21/07/2024
We are saddened by the passing of kora master Toumani Diabate, who has died at the age of 58.
Step Outside- WMNF 88.5fm in Tampa, FL
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The official page of Step Outside, the Strange and Beautiful music program on Community Radio WMNF 8
Strange and beautiful music program featuring artists and composers like Sun Ra, Brian Eno, Jaco Pastorius, John Zorn, Arvo Part, Stockhausen, Charles Mingus, Charles Ives, Igor Stravinsky, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis, Ennio Morricone, This Heat, Fela Kuti, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Fred Frith, Tinariwen, Tom Ze', The Stooges, Faust, The Soft Machine, Flaming Lips, Os Mutantes...psychedelia, Krautrock, prog, free jazz and more...
17/07/2024
HAPPY 66th BIRTHDAY to Bobby Previte!!!
Bobby Previte "can break your heart with one cymbal crash."
Bobby Previte began his life in music as a great way to meet girls, but then fell in love with the drums instead. At thirteen, he fashioned his first set out of a rusted iron garbage can turned on its side (the bass drum), four upside-down rubber trash bins (the toms), a box with loose junk rattling around inside (the snare), three plungers with aluminum pie plates nailed on top, (the cymbals), and two pieces of linoleum crimped together, stuck through with a wire coat hanger wound into a spring, crowned with a rubber ball on top (the kick pedal)•and for hours on end would play to records in his dark basement with a lone spotlight shining on him. Eventually hired by a band, he rehearsed with them for a year, only to get fired the day of the first booking for not having "real" drums. After this experience he decided to strike out on his own, and has been doing so ever since.
Brought up playing soul and rock music in the old bars,clubs, and bordellos of Niagara Falls, NY, he later studied formally at the University of Buffalo, which boasted musicians John Cage, Lucas Foss, Morton Feldman, and Jan Williams. He then ran head on into Miles Davis, Edgard Varèse, Charles Mingus, Terry Reilly, Abstract Expressionism, Igor Stravinsky, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Balanchine and William Faulkner. That was that.
He moved to New York City in 1979, with great fortune quickly met the leading lights of the “Downtown” scene, settled in, and never looked back. For twenty-five years he has remained a leader, widely hailed for his electrifying drumming and his stunning, unclassifiable compositions.
He has played an astonishing range of genres and venues, from the Palace Burlesque House in Buffalo, NY to country music at Gloria’s Corral Club in the Kentucky backwoods (complete with, yes, a real corral surrounding the bandstand) to Carnegie Hall, and has presented his music at the major festivals around the world, from Europe to Russia, Japan to South America, and back.
The subject of articles in the world's major publications as well as in many books on music, Previte leads more bands than he probably should, and has added the electronic drums to his ever widening arsenal.
He remains committed to form. And to beauty, in all its forms.
Source: All About Jazz
12/07/2024
Sunday, July 14, 2024 - New Releases & Reissues
Join WMNF’s Step Outside this Sunday night at 10pm for your weekly hit of Strange and Beautiful. This week we wxplore spiritual and new jazz, raging desert rock, quixotic Canterbury, percussive orchestral work, and experimental guitar. From John Lurie to Christer Bothen, Mdou Moctar to the Flat Earth Society, Boston Modern Orchestra Project to Tampa Bay’s Bogus Pomp Orchestra, Janel Leppin to Tom Penaguin, Elliott Sharp to Mzylkypop, Von Zamla to Lunophone. So turn on, tune in, and Step Outside. This Sunday, 10pm on 88.5 FM WMNF Tampa, www.wmnf.org on the web. Step Outside is available streaming for one week following broadcast. Follow Step Outside on Facebook!
11/07/2024
July 3, 1984 - Two great albums were released 40 years ago today: Minutemen’s ‘Double Nickels On The Dime’ and Hüsker Dü’s ‘Zen Arcade’. Both records were released trough SST Records.
03/07/2024
Charlie Watts: Everything's easier and quicker now. I wanted to be Max Roach or Kenny Clarke playing in New York with Charlie Parker in the front line. Not a bad aspiration. It actually meant a lot of bloody playing, a lot of work. I don't think kids are interested in that. But that may be true of every generation, I don't know. When I was what you'd call a young musician, jazz was very fashionable. It was very hip to know there was a new Miles Davis album out. Now no one knows what records come out. Especially me! Because of this thing [gestures at my iPhone recording the interview, with the inference that it is somehow the devil's work] … But in those days … an album: you kept it, you treasured it.
