorted and muted melodies, the electronic bass clarinet strangely alien sounding, a groovy jazzy thrum, pulsing and throbbing each note with a strange texture and a bizarre electronic after image that makes the whole thing sound that much more dark and droney. The record's centerpiece (and longest track) is "Loveliness", a 15 minute drift of dense ambient whirs, subtle drones, tinkling chimes, softly struck bells, sizzling cymbals and all sorts of percussive clatter, all beneath a wild free jazz workout, skronks and squeaks and trills, impossible melodies, a tangled free form melodic freakout. Afro spiritual minimal electronic space music indeed! The last track is another long one, with more of that alien sounding electronic bass clarinet, the notes and tones low and rough, with lots of reverbed echoes, the track starts as a thick corrosive drone of rumbling warbling horns, mumbled vocals and all sorts of spacey effects, swooping and swooning, before the clarinet begins to explore its freedom and offers up a litany of strange sounds, from free jazz skronk to percussive patter to playful melodic figures, before drifting back into a droning murky swirl.
Some of the coolest, weirdest, most far out free jazz we've heard for sure, and another check in the 'right fucking on!' column for EM!
This reissue includes two bonus tracks, one a shuffling funky rhythm, with primitive drum machine over a warm distant sonic glow. swooning sax, like mood music from some long forgotten eighties soundtrack, the other a soft stretch of dreamy mediation music, subtle electronic pulses beneath a swirling wash of moaning horns and shifting subtle tones. Both more melodic and less tripped out than the original tracks but cool nonetheless.
Like all the EM reissues, this includes extensive liner notes (all in Japanese, sorry), tons of photos, original album artwork and more.
MPEG Stream: "Crystal Motions"
MPEG Stream: "Row Land"

YOUNG-HOLT UNLIMITED Oh Girl (4 Men With Beards) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sick electric funk and smoove jazz coexist on this new reissue on local label 4 Men With Beards. It comes chock full of fuzzed out guitar and chunky organ grooves along with slower romantic numbers that veer a bit close to cocktail lounge territory for our liking. Young-Holt Unlimited had hits like "Soulful Strut" for Atlantic and featured members of the Ramsey Lewis Trio. "Oh Girl" was produced by Michael Cuscuna, who produced the Art Ensemble's Bap-tizm (also reissued on 4 Men With Beards), and has string aranngements by Eumir Deodato, the guy who made a disco version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)" and produced Kool and the Gang. A very slick, jazzy instrumental rare groove classic.

ZA FRUMI Chapter 2: Tach (Waerloga) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The return of the orcs!!! Chapter two in the musical tale of Uglach and his band of orcs. Here's a little of what we said about chapter one (which we also have in stock):
"Much like a radio play, the whole drama is played out via dialogue, ambient sounds and incidental music....a musical story, utilising dark ambience, cinematic soundscapes, the sounds of life in the forest (sticks crackling, wind blowing, water splashing, swords clashing) and a litany of grunts and growls, which is the dialogue spoken entirely in orcish."
Chapter two is heavier on the music (not heavier mind you, but containing more music), with less emphasis on battles and dialogue, sounding much more medieval and almost renaissance faire-ish at times (although fear not, there is still plenty of orcish being grunted, as well as the occasional unsheathing of swords). Flutes, hand drums, jaw harp, and didgeridoos are woven into fantastical soundscapes, evoking forests, caves and times of yore. In fact, according to the liner notes, much of the record actually -was- recorded in forests and caves (as well as lakes, rivers and a castle). Those of you who need another Lord Of The Rings fix before film number two might find what you're looking for with Za Frumi. If you don't have the first one, you might want to start there, but if you're anything like us, you'll have to get both!!
RealAudio clip: "Bug Selrath"
RealAudio clip: "Shadapon"
RealAudio clip: "Za Shapaukatar Shapol"

