Stars Like Grains of Sand

  Karyn Kusama The Invitation ★★★½ This was way better than I expected honestly. A real slow, tension building burn, like someone edging your fear for about an hour. It takes some skill for a director to be able to build the intensity up to such a degree without letting it release even a tad. And for all the action to be in the last half hour too. This movie had me thinking I was going crazy along with the main character. While there's a lot of ambiguities in this, it's not hard to piece together if you pay attention. God also the acting was spot on, I truly felt so uncomfortable watching this party go on and watching everyone interact. It was a bit predictable during the climax for me but that last shot and scene was totally unexpected. 

The Imperial Court Ensemble  Gagaku - Ancient Japanese Court and Dance Music ★★★ Gagaku is an ancient Japanese classical form of music which has interested me for some time, but I haven't taken the time to listen to a full performance of it. I think I initially heard about it from an interview with John Zorn on some music that inspired him. After listening to this, it's pretty understandable. The unorthodox instrumentation, and sense of rhythm and melody are unlike any Western music of the time. I could also see where some people maybe like Tony Conrad or Terry Riley got some inspiration from. The thing about this release in particular though is that it's very limited. All the pieces are somewhat similar with little variance, it's especially hard to distinguish when one track has gone to the next. I do think there's better releases out there, just have to look for them Favorite Song: Entenraku, Nokorigaku Sanben (Hyojo)

Charles Mingus Sextet with Eric Dolphy Cornell 1964 ★★★★ A previously unreleased concert at Cornell with Mingus and a few newbies too. Or people I haven't heard play with Mingus before, those include Jaki Byard, Clifford Jordon, and Johnny Coles. I think Jaki does the best out of those three, but the others aren't so bad either. This is one of the longer concerts and so are the pieces with a few of them clocking in at more than half an hour. If I could change one thing it would be the extended solos of basically the first half of the concert. While Mingus is a great soloist, I think his true genius is through the form of all the different components working together. You do see a lot of that nearing the end it blends quite well, a fulfilling meat pie of jazz.  Favorite Song: Meditations 

William Basinski El Camino Real ★★★★ Basinski comes with a very  Disintegration Loops  type release. Apparently a live album?, could've fooled me. This is one of his simpler pieces but there's just so many layers that can be micro-analyzed. And I did exactly that tonight, listening to this about 4 times. If you stop paying attention it all blends, like a very beautiful syrupy concoction. But these 50 minutes really deserve proper attention. Closing your eyes and picking out each sound, each texture. To me it really is like a story of triumph followed by failure. A failure which happens quickly is only possible due to the earlier triumph. Maybe I've been listening to this for too long.  Favorite Song: El Camino Real 

Jeff Mills Live at the Liquid Room, Tokyo ★★★ ★ ½ Jeff Mills, the fucking machine of a man. Hard hitting, soaking, and out of control. Not only is Mills a greatly talented and technical DJ, but he's also relentless and brutal. In the most way beautiful way possible too. The inhuman feel of this is hard to beat, cold and without soul but in that way it's free of many of man's imperfections. The vocal jabs and general choppiness of the first segment transforms into this very liquid (haha) that is mind bending and chaotic. And oh god how I love that crowd reaction to "Strings of Life". Probably one of the best mixes and sets I've had the pleasure of listening to.  Favorite Song: Segment 2

 Chris Watson - BJ Nilsen Storm ★★★½ Chris Watson is a compiler and recorder of field recordings, many of which I am very fond of actually. Before this I had not known about BJ Nilsen but it seems to be that he is also in a similar field. There is a whole discussion to be had considering the musicality of field recordings but in this case I'm counting it. This generally seems more like the calm before the storm, rather than the storm itself. The weird antics of the seagulls mixed in with the unsure briny churning water automatically transports me. Yet only temporarily, as sometimes I can lose my focus during these songs. I also think they only get better as the album progresses. Can't get that salty smell out of my nose.  Favorite Song: BJ Nilsen - Austrvegr

