WNUR Jazz Report, 2/1/97

NEWS

• Phonathon, WNUR's annual fundraiser, starts Monday, February 3rd at 5:00 am and runs through February 9th. WNUR is a non-commercial, listener-supported station -- over half of our operating budget comes from listener donations -- and so our fundraising efforts are what make it possible for our all-volunteer staff to continue bringing you fine music independent of commercial pressures. We have many fine CD's and other items available as premiums to those who donate, so be sure to get up early on Monday morning so you don't miss out on the best ones. Special thanks go out to Evidence Music, 2.13CD, Gramavision, Impulse!, Delmark, Verve, Knitting Factory Works, Mapleshade, Fantasy, and Groov Marketing for their support this year.
• Don't forget: Saturday February 1st on our local music show Airplay, 2:00-5:00pm, performing live will be: Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls, and Ben Vida with Josh Abrams, Liz Payne, and Jim Dorling.

ADDS THIS WEEK

[New releases]

• Vandermark Five: Single Piece Flow (Atavistic)
  Pre-release copy: look for it to hit record stores sometime in February. Atavistic, a rock label known for their MX-80, Glenn Branca, and Mars reissues as well as for documenting the current "No Wave" scene here in Chicago, has picked up this group, one of the most concise and hard-hitting of Vandermark's current crop of bands, and the natural successor to the now defunct Vandermark Quartet. Personnel: Ken Vandermark (reeds), Mars Williams (reeds), Jeb Bishop (trombone, guitar), Kent Kessler (bass), Tim Mulvenna (drums). Kessler and Williams have worked with Vandermark in the NRG Ensemble among other groups; Bishop is heard most often in new-music and free-improv contexts; and Mulvenna is a young, highly bop-influenced drummer. See them at their regular Tuesday night gig at the Empty Bottle Jazz Workshop.

JAZZ SHOW TOP 25

* denotes reissue, @ denotes not real new.

1. Gerry Hemingway Quintet: Perfect World (Random Acoustics)
2. Mingus Big Band: Live in Time (2 CD's) (Dreyfus)
3. Joe Lovano: Celebrating Sinatra (Blue Note)
4. Ella Fitzgerald*: Sings the Blues (Prestige)
5. Ken Schaphorst: Over the Rainbow (Accurate)
6. Vandermark Five: Single Piece Flow (Atavistic)
7. Sam Rivers: Concept (Rivbea)
8. Agasul Orchester: No Turning Back (Unit)
9. Hamid Drake & Michael Zerang: Ask the Sun (OkkaDisk)
10. Erik Friedlander@: The Watchman (Tzadik)
11. Sonny Rollins*: Silver City (2 CD's) (Milestone)
12. Lennie Tristano & Warne Marsh*: Intuition (Capitol)
13. Up There Trio: Push It (BVHaast)
14. Myra Melford: The Same River, Twice (Gramavision)
15. Rich Corpolongo: Just Found Joy (Delmark)
16. Northwoods Improvisers: Spinning (Arc)
17. Derek Bailey@: Drop Me Off at 96th (Scatter)
18. Available Jelly: Monuments (Ramboy)
19. John Coltrane*: Plays the Blues (Prestige)
20. Blake'n'Blue: Burning in F and G (no label)
21. Stephen Scott: The Beautiful Thing (Verve)
22. Bill DeArango: Anything Went (GM)
23. John Carter & Bobby Bradford: Tandem 2 (Emanem)
24. Coleman Hawkins*: Plays the Blues (Prestige)
25. Roger Smith: Unexpected Turns (Emanem)