Music Week articles from July 2003

Music Week archives from July 2003

Disctronics sells to Rank in 34m [pounds sterling] deal.
July 5, 2003... Europe's largest independent CD and DVD disc manufacturer, Disctronics, has been sold to the Rank Group for more than 34m [pounds sterling]. The deal, which was announced last Friday, sees Rank's subsidiary Deluxe Global Media Services...

Windswept head quits 10-year post.
July 5, 2003... Loading independent publisher Bob Grace has left his post as Windswept Music's UK managing director a decade after setting up the London operation. Grace, one of the UK's most successful indie music publishers with signings down the years...

The Chemical Brothers have teamed up with The Flaming Lips vocalist Wayne Coyne for their next single, which will also be featured on their forthcoming best of, which is due in September through Virgin Records.
July 5, 2003... The Chemical Brothers have teamed up with The Flaming Lips vocalist Wayne Coyne for their next single, which will also be featured on their forthcoming best of, which is due in September through Virgin Records. The new song, titled The Golden...

MW to unveil new look.
July 5, 2003... Next week heralds the beginning of a new era for Music Week, with the launch of a new-look magazine and a sister website. The magazine will feature new branding created by award-winning design consultancy August alongside an increased...

Evans loses unfair dismissal case with virgin radio. (news file).
July 5, 2003... Chris Evans is facing a costly damages claim from Virgin Radio after the former presenter lost his court case, claiming 8.6m [pounds sterling] for unfair dismissal and share options. The High Court ruled that Evans had broken the terms of his...

19 group not up for sale, says Fuller. (news file).
July 5, 2003... Simon Fuller has denied reports that he is putting a slice of his 19 Group up for sale. A spokeswoman says that the mastermind behind the Pop Idol TV series, who recently announced plans to launch the I Love Music brand, is not selling any part...

Beverley Knight joins panel for radio debate on state of industry. (news file).
July 5, 2003... Parlophone signing Beverley Knight has been added to the line-up for tomorrow's (Tuesday) live Radio Two debate on the state of the UK music industry. She will be joined on the panel by Mercury Records joint managing director Steve Lillywhite,...

Dinnadge makes swich from BMG to Reader's Digest. (news file).
July 5, 2003... Richard Dinnadge has quit BMG for Reader's Digest with the task of strengthening the direct music specialist's ties with the record industry. The one-time RCA Victor Group international marketing vice president has taken up the newly-created...

Crass appointed BMG's promotions guru. (news file).
July 5, 2003... BMG's TV, radio and club promotions teams are now reporting to Alex Crass, who has been appointed vice president promotions, music division. Music division president Ged Doherty has moved quickly to cover responsibilities previously held by...

Isaac Hayes to collect lifetime achievement award. (news file).
July 5, 2003... Isaac Hayes (pictured) is to receive a lifetime achievement award at this Thursday's Diesel U-Music Awards where he will perform. Coldcut, Howie B, Electric Soft Parade and The Scratch Perverts and Arthur Baker will also play at the event at...

Juice wins commercial station of the year title. (news file).
July 5, 2003... Liverpool's Juice 107.6FM has won the ntl Commercial Radio station of the year title for stations broadcasting to more than 1m people. Xfm in London and Hallam FM in Sheffield were shortlisted at the Commercial Radio Awards event held last...

Morris named as keynote speaker for MusicWorks convention. (news file).
July 5, 2003... KaZaA boss Alan Morris has been lined up as the keynote speaker for MusicWorks, the international music convention which takes place from October 29 to November 1 in Glasgow. In addition to the KaZaA executive vice president, Grokster president...

MW playlist. (News).
July 5, 2003... P DIDDY--Let's Get III (Def Jam) Produced by Jacques Lu Cont and featuring vocals from Kelis, P Diddy's forthcoming "dance" album is the most innovative thing to happen to hip hop in years (from forthcoming album, tbc) DIDO--See The Sun...

Rebranded Marquee to reopen in September under Academy banner. (News).
July 5, 2003... National music venue operator McKenzie Group is opening a third site in the capital this September, after completing negotiations with the Marquee administrators to buy the north London club. However, McKenzie's acquisition--for an...

Meadows handed Hit 40 UK position. (News).
July 5, 2003... Former Radio One mainstream programming executive Mick Meadows has been appointed executive producer of the Hit 40 UK weekly chart show. Meadows joins production company Unique, part of UBC Media, on July 14 in the newly-created role with a...