Andrew Hill Passing Ships ★★★ ★ Andrew Hill is one of my favorite pianists and composers ever. And this puts him in a session I couldn't have even imagined before. A big band sort of deal that went unreleased until the 2000s. With such a wide and encompassing horn section, Hill is permitted to expand his compositions and this leads to some very imaginative and different styles than I've heard from him before. He picks up some brooding almost Ellington like compositions while also bringing in some Latin flavors on songs like "Noon Tide". "Passing Ships" shows more of that subdued and wandering style.  Joe Farrell really is a star on this, more than most of the releases I've seen him featured on. Especially on "Cascade". Absolutely unreal. Ron Carter also strikes a chord with me on "Yesterday's Tomorrow". There's so much to dissect here, and I can't wait to unravel more and more.  Favorite Song: Plantation...

Rhythm & Sound w/ Paul St. Hilaire Showcase ★★★ ★ The basic channel kiddos coming with a reggae vocalist named Paul St. Hilaire. This starts off like some atmospheric dub already but as it progressives it seems to get more and more ambient or distant. Flowing in and out like an ocean wave as Hilaire tries to keep up with his own winding fashion. I do think the two artists compliment each other pretty well. While it is more minimal, the prominent bass sound is there and there's even more room to focus on the instrumentals. That's because after each vocal song comes an instrumental version of it. While I don't think it's their best work, this is probably the best chemistry they have with any vocal artist. These guys have really been all over the electronic spectrum.  Favorite Song: What a Mistry

Emer Reynolds The Farthest ★★★ ★ The Voyager spacecraft are among one of the most interesting human creations that represent our history and world as a whole. And I personally believe we should be sending smaller versions out every single year at least in every which way direction. This was a pretty engaging and somewhat touching documentary too. The interviews with the engineers and other technicians at the Jet Propulsion Lab really helped you connected with their perspective and how emotional this was for them. Just like it is stated in the documentary, I think a lot of people including myself, are super fascinated with the golden record. For good reason to, as it encapsulates a decent but nowhere near complete version of the human experience. There were some more facts that I had not known about our solar system or the bodies within it, which must have seemed like really exciting stuff at the time. If you're interested in astronomy but not so much the greatly d...

Antena Camino del Sol ★★★ A sort of spacey Brazilian sounding piece of art pop. This easily sounds like something that could have been released in the 90's with the resurgence of "world" music and Bossa nova style, songs like "Bye Bye Papaye" and "Seaside Weekend" are great examples of that. But for being released in 1982, this is an extremely forwarding think project. Isabelle Powaga's silky and sensual voice leads the band while she's accompanied with live percussion mixed in with the signature sound of early 80s synthesizers. The synths are bubbly and poppy with an almost glass-like sound to them. Though these features are great it can run somewhat repetitive, except for a few standout tracks. The latter half of the album is a better example of a more diverse instrumental sound, especially with the synths. The song "The Boy from Ipanema" is not only a bit ghastly but also a quite humorous take on the Bossa nova stand...

Colin Stetson New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges ★★★½ Stetson is one of the harder to define musicians from this decade for me. For a good reason too. Borrowing from the minimalist handbook of those such as Steve Reich and Philip Glass as well as the technique from saxophonists such as Roland Kirk and Anthony Braxton. He is able to create a modern New York scene avant album that aligns itself with classical and jazz while also adopting some electronic repetitiveness. The spoken word is not something worth honestly analyzing and in many ways limits the effect that Stetson's playing can have. Without knowing, one must think that this music is played by an ensemble or mixed to perfection with loops and dubs. Yet this all Stetson by himself, further promoting his creative and driven attitude towards this style of music. A unique and great experience but one I am not likely to return to, except perhaps in a live setting.  Favorite Song:  The Stars in Hi...

