Here is the blog of Justin Marc LLoyd – it includes a noise/ambient musical project and many releases, all of which you can download for free as well as cassettes, CDs and digital releases.

Noise/Ambient Project is a post from: Inner Focus Music

One of the most adventurous and prolific members of the New York free-jazz community” according to Ed Hazell of Signal To Noise, Steve Swell’s reputation, work ethic and committment to excellence has kept him in the forefront of improvised music and a leading voice on his instrument for more than 20 years. On February 27th at Roulette, Swell presents a concert featuring his new ensemble with some of improvised music’s finest contributors: Rob Brown, alto; Chris Forbes, piano; Hilliard “Hill” Greene, bass; Michael T.A. Thompson, drums, percussion. It will feature Swell’s writing along with his unique, on the spot direction of incorporating this group’s rich improvisation abilities along with his compositions. Read more….

Steve Swell is a post from: Inner Focus Music

Frank Rosaly Explains is a post from: Inner Focus Music

No musician admits it out loud and a few probably don’t even admit it to themselves, but every musician wants to get into the history books. I’ve seen composers open a new book from the back just to look for their name in the index. I do that myself sometimes.

I’m very proud that I got mentioned even once in Frank Zappa’s autobiography. (On page 175 in case you run across a copy because Frank didn’t believe in indices.)

Recently I was contacted by Charles Sharp (also known as C. Sharp). He wanted to interview me for his doctoral dissertation. Here’s how he described it:

[It is] ostensibly about avant-garde jazz in Los Angeles but it has become increasingly about the intersection of various different genres of experimental music in Los Angeles.

One of those intersections involved the ICA, the Independent Composers Association, a group in which I was active in the early 1980s. You can read several Mixed Meters articles about ICA. (MM is the only place on the Internet you can read anything about ICA, alas.)
I answered Charles’ questions as best my memory would allow. A year passed. Charles finished his dissertation, charmingly entitled “Improvisation, identity, and tradition: Experimental music communities in Los Angeles”. He has since defended it against all comers and earned some letters after his name which entitle him to a chance of being hired for menial college teaching positions.

The dissertation is 500 pages long! I immediately searched it for my name and found a gratifying number of mentions. Thankfully the quotes Charles picked didn’t make me look like a complete idiot. It’s not online at the moment but if you want to read it you should contact him. Charles created a blog to accept comments here which might be a good place to leave him a message.

The story Charles tells is important. It’s about creative music right here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, in experimental music, what happens in L.A. stays in L.A. This telling should help delineate a historical tradition few people know much about. Even those of us who witnessed parts of it don’t know the whole story. People from elsewhere will be surprised.

After an academical introductory chapter (in which the word hermeneutics confused me repeatedly) it’s a pretty easy read. Charles starts off with Ornette Coleman, not often thought of as an L.A. musician. He left here for New York in 1959 after recording The Shape of Jazz to Come. Three Los Angeles jazz musicians, pianist Horace Tapscott, cornetist Bobby Bradford and clarinetist John Carter are the backbone of the story.

I was acquainted with John Carter, heard him play a bunch of times and even got to play with him once, if only in private. He was a nice and genuine person. His cycle of 5 albums, Roots and Folklore: Episodes in the Development of American Folk Music, is the centerpiece of Charles’ story. I could have learned a lot from John – had I thought to pay more attention.

Sharp discusses the music of Tapscott, Bradford and Carter :

…these musicians had preunderstandings, which were informed by bebop and also the developing music of free jazz. Their music suggested different realities and possibilities. If racism, which was a systemic part of urban planning, policing, and public policy, was a reminder that black people were not fully valued as individuals, the music was a reminder of the importance of individuals and the power of community. … Their music was supposed to sound unique, different every time, and challenge the listeners; aspects that seldom result in broad mass appeal. … As their music was understood, it expanded the horizons of the listeners and new communities would emerge. (p.126-7)

Charles writes a lot about communities – little groups of like-minded people within which music could take on some meaning. Telling how these groups arose and interacted with each other and eventually disappeared makes the story interesting.

