88888888
(Newtexture) CDR $8.00
Beginning somewhat exploratorily, like an unassuming Bennington-scented take on junk operatics, replacing lo-fi trashcan lid connotations with windchimes, 88888888 quickly ascends a holy plateau where it maintains a loving embrace shared by Sun Ra and Conlon Nancarrow. As an acolyte of Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor, Zappa’s wank detector is finer tuned than most; so when a tenorman sets down his axe and scoops up a handful of MIDI — “started in 1999, finished in 2009, and still only 20 minutes long,” he says — rest assured there’s a reason. And that reason has twice the awkward beauty as the Barrons thrashing a homemade gamelan in their garage. Constructed and printed entirely by hand with block prints and rubber stamps. Edition of 33. TEDIUM HOUSE BEST OF 2010.