recommend Avant Jazz Madness!

Hey,

There's no guitar in it but I really want to highlight Soft Mountain's self-titled album. It just came out and features Elton Dean and Hugh Hopper alongside Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins) and Hoppy Kamiyama. Absolutely amazing free-improv, the Hopper/Yoshida rhythm section is just tremendous. Highly recommended!

Wayside has it for a reasonable price ($16 I think).

I hear the Sun City Girls are pretty good.

The Sun City Girls are very good. Even if it isn't jazz it is still amazing music.

Rocktopus wrote: BTW:Avalanchemaster: I am looking for dissonant, weird/experimental jazz (fusion?) that utilizes guitars.... Zeuhl is basically all that, but you probably know that already?

On the contrary... zeuhl has very little to do with avant jazz, although a lot of it is fusionish. But most zeuhl also downplays the role of the guitar. Great stuff but the recommendation is off target I think.

For fusion heads the rest of your reccos are pretty great - the new Shining is really growing on me; I like it a lot better than their last one.

Rocktopus:

check out Rope (from Chicago) for experimental, dissonant, weird stuff.  It is truly amazing stuff.  their new one is called "Heresy, and then nothing but tears"....highly recommended for this type of stuff. 

http://www.tinymixtapes.com/spip.php?article492

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=45952495

avalanchemaster wrote: Rocktopus: check out Rope (from Chicago) for experimental, dissonant, weird stuff.  It is truly amazing stuff.  their new one is called "Heresy, and then nothing but tears"....highly recommended for this type of stuff.

Oooo, its brilliant. Strangely it reminded me quite a bit of this favorite, french, NWW-list, obscurity of mine, its almost like they've must have heard Horrific Child:

So I guess I'll reccomend you that one.  

This is a post I made in my I Recommend thread and I post it here at the request of Avalanchemaster (the thread starter):

Grand Ulena- gateway to dignity

got this disc in the mail today from Family Vineyard and it is a smoking instrumental trio (guitar/bass/drums) who play stuff in the Rope vein.  Features one member from The Dazzling Killmen on bass.....good stuff and totally insane! 

http://www.grandulena.com/




(also check out the Family Vineyard link on the above site to get some info on other interesting artists....)

Black Velvet wrote: If you are looking for guitar fronted Avant-jazz I would have to say "Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden's" first album 'Report From Iron Mountain' is essential. by Dan Grunebaum Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden What happens when some of the more mischievous characters in the Japanese experimental underground get together to form a superband? The 11-piece juggernaut Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden would seem to be the answer. Formed by Naruyoshi Kikuchi out of the remains of his longstanding free jazz collective Tipographica, the group is fronted by guitarist Yoshihide Otomo, originally known for his guitar work with the New Jazz Quintet. DCPRG also includes fellow New Jazz Quintet members Kenta Tsugami and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki. Taking as their jumping off point the intersection between free jazz and improvisational electronica, DCPRG made something of a minor splash with the release of their January debut, Report from Iron Mountain (P-Vine). Named after a confidential US government war report as well as a live house where the band has appeared, Iron Mountain immediately established DCPRG, along with the Boredoms and Rovo, as leaders of the Japanese post-rock movement. Meanwhile, this Sunday's event at Liquid Room will see DCPRG in the company of some of the producers it worked with on its most recent project, General Presentation Products Chain Drasticism, also for P-Vine. The double CD includes one disc of the band performing live, and another of a range of DJ/producers remixing DCPRG tracks. The live session shows the band chugging along in a groove that recalls the free-form electric jams of late '60s, Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis, while the remix disc reflects the cut 'n' paste, desktop computer deconstruction techniques of producers like Tatsuya Oe a.k.a. Captain Funk, who will also be on hand at Liquid Room. As the strong turnout for last summer's two-day improvisational music festival the True People's Celebration indicated, there is a growing audience in Japan for this music. The scene taps into the unfortunately termed “jam band” movement and Japan's vibrant electronica/dance culture, while maintaining its roots in free jazz and experimental music. With younger fans in mind, DCPRG have been playing all-night dance events, such as this Sunday's party at Liquid Room, which will offer a good opportunity to hear this take-no-prisoners musical steamroller over a sound system worthy of their scope and scale.

avestin wrote: Finally got to listen to this. This is great! Did not see this coming... Thought it was something else completely, some abstract avantgarde pieces but oh no. Thanks again Adam! Voted Yes for them on our chart.

No worries, for some reason I thought you had already heard the album. If not I would have fixed you up a long time ago. Most places seem to crown it has a Japanese Bitches Brew. Hopefully a few more votes and they will be here for good

Keep all the recommendations coming!