ZA FRUMI Za Shum Ushatar Uglakh (Tarki) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Let me preface this review by mentioning that Allan has never read The Lord Of The Rings (even with his extensive D&D experience...hmmm).
Za Frumi is a group of Swedish musicians, disenchanted with the black metal scene, and the music scene in general, who were compelled to look elsewhere for the magic and mystery they felt was lacking in modern music. The result is 'Za Shum Ushatar Uglakh', a musical tale of a clan of orcs and their battle against a mighty vampire lord! That's right, orcs.
The story goes like this (from the liner notes):
"Join the epic voyage of the orc leader Uglakh and his compatriots. Their adventure begins in the deep lustrous forest filled with the sounds of the wild and the roar of a great fire. Around it sit the Uruki Uglach, awaiting the mysterious primal dance of their shaman. The morning after, the uruks, compelled by their mystic shamans advice to Uglach, attack an old castle. After the raid, the subservient Golug Fachtal and his more adventurous kinsmen Yagui forage the forest, and set out to build a watch tower. After a frustrated argument about a toadstool, the wet Yagul and the other orcs begin building a tower, while the dagalush Knish and his kapuli friend go further afield, and find a deep sea beach, where the melodious elves are making sweet music. Later, we join the clans march during a night filled with wonder. They press constantly on, sometimes marching, sometimes sneaking. After a short stroll in the forest, Uglakh and his clansmen happen upon the dark, brooding castle of the dreaded vampire Ismael. The journey through his dark castle has two parts, with mysterious subterranean chanting and majestic orchestral sounds. They face many perils there, and end in the final battle with Ismael in his greatest chamber."
Much like a radio play, the whole drama is played out via dialogue (more on that later), ambient sounds and incidental music.
So simply as a musical story, utilising dark ambience, cinematic soundscapes, the sounds of life in the forest (sticks crackling, wind blowing, water splashing, swords clashing) and a litany of grunts and growls, which is the dialogue spoken entirely in orcish (for real! -- a handy translation is included in the booklet for those not fluent in the tongue). It's really interesting and quite entertaining.
But the music, taken on its own, is quite an epic dronescape (albiet littered with very un-drone like segments). 'Za Shum...' is a strange mix of dark rumbles and throbbing pulses, simple clattery rhythms and tribal workouts, grunting and growling and roaring (that could be electronic rumbles or misplaced death metal vocalists if you didn't already know it was orcs) and the occasional folky flute interlude. Imagine the No Neck Blues Band jamming with Jonathan Coleclough or Andrew Chalk, with Chris Barnes (Cannibal Corpse) or Glenn Benton (Deicide)
grunting the dialogue with the Thai Elephant Orchestra as their rhythm section. It's that weird. It's that cool.
RealAudio clip: "Nudertogat"
RealAudio clip: "Za Shulg"
RealAudio clip: "Za Kala"
RealAudio clip: "Dushatar"

ZABRODZKI, PIOTR & TATSUYA YOSHIDA Karakany (Vivo) cd 14.98
Drummer Tatsuya Yoshida from Japanese prog-crazies the Ruins teams up with Polish pianist Piotr Zabrodzki for these sixteen tracks of advanced "jazz" insanity, recently recorded in Warsaw. We'd never heard of Zabrodzki before, but he more than holds his own with the notoriously hyperkinetic Yoshida, playing distorted bass as well as piano (at the same time? sounds like it -- must be overdubbed, though you never know with a Yoshida project, as he's able to play, like, a half dozen instruments and sing all at the same time, so maybe his friends can too!). The duo's presumably improvised music wildly ranges along an extremely spastically noisy to almost classically jazzy continuum. They attain appropriately Ruins-y levels of Magmoid prog-ness (the throbbing bass pulsations! the octopoidal percussion frenzies!) punctuated with some gargling vocals from Yoshida. The ivories are tickled unto death by Zabrodzki, who plays with "Great Balls Of Fire" ferocity, fractured into the avantgarde abstraction of a Cecil Taylor. It's all very chaotic and complex, manic yet melodic. And meaningful? Maybe, we're puzzled by the African imagery found in the cd packaging, how does that fit with the quasi-scientific sounding song titles ("Permanent Beta Power", "Tri-Command Connector", "Oxymoron 9", "Micronode Examination", "Quick-Core", etc.), or the Poland/Japan connection also celebrated in the cd graphics with the flags of both countries? Who knows, but anyway Ruins/Yoshida fans should dig this, it's another in a long line of interesting, intense duets in which the drummer has taken part. Satoko Fuji is probably jealous.
MPEG Stream: "Bei-Bar"
MPEG Stream: "Rat-Tiristor Noise"

ZAKARYA s/t (Tzadik) cd 16.98
More tradition-challenging avant-garde Jewish music on the Tzadik label, this project being by Parisian Yves Weyh and band (accordion, electric guitar, bass and percussion).

ZAMIR, DANNY Satlah (Tzadik) cd 15.98
Satlah are a young NYC jazz trio led by Israeli immigrant Danny Zamir, a 19-year old sax player and composer. Championed by Tzadik-boss John Zorn (whose alto sax appears on three tracks here) for obvious reasons: Satlah aren't far from the sort of "New Jewish Music" epitomized by Zorn's own, reknowned Masada quartet. Allan had the pleasure of seeing these guys play a free show in the bar at the Knitting Factory in New York not long ago and declares that this recording captures the intensity, beauty and playfulness that the trio demonstrated live. Mixing traditional Jewish motifs (and instrumentation) into a hard-blowing jazz power trio format with great success, Satlah are of course recommended to Masada fans...

