Cuneiform Records MAY 2021 Newsletter

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view this email  in your browser Cuneiform Records MAY 2021 Newsletter scroll down, or jump to: ~~~~~~ NEW RELEASE! MAY 2021 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS JACK O' THE CLOCK – Leaving California Americana/ avant progressive / alternative rock ~~~~~~ IT'S OUT!  Released APRIL 2021 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS DESERTION TRIO - Numbers Maker alt-jazz/out-jazz from Philadelphia ~~~~~~ THEY'RE OUT! Released MARCH 2021  ON CUNEIFORM DAVID BORDEN – Heaven-Kept Soul GABRIEL BORDEN – Borden On Borden:  Gabriel Borden plays David Borden ALAN GOWEN & HUGH HOPPER – Bracknell – Bresse Improvisations ~~~~~~ SNEAK PEEK! COMING OUT  JUNE 2021 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS THE FOURTH WORLD QUARTET – 1975  ~~~~~~ CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR:   LIVE CONCERTS & TOURS ~~~~~~ EXPLORE CUNEIFORM RECORDS ACTIVITIES ONLINE • Join us on SOCIAL MEDIA • Discover new artists & albums on Cuneiform Records BANDCAMP PAGE • Enjoy performances on Cuneiform Records YouTube Channel • Purchase music from100s of labels at WaysideMusic.com, our sister store, estab.1980 ~~~~~~ COMING OUT MAY 28, 2021 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS: JACK O' THE CLOCK LEAVING CALIFORNIA Street Date:  May 28, 2021 File Under:  AMERICANA / AVANT PROGRESSIVE / AVANT-GARDE / ALTERNATIVE ROCK Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS Catalog #: Cuneiform Rune 477 Format: CD / Digital UPC: 0-45775-04772-0 “One of the most original and compelling groups I know, playing some amazing compositions that seem to tread effortlessly between Van Dyke Parks and folk music from an as-yet-unidentified culture, while making all the things you've always thought of as difficult sound as effortless and natural as breathing... Amazing production. Extraordinary compositions. You need to hear it.”   – Fred Frith   listen / share via SoundCloud: "Jubilation":          Jack O' The Clock reveal their deep musical roots on       Leaving California, a wide-ranging musical adventure                                    six years in the making.   Jack O' the Clock‘s Leaving California is a highly-detailed musical adventure that reveals new layers with repeated listens, from the opening strums of “Jubilation,” which introduces the record with whimsical folksy fanfare, to the angular harmonized violin lead on the closing track, “Narrow Gate.” Throughout, the songs of bandleader Damon Waitkus recall artists such as David Sylvian, Fairport Convention, and Elliott Smith, while creative musical arrangements showcase the band’s high-level compositional and instrumental chops. Upon first listen, Leaving California offers plenty of hooks, but this is music that truly reveals its depth upon the scrutiny of repeated spins. In the title track, “Leaving California,” the album’s most direct and emotional song, Waitkus grapples with environmental and cultural themes that surround his experience in California while also revealing a personal dimension that informed the album. Waitkus and violinist Emily Packard, who are married, made the decision to move a few thousand miles away from the Bay Area to Brattleboro, VT in 2019, thus separating themselves from the rest of the band with whom they’ve been playing since 2007. Ultimately, the song “Leaving California” provides a mission statement for the album amidst lush acoustic guitar and string arrangements and a supple groove driven by bassist Jason Hoopes and drummer Jordan Glenn.   Elsewhere on Leaving California, the message is more enigmatic, which is reflected by the music on tracks such as “The Butcher,” where windy riff-age leads the song’s verses into a dramatic chorus. The song’s ever-shifting feeling settles into the jazz-inflected instrumental sections that develop through refined group interplay. It’s here and on tracks such as “You Let Me Down” and “Narrow Gate” that reveal Jack O’The Clock at their most progressive.   The group initially met as students at Oakland’s Mills College and since 2013, Hoopes and Glenn have played in the Fred Frith Trio with their former professor and one of the original visionaries of British progressive rock. Waitkus initially conceived the band as an acoustic songwriting group, but a wide range of influences — from jazz and free improv to folk musics from around the world — and his own experiences as a contemporary classical composer helped create what he has referred to as “majestic junk folk.” Since Jack O' the Clock’s first record — 2009’s Rare Weather — Jack O' the Clock has become a tight and formidable ensemble whose music has evolved through a prolific stretch of releases.   