The DiY Report was published via email 2-3 times monthly between 1994-1999. 128 issues of the eZine were published to thousands of subscribers. They are published here on GAJOOB.org for preservation and information. It should go wtihout saying that the contact information is likely not valid so don’t send things to physical addresses.
GAJOOB Magazine’s DiY List
Issue #5 — October 25, 1994
A weekly listing of DiY recording information, distributed freely over the internet every Tuesday (give or take) evening. We welcome your input. Please send any relevent info of interest to DiY recording artists. There is no list server for this list, so there is no need to follow any specific guidelines when subscribing or unsubscribing — just send e-mail to either effect.
GAJOOB reviews DiY submissions. Send cassettes, vinyl, CDs, VHS and 8mm video to: GAJOOB Magazine, PO Box 3201, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110.
This list serves as a supplement to GAJOOB Magazine (paper edition). The new issue #10 has just been published. Sample issue: $3.50 ppd. Subscriptions: $15/6 issues.
GAJOOB Magazine’s DiY Recording List is not copyrighted and may be freely distributed in any format — in fact, such distribution is hereby encouraged! Just let us know about it, please.
FROM THE EDITOR
Okay! We dig into more new stuff this week, along with some tape reviews, an article about recording drums on a minimal budget and probably a few more things that’ll be of interest….
Something kinda funny happened this week. I ran into an old acquaintance I met through doing GAJOOB. We had a common interest in being zinesters and into home-recording and he’d come over on occasion and we’d talk. Well, he’d mostly talk and I’d mostly listen.
Anyway, so I got off my bus on the way home for work and there he is walking up the sidewalk, so I stop him and we exchange hello’s and whatnot, catching up on each other ‘cos it’s been like almost three years since we’ve seen each other.
Seems he’s been over in Heidelberg as an exchange student for the past 10 months and now he’s trying to get things together with money and whatever so that he can move over there. As we speak he is on his way to the record exchange shop on the corner to trade in some tapes and says I may be interested in some of them and opens the box.
And what do you think I find, but an old tape of mine! I actually thought it was funny that a guy would hold onto a tape for all these years, only to take it to an exchange for fifty cents.
DiY NOTES
WHITEHOUSE RECORDS has released two more debut releases, Soulvitamins “Fritz” and Jason & Alison “Woodshed.” Whitehouse bills itself as the midwestern music label that is “all over the musical map.” And by what I’ve seen coming from them so far, that pretty much hits the mark — music from acoustic guitar fingerpicking champions, to jazz. [4131 N. Lawndale, Chicago, IL 60618]
KEVORKIAN RECORDS is home to the DiY musique concrete recording of its founder Chris Korda who is also the founder of the Church of Euthanasia which caused a bit of a stir around the internet recently with its mass e-mailing to over 17,000 addresses of an announcement about the church’s cause which revolves around the need for negative population growth, espousing remedies such as suicide and sodomy. [PO Box 261, Somerville, MA 02143; e-mail: COE@NETCOM.COM
EMIGRE has a lot of things for DiY artists, including graphics tools, such as typefaces and books and videos on design. They also carry an assortment of music by DiY artists. The have areas on both America Online and Compuserve where you can see more of their work, or why not write for a free catalog? [4475 D. St., Sacramento, CA 95819]
CO-OP CD DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING
I saw this notice posted in the alt.music.independent newsgroup the other day and thought I’d use it as an example of the many such postings I’ve seen lately and ask you readers whether any of you has participated in any of these and what the outcome has been.
“Hello all.
Philistine is still looking for the bands that will appear on a nationally released CD compilation this winter. Send your demos, CDs, records, or whatever to
Philistine Records, Ltd.
P.O. Box 5126
Evanston, IL 60204
If you have any questions, e-mail me at <75212.1052@CompuServe.COM>
Thanks for listening!
Andy Apodaca
Philistine Records, Ltd.”
I’ve had more than a few of these CD’s come through here at GAJOOB. I’ve also seen more than a few at the radio station during my tenure there. My take on ’em is that no one really knows quite what to do with them. Most of the one’s I’ve taken the time to listen to were actually pretty good, and I played ’em on my show once or twice, but I think being on a CD with a bunch of other bands who are all on the CD with the same intention as you I guess comes off as sort of a blitz and tends to water down the effectiveness of any one band. There are more than a few companies that put these CD packages out on a monthly basis. And many labels, big and small, put out samplers of their bands.
