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20 Dead Jazz Greats

by Mr. Fist

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    BLOOD ’N’ TONGUE ARCHIVE COMPILATION

    VOLUME I - DEAD JAZZ

    The Blood ’n’ Tongue Archive Compilation series is a curated selection of genre based retrospective albums. Each release is intended to offer a distinctive cross section of the works contained in this extensive, four decade spanning catalogue of original music. It is hoped that these collections will offer a handy guide to the music available via this outlet. Each compilation is built around a specific musical style or set of styles and contains the equivalent of a double LP’s worth of music. Notations within the accompanying documentation offer information on production dates and release sources to facilitate further exploration. Great care has been taken in the selection of material for these collections in order to insure the most coherent, consistent and satisfying listening experience. ... more
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1.
2.
Safari Road 04:00
3.
Dead Jazz 03:02
4.
5.
Knuh Neh 03:08
6.
Poontang Pie 01:27
7.
Rock Head 03:14
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Idibot 03:21
14.
15.
Momma Lied 05:38
16.
17.
Bass 04:34
18.
Ugly People 04:56
19.
PHOOMPH! 02:42
20.
III 06:00

about

MISTER FIST BRINGS YOU 20 DEAD JAZZ GREATS

The world needs some shitty jazz. I’m not talking about plain old “bad” jazz. No, this is the kind of jazz that revels in its own incompetence. It’s not some self-satisfied music geek jamming reams of of over-complicated, masturbatory solos. That would require at least some musical proficiency. What I’m talking about is something which requires no more than the most rudimentary skills, the cruder the better, coupled with a stifled ambition fueled by a combination of apathy and contempt. THAT is the essence of “Dead Jazz”. It’s a kind of sound that doesn’t care where it came from nor where it’s going. Most of the time, it’s too lazy to be bothered with direction or purpose. It might fall flat on its face after a few faltering steps or maybe it’ll stagger around until someone throws it out the door, like a penniless vagrant from a dive-bar.

The term “Dead Jazz” was first coined in 1986 as a song title for a piece which was essentially a bit of happenstance tape loop noodling with a vaguely “jazzy” vibe about it. It sounded sick and unhealthy, so the title seemed appropriate. The term remained dormant for many years until 2001, during a period where many old analogue recordings were being digitally remastered and sorted into collections. At that time, the term found itself being applied to one of those compilations. A few years later, in 2007, something of a breakthrough in recording methodology occurred. A new approach and style was inspired by the latest available digital technology, which made it possible to create a sound that was both natural and primitive, yet sophisticated at the same time - loose in its structure and arrangements, but refined in production values. The sound which resulted could only be described as “Dead Jazz” and, since then, this concept has been gradually expanded upon. As the elements became more codified, a backward glance though the years revealed that there had always been a thread running through the various phases of production where these elements became a focus, even if only for a moment.

Presented here is something of a history of Dead Jazz. Beginning with one of my earliest recordings from 1981, a foreshadowing of things to come, you are offered a chronological journey through the various stages of the genre as new wrinkles were added and crushed into the fabric. These pieces are about improvisation and inspiration. They aren’t conceived through agonizing contemplation. Their ideas spring forth abruptly and their execution is immediate. Threads are left bare and hanging, fumbles are pushed up front and enhanced. One may desire some form of altered state for this listening experience. It usually helps.

credits

released November 20, 2022

All materials composed, performed and produced by Stephen Ugo Rosin.
Recorded at home in Thunder Bay, ON (01) and Vancouver, BC (02-20).
Recorded on 1/4” reel to reel (01, 02), cassette 4 track (03, 04, 06), VHS HiFi (05) and digital multitrack (07 to 20).

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Blood 'n' Tongue Vancouver, British Columbia

Mr. Fist likes to make music. Mr. Fist likes to make creepy music, assembling sounds and words that ferment together into a bubbling broth of hallucinogenic mayhem.

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