REVIEWS:
-The Pillory by Jasun Martz-
"Everything about The Pillory is fascinating. It’s an intoxicating, exhilarating experience... it’s genuinely unforgettable. I can’t praise The Pillory highly enough." --Simon Cummings, 5:4
"TOP ALBUM PICKS- BILLBOARD RECOMMENDED"--Billboard Magazine
"The Pillory eventually builds in intensity to what sounds like an entire orchestra and choir falling down a very long stairway to hell. The perfect soundtrack for the end of the world."--Reels of Dreams Unrolled
"You are in for a shock. It’s THAT epic and that avant garde. It’s definitely more like a piece of art than a standard piece of music. So if you do want a challenge, be prepared. You’ve been warned. --Progressive Music Planet
"The greatest Mellotron album ever recorded. The stunning tron choir near the end will give you goosebumps and send you into another world. The most influential, best selling, critically acclaimed Mellotron symphony of all time." --Mellotron Music
There are hundreds and hundreds of international reviews and critical acclaim for The Pillory.
Here are some of our favorites: (Full reviews follow these excerpts so scroll way down):
When composer, musician, synthesizer programmer Jasun Martz was touring with FRANK ZAPPA on his 1977/78 world tour, Martz was also composing his first symphony- THE PILLORY. The avant-garde, contemporary classical, experimental, prog rock, Mellotron masterpiece featured The Neoteric Orchestra- over 40 musicians (including members of Zappa's band). The recording has been released on 5 different labels through the years and is considered a legendary release. It's an absolutely amazing piece of experimental music. A MUST for your collection!
"Not only does Jasun Martz compose, score, conduct and play synthesizers, mellotrons, grand piano, organ, saxophones, vocals and electronics, but he also has some 40 other musicians helping out on this. The result sounds something like the soundtrack to a Roman movie, with endless armies marching across the plains. Best cuts: All of it."
--Billboard Magazine, USA
"An album that's achieved legendary status."
--Melody Maker, UK
"We consider it one of the best and most exciting albums of all time. Words and superlatives fail to describe this masterpiece. Everything is conducted by the genius of Jasun Martz."
--APM, Sweden
Listed "Top 25 albums of all time."
--Expose Writers choice, Michael Draine, USA
"For Mellotron aficionados, this is almost the Holy Grail absolutely gorgeous. This is quite suburb, I urge you to track down a copy. More than worthy of your time."
--Andy Thompson, Planet Mellotron, UK
"Best progressive rock albums in the world...ever".
--Greiger Index, USA
"Hypnotic, overpowering, at times disturbing, but always with an ear for fresh sound material. If you're into new music, you may not be able to escape The Pillory."
--Keyboard Magazine, USA
"The Pillory is one of the most remarkable pieces I have ever experienced."
--Chris den Daas, The Hague, Holland
"The Pillory is absolutely one of the most remarkable recordings I have ever heard, dark and beautiful at the same time."
--Nicklas Berg, Anekdoten, Sweden
"Unique and uncompromising, this masterpiece of neo-classical avant-garde rock stands alone. The music is haunting, almost frightening at times, like some pagan ritual, yet soothing and surreal with overt dreamlike qualities. Highly recommended!"
--Expose/USA
"The dynamics work together create a vision of awesome power, with elements of subtlety and extravagance, like a soundtrack to the passage to heaven or hell or both.
--Gnosis
"Jasun Martz is probably not a name too many people would recognize, but millions have heard some of the man's work. Martz has played with Michael Jackson and Frank Zappa. While Martz has certainly contributed to the work of some very famous musicians, none of these achievements compare to what should be Martz's biggest claim to fame: The Pillory... (The Pillory) eventually builds in intensity to what sounds like an entire orchestra and choir falling down a very long stairway to hell. The perfect soundtrack for the end of the world. A startlingly original work of new music that draws from very diverse sources for inspiration."
--Reels of Dreams Unrolled/USA
"There are some incredible mellotron passages as well as some phenomenal playing from the Orchestra. Even today it sounds fresh and exhilarating."
--Music Uncovered/USA
"Jasun Martz and the Neoteric Orchestra are fantastic! The Pillory is a very powerful piece of music."
--Gibraltar
"Totally unbelievable from start to finish. A monumental recording!"
--progressiveears.com / USA
"Along with a cast of thousands, Jasun Martz creates an experimental work with a grand orchestral sound. Old time prog-rock lives."