Anyway, I know that there is a bit of a plus side to this, in that it can cut the costs marketing your stuff by yourself; and maybe being affiliated with other bands and the contacts of another company could get your foot in some sort of door it wouldn’t have gotten in otherwise — I don’t know.
Have any of you readers had first-hand experience with sort of thing? How has it worked? What do you think?
RECORDING DRUMS
by Ken Lee
Drums are considered one of the most complex instruments to record, as they consist of many separate instruments in close proximity. There is also much variance from one kit to another, and one drummer to the next. The set-up time, tuning of drums, miking, and processing of drums can be a lengthy process; the best advice is to not make the job any more difficult than necessary. Keep it simple, also, keep in mind that the composite drum sound is what’s important. Don’t spend hours on one microphone just to have that tone change when you add another mic. Do a general adjustment, then after you have an aggregate sound, you can fine-adjust.
I’m trying to concentrate on several miking methods that have consistently worked well, and then discuss some creative techniques that may be used for enhancing a drum sound. To discuss EQ and compression at length would make this article twice as long. A few quick hints, though: for kicks, I often boost 80-100 Hz, maybe 1-2 K (3-4 K for dance, R&B, European dance) and dip maybe 200-600 Hz to avoid conflict of other instruments; snares, often 1-3 K for ﾒband,ﾓ and 5 K for clarity, maybe 100-250 Hz for bottom end; toms, 3K for power, and boost 100 Hz or 500 Hz depending on song; cymbals, 7-10K, and cut overhead in the low end. These are just my own guidelines. For compression on Kick drums, to flatten, use a short attack (2 ms or less) and high ratio (8:1 or more). For more attack from the kick, slow the attack to let the initial strike poke through. Keep the release short so it doesn’t effect the next kick. Move the compression controls around to see how it shapes the envelope of the sound wave. These guidelines apply to snares, toms, congas and other percussion instruments as well.
Before we start in on miking, get a good live sound in the room first. A fantastic mike job on crappy-sounding drums will lovingly enhance that crappy-sounding quality. Tune the drums. Get rid of squeaks and rattles (unless you want that). If the room sound is too dead, liven it up with well-placed plywood or other reflective surfaces. A live room may be deadened with carpeting, blankets, or foam.
In Rock and Pop music, a solid kick drum is usually desirable, and with the snare, are often the two loudest parts of the final mix. A wooden beater gives more attack, and felt beaters give a little more low frequency response. I personally always remove the front head and place weighted blankets or pillows in the shell to prevent the drum from resonating freely. Since I’m on a budget, I use a Radio Shack PZM condenser ($45) taped to the blanket, and near the area where the beater hit occurs. A Shure SM57 or, if you can get one, a Sennheiser 4210 aimed at the beater hit area, or angled slightly away, are also excellent choices. condensers such as the PZM tend to respond quicker to attack transients and roll off low frequencies. Dynamics such as the SM57 or 4210 have a warmer, rounder tone in general, and can handle the high sound levels better than most condensers, although PZMs seem to have no problem with this(4210s are excellent for kicks, toms, snares, or congas, but also cost $350). If I end up not getting enough attack from the one mic inside the shell, I’ll put an SM57 or other dynamic near the rear head, by the kick pedal pointed directly at where the beater strikes the head. This greatly increases the ﾒsmackﾓ of the kick drum. Then I’ll blend the two mics to one track. Sometimes I will drape a small rug over the entire kick drum to further isolate the sound and reduce the resonances further.
I’m going to mention overhead mics next. Two matched overheads and a kick is a simple form of miking called triangular miking. This is an excellent configuration for certain applications, such as a jazz sound. I’m obviously generalizing but if the drummer is usually more concerned with dynamics, texture, nuance, and more of a unified drum sound, we needn’t be as concerned with separating the drums and getting a close-miked sound. I use two Audio-Technica ATM33R condensers, which have a bright response and lots of attack. Sure SM58 dynamics have a mellower tone and less jagged edge, and are good for more laid-back music. I place the matched overheads in an X-Y configuration over the drummer’s head, one mic aimed left, the other right. The tips of the mic capsules (pointed at the drumset itself) are in close proximity and at a 90 degree angle to each other, forming a ﾒVﾓ shape over the drummer’s head. PZMs strapped to the ceiling also work in a pinch. If the cymbals are too loud, move the mics back farther or lower the cymbals.