Despite their steady release schedule, the songs on Leaving California have been gestating for about six years of rehearsals and performances up and down the West Coast, and Waitkus knew the time had come to document this music before he and Packard left for Vermont. The result is a set of songs performed at the height of the band’s collective powers, recorded and mixed by Waitkus from between 2018 and 2020 and mastered by Myles Boisen. Leaving California is a testament to Jack O ’The Clock’s patient and committed process and it encourages listeners to keep coming back for more for quite some time.   “It’s like hearing some of my favourite 'Old Timey' fiddle and guitar records...updated with compositional ideas worthy of a Stockhausen or a Boulez.”  – The Sound Projector Damon Waitkus – vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, keyboards, hammer dulcimer Emily Packard – violin  Jason Hoopes – bass  Jordan Glenn – drums  Thea Kelly – vocals  Ivor Holloway - clarinet on track 3 and saxophones on track 7  Josh Packard - cello on track 4  Myles Boisen - pedal steel on track 5  Produced, recorded, and mixed by Damon Waitkus in Alameda and Oakland, CA and at Orchard Hill Studio, Brattleboro, VT, 2018–2020.  Mastered by Myles Boisen. pre-order on Bandcamp: return to top OUT NOW! Released in APRIL 2021 on CUNEIFORM RECORDS DESERTION TRIO NUMBERS MAKER File Under:  JAZZ / ELECTRIC JAZZ / AVANT GARDE / BRUTAL JAZZ Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS Catalog #: Cuneiform Rune 479 Format: CD / Digital UPC: 0-45775-04792-8 Street Date:  April 23, 2021   "[Desertion Trio] hits the sweet spot between Neil Young's exploratory      Crazy Horse jams and a spaghetti western soundtrack." – NPR   listen to / share "Albion" via SoundCloud: Philadelphia's fiery Desertion Trio throw down in front of a live studio audience on the thrilling new Numbers Maker, taking edgy, dark cues from spy guitar themes, electric-era Miles Davis, and much more. NICK MILLEVOI – guitar JOHNNY DEBLASE – bass JASON NAZARY – drums From the first notes of “Albion,” the opening track on the Desertion Trio’s third album, Numbers Maker,  its first release on Cuneiform Records, it is clear that the Philly band is leaning into a new direction. Rolling Stone described their previous effort — 2019’s Twilight Time, a record of ecstatically-arranged covers of mid-century hits — as “surreally deconstructed retro pop,” but this new music has a darker edge that hits a little differently. The opening melody offers an oblique, fisheye reference to the sound of 1960s spy and surf guitar themes while a collective improvisation warps that perspective, shooting for the stars with sprawling and effected tones. Although Desertion Trio is following a new musical path, the sound of the band — described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “exploratory, distorted, and warped” — is still recognizable. On “Powers,” the band builds angular riff-age into a sideways blues motif that is akin to 2018’s Midtown Tilt, while the album’s centerpiece, “Buist,” is an energetic romp that pairs wah-soaked shredding from guitarist Nick Millevoi with a propulsive, tumbling groove from bassist Johnny DeBlase and drummer Jason Nazary, owing an equal debt of gratitude to Funkadelic guitar-maestro Eddie Hazel as well as the darker side of Miles Davis’ electric bands. While the band has always been a three-piece, Desertion Trio brought friends along on their previous records, such as keyboardists Jamie Saft and Ron Stabinsky and Sun Ra Arkestra vocalist Tara Middleton. Stripped down and focused on Desertion Trio's brutal core, Numbers Maker is thus their first true trio release. With Nazary’s addition to the drum chair, the band’s pulse beats a little differently, allowing them to go places they’ve never gone before. Nowhere is that clearer than on “Taboo” and “Numbers Maker,” both tunes from previous Desertion Trio records where the group reconstructs these songs and, in the case of “Numbers Maker,” shifts into hyperdrive with sheer abandon. In order to celebrate the spirit of a power trio in its natural, unadorned state, Desertion Trio recorded Numbers Maker in front of a live audience at New Haven, CT’s Firehouse 12 studio. The result is a detailed studio recording that finds the band all-in with no overdubs and no re-takes, capturing the energy of live improvisations in an effort that harkens back to Millevoi and DeBlase’s work with their previous band, the Tzadik-released brutal prog trio Many Arms. Released April 23, 2021, Numbers Maker is the band's first album on Cuneiform