Soft Machine Legacy with Keith Tippett

 I can not say I have listened a lot to the Soft Machine offsprings like Soft Works and Soft Machine Legacy, but here is a fresh recording for you all (26.10.2012) with Soft Machine Legacy and Keith Tippett! Tippett is on after about 30 minutes. I copy info from 43e Festival de Jazz de Francfort 2012:
John Etheridge: Gitarre/guitare - Theo Travis: Tenorsaxophon/saxophone ténor, Sopransaxophon/saxophone soprano, Flöte/flûte - Roy Babbington: E-Bass/guitare basse - John Marshall: Schlagzeug/batterie - Keith Tippett: Klavier/piano.

Maja Ratkje and HC Gilje live

Maja Ratkje and HC Gilje Live at Minoretenkirche, Krems, Kontraste 2012 from hc gilje on Vimeo.

Watch the full concert with Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje (Voice, Sampling, Live Electronics (quadrophonic setup)) and HC Gilje (Live Video (18 videowall led modules)) at the Kontraste festival 14 October 2012 (Minoretenkirche, Krems, Austria).

How great that artists upload videos like this!

Here is a post from my Norwegian blog with a not so good video from the Bergen International Festival (Festspillene) 2012.

Evan Parker x 2

JOHN TCHICAI, TONY MARSH, EVAN PARKER and LOUIS MOHOLO - Vortex Jazz Bar 2011-10-14 from PureHeart Multimedia Services on Vimeo.

EVAN PARKER and LOUIS MOHOLO - Vortex Jazz Bar 2011-10-14 from PureHeart Multimedia Services on Vimeo.

A couple of one year old videos of Evan Parker surfaced on Vimeo recently, so let´s have a Monday concert in the blog!

We first enjoy John Tchicai, Tony Marsh, Evan Parker and Louis Moholo, followed by a duo with Evan Parker and Louis Moholo, at Vortex Jazz Bar (London 2011-10-14).

(If the videos don´t run smoothly, press pause, count to 32 and try again).

Music From The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter Archives

I already mentioned the double LP "I want the Beatles to play at my art center! Music From The Henie Onstad Kunstsenter Archives 1968-2012" (Prisma 2012), but the new exhibition at Høvikodden opened today, so let´s just have another blog post too.

I have heard the album a couple of times now, and the music is exciting and varied (that´s an understatement!). The tracks are organized after year of production, from Arne Nordheim (recorded in 1969 and edited by Helge Sten) and up to Jenny Hval in 2012.

Soft Machine sounded good 27 February 1971 too. "Teeth" (from "Soft Machine 4", released 28 February this year) has been remastered by Michael King in 2012.
And you all know that the concert they played at HOK 28 February, may be found on "Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971" (Reel Recordings 2009 CD and Smalltown Superjazz 2010 LP).

Let me just mention one of the other tracks on the album, that surprised me: The Spontaneous Music Ensemble with John Stevens (perc), Trevor Watts (sax), Ron Herman (bass) and Julie Driscol (vocal) doing "Norway". The music sound like it is spiced with Norwegian folk, and Julie Driscol might have been herding cattle the old way, in the mountains of Norway, singing the animals homewards.
Play this loud, and the cows will be home before supper. Guaranteed! Stunning!

Shop at HOK.

And here is Sonia Henie for you!

Remembering Lol Coxhill Part 2 at Cafe Oto

If you happen to be in London 31 October, make sure you visit Cafe Oto for "Remembering Lol Coxhill - Part 2".

The programme:
- Alex Ward (clarinet) and Orphy Robinson (steel pan)
- Dave Stephens - an amusing monologue
- Lou Glandfield - a couple of songs and a brief poem
- Tony Coe (soprano saxophone) playing Billy Strayhorn’s ‘Lotus Blossom’ and other tunes from The Melody Four’s songbook.
- Steve Beresford (piano), Guillaume Viltard (contrabass) and Roger Turner (drums)
- Veryan Weston (piano) and Sam Coxhill-Davis (guitar)
- Terry Day
- 'Murder in the Air' performed by Roger Ely & Roger Turner
- a guest performer from Lol's R&B days in London in the '60s
- A montage of Lol on film by Helen Petts and edited by Blanca Regina.
- A slide show of Lol by Martin Davidson.