At this point, if the snare seems to need more definition, clarity or punch, close-mic an SM57 or other dynamic by booming it in on the high hat side, but pointing away from the high hat, and aimed approximately a 45 degree angle at the snare. Most engineers I know aim at the top-skin about two inches in. I personally prefer aiming the mic at the metal rim of the snare instead, which gets less skin tone and more of the overall snare shell tone. Moving it around until is sounds good is always the best choice.
This is a good stage to think about tom, high hat and ambient mics. Have the drummer play the kit again. Remember, if it already sounds great, don’t make it more difficult by adding another mic. Listen if the drummer is striking the toms, frequently, and they’re not showing up as much as you’d like, put an SM58 or SM57 on the toms that need further accentuation. If the drummer isn’t using a particular tom, don’t mic it. Keep it simple. Most engineers mike tomes like the aforementioned snare, two inches in at 45 degrees, and then move the mic around to change the sound if necessary. I often mike toms by aiming the mic at the tom shell itself, angled downward at 45 degrees or more. The floor tom can also be miked by aiming a mic up inside the shell, which creates more isolation.
I end up miking high hats less than 50% of the time. Do it only if it needs miking. A condenser gets more attack, and more of that circular, grinding noise. Dynamics get a silkier, smoother ﾒtssssspﾓ from the high hat. I usually place the mic aimed down at the edge about four inches away from where the high hat’s open.
Ambient mics help the sound breathe more ﾑ more room sound. I tape one or two PZMs to the walls; you can use other mics as well. Move them. Experiment. With the addition of the tom, high-hat and/or ambient mics, you now have further opportunity to play with the stereo placement of the drums. You can place the drums in the stereo field from the drummer’s point of view, the audience’s dramatic movement by hard-panning the toms left and right, place the high hat right or left, or put the ambient mics high in the mix. Much of the huge John Bonham drum sound was derived from ambient mics.
Some of you may be saying, Well, this is just dandy if I have the 16-track, but I don’t. All I have is a cassette deck or a 4-track at best, and not a lot of microphones.ﾓ Obviously, having a 16-track or 8-track or whatever has its merits, but we’re hardly done in if we don’t have access to these machines. As Brian Eno points out, multi-track machines enable us to put off decision-making until later. So what does that mean to those of us with cassette decks or 4-tracks? Simply, we must commit to the mix now, not later. A really cheap way to still achieve a multi-miked sound is to borrow a PA mixer or recording mixer. If this is not possible, one can rent a rehearsal studio space for $6-$10 an hour. Most rehearsal studios have an 8-channel board, a reverb unit or two, mic stands and mics, and if you’re lucky, a person who will actually help you to get the mics up and running through the board. Hook your cassette deck or 4-track to the stereo line outs of the board. Bring headphones and a super-long extension cord so you can monitor outside the door. You may actually want to sue 3-4 mics for the drums, give the other instrumentalists and vocalists mics, perhaps on or two ambient mics, and record the whole ensemble live to tape.
In the mix, whether going live to your cassette deck or mixing a 24-track recording, effects can be added to enhance the song. Sometimes, I add no reverb or other effects to my drums for a dry, in-your-face feel. Other times, I add delay and reverb to create cavernous echoes and impossible circumstances, or to give the illusion of various distances. Putting a delay on the high hat can create alternate rhythms or lift the energy of the track. Assuming a 120 bpm song with quarter notes being 1/120 of a minute, or in other words, half a second or 500 milliseconds, we can take 8th note high hat hits (250 ms) and create 16th notes by slapping on a 125 ms delay time, which will lift the energy. Or a more lilting triplet feel can be obtained with a 170 ms delay time (about 2/3 of the 250 ms high hat hits). The same can be done with the snare hits to create alternate rhythms can feel. Experiment. Play with not just the delay, but the pan and volume of the delay signal. Make the sound ping-pong back and forth if this is desired. Kick drums are really interesting when delayed. flanging the toms or high hat can create a cool, sweeping, swishing sound. If you’re going to add reverb to the drum tracks (or the final mix), try adding a flange, phase-shifter, or chorus to the reverb returns (after the reverb, before the board returns). This usually results in a really weird sense of space, an eerie unsettling sound, or if overdone, a truly ridiculous sound.
