CASSETTES & EARTH SERIES CASSETTES
The music on HUMMING BIRD Records & Tapes is spontaneously composed, freely improvised. It is presented to the listener in its purest possible form, edited only for purposes of presentation on recorded media.
Multi-tracking has at times been utilized – as a separate but related improvising endeavor – to create unusual and unlikely instrumental ensembles and to suggest open-ended ways of approaching form and content during real-time group improvisation.
Henry and John Kuntz
NEW WORLD MUSIC
(HBT 001)
Henry Kuntz / Indian snake charmer’s flute, Chinese musette, tenor saxophone, bamboo flute, bells; John Kuntz / ukelele, harp, mandolin. (Recorded December 20,21, 1980 “live” at Woody Woodman’s Finger Palace, Berkeley.
Exhilarating, micro-rhythmic music suggesting any number of conceptual breakthroughs.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry and John Kuntz
ARCHANGELIC THE LAW OF ONE
(HBT 002)
Henry Kuntz / voice, Ecuadorian and Indian bamboo flutes, Chinese musette; John Kuntz / ukelele, tenor ukelele, ukelele banjo. (Recorded June 28, 1981)
Exploring the edges – the soft, the sharp, the light, the dark, the funny, the “mystical.”
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry and John Kuntz
(tHe cHILd cLowNs) tHE mAgiC lAnd
(HBT 003)
Henry Kuntz / hollowed-out log violin and toy violin (both Indian-made, Mexico), Ecuadorian bamboo flute, Chinese musette, tenor saxophone, voice; John Kuntz / ukelele, ukelele banjo, tenor ukelele. (Recorded March 19, 20, 1983 and during various 1982 performances)
A multi-timbred, multi-purposed and proposed “primitive” string extravaganza. Wood, metal, and human lung interjection.
“Nothing short of marvelous!…the best yet” – La Donna Smith (violinist and co-founder of Trans Museq and of the journal The Improvisor.)
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry and John Kuntz
ATITLAN / LUNA NEGRA
(HBT 004)
Henry Kuntz / tenor saxophone, violins (Indian-made, Mexico), Ecuadorian and Indian bamboo flutes, Chinese musette, voice, bells; John Kuntz / ukelele, tenor ukelele, ukelele banjo. (Recorded March 12, 13, 1985 and in performance August 30, 1981 & December 28, 1979)
An exuberance and dark humor. A rounding out and recapitulation. Musical areas not fully or specifically documented on previous recordings.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Trio Opeye
NORTHWEST COASTAL MUSIC
(HBT 005)
Brian Godchaux / violins, thumb piano, Mexican rattles, Indian bells, percussion; John Kuntz / ukelele, tenor ukelele, ukelele banjo, thumb piano, Mexican rattles, small Tahitian log drum, Indian bells, voice, percussion; Henry Kuntz / violins (Indian-made, Mexico), Bolivian bass flute , Indian snake charmer’s flute, various other flutes, Chinese musette, small Indian gong, percussion. (Recorded October 11, 18, 1986)
Virtuosity and the ritual come full circle in this open-ended, fluid, and hard-edged cultural metamorphosis.
“Primal, almost shamanistic in approach and just plain straight forward” – La Donna Smith, The Improvisor
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Trio Opeye
NATIVE INTELLIGENCE (TRANCE AND DREAM CYCLES)
(HBT 006)
Henry Kuntz / violin and toy violin (Mexico), Balinese bamboo xylophone, African balafon (Mali), tenor saxophone, flutes, drums, rattles, voice; John Kuntz / ukeleles, guitar, mandolin, autoharp, metallophone, toy xylophone and bamboo xylophone, drum, small percussion; Brian Godchaux / violins, mandolin, bamboo xylophone, thumb piano. (Recorded November 27, December 6, 1987 & February 5, 1988)
Evocative and challenging journeys to the Nether-Spaces of SOUND, where the mind floats alertly and moves artfully, dynamically, freely… suspended for a time from ordinary reality.
“Lively, impressionistic, in a genuinely possessed-sounding way.” – The Improvisor (Winter 1988-89).