Retailers push old releases in supermarket chart fight. (News).
July 5, 2003... Specialist music retailers are increasingly turning to back catalogue promotions, as the supermarkets grab an ever greater slice of the chart albums market, according to new statistics More than half of all album sales last year through the...

Labels switch ad budgets from press to cinema. (News).
July 5, 2003... Record companies are slashing their budgets on press advertising and ploughing their money instead into cinema and outdoor promotion, new research reveals. Labels spent 15.5m [pounds sterling] on press campaigns during 2002, 10.7% less...

'Let's do a deal,' says Aim chief as indies look towards BPI union. (News).
July 5, 2003... Aim chief executive Alison Wenham issued a "let's do a deal" challenge to the BPI last week, while also warning that an agreement remains some way off. She told her group's AGM last Tuesday that, while Aim is keen to reach agreement--with...

Exclusive sessions from Cooper Temple Clause and The Vines are to usher in Zane Lowe's first week of shows for Radio One. (News).
July 5, 2003... Exclusive sessions from Cooper Temple Clause and The Vines are to usher in Zane Lowe's first week of shows for Radio One. The Xfm presenter takes up the BBC station's 8pm to 10pm Tuesday to Thursday slot tomorrow (Tuesday) for what senior...

Estelle Morris is upbeat with her new music role. (News).
July 5, 2003... The record industry has a new champion in Government with minister for the arts Estelle Morris taking over Kim Howells' brief for the creative industries, including music. Morris, who quit as education minister last October, saying she was...

Shows in doubt as promoter goes bust. (News).
July 5, 2003... Promoter Triple A has gone into receivership, putting in doubt a number of summer concerts due to take place in Hyde Park. The promoter, which earlier this year promoted the Westlife tour, claims it is owed more than 5m [pounds sterling],...

Mixed reaction in UK to RIAA's planned lawsuit blitz on pirates. (News).
July 5, 2003... Plans by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to sue computer users in the US who illegally offer music online has met with a mixed reception in the UK. The RIAA announced last Tuesday that evidence is being collected against...

RIAA too quick to get into court. (mw comment).
July 5, 2003... The RIAA has an unusually high public profile for a music industry association. Search the internet for references to the US's premier music industry organisation and you come up with all sorts of "anti-fan" sites--"boycott-riaa", "Consumers...

X marks the spot with debut album via Virgin. (Talent).
July 5, 2003... Under the pseudonym Girls On Top, Richard X was the producer who kick-started 2001's short-lived bootleg scene into a frenzy with a host of now-classic soundclashes, including I Wanna Dance With Numbers (Whitney Houston meets Kraftwerk), Being...

Moninca storms in at number one. (US chartfile).
July 5, 2003... Plagued by personal traumas, it has taken Monica five years to assemble her third and latest album, the appropriately titled After The Storm--but it's obviously been worth the wait and it debuts atop the US album chart this week, after selling...

BMG swings into action early to promote Dido's follow-up. (International).
July 5, 2003... BMG is taking no chances with the worldwide campaign for Dido's new album Life For Rent, servicing its first single to radio two months before the track's commercial release. Despite her debut album No Angel selling around 13m copies...

A&M/Interscope key priority Butterfly Boucher is to make her UK solo debut at London's The Metro on July 31, after being introduced to media at a showcase in New York last Monday. (International).
July 5, 2003... A&M/Interscope key priority Butterfly Boucher (pictured) is to make her UK solo debut at London's The Metro on July 31, after being introduced to media at a showcase in New York last Monday. The 23-year-old Australian and her band played a...

Clubs to play key role at Popkomm. (International).
July 5, 2003... Popkomm has signed up 16 Cologne clubs to host exclusive stages during the August 14-16 event. The music industry trade show wants a more co-ordinated live programme than in previous years with venues given official status including...

IFPI and RIAA provide guides for CD plants in battle against pirates. (International).
July 5, 2003... A new front in the battle against music pirates is being opened by the IFPI and RIAA, which is supplying almost 1,000 CD plants in 70 countries with two new guides designed to reduce their exposure to piracy. The six-page IFPI's Good...

Simplyred.com in Vodafone ad link. (International).
July 5, 2003... Simplyred.com in Vodafone in Italy for a TV advertising campaign using Sunrise as its soundbed. The tie-in is extended to an offer on new Vodafone handsets in the territory, in which users are being given the option of purchasing an...

