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News from the darkest corners of the
musical universe:
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Thursday, June 21, 2007 ◦
Available october 2007:
Moondog - The Viking of Sixth Avenue, The Authorized Biography by Robert Scotto:
"Here is one of the most improbable lives of the 20th century: a blind and homeless man who became a famous eccentric in New York, and who rose to prominence as an internationally respected music presence.
Born Louis Thomas Hardin in 1916, Moondog first made an impression in the late '40s when his music was played by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall. His unique, melodic compositions were released on the Prestige jazz label. In the late '60s the Viking-garbed Moondog was a pop music sensation on Columbia Records. The last decades of his life saw his evolution as a master composer for European orchestras.
Moondog's compositional style inspired the work of his former roommate, Philip Glass. A CD compilation with a variety of Moondog compositions will be bound into the book."
More info here.
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Monday, June 11, 2007 ◦
The new studio album of SOFT MACHINE LEGACY "Steam" is available now and ready to be shipped on Wednesday, June 13. For more information about this exciting album, recorded in studios of the legendary UK drummer Jon Hiseman, and to hear audio clips, please go to: http://www.moonjune.com/MJR016.htm
The groups new release, "Steam", combines collective freely improvised jams with new writing from Hopper, Etheridge and Travis. Gone are the keyboards that so defined 1970s Soft Machine. In their place are modernistic sampling/looping and sonic processing, creating expansive soundscapes not possible during Soft Machine heyday. Between Etheridge broad sonics, Hopper's legendary bass loops and "fuzztonics" and Travis system of ambitronics - allowing him to sample his saxophones and flutes in real time and naturally layer unpredictable harmonies - Soft Machine (Legacy) often sounds larger than a quartet.
The CD is available for sale for $14 for USA/Canada buyers and $17 for the rest of the world. And that includes all shipping and handling charges.
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Friday, June 08, 2007 ◦
Actor and sound effects artist Ray Erlenborn, who was the voice of "Winnie the Pooh's" Rabbit, died June 4 in West Hills, Calif. due to complications of a bacterial infection. He was 92.
Erlenborn started singing at the age of 3 and at age six he hit the vaudeville circuit with Hugo Hamlin's Proteges. From there he segued to a Pantages vaudeville tour with Dodo Reid and Buddy Erlen. He starred in the "Winnie Winkle" silent comedies as Spike of the Rinkeydink Gang.
After his tour with Pantages, he began singing in radio and had a weekly show on KGFJ. He also sang in "Harold Teen" for Warner Bros. and "Cowboy Medicine Show" starring Roy Rogers at Republic.
In addition to the voice of Rabbit, he did animal voices for the 1967 "Doctor Dolittle" starring Rex Harrison and for the "Crusader Rabbit" cartoons.
He worked for CBS for many years, doing sound effects and laugh track dubbing for shows including "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "Sonny and Cher" and "The Carol Burnett Show."
In 1977, he retired from CBS and appeared in dinner theater and civic light opera as Captain Andy in "Show Boat."
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Friday, June 01, 2007 ◦
Renowned Argentine guitarist-composer Cacho Tirao, a former member of the legendary Quinteto Astor Piazzolla and then a hugely successful solo artist, died yesterday morning after a heart stroke. He was 66.
Widely regarded as Argentina's foremost "guitar ambassador" around the world, the musician, born Oscar Emilio Tirao on April 5, 1941, in the Greater Buenos Aires district of Berazategui, started to play guitar at age five, making his debut at 6 on a radio show.
Apart from his stint with Piazzolla, Tirao also performed with other prestigious ensembles, such as the orchestras led by Osvaldo Tarantino, Dino Saluzzi and Rodolfo Mederos. Tirao even got to play backup for Josephine Baker. Tirao's rich musical legacy comprises some 40 albums, one of which sold one million copies.
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