THE LISTENING ROOM

©Neography: Roger Parry/ Friday, July 3 1998 Bluecoat/ Liverpool

 

‘We are all members of a sort of sentimental touring club’

- Andre Breton.

 

 

Retrospective Voices Improvising Only !!!

 

With, (if you want to know, but what do these surnames mean to you?)

Palmer, Stagner (the Chattanooga pair); Blonk (Dutchman), Gustafsson (‘Gush’, the Swede, to his friends), Zerang, (friend of Vandermark); Dresser (ubiquitous bassist), Hemingway(drums not bulls), Minton (once a trumpeter), Osterhag, the chopper!; Koichi, a Japanese who keeps good Company; Minton (again), Butcher – ‘Acta’-man, Hirt, the German; Patton, no General but American; Ward, young and brilliant Englishman, Switch (electronician), Denley, far-flung fluter; Butcher (again), Mackness, a lady of charm; Achiary the Basque, Carter, our man who came in from the cold (turkey), Holmes without Watson; Newton, another lady of charm, Tuchmann, woman of Austria; J. Bauer (Connie’s brother bonist), Nozati, a formidable lady, Van Hove (Fred the WIMproviser of Antwerp); Kowald (the Wuppertaler, Peter), Ludi (Werner), Morris (Butch of conduction), Namtchylak, two-voiced Tuvan; Leandre, Joelle, a notable diabolique!; Taylor, (the poet, dancer, pianist) W. Parker (bass, rising), Bendian (precision percussion); Mengelberg, master musician, no chicken!; Michihiro, a classical Nipponese, Tenko, an unclassical Nipponese; Moss, rolling with Minton (3rd time)/ Moss, sparring with Zorn, the ubiquitous; Han Bennink, a best friend!

 

These performers are from America, Holland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Australia, Pays Basques, France, Belgium and Tuva. What has nationality to do with it?

 

All tracks selected are free improvisations – but how do you know that? Is it important to know?

 

Menu

 

1.The popcorn gomer

Shaking Ray Levis (Dennis Palmer/ Bob Stagner)

False Prophets or Danged Good Guessers/ CD Incus 13/ 01:24

92, USA

 

2. krockenhaa

Jaap Blonk-Mats Gustafsson-Michael Zerang

Improvisors/ CD Kontrans 143/ 03:32

960304 Stockholm, Sweden

 

3. Lavender

Mark Dresser-Gerry Hemingway-Phil Minton-Bob Osterhag

Verbatim/ CD Rastascan BRD029/ c. 04:00

95/96? USA            

 

4. mukuge

Makigami Koichi

Kuchinoha/ CD Tzadik 7208/ 02:33

950721+22 NYC, USA

 

5. Zugabe

Phil Minton-John Butcher-Erhard Hirt

Two Concerts/ CD FMP OWN-90006/ 05:10

950625 Vandoeuvre les Nancy, France

 

6. Guinea Pig [1 – 4]

Mike Patton

Adult Themes for Voice/ CD Tzadik 7015 (tracks 12-15) total/ 03:59

Before end 95, var.

 

7. Prayers for Mallow

The XIII Ghosts (Alex Ward-Switch) w. Jim Denley

Giganti Reptilicus Destructo Beam / CD Scatter 04/ c. 02:00

9?, ?

 

8. turkiss indiene mauves

John Butcher-Vanessa Mackness

Respiritus/ CD Incus 21/ 02:50

941205 London, England

 

 

 

9. Hot Pepper

Benat Achiary-Kent Carter-David Holmes

(Eponymous)/ CD Vand’oeuvre 9611/03:17

940222 Vandoeuvre, France

 

10. Schrrr

Lauren Newton-Elisabeth Tuchmann

Timbre/ CD Leo LR 221/ 02:50

9303 or 9410, Austria                             

 

11. Pars I

Johannes Bauer-Annick Nozati- Fred Van Hove

Organo Pleno/ CD FMP 56/ 02:26

920710-12 Berlin, Germany

 