I have posted Helen Petts´ video of Lol before (at least once), but so what?

'By the Paths of the Deep River' - Lol Coxhill for TAPS from Helen Petts on Vimeo.

Nils Petter Molvær Trio at Palm Jazz Festiwal 2012

It is Friday night and concert night here in Robert Wyatt and Stuff, with 80 minutes of Nils Petter Molvær Trio at Palm Jazz Festiwal in Poland (24 October 2012)!

Nils Petter Molvær (tp)
Stian Westerhus (g)
Erland Dahlen (dr)
Tord Knudsen (visuals)

Check out a video from "Jazz and the city" in Salzburg (12 October) too, for some more lights and visuals!

Dave Sinclair: Stream

If I have understood this correctly, Dave Sinclair, who played keyboard in Caravan, Matching Mole, Hatfield and The North and Camel, has already released the album "Stream" in Japan, and it just might be released elsewhere by Crescent in December.

Over at Crescent we may read that Robert Wyatt joins on two tracks.

Street Art Norway Vol. 2

Please note that the book "Street Art Norway Vol. 2" (Kontur 2012) is out there for grabs.
Lots of pictures of stencils, pasteups, stickers, drawings, writings on the wall and other stuff, from the largest Norwegian cities. Several of the pictures are taken by yours truly, who have no economic interests in this blog post! No way!

We get a couple of chapters in both Norwegian and English too, written by the editor Martin Berdahl Aamundsen and Martyn Reed.

Kontur´s other street art books are (Norwegian links) "Street Art Norway", Stencil Wars", "Eloquent Vandals" and "Graff Wars".

You may get all of them from Amazon.

Todd Terje: Inspector Norse

Kristoffer Borgli & Todd Terje´s: "Inspector Norse" was elected best Scandinavian music video at the Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) 2012!
Sweet one!

Artist: Todd Terje
Title: Inspector Norse
Album: It's The Arps EP
Label: Full Pupp
Video: Kristoffer Borgli

Watch all the nominated videos right here:

NORWAY:
Lars Vaular og Sondre Lerche - Øynene Lukket (Regi: Andrew Amorim)
Todd Terje - Inspector Norse (Regi: Kristoffer Borgli)
Mikhael Paskalev - I Spy (Regi: André Chocron)
John Olav Nilsen og gjengen - Eurosport (Regi: Kim Hiorthøy)
Casiokids - Det haster! (Regi: Kristoffer Borgli)

SWEDEN:
Saint Lou Lou - Maybe You (Regi: Philippe Tempelman)
The Sound of Arrows - Wonders (Regi: Mattias Johansson og Oskar Gullstrand)
Miike Snow - The Wave (Regi: Andreas Nilsson)
Korallreven - Sa Sa Samoa (Regi: Filip Nilsson)
First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar (Regi: Mats Udd)

DENMARK:
Karin Park - Fryngies (Regi: Tore Frandsen)
Sleep Party People - A Dark God Heart (Regi: Marie Limkilde)
Tomas Barfod - Broken Glass (Regi: Martin Garde)
Trentemøller - Sycamore Feeling (Regi: Diana Tørsløv)
When Saints Go Machine - Parix (Regi: Daniel Kragh-Jacobsen)

Ete (Eat)

Just a photo-report for you today, from an art project.
I visited performance artist (and author) Kurt Johannessen´s gallery this Sunday.
He sold drawings of wild animals.
If we payed 100 NOK, we could have a drawing, but only if we ate it!

I have not eaten mammals for at least 15 years (maybe 20), so I really went for it and had a rhinoceros for lunch! It was served on a salt biscuit, and tasted OK.
The other guys there had a polar bear.

Art consumer?

I Want the Beatles to Play at My Art Center!

The exhibition "I Want the Beatles to Play at My Art Center! – Tidsbasert kunst ved HOK 1968-2011" will open at Henie Onstad Art Centre in Oslo 28 October. The exhibition will be accompanied by the releases of a DVD, a book and a double LP.