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry Kuntz
WHIRLS AWAY
(HBT 007)
Henry Kuntz / Balinese gamelan and gamelan selunding, Balinese wood and bamboo xylophones, African balafon (Mali) and “fetish” gongs (Togo), Mexican Indian violin, Chinese musette, Bolivian bass flute, Thai mouth organ, voice. Four 4-track pieces of 20 plus minutes each – C-90 (Recorded October 30, 31, November 1,2, December 1-4, 1989.
“New” New Music! Innovation in the Innovations.
Improvisational form is freely extended in these sonically-rich, culturally-open multi-track ensembles.
“It’s from another planet!” – John Oswald (alto saxophonist, performance artist, “Plunderphonics” )
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry and John Kuntz
HOME (AT) THE RANGE
(HBT 008)
John Kuntz / toy accordian, ukelele, guitar, Chinese gong, percussion; Henry Kuntz / Thai and Balinese wood xylophones, Balinese gamelans, African balafon (Mali), Chinese musette, soprano recorder. (Recorded May and September 1990)
A lively and spontaneous home-concocted brew of improvised doubles, plus two deeply experiential and highly experimental excursions into 4-track ALCHEMY!
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry Kuntz
TOTAL MUSIC: VOLS. 1 & 2 (HBT 009,010)
Henry Kuntz / Balinese and Javanese gamelans, Balinese wood and bamboo xylophones, African balafon (Mali), Balinese and Bolivian bamboo flutes, Chinese musette, tenor saxophone, Mexican Indian violins, thumb pianos.
Two C-60 Chrome Cassettes (specially priced, sold as a set only) (Recorded January to August 1991)
Melodically and rhythmically-concentrated textural layers, busy surfaces, the compacted parameters of free improvisation. TOTAL MUSIC!
“This is deep, challenging music, informed by fairly disparate traditions.”- Myles Boisen (guitarist, Splatter Trio) – Freeway (Spring, 1993).
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry Kuntz / New Trio Opeye
ON THE PATH OF DARKNESS IS THE WAY OF LIGHT
(HBT 011)
Scott Braziel / keyboard electronics; Henry & John Kuntz / wind, wood, string, and percussion instruments. (Trio Opeye recorded “live” October 5, 1990; two multi-track improvisations by Henry Kuntz March 1992)
Impressionist Flights, Surrealist Delights!
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry Kuntz
PLACELESS TIMELESS: VOLS 1, 2, 3
(HBT 012, 013, 014)
Henry Kuntz / Balinese and Javanese gamelans and wood and bamboo xylophones, Thai and African wood xylophones, Tibetan bowls and bell, Chinese musette, tenor saxophone, Indian snake charmer’s flute, Mexican Indian violin, assorted drums and percussion. Three C-46 Chrome Cassettes (specially priced, sold as a set only) (Recorded February through November 1993, and one piece March 1991)
Orchestral breadth, formal clarity, and instrumental purpose are highlighted in these engaging and explorative multi-track ensembles!
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Opeye: Trio & Quartet
ROYAL GARDEN SWEET
(HBT 015)
Ben Lindgren / doublebass; Esten Lindgren / trombone, conch shell trumpet, ukulele banjo, Thai wood xylophone; John Kuntz / ukulele, ukulele banjo, mandolin, Balinese & Javanese gamelans and various drums and percussion; Henry Kuntz / Nepalese, Balinese, and Bolivian wood flutes, Chinese musette, tenor saxophone, conch shell trumpet, and various drums and percussion. (Recorded January 22 and July 23, 1994)
Innovation in these classically improvised sound excursions is a logical outgrowth of a well-founded and felt traditional continuum.
“Henry Kuntz is the Ornette Coleman of Nepalese, Balinese and Bolivian flutes…..Opeye’s music has much more in common with the subconscious designs of weird dreams, things falling down basement stairs and squirrels in the attic. First-rate improvisation, an environment for relaxed little prophesies, which is ironic since the music is so constantly active.” –Davey Williams, The Improvisor, Volume XI, 1996.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Henry Kuntz
THE MAGIC OF MYSTERY
(HBT 016)
Henry Kuntz / tenor saxophone; Chinese musette; Thai, Nepalese and Bolivian bamboo flutes; Thai, Balinese, and African wood xylophones; Balinese and Javanese gamelans; Tibetan bowls; assorted drums, gongs, and percussion. Four multi-track pieces. (Recorded June, September 1994) Also available as a limited edition cdr on Foxglove.
