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John Zorn (Roeder / Wollesen / Zorn / Lage):
New Masada Quartet, Volume Three (Tzadik)

The third volume in John Zorn's New Masada Quartet — Zorn on alto sax, Jorge Roeder on bass, Kenny Wollesen on drums, and Julian Lage on guitar — captures a packed 2024 concert at Roulette in Brooklyn, where fervent interplay and exceptional soloing bring six Zorn compositions to life in a single, seamlessly indexed track before an enthusiastic audience. ... Click to View


Parker / Costa / Ernstring:
Pulsar (NoBusiness)

Rotterdam-based collaborators, alto saxophonist Hugo Costa and drummer Philipp Ernsting, invite legendary bassist William Parker to join them in a Netherlands studio for threeimprovisations that emphasize emotional spontaneity and raw intensity, creating music that finds beauty in exploration and a transformative journey through expressive conversation. ... Click to View


Elephant9 with Terje Rypdal:
Catching Fire (Rune Grammofon)

Recorded live in Oslo, the Norwegian jazz-rock trio Elephant9 of Torstein Lofthus (drums), Nikolai Haengsle (bass) and Stale Storlokken (keys) join with legendary guitarist Terje Rypdal, channeling the intensity of bands like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra as they blend and evolve layered psychedelia with angular improvisation for a raw, electric fusion experience. ... Click to View


Elephant9 with Terje Rypdal:
Catching Fire [VINYL 2 LPs] (Rune Grammofon)

Recorded live in Oslo, the Norwegian jazz-rock trio Elephant9 of Torstein Lofthus (drums), Nikolai Haengsle (bass) and Stale Storlokken (keys) join with legendary guitarist Terje Rypdal, channeling the intensity of bands like King Crimson and Mahavishnu Orchestra as they blend and evolve layered psychedelia with angular improvisation for a raw, electric fusion experience. ... Click to View


Rodrigues / Sa / Rocha / Rodrigues / Silva / Varela / Goncalves / Flak / Trindade:
Mimesis (Creative Sources)

Primarily an acoustic ensemble of nine improvisers led by Ernesto Rodrigues on viola — including saxophonist Joana Sá, percussionist Monsieur Trindade, guitarist Flak, and pianist Luisa Gonçalves — performs a live, extended improvisation of tightly controlled, deeply detailed conversation as part of the 2024 Creative Sources Cycle in Lisbon. ... Click to View


Hunter Underwater (Rodrigues / Rodrigues / Kohn / Lin):
Archipelago (Creative Sources)

In their second release, the Hunter Underwater quartet of four cellists — Guilherme Rodrigues (Portugal), Gábor Hartyáni (Budapest), Guido Kohn (Buenos Aires), and Hui-Chun Lin (Taiwan) — record at Berlin's Zentrifuge, creating sound sculptures and landscapes with layered harmonics and dynamic interplay through composition and improvisation. ... Click to View


Nandor Nevai:
Book 1: FULK [BOOK + 4 CDs] (Psykomanteum)

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience. ... Click to View


Nandor Nevai:
Book 2: MARTIAL [BOOK + 4 CDs] (Psykomanteum)

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience. ... Click to View


Nandor Nevai:
Book 3: JASSOM [BOOK + 4 CDs] (Psykomanteum)

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience. ... Click to View


Nandor Nevai:
Book 4: HARD-WON [BOOK + 4 CDs] (Psykomanteum)

Each volume of Nandor Nevai's musikbook series merges four CDs of genre-focused music — folk, industrial, jazz, or hard rock — with autobiographical text and vibrant images, creating a multi-sensory journey through evolving sub-genres, as Nevai's narration and Alex Theoret's mastering bring pristine studio works and raw recordings into a cohesive, powerful experience. ... Click to View


Brian Marsella's iMAGiNARiUM:
Medietas [3 CDs] (Tzadik)

Led by pianist Brian Marsella, the sonic theater supergroup iMAGiNARiUM unites a remarkable cast from the Downtown NY scene for a wildly creative 3-CD set that blends jazz, fusion, psych, experimental, and contemporary forms with a sense of awe, humor, and effortless ingenuity, resulting in a captivating journey filled with wonder and, yes, imagination. ... Click to View


Ackley / Chen / Centazzo / DeGruttola / Kaiser / Manring:
Two Views Of Steve Lacys The Wire (Don Giovanni Records)

Saxophonist Bruce Ackley, percussionist Andrea Centazzo, pianist Tania Chen, cellist Danielle DeGruttola, and bassists Henry Kaiser and Michael Manring present a tribute to soprano saxophonist & composer Steve Lacy's 1977 album The Wire, replicating the instrumentation of that album but electrifying the bass, as they reflect twice on Lacy's incredible contribution to creative jazz. ... Click to View


Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra:
Live at Adler Planetarium (International Anthem)

