Unamuno

Track Listings

1. Drums Stop

2. Toothwalking

3. Chernobyl/ The Zone/ 7

4. Xarxa

5. Dakadowepadoom

6. 4 Joe Z

7. The Other

8. Berberia

9. Unamuno

10. Antarctica Melting

11. After Ikkyu

12. Whirr?

13. Accordion Crimes

14. Dry Forest (Booming, Buzzing)

15. By the Water's Edge

16. Pleas of Weddell Seals

Editorial Reviews
Jai Uttal
A fascinating piece of work.

Product Description
There are machines in the garden. And they cant stop moving. One moment the call of an orpendola, another the driving beat of a Moroccan bendir, the swish of a shakuhachi flute, a danceable groove or a wash of electronic swells. This is improvisation not over chord changes, but sound changes, a new kind of jazz that is built around the powerful soundscapes of a living Earth. Rhythms arise from walruses thlacking their teeth agains the rocks, and the ominous dripping noise of the Antarctic ice caps melting. Layers of electric rhythm tracks blur into each other like a mad insect dance. Rothenbergs clarinet soars through and around this audio slide show, searching for some way to save the Earth for music, for art, for civilization. Its named in honor of Miguel de Unamuno, the Spanish existentialist writer who could be called a prophet of improvisation and surprise. Chance, he once wrote, is the inner rhythm of the world, and the soul of poetry. Rothenberg howls up and down through his clarinet and through custom-built overtone flutes that soar upon the natural harmonic series.

Rothenbergs previous New Tone release, On the Cliffs of the Heart, was praised all over the world for its innovative translation of music from many places into vibrant trio music featuring the percussion of Glen Velez and the banjo of Graeme Boone. Jazziz called it one of the ten best CDs of 1995. This album continues the quest by adding electronics and the enveloping tones of the Earth itself. Find out why the late John Cage once praised Rothenbergs sense of virtuosity travelling all over the globe. Find out why even the walruses cant stop dancing.

Unamuno

Unamuno,David Rothenberg

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