--CMJ /USA
"A well-impressive re-release. The Pillory is a 44 minute orchestral piece of complexity and power."
--A Little Angry / U.K.
"Outstanding moments of dark, atmospheric music. The Pillory is 44 minutes of absorbing, subtly, slowly addictive, soundscapes that no mellotron junkie should miss."
--Facelift/U.K.
"Larger than life, extremely dark, and exaltant, dissonant and vast."
--New Sonic Archectiture
"A classic perhaps the most "progressive" album ever put out by an independent US musician. Jasun's opus reveals new levels of complexity and instrumental sophistication."
--Eurock / USA
"The music is very experimental."
--Background Magazine / HOLLAND
"Die-in-the-wool prog heads will love the use of the Mellotron, including two extended solos."
--Dean Suzuki/USA
"Dynamic and diverse it really is an amazing piece of music."
--Feedback, Kev Rowland
"For fans of Stravinsky, the neo-classical avant-garde scene and Eddie Jobson completists."
--Progression/USA
"'The Pillory' is a timeless electro-acoustic orchestral work. After all these years the music still remains actual, it could have been written now."
--VITAL/USA
"The Pillory is one of the most interesting albums of the year! Jasun Martz and his 40 piece orchestra create an exhilarating piece that recalls influences as diverse as Stockhausen and Zappa. Excellent!"
--Mt. Olympus Reports, Seattle
"The Pillory is more than only electronic music. It's the perfect mixture between electronics, contemporary and progressive elements. It has a similar dynamic force as Stravinsky's Sacre du Printemps. The mellotron improvisations belong to the best things someone ever did with this instrument."
--Wolfgang Fenchel, Berlin
"Its been a long time since an American has come up with an adventurous and important work in the field of experimental classical/jazz. The Pillory erupts with extravagance and flows with simplicity. Fans of Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, King Crimson and Van der Graaf are urged to invest their time here."
--Jem, USA
"The Pillory is a tour de force of dramatic surging musical episodes that conjure up the most vivid mental imagery. The sometimes eerie, sometimes violent, sometimes meditative tone poems masterfully arranged by Martz makes this haunting piece unforgettable!"
--Collage Magazine, San Francisco
"The Pillory is an incredible, adventurous work that deserves the highest praise and recognition."
--Lotus, England
"The Pillory is a major musical achievement!"
--Bill Milosz, WORT radio, Madison, Wisconsin
"Virtuoso Jasun Martz keeps the listener dazed and confused with his electrifying mastery. Truly a one-man band, he reveals his mastery as a multi-talented musician and show some true rock-n-roll in his own unique way."
--The Midnight Express, USA
"The Pillory (the cover of which is graced with original art by Jean Dubuffet) begins with a whisper and works up to a roar! Very effective and spooky."
--Cadence Magazine, USA
"The Pillory is a colorful collage of drama, imagery, new wave and much, much more."
--Jack Burke, Burlington Standard Press & syndicated columnist, USA
"A powerful symphony in a contemporary idiom."
--Synthesizer Exchange, USA
"The Pillory is perhaps the most remarkable American example of "formal" avant-garde composition. The above claim is not to be taken lightly. (The Pillory) is a revelation that goes far beyond any boundaries that one might assign to it. The enigmatic solo mellotron simply has to be heard to be believed! The best of Stockhausen-type composition is here joined to a remarkable haunting originality that makes The Pillory a landmark avant-garde work on any level, and makes Martz's future well worth following."
--Surface Noise Magazine, USA
"The Pillory is enormous in size and concept."
--Walrus, USA
"Some of the most revolutionary music in a long, long time. Superb supporting cast featuring Eddie Jobson (Zappa, UK, Tull, Roxy Music) and Ruth Underwood, (Zappa) help Jasun give full rein to his keyboard talents which are formidable. It's years ahead of most all other U.S. electronic artists. Jasun has fashioned music that transcends pop limits and approaches neo-classical music. A swirling symphony of sound. An important release."
--Eurock Magazine, USA
"I believe this to be one of the foremost release in the past decade. A work of pure genius."
-Daniel Ace, New York
"The Pillory is really amazing. A definitely great album."
--Francois Grapard, Radio Trait-D Union, France
"A mellotron masterpiece!"
