Dave Chamberlain

The upcoming week does not showcase the best of the country's national talent. If you're determined to see music one way or another, go local.

In an all-Thrill Jockey show, the Double Door (a venue that at last seems to be moving into its potential) hosts the bleep-blurp-bloop sounds of Mouse on Mars, which recently released its fifth full-length record, "Niun Niggung." Mouse on Mars is, however, a known entity; if computer hiccups are your thing, go nuts.

Totally worth catching is opening band the Chicago Underground Duo. This collaborative effort from Rob Mazurek (cornet) and Chad Taylor (percussion, vibrophone) just released "Synthesia," the second release by the Duo (though Mazurek has released several records as the Chicago Underground Orchestra and Chicago Underground Trio). Now be warned, this is jazz. But for non-jazz fans, this is the act to see.

"Synthesia" is, I say without reservation, the most interesting jazz record I've ever heard. Perhaps that statement goes too far; it's the most amazing jazz record I've heard in fifteen years. Alternately awash in the lush, smothering sound of full-bore composition, and then quiet in the melancholy of Mazurek's lone cornet, the contrasts between grandeur and minimalism made this the first jazz record to ever smite me upon first listen. The interplay between vibraphone and cornet, especially on the tracks "Blue Sparks From Her, and the Scent of Lightening" and "Red Gradations," is moving, and I'm curious to see if they can pull it off live.

New old stuff:
And speaking of jazz, Atavistic Records just pumped out an array of new, old releases, as well as some music from contemporary artists.

For starters, Atavistic (in conjunction with jazz writer John Corbett, who hand-picked the selections) kicks off its "Unheard Music Series" with four monster (at least in the world of free jazz and improvised music) releases: the Mount Everest Trio's "Waves From Albert Ayler," an LP recorded in 1975 by the Swedish free-jazz trio; a first-time release for the Fred Anderson Quartet's "The Milwaukee Tapes," recorded live to eight track in 1980; "Nipples," a rarest-of-the-rare recording by the Peter Brotzmann Sextet/Quartet, originally done in 1969; and "Nation Time," from legendary Brooklyn free-jazzer/black power man Joe McPhee. All the above are very, VERY rare, and hence Atavistic's reissues are not only welcome, but one could go so far as to term the act "important." Each record comes with the original liner notes (something very few re-releases bother to do), and a couple also come with new liner notes penned by artists of some relevance (Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson).

Of course, Atavistic doesn't live entirely in the past. There's also a new record from Gregg Bendian's Interzone, "Myriad," (Bendian has recorded with Evan Parker, Cecil Taylor, Derek Bailey, William Parker, John Zorn, etc), and "Real Time," an unreleased, relatively straight-forward 1996 recording by Steam, a quartet featuring Ken Vandermark, Jim Baker, Kent Kessler and Tim Mulvenna.

Talk Soul:
The thing about Liquid Soul, which celebrates the release of its newest record, "Here's the Deal," April 29 at the Metro, is that the band is so, SO, much cooler when they include a rapper. The record's two best tracks, "Sure Fire One" and "Everybody's Got One," both feature a hip-hop slant (with rappers Brian "MCB" Quarles and the Dirty MF, respectively), which adds edge to Liquid Soul's soul-funk lite. The rest of the record doesn't break much new ground, by my guess is that LS' fans might be disappointed if it did.

Earthlings:
The 4pm start time for Sunday's (April 30) show at the Double Door is no misprint. A benefit for the Save the Earth Foundation (a non-profit organization out of -- where else? -- California, dedicated to "raising environmental awareness"), the Double Door presents ten bands for a price of $10. Highlights include the much-ballyhooed (in these pages, at least) Monkey Paw, the Plastics Hi-Fi and Forty Piece Choir, as well as (according to promoter David Joost) some country-style auctions. And completely worth mentioning: the Double Door is providing the space and equipment rental, as well as the staff, free of charge.

Happy birthday:
Chicago bluesman Eddie C. Campbell turns 61 on April 29, and Blues Etc. (1124 West Belmont, (773)525-8989) is throwing him a birthday party. Campbell, whose resume includes working as Jimmy Reed's band director in the sixties and acting as Willie Dixon's lead guitarist for nearly twenty years, will play will Billy Boy Arnold, Phil Guy, Jimmy Lee Robinson and more. He'll also be a headliner at this year's upcoming BluesFest.

(2000-04-27)

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