Rod Poole | Jim McAuley | Nels Cline | Acoustic Guitar Trio | Vignes | Long Song Records

This is one of many recordings that Rod Poole made documenting this trio’s concert work. Tragically, Rod was murdered in 2007. But after reviewing his recordings during our concertizing days, we had collectively selected and sequenced pieces from this perfomance at the Downtown Playhouse and arrived at the title “Vignes”, which is the name of the street in Downtown Los Angeles where the space is located. It is a blessing to see this music finally released. This document is dedicated with love to the memory of our brilliant comrade, Rod Poole.Nels, Jim – Los Angeles, November 2008 Continue reading

Tongs | Jazz With The Megaphone? | Long Song Records

This album has been lying around here, not knowing what to do with it. Does it fit the profile of this blog or doesn’t it? Is is sufficiently jazz? Is it sufficiently adventurous? Well, in a way it is. The music is hard to pigeonhole. If you like The Happy Apple or Lucien Dubuis Trio, you must give this one a try too. Carlo Garof plays drums, percussion, objects, sinori, megaphone, live electronics; Antonio Bertoni plays double bass, electric bass, effects and sampler, Luca Serrapiglio plays baritone and tenor, bass clarinet and lo-fi electronics. The music has a definite rock attack and approach, with the studio being the fourth musician of the band. There is lots of fun on this album, lots of unexpected and interesting new subtleties added to the genre (and not only the megaphone). It rocks, it funks, it pumps, it swings, but on top you get colorful delivery of new sounds, ground-shaking drumming, gut-wrenching arco, hair-blowing horns, hair-raising electronics, feet-raising rhythms. Lively stuff! A little more unity would have made this a better album. Sometimes a little too sweet (like in the first track), sometimes hesitating between just plain fun and real artistic ambitions, but it sounds very promising. — Stef Continue reading

The Shipwreck Bag Show | Il Tempo … Tra Le Nostre Mani, Scoppia | Long Song Records

Xabier Iriondo and Roberto Bertacchini are together again to continue the work started with the mini-cd of the same name which closed the wallaceMailSeries. Two years to forge a sound that has become much more than the sum of two styles, whose personality has become trademark. Shipwreck The Bag Show is a group, a band playing live and this album offers twelve tracks that are real songs. Without forgetting the sound research carried out over the years, the duo is dedicated to singing and playing blues songs obviously drunk and crooked, obviously cripple blues, dirty, primitive and evocative. God (or who for him) makes them … Continue reading

Scott Amendola | Ben Goldberg | Devin Hoff | Plays Monk | Long Song Records

Does the world really another trio interpretation of Thelonious Monk’s music? Well, take one look at the personnel involved here, and you’ll Know this isn’t simply another stab at revivalist orthodoxy. Bassist Devin Hoff, drummer Scott Amendola, and clarinetist Ben Goldberg have worked together and separately in many of the Bay Area’s most interesting groups (Hoff and Amendola are two thirds of the Nels Cline Singers; Goldberg is the newest member in the Tin Hat ensemble) and each is a strong band leader in his own right. They’ve also participated in two of the more intriguing recent homages to jazz masters. All three were members of New Monastery, Nels Cline’s recent homage to Andrew Hill; and Hoff was the bassist on The Door, the Hat, the Chair, the Fact, Goldberg’s tribute to Steve Lacy. — Signal to Noise Continue reading

Simone Massaron feat. Carla Bozulich | Dandelions On Fire | Long Song Records

I couldn’t help but feel that the material presented by Massaron’s Dandelions on Fire would be at home on any of the Tom Waits’ albums from the past decade. I couldn’t find any direct correlation from Massaron to Waits through background digging, and that’s what makes this album even better. It bears the almost unmistakable variances of an extremely seasoned veteran, yet makes no apologies when it comes to claiming its individuality. This is one uniquely diverse collection that’s sure to satiate any fan of Mr. Waits or Nels Cline, but would likely also be in frequent rotation of any dedicated Carla Bozulich fan. — songfrontiers Continue reading

The Foot Job Band | Porno Jazz | Long Song Records

The subject of today’s lesson is…….. Porno Jazz!!!!!!!!! These are the first words spoken from our esteemed professor Whiskey San Martino announcing the topic of the day’s lecture, and what a subject it it! Its roots lie in the world’s oldest profession as well as the day to day thoughts and fantasies of most of us. O.K. let’s get just say it and get it out of the way. We all know what the course work is and believe me, everyone of us all wants to pass with flying colors. SEX baby and I want a PHD! Continue reading

Nicola Cipani | Klaviermassagen | Seven Solo Piano Recordings | Long Song Records

Pianist Nicola Cipani is one of Long Song’s most acclaimed discoveries. His debut The ill-tempered piano was saluted as “achingly gorgeous, unusual and wonderful” (Signal to noise), “endlessly clever and playful” (DMG), earning praise for the “impressive range of techniques” (The Wire) and “unbounded imagination” (AllAboutJazz), along with an honorable mention for best release of 2008 (AllAboutJazz New York). Cipani’s second solo CD no longer resorts to broken instruments — the piano is now healthy and tuned — but the result is still surprisingly uncharacteristic. These piano-string ‘massages’ unearth layers of new sounds, producing a thrilling landscape of drones, overtones, sympathetic resonances. Cipani manages to organize such magmatic potential into meaningful textures and music evolves as propelled by a reflection on sound itself. Continue reading