Pharaoh Sanders Quintet Pharaoh Sanders Quintet ★★★ Pharaoh's First is one of the reissue titles for this and that should be what you expect going into this. The rest of the players are pretty insignificant to me honestly, nothing that unique or special about them. But they all work well together except when it comes to Sanders being involved. He could be seen by some as a Coltrane copycat on the majority of this except for some his thuuur sounds that you can also hear on  Deaf Dumb Blind (Summun Bukmun Umyun) . Sanders stays pretty close to the hard bop arrangement the others set up for him but it feels as though he's being restrained. Rope around the neck unable to fully express himself. I am glad this was his first record however, better to see an artist like Sanders to improve. Rather than seeing this album be part of his later discography.  Favorite Song: Bethera

Pat Metheny w/ Charlie Haden & Billy Higgins  Rejoicing ★★★½ I've decided for now to only update this with music that I haven't heard before. Otherwise I think it'll get filled quite quickly and would also take up a lot of time. Especially if I am to add books and films or whatever else. Ok that's done. I feel like Pat Metheny gets kind of a bad rep for sounding a bit "smooth" or new age but his guitar skills are superb. On albums like Bright Size Life  he shows his improvisational and melodic skills as if they require no effort at all. Here he is accompanied with the great Charlie Haden and Billy Higgins. "Lonely Woman" which starts off this album is so melancholy and downbeat that one might think that Metheny has taken on a new style completely. Higgins provides a great backdrop for Haden and Metheny to express themselves and it leads into one of the more upbeat songs on the album: "Tears Inside". His subtle electric pla...

Morton Feldman The Viola in My Life ★★★★½ Like almost all Feldman works this is a very testing piece. It's patient and very subtle. I gave this three listens in full but I still think there's more to be discovered each time. Thankfully that was possible due to it being the shortest Feldman piece I've seen so far. The lone viola seems to travel through an obscure darkened atmosphere which is slowly becoming more dense, crushing everything around it. The final piece is probably the most "active", with the monstrous orchestral background closing in. It isn't cold in my home at all but listening to this made me shiver a bit, just concentrating on it.  Favorite Song: The Viola in My Life IV

David Grubbs The Thicket ★★★★ Grubbs comes through with one of his first releases after leaving Gastr Del Sol. Although this is mostly a solo endeavor, it keeps many of the stylistic traits of that famous Chicago duo. I enjoy the simple and minimal arrangements at points, and even the addition of the horn section on songs like "Amleth's Gambit". Grubbs and his somewhat awkward singing is present throughout almost all the songs and he's joined with Mary Lass Stewart on the song "Buried in the Wall", probably the choice song on this album. Tony Conrad is actually on this which was a surprise and it's obvious to see which tracks he is present on. Those two are "40 Words on "Worship"" and "On "Worship"". This is a pleasantly playful and folky release which travels across the boundaries of many different musical genres.  Favorite Song:  Buried in the Wall

Danish String Quartet Last Leaf ★★★ A quartet release from earlier this year. Of course thanks to ECM, this has remarkable recording quality. Kind of odd to imagine these foot tapping folk songs to be played by a string quartet, but it works better than expected. I just think they could have played around a bit more with these compositions, maybe have been more imaginative and thrown me for a loop. It's pretty straight forward with its moods and themes besides a few excellent sections. One of which was "Æ Rømeser" which starts off as bleak as any folk song can get, but by its end you want to jump on a table and grab someone's arm. Truly a lot of these seem like the background music for a medieval movie in which there is a large gathering or festivity in a snow covered, wooden beer hall.  Favorite Song: Æ Rømeser

Horace Tapscott In New York ★★★★½ Incredible. This is so captivating and brimming with technique and passion. All the players excel, especially Tapscott, whose improvisational style is like few I've heard. The opener "Afrika" is a stunningly soulful and percussive heavy track. Roy Haynes does a killer job throughout this album and knows exactly how to compliment the other players or stand on his own. "Lino's Pad" is then Art Davis's highlight. The repetitive and melodic bass line really sets up the foundation for this brooding track. "Sketches of Drunken Mary" is where it all comes together; their best collaborative effort on this album in my opinion. It closes out with "If You Could See Me Now", which really makes me connect this variation to the performance by Bill Evans. Two examples of a jazz standard that show the great variation in this style of music.  Favorite Song: Sketches of Drunken Mary 

Hey  I'm trying this out. Let's see how it goes. For now it'll just be a copy of my RYM diary, but maybe that'll change with this new year. I'll start tomorrow, it's late now