Photo: Bent Rej Photography
01/07/2024
“Kronos celebrated its 50th anniversary, reminding us that this ensemble has changed music like no other. . . No ensemble in the history of music has come close to doing so much, and a four-night festival can’t come close to exhibiting it. So with but a little looking back, Kronos did what it always does: look ahead, performing new music,” Mark Swed writes in the Los Angeles Times of Kronos and last week’s Kronos Festival. “The festival ended Sunday with Sam Green’s live Kronos documentary film “A Thousand Thoughts,” which includes live performances by the Kronos. This was the 46th and last time the film will be shown. Two key members of the quartet from the last four-plus decades, violinist John Sherba and Hank Dutt, are retiring. It was a bittersweet, deeply moving and loving finale. What will happen next to the Kronos? The ensemble also is losing its first and only manager, Janet Cowperthwaite, who behind the scenes made the commissions and all else possible. . . An era has ended. But Harrington is the most optimistic musician I know. His record of accomplishing the unthinkable has made him an unerring San Francisco symbol for the future.”
Read the full article at the link below:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2024-06-27/san-francisco-symphony-opera-kronos-quartet-changes
Photo credit: Lenny Gonzalez
30/06/2024
Black Music Honors tribute to Bootsy Collins featuring MonoNeon
28/06/2024
On this date, January 13, 1969, the first incarnation of King Crimson had its first rehearsal in the basement of a Fulham Road coffeehouse, which would become the band's home for the next few years. The band's name was coined by lyricist and light man Peter Sinfield. At this point, multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald was the group's main composer, albeit with contributions from bassist Greg Lake and guitarist Robert Fripp, while Sinfield wrote the lyrics, designed and operated the band's stage lighting, being credited with "sounds and visions." The band was completed by jazz drummer drummer Mike Giles. McDonald suggested the band purchase a Mellotron (a keyboard instrument that relied on tape loops to replicate different instruments) and they began using it to create an orchestral rock sound, inspired by the Moody Blues. Sinfield described Crimson thus: "If it sounded at all popular, it was out. So it had to be complicated, it had to be more expansive chords, it had to have strange influences. If it sounded, like, too simple, we'd make it more complicated, we'd play it in 7/8 or 5/8, just to show off".
King Crimson was key to the development of early progressive rock, strongly influencing and altering the music of contemporaries such as Yes and Genesis. Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most successful and influential release, with its elements of jazz, classical and experimental music. The band made it's public debut on April 9, 1969 with a show at the Speakeasy in London. Their success increased following an opening act performance for the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park, London, in 1969 before over 300,000 people
Group photo left to right: Ian McDonald, Mike Giles, Pete Sinfield, Greg Lake, Robert Fripp
28/06/2024
Out of all of the people John has worked with during his career, there's one musician who still to this day does not want to speak to him. Jan Hammer, the genius who was largely responsible for making the original Mahavishnu Orchestra the fiery vehicle that it was, broke all contact with John already during the band's existence. The reasons behind his decision to terminate their relationship were several, but one particular incident served as the tipping point after which Jan saw no other way but to cut off all ties with John.
Having recorded 'Birds of Fire' in August of 1972, Jan's contribution to the album was clearly much larger than on their debut - the soloing had reached a whole new level, especially through the use of the Moog synthesizer, which was very revolutionary at the time. Melodically, there were numerous lines which were obviously his work, so to deny that Jan was a vital force in the compositional department would have been absurd. One of the album's tracks was a short piece called 'Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love' which was basically a short improvisation which the band spontaneously recorded during a soundcheck. It was not even a serious piece, but was left on the album as an interesting little oddity. By the time the album got released in early Spring of 1973, the situation in the band got much more intense, so tensions were high, as all musicians had a much more prominent role than in the beginning. Jan in particular was in for a huge shock once he got hold of the first copy of the LP, as the song-writing credits were all given solely to John. Even 'Sapphire Bullets', an obvious jam in which all members participated together, was credited to John who was clearly not its composer.
