Okay music lovers – it’s bandcamp Friday where the artists keep all the dough, so here is the very latest new grooviness!
We are doing a 1-Day sale on bandcamp. 25% off. Originally, we just wanted to put vinyl on sale, but it was too tricky, so we said to hell with it and put everything on sale. That said, we have a bunch of sweet Green Pajamas/Jeff Kelly vinyl you want not to mention other odds and sods.
How’s it work? The code for the 25% off one day/24 hour GMR sale is: gmr25 (very innovative, right?) The customer (you!) enters the code during purchase of any GMR title on 9/1/2023 UTC or Coordinated Universal Time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time.
Feel free to buy lots!
Now on to the new.
Band of Jays – Hooks (GM1107) Hooks | Band of Jays (bandcamp.com)
Time for a musical treat with the 100% digital release of Hooks by Band of Jays, a captivating blend of re-mixed and re-mastered tracks from the now-retired debut album Decadent Rituals, seamlessly interwoven with previously unreleased gems from the ancient past of 2021.
As you certainly recall, Julian Volpe is Band of Jays – with his deep appreciation for power pop melodies and pop rock catchiness, his music is loaded with infectious hooks, layers of harmonies, and unstoppable choruses. His influences go beyond the like of Jason Falkner, The Posies, and Jellyfish, he yet finds inspiration in the timeless melodies of the Motown sound.
With this tasty fusion of genres, the melodic prowess and the early primordial feel to Julian’s signature sound that defines Hooks, this a must-listen experience. Whew!
And yes, yes, vinyl lovers, Band of Jays’ first album, Macroblast, is out now on vinyl. Macroblast | Band of Jays (bandcamp.com) You know, the veritable black plastic slab. They are supposed to arrive today. Within the hour. So exciting. Order it today on Bandcamp Friday and we’ll send it to you early next week!
Arrington de Dionyso, Michael Moore & McCloud Zicmuse – Through the Lion’s Gate
OlyJazz GM1109 Music | Arrington de Dionyso (bandcamp.com)
We are very pleased to release a newly discovered and previously unreleased Olympia master recording. I first got this improv recording from Michael Moore a couple months ago and now it has been shined up by Arrington and is released to the entire world!
Arrington: A LOST ALBUM! We don’t know if this session is 2002, 2003, or 2004, but it’s somewhere within that range. We don’t remember exactly where the recording took place but it was either at Michael Moore’s or Bert Wilson’s house…and for about the first thirty minutes of listening back to this I couldn’t for the life of me figure out who the other clarinet player was – but now we know beyond a doubt it’s McCloud Zicmuse!
Michael Moore – piano and toy piano, Arrington de Dionyso – bass clarinet, contra-alto clarinet
McCloud Zicmuse – alto clarinet, recorder, and just a tiny bit of singing at the end of track 12!
Tom: I first encountered Michael Moore while putting a jazz combo together to play on “Jazz In Olympia” on my Olympia: A True Story album last year. I wanted to tell the story of the Oly jazz scene and put together a band made of former members of Obrador and Bert Wilson’s band, two of the most important groups in the Oly Jazz history. Michael was a founding member of Obrador; their piano player. Unfortunately, Michael’s health was too poor to play on the album, so we had no piano player.
In the ensuing year I have gotten to know Michael, who started feeding me unreleased Obrador recordings for my FreeForm Northwest radio show on KAOS 89.3 FM Olympia, including a great recording of them live at McNeil Island federal prison in 1977. I realized there is a wealth of great pre-internet Olympia jazz that is becoming rapidly forgotten as these great players age and I decided to bring some of it a public life out in the modern streaming internet world, on a little download/streaming label, OlyJazz. The first release was a previously unreleased Obrador studio album San Francisco, CA 1983.
Recently, Michael gave me a CD from an improv session in the early 2000’s with Arrington de Dionyso and McCloud Zicmuse. Delightful. And of course, it was the only known copy. I immediately put it on the air. Of course.
I got the music to Arrington – it was his session – and said what do you think? Now we are making this music available for download to the world for the first time, through Arrington’s bandcamp page and through all major streaming & download services. This is ephemeral music that existed once in the atmosphere and was captured and now, finally, makes its way to you. Enjoy this delicious little sliver of the world!
Mystery School – Secret Teachings(2013) Secret Teachings | Mystery School | Jon Strongbow (bandcamp.com)
Strongbow yet carries on with Secret Teachings, the fifth Mystery School album released on Green Monkey this year, availble as download and CD.
Jon’s album notes:
Secret teachings filter down consistently from the higher realms,but we need to listen very hard or we never hear them, we never learn them. Here are 16 all new compositions for your listening pleasure that are playfully designed with a similar intention. Sometimes we’re whispering and sometimes we’re shouting, sometimes strutting and sometimes floating off in a stylized Tibetan cloud. I poured everything I got into it, and I hope you like it. If it floats your boat and unruffles your coat and then milks your goat, you may want to check out its companion piece, Strange Cathedral (releasing next month – td), which is an eclectic grouping of mysterious compositions that are designed to untangle the blues, put a spring in your shoes and help you remember what’s good and what’s true! I especially wish to thank Mehrdad Azadi, my engineer and co-producer, for putting up with my eccentric behavior, and to Patrich Donicht for his great skills in mastering this project. Now drink your cup and crank it up! Your servant, Jon Strongbow.
A note from Marty:
I have been reflecting on the wonderful music that Jon Strongbow wrote throughout his life. I knew he had something special when I first heard him on the vibrant open mic scene that filled the cafes along University Way near the University of Washington campus. Within a short time of getting to know him, Jon approached me to work on music with him. We recorded and performed all over the Northwest over the next 40 years. I simply can’t believe that so much time has passed. We had such a good time!
Jon and I both shared a great love for the jazz giants like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. One day in the early 90’s, Jon said to me how about forming a jazz fusion style band that would play live and record original music. I said yes immediately! And that was how the concept of the MYSTERY SCHOOL band was formed. We would have a core group of players but also add other instruments along the way to add additional flavors to the music. The whole thing would be like a music collective, almost like a family band. And I think we accomplished that spectacularly!
Some of the very talented people we worked with were the amazing electric violinist Clayton Park, the lovely Christine Gunn playing her wonderful cello parts, Mark Taylor our percussion master whose uncle is legendary bassist Larry Taylor from Canned Heat, our superb drummers Dave Martin and Erich Brewer, Dave went on to play and tour with r&b artist LeRoy Bell and Erich plays and records artists in his own studio, Frank ‘Stainless’ Steele who added some great horn parts on many sessions early on, and special mention goes to our good friend and first producer and engineer Mehrdad Azadi who is a master of Middle Eastern drumming and added many sweet percussion parts to all of the MYSTERY SCHOOL projects.
Very special mention also goes to our close friend and musical genius Patrick Donicht, who played drums in the final version of the band and also worked the mixing board at the same time in his home studio up on Camano Island where we would spend a week at a time and do some serious creating in the studio! Pat now lives in Ecuador and is still recording local artists and producing music. Playing with Jon was one of the greatest musical experiences of my life. He gave me absolute freedom to create so many beautiful parts on my 6 string fretless bass! We got along splendidly and I miss him dearly,
peace, Marty Sutlovich
As with the other Mystery School albums, I am listening to it as I write this and I can tell you it is another rock-solid performance from a group of listening-sensitive groove masters playing Jon’s tunes. Perfect for paying attention to the deets or for just chillin’. The usual musician core (hey Marty!) is here, aided and abetted with the occasional new passer through. Another solid session from Jon and crew. I recommend it highly!
This concludes your September newsletter.
td 9-1-23