Interesting drum sounds can by obtained by many different methods. Using badly cracked high hats and cymbals gets a really cool trashy sound. Putting a tambourine on top of the high hat changes the feel; running this through a distortion pedal get a harsh, clangy sound. Try recording at ridiculously high levels and see how it changes the tone. Taking the blankets out of the kick drum gets a huge, boomy sound. Recording the kick drum by cutting the bottom out of a metal trash can, placing this metal trash can tube directly in front of the kick drum, and miking the end of the trash can produces an interesting metallic tunnel tone. Actually, placing any of the mics in cardboard tubes produces interesting results. We put a cheap dynamic mic into a 5-gallon plastic water bottle partially filled with water, ran the mic out into a guitar amplifier with the reverb up, then miked the amplifier to get these amazing percussion sounds. The drummer really enjoyed playing with the sound, and it created a better performance because everyone though it was fun.
Try keeping the drum miking process simple. Remember that the composite drum sound is what is important. The overall sound is what everyone hears. The methods discussed here are simply methods, not rules. If doing something differently gets you what you want, then that’s what matters. As in drums, so in life.
Ken Lee lives in Encino, California where he spends time in his studio recording himself and others. His recordings carry the moniker of Eleven Shadows and Ken is slated for an upcoming CD release on DOVe, in Toronto, Ontario.
NEW DiY (and select independent label) RELEASES
The first three reviews are submitted by Henry Schneider <schneid@sccsi.com> who has a unique perspective on progressive electronic music, having been president of the former Poly 800 user’s group and being a home-recording artist of this type of music himself. While the bands reviewed here are not home-recording artists in the sense of a 4-track in a bedroom sort of thing, but they are certainly the work of individiuals committed to their own artistic vision and very deserving of a more widespread exposure than what is afforded them by their tiny, independent labels.
Shylock GIALORGUES
Gialorgues is one of those classic prog albums from the seventies that sky rocketed in value in collector circles. In the typical Musea tradition this CD reissue includes all the tracks from the original album plus five additional tracks performed by Frederic L’Epee and Didier Lustig in 1981. The excellent original tracks from Gialorgues are symphonic and consist of classical themes and lyrical electronic guitar solos. Shylock was very fond of the music by their progressive contemporaries Yes, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Henry Cow, Van der Graaf Generator, and Robert Wyatt. It is very easy to hear the King Crimson influence, especially on the 19 minute Le Cinquieme. The five bonus tracks have a totally different feel to them. They are short, light, and airy similar in nature to Camel’s Snow Goose. It is a shame that this band didn’t survive beyond this first album and we can praise Musea for bringing it to a broader audience. [CD; Musea, 68 La Tinchotte 57117 Retonfey, FRANCE] – Henry Schneider – October 1994
Jean Philippe Goud DRONES
Jean Philippe Goud played keyboards in Bernard Paganotti’s band Weidorje until 1979. At that time he recorded Drones and involved the various musicians he had worked with: Klaus Blasquiz, Bernard Paganotti, The Quatuor Margand, Richard Pinhas, Jean-Louis Rizet, Gerard Prevost, and Patrick Gauthier. This Musea reissue includes all 10 original tracks plus Trio de Mini-Moogs recorded during the same sessions but never released. Here is a quick run down of my impressions of the music. Les Saturnales – intelligent zheul-jazz with a great bass line and wordless scat singing very much like Zao. Sicilienne – classical synth harpsichord themes that brought to mind Elizabethan court music. Machine – quiet chamber music with Goude, Pinhas, and Rizet playing some gurgling synths. Drole D’Ere – Laurent Thibault style jazz with some beautiful violin. Coma – experimental electronics and metallic clanging that evolves into a catchy melody. Terpidanse – sterile pop synth music popular in East Germany prior to the wall coming down. Duo – another Goude synth solo piece exploring counterpoint. Dies Irae – complex, intelligent zheul and King Crimson influenced music. Tintinnabulum – metallic synth intro that ends as excellent zheul jazz. Cantilene – post-classical piano and synth music reminding me of Liszt. Trio de Mini-Moogs – mediocre Moog noodling that did not deserve to be included. They made the correct decision back in 1979. Overall quite an interesting and varied album and one of the finest Musea reissues this year. [CD; Musea, 68 La Tinchotte 57117 Retonfey, FRANCE] – Henry Schneider – October 1994
