The Grateful Dead make an unusual appearance on Flotation Device with an unusually outside fantasy on Blues for Allah in honor of its 50th anniversary, and we revisit concerts by Cecil Taylor, Tony Oxley and the Quebecois avant-rock band Miriodor thanks to new archival releases. Sofia Gubaidulina returns with the premiere recording of her Introitus piano concerto in its final version. We contrast it to Shostakovich’s final composition, the bleak and monumental Viola Sonata, in honor of the 50th anniversary of his death in 1975. We remember composer Robert Linn for his 100th birthday while marveling at the avant-garde side of his contemporary Ennio Morricone (expressed in a spasmodic piece for solo harpsichord). Djuro Zivkovic makes brass quintets sound interesting again, while Jacopo Baboni Schilingi saves money on manuscript paper by composing on nude models instead. And new improvisational perspectives by Joe McPhee, Steve Swell, Sylvain Kassap and Chad Taylor round out the playlist.
