Tangerine Dream - Exit (1981)

Returning to Tangerine Dream this week and next, in a couple of albums that I often under-rate dute to their proximity to bigger favourites.  1981's Exit saw the now established lineup of Froese, Franke & Schmoelling continue to refine the group's new slick, melodic and more accessible direction: the longest track here is the nine-minute opener Kiew Mission.  A cold war-themed plea for global understanding, recited in Russian by an actress, it's another one of the rare uses of vocals by TD, and is followed by the more static moodpiece Pilots Of Purple Twilight and the catchy, upbeat Chronozon.  

 

Side two of the album reverses the pattern, with two short tracks leading to the eight-minute, highly atmospheric Remote Viewing.  TD's compositional skills were still strong throughout Exit, the three members' individual skills complemented each other well, and they continued to push forward with constantly-developing keyboard technology, the Fairlight being added to their arsenal at this point.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
Phaedra (scroll past main post)

Stratosfear
Encore

Cyclone
Force Majeure
Tangram
Logos: Live At The Dominion
Hyperborea

Poland

Le Parc

Charles Mingus - East Coasting (1957)

Early Mingus with a small but perfectly-chosen group, and five top-notch compositions by the man himself topped off with a rendition of Memories Of You.  East Coasting is a gorgeous, accessible album, not least with Bill Evans behind the keys, and the mellow moments of this record are particularly enjoyable - the lengthy take of Celia is probably my highlight.  There are moments that cook and swing too, in the lengthy quick-slow arrangement of West Coast Ghost and the breezy title track.  Defintely deserves to be as celebrated as the better-known, major label entries in Mingus' catalogue.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
Jazz Portraits: Mingus In Wonderland 
Oh Yeah

Tijuana Moods
The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady  
Mingus Plays Piano  
Let My Children Hear Music

Mingus Moves
Changes One & Two
Cumbia & Jazz Fusion
plus:  

The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall
Blue Moods  
Money Jungle  
BBC Proms Tribute by Metropole Orkest

Boulez Conducts Zappa - The Perfect Stranger (1984)

 

Three fine examples of Zappa's writing for orchestra - in this case chamber orchestra, as Pierre Boulez in preparatory correspondence advised that he had Ensemble InterContemporain most closely to hand.  The Perfect Stranger (the album) is filled out by 14 minutes of Synclavier music (the "Barking Pumpkin Digital Gratification Consort" is simply Zappa at his new favourite instrument).  

 

In the longest ensemble piece and title track, the liner notes explain that "A door-to-door salesman, accompanied by his faithful gypsy-mutant industrial vacuum cleaner cavorts licentiously with a slovenly housewife."  A recent live version, conducted by Ivan Volkov, is in the links list below.  The other two Boulez/InterContemporain renditions are Naval Aviation In Art?, first attempted at the 1975 Royce Hall concerts, and an arrangement of the live-improv vehicle Dupree's Paradise (see YCDTOSA 2 for a nice meandering band example).

On the Synclavier, Zappa gives us the twinkling atonality of The Girl In The Magnesium Dress; the Joe's Garage track re-arrangement Outside Now Again; the minute-long note-bending exercise Love Story, and the suitably ominous Jonestown.  He'd later remaster the album in a new mix, different running order and with noticeably different Synclavier instrumentation on Magnesium Dress - this first-pressing CD matches the original vinyl.

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pw: sgtg

 

Frank Zappa at SGTG:

Lumpy Gravy

Waka/Jawaka

The Grand Wazoo

Roxy & Elsewhere

One Size Fits All

Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar

You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore, Vol. 2: The Helsinki Concert

The Perfect Stranger (live 2018)

Keith Jarrett - The Survivors' Suite (1977)

Jarrett's 'American Quartet' (with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian) at their most uncharacteristic in a through-composed suite, and quite possibly at their best.  The Survivors' Suite was written by Jarrett specifically with a concert at NYC's Avery Fisher Hall (previously Philharmonic Hall, now David Geffen Hall) in mind, the restrained tempo apparently suiting the acoustics better.