--DNA Magazine, England
"The Pillory is a grand adventure, appreciable at numerous levels."
--Another Room Magazine, USA
"There are moments of beauty and bombast interesting to listen and imagine what The Pillory story could be. The whole ensemble is impressive."
--OP Magazine, USA
"Along with a cast of thousands, Jasun Martz creates an experimental work with grand orchestra sound."
--Goldmine, On & Progressive Media Magazine
"Very ambitious music that will captivate anyone who's into experimental electronic music."
--Neumusik Magazine, England
"The Pillory begins where Eno leaves off. Jasun Martz has succeeded in recording an album that is both new and exciting yet quite accessible. The Pillory is an extremely important, powerful and timely release."
--The Los Angeles Forum Times
"The Pillory's real effectiveness lay with the sheer intensity of layers upon layers of percussion, choir, mellotron, horns, woodwinds, synthesizers and strings. Martz show an intelligent approach compositionally and an effective technique for getting his ideas across."
--Synapse International Electronic Music Magazine
***** (highest rating)
"Hey, this thing cooks! It's hot! It's amazing! We love it. What else can we say. Don't be a jerk, buy it!"
--ART/NON ART Magazine, USA
"The Pillory is extremely pertinent to the turbulent character of our troubled times. Deeply introspective as a hole, it is fraught with an errant energy that occasionally erupts with apocalyptic violence, which maintains a strict tension, primarily melancholy in mood, throughout the length of the piece. The Pillory is grand in its dramatic scope, and profoundly humanal in its empathetic gesture against oppression. I rank this composition along with the best of Legitti, Crumb, Stockhausen and Penderecki."
--Anthony DiMichele, Seattle, Washington
"The idea of combining large doses of Mellotron with choruses and orchestra was the winning one: the resulting anomaly was of strange freshness and the apoptosis was interrupted, now by the violin of Eddie Jobson, now chubby chorus, now by crazy drums by Ruth Underwood and Paul Whitehead, seemed endless...the strength of music, the idea itself, how the musical concept can be decisive if it comes out of the head of a genius."
--The Jargon King for DeBaser
"The most serious example of the academic avant-garde, worthy of embodiment under the arches of the conservatory. A deep and comprehensive release, designed for connoisseurs."
--Sergei Uvaroff, Sound Voyager / Russia
FULL REVIEWS:
5:4 (UK)
Jasun Martz – “Solo Exhibition – A Retrospective: The Pillory”
"Everything about The Pillory is fascinating. It’s an intoxicating, exhilarating experience... it’s genuinely unforgettable. I can’t praise The Pillory highly enough." --Simon Cummings
http://smarturl.it/SoloXReview5against4
Everything about The Pillory is fascinating. It undergoes what might be thought of as a false start, a slow dronal fade-in, focused around parallel bandwidths with some juddering and beats, leading to a sudden crescendo up to an inscrutable electronic accent that causes the music to shatter, twiddly flute and bell shards splintering off into nothing. So, two minutes in, the work begins again, slower this time, and over its new deep drone there’s now a large throng of voices audible in the middle distance, singing, calling, ululating, whistling, howling. There’s an enormous air of portent, the kind of expectant clamour prior to a long-awaited event, which here becomes clarified into a vast congregation, the voices letting rip in a repeated chant of “hi hi hi hi hi…”. i’ve rarely heard such an arresting start to a composition.
Though it briefly takes on some superficial qualities of minimalism, its cycling syncopations are moderated by the sense that they’re part of the machinations of an elaborate ritual, and soon enough (though unexpectedly), the symphony passes into a Shostakovich-sized episode of string-led ruminating. It’s tempting to hear music like this as individualistic, the product of personal introspection, but in the wake of the opening it instead speaks more as a kind of elegiac meditation for the multitude. Martz slowly dissolves it into a spine-tingling collection of faint, overtone-like whispers and whistles, indicating a shift in focus not unlike the one in the last movement of The Battle, away from conventional clarity in favour of more vague (in a good way), exploratory ideas. We arrive in a lengthy percussion episode which, considering the ritualistic environment we’ve been in, sounds like a part in the liturgy set aside for improvisational expression. That’s not shoe-horning it into a narrative, there’s an earnestness in the way the instruments are tickled, teased and toyed with (it’s hard not to hear them as being caressed) that makes this episode sound entirely of a piece with what’s gone before. The ritual continues; one can almost imagine it all taking place beside a gigantic fire in the dead of night.