ZORN, JOHN A Dreamer's Christmas (Tzadik) cd 16.98
That's right - a John Zorn Xmas album!!!???

ZORN, JOHN Archery (Tzadik) 3cd 40.00
"Archery is Zorn's first large scale game piece and features an incredible all-star band, including, among others: Eugene Chadbourne, Bill Laswell, George Lewis, Bob Ostertag, Kramer, Tom Cora, Wayne Horvitz and of course John Zorn on sax and duck calls. Available here in a newly mastered edition, complete with the original notes, inserts, session photos and over an hour of newly discovered outtakes." (from the obi)

ZORN, JOHN Astronome (Tzadik) cd 16.98

ZORN, JOHN Cartoon/S&M Chamber Music (Tzadik) 2cd 22.00
Several respected chamber music ensembles put their strings to the test playing John Zorn's cartoon-music inspired music (disc one) as well as the even wilder and much darker compositions from Zorn's Naked City/"Torture Garden" period (disc two)!
RealAudio clip: "The Dead Man part 9"

ZORN, JOHN Chimeras (Tzadik) cd 16.98
A 20th-century (not 21st, as it specifically references Schoenberg and others from the 1900s) chamber piece composed by avant-jazz-maestro John Zorn in 2001. Scored for virtuoso female voice along with various combinations of piccolo, piano, flute, celeste, violin, cello, percussion (hi Willy!), organ, clarinet, etc. Conceptually, Zorn employs an Oulipo-inspired conceit here: each movement is prohibited from using a particular pitch, making a musical lipogram of sorts. Sonically, this is quite nice, if you're partial to soprano wordless aaaa-aaahh-ah-ah operatic type vocals continually soaring over mysterious horror movie strings, atonal piano, randomly struck bells, everything very ominous and dramatic and high-art beautiful. There's sound effects (wind machines??) and rustling percussion that add some pleasing "glitch" to the proceedings. Maybe you don't buy a 20th century classical disc everyday, but this would be nice one to keep your Jonathan Bepler "Cremaster" soundtracks company...
This does make us wonder, do academic composer aficionados feel about Zorn doing stuff like this the same way some of us felt about Faith No More's Mike Patton doing "Zorn" type stuff?
MPEG Stream: "Five"

ZORN, JOHN Dreamers (Tzadik) cd 16.98

ZORN, JOHN Filmworks Anthology (Tzadik) cd 15.98
For those of you who don't want the whole shelf-load of JZ's Filmworks volumes, a handy-dandy "best of" selected by the man himself. Maybe good starting point...

ZORN, JOHN Filmworks IX: Trembling Before G-d (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Organist Jamie Saft, clarinetist Chris Speed and percussionist Cyro Baptista play John Zorn's compositions (including a few from his Masada project) for this soundtrack to a documentary (controversial, we're told) about the Gay Hasidic Jewish community...

ZORN, JOHN Filmworks X: In the Mirror of Maya Deren (Tzadik) cd 17.98
From the accompanying obi strip: "Hypnotic, sensual and evocative music for Martina Kudlacek's brilliant and detailed documentary on the life and work of underground film legend Maya Deren. Mixing myth and ritual with avant-garde dance and film techniques, Maya forged a creative language that continues to resound in the very best of today's experimental artists. The music here moves from nostalgia to mystery, capturing the many moods of Maya's life and art. Performed by Erik Friedlander, Jamie Saft and Cyro Baptista, In the Mirror of Maya Deren also features the unique piano stylings of John Zorn over three dreamy string arrangements. From Klezmer to classical, Haitian drumming to Indonesian gamelan, easy listening to minimalism, this score is one of Zorn's most beautiful and touching listening experiences."
Alright, now that you've read all that, and if you're at all familiar with Zorn's Filmworks series, you probably know whether or not if you want / need this. I must admit, I didn't expect to like this disc, considering the high proliferation of compositions from Zorn in the past fifteen or so years. But the man always seems to come through somehow. One of the two major highlights of this disc are the subtle beauty in the performances of Erik Friedlander (actually some of the most touching and heartfelt playing that I've heard from him!). The other is the rare performance by Zorn on piano, beautifully rendered - a rare homage to his love of Feldman, maybe? There are moments of minimalist texture, however brief and overshadowed by Friedlander's sweet dynamicism. Always one to cross over styles and display technical virtuosity, this installment of Filmworks could do without the bongo drumming or faux-exotic parts, but then again, it is about Maya Deren whose films themselves included Haitian drumming in them. Overall a nice disc and one that almost lives up to its obi strip comments.
RealAudio clip: "Kiev 1"
RealAudio clip: "Filming"
RealAudio clip: "Nostalgia 2"