SOFT MACHINE - HOVIKODDEN 1971

• soft machine: hovikodden 1971
      (2024, 4cd, USA, cuneiform)

Soft Machine’s two concerts at the Henie-Onstad Art Center near Oslo, Norway, in late February 1971 were special in several respects. The circumstances, of course, were unusual...in a museum space, as part of an art exhibition by the Boyle Family, and Mark Boyle’s films were projected during the performances. It was part of the last European tour that featured the ‘classic quartet’ line-up before they went to the USA and split apart. But more significantly, both shows were recorded, and superbly at that, providing a rare glimpse into how, at this stage in the band’s existence, the music could change significantly from one night to the next, even when the setting didn’t.

Featuring 

• Elton Dean: alto sax, saxello, Hohner pianet
• Hugh Hopper: bass
• Mike Ratledge: Hohner pianet, Lowrey Holiday Deluxe organ, Fender Rhodes
• Robert Wyatt: drums, vocals

What an impressive release this is.
"Hovikodden 1971" ticks all of the boxes.

And even Frank Zappa gets a mention in the liner notes:

Among the audience at Henie Onstad was Frode Holm, the future founder of Compendium Records, which in 1976–77 would release several albums involving Elton Dean and/or Hugh Hopper. “In our hippie days, me and my friends were a little bit ‘offcenter’ from the usual Oslo scene—Grateful Dead, etc. We all liked to listen to jazz and pretty much any kind of ‘out there’ music, like Frank Zappa. We were particularly fond of Soft Machine, and when they released Third, we were in complete ecstasy—there was never a get-together when that album wouldn’t get played at least once!

I definitely need to dust off some of my old Soft Machine albums and give them another listen.

A SOFT MACHINE UPDATE

 A message from Soft Machine & Moonjune

Dear Soft Machine fans
This is very important news/update to share with our fans on the Western side of North America.

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are forced to significantly reduce the number of shows on our upcoming West Coast tour to just 4 dates.

• Thu, June 20 – San Diego, CA (Dizzy's Jazz)
• Fri, June 21 - Los Angeles, CA (The Baked Potato, 2 shows)
• Sat, June 22 - Los Angeles, CA (The Baked Potato, 2 shows)
• Mon, June 24 – Oakland, CA (Yoshi's)

All other shows could be considered canceled or postponed to another date, in 2025 (at this point we still don't know when). We did our best to make this possible.

Please contact the venues for a ticket refund and those who purchased tickets to the show at the Bornemann Theater in San Marcos, CA, will be able to attend the show in San Diego at Dizzy's Jazz.

In any case, we confirm that the September dates are solid, that some venues have yet to put tickets on sale and that some new shows will be confirmed soon.

• Fri, September 13 – Vienna, Virginia (Jammin' Java)
• Sat, September 14 - Baltimore, MD (Orion Studio)
• Sun, September 15 – Sellersville, Pennsylvania (Sellersville Theatre) Mon, September 16 - New York, NY (City Winery)
• Wed, September 18 – Northampton, MA (The Iron Horse)
• Thu, 19 September - to be confirmed Fri, 20 September – to be confirmed Sun, 22 September - to be confirmed Tue, September 24 - Piermont, NY (The Turning Point)
• Thu, September 26 – Albany, NY (Linda WAMC)
• Fri, September 27 – Syracuse, NY (venue to be confirmed)
• Sat, September 28 – Rochester, NY (Lovin' Cup)
• Sun, September 29 - Waterloo, ON (The Jazz Room)
• Tue, October 1 - Toronto, ON (Horseshoe Tavern)
• Wed, October 2 - Ottawa, ON (The Rainbow Room)
• Fri, 4 October - Quebec City, QC (Salle D'Youville)
• Sat, 5 October - Quebec City, QC (Salle D' Youville)

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this not-so-good news may have caused you.

We are looking forward to honor all the above mentioned shows and to meet our loyal fans and acquaint new ones.

