HK's 10 Best Recordings of 1993 East Bay Express A sad event for me this year was my decision to resign as a KPFA programmer after 16 or 17 years of service to the station. I often find myself starting to get excited about the opportunity of sharing a new release with the listeners and then I suddenly realize that I don't have a show anymore. Since I was not afforded an opportunity to say goodbye to my the KPFA audience over the airwaves, let me say farewell and thank-you here in the Express. I might make the suggestion to long-time KPFA listeners, like myself, who are increasingly dissatisfied with radical reductions in the quantity and the quality of KPFA's music programming to try tuning to KFJC, 89.7FM. This extremely innovative Los Altos Hills - Foothill College-based station actually won the Tom Donahue Award from the Coalition for Eclectic Radio for best non-commercial station. The excellence of this station's music programming is probably what resulted in their winning as a write-in candidate, triumphing over the usual "old boy's network" nature of such awards. If you want to hear truly creative radio that takes chances, try KFJC. Their signal is quite strong throughout most of the East Bay. If you miss David Mayers' and my shows on KPFA you might try tuning to KFJC for experimental and world music programming by many of their great DJs. Most recordings that I enjoy are pretty difficult to find. Here is a list of alternates that might alert music fans to unusual things that they may have missed in the shops. Any of the recordings listed below could substitute of any of the ten best that I've selected. I just happened to feel like writing about about the particular ten that I selected today. On another day I would probably have selected a different ten from this list: - TUBAI CHOIR: Polynesian Odyssey (Shanachie)
- RUJINDIRI: Maitre de L'Inanga (Fonti Musicalli)
- HENRY COWELL, Persian Set (Koch)
- EDGAR VARESE: Vol1, 1920-1927 (Erato)
- LOS LOBOS: Just Another Band from East L.A. (Slash/Warner)
- ARDITTI STRING QUARTET: U.S.A. (WDR-Disques Montaigne)
- ROBIN FORD & THE BLUE LINE: Mystic Mile (GRP/Stretch
- DAVID LINDLEY & HANI NASIR: Live in Tokyo, Playing Real Good (Pleemhead)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: Valiha: Madagaskar 3 (Feuer und Eis)
- OVAL: Wohnton (Ata Tak)
- WANG HUA-DE: Shu Qin Music (Hugo)
- EDDIE ONE-STRING JONES: One-String Blues (Gazell)
- LADONNA SMITH: Eye of the Storm (TransMuseq)
- JOHN OSWALD: Plexure (Avan)
- BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON: The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (Columbia)
- LADONNA SMITH & DAVEY WILLIAMS: Transmutating (TransMuseq)
- DICK DALE: Tribal Thunder (Hightone)
- JUNIOR BROWN: Guit With It (Curb)
- AMJAD ALI KHAN: A Tribute to Sound (EMI-India)
- VARIOUS ARTISTS: Before Benga 1: Kenya Dry (Original music)
- SUPREME COURT: Goes Electric (DB Recs)
- HANS REICHEL: The Death of the Rare Bird Ymir/Bonobo beach (FMP)
- MORTON FELDMAN/KRONOS QUARTET: Piano and String Qurtet (Elektra Nonesuch)
- VARTTINA: Seleniko (Green Linnet)
- KEN NORDINE: Upper Limbo (GDM)
- THE TONY OXLEY QUARTET: The Tony Oxley Quartet (Incus)
- CONLON NANCARROW/ENSEMBLE MODERNE: Studies (RCA)
- THE HELLECASTERS: The Return of the Hellecasters (Pacific Arts)
DEREK BAILEY & JOHN STEVENS: Playing (Incus) This is one of the clearest, most accessible and musically inspiring recordings of pure free music improvisation to come along in years. Guitarist Bailey and drummer Stevens are two of the founding fathers of of this musical genre. Steven's drumming on his minimal, miniature kit is, like Bailey's revolutionary guitarwork, absolutely original and fresh. Try writing to Incus Records for their catalog: Incus, 14 Downs Road, London E5 8DS, England.
BAJOUROU: Big String Theory (Globestyle) Something new and unprecedented here also. Mali's top traditional male vocalist got together with two of the country's finest acoustic guitarists for the first time to create a new kind of African roots music based upon traditional sources and feelings. An intimate chamber style of music with the participants making new musical discoveries as they played each piece.