All the charts: exposure.
July 5, 2003... CD:UK/SMTV performances: Spanish Craig David; Hooray Hooray (It's A Cheeky Holiday) The Cheeky Girls; Can't Get It Back Mis-Teeq; Real Things Javine; Crazy In Love Beyonce Knowles. Final line-up 5/7/2003 POPWORLD performances: Real Things...

The official UK airplay charts: top 50.
July 5, 2003... AIRPLAY COMMENTARY BMG's Jive imprint has held the number one slot for seven weeks--first via Justin Timberlake, then R. Kelly--and has maintained a top two shut-out for six weeks, but all that changes this week, with Columbia's Beyonce...

The official UK charts: singles.
July 5, 2003... SINGLES COMMENTARY With a week-on-week decline of just 5.5% in sales to 34,300, Evanescence's debut single Bring Me To Life extends its run atop the chart to four weeks, matching the 28 day reign of its predecessor at the top, Ignition by...

The official UK charts: albums.
July 5, 2003... Beyonce's first solo album Dangerously In Love debuts emphatically at number one this week, with sales in excess of 113,000--nearly three times as many as runners-up Evanescence's Fallen. Beyonce therefore trumps bandmate Kelly Rowland, whose...

The official UK charts: specialist.
July 5, 2003... CLASSICAL ARTIST This Last Title Artist 1 [NEW] THE BEST OF THE Carreras/Domingo/ THREE TENORS Pavarotti 2 1 SHAPES Dominic Miller 3 2...

Store of the week. (Frontline).
July 5, 2003... "For the first year after we opened, we were just selling everything, but I was into R&B Band found that the shop was selling more of that than everything else. So, in the second year we decided to specialise. We don't really have any...

In-store next week: from 7/7/03. (Frontline).
July 5, 2003... Singles--Kym Marsh, Eminem, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Pink, Simply Red, Javine, Joe Budden, Blur; Albums--The Darkness, Suzanne Vega, Ocean Colour Scene, Flip & Fill, Julio Iglesias, Kings Of Leon, Extreme Euphoria Windows--Lord of the...

Sales watch: evanescence. (Frontline).
July 5, 2003... EVANESCENE: FALLEN (FORTMAN) LW Chart position: 1. Pie charts show sales by retailer type and geographical region respectively, for sales week to the end of June 14, 2003. Source: Official Charts Company. RETAILER ...

New release countdown. (Frontline).
July 5, 2003... ALBUMS This week Ashanti Chapter II (Murder Inc/Mercury); Electric Six Fire (XL); Morcheeba Parts Of The Process (EastWest); Amy Studt False Smiles (Polydor); The Thrills So Much For The City (Hut) July 7 Michelle Branch...

Nimbus returns with Terezin tribute. (Classical news).
July 5, 2003... Nimbus Records has released its first new title for almost two years, marking a significant upturn in the fortunes of the small independent classical label, which fell into receivership in October 2001. The Monmouth-based company's directors...

Mid-price first as BIS marks 30 years. (Classical news).
July 5, 2003... Adventurous and enterprising classical indie BIS celebrates its 30th anniversary in July, marking the milestone with the release of the label's first ever series of mid-price recordings. Robert von Bahr, founder of the award-winning Swedish...

Roxanna Panufnik: the Upside Down Sailor, etc. Stilgoe; Soundwood Ensemble/Campbell. (Album of the week).
July 5, 2003... ROXANNA PANUFNIK: The Upside Down Sailor, etc. Stilgoe; Soundwood Ensemble/Campbell. (Black Box BBM1089). The title of Richard Stilgoe's Upside Down Sailor comes from the story of Tony Bullimore, who spent five days trapped inside an air pocket...

Brumel: Missa "Et ecce terrae motus". Ensemble Clement Janequin; Les Sacqueboutier/Visse. (Harmonia Mundi HMC 901738).
July 5, 2003... Antoine Brumel's place in the history of music in the late Middle Ages rests securely on his large-scale mass setting for 12 voices "Et ecce terrae motus". During his lifetime (c.1460-1515) he was recognised as one of the most illustrious of...

Berlioz: Harold in Italy. Zimmermann; LSO/C. Davis. (LSO Live LS00040).
July 5, 2003... The LSO's Berlioz Odyssey with Sir Colin Davis has proved one of the highlights of the concert hall calendar in recent years and, thanks to LSO Live, has extended its reach way beyond the Barbican Centre. The latest budget-priced release was...