For example, I found the early histories, starting in high school, of drummer Alex Cline, guitarist Nels Cline and synthesist Lee Kaplan (who ran an important concert series at a little dump pretentiously called the Century City Playhouse) fascinating. My buddy Vinny Golia gets a lot of space. (You can hear ancient recordings by an improv trio of myself, Vinny & flutist Anne LaBerge in this MM article.) Others (like Bill Roper, James Grigsby, Titus Levi, Kraig Grady, Lynn Johnston, Will Salmon) who I know or worked with get space as well.

Charles puts a lot of different things into his narrative. A chapter about punk rock. A chapter about the various Los Angeles city-wide arts festivals (which I alluded to in my recent post about opera.) Dr. Sharp takes the story right up to the present – long after I dropped out.

Having lived in Los Angeles for nearly 35 years, first as an active participant in the local experimental music scene and then an observer of same, I think this dissertation deserves to be widely read. Creative musicians, non-creative musicians, music fans of all kinds and even music critics will find it interesting. And they might just realize that Los Angeles is not quite the creative wasteland we pretend to be.

By David Ocker

Experimental Music In Los Angeles is a post from: Inner Focus Music

Chicago has lots of music festivals, and Chicago has plenty of concerts year-round devoted to experimental music and noise. Now it looks like the city is finally getting a festival that focuses on experimental music and noise. The Neon Marshmallow Festival will make its debut from August 20 through 22 at the Viaduct Theater, and while the details (including the lineup) are still being hammered out, what’s been announced so far looks impressive.

The event is being organized by Daniel Smith (who makes music under the name Red Electric Rainbow) and Matt Kimmel, who’s behind the Acid-Marshamallow site, which showcases mostly experimental stuff. Among the confirmed performers are Astral Social Club, Carlos Giffoni, and Emeralds, whose recent What Happened (No Fun) was one of last year’s best examples of taxonomically slippery pyschedelic drone. I’ve also seen a list of artists the organizers are waiting to hear from, so I can say that Smith and Kimmel seem to have pretty good taste (and an aesthetic leaning toward the noisier end of the spectrum). There’s already a Neon Marshmallow Fest site, but it’ll probably be another week or so before anything is actually on it. More….

Chicago Experimental Music and Noise Festival is a post from: Inner Focus Music

The Ergo Bass Electric Viola Da Gamba is a special instrument and one that I have been playing live for some time now. It is based on the traditional viola da gamba, a renaissance instrument and has many of the features of these instruments, with a few updates that I felt would be more appropriate for the modern player.

The Ergo Electric Viola Da Gamba features a 27″ scale (similar to the modern cello, and only slightly longer than a instrument bass viol). It has the traditional tied frets and I use the traditional bass viol bow with it. The traditional instrument features gut strings but this modern update comes with standard Super Sensitive Viola Da Gamba strings. (Available from juststrings.com, southweststrings.com) These strings have a synthetic core (much more stable, and long lasting that traditional gut strings, but still with the warm tone of gut, silver wrapped strings that can be ordered from a number of sources online. They can be tuned in the traditional way from low to high D, G, C, e, a, d. I have the seven string version which features a low A string. There are other alternatives for tuning – for example – up a whole step for more familiar bass layout (E, A, D, g, c, f). It is a versatile instrument that requires accurate left handed finger positions and excellent bowing technique – 7 strings!!

The main advantage for me – over the traditional viol is that it can be amplified – and you can use effects with it. The skies the limit in terms of different sounds. I would recomend the use of a high quality amplifier – and not a bass or guitar amp. One that is equipped to handle the full range of this fine instrument.

Electric Viola Da Gamba is a post from: Inner Focus Music

Ming Jiang Zhu was the winner of 12 international awards including several highly prestigious awards – two Gold Medals in Violin Making [1994 and 2006] and a Silver Award in Viola making [1996] in the Violin Society of America (VSA) Competitions. The VSA has awarded gold medals only to those instruments that were judged highly in both tone and workmanship. He is from KwanDong violin school and won an gold medal in violin making competition. He was featured in a Time magazine article.

The Ming Jiang Zhu violins come in at two price ranges. Ranging from $1500 to $7500 violins. The $7500 one is made directly by Ming Jiang Zhu.

Ming Jiang Zhu violins are quoted as being “well seasoned spruce”, all are “oil antiqued finished”. The higher price model is all European wood, one step down has European spruce and highly-flamed maple.

The VN-350 Artist is the bottom of the line but is a very fine instrument made in the workshop of Ming Jiang Zhu.