Drawing from the 2023 studio album Lightning Dreamers, trumpeter and bandleader Rob Mazurek assembles a stellar lineup — including electric pianists Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn, cellist Tomeka Reid, flutist Nicole Mitchell, bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, drummers Chad Taylor and Gerald Cleaver, and vocalist Damon Locks — for a psychedelic improvisational journey recorded under the dome of Chicago's Adler Planetarium. ... Click to View


Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra:
Live at Adler Planetarium [VINYL] (International Anthem)

Drawing from the 2023 studio album Lightning Dreamers, trumpeter and bandleader Rob Mazurek assembles a stellar lineup — including electric pianists Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn, cellist Tomeka Reid, flutist Nicole Mitchell, bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, drummers Chad Taylor and Gerald Cleaver, and vocalist Damon Locks — for a psychedelic improvisational journey recorded under the dome of Chicago's Adler Planetarium. ... Click to View


The Necks:
Bleed (Northern Spy)

The ever-chameleonic Australian trio The Necks — featuring Chris Abrahams on piano and keyboards, Tony Buck on drums & guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass — explore electronic stillness in this 42-minute, single-track composition, evolving from a meditative opening through rich textures and sonic spaces to a beautifully structured conclusion, offering a rewarding and captivating journey. ... Click to View


The Necks:
Bleed [VINYL BLACK] (Northern Spy)

The ever-chameleonic Australian trio The Necks — featuring Chris Abrahams on piano and keyboards, Tony Buck on drums & guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass — explore electronic stillness in this 42-minute, single-track composition, evolving from a meditative opening through rich textures and sonic spaces to a beautifully structured conclusion, offering a rewarding and captivating journey. ... Click to View


The Necks:
Bleed [VINYL GREEN + DOWNLOAD] (Northern Spy)

The ever-chameleonic Australian trio The Necks — featuring Chris Abrahams on piano and keyboards, Tony Buck on drums & guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass — explore electronic stillness in this 42-minute, single-track composition, evolving from a meditative opening through rich textures and sonic spaces to a beautifully structured conclusion, offering a rewarding and captivating journey. ... Click to View


Miguel Garcia A. / Fernando Carvalho:
Siamese (Creative Sources)

Developed as part of the 2024 artist-in-residence program at Azkuna Zentroa in Bilbao, this series of nine electroacoustic compositions by Miguel A. García and Fernando Carvalho blends rhythms, synthesizers, and Carvalho's field recordings, all manipulated and transformed by García into distinct sonic worlds, each unveiling or making curious mysteriously fascinating sources. ... Click to View


John Zorn:
The Hermetic Organ Volume 13 - Biennale Musica Venezia (Tzadik)

Performing at the 17th century Palazzo Pisano during the 2023 Venice Biennale, John Zorn improvises on two small antique organ at Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, taking full advantage of the rich reeds, flutes, and horns of these two outstanding instruments as he moved between the two organs, bringing out unusual tonalities and intersections between both instruments. ... Click to View


The Attic / Eve Risser (Amado / Almeida / Govaert / Risser):
La Grande Crue (NoBusiness)

The title translating to The Great Flood, French Pianist Eve Risser joins the trio of Rodrigo Amado on tenor saxophone, Goncalo Almeida on double bass, Onno Govaert on drums, aka The Attic, for a collective interpretation in four parts of a vividly descriptive prose piece titled "ANGLE" by Portuguese essayist, poet, writer, novelist Nuno Júdice (1949-2024). ... Click to View


Arthur Blythe Quartet (Blythe / Booth / Abdullah / Reid):
Rivbea Live! Series, Volume 2 (NoBusiness)

One of alto saxophonist and composer Arthur Blythe's earliest recordings as a leader, this 1976 session at Sam & Bea Rivers' Studio Rivbea in New York City features four Blythe compositions performed by an exemplary quartet: Steve Reid on drums, frequent Blythe collaborator Muhammad Abdullah on congas, and long-time Sun Ra bassist Juini Booth. ... Click to View


Joel Futterman:
Innervoice (NoBusiness)

Joel Futterman delivers a coherent and expansive studio performance presented in three parts, seamlessly weaving beautiful melodic passages, rapid harmonic and rhythmic development, and a profound sense of jazz history that evokes the finest players while remaining distinctly and unmistakably his own — an absolutely masterful achievement. ... Click to View


Eunhye Jeong (Burik / Ridley / Mela / Kim):
End of Time / KM-53 Project Vol. 2 (577 Records)

(code named KM-53), is an energetic and sophisticated album of free collective improvisation and one Jeong composition, performed with Allison Burik on alto sax & bass clarinet, Max Ridley on double bass, Francisco Mela on drums and Mina Kim on cello, recorded live at Lilypad, in Cambridge. ... Click to View