Smell of Incense ALL MIMSY WERE THE BOROGROVES
Normally you can’t tell a book by its cover or the quality of a recording by its cover art. However when I first cast an eye on the beautiful artwork of this gatefold CD and recognized the line from Jabberwocky I knew I was in for a treat! Smell of Incense are a Norwegian band, formed about 7 years ago, that churn out amazingly timeless psychedelic music. They intended this release to be a collection of cover songs by obscure psychedelic or acid punk bands from the late sixties and early seventies and it succeeds beyond your wildest dreams! The 20 second opening track is not listed on the CD but sounds like an excerpt from some Indian pop music. SoI officially kick in with Alice (track 2), an appropriate paean to Lewis Carroll and garage bands. It reminds me of Pink Floyd’s The Gnome which after a magic carpet ride picks up the tempo with an otherworldly progressive guitar solo. Track 3 is Faerie Emerald a whimsical psychedelic folk rock song much in the style of Steeleye Span and early Renaissance. Their first official cover song is an incense smelling raga version of the Kinks’ Fancy. What a wonderwall arrangement! I found myself locking into the groove and drifting with the music. I never realized how much I missed raga rock until I heard their version. The next song, Christopher’s Journey, is another original SoI song this time about Christopher Robin incorporating excerpts from Milne’s poetry. This song above the rest sounds remarkably like an obscure sixties band Wind in the Willows, the first band with Debbie Harry AKA Blondie. SoI’s next song is an instrumental cover of Pink Floyd’s Interstellar Overdrive. The opening bass riff sounds a bit stilted but that is soon forgotten as you travel the void with SoI. Now the band stretches even further and explores the cosmic realms of space rock traveling to distant galaxies that Pink Floyd never dared approach! Then we come full circle back to that recognizable bass riff this time played as if SoI were Pink Floyd. Now if that wasn’t enough for you, SoI turn to the epitome of transcendental psychedelia, The Incredible String Band. Here
they take Robin Williamson’s acoustic Witch’s Hat and transform it into folk rock replete with sitars and mandolins. The final song, Shrine, is not truly a cover song in that it was written by Peter Hammil in 1968 and never recorded. The band views Shrine as a SoI song with Peter Hammil lyrics and they wrote the music with a vague Van der Graaf Generator feel. Then to
close out the CD they included what sounds to be a 40 second excerpt from Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. What a truly wonderful release! SoI have distilled the essence of psychedelia and bottled it for consumption. There is not one weak spot on this disk and it is certainly to rank as one of my Top Ten picks for 1994. Forget about the Ozrics and their psychedelic posings, buy this CD and experience psychedelic music at its finest. Like Hendrix said, “Have you ever been experienced? Well I have.” [CD; Colours, Postboks 275, 3701 Skein, NORWAY Fax: 47 35 53 91 88] – Henry Schneider – October 1994
ORANGE LADY
“Masuda”
Extremely rough, noisy guitar noise fest. Very free form, for the most part, although bits of melody here and there peek up on occasion. The tape is fairly well-rounded, considering it sounds like a live solo work (the tape noise may be distracting to some), even going to the extent of including acoustic guitar on more than one piece. Generous use of delay-lines, feedback (both vocal and guitar) and improvisation. [cassette; $8.00; 3-30-3, Senzoku, Taitou-tai, Tokyo III, JAPAN]
OUT OF BAND EXPERIENCE/KINGS OF FEEDBACK
“Open Your Ears” (split CD)
Very engaging, fast-paced split release by these two bands who are somewhat similar in their approach. Out of Band Experience employs heavy use of samples mixed into a raw, punk/thrash mix with a bit of irreverent funk groove dropped in for good measure. Lots of post-adolescent sexual overtones (from an overused library of grunts and groans) that come off a bit heavy-handed at times; but it’s still good fun. Kings of Feedback throw a similar affinity for samples into their mix of guitar walls of noise, churning and muddy. The CD stumbles on their half a bit, but their brand of noise is interesting enough and puts up a good fight to make it worthwhile. The CD, on the whole, is probably not for uninitiates to the genre, but it might cause a stir at your college dorm. [CD; $10.00; Extraterrestrial Records, PO Box 221, Boston, MA 02123; e-mail: LICKOBE617@AOL.COM]
