Dear friends,
This morning, I was listening through Frank Lowe’s album Black Beings and was absolutely blown away by the timbres (particularly the song “Brother Joseph”). Listening to this song reminded me of some of the more soulful free jazz artists that helped shape my current taste. It’s reminiscent of players like Anthony Braxton or Albert Ayler or Evan Parker in its radical uncompromising blasts of sound. Lowe’s performance (possibly live) calls attention to its recordedness. You can hear the banter of the listeners around him as they react to the profound emotions on display. Listening to this track, I feel a sense of gratitude that someone was there to capture that performance.
A very different album that also draws attention to its recordedness is Benny Goodman’s legendary 1938 Carnegie Hall Concert. Apart from being a historic concert which helped put jazz on the cultural map, this album is a fascinating look into how documents are recorded and preserved. For 12 years, the masters of this concert sat on a shelf until 1950, when the George Avakian version was released. Recently, I stumbled upon a vinyl copy of this concert which, I assume is the 1950 version. The recording sounds clean and lacks a lot of the clicks and surface noise that one would expect. It almost sounds like a studio recording in its clear presentation. But, the version you’ll probably find nowadays is Phil Schaap’s 1999 re-release. This version is much muddier. What one gains is the crowd noise, the atmosphere, and the sounds of the recording itself. The re-releases is an achievement in preserving one of the key moments in jazz history. The original acetates very well could have been lost or unsalvageable and I’m grateful that, not only is the music still with us, but we can hear the energy in the room. It’s not some stuffy artifact in an undergrad music history textbook, but a living breathing testament to a moment, and a hell of a good time (at least what it seems from the record).
Being a part of a listening community, to me, is an act of preservation. It’s an act of assertion that, no matter the perceived obscurity or difficulty of this music, that it’s worth saving. It’s worth caring about. And, while the sound engineers are masters responsible for keeping music alive, we the listeners are an equally important part of that legacy. We live in an era where music is more accessible than ever and that leaves us a treasure trove of cultural memory. We’ll be on the air for another 2 weeks, but I hope you all still find time to pursue your curiosities. While we may be ending this chapter soon, we hope the community lives on.
Yours,
Adam (and Kevin and Hugh)
SCHEDULE
all times EST, tune in at https://mixlr.com/real_deep_radio/
Monday, 5/3
8-10PM – Ascension with Adam Brill
Named after the legendary John Coltrane album that saw the saxophonist fully immerse himself into free jazz, this week’s show will foray into some of the furthest corners of jazz. The journey may be disorienting, but will be an adventure full of catharsis and revelation.
Tuesday, 5/4
8-10PM – Nearer/Clearer with Kevin McKinney
Each installment of Nearer/Clearer will be different, but its spirit lives in the idea that we listen better when we listen together. Nearer/Clearer is devoted to approachability without predictability. This week, let’s listen together to some quieter sounds. We might hear soft melodies, free improvisation, recordings of nature and the home, and more. This is music for rest and contemplation, with just enough friction to keep your ears open.
Thursday, 5/6
8-9PM – Mondo Alienation with Hugh Wilikofsky
Listening beyond our comfort zones with a sense of openness expands them. This week familiar sounds will rub elbows with the anomalous. Expect a blend of soft and strange, with maybe just a blast of noise here or there.
RECOMMENDED
ADAM: This week, I’ve been listening to a lot of krautrock adjacent German artists. Specifically, I’ve been really digging Harald Grosskopf’s 1980 album The Synthesist. The album’s playful yet introspective sense of melody can be heard in modern artists like Oneohtrix Point Never or James Ferraro (both of whom did remixes of Grosskopf’s pieces). I’ve also been listening to the works of Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Roedelius was a member of the legendary German bands Cluster and Harmonia. Roedelius’s Selbstportrait I is a beautiful and melancholic set of ambient tracks.