JANDEK, ‘The Wizards Hour’ (Corwood cd 0858)

JANDEK, ‘THE WIZARDS HOUR’ (Corwood CD 0858), released 2023

recorded in early September 2009 and originally broadcast on WNYU-FM radio station

personnel (according to the Jandek Concert History website):

Jandek (Sterling Smith), guitar/gong/keyboards;

Karl Bauer (of Axolotl, someone whose work I followed closely in the early 2000s), viola/keyboards/drums;

Tom Carter, bass;

Marcia Bassett, guitar, vocals;

Pete Nolan, drums, trumpet, viola

1. The Wizard Awakens 20:44
2. The Wizards’ Afternoon 24:51
3. The Wizards’ Dream 16:34

Hard to believe it’s 15 years since 2009. That was an excellent year for Jandek live performances–there were TWENTY (!!!), and except for the July 2009 tour of Northern Ireland with Heather Leigh and David Keenan, the musicians were different with every performance. Sterling would throw himself into the mix with top-shelf experimental/free-improv musicians, both in North America and overseas, and they would see what happens. It took Jandek/Sterling out of his comfort zone and allowed him to take what he had to offer and combine it into a gumbo in which he was an element but not the sole or even primary determiner of the final product.

This was even clearer in performances that were either all-instrumental or primarily instrumental, as the content of Jandek’s stream of consciousness texts was not there to anchor the performance. Such is the case here, a live-in-the-radio studio performance originally broadcast on WNYU radio in 2009. Running about an hour, this performance soon appeared online, and I listened to it a few times back then.

The free-improv/experimental music community of that day was an interesting combination of people from different aesthetic backgrounds–some came from the world of contemporary classical music, some came from the world of free jazz, some came from the more abrasive and avant sides of the post-punk world, some viewed it (as I did to some extent) as an extension of psychedelia, some came to it from a visual art background and approached their music as creating sound-art, some came with a deliberately outsider background and their contributions were the equivalent of action-paintings from someone who could not draw a recognizable tree or face, some (more than I expected) came from the metal world but felt constrained by the limitations of the genre, even its avant and artsy extensions. And then there is Jandek, who is a genre unto himself (however, listening to Henry Flynt or early Loren Mazzacane Connors will help you to discover that Jandek was not alone in independently inventing this kind of wheel, although his lyrics and his delivery of those lyrics steer the listener away from making those connections).

I can’t help but compare the overall effect of this album, consisting of three long pieces, as that of tribal psychedelia, such as Ya Ho Wa 13 at their farthest out and side-long jammiest, or the Beat Of The Earth album. Pete Nolan’s percussion and Tom Carter’s bass keep things percolating and pulsating, sometimes like the heartbeat of an animal, though often very slowly and with a lot of space so you don’t notice what they’re doing but instead feel it. Bassett, Bauer, and Jandek all tune in on the same wavelength, and each tosses out morsels to the others which are then developed and twirled and tossed around until this sticky reptile of an instrumental unit sheds its skin and evolves onto another plane.

This was the period when Jandek did a lot of live collaborations with some of the most interesting figures in the experimental music community (and as some of you know, I co-produced, organized, and assembled the band for a Jandek performance in Austin in 2012, so I got to see first-hand how this alchemy worked), and fortunately for us, Corwood has in the last year or two gotten back to chronological issues of live shows from the early years, recently mining the vein of 2009. These performances were all so different from each other, and Jandek was truly in his prime at that time, inspired to higher heights by the presence of open-minded and motivated collaborators who could hit the eccentric pitches that he (Jandek) threw and meet him halfway artistically. The Corwood releases of recent years have not gotten the attention they deserve. As someone who buys multiple experimental music releases every month, I must testify that Corwood’s output is stunning, both in its diversity and its quality. If there are six or seven “essential” labels out there, Corwood is one of them (Another Timbre is another). I’m glad Sterling is still sticking to physical releases in the classic appearance and format. The Jandek project has been in operation for over 45 years now, and you don’t suddenly change a kitchen-sink melodrama into a screwball comedy during the last act of the play. Corwood has carved out a unique space of its own in the cultural world. Appreciate it while it’s happening…don’t just read about the circus after it’s left town.

BTW, there have been SIX more Corwood releases since this one. They are reasonably priced, the shipping is prompt, and you won’t be able to predict what the next one will sound like.

You can order a physical copy of this fine album here: https://corwoodindustries.com/product/0858/

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Be sure to pick up a copy of my newest poetry book…

STATIC STRUT by Bill Shute

KSE #421, 125 pages, 6″ x 9″ perfect bound, softcover, $6.95 cover price

published 2 January 2024

available for immediate order in the USA from https://amzn.to/48GeYC5