Artists on the DVD: John Cage, Kjartan Slettemark, KILLL, Arne Nordheim, Stephen O`Malley, Mauricio Kagel, MoHa!, Christopher Nielsen/Masselys, Stian Skagen & Monica Winther.

Tracks on the LP:

Side A
1. Arne Nordheim – A Forum of the Arts (1969)
2. Sigurd Berge – Excerpts from Blikk (1970)
3. Bjørn Fongaard - The Space Concerto for Piano and Tape (1971)

Side B
4. Soft Machine – Teeth (1971)
5. Spontaneous Music Ensemble – Norway (1971)
6. Paal-Helge Haugen & Kåre Kolberg – Excerpts from Requiem for Janis
Joplin (1972)
7. Svein Finnerud Trio – Olga (1974)
8. Hal Clark – The Monkey and Organ Grinder (1975)

Side C
9. The Aller Værste! - Dans til musikken (1980)
10. John Cage – Excerpts from Muoyce (1983)
11. Magne Hegdal – Music for Marcel Duchamp (1983)
12. Lasse Marhaug – Ear Era 7 (2008)
13. Jim O`Rourke - Aunt Esther (2010)

Side D
14. Deathprod - Studio (2010)
15. Håkon Kornstad – Improvisations for Karin (2011)
16. Jenny Hval – You sign your name (2012)

The Soft Machine track "Teeth" from 1971, must be the same teeth that we find on the album Soft Machine "Live at Henie Onstad Art Centre 1971" (Reel Recordings 2009 CD and Smalltown Superjazz 2010 LP).

The exhibition and the releases are curated by Lars Mørch Finborud, and you will get all the info you need over at Prisma Records.

Added 25 October: Lars Mørch Finborud added a comment on my Norwegian blog - stating that the Soft Machine track is not the same as on the Reel Rec/Smalltown release, but from the second concert they played at the art center!

This Will End In Tears

The ultimate book for melancholic people who enjoy writing lists?
Adam Brent Houghtaling has written "This will end in tears. The miserabilist guide to music" (ItBooks 2012).

Artists are presented alphabetical, with a list of their most miserable tunes, we get essays on some songs and chapters on obvious miserable themes, like divorce songs and murder ballads.

Finally the 100 saddest songs are listed!

I´m really not a list person, and I am quite cool about not finding some of "my artists" here (John Cale, Kevin Ayers, Brian Eno), but I guess any list person will disagree with a lot the selections here!

Robert Wyatt got his own chapter, and this is his miserable list:

1. "Sea Song" - Rock Bottom (1974)
2. "Five Black Notes and One White Note" - Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard (1975)
3. "Strange Fruit" - B-side, At Last I Am Free (1980)
4. "Shipbuilding" - Single (1982)
5. "Te Recuerdo Amanda" - Work In Progress EP (1984)
6. "The Sight of the Wind" - Dondestan (1991)
7. "Free Will and Testament" - Shleep (1997)
8. "Lullaby for Hamza" - Cuckooland (2003)
9. "Just As You Are" - Comicopera (2008)
10. "Laura" - ...For the Ghosts Within (2010)

Robert Wyatts "Shipbuilding" is also on the list of the saddest songs, and we all know he has done beautiful versions of "Strange Fruit" (Billie Holiday) and "Lush Life" (Billy Strayhorn), songs with their own essays in this sad book.

"The feel-bad book of the year"!"


And since Son House managed to get "Death letter" twice (!) on the list of the saddest among the sad songs, we let him end this blog post.

1982 + BJ Cole album

After several blog posts, I guess it is no secret that I´m a fan of the folk improv trio 1982 (Sigbjørn Apeland, Nils Økland, Øyvind Skarbø). Now they are joined by pedal steel man BJ Cole for their new album on Hubro.

I really liked their previous albums ("1982" and "Pintura") a lot, and it works fine with BJ Cole joining the team too! It´s still folky, with a melancholic twist, and I don´t mind that some parts even make me think of Brian Eno´s "Apollo"!
Play loud, mornings and evenings!

If you happen to be in London today, make sure you see them at Kings Place with Moskus, another Hubro label band.