On record, the 48 minute Suite is simply split into "Beginning" and "Conclusion" over the two sides.  Most strikingly of all, Jarrett plays no piano for the first eight and a half minutes, as a sombre bass recorder/horns and percussion stretch gradually builds.  He then leaves the sax to Redman to propel the music forward in the manner more typical of Jarrett, before reaching a calm piano interlude at Beginning's halfway point.  Haden and Motian are both highlighted as the first half nears its end.  Conclusion starts out in firey group interplay mode and largely keeps up that momentum, with great solo spots along the way.  Out of Jarrett's "weird but wonderful" corner of his discography (Hymns/Spheres, Invocations etc) this is arguably the summit.

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Keith Jarrett at SGTG:
Gary Burton & Keith Jarrett 

Live-Evil
Expectations

Belonging
The Köln Concert
Hymns/Spheres
G. I. Gurdjieff: Sacred Hymns
Invocations/The Moth And The Flame
Concerts: Bregenz/München
Setting Standards: New York Sessions
Dark Intervals
Changeless
Tribute
Vienna Concert
At The Blue Note: Saturday, June 4th 1994, 1st Set

Standards In Norway 
Tokyo '96
La Scala

Renaud François - s/t (1988)

Hour-long overview of French composer and flautist Renaud François (b. 1943), in what appears to be the only album fully dedicated to his music.  François has played extensively as both a solo flautist and as a member of Ensemble 2E2M, who play his compositions here, first on ...Un Regard Oblique... (1983), with its interweaving flute solos as a combination of trombones and tubular bells flesh out the tonal colours.  A solo piano piece, Deuxième Récit (1986) is next, played by its dedicatee Carlos Roqué Alsina.

Sonnet (1983) puts to music a verse by sixteenth century poet Pontus De Tyard, with an interesting combination of bass voice, piano and tuba.  François' work for wind instruments is highlighted in the next two pieces: the ensemble seascape Reflets II (1978) which includes an incredible percussion crescendo, and flute duet Tu/Les Ecoutes (1976).  The album ends with its longest work, Les Chemins De La Nuit (1984) for cello and orchestra, with more percussive fireworks and engrossing layers of tonal shading.  Wish there was more music by François available, this is all good stuff.

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pw: sgtg

Shackleton - Three EPs (2009)

Lancashire native/Berlin resident Sam Shackleton just returned with a new album, so here's an old one.  I started listening to Shackleton a few years back in a phase of trying to tackle more recent, interesting electronic music, and absolutely loved the dark, spacious production.

 

Three EPs, Shackleton's only release for Perlon and despite the title counted as his first album, was released on three 12"s (hence the title) or one CD.  Minimal beats, low frequency bass, jittery Middle Eastern-style percussion, doomy organ, hissing clouds of electronics and samples from what sounds like a self-help lecture all combine to provide an immersive, hypnotic hour of unsettling darkness.  At the same time, oddly enough, as many listeners have noted, it's oddly calming, and very satisfying.  During its 2000s vogue, the more commercial end of this sort of stuff was known as dubstep; to my ears though it's just very good atmospheric, percussive electronica in the tradition of Zoviet France and Muslimgauze.

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pw: sgtg

Dustin O'Halloran - Piano Solos (2004)

First solo album by Phoenix-born musician Dustin O'Halloran, who'd go on to form A Winged Victory For The Sullen a few years later with Adam Wiltzie from Stars Of The Lid.  Twelve beautifully composed and rendered solo piano miniatures make for a meditative 40 minutes of music, with perhaps some similarities to Nils Frahm's work in the same field, or even those from the prior generation like George Winston.  That's all there really is to say about this lovely record - just relax and enjoy.

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AWVFTS at SGTG:

s/t debut

Atomos

Live At BBC Proms 2015

Jan Garbarek-Bobo Stenson Quartet - Dansere (1975)

More Garbarek-Stenson loveliness to go nicely with the turning of the seasons.  This follow-up to Witchi-Tai-To was notably different in composition - other than one arrangement of a Nordic folk tune, everything was written by Garbarek.  He regarded the 15 minute title track as "a breakthrough point for me, in trying to find the material I feel most at home with", and the album as a whole has the feeling of carving out his comfortable niche in European jazz, right down to all the track titles being in Norwegian.