SOFT MACHINE - John Etheridge, Theo Travis, Fred Baker, Asaf Sirkis.
And MoonJune Music.

MORE SUN RA

It looks like I somehow missed the release of Sun Ra's "Prophet" album a couple of years ago.

Released in 2022 on the Modern Harmonic record label, this material from this album is from the same session as the recent "Inside The Light World - Sun Ra Meets The OVC" set.

-- info: Danny Mathys

SUN RA - AT THE SHOWCASE - LIVE IN CHICAGO 1976-1977

• sun ra: at the showcase - live in chicago 1976-1977
      (2024, 2cd, usa, elemental music / jazz detective)

It seems like there's no end to Sun Ra's discography. New albums keep coming out.
Released as a 2 LP Record Store Day album, Sun Ra's "At The Showcase" is now also being made available as a 2 CD set. 

SUN RA AT THE SHOWCASE: LIVE IN CHICAGO contains previously unissued live recordings of the legendary intergalactic composer/pianist Sun Ra captured live at Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL. between 1976 and 1977. This is an official release on producer Zev Feldman's Jazz Detective record label, in partnership with Elemental Music, and in cooperation with the Sun Ra Trust. Researched and compiled by longtime Sun Ra archivist Michael D. Anderson, and transferred from the original tape reels, this limited-edition 180-gram 2-LP edition (and deluxe 2-CD set) includes an extensive insert with rare photographs from the actual concerts by Hal Rammel; liner notes by James Corbett, and interviews and statements from photographer Hal Rammel, Michael Weiss, Marhall Allen, Thurston Moore, Jack DeJohnette, David Murray, Dave Burrell, Matthew Shipp, Amina Claudine Myers, and Reggie Workman.

Another excellent release !!

CHANAN HANSPAL - SPACE ODDITY

Chanan Hanspal:
A jazzy reinterpretation of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" for solo guitar and a short masterclass on how I learned the piece...

DWEEZIL ZAPPA

Dweezil Zappa's video diary is quite amusing.
No clue where to watch the series, but here's a link to a recent one I saw on Facebook

https://fb.watch/szKDe-ZeOf/

LAZULI ANNOUNCED A NEW ALBUM

Lazuli announced a new album.
Actually, it's live album, recorded at the Night Of The Prog 2022 at Lorely (on July 23, 2022)

CD / DVD package.

https://lazuli-music.com/shop/

SUN RA'S "STRANGE STRINGS" ALBUM GETS AN EXPANDED RELEASE

Sun Ra's "Strange Strings" album is getting and expanded release.

https://sunramusic.bandcamp.com/album/strange-strings-expanded

EIDON - ONEIRIC

A new tune by Eidon.

 

SUN RA - INSIDE THE LIGHT WORLD - SUN RA MEETS THE OVC

• sun ra: inside the light world - sun ra meets the ovc
      (2024, 2cd, uk, srut)

Crafted by the forward-thinking technological innovator and rocket scientist, Bill Sebastian, during the mid-1970s, the Outer Space Visual Communicator (OVC) stood as a groundbreaking invention. Instead of producing traditional sound, this keyboard-triggered "instrument" harnessed the power of light, casting mesmerising kaleidoscopic, multicoloured patterns onto a screen suspended above performers on stage. Ra first performed with the idiosyncratic fractal light projector in the late ‘70s and, in 1986, two grainy VHS tapes surfaced featuring Ra performing ‘Calling Planet Earth’ and ‘Sunset On The Nile’, both accompanied by the OVC’s radiant light painting.

So this is a bit of a strange concept.
The OVC doesn't produce music a such. It produces light.
How do you present an album, an audio registration, of something that was a visual experience?

That being said, "Inside The Light World" is a beautiful album. It comes with a fine booklet with lots of pictures and with an interview with Bill Sebastian.
Also released as a 3 LP set.
Record Store Day release.