Mari Kvien Brunvoll live

Regular readers may have noticed that I´m quite fond of Mari Kvien Brunvoll´s music.
She visited the blog recently, when her first solo album (Jazzland 2012) hit my turntable.

Here she is at Jazz and the City, in Salzburg 13 October.

I´m Going In A Field

Here is Ivor Cutler in the field, in a deleted (what, deleted???) scene from the Beatles movie "The Magical Mystery Tour".

"I´m Going In A Field" was released on Ivor Cutler´s album "Ludo" (1967)

Ivar Grydeland - "Bathymetric Modes"

Ivar Grydeland´s (Huntsville, Ballrogg, Dans Les Arbres) first solo album , "Bathymetric Modes" (Hubro 2012), is here.
What we get is a couple of really nice tunes based on acoustic guitar, and some beautiful ambient soundscapes, where the compact graphic synthesizer called Tendori-on (YouTube, Wikipedia) is playing a major role.

The title of the record suggests that the topic might be underwater topography, but to me this could be the soundtrack to shimmering water.
Relaxing and very, very nice music!

I often think albums and concerts are too long, but I wouldn´t mind if Grydeland stretched this one to a bit more then the half hour we get.

Comicoperando (a reposting)

Here is a reposting for new viewers!
Comicoperando in Amsterdam A tribute to the music of Robert Wyatt.

Dagmar Krause - vocals
Annie Whitehead - trombone, backing vocals
Karen Mantler - Hammond B3, vocals
Michel Delville - synth guitar
John Edwards - double bass
Chris Cutler - drums

More info on YouTube.

Other people playing Wyatt over here.

Jessica Sligter

Jessica Sligter is ready with a new album on Hubro.
I still can´t see the point with different release dates in different areas, but here is the schedule for "Fear and the Framing":

Release dates:
The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg: 05.10.2012
Norway: 19.10.2012
UK, USA, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Japan: 03.12.2012

Please make sure you also check out Jessica Sligter´s earlier great albums as JÆ, and with Sacred Harp.

Molde in October

I usually report from Molde during the jazz festival in July, but It´s quite OK here in the autumn too.
The town isn´t exactly swinging (putting it mildly here), snow is creeping down the mountain sides and the wind is chilly, but what a place for some nice walks!
If you can´t come during the festival, Molde may still be worth a visit.

And I´m not being paid by the tourist info people. Just saying.

Worse on the Way

I´m still waiting for "Gonwards", the new Peter Blegvad and Andy Partridge album on Ape House, but at least they keep feeding us videos! Here is number three, "Worse on the way". You will find the other ones on Ape House´s YouTube chanell (and in this blog of course).

Film by Mitch Friedman
Lyrics and vocal by Peter Blegvad- music by Andy Partridge and Stu Rowe

Piano- Mikey Rowe
Soprano Saxophone - Frank Abrams

"Worse on the way,
a curse on the day.
Another to lay on night.
Only black rain,
an oncoming train,
more tunnel to come
at the end of the light"

John Cale: Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood

John Cale just released his new album "Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood" on Double Six Records.
I have just listened a couple of times, but it contains some good, classic John Cale, with dark moods and staccato melodies.

Since you might be allergic, I have to spill it, there is autotune in there too!

Listen to the opening track "I Wanna Talk 2 U" on SoundCloud below, or live on "Later with Jools" in the video above.

The Unthanks at The People Speak

The Unthanks sing "Shipbuilding" (Elvis Costello/Clive Langer AND Robert Wyatt) and "The Testimony of Patience Kershaw" (Frank Higgins) at the event to celebrate the release of the book"The People Speak".

More on Canongate Books´ YouTube chanell.

Martin Küchen: Hellstorm

Oh my, please check out the Swedish sax player Martin Küchen´s (a.o. Angles) dark and beautiful album "Hellstorm" (Mathka 2012).
The album´s subtitle is "Man erkennt langsam das Elend, dass über uns gekommen ist", a sentence Küchen´s father wrote in his war diary.