12. Overcome Babylon

Peter Kowald-Werner Ludi-Butch Morris-Sainkho Namtchylak

When The Sun Is Out You Don’t See The Stars/ CD FMP 38/ 05:06

901127+27, Luzern, Switzerland

 

13. Temoignage

Joelle Leandre

Urban Bass/ CD ADDA 581254/ 09:46

Before 9011(?), prob. France

 

14. J.

Cecil Taylor-William Parker-Gregg Bendian

In Florescence/ CD A&M 2586/ 02:52

890608 NYC, USA

                                                                               

15. Impromptu #6

Misha Mengelberg

Impromptus/ CD FMP 7/ 05:31

880604 Berlin, Germany

 

16. Rodan (16)

Sato Michihiro-Tenko

Rodan/ CD hat ART 6015/ 02:53

880411-16 NYC, USA                                                                            

                                               

17 and 18. Liquids of Choice and Husk When Time

David Moss w. Phil Minton; and w. John Zorn

Full House/ CD Moers Music 02088/ 01:06; 01:49

8310 or 8401 Brooklyn, NY, USA                                                          

               

19. Body Claps & Hums

Han Bennink

Tempo Comodo/ CD Data 823/ 00:58

820915+20 Loenen, Holland

 

Bluecoat Evening Improvisation

 

No one wanted my popcorn gomer –                                                               

I’m just another false prophet,

a cookie crock, and ha, ha, ha…

 

No lavender pattern was recorded verbatim

by Mackey ‘Gammy-leg’, the muckoo-gay!                                                      5

 

Exotic ‘Zoo Garbay’ was on the menu

with fresh mint on it, flavourful,

and the butcher didn’t hurt the guinea pig

but gave it a pat on the head.

 

Before eating, we said prayers for Mal O’Beam                                                10

in the civilised shades of Turkish Indian mauves.

 

Re-spirited, hot peppers brightened the repast, schrrr…

‘Law unto themselves; I wouldn’t touch it, man’, said the wee beast.

 

So here, we stopped…

(before the organo pleno could overcome Babylon                                            15

and the impromptu evidence of Jay Rodan delivered cocktails of choice:

‘Husk When Time’, on the rocks, or, a knockout ‘Body Collapse ‘n’ Hums’!)

 

 

NOTES

 

These Bilbao Lines – as I subtitle them - were first penned midway between the Visitation of Mother Ubu and the Gidouille Festival commencing at 1855 hrs LMT (Saturday, 4 July 1998).

 

Lines 1/2: See ‘popcorn gomer’ on CD Incus 13/ False Prophets or Danged Good Guessers

Line 3: See ‘krockenhaa’ on CD Kontrans 143/ Improvisors

Line 4: See ‘Lavender’ on CD Rastascan BRD029/ Verbatim. There is also a reference to the wife of the last British Colonial Governor of Hong Kong, Patten.

Line 5: See ‘Mukuge’ on CD Tzadik 7208/ Kuchinoha

Lines 6-8: See ‘Zugabe’ on CD FMP OWN-90006/ Two Concerts

Lines 8/9: See ‘Guinea Pig’ on CD Tzadik 7015/ Adult Themes for Voice; there is also a homonymous connection between lines 4 and 9

Line 10: See ‘Prayers for Mallow’ on CD Scatter 04/ Giganti Reptilicus Destructo Beam

Lines 11/12: See ‘turkiss indiene mauves’ on CD Incus 21/ Respiritus

Line 12: See ‘Hot Peppers’ on CD Vand’oeuvre 9611/ Achiary-Carter-Holmes

Lines 12/13: See ‘Schrrr’ on CD Leo LR 221/ Timbre

Lines 15-17: Refer to CDs by J Bauer-Nozati-Van Hove; Kowald-Ludi-Morris-Namtchylak; Leandre; Cecil Taylor-Wm Parker-Bendian; Mengelberg; Michihiro; Moss-Minton-Zorn and Han Bennink

 

See also, my ‘DIARY’ entry for 3 July 1998

Re-visited: 18 July 1998; 20 March 1999; 3 November 2000.