Michael Attias (Attias / Leibson / Pavolka / Ferber / Hoffman):
Quartet Music Vol. I: LuMiSong [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

With an ear to detail, Michaël Attias spent a year mixing and refining these four tracks, recorded after a post-pandemic concert at Barbes in Brooklyn, bringing to light four intricately melodic compositions performed with Michael Attias on alto sax, Santiago Leibson on piano & Wurli, Matt Pavolka on bass, Mark Ferber on drums and Christopher Hoffman on cello. ... Click to View


Udo Schindler / Olaf Rupp :
HerzAtmungen (Creative Sources)

Quoting Piet Mondrian — 'I believe that the destructive element in art is neglected too much' — the duo of Udo Schindler (bass clarinet, alto saxophone, cornet, tuba) and Olaf Rupp (electric guitar) deliver a compelling 2023 live performance at MUCCA [BASIS-Buchsalon] in Munich, Germany, in the six-part collective conversation "HerzAtmungen," loosely translating to "Heart Breathings". ... Click to View


Rodrigues / Gratkowski / Rodrigues / Griener:
Unstable Molecules (Creative Sources)

Bridging jazz and contemporary forms, this 2024 live recording of four improvisations at Berlin's Kuhlspot Social Club channels collective power with chamber jazz influences, showcasing the refined techniques and deep experience of Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Frank Gratkowski on clarinets and alto saxophone, Guilherme Rodrigues on cello, and Michael Griener on percussion. ... Click to View


Federico Ughi (Ughi / Musson / Lane):
Transoceanico (577 Records)

"Transoceanico" signifies the global reach of Rome, Italy-born improvising drummer Federico Ughi, celebrating 20 years since his first album recorded in London while residing there, leading to his current Brooklyn launchpad for many global tours and albums, this impressive LP realized in a superb free jazz trio with bassist Adam Lane and tenor saxophonist Rachel Musson. ... Click to View


Deerlady (Obomsawin, Mali / Magdalena Abrego):
Greatest Hits [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

A collection of songs exploring intimacy under colonialism by the writing duo of bassist and singer/lyricist Mali Obomsawin, a member of the Odanak First Nation and known for her work with the band Lula Wiles, and Chicago guitarist Magdalena Abrego, based in Cambridge, MA, featuring eight beautifully crafted pieces that showcase lyrical strength and astute observation. ... Click to View


Kira Kira (Fujii / Tamura / Spence / Yoshida):
Kira Kira Live (Alister Spence Music)

Picking up from their 2018 album Bright Force, the quartet of Libra label leaders Satoko Fujii on piano and Natsuki Tamura on trumpet, with Australian improviser Alister Spence on Fender Rhodes electric piano, and now with Magaibutsu/Ruins legend Tatsuya Yoshida on drums, are heard in two wildly powerful 2024 concerts at Koendori Classics in Tokyo and at Jazz Inn Lovely, Nagoya, with compositions from each member. ... Click to View


Christopher Hoffman (feat. Henry Threadgill / Anna Webber):
Vision Is The Identity [VINYL] (Out Of Your Head Records)

Returning to the electronic jazz approach of his album Multifariam, cellist Christopher Hoffman, composing with the core trio of Frank LoCrasto on keyboards and Bill Campbell on drums, is joined by luminaries such as Henry Threadgill, Ryan Scott, Anna Webber, and Alfred Colón on select tracks, releasing a lyrically compelling album that draws on a diverse range of influences. ... Click to View



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  Falling Water 
  Bamboo Rainsticks  
  (Amulet) 

   review by Phil Zampino
  2003-06-10
Falling Water: Bamboo Rainsticks (Amulet)

Billy Martin has an obsession with percussion, and his Amulet records was founded to document that love. In this instance, the Medeski, Martin and Wood drummer's focus is on the insrument used by Amazon Indians for magic and ritual.  The rainstick is a long tube made from a dried bamboo or cactus branch.  When dried, the tiny seeds inside loosen and flow in a chattering way when the tube is tilted, making a sound very much like a delicate flow of rain.  This album is a collection of eight recordings Martin made of his own rainsticks, which were combined by David Baker to form one continuous track.

Martin writes in the liner notes that he listens to his rainsticks when traveling or when in need of solitude.  He suggests that the listener not play the disc at loud levels so as to properly enjoy the gentle effect of the sound.  This doesn't make for a particularly interesting listen, but that's not the purpose of the release.  If you feel that your personal sonic environment would benefit from these flowing sounds, if your garden or tea room is wanting for accompaniment, if you're looking for well-recorded rainstick samples, or if your nerves are on edge and require soothing, then this album may be for you.





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Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Rob Mazurek &
Exploding Star
Orchestra:
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Adler Planetarium
(International Anthem)



Ackley /
Chen /
Centazzo /
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Steve Lacys
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Brian Marsella's
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Arthur Blythe Quartet (
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Abdullah /
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