Krein: Songs from the Ghetto, etc. Various artists. (ASV CD DCA 1154).
July 5, 2003... Alexander Krein's Three Songs from the Ghetto are the latest pieces on this important retrospective of the Russian composer's work. They date from 1929, before the onset of Stalin's repressive regime, and reflect the confidence of a musician...

Benny Benassi Presents the Biz: Satisfaction (Data DATA58CD).
July 5, 2003... BENNY BENASSI PRESENTS THE BIZ: Satisfaction (Data DATA58CD). In the wake of Tomcraft's Loneliness arrives this thundering electro-house cut from Italy's Benassi. A catchy Speak & Spell-style vocal tops dirty, deranged Eighties-sounding synths...

Train: Calling All Angels (Columbia 1266912).
July 5, 2003... TRAIN: Calling All Angels (Columbia 1266912). Train have acceded from San Francisco coffee houses to Grammy award winners. Their latest offering sticks to their successful formula of melodic radio-friendly rock/pop that has won them a loyal...

Lisa Maffia: In Love (Independiente ISOM75MS).
July 5, 2003... [RECOMMENDED] LISA MAFFIA: In Love (Independiente ISOM75MS). Following her number two hit with All Over, So Solid's leading lady returns with this summery love song, which could pass for US R&B at its finest. Maffia's profile is building nicely...

Calexico: Alone Again or (City Slang CDS 202232).
July 5, 2003... CALEXICO: Alone Again Or (City Slang CDS 202232). This thrilling cover of the Love classic features vocals from alt.country hero Nicolai Dunger. Also featured on this EP is a stunning remix of Woven Birds by the Cinematic Orchestra, which is...

The Coral: Pass It On (Deltasonic DLTCDP013).
July 5, 2003... THE CORAL: Pass It On (Deltasonic DLTCDP013). The second single from their forthcoming second album (Magic And Medicine, released on July 28) finds The Coral in less upbeat, more reflective mood, but the now-familiar elements are otherwise all...

Ian McCulloch: Love in Veins (Cooking Vinyl FRYCD158).
July 5, 2003... IAN MCCULLOCH: Love In Veins (Cooking Vinyl FRYCD158). This single would be an average slice of rock pop if it was not for the soaring synth sound that rescues the chorus and helps to make this more of an anthemic pop ballad. Hats off to...

Bell X1: Tongue (Universal-Island CID 825).
July 5, 2003... BELL X1: Tongue (Universal-Island CID 825). Taken from the band's forthcoming album Music In Mouth, this is another blast of indie rock from the Dubtin hopefuls. The band do not fall into any particular guitar band trend, and look set to...

Haven: Tell Me (Radiate RDTCD10).
July 5, 2003... HAVEN: Tell Me (Radiate RDTCDIO). This is a rousing first cut from the guitar band's follow-up album to 2002's Between The Senses. This three-minute track gets better with repeated listens and will be supported by a one-off gig at London's...

Boysetsfire: Last Year's Nest (Wind-Up/Epic 6740382).
July 5, 2003... BOYSETSFIRE: Last Year's Nest (Wind-Up/Epic 6740382). The hardcore five-piece look set to raise their profile with this track, which is taken from their fourth album--and major label debut--Tomorrow Come Today. Working with Evanescence producer...

LC Anderson vs Psycho Radio: Right Stuff (Faith & Hope FHCD039).
July 5, 2003... [RECOMMENDED] LC ANDERSON VS PSYCHO RADIO: Right Stuff (Faith & Hope FHCD039). Nothing to do with the New Kids On The Block Eighties pop smash of the same name, this is one of the sexiest cuts to hit the dancefloor this year. It is a fine...

Harry: Follow Me (Dirty World/Telstar DWRCD006).
July 5, 2003... HARRY: Follow Me (Dirty World/Telstar DWRCDO06). The scantily clad rock/pop/goth Blondie look alike potentially has a Top Five hit in her but, unfortunately, this single, the second from her debut album The Trouble With... Harry, is not likely...

Serafin: Day by Day (Taste TMCDS5006).
July 5, 2003... [RECOMMENDED] SERAFIN: Day By Day (Taste TMCDS5006). Serafin's second single is rather good and their guitar sound, which straddles Blur/Foo Fighters territory, is a welcome addition to the rock scene. The band gear up for a busy summer, with...