JIM COPP & ED BROWN: Agnes Mouthwash & Friends (Playhouse) Two "children's" recordings on my list this year. Both unusual and against the current fashion of Barney the purple dinosaur's brand of empty, authoritative, imaginationless, moralizing. Jim Copp is a one man genius who produced 8 LPS for kids during the late 50's and early 60's he recorded them at home with minimal equipment (but maximal results) and sold them through his own record label. This is a CD anthology of some of his best work. His songs and stories are weird, inventive, often morbid and almost perverse. I loved them when I was a kid and I love them today. Copp is an American eccentric genius on par with Ken Nordine, Preston Sturges, Daniel Pinkwater or Max Fleischer. His work has a kind of originality and life that would not be allowed in today's stultifying children's market. This gets my highest recommendation for kids and twisted "adults". Order from: Playhouse Records, Box 36061, Los Angeles, California, 90036.
DAVID GRISMAN & JERRY GARCIA: Not For Kids Only (Acoustic Disc) A relaxed and gentle recording of unsanitized songs for kid's in an old American tradition that doesn't usually survive modern mass-marketing. Like having David and Jerry drop by you home for dinner and stay to sing some songs for the family in front of the fireplace.
ALI AKBAR KHAN: Indian Architexture (Water Lilly Acoustics) The best recording in a decade by India's greatest living classical instrumentalist. This is an absolutely spectacular audiophile recording made in a chapel in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately it's a $50 2-LP set that would be difficult to find anywhere but by mail. (Water Lilly Acoustics, Box 91448, Santa Barbara, CA 93190). Supposedly it will be issued on a more economically priced CD set next year. In the mean time Khansahib's fans could enjoy ALI AKBAR KHAN: Plays Alap (Alam Madina), which is more easily available in local shops.
EVAN PARKER: Conic Sections (ah um) Probably the most innovative saxophonist on the planet in a set of solo improvisations. Using circular breathing techniques Evan plays continuous pieces without pause for breath that consist of three or more melodic lines played simultaneously. The seeming physical impossibility of the sound and the trance like state that it induce in the listener makes for a unique experience.
KNUT REIERSRUD: Tramp! (Kirkelig Kulturverksted My favorite recording of the year and one of the most unusual cross-cultural collaborations that I know of. The Norwegian guitarist-leader in a chapel with a church organist, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama and a roots music group with Kora fiddle, percussion and vocals from Gambia. All playing together. A mix of blues and Hawaiian slide guitar, gospel sounds, Mandinko tradition, Norwegian fiddle tunes and modern experimentation. Let's hope that this recording finds an American label next year.
TERRY RILEY: The Padova Concert (Amiata) A great improviser and composer in a set of just-tuned piano improvisations. Even more exciting than his HARP OF NEW ALBION recording from a few years back. It's seems really criminal to me that a humble and great artist like Riley gets so little credit or attention here in the USA while those who were inspired by his early work like Reich and Glass rake in their millions from their much less inspiring recent work.
TERJE RYPDAL: Q.E.D. (ECM) The Norwegian guitarist who inspired players like Bill Frisell, David Torn and myself has turned away from his unique style of northern lights, jazz-rock fusion in recent years to concentrate on orchestral writing. On this excellent orchestral recording he has attempted something that has really made the rest of jealous that we didn't think of it first: written backwards electric guitar together with the orchestra. Unique and evocative new music of great personal expression.
KIM SINH: The Art of Kim Sinh (King-World Music Library) For years I've treasured the few cassette recordings that I have of Vietnamese guitar. Unfortunately there has never been a CD or LP of it until now. In Vietnam the western guitar was adopted the the special demands of the local music of during the 1920's. Either the frets were scalloped out so that the wide bends and vibrato of the Vietnamese danh tranh zither could be imitated or the instrument was played with a slide to produce a similar effect. To American ears this perhaps results in music that sounds like some kind of weird, alien space blues. Of course it is just a common kind traditional and popular music at home in Vietnam. But it is very strange and very entertaining to guitarists.
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