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CD/DVD Releases: Five New Cuneiform Titles - Available One Month Early Exclusively From Wayside M

Posted on Saturday, September 04 @ 20:00:00 UTC by nightowl

The next five releases from Cuneiform Records include Univers Zero's Heresie and Uz Jsme Doma's Caves. Wayside Music has these and the three others available now.

The first of the five is Microscopic Septet - Friday The 13th: The Micros Play Monk about which they write: "Since its founding in 1980, under the co-leadership and co-compositional duties of soprano saxophonist Phillip Johnston and pianist Joel Forrester, 'the Micros' have been 'New York's most famous unknown band;' since 1990, the catchy, film noir theme they created for NPR?s 'Fresh Air with Terry Gross' has aired daily on stations across America, and may now be the most-broadcast jazz tune in the world.



"Composer and pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-82) is one of the top creative deities in the pantheon of American Jazz Greats. His tunes, once considered radical and appreciated only by the cognoscenti, are now beloved standards. The music of Monk was also the catalyst that sparked the creation of one of New York?s most legendary and important jazz groups, the Microscopic Septet.

In 1974, the Monk tune: 'Well You Needn?t' first brought the future Micros co-leaders together by chance. Johnston was living in the Bowery at the time, and Forrester, hearing music, barged into his apartment, unannounced: 'I was playing a Thelonious Monk tune, and a guy I had never seen before came walking through my door, which wasn?t locked - those were the hippie days...' The encounter sparked a friendship and working relationship, in which Monk?s music reverberated on multiple levels across the years. Another chance encounter ? at chicken and ribs place West Boondock, forged Forrester?s friendship with the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter. And through the Baroness, Forrester would ultimately meet and periodically play piano for Monk.

"Since Johnston and Forrester?s first meeting, Monk?s music has remained an inspiration and guiding light throughout their music careers. In addition to creating and playing their own music, they always played Monk?s music with the Microscopic Septet, but due to their limited number of releases and their copious original songbook (more than 180 tunes), they only previously recorded one Monk composition. This new CD rectifies this omission. Featuring original arrangements of 12 Monk tunes, half from 'back in the day' and half newly-written for this recording, the Microscopic Septet make clear their line of descent from Monk. Bottom line: there are many Thelonious Monk-themed discs, but this is the most personalized take on Thelonious Monk there is. It's obviously Monk, but at every moment it's also very obviously the Microscopic Septet! The humor and angularity of Monk?s compositions mesh easily and joyfully with the elaboration and juxtaposition of the Micros-style arranging. This is a true celebration of Monk by a group that can arguably be called his most sensitive and sensational heirs.

"Featuring gorgeous art work by New Yorker artist Barry Blitt ? the man responsible for the infamous and controversial 'Michelle and Barack "fist-bump"' cover and other contentious-yet-humorous artwork- and liner notes by jazz critic and long-time Micros fan Peter Keepnews, Friday The 13th is surprising yet inevitable: a long overdue party with the master, at which The Micros Play Monk."

$15.00; click here to view this item at Wayside

Secondly, there's the 2CD set from Richard Pinhas, Metal/Crystal. "On Metal/Crystal, French experimental guitarist and electronic musician Richard Pinhas summons the assistance of noise artists Merzbow (Masami Akita) from Japan and Wolf Eyes from USA to weave a spellbinding aural web that spans 2 CDs. Over the years, many artists in the 'noise arena' have expressed interest in his pioneering use of synthesizers and electronics in rock and contemporary music. Pinhas has likewise been intrigued by various areas of the ?noise? scene and Metal/Crystal, recorded 'during these two worst years of my life' reflects these influences strongly. Metal/Crystal also intertwines some of the most radical electro-acoustic sonic innovations to emerge from three different continents: Europe, Asia and North America.

"Pinhas has been ceaselessly innovative in a career spanning more than 30 years, and recently has been exploring areas of the international ?noise? scene. His newest release shows him working with two of that scene?s highest profile artists; Merzbow and Wolf Eyes are considered to be the premier ?noise artists? of their respective countries. Metal/Crystal is Pinhas? second collaboration with Merzbow, the originator of Japanese noise music. It is Pinhas? first release with Michigan's Wolf Eyes, whom he?s worked with since 2007.