We might wonder why John made such a drastic decision when it came to giving credits. Having come from the Miles Davis school of thought, where all of the music on 'Jack Johnson', for example, would be credited solely to Miles simply on the basis of him being the leader, John probably had a similar attitude when it came to him being the featured artist. Since this was essentially his band, he felt that he should be the one in charge of making crucial decisions. Here lies the problem with such an approach - in reality, there is no such thing as 'Miles Davis music' as the albums recorded during Miles’ Fusion period were essentially the work of the musicians who recorded it, with Miles simply being a kind of a ringmaster. The fact that the material on Miles' records from 1969 to 1975 was almost exclusively attributed solely to him tells only of how much the these people blindly worshiped him, looking up to him as a messiah, doing whatever he told them to do. It is quite clear that Miles had a special kind of charisma (Herbie Hancock ever referring to him as ‘a sorcerer’), so one can understand why most musicians involved in a recording such as 'Bi***es Brew' never asked for any composer credits, although it is more than easy to see that none of this music was ‘written’ by Miles - it was a product of the entire ensemble. Miles had a huge ego, so he probably never even considered to acknowledge the reality of what happened in the studio. As everyone around him simply bowed down to him, it was never likely that he would admit that he never made any of this music himself.
The difference with Mahavishnu Orchestra was that John was not surrounded by yes-men who would simply take commands and execute them. Yes, the majority of the basic material WAS written by John, although much was then reshaped by what Jan, for instance, contributed. Mahavishnu Orchestra was much more than a group of people doing John’s music. It was a complete unit. John, obviously having failed to recognize it as such, ignored a crucial aspect of how his music evolved into what one can hear on the recordings. Jan, a strong individual, must have felt utterly offended by John’s actions, as he completely overlooked his unique contribution, forcing Jan to distance himself from John who would not allow his ego to budge and change what had already been published in the credits section.
Had John listened to what Jan had to say, perhaps the whole future of the band would have been different. As it turned out, during the last six months of the band’s life, the communication between Jan and John completely ceased to exist, as they didn’t speak to each other at all during this period. Jan was justifiably too proud to bow down to John and look up to him as a leader, so he instead just focused on bringing the best possible music to each concert that the band played. This tension certainly reflected itself in the performances which got more electric as the tour went on. But it was too late to save the band from its inevitable demise. Jan and John simply could not work together anymore.
Now, one might ask the question about why after more than half a century, Jan still holds a grudge against John. It would be normal to assume that after such a long time, it’d be natural to forgive each other for any past misdoings. After all, each musician has had a more than successful career, so something from such a distant past should be considered water under the bridge. In this case, it is necessary to understand Jan’s position. Basically nothing has changed regarding this situation in these 50 years. If Jan gave in now, then the whole reason for Mahavishnu Orchestra’s break-up would have been in vain.
Since John still does not officially recognize what Jan brought to the band, it would be futile of Jan to simply forget about the whole thing and pretend as if what has happened does not matter anymore. These are works of art which will live forever, so it is important to give credit where credit is due. Until John is ready to admit that he made a mistake in his handling of the situation, Jan has every right to avoid him and not speak to him. Would anyone reading this truly believe that Jan is such a horrible person who would not forgive John for some small thing after more than 50 years? There is OBVIOUSLY a very good reason for his stance on this matter. Even the worst of enemies eventually make up, but here it is not a question of forgiveness, but of doing the fair thing and acknowledging an artist’s work. It might seem strange to most people, but as I’ve tried to explain here, Jan is right for standing his ground.
28/06/2024
Sunday, June 30, 2024 - Anniversaries, Birthdays, Rememberances
Join WMNF's Step Outside this Sunday night at 10pm for your weekly hit of Strange & Beautiful. This Sunday, the Kronos Quartet and Secret Chiefs 3 celebrate Sun Ra, Frank Zappa and the Mothers play the Whiskey a Go Go, Jerry Outlaw plays a Zappa tune, Univers Zero’s Uzed turns 40, Henry Cow’s Unrest and Robert Wyatt’s Rock Bottom turn 50, Eric Dolphy and Julie Tippetts have birthdays, and we remember the late great James Chance and the No Wave jazz scene of the early 80s. All this and so much more. So turn on, tune in, and Step Outside. This Sunday, 10p on 88.5 FM WMNF Tampa, or www.wmnf.org on the web. Step Outside is available streaming for one week following broadcast. Follow Step Outside on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/Step-Outside-WMNF-885fm-in-Tampa-FL-180446755314435/?view_public_for=180446755314435
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