Vikki Jackman – Of Beauty Reminiscing
Andrew Chalk’s pianist on “Goldfall”, Vikki Jackman debuts here with her own album, released from Faraway Press of Andrew. Two evocative tracks where the main protagonist is the electric piano… Discogs
Archive for May, 2009
John Cage – Complete Piano Music Vol. 1
In the Sonatas and Interludes, Cage’s first masterpiece, Schleiermacher appears reflective, rather introspective, painfully and obsessively sculpting some movements as if out of marble, and imbuing other with fragile, almost nonpalpable delicacy…The uniform excellence of Schleiermacher’s performances and the, well, ‘near-completeness’ of the collection make this an invaluable and obviously recommended release, one that bodes [...]
The Glass Orchestra
(Music Gallery Edition LP, 1978) Glass Orchestra was a Toronto-based new music ensemble that works exclusively in the medium of glass, employing custom- or hand-made instruments (eg, glass harmonica, flute, xylophone) and ‘found’ objects (bowls, wine glasses, bottles, tubes, etc). The Glass Orchestra dates its beginnings to late 1977, it was based initially at the [...]
Matt Shoemaker: Warung Elusion
“I will describe Matt Shoemaker’s second CD for trente oiseaux using some notes i jotted down on a piece of paper while listening to it. His music consists of an ever-changing, intricate web of sounds defining spaces in constant transformation. It is very detailed, very present. Transitions between sound scapes, sometimes very slow and very [...]
A BROKEN CONSORT (RICHARD SKELTON) : Box Of Birch
Richard Skelton’s wondrous “Marking Time” was an easy inclusion in our top 10 albums of the year just a short few months ago, but we didn’t immediately realise that the artist was responsible for an absolute plethora of projects conceived, realised, beautifully packaged and self-released via his own “Sustain-Release” website over the last few years. [...]
Sei Miguel – Ra Clock
Sei Miguel returns with a new release on the Lisbon based Headlights label, after last year’s Still Alive in Bairro Alto, a playful yet attractive mock-improvisation for a small ensemble of experimental jazz players (see or review in Issue 053). Miguel performs mostly on trumpet, with a diversion on piano for the solo piece “Étude [...]
Luciano Berio : In memoriam
Hard as it may be to believe, this is the fourth recording of Rendering, and the second by Christoph Eschenbach. It’s not all that different from the conductor’s Houston recording for Koch (coupled with Joachim’s orchestration of the Grand Duo), save for marginally swifter tempos in the second and third movements. It really is a [...]
Robert Ashley : Concrete
Premiered in January 2007 at the legendary La Mama Theater, Concrete is Robert Ashley’s newest masterpiece. Though it is not made explicit in any way, the libretto concerns itself with the ‘musings’ of an old man alone. He thinks about strange questions and even as the questions are asked, they are answered in various forms [...]
Jana Winderen : Submerged
MP3 Touch Tone 36DS (UK, 04-2009) The remarkable Jana Winderen delivers another arresting piece of field recording for the Touch label, this time presenting a veritable deluge for the ears. ‘Submerged’ consumes the listener with an overwhelming barrage from the elements; it’s an inundation of water and air, featuring waves lapping coarsely against the shore [...]
Parmegiani / Bayle : La Divine Comédie
The double-disc Divine Comedie (Magison, 1995) contains a disc with Parmegiani’s L’Enfer (1971) and Paradis (1974) and a disc for Francois Bayle’s music. Parmegiani – Enfer CD1-01 Bernard Parmegiani La Découverte De L’Ombre (3:54) Les Portes (9:59) CD1-02 Bernard Parmegiani La bête (1:52) CD1-03 Bernard Parmegiani Le chemin difficile (1:25) CD1-04 Bernard Parmegiani Les portes [...]