"In addition to Merzbow and Wolf Eyes, Metal/Crystal features several of Pinhas? longtime collaborators: Antoine Paganotti (drums), Didier Batard (bass), Patrick Gauthier (mini-Moog) (all ex members of Heldon and/or Magma); Jerome Schmidt (electronics), whom Pinhas has recorded and toured extensively with for 2 decades; and his son Duncan Pinhas (electronics), who also helped mix the album with Laurent Peyron and Francis Gernet. The album?s artwork, by Yann Legendre and Joy Burke, features intricate, back-and-white cartoon-like drawings, with images hidden inside larger forms.

"The 6 lengthy tracks on Metal/Crystal features some of Pinhas? most melodic guitar riffs in recent years, as well as his ?noisiest? sonic abstractions ever. Whether with his band Heldon or under his own name, Richard Pinhas has been at the forefront of the meging of electronics with rock music for over 35 years!

Metal/Crystal is two full length CDs of radical music that sells at a radically reasonable price!"

$17.00; click here to view this item at Wayside

The third release is from Jason Robinson, The Two Faces Of Janus. "The Two Faces Of Janus - one face looking at the past, one face looking towards the future. Borrowed from Greek mythology, Janus is an apt metaphor for the latest release by accomplished reedist and composer Jason Robinson. Robinson first appeared on Cuneiform with the long-running collective ensemble Cosmologic. Now he steps forward with a solo album that features a stellar band, all of whom are distinguished figures in jazz and improvised music as well as all being top-drawer bandleaders in their own right:

Jason Robinson -? tenor and soprano saxes, flute
Marty Ehrlich ? alto sax, bass clarinet
Rudresh Mahanthappa ? alto sax
Liberty Ellman ? guitar
Drew Gress ? bass
George Schuller ? drums

"The music is angular, expressive, emotional and virtuosic. Using Robinson's compositions as a base, all the players dig in and with their solos and ensemble interplay raise the stakes to make an outstanding contemporary work. The album seam-lessly moves from hard swinging grooves to beautiful abstraction and features great work from all of these tremendous players. Robinson?s playing and composing embodies the duality of the Janus metaphor; his music draws from the rich historical and modern traditions of jazz and he creates a decidedly modern and unique musical vision. The Two Faces Of Janus also positions Robinson ? originally from the West Coast ? within New York?s most innovative community of creative and visionary jazz musicians. With the release of this modern classic, Robinson has arrived!"

??the saxophonist himself has a warm expressive tone, occasionally dipping into freer realms yet always staying true to the structure of his compositions.?? Signal to Noise

$15.00; click here to view this item at Wayside

Fourthly, there's the expanded, remixed and remastered Heresie from Univers Zero.

"...an incredibly powerful listening experience. In fact, Heresie is a stunning one-of-a-kind item which has never been duplicated by anyone -- including Univers Zero." ? Bill Tilland/All Music Guide

"How does a group follow up a auspicous and unique debut recording? A recording that is so completely out of step with everything that is currently in fashion in popular and even in experimental music that nearly 35 years later, it still is able to surprise people hearing it for the first time. How? Well, if you were Univers Zero, you did it by moving even more to the extremes of your music. While the influences from 20th Century classical music (Stravinsky, Bartok, Huybrechts) mixed with aspects of progressive rock (the angularity of King Crimson added to the unique zeuhl sound of Magma) remain, they are stripped down and presented in the starkest and darkest way possible. Guitarist Roger Trigaux still plays some amazing licks, but for much of the album, he is hunched over the harmonium (a 19th century pump organ), which gives the music an eerie, gothic sound - a gothic sound matched by the other front line instruments of violin/viola and oboe/bassoon. Meanwhile the rhythm section is completely electric, with heavy Magma-influenced bass and with Daniel Denis' fantastic drumming propelling everything foward.