Inspiral Carpets: Come Back Tomorrow (Mute DUNG31CD).
July 5, 2003... INSPIRAL CARPETS: Come Back Tomorrow (Mute DUNG31CD). With the band on the festival route, this upbeat psychedelic track looks set to be hazily yet fondly remembered. The single also contains two previously unreleased tracks and is featured on...

Alkaline Trio: We've Had Enough (Vagrant Records 980 9023).
July 5, 2003... ALKALINE TRIO: We've Had Enough (Vagrant Records 980 9023). Influenced by punk luminaries such as The Damned and the Ramones, this US band have conjured up an impressive and melodic set of angst-ridden punk on their fifth album, Good Mourning....

Jane's Addiction: Just Because (Parlophone 5921972).
July 5, 2003... JANE'S ADDICTION: Just Because (Parlophone 5921972). This is the first single to be taken from the forthcoming Bob Ezrin-produced album, Stray and is the first Jane's Addiction material in more than a decade. This track riffs large without...

The Polyphonic Spree: Soldier Girl (679 Recordings 679L014CD).
July 5, 2003... [RECOMMENDED] THE POLYPHONIC SPREE: Soldier Girl (679 Recordings 679L014CD). Released as part of an EP last year after a brief time gaining deserved notoriety, the band re-release their trademark track which, rather predictably, is mightily...

Martina Topley-Bird: Quixotic (Independiente ISOM34CD).
July 5, 2003... MARTINA TOPLEY-BIRD: Quixotic (Independiente ISOM34CD). The long anticipated-and delayed-debut album from Tricky's erstwhile lyrical foil sees a welcome return from one of the UK's best vocalists. Quixotic is a spirited, sultry and musically...

The Star Spangles: Bazooka!!! (Parlophone 5902440).
July 5, 2003... THE STAR SPANGLES: Bazooka!!! (Parlophone 5902440). The cover picture for this album was taken by one-time Johnny Thunders manager Lee Black Childers, which is not surprising given the contents of the album. One hopes that the similarities are...

The Sleepy Jackson: Lovers (Virgin CDVIR208).
July 5, 2003... THE SLEEPY JACKSON: Lovers (Virgin CDVIR208). This first full-length album will be welcomed by lovers of all things alt.country. Tracks such as Acid In My Heart and Morning Bird are beautiful and well-crafted and the judicious use of the pedal...

Lisa Marie Presley: To Whom it May Concern (EMI CDLMP01).
July 5, 2003... LISA MARIE PRESLEY: To Whom It May Concern (EMI CDLMP01). Since birth, Presley has been shrouded in media interest and this album is a retaliation to those who have dismissed her talent. Her music now stands alone, exhibiting honesty through...

The Warlocks: Phoenix (Mute CITYROCK6CD).
July 5, 2003... THE WARLOCKS: Phoenix (Mute CITYROCK6CD). Retro-style rock'n'roll riffs are set off against Hammond organs, feedback flashes and doped-out vocals on this 10-track set. Current single Shake The Dope Out, the first track on this album, has been...

One Minute Silence: One Lie Fits All (Taste TMCD 1006).
July 5, 2003... [RECOMMENDED] ONE MINUTE SILENCE: One Lie Fits All (Taste TMCD 1006.) This third album from the underrated One Minute Silence should put them well and truly on the map. It is full of sparkling muscular rock workouts bursting with enthusiasm,...

Love: the Forever Changes Concert (Snapper SMACD 868).
July 5, 2003... LOVE: The Forever Changes Concert (Snapper SMACD 868). Hailed as a classic in the late Sixties, Forever Changes regularly appears in best album of all time lists, mostly down to the incomparable Alone Again Or single. This live performance from...

Pedro: Pedro (Melodic MELO 018).
July 5, 2003... PEDRO: Pedro (Melodic MELO 018) For someone so prolific, James Rutledge has taken an awful long time to deliver his debut album. The wait has been justified and there is a poised elegance here that will outlast the folktronica tag. Pedro has...

DM & Jemini Ghetto Pop life (Lex LEX010CD).
July 5, 2003... DM & JEMINI Ghetto Pop life (Lex LEX010CD). This is perhaps Lex's least leftfield album to date, which is not necessarily a bad thing. New York MC Jemini and DJ Danger Mouse have produced a brilliant album of widescreen, buoyant hip hop with...

Directorsound: Redemptive Strikes (Geographic GEOG 20CD).
July 5, 2003... DIRECTORSOUND: Redemptive Strikes (Geographic GEOG 20CD). This is a truly unique debut from Nick Palmer, an obviously talented multi-instrumentalist--with the emphasis on "mental". It is an endearing cacophony: bar-room pianos wrestle with...

