Description: Here we have for your consideration a truly one-of-a-kind CD, a product of the twisted imaginations of jazz composer MICHAEL MANTLER and two Nobel Prize-winning writers, avant-garde author SAMUEL BECKETT and playwright HAROLD PINTER: No Answer / Silence, a German import double CD issued in 2000. This set compiles two stunning Mantler LPs from 1974 and 1976, both released by Michael's own Watt label. No Answer sets two excerpts from Samuel Beckett (taken from his novel How It Is) to a dark, haunting soundtrack performed by Carla Bley (piano, clavinet, organ), Jack Bruce (electric bass) and Don Cherry (trumpet), with Beckett's words sung and intoned by Bruce. It's a terrifyingly bleak piece of music that makes most Goth music sound downright silly, a good match for the jet-dark premise of the novel. (The Penguin Guide to Jazz calls it "scouringly nihilistic," intended as a compliment.) The even odder companion piece, Silence, is a musical rendering of a Harold Pinter play of the same name. Its three speaking roles are enacted by Carla Bley, Kevin Coyne and Robert Wyatt, with music provided by Carla Bley (piano, organ), Chris Spedding (guitar), Ron McClure (bass), Clare Maher (cello) and Robert Wyatt (percussion). The "actors" mostly sing their lines, though not to any rhythm -- this piece is musical, but the play is definitely not. Like the Beckett piece, Silence is grim, but with occasional flashes of extremely dark humor. All in all, this is a fascinating set, the successful attempt of a great musician / composer to take jazz music into utterly new territory. The 28-page CD booklet features photos and the complete texts for both pieces. Both discs show slight wear, but look great and play flawlessly. Track list DISC 1: No Answer Number Six, Part One Number Six, Part Two Number Six, Part Three Number Six, Part Four Number Twelve, Part One Number Twelve, Part Two Number Twelve, Part Three Number Twelve, Part Four DISC 2: Silence I Walk With My Girl I Watch The Clouds Is It Curiously Hot When I Run Sometimes I See People Around Me Sits The Night She Was Looking Down For Instance A Long Way After My Work Each Day On Good Evenings
Price: 25 USD
Location: Brentwood, California
End Time: 2025-02-05T07:42:52.000Z
Shipping Cost: 5 USD
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Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Artist: Michael Mantler
Format: 2xCD
Record Label: Watt
Release Title: No Answer/Silence
Genre: Jazz/Experimental
Country/Region of Manufacture: Germany
