Karou Abe: C/D

I can't recommend it though because it is on import so it's risk each individual has to take. and when you buy solo instrumental albums, it's all to do whether you like the tone, what he's doing (i'll listen to it again tonight and try and see if i can come up with something useful tomorrow).

So there are three solo albums on PSF (the one i bought is called 'solo 1972.4.11'). the two others were recorded round the same time.

There's a duo with bassist Motoharau Yoshisawa on PSF. I am going to get it all. Fuck money, I'll go for it and once I get round to it I'll report back (won't be for a till next month though).

I know there's two other duo discs with takayanagi but these seem to be sold out (all on the DIW label). I can't find 'em.

phew.

It was a given that if there were a thread Julio started it!

Any more thoughts or discussion on Kaoru Abe? I've borrowed one of the "Solo Live At Gaya" CDs on DIW from a friend (Volume 9) and would like to think and hear a bit more of Abe, who I've known about for years, but only really as a kind of mythical figure.

P.S. It is Kaoru Abe rather than Karou, unless I'm mistaken. Any chance of getting the thread title changed?

c.f. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaoru_Abe etc. for confirmation of spelling.

Here's an English discography as well: http://www.yo.rim.or.jp/~t_okuno/english/e_akdisco.html

i guess i wld start w/ the takayanagi collab, just cos takayanagi is so great, and then maybe ease into the solo - haven't listened to those for five or more years, but my memory is that a)they're quite hard to tell apart, and b)one of em is prob enough for most functional collections. never heard the rec he made w/ milford graves that hstencil (rip) mentions above, but apparently he and abe did not get on at all - abe thought graves was too much of a showman or somesuch bs.

some good info here: http://mysite.verizon.net/spin17/kaoru.html

Nice, thanks for that link, that's just the job for beginning with.

I seem to recall a longer feature on him in the Wire (where else) a while back. Might be worth seeking out.

Listening to Mort a Credit, quite revealing...as the Cain's review puts it they are very much a build/re-build of alto saxophone screech and blow, with these gaps of silence rather than moving from high to low end and back.

What you have is a hard blowin' sesh and yet it takes your expectations out of what that's like. Its a very rich work, I think. Conflicted because I really like the Abe of that PSF session I talk about above and the duos with Takayanagi (both Mass and Gradual!); I HATE what people say about Doyle or Brotzmann, don't think its all irresponsible hard blowin' bollocks but actually really thoughtful and imaginative (you don't have to come out with concepts like Braxton to appear like that), so it seems that Abe weirdly listened to some of the criticisms and was trying to address them.

I am v interested in this area of jazz and improvisation: where people basically play on and on for no money and little gratitude for a lifetime (except when sometimes they disappear or die prematurely) and then they reach a point of, well, boredom with what they do? Sudden attempts to 'change', they become heavy-handed...I'll break off here.

I'll try and put some more thoughts out on mumsnet in a few days years..