Various: Sniffin' Glue (Sanctuary CMFCD764).
July 5, 2003... VARIOUS: Sniffin' Glue (Sanctuary CMFCD764). Fanzine founder Mark Perry has compiled 24 tracks he feels best represents the movement in its infancy and, save for a couple of doubtful tracks which owe more to the pub rock scene than punk, he is...

Jetscreamer: Starhead (Bella Union BELLACD43P).
July 5, 2003... JETSCREAMER: Starhead (Bella Union BELLACD43P). This Texan three-piece serve up a challenging yet rewarding brew of punk rock blues, which sounds something like Sonic Youth colliding with (Bella Union labelmates) Lift To Experience.

A Tribe Called Quest: Hits, Rarities & Remixes (Jive 82876543482).
July 5, 2003... A TRIBE CALLED QUEST: Hits, Rarities & Remixes (Jive 82876543482). Jive dips into the Tribe archives for the second time to offer an alternative to the Anthology collection, pulling in soundtrack-only cuts such as Same 01' Thing and Glamour &...

Various: Bass Instinct (Botchit & Scarper BOS2CDPL018).
July 5, 2003... VARIOUS: Bass Instinct (Botchit & Scarper BOS2CDPL018). This "7 Deadly Sinz Of Dex n'FX" compilation sees R-Kidz & Noize roughing the listener up with a selection of breakbeat bruisers from Freq Nasty, Si Begg and their own Lawgiverz guise....

Manic Street Preachers: Lipstick Traces (A Secret History of Manic Street Preachers) (Epic 5123862).
July 5, 2003... MANIC STREET PREACHERS: Lipstick Traces (A Secret History Of Manic Street Preachers) (Epic 5123862). This is a 35track double CD of the band's B-sides and 15 covers including Last Christmas, Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Bright Eyes and Wrote For...

Nitin Sawhney: Human (V2 VVR1021852).
July 5, 2003... [RECOMMENDED] NITIN SAWHNEY: Human (V2 VVR1021852). Sawhney's sixth album is another Intoxicating blend of western pop with Eastern influences and is wholly written and produced by the man himself. The album has moments of genuine beauty and a...

... Diary ... diary ... (Jazz).
July 5, 2003... The excellent London-based promoters J-Noir have another cracking show at the Stratford Circus on July 26, featuring Eska Mtungwazi, Soweto Kinch and Abram Wilson (pictured)... Also in the offing is a free jazz festival in Golden Square, Soho,...

Awards provide jazz with annual pat on the back. (Jazz).
July 5, 2003... Awards shows, like Channel Four programmes about soul music, are often viewed as something of a necessary evil. At best, they prompt debate and promote sales. At worst, they misfire entirely, sending the statuettes to the wrong people while...

Jean-Michel Pilc: Cardinal Points (Dreyfus 0366492FDM).
July 5, 2003... Out now. French pianist Pilc is a wild card; a man given to torrid bouts of free playing as well as bewitchingly beautiful themes that reflect a love of both chamber music delicacy and Ellingtonian sophistication. Pilc and his regular trio of...

Madlib: Shades Of Blue--Madlib Invades Blue Note (Blue Note 5364472).
July 5, 2003... Out now. At first sight this is US3 for the millennium; a hip hop producer is given a free run of Blue Note's vaults to create breakbeat heaven from classic albums by Gene, Wayne, Herbie, Ronnie, Donald et al. Madlib, the man behind surrealist...

Christine Tobin You Draw The Line (Babel BDV2327).
July 5, 2003... CHRISTINE TOBIN You Draw The Line (Babel BDV2327). Out now. You Draw The Line sees Tobin hit what is arguably the best form of her career; this is an album of sustained quality that shows the singer in an imperious mood both as composer and...

Loren Stillman: How Sweet It Is (Nagel Heyer NHCD2031).
July 5, 2003... Out now. Newcomer Stillman is an alto saxophonist who has had the likes of established stars such as Joe Lovano tipping him for big things and it's easy to see why from this striking debut. Stillman has a delicate, fragile tone a la Lee Konitz,...

Reissues.
July 5, 2003... The belle of the ball this month is Jimmy Giuffre's long lost treasure from 1973 Night Dance (Candid). The consensus may be that the highpoint of clarinetist/ saxophonist Giuffre's career is 3, a breathtaking proto-ambient album. This gem of a...