Martin Küchen writes: "Hellstorm - Man erkennt langsam das Elend, dass über uns gekommen ist" - has again THAT theme in its title. A line from my father´s unpublished war diary, penned in January 1945. And a dedication to the american author Thomas Goodrich for writing the immensely important historical book, "Hellstorm". That theme. That Temata. But only there. The music stands aside, the music does not want to have anything whatsoever to do with it, but still I am forcing the titles, like some kind of strange lyrics put to an illiteral melody, to be there. I had a need to do this record. Obviously. We went into this big Church in Lund, Sweden, me and Jakob, and it was a cold, snowy winter. And we had to work quick. Which we did. Each tune, one take".

Listen to the track "Sarajevo", watch the video, and buy this strong brew!

Martin Küchen: baritone saxophone, radio, alto saxophone, electronic tampoura, electric toothbrush

Fred Frith to tour Norway in 2013

Great! Exclamation mark behind Norway over at Fred Frith´s list of concerts.
Here is the tour list, and my guess is that the All Ears festival in Oslo ends 13 January:

01/09 Trondheim
01/10 Bergen
01/12 Oslo / Ny Musikk Festival SOLO
01/13 Oslo / Henie Onstad Art Center with Ikue Mori & Lotte Anker

Solo in Bergen and Trondheim?

Videos with Fred Frith and Christian Marcla at Café Oto, London, 7 July 2012, and Frith with Bérangère Maximin at Batofar, Paris, 29 June, 2012.

Acts of balance

Bergen street artist Argus.

Check out my Argus set on Flickr.

Hild Sofie Tafjord

Hild Sofie Tafjord is playing at London´s Cafe Oto Monday 8 October.
Take a listen to her album "Kama", that was released on Lasse Marhaug´s Pica Disk label in 2007, and tell me if you have heard another French horn piece like that one!

I seem to remember some rumors on a new solo album, but I really don´t know.
While you are waiting for it, check out the records (and concerts, if you can catch them!) by the bands Spunk and Lemur, where she is also playing.

John Cage: Musicircus

It is 100 years since John Cage was born, and the Bergen improvisers big band, "Bergen Impro Storband", performed Cage´s "Musicircus" on Tuesday this week.

To play "Musicircus" they had gathered more than 100 musicians (including a huge ukulele orchestra/choir), who played for 90 minutes, without payments of any kind, and at no costs for the listeners.

We got singer songwriter stuff, pling plong, elektronica, gospel, opera, rock, videos, folk music, contemporary classical, dance and probably more too, and always several genres being played at the same time!

A few of the musicians (the ones I recognized and remember to this day): John Hegre, Stephan Meidell, Øyvind Skarbø, Eva Pfitzenmaier, Mari Kvien Brunvoll, Alwynne Pritchard, Bjørnar Habbestad, Nils Are Drønen, Else Olsen Storesund, Jørgen Træen, Frode Flatland.

More pictures on Flickr.

Mari Kvien Brunvoll

Mari Kvien Brunvoll has performed live for sevaral years, and finally her solo album is out on Jazzland!

The music was recorded live at three different concerts held in 2009 and 2010 and most tracks are composed (and improvised ?) by MKB, except «Everywhere you go» and «I’m going don’t you know» by Memphis Minnie.

Mari Kvien Brunvoll sings, uses live sampling and plays kalimba, kazoo, percussion and zither.

The music is atmospheric, melodic, sweet, intense, strange, and why don’t you listen yourselves, and see if you can come up with better descriptions!
No matter what you call it, it’s a great album!

The one thing I don’t like: No download code with the vinyl edition.

You might also like Stein (Urheim) and Mari’s «Daydream Community» (Jazzland).

This blog post stays fresh for seven days

Listen to "The Voices of Robert Wyatt" on BBC Radio4 right here.

Produced by Alan Hall.

You have seven days left to get it done, so start listening!

The Voices of Robert Wyatt

Wash your ears for BBC Radio 4´s portrait "The Voices of Robert Wyatt"!
To be broadcasted 2 October, and hopefully available on the net for a while!

"This intimate radio portrait, in his own words, traces Wyatt's journey from the psychedelic excesses of Soft Machine (appearing both with Jimi Hendrix and at the BBC Proms), through the life-changing accident that has confined him to a wheelchair for almost forty years, to recent celebrated musical projects that are reaching new audiences".