Projects in the Works

Had a good talk on the phone yesterday with Bret Hart about a few projects in the works. One is the second between Bret, Jeff Sampson and me. This one is going to be pretty heavy duty free-improvisation on "porch instruments" (Bret's definition of anything you can play without electricity on the front porch). Another is a revisitation of a trio consisting of Bret, Bob Jordan and me. A few years ago we put out The Un-Real Book (a low-fi dark jazz manifesto) under the name Three Channel Switch. This time we may explore working to (re)assemble pre-existing recordings (of ourselves) with current free-improvisations. Anything can happen with these guys - a year ago Bob sent me a 45-minute cd recording of himself dismantling his gas furnace (complete with commentary) mixed with percussion and Wurlitzer piano tracks!

Bret also encouraged me to send copies of Grendel and Vermis to Phil Kellogg in Berkeley. Phil's a superb guitarist and has done much to keep the legacy of John Fahey's "American Primitive" school of guitar alive, including organizing and performing at the recent John Fahey tribute concerts in Portland, OR. Phil's also connected to uber-improviser Henry Kaiser so who knows what could come of this.

Thanks Bret!