"Originally released in 1979, Heresie has long been considered a high-water mark of new music composition, performance, and dark, sinister intensity for over 30 years and has never been out of print. This reissue transforms and updates Univers Zero?s most infamous work with a new cover that uses bits of the original packaging, as well as many new elements. It also has a striking and clear new remix from the 1979 multi-track tapes that defines and clarifies all the instruments in a way that is much more focused than previous editions. Never have Daniel's cymbals so clearly sizzled with such menace or has Guy's bass gone so low into the underworld. The reissue is accompanied by a 16 page booklet containing a history of the band?s years during the Heresie period and illustrated with archival photos. Lastly, there is a 12 minute, relvelatory bonus track from very early in the group's life added; a track that later was cannibalized by its composer, into bits that would eventually find their way into "Ersatz" on Le Poison Qui Rend Fou and "The Limping Little Girl" and "Ceux D'En Bas (Suite)" on N?6 by Roger's post UZ group, Present.

"One of the most significant avant-progressive rock albums of the very late 1970s just got even more significant!

?The music is consistently ominous, always hinting at the heaviness of metal but never pummelling the listener. And when it occasionally gets dense, it?s a slab of strange, ingenious orchestration you hear, rather than a simple overdriven amp sound.? ? Nick Storring, Exlaim!

$15.00; click here to view this item at Wayside

To round out the five new Cuneiform releases, we have Uz Jsme Doma's Caves. "Uz Jsme Doma (pronounced 'Oozh (rhymes with "rouge") Smeh Dough-Ma) (in English, 'Now I Get It') seemed to appear out of nowhere in the early 1990s, but it was a little more complicated than that. When the group came together in the small border town of Teplice in Czechoslovakia in 1985, rock was freedom and freedom was illegal. Via Western radio and smuggled tapes, however, the band came into contact with punk rock as well as more avant-garde bands. It wasn't until the fall of the Communist government that they were able to record and tour, which they then proceeded to do with a vengence; the group have toured the US a remarkable 17 times and have played nearly 2,000 gigs during their lifetime! The group has won a strong following with their great releases and their constant, high energy tours.

"25 years after their founding, their music combines the energy of punk rock - their original inspiration - while ignoring genre walls and adding more complex structures taken from avant-garde and avant-progressive bands and even from folk music of their native land. They are living, fire-breathing, alternative rock legends: one of 'the two great Bastions of the Czech alternative scene' said the Prague Post, who ranked them in importance beside the Plastic People of the Universe. They are a singular, powerful group whose shows win them instant fans for life and whose musical voice is the voice of joy and freedom. Currently the group is made up of leader Miroslav Wanek on lead vocals, guitars and piano, Pepa Cervinka on bass and vocals, Adam Tomasek on trumpet and vocals, Tomas Paleta on drums and Martin Velisek who designs all the band art work, and is a full band member whose 'instruments' are brushes and paints. The album comes with a 12 page, full color booklet with Martin's artwork.

"UJD are a group I have long had my eyes on; I saw them for the first time in the mid 1990s and several times since then and I am very pleased that we are able to work together on this, their seventh studio album."

"Half a dozen LPs in, this 22-year Czech band is free of its remarkable founding narrative as a band banned by the former Communist Czechoslovakian regime just for existing ... What remains is the fierce commitment to the freedom inherent in Western art-damaged music. Uz embody the absolute unpredictability in Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention primarily, but also the multi-influence, anti-pop clatter of the Residents, Captain Beefheart, Pere Ubu, 1977 punk, and ... prog. You won't know what they're singing about in Czech, but the limitless hyper-energy and collision of styles piling on each other with remarkable precision, always turns ears ... it's glorious..." ? Jack Rabid

Wayside currently have a new release bundle offer; $70.00 gets you all five releases at an overall discount of $10 (cost & postage combined) (click here to view item) -- or, if you're outside the US, $84.00 gets you the bundle with the same $10 in savings (click here to view item.

[Source: Wayside]

Posted in Album Release News