In less disciplined hands, all this could become terribly self-indulgent. While i do think that’s a criticism one can make about a few parts of The Battle (though it’s interesting to note that Martz seems to have drastically reduced the length of that piece; on its 2005 release, the last movement seems to have been nearly twice as long), it never becomes that in The Pillory. The period of meticulous improvisation has the effect of energising and exercising the congregation, and in a remarkable sequence conveying the most fabulously vivid atmosphere, the music builds, grows, intensifies and densifies, instigating an orgiastic eruption of sheer Bacchanalia. What makes this particular cacophonous frenzy so fascinating is the way its density – details everywhere – is seemingly ‘modulated’ by the shouts and calls of the voices, focusing everything into brief but unified accents, suggesting that beneath the apparent chaos, everything is fundamentally connected and, more importantly, communicative. Noise is capable of remarkable nuance and subtlety, and not just in this piece, Martz demonstrates real skill in the handling of moments like this. Considering, as i remarked earlier, that these are (or at least, sound) just as colossal if not even more so than the kind of onslaughts Paul Dolden creates, this is no small achievement. The congregation collapses, bells ring out, all is hushed, and the ritual concludes with a huge, climactic episode for full organ. Channelling a weird mixture of Jean-Michel Jarre and Gustav Holst, it ushers the symphony away into the dark.
i can’t praise The Pillory highly enough. It’s an intoxicating, exhilarating experience, and in the nearly 40 years since it was first released still sounds impressively new and fresh (and there’s absolutely nothing about the sound quality to suggest its age). At a mere quarter of the length, the 11-minute live version on the disc not surprisingly sounds a bit underwhelming, though it manages to retain exactly the same atmosphere, and in some respects – due to being a live performance – even manages to heighten them somewhat. The fifteen minutes of ‘mellotron outtakes’ may seem like the kind of ‘bonus track’ padding one encounters much too often, but as well as shedding light on the way the piece was composed, hearing this element in isolation is really quite wonderful, sounding not unlike a ’70s underground horror movie soundtrack, which only reinforces the ritualistic qualities heard in The Pillory.
There’s a lot to take in and consider across these six retrospective discs but, as i hope will be clear, there’s a lot to get excited about. i’m glad finally to have become acquainted with Jasun Martz’s work, not least because it’s completely unlike the majority of music one usually encounters. As i commented at the start, there’s a lot of overlap between the discs which at first is all a bit head-spinning. From the perspective of buying the discs, i would unhesitatingly recommend The Pillory and The Battle, and you’ll also need Corrosion for the superb final movement of The Battle, while Chroma has a nice collection of the better small-scale works. Alchemy and Non-Finitoare less engaging generally, though the former contains the longest portion of Disintegration (though it might be worth waiting for the disc dedicated to this work to be released). All the CDs can be ordered from Jasun Martz’s website, and digital versions are available to download and stream via his Bandcamp site (unfortunately, individual tracks can’t be purchased, which considering the number of overlaps and duplications is a real shame). If you’re going to get just one, go with The Pillory; it’s genuinely unforgettable.
Progressive Music Planet (USA)
Jasun Martz – “Solo Exhibition – A Retrospective: The Pillory”
"You are in for a shock. Well you are in for many."
Originally released in 1978, “The Pillory” was the 42 minute experiment by the multi-talented Jasun Martz. Now all these years later it is part of a box set covering the many different works of this eclectic composer and artist. All of Martz’s compositions are challenging it would seem. I tried my hand at a few of the discs and he does whatever he wants for sure. “The Pillory” was the one piece that I needed to explore.
First off, it’s a piece written for the mellotron along with other instruments and also a full orchestra (including Eddie Jobson, Paul Whitehead, Ruth Underwood and 40 others). If you are expecting something traditionally prog, you are in for a shock. Well you are in for many. This is a 42 minute journey that honestly was one of the scariest sounding pieces of music this side of Scott Walker. In fact, if Martz and Walker to join up, the world will be a very scary place.
The track evokes so many emotions while never doing anything overtly traditional. Sure the orchestra, specifically Jobson’s violin, is somewhat traditional sounding. But since Jobson and Martz played with Frank Zappa, this music is definitely more along the lines of “what would Frank do.” It’s not background music, and in fact you might not survive the whole thing in one sitting (or two!). “The Pillory” is one of the most challenging things that I’ve listened to, without a doubt.