Records, although the Philly trio and DC-based label have long been good friends. The third Desertion Trio release, Numbers Maker follows the trio's two previous, critically acclaimed albums, which captured attention from Rolling Stone and NPR, as well as cutting-edge webzines and fans. Their first album, 2018’s Midtown Tilt, was embraced by Noisey as “supremely weird desert noir” and by Aquarium Drunkard as a “nonstop instrumental thrill-ride.” Desertion Trio's bandleader, composer and guitarist, Nick Millevoi, previously worked with Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band and John Zorn. NPR described the guitarist's sound as “like a rocket darting skyward between clouds.” Bassist Johnny DeBlase has worked alongside Millevoi in the band Many Arms and in performing the music of John Zorn. In addition, DeBlase is a member of Zevious (who have two releases on Cuneiform Records) and Sabbath Assembly. Desertion Trio's drummer, Jason Nazary is also a member of such bands as Anteloper, Bloor, Clebs and Little Women.                  Recorded live at Firehouse 12 on October 18, 2019 by Greg DiCosta Mixed and mastered at Mengroth by Colin Marston Cover art by Erik Ruin / Design & layout by Chester Rogers Photos #1 (multi-exposure) + #3 (portraits) by Katie Rey Photo #2 (performance) by Mike Rogers All songs by Nick Millevoi except “Taboo” by Margrita Lecuona & Al Stillman. pre-order / buy on Bandcamp: “...the band’s tunefulness and delicate touch—even during its most punishing passages—have a universal profundity..." – Chicago Reader return to top OUT NOW ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS! MARCH 2021 RELEASES    DAVID BORDEN   Heaven-Kept Soul            File Under: CLASSICAL  Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS Catalog #: Cuneiform Rune 3350 Format:  DIGITAL Release Date: March 19, 2021 David Borden - virtual piano, virtual prepared piano, samplers, synthesizers, drum Compositions by David Borden   buy / listen on Bandcamp GABRIEL BORDEN   Borden on Borden : Gabriel Borden Plays David Borden File Under: CLASSICAL / POST-CLASSICAL / GUITAR Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS Catalog #: Cuneiform Rune 3350 Format:  DIGITAL Street Date: March 19, 2021   Gabriel Borden: electric guitar, electric bass guitar, acoustic guitar, banjitar, multi-tracked large and regular harmonicas Compositions by David Borden Gabriel Borden, recording engineer     buy / listen on Bandcamp   ALAN GOWEN & HUGH HOPPER with Nigel Morris  Bracknell-Bresse Improvisations    File Under: PROGRESSIVE / JAZZ-ROCK / CANTERBURY MUSIC Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS Catalog #: Cuneiform Rune 3350 Format:  DIGITAL Release  Date: March 19, 2021 Alan Gowen : keyboards  Hugh Hopper : bass, tape loops  Nigel Morris : percussion [1-3]  buy / listen on Bandcamp return to top COMING OUT JUNE 25, 2021 ON CUNEIFORM RECORDS: THE  FOURTH  WORLD  QUARTET 1975 File under: JAZZ / CLASSICAL / IMPROVISATION / COMPOSITION Label: CUNEIFORM RECORDS CATALOG #: Cuneiform Rune 481 Format: CD / DIGITAL UPC: 0-45775-04812-3 From 60s exploratory psychedelia to Detroit’s experimental art/punk Destroy All Monsters [featuring members of Stooges and MC5] and  Boston’s explosive Mission Of Burma and Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic's chamber rock: The Fourth World Quartet is the missing link, a wellspring of inspiration and fertile ground for musical exchange  Benjamin Miller: alto saxophone, electric guitar, composer Laurence Miller: bass clarinet, composer Roger C. Miller: piano, percussion, cornet, composer Jack Waterstone: alto saxophone, composer listen / share a track on SoundCloud return to top CUNEIFORM ARTISTS ON TOUR 2021 CALENDAR In an evolving and recently re-surging COVID-19 world, these dates are ALL tentative. Please check with venues, close to the concert date, to confirm. We look forward to live concerts resuming AS SOON as it is safe to do so. Regarding online  Thank you.  See also the Tours Page at Cuneiform Records. THE GREAT HARRY HILLMAN The exuberant Swiss jazz/ pop/ beyond group - named after the American triple-Gold Medal winner at the 1904 Summer Olympics - are one of the most active groups on the European festival and club circuit, top-notch live performers ceaselessly honing their skills. May 14 - Konservi - Seon, Switzerland Listen to & buy: Tilt HENRY KAISER Grammy winner Henry Kaiser is widely recognized as one of the most creative and innovative guitarists, improvisers, and producers in the fields of rock, jazz, world, and contemporary experimental musics. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– THE HENRY KAISER MONTHLY [formerly WEEKLY] SOLO SERIES, presented exclusively on the CUNEIFORM RECORDS YouTube Channel  When the Covid 19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020, Henry Kaiser began curating & presenting a weekly series of pre-recorded music videos exclusively on Cuneiform's YouTube Channel for music lovers isolating at home. When lockdowns began to lift, the series proved to be so popular that Henry continued to post new videos on Cuneiform's YouTube every Thursday. In April 2021, the one year anniversary of Henry's weekly concert series for Cuneiform, the series transformed into a new, monthly format.  We invite you to visit Cuneiform Record's YouTube Channel to see the videos that Henry present on the first of every month. The video for May 1, 2021/Monthly Solo #2 features duo performances by Henry Kaiser and Charles K. Noyes, and a Han Bennink  solo performance. It's important to note that, while called Henry Kaiser Weekly (now Monthly) Solo Series, many videos depict duets and bands. These videos may depict new (Kaiser/ Pirog/ Gale/ Rock in Weekly Solo #52/Monthly Solo #1), recent (A Love Supreme Electric videos #22 & #31), or vintage performances (The Valentines' 1994 concert in the Fukuoka Dome). All 52 videos from Henry's prior Weekly Series, as well as the new Monthly Series are archived & available on our YouTube Channel. Listen to & buy: Albums by Henry Kaiser & Friends  on Cuneiform A Love Supreme Electric [Vinny Golia / John Hanrahan / Henry Kaiser / Wayne Peet / Mike Watt]: A Love Supreme Electric: A Love Supreme and Meditations  Yo Miles!: Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith: Sky Garden & Upriver     Five Times Surprise [Henry Kaiser / Anthony Pirog / Tracy Silverman / Jeff Sipe / Andy West]:  Five Times Surprise Henry Kaiser & Ray Russell:  The Celestial Squid Henry Kaiser: Lemon Fish Tweezer; Fred Frith & Henry Kaiser: Friends & Enemies     Healing Force [Vinny Golia • Aurora Josephson • Henry Kaiser • Mike Keneally • Joe Morris • Damon Smith • Weasel Walter]: Healing Force:  The Songs of Albert Ayler                       V.A.: 156 Strings: Nineteen Totally Original Acoustic Guitarists THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND "Twenty-first century big-band music doesn’t get more exciting and impressive than this." – Jazz Times An astounding 18 piece jazz ensemble of five woodwind players, four trumpeters, three trombonists, two keyboardists, guitar, violin, bass and drums, led by arranger, composer & saxophonist Ed Palermo, one of America's most singular arrangers who draws on jazz, pop and rock tunes for his top-notch band. There are a number of ensembles performing the music of Frank Zappa, one of the greatest American composers of the 20th century, but no one does it with the ease, skill and originality that Ed and his band do! –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– [To accommodate Covid restrictions, Ed is performing these shows with a septet – “Eddy’s Chemistry Set” – and not the Big Band] June 5 - The Falcon - 1348 Route 9W - Marlboro, NY 12542 "Eddy's Chemistry Set": Ed Palermo/ Bruce McDaniel (back from touring in Todd Rundgren's "Clearly Human" Virtual Tour!) / Robbie Mangano/ Ray Marchica/ Paul Adamy/ Ted Kooshian/ Bob Quaranta    Listen to & buy: Ed Palermo Big Band albums on Cuneiform: The Adventures of Zoyd Zundgren; The Great Un-American Songbook Vols. 1&2; One Child Left Behind; Oh No! Not Jazz!!; Eddy Loves Frank; Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance                   SCHNELLERTOLLERMEIER "Schnellertollermeier marries brutality to avant-garde rock and jazz. A classic power trio from Switzerland, the band plays with punk fury and dazzling technical dexterity to create booming, bone-rattling music that stalks, confronts and astonishes." – The Wall Street Journal Brutal-jazz power trio Schnellertollermeier doesn't compromise. Their fresh and uncompromising mix of jazz, punk, rock, sound and free improvised music, combined with great musicianship, interplay and intense energy, has awed audiences at festivals of jazz, rock, pop and experimental music worldwide. In celebration of their new release on Cuneiform, the album 5, they tour Northern Europe this coming Fall 2021. _____________________________ October 2 - Le Singe - Untergasse 21, Biel, Switzerland October 9 - Guten-Morgen-Eberswalde - Eberswalde, Germany October 12 - Dexter - Vindegade 65 - Odense C, Denmark October 14 - Rotondes - Rue de la Rotonde - Luxembourg, Luxembourg October 15 - LantarenVenster - Otto Reuchlinweg 996 - Rotterdam, Netherlands October 16 - LOCH - Bergstraße 50 - Wuppertal, Germany Listen to & buy: 5, Rights & X      To set up press and radio interviews with Cuneiform Artists while on tour or at home, please contact: promo@cuneiformrecords.com return to top SPRING  IS  IN  FULL  BLOOM!!! CELEBRATE SPRING WITH CUNEIFORM RECORDS' ACTIVITIES ONLINE !   