The VN-900 is made from European Maple and Spruce and has excellent workmanship. They come well set up and are consistent and are a real good “player” instrument. Ming Jiang Zhu performs about 20% of the work on the high level VN-900 Premium Master instruments.

Ming’s workshop employs about 30 workers. They produce about 40 instruments per month. It is a small workshop of makers under the direct supervision of the master Ming Jiang Zhu. No instrument is sent out without inspection by Ming Jiang Zhu himself. Ming Jiang Zhu performs about 20% of the work on the high level VN-900 Premium Master instruments.

The Ming Jiang Zhu workshop has also produced viola da gambas.

Ming Jiang Zhu – Violins, Violas is a post from: Inner Focus Music

Hi Lo Trio in Chicago is a post from: Inner Focus Music

Deep, resonant bass response is the essence of this remarkable new instrument. Whether plucked or bowed, the NS Design Omni Bass delivers pure, exciting acoustic and electric bass sounds that can be tailored to compliment virtually any musical style or gig.

The Omni Bass has a highly arched fingerboard and bridge, similar to a cello, to optimize bow articulation. The high arch on the fingerboard fits the human hand, and combines with the round neck profile for a comfortable and natural feel.

The 34″ scale length of the Omni Bass is the same as standard electric bass. Tuned in fourths (EADGC or BEADG), the fingering positions and spacing are identical to the bass guitar, and therefore immediately familiar to any bass player. The Omni Bass can also be tuned in fifths, for fingerings that are more natural for the cellist seeking enhanced bass range.

Dots for each semi-tone cascade across the fingerboard, a unique configuration that provides a clear visual fingering reference. The logical dot pattern is of critical value to the novice player, and an invaluable reference guide for the seasoned pro. Fretted models have conventional bass guitar dot pattern. The Omni Bass is also available as a fretted model.

The multiple sensor NS Polar bridge pickup system has two modes of operation: “arco” and “pizzicato”. This allows the player to optimize bowed response, and to control attack and decay characteristics for plucking. The deep bass and brilliant highs possible with piezo crystal technology give the instrument a beautiful, dynamic, and versatile sound.

Custom designed EMG low impedance magnetic pickups have a smooth response with lots of sweet midrange for the quintessential “electric” tone. Their relatively flat frequency response allows the natural sound of the instrument to project through. Each pickup is individually adjustable and internally shielded an internal preamp system for hum free performance.

Two balance controls allow unlimited mixing options for the magnetic and the dual mode Polar Pickup systems. On-board pre-amplification provides master volume, bass and treble controls. The 18 volt power supply insures plenty of headroom for full dynamics. Polar Pickup systems. On-board pre-amplification provides master volume, bass and treble controls. The 18 volt power supply insures plenty of headroom for full dynamics.

The Boomerang Strap System is standard with the Omni Bass. Two articulated arms and a pivoting hub allow full mobility on stage or in studio. The comfortable Boomerang strap fits over the shoulder just like a guitar, but the adjustable arms allow the instrument to be placed in virtually any position in relation to the hands and body. The Boomerang Strap System allows full mobility for either bowing or plucking.

The optional self-standing Tripod stand provides stable fixed support for the instrument. Virtually any angle can be set whether you prefer standing or sitting. A matching black finish provides a sleek compliment to the instrument.

The optional End Pin stand provides a more upright bass feel. It too is easily adjustable so that the instrument remains evenly balanced without support.

Five strings cover the range of the double bass, bass guitar, and cello.

Steel, aluminum, tungsten, and bronze are combined to make strings that are unusually responsive, with singing highs and a deep low register. These polished low-tension flatwound strings are effortless to play and minimize unwanted finger noise. The bright pizzicato growl provides an authentic acoustic tone, yet these strings deliver plenty of sustain and drive when you need it. Developed in collaboration with D’Addario, these strings are also ideal for bowing. They respond much quicker to the bow than traditional bass strings, so expressive bow technique is easier to develop and maintain. The Omni Bass is designed to accommodate any standard bass guitar string, adding unlimited set up options for musicians who want to explore & create their own unique sound.

Each instrument is hand-made in the Czech Republic to the highest standard by craftsmen steeped in a long tradition of instrument making.

NS Design Omni Bass is a post from: Inner Focus Music

Ambient Music Video is a post from: Inner Focus Music