After that opening trek across the rural open space evoked on the album cover, the rest of Dansere (in English, dancers) progresses in similar atmospheric form.  Svevende aptly conjures up its titular feeling over hovering above great fjords via Christensen's nimble drumming, as the winds blown by Garbarek turn to a full-on icy blast.  Bris (breeze) features the most energetic playing on the record, propelled by Stenson, then a short interlude Skirk & Hyl (cries and howls) is an aptly-described spotlight for Garbarek and Danielsson.  The record settles down again with a traditional shepherding ballad in Lokk, then Christensen heats up the groove just enough for Til Vennene (to friends) to end the album on a bit of indoor warmth.

 

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Jan Garbarek at SGTG:
Afric Pepperbird
Triptykon
Popofoni (also includes Stenson & Christensen)

Witchi-Tai-To
Solstice: Sounds And Shadows
Sol De Meio Dia
Paths, Prints
Song For Everyone
Making Music

Neighbourhood

Richard Teitelbaum – Concerto Grosso For Human Concertino And Robotic Ripieno (1988)

Free jazz, baroque concepts and 80s MIDI experiments all rolled into one fascinating work by NYC native Richard Teitelbaum (1939-2020).  Following earlier setups to have his piano control other digital pianos, Teitelbaum expanded the concept to have a "human concertino" of piano and two wind players (Anthony Braxton and George Lewis) controlling an array of digital pianos and synths, the "robotic ripieno".  If this live music/early computer music interface sounds like it's got shades of David Behrman about it, then yep, Behrman is thanked in the liner notes for advice and inspiration.

The three-part work was recorded live at the Klaviere & Computer Festival, WDR Koln in May 1985 and released on CD three years later (perhaps as a result of the work winning a Prix Ars Electronica award for Computer Music in '87).  In each section of around 18 minutes duration, Braxton and Lewis do their thing, Teitelbaum adds some live piano, and the MIDI ensemble tinkles away in response.  Really enjoyable stuff, especially in the knottier second part with more frenetic electronics, and in some of the truly bizarre sounds generated in the third part.

link

pw: sgtg

Peter Baumann - Trans Harmonic Nights (1979)

Peter Baumann's second solo album appeared three years on from his debut: he'd been busy in the interim setting up his Paragon studio, and producing Conrad Schnitzler's Con and Roedelius' Jardin Au Fou there.  Whether or not the influence of those albums filtered through to Baumann's own music that he continued to sketch out whenever there was free time, Trans Harmonic Nights does share some surface similarities: some sparse, atmospheric electronics like the former, and sunny, melodic material like the latter.

There's also still some Berlin-school sequencing to be found that harks back to Baumann's time in Tangerine Dream, notably on Chasing The Dream and The Third Site.  A new aspect introduced here is his first use of vocals, the use of vocoder on short, repetitive phrases making them an interesting precedent to Dorothea Raukes' Deutsche Wertarbeit album.  Opening track This Day is a really lovely album highlight, with the plaintive refrain of "This day will fade away" giving it a melancholic shading.  Can't work out what's being sung on Biking Up The Strand, but the electronic vocal texture is a really nice touch on the short, catchy track.

Elsewhere, Baumann continues to delve deeper into succinct, melodic instrumental material, with occasional input from guest musicians: Wolfgang Thierfeldt from Release Music Orchestra contributes a couple of really striking drum performances on Meridian Moorland and the closing Dance At Dawn.  After this, Baumann's output would become more commercial, and then to focus on other ventures he'd put his solo career on ice until just a few years ago.  Haven't heard Machines Of Desire or the Haslinger collaboration yet - anyone know if they're worth picking up?

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pw: sgtg

Peter Baumann at SGTG:

Phaedra (scroll past main post)

Stratosfear

Romance 76 
Encore