Toshimaru Nakamura - Dance Music (Bottrop-boy)

Robert has a more in-depth analysis of this release on his blog, but yes, it's a good one. Two cuts, about 23 and 50 minutes long, the former largely a fine, complex hum, the latter more episodic. I go back and forth as to whether I'd rather have heard more of a steady-state sense; he gets into areas that I'd be happy to linger in for a good while, but his shifts also parse well. If I have a quibble, it's that the sounds themselves are often so gorgeous that I neglect the structure (or wonder how much is there). I still think Toshi's best work is in collaborative mode, but find "Dance Music" to be among the top three or four of his solo projects.


Christian Weber - Walcheturm Solo (Cut)

Weber's an amazing bassist with a wonderfully rich tone and technique to spare. The latter is one reason why this ends up being something of a chore, a 38 minute improv high on the "wow" factor, something that Barry Guy might envy, but far too up front for my tastes. Weber adds an warm element when in a group like that with Korber, Kahn, Muller, Noslang et. al. but this one will likely be appreciated more by avant jazz bass fans (who might well love it).


Arek Gulbenkoglu/Adam Sussmann - (Cdr) (the Rhizome Label)

The disc exists, I have it in my hands, but evidence on the web is only slightly more apparent than for the Wright disc so that's not the cover, though it is a rhizome. 76 minutes of next to nothing, very beautiful. I get the feeling they found Taku's "Live in Australia" too in your face, took the idea and toned it down a few notches. Glimmers of the pair's presence arise like reflections of water on a wall, if that much, though I believe it increases a tad toward the end. Otherwise, it's ambient sound including faint traffic and what I think is a distant foghorn. Really enjoyable, imho. Of course, it raises questions like, "What if all recordings went this way?" Mmm...dunno, what if? I admit to being stuck in, ultimately, wanting some variation, but at the very least, coming across something like this (or Taku's release) is extremely refreshing.

the Rhizome label is carried by erstdist