WNUR Jazz Report, 5/12/97

NEWS

• This week, May 12-16, the jazz show will feature an interview every day at 11:00am with musicians appearing at the Empty Bottle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music. Expected schedule: Steve Beresford (Tue), Veryan Weston (Wed), Irene Schweizer (Thu), Frank Gratkowski (Fri). (Festival co-organizer John Corbett was interviewed on Monday morning.)
• Monday night's David Murray/Fontella Bass concert at the Steppenwolf Theater, part of their Traffic series curated by Kahil El Zabar, will also feature El Zabar, Fred Hopkins, Steve Cobb, Bobby Broom, and Wanda Bishop. More info on the series is available at http://www.steppenwolf.org/traffic.html.
• Among next week's adds: three more brand new releases on OkkaDisk!

ADDS THIS WEEK

[Empty Bottle Fest]

• Fred Anderson: Fred Anderson/DKV Trio (OkkaDisk)
  This South Side tenor titan's patient, slow-build approach to soloing has stretched out performances on most past albums past the 15 and 20 minute marks. On this CD, the goal was to document a set of tunes from Anderson's songbook, some never before recorded, others available only on very obscure LP's; to get them all in, the track lengths are kept mostly under 10 minutes. And the backing trio (Hamid Drake, Kent Kessler, Ken Vandermark) keeps the adrenalin flowing, although there's other moods present here as well, such as on the somber, "Lonely Woman"-ish "Dark Day".
• Werner Dafeldecker & Uli Fussenegger@: Bogengaenge (Durian)
  Austrian bassist Dafeldecker is a member of Polwechsel, a quartet who bring their anti-individualistic, pure-sound approach to free improvisation to the festival on Wednesday. For this 1995 release he is joined by a fellow Austrian bassist for a program of hushed, elusive duets that disappear when heard sideways.
• Anthony Braxton & Georg Graewe: Duo (Amsterdam) 1991 (OkkaDisk)
  Live from the October Meeting festival at the BIMhuis. They had never played together before. This is a blistering 45 minutes -- hear Braxton keep pace with Graewe's racing, unrelenting piano.

[Other new releases]

• Italian Instabile Orchestra@: New Orleans Rising (Konnex)
  A veritable who's-who of Italian free jazz (Minafra, Tramontana, Schiano, Dato, Gaslini, et al, 18 musicians all told). 1995 release.
• San: Song (Nor-CD)
  Featuring South African reeds/flute player Zim Ngqawana. The rest of the band is Norwegian. (Hear Ngqawana on WNUR on Friday, May 16th at 1pm, during the Continental Drift show.)
• Evan Parker: Chicago Solo (OkkaDisk)
  A studio recording from when he was in town for the FMP Festival in late 1995, this is Parker's first ever solo tenor record. Need I say more?

[New reissues]

• Derek Bailey@: Aida (Dexter's Cigar)
  Live in Paris, 1980, solo acoustic guitar. Widely regarded as one of Bailey's greatest solo releases.

[Not new, but new to our collection]

• Paul Chambers: Paul Chambers Quintet (Blue Note)
  From 1957, a rare date as a leader for Chambers, with Donald Byrd, Cliff Jordan, Tommy Flanagan, Elvin Jones. Chambers and Benny Golson are the featured composers. From the Blue Note Connoisseur Series.
• Sonny Clark: Sonny Clark/Max Roach/George Duvivier (Jazz View)
  Live trio date from 1960.
• Igal Foni: For Elevators? (Jazzis)
  Featuring New York saxophonist Michael Attias, who works with Fred Lonberg-Holm in the group Peep, and recently performed here in Chicago as a guest with Lonberg-Holm's group In Zenith. The leader, Foni, is an Israeli drummer living in Paris.

JAZZ SHOW TOP 25

* denotes reissue, @ denotes not real new.

1. Ned Rothenberg@: Power Lines (New World)
2. Sun Ra & his Intergalaxtic Arkestra: Stardust From Tomorrow (2 CD's) (Leo)
3. Chicago Underground Orchestra: Playground (no label)
4. Hersch/Moore/Hemingway: Thirteen Ways (GM)
5. Parker/Guy/Lytton & Marilyn Crispell: Natives and Aliens (Leo)
6. John Coltrane*: Blue Train (Blue Note)
7. Matthew Shipp "String" Trio: By the Law of Music (hat ART)
8. various*: Critics' Pick Sampler Vol. 1 (Black Saint/Soul Note)
9. Tim Berne's Bloodcount: Unwound (3 CD's) (Screwgun)
10. Cecil McBee: Unspoken (Palmetto)
11. Earl Hines*: At Home (Delmark)
12. Anthony Davis/James Newton Quartet*: Hidden Voices (India Navigation)
13. Eddie Harris Quartet: Freedom Jazz Dance (MusicMasters)
14. Bevan/Frangenheim/Noble: Twisters (Scatter)
15. Philip Gelb: Purple Wind (Ryokan)
16. Muhal Richard Abrams@: One Line, Two Views (New World)
17. Michael Mason: Exploration (Southport)
18. Doc Cheatham & Nicholas Payton: Doc Cheatham & Nicolas Payton (Verve)
19. Dave Douglas Tiny Bell Trio: Live in Europe (Arabesque)
20. Irene Schweizer: Many and One Direction (Intakt)
21. Carlos Garnett: Fuego En Mi Alma (HighNote)
22. John Patton*: Accent on the Blues (Blue Note)
23. Lauren Newton & Joelle Leandre: 18 Colors (Leo)
24. Julian Priester & Sam Rivers: Hints on Light and Shadow (Postcards)
25. Derek Bailey: Lace (Emanem)