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
“Speed of Sound”
This Austin band has been together since 1983 and this release shows the scars of a hard-fought battle, with its world-wise, real world grit and depth. The music here surely fits in the modern guitar rock category, but the sound here is likewise full of grit and depth, with a natural warmth and a self-assured edge. Lyricist David Woody has been compared to Dylan and Elvis Costello and his work has a poetic style that is tangible. A highly recommended release. [CD; Stress, 4716 Depew, Austin, TX 78751]
THE PLAID FAMILY
“The Flying Book”
A mix of traditional and original instrumental music on fiddle, hammered dulcimer, accordion, pennywhistle, spoons and guitar that conjures up images of early America, along with merry old England and Welsh countryside melodies. The inspiration here is obviously from ancient folk sources, while a few cuts show the grit of protest. Overall, an album of rare depth. [CD; $16.98; Wizmak Productions, PO Box 477, Wingdale, NY 12594-0477]
[0]
“nth”
Drone music, pure and simple. Very little adornment, very little variety unless you concentrate on the deeper rings and physically ride those sound waves. [cassette; $3.00 or trade; 1053 W. 4th St. #21, Eugene, OR 97402]
GRUMPYMOPE
“Finally”
It’s a little hard to classify this release by this Chicago duo. You’ll hear Industrial, Punk, and EuroRock/Gothic influences coming through themix which comes off in a crashing, tumbling mass of digital percussion, synths and overdriven guitars. My favorite cut is “No Guitars” with a melody that hits the mark and a strong song-structure. Verymuch a keeper. I could definitely see some air time for this one. Overall, there’s a whole lot of promise here, but it does need a little more work. Maybe cut back on the percussive assault — it begins to sound characteristically digital — try to free up some of this claustrophobic space. You don’t have to fill up every sonic hole with the bllllpt bllllpt dssshhtd of a sequenced drum. Work on the vocal sound too; try some echo maybe. I just hear so much going on here and so little space for it to move around in. It’s like a symphony in a sandwich bag — pop that sucker and let it fly! [cassette; $6.00; DIY Records, 847 Washington B3, Oak Park, IL 60302]
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“Compulory Overtime #6”
This series began quite some time ago (years?) with a noisy assemblage of punk stuff and other lo-fi ramblings and volume #6 is the same in every way. The mix of artists seemingly has no forethought (which works for variety’s sake). You get synth stuff, lo-fi punk, bedroom guitar ditties, 4-track improv throwaways, garage bands and more. The bands here are CIG, 1/2 Smashed, L.G. Mair, Alien Planetscapes, Kings of Feedback, Kirchenkampf and Sigma Seven. Another old-style K7 comp done up in the classic sense of cassette culture. The package even includes some sheets of contact addresses for those included on the comp with a short note saying, “I was making a booklet of contact info and that stuff, but I forgot, I don’t have a stapler.” [cassette; $3.00 or trade; Mark Casner, 4022 6th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232]
DRONNING MAUD LAND
“Maelstrom”
[CD; DM28; Musikkombinat, Jagdweg 2, D-53115 Bonn, GERMANY]
ROTCOD ZZAJ & JOHN M. BENNETT
“Bone Flag”
This Bennett/Zzaj teaming is one of my favorite combinations of postal collaboration. Zzaj runs the Zzaj Productions tape label, along with publishing a zine called Improvijazzation Nation. Bennett is a long-time presence in the cassette culture network as well with his Luna Bisonte tape label and numerous DiY tape labels, besides appearing on dozens of compilations. Their meeting is a long-distance one — Zzaj lives in Korea, Bennett lives in Ohio. But their styles are seemingly made for one another. Both artists are extremely prolific, to be sure; and each has his own, unique take on improvisation that stamps a definite recognizable character on their work. Bennett is a poet whose verse is like serrendippity, or chance. Often the words seem flung together, almost haphazardly; yet there is an unmistakable sense to the whole. And Zzaj’s keyboard work could be described in nearly the same way. He says he got his name by someone who once described his improv work as sounding like backwards jazz — and that’s a pretty succinct way of putting it. Those of you who haven’t heard Zzaj’s work in a couple years, owe it to yourself to check this one out; it’s definitely Zzaj at his best. And Bennett never ceases to please. Another highly recommended pairing of these two masters of improv. [Dick Metcalf, HQ 19th TAACOM, Unit 15015, Box 2879, APO AP 96218-0171; e-mail: dmetcalf@freenet.scri.fsu.edu
CLOSING
See you next week.