Prototype wind and percussion ensembles emphasizing sharply contrasted and divergent textural timbral, and rhythmic elements.
“Pursuing his singularly eccentric aesthetic, Kuntz’s newest solo tape presents four remarkable pieces…Avoiding the steady rhythms and hummable melodies of the actual ‘Third World’ musics whose instruments he uses, Kuntz has long been working in a way that is closer (sonically) to the plant and insect life of the wildest lands than to the music of the humans who inhabit them…All his playing is underpinned by an uncanny attention to detail, resulting in a strangely ‘activated’ music from one of the most personalized voices in contemporary improvisation.” – Davey Williams, The Improvisor, Volume XI, 1996.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
EARTH SERIES CASSETTES
AUTHENTIC ON-LOCATION RECORDINGS OF WORLD MUSIC
The Earth Series cassettes were recorded using a single omni-directional Sony microphone positioned so as to obtain the highest quality natural mix in the music. All of the material was recorded in “real life” circumstances under conditions far from optimal for recording. Yet there is an oustandingly good sound-to-noise ratio on each of these tapes. HUMMING BIRD EARTH SERIES is releasing this music because of its uniqueness and general unavailability on the commercial market. The cassettes are “real time” dubs from metal masters and utilize type “B” Dolby noise reduction to ensure that everything originally recorded can be optimally heard by the listener. Descriptive notes are included with each release.
Mexico
BRASS BAND AND MARIMBA MUSIC FROM THE COAST AND ISTHMUS OF OAXACA
(ES 100)
Hot Coastal nights explode with fiesta sounds — fast, enticing rhythms and the whistling, swirling, and crackling of a thousand fireworks! Also, distinctively percussive (and highly virtuostic) marimba stylings from Mexico’s isthmus — marimba as it is played nowhere else!
“Field recordings from Mexican festivals that make you feel you’re right there, sipping Dos Equis and whooping it up.” – Jay Walljasper, UTNE READER, January 1989.
“The music abounds with the fiesta spirit of the village on this upbeat cassette.” – Francine Rota, EAST WEST, August 1988.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Guatemala
INDIAN RITUAL MUSIC FROM CHICHICASTENANGO
(ES 200)
The cobbled and dirt streets of “Chichi” come alive with the mesmerizing tones of the oboe-like chirimia, wood flute, and drums. These old sounds mix with the buzz of the marimba and a shifting chorus of trumpets and saxophones. Plus a bit of highly-charged Mexican folklore from San Cristobal de las Casas.
“This music is very charming — ragged at times, but with a heart.” – Kathryn Lyle, DOWN HOME MUSIC NEWSLETTER, January 1989.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Bolivia
NATIVE RITUAL MUSIC FROM ITALAQUE: PANPIPES, FLUTES, & DRUMS
(ES 300)
Extraordinary, ancient, trance-like music from a village high in the Bolivian Andes. Sounds of the wind and of the earth. A Musicians’ Festival!
“The fiesta music of the legendary Italaque community is fascinating. Such layers of extraordinary sounds and resonances.” – Jan Fairly, FOLK ROOTS (England), March 1988.
“My favorite of the tapes is Bolivia… The music is wild, and the overlapping of sounds of one group playing with the other (different songs, mind you) is mesmerizing.” – Cliff Furnald, DIRTY LINEN # 25, Spring 1989.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Bali
SURVIVAL AND CREMATION RITUAL MUSIC: ANCIENT GAMELAN SELUNDING AND MOBILE GONG ENSEMBLES
(ES 400)
The fascinating metallophone music of Bali, heard in one of its most archaic modes on the rarely played ancient iron gamelan of Tenganan. And the engrossing gong and percussion sounds that mark the island’s cremation processions and ceremonies.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)
Guatemala
MARIMBA MUSIC FROM THE FESTIVAL OF TODOS SANTOS
(ES 500)
Some of the purest Indian marimba music — melodically rich, rhythmically inviting, with that underlying sensual BUZZ that accounts for its ‘other-dimensionality’.
“Guatemala presents a special aspect of the festival music of Central America. The marimba of the region is a wonderfully raspy device, and the music played on it is a beautifully melodic thing… light-hearted but complex.” – Cliff Furnald, CMJ “New Music Report,” December 6, 1991.
MC version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)