#2327: T. Monk Goes to the Circus Drunk

There’s music for large ensembles on this edition of New Sounds, with tunes from The Industrial Jazz Group. Their recent CDs, which some listeners have tried to put into words as, “Thelonious Monk goes to the circus drunk,” put bebop alongside the avant-garde, with melody-driven stuff that wouldn’t be out of place in the “downtown” or “west coast jazz” scenes, yet the music is fun, multiple-metered and sometimes even includes theremin. Also, hear the prog-jazz of Either/Orchestra, who stir the soup of old-timey ballads and swing madly while doing so. Then there’s Edward Ratliff’s jazzy-snakey-smokey-Latin blend, hopefully from the CD, “Barcelona in 48 Hours.” Plus, listen to Brian Woodbury’s foray into worlds beyond jazz, with Latin percussion, big band horns, pedal steel guitar, banjo, fiddles, accordion & then some. On his most recent release,”Variety Orchestra,” Woodbury seems to draw from nearly everything - Zappa, Mexican bands, Spike Jones, Charles Ives, you name it.

PROGRAM #2327 Large bands (Wed. 9-29-04)

ARTIST(S)	RECORDING	CUT(S)	SOURCE
The Beat Circus	Ringleaders Revolt	Contortionist Tango [7:00]	Innova #623** www.innova.mu
The Industrial Jazz Group	City Of Angles	Interlude In Krupa [3:00]	Innova #571 www.innova.mu
The Beat Circus	Ringleaders Revolt	The Mack [4:30]	See above.
Either/Orchestra	The Half-Life Of Desire	Red [11:30]	Accurate #3242** www.accuraterecords.com
Edward Ratliff	Barcelona In 48 Hours	Sintuba [7:00]	Strudelmedia #008 www.strudel.net
Brian Woodbury	Variety Orchestra	Venice, Italy [8:30]	ReR #BW1 www.somephil.com or www.rerusa.com
Revolutionary Snake Ensemble	Year of the Snake	Parade [5:30]	Innova #599 www.innova.mu

*, ** - Find the recordings you've heard - go to the New Sounds Recordings Information page