New Music is Blooming at Cuneiform Records; we Invite you to Enjoy it with Us, Online! Spring 2021 is in full bloom, and we can finally glimpse light at the end of the dark pandemic tunnel thanks to the increasing number of people who have been vaccinated and the increasing  availability of vaccines worldwide.  But we're not in the clear yet.  The pandemic lingers on.  Because of viral resurgences and the emergence of new Covid 19 strains, as well as vaccine shortages and distribution delays, many places have reinstated cautionary measures.  Other places are relaxing restraints on social distancing, opening their doors and local economies to warm spring breezes and eager tourists.  Now, with the finish line within sight, it's more important than ever to be mindful and not throw caution to the wind, before the pandemic is crushed. Be patient.  Live concerts are slowly resuming, with precautions. Until they resume in your town - and afterwards - we invite you to visit us online and enjoy the music and videos we present for your enjoyment!     Music can make a positive difference in our lives, and help us survive prolonged weird and tumultuous times.  All of us long to attend live concerts again, but until that's safe, we can enjoy music at home.  You can explore tracks from over 400 recordings released by Cuneiform Records since 1984 on our website, or on Bandcamp, SoundCloud or YouTube, and also watch recordings of recent and vintage concerts that we regularly post on YouTube.  Cuneiform Records has a treasure chest of interesting music to serve as soundtrack, inspiration and solace during these challenging times. We have a mammoth catalogue of releases by some of avant music's most esteemed icons as well as young rising stars, available for purchase at the Cuneiform Records Bandcamp store and at one of our sister companies, Wayside Music. Your purchases support indie musicians, indie labels, and small business.  • Discover new music on Cuneiform Records' BANDCAMP PAGE :  support our artists & our indie label by purchasing music.   • Visit our internet store, WaysideMusic.com (established 1980!), to purchase  music from ALL your favorite labels!  We also have a ton of FREE entertainment for your enjoyment on several online platforms:   • Enjoy hours on Cuneiform Records' YouTube CHANNEL:  free music videos, videos of live shows, & samples from 400+ adventurous releases!   And we've expanded our video content during the pandemic. On every Thursday during the first year of the pandemic, guitarist Henry Kaiser posted a new 'live' concert on Cuneiform Records' YouTube Channel; all 52 Weekly concerts can now be viewed on our station. On April 1, 2021, Henry ended the Weekly and launched a new, Monthly concert series at Cuneiform.  Read how Henry creates these "live" concerts –which are taped beforehand and not streamed - in a Guitar Moderne interview, "The New "Live". • Enjoy and share samples of music by releases of countless Cuneiform artists on the Cuneiform Records' SoundCloud Site. • Visit & Like & Follow our Facebook PAGE for Cuneiform Records. • Join our Facebook GROUP: Fans of Cuneiform Records. • Follow @CuneiformRecord onTwitter • Visit the CuneiformRecords.com official WEBSITE for extensive information on the artists and recordings on our label,  upcoming concerts & much more. • Media professionals: find music to LICENSE from Cuneiform for movies, ads etc via our sister site TheMusicOutpost.com. • Were you forwarded this email from a friend?  If so, make sure you sign up for the Cuneiform NEWSLETTER to  get this monthly newsletter in your email box, in addition to receiving notices for Cuneiform's weekly "$5 Friday" offers – Cuneiform selects a special album from its archive each weekend,  to be sold in download format via Bandcamp, that weekend only,  for $5.   WE LOOK FORWARD TO SPENDING THIS SPRING SEASON WITH YOU, ONLINE!   Cuneiform YouTube Cuneiform Website Facebook FanGroup Facebook Page Cuneiform Twitter Cuneiform SoundCloud Cuneiform Bandcamp Instagram Email Cuneiform return to top Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* Cuneiform Records, All rights reserved. Washington, DC // Silver Spring, MD Our mailing address is: Cuneiform Records P.O. Box 8427 Silver Spring, MD 20907 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Was this email forwarded to you from a friend? Subscribe to the Cuneiform Records Newsletter. read this email online   return to top