OREN AMBARCHI / CHRIS CORSANO / PAUL FLAHERTY / C. SPENCER YEH
Ambarchi / Flaherty, Corsano, Yeh
(Krayon Recordings) split 7-inch $9.00
The Flaherty, Corsano, Yeh Trio's oceans of bawling drum kit fire and fluttering string overtones fuse a complex web of ear asterism. Infiltrated by a woozy sax line that soon reduces in duration and increases the overall vehemence, with fragmented reed chewing rasp and roar joining myriad coordinates in this dense labyrinth of free magic. On the flip, an unexpected monolith from Ambarchi, stunningly crafted harmonic percolations of feedback glare, and riff particles slam into tantric drum force blast beats by Matt Skitz Sanders. Art by Paul Coors.
Another Dull Dawn
(Ultra Eczema - UE71) Used LP $27.00
Absolute madness performed on a variety of different drum sets, toy percussion, baritone sax mouthpiece on a two-foot metal pipe, violin strings, banjo and violin bridges, contact mics, effects pedals, claw bell, metal strips from windshield wipers, toy comb, clarinet, toy gamelan, guitar cable, gongs, metals, triangle, nylon guitar strings, amps, melodica, pot lids and of course the al important et cetera. Through innumerable collaborations, Corsano, with a non-academic and unlimited interest in sounds far behind any traditional school of music, has helped change and refresh improvised music forever; he has blown the "free" back into into free music again, and thrown an energy molotov cocktail over western Massachussets. Hairy black and white cover by Dennis Tyfus, with an insert. 400 copies.
CHRIS CORSANO / PAUL FLAHERTY / WALLY SHOUP
Bounced Check
(Records) Used LP $12.00
“Totally improvised double sax and drum explosions that break down into duos and solos and re-ignite as trio howlin’ paint splattered madness gone butt-naked wilder” from 2007. This companion to The Blank Check LP released by Finnish label Tyfus, was “recorded at an art gallery with artwork melting off the walls and frightened fans nervously mopping their furrowed blood-stained brows.” Sealed
BEN CHASNY / CHRIS CORSANO / PAUL METZGER
Chris Corsano & Ben Chasny / Paul Metzger
(Roaratorio) Used Split LP $15.00
“On guitar modified with music box innards and an accompanying tambura, Metzger dives deep into the raga heart of a moonlit day and returns with the jewels. On the flip, Corsano’s drums and Chasny’s guitar chatter and clatter with jittery hyper-articulation, worrying the meat off the bone in short sharp strokes.” Silkscreened poplar wood covers. Edition of 766
Gucci Tops & Bottoms
(Fake Estates - FAKE008) Cassette $20.00
Recorded live at the Islington, London, England, 2018, with Corsano on drums and Orcutt on his homemade electronic noise program Cracked. Clear cassette case with hand-stamped sticker on outside. The stamp was not perfectly struck; feel free to request a picture before ordering. C20. Edition of 100
SUSAN ALCORN / CHRIS CORSANO / BILL NACE
Live at Rotunda
(Open Mouth - OM59) LP $22.50 (Out-of-stock)
Susan Alcorn on pedal steel. Drummer Chris Corsano. Guitarist Bill Nace. Cover silkscreened by Alan Sherry. Number six in Open Mouth’s Live At series. Numbered edition of 200.
Made Out Of Sound
(Palilalia) Used LP $25.00 (Out-of-stock)
Recorded in 2020 with Corsano cutting drum parts on his own and Orcutt adding improvised guitar later. “Corsano’s free playing seems at all times to hover in the space between a steady beat, an explosive roll, an exploratory warm-up, and an ecstatic solo,” notes Pitchfork. “He hits his kit with the same pace and force as Brace Up! (Palilalia 2018), but here it’s a touch less pugnacious…. And Orcutt’s guitars are less cutting and sharp, with a warmer tone that rings and clangs while notes hang in the air, as if we are hearing a recording of a giant wind chime left outside during a hurricane.” Sealed
CHRIS CORSANO / PAUL FLAHERTY / GREG KELLEY
Sannyasi
(Wet Paint Music - 3001) CD $10.00
Seven bursts of careful yet flamboyant free improvisation from 2002. Trumpeter Kelley blasts fast, high-register, staccato lines in contrast to Flaherty’s alto and tenor playing, which is less frantic than on The Hated Music. Similar feel, though: intense splashes of bombast sit next to pensive passages, pushing and pulling, jumping moods quickly and logically.
Scraps and Shadows
(Roaratorio - roar26) LP $15.00 (Out-of-stock)
This follow-up to the duo’s Under A Double Moon finds McPhee largely on tenor sax rather than alto. Seven dedicatory pieces recorded live in Milwaukee in 2011, from the delicate balladry of “For Adrienne P” to the appropriately combustible “For Han Bennink.” Corsano’s stupendously detailed drumming and McPhee’s free-soul love cries weave a master latticework. Cover art by Judith Lindbloom. Download coupon included.
The Hated Music
(Ecstatic Yod - E#1B) Used CD $10.00 (Out-of-stock)
Flaherty’s impassioned overblowing and legato style recall Noah Howard and early-70s Joe McPhee, and his chord outlines, sheets-of-sound-era Coltrane. The Hated Music is raucous but well-crafted: the visceral and incendiary duo captures the spirit of the wildest, most hectic, most flamboyant free improvisation without blowing themselves into monotony.
Under A Double Moon
(Roaratorio - ROAR22) LP $16.00 (Out-of-stock)
With a career now spanning over forty years and more than one-hundred recordings, Joe McPhee has shown that in the world of creative improvised music, emotional content and theoretical underpinnings are thoroughly compatible — and, in fact, a critically important pairing. Since recording The Hated Music with Paul Flaherty in 2000, Chris Corsano has been active in far-reaching corners of the free improvised world. Recorded live in Paris during their spring 2010 tour of Europe, Under A Double Moon is McPhee and Corsano's first album together. Cover artwork by Judith Lindbloom. Liner notes by John Szwed. Includes download coupon.