The question is do I recommend it? That’s difficult. I am not sure how often that I am physically capable of listening to this piece. It’s THAT epic and that avant garde. It’s definitely more like a piece of art than a standard piece of music. So if you do want a challenge, be prepared. You’ve been warned. Check out, a man who is more than just a musician on Jasun Martz -“Solo Exhibition – A Retrospective.”
Expose No. 6 / Gnosis (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"Unique and uncompromising music, this masterpiece of neo-classical avant-garde rock stands alone."
"Mellotron fans take note. Unique and uncompromising music, this masterpiece of neo-classical avant-garde rock stands alone. Martz began composing "The Pillory" around 1976, assembling his 40 piece Neoteric Orchestra, taking it to recording sessions in Los Angeles shortly after. The project was interrupted as Martz joined Frank Zappa's touring group in mid '77, but things got back on track the following year, finishing up with sessions in Los Angeles, New York, and London. Among the 40 players are Zappa alumni Eddie Jobson (violin, synthesizer) and Ruth Underwood (marimba, concert bells, implemental percussion). Martz plays organ, Mellotron, synthesizer, grand piano, flute, sax, recorder, gongs and numerous other things. Other names of note include Paul Whitehead (yes, the album cover artist - on percussion and bowed cymbal) and John Luttrelle (woodwinds, piano, synth). So much for the facts, on to the music. The Pillory is one forty-four minute piece composed of nine movements. The music defies any easy description, yet some comparisons might be in order. Imagine Glenn Branca's "Devil Choirs" meeting Univers Zero's "Heresie" in the mythical land of Mellotronia, injected with Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", and sprinkled with elements of Stockhausen and Zappa. The music is haunting, almost frightening at times, like some pagan ritual, yet soothing and surreal, with overt dreamlike qualities. Vocals are used throughout some of the movements in wordless choral/chanting arrangements. All these dynamics work together to create a vision of awesome power, with elements of subtlety and extravagance, like a soundtrack to the passage to heaven or hell or both. This is challenging music, yet the hook of the ever-present Mellotron offers a degree of accessibility, and ultimately I think most would have no trouble appreciating it.
As a bonus track, the twenty-plus minute "In Light In Dark In Between" has been added, a four-part piece featuring Martz, Jobson and Luttrelle only on piano, violin and clarinet respectively. Most of this was released about twelve years ago on Eurock's "American Music Compilation" vinyl, although it was recorded in roughly the same time period as "The Pillory". Because of the smaller three-piece line-up and lack of Mellotron and orchestras, the result is a far starker neo-chamber sound in the Stravinsky vein, highly improvisational, and very unlike "The Pillory".
Overall, a most welcome reissue, and the comprehensive liner notes, including photos and interview rounds it all out nicely. Highly recommended.
--Peter Thelen
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A Little Angry (United Kingdom)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"A 44 minute orchestral piece of complexity and power with an obvious debt to the Mellotron."
"JASUN MARTZ - "The Pillory" (Ad Perpetuam Memoriam). A well impressive re-release. Jasun is an American musician working in the classical mould (although he joined FRANK ZAPPA's 1977 tour so he doesn't have a prissy attitude to things) who created a 40-piece orchestra (including Eddie Jobson (ROXY MUSIC - JETHRO TULL etc.) and Bill Bottrell (all sorts but including of all people, MADONNA...) the ranks) for his debut recording. It comes with a four movement extra track It starts terribly slowly but builds beautifully and neatly. The extra song is an improvisation with just Jason, Eddie Jobson and a clarinetist. It may be classical but it s also extraordinary at times It s not quite my thing but some of the instrumental flights are superb. "The Pillory" itself is a 44 minute orchestral piece of complexity and power with an obvious debt to the Mellotron. It's also got a large choir section. Description is never easy but more so here as there are no comparisons that can be made. Acoustic / electric / synthesized / classical / choral and still recognizably the creation of one man. It's a toughie. Classically progressive rock... Sort of.
--Duncan Harris
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Ork Alarm (UNITED KINGDOM)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
'The Pillory' is one of the major orchestral works of the late 20th century."
"Martz was influenced by Christian Vader's music and in 1977 he worked with Zappa. Ruth Underwood and Eddie Jobson feature on this CD. The Magma influence is clear in the early movements of this electronic-contemporary masterpiece. Martz calls it Neoteric Music. A somber start like an eerie premonition of Vader's 'Swans & Crows' leads into the thrusting section that has the dynamic force of Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring". With more than a passing resemblance to early period Univers Zero, the core inspiration must he Bartok and Penderecki. Just when the 40 piece Neoteric Orchestra are peaking, tile mood becomes meditative - almost King Crimson'esque. He manages to combine a wealth of musical styles and develop a consistent vision beyond classification (Martz calls this Lusion). There follows a long percussive passage and an ominous choral bit recalling Varese's penchant for air-raid sirens. Vander has used a similar blend of wailing voices and screaming synths to depict agony and destruction. "The Pillory" closes with an electronic chamber orchestra - Mellotron, organ and massed choir. The bonus track is a four-part improvisation for Piano, El. Violin and Clarinet 'in light in dark in between'. 'The Pillory' is one of the major orchestral works of the late 20th century. And particularly as an interesting Zeuhl variation, the first fifteen minutes are truly indispensable.
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Eurock (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"A classic perhaps the most "progressive" album ever put out by an independent US musician. Jasun's opus reveals new levels of complexity and instrumental sophistication."
"The third time is the charm for this classic perhaps the most "progressive" album ever put out by an independent US musician. Jasun's opus reveals new levels of complexity and instrumental sophistication in its digital incarnation. The swirling symphony of Mellotron and orchestrated accompaniment is transfixing as it flows from theme to theme. A quartet of chamber music recordings by the trio of Martz, Jobson and Lutrelle has been added to as a bonus A LTD. ED. from APM Sweden.
--Archie Patterson
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Reels of Dreams Unrolled (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"A startlingly original work of new music that draws from very diverse sources for inspiration."
Jasun Martz is probably not a name too many people would recognize, but millions have heard some of the man's work. Martz has played keyboards with Michael Jackson, most notably on the 1991 hit Black or White. Closer to the world of prog, Martz also once served as synthesizer player and programmer for the late Frank Zappa. While Martz has certainly contributed to the work of some very famous musicians, none of these achievements compare to what should be Martz's biggest claim to fame: The Pillory.
The Pillory is a large-scale work for an orchestra and choir. It was apparently performed live a few times and released on LP in 1978. The result is a startlingly original work of new music that draws from very diverse sources for inspiration.
The Pillory appears on record as two side-long pieces. Though no divisions are listed and both sides are merely titled "The Pillory," both sides of the LP can be said to exist in two movements each (though it has been said there are nine). A certain symmetry of composition can be observed between the two halves. The first side begins with two incredibly long, slow volume swells that may trick the listener into believing The Pillory is some kind of ambient or electronic album. These swells finally culminate in a militaristic, march-like chant in 11/8 (if a march could be in 11/8) for several vocalists that quickly calls Magma to mind. A great, slightly frantic violin solo courtesy of UK's Eddie Jobson builds even more tension as the chant continues. The second movement is dramatically different. It consists of about 10 minutes of nothing but Mellotron playing unusual, depressive sounding melodies and unpredictable chord changes.
The first half of side two mirrors the chaotic first half of side one with what sounds like random percussive noises. What sounds like several clumsy plumbers trying to repair your house's pipes eventually builds in intensity to what sounds like an entire orchestra and choir falling down a very long stairway to Hell. This section of the album fully delivers the weirdness only hinted at in the first movement. The only anchor hold of sanity within this storm of chaos and noise is provided by a very fleeting reprise of the chanting theme from the first movement, but here it is played much faster and buried deep in the mix. The end section of side two echoes the theme presented at the end of side one. A grandiose, almost "heavenly" sounding pipe organ plays similarly dense, ambiguous chords and is soon joined by a Mellotron playing the same. This movement could be the perfect soundtrack for the end of the world. Emotions like fear, wonder and a sense of resolved anticipation are implied all at once by the ambiguous sounding key in which the organ and Mellotron chords are played. The mood is majestic yet terrible.
The fact that one may perceive (correctly or not) the diverse influences of Magma, early Klaus Schulze and Lizard-era King Crimson (in the fluid mixture of jazz and classical styles) in The Pillory shows what an unusual piece of music it is. To call it mere progressive rock seems to be a severe understatement, but it's no doubt that Martz's influences and several of the musicians who performed on the piece (Ruth Underwood, Paul Whitehead) are associated with the genre. The Pillory is definitely not for everyone, but open minded prog enthusiasts will likely enjoy slowly cultivating a taste for this very cutting-edge work.
The Pillory was originally released on LP by All Ears Music. It was reissued by Ad Perpetuam Memoriam with bonus tracks on CD in the mid '90s, but that is apparently also out of print. A repeated search of Ebay or various online used record stores would be a worthwhile endeavor in leading one to this hard-to-find treasure.
--Scott Hamrick
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-Background Magazine (HOLLAND)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"The music is very experimental."
'The Pillory' by JASUN MARTZ was released on LP twice. Now there is third release of this album, this time on CD. One of the things that make this CD interesting is the fact that the vinyl copies of this album are very hard to get (I know, because I have tried to find this album for years). Another aspect concerns the line-up: not only Jasun Martz him self played with FRANK ZAPPA, also Eddie Jobson and Ruth Underwood, who are part of the Neoteric Orchestra, were former members of the Zappa band. The third interesting thing about this release is that there is one bonus track, called 'In Light, In Dark', which wasn't on the vinyl albums. But what about the music? To be honest, I don't think I will play this CD very often. The music is very experimental, not the kind of music you want to hear when you are doing the dishes for instance. Sometimes, it sounds a bit like PHILLIP GLASS, not as nervous but certainly as atonal. Worthwhile is the Mellotron though, which brings back memories of seventies' progrock. The most "melodic" (not!) piece on the CD is 'In Light. In Dark', which is a totally improvised piece of music by Martz on piano, Jobson on violin and Luttrelle on clarinet. This CD sort of completed my Jobson collection, and it might complete your ZAPPA collection, but I wouldn't recommend it to real progrock fans. Sorry.
--Milly Kusmic
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Dean Suzuki (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"Die-in-the-wool prog heads will love the use of the Mellotron, including two extended solos."
"The Pillory is one of those albums that appeared to have found a permanent home in the used record bins, the music somewhere between so-called new music (i.e., avant-garde "classical" music), progressive rock (note the participation of Eddie Jobson) and perhaps Frank Zappa (in fact, Zappa alumnus Ruth Underwood contributes her bountiful percussion skills as a member of the "Neoteric Orchestra," which performs herein). For the most part, it was dismissed and no one listened. Fortunately, the Swedish progressive label Ad Perpetuam Memoriam had the sense to reissue the album, with new cover art (but retaining the sketch by Jean Dubuffet, which has graced both of the previous issues of this album). Clearly, Martz had been listening to, or (unwittingly bumped right up against, the so-called Zeuhl aesthetic, that which is informed by the remarkably influential experimental French progressive group, Magma. This is made clear in the first half of The Pillory, with its Magmoid chorus and harmonies, repetitive structures, and overall intensity, though Martz is clearly of a more experimental (some passages are close to free jazz or free improvisation) and even classical orientation and disposition. It would seem that he has also been studying the work of Zappa (again, witness the presence of Underwood), though his music is less jazzy and rock-oriented. Still, this is more rock than it is Orff. Die-in-the-wool prog heads will love the use of the Mellotron, including two extended solos, which is idiosyncratic in its prog rock application. Ad Perpetuam Memoriam is clearly very excited about this release and has included a limited edition of a beautiful and impressive large format booklet.
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Feedback
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"Dynamic and diverse it really is an amazing piece of music."
"Jasun Martz started composing 'The Pillory' in 1976. After the premiere live performance in Los Angeles Jasun began the studio recording but was asked by Frank Zappa to join his world tour so temporarily abandoned the project. In mid 1977 Jasun moved to London to record the basic tracks and commence auditions for what would be the forty-piece Neoteric Orchestra that was led by Eddie Jobson (Jethro Tull, UK, Curved Air...). The album was released in 1978 to great critical acclaim and in July this year was finally made available on CD by the Swedish label Ad Perpetuam Memoriam. It just is not possible to put into words what this album sounds like. It is a modern classical recording, drawing heavily on Stockhausen, and takes quite a bit of listening to, but it is the overwhelming sense of power and drama that can leave the listener feeling drained at the end. Because of that I found it fairly difficult to return to, not because I didn't enjoy it, but rather that it is very demanding and emotionally powerful. The album starts very quietly and gradually builds. Jason combines the individual talents of the orchestra that he formed together with his nun Mellotron work. Dynamic and diverse it really is an amazing piece of music. To celebrate the re-release APM have added a track that has never been made fully available before. During rehearsals, Jason (on grand piano), Eddie Jobson (electric violin) and John Lutrelle (clarinet) began improvising and the resulting piece can be heard here, with no retakes, edits or overdubs. All in all an album that will definitely not appeal to everybody but to those with an open mind then here is a discovery just waiting to be made".
--Kev Rowland
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Music Uncovered (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"There are some incredible Mellotron passages as well as some phenomenal playing from the Orchestra. Even today it sounds fresh and exhilarating."
Jasun Martz plays keys, sax, flute, recorder and percussion. He is backed by The Neoteric Orchestra, which has 40 musicians and features Eddie Jobson (violin, synth), Ruth Underwood (marimba, concert bells, percussion), and Paul Whitehead (percussion, bowed cymbal) among others. Jasun began composing The Pillory and assembling The Neoteric Orchestra in 1976. In July of 1976, The Pillory premiered live, the only performance with a full orchestra. It was finally released in 1978, and re-released in 1981. The cover is by Jean Dubuffet, considered one of the world's greatest modern artists, and was created especially for The Pillory. This reissue features an additional composition, 'in light in dark in between', a live, four-movement improvisation by Jasun (grand piano), Eddie Jobson (electric violin), and John Luttrelle (clarinet). It was recorded about the same time as The Neoteric Orchestra rehearsals. The first three movements were released on Eurock records (1982). Movement 4 are previously unreleased. According to Jasun, "The Pillory" is a major electro-acoustic orchestral work that is an intense and complex composition." It is a nine movement piece, pre, birth (death), realization, confinement, adaptation, verge, rebellion, judgment, and death (birth)". This is an extremely difficult work. It took me a while to get used to it, and a little longer to like. There are some incredible Mellotron passages as well as some phenomenal playing from the Orchestra. Even today it sounds fresh and exhilarating.
--Hesselt-Van-Dinter
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Progression (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"For fans of Stravinsky, the neo-classical avant-garde scene and (Eddie) Jobson completists."
This album is being touted as a long-lost work of conceptual art-rock, but beware: Even though it was recorded in 1978, lists Eddie Jobson in the credits, and employs a 39-piece orchestra/choir, The Pillory owes more to experimental neo-classicism than prog. Musically, it essentially consists of two parts an ambient minimalist orchestral passage that comes across as quite dark and foreboding, and a second portion consisting of avant-garde chamber music. These compositions are especially curious considering that Martz is a multi-instrumentalist specializing in keyboards that once toured with Frank Zappa. Yet it's only fair to mention that in the CD booklet, Martz notes that he and Zappa "are from quite different worlds," musically speaking. Quite true, as it stands, there's nothing on this disc even remotely suggesting progressive rock. Strictly for fans of Stravinsky, the neo-classical avant-garde scene and Jobson completists.
--John Collinge
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VITAL (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"After all these years the music still remains actual, it could have been written now."
Jasun Martz completed 'The Pillory' in 1978 with a 40-piece orchestra. 'The Pillory' is a timeless electro-acoustic orchestral work, structured into nine movements in portmanteau form, which corresponds with the overall thematic idea, the antithesis of an illusion. The tension sometimes erupts in noisy outbursts but generally the music is minimal. Several parts of 'The Pillory' are calm floating soundscapes with contemporary and progressive elements added to it. In other parts the experiment dominates and the music gets more hectic and improvised. After all these years the music still remains actual, it could have been written now.
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Fred Tomsett (USA)
"Well recommended."
Jasun Martz was synth programmer for Zappa on the 1976/77 tours, and this album was recorded the following year. FZ needless to say is mentioned in the thanks section, and amongst the photos of the music being recorded and played live at its premiere LA performance with the full orchestra is a small one of Jasun with FZ. 'The Pillory' is a dodgy sounding 1970's concept album around the theme of life and split into nine movements, though I only managed to definitely count six first time through! It's recorded with the Neoteric Orchestra, a forty-piece ensemble featuring a fourteen-piece choir, Ruth Underwood on marimba and percussion, and Eddie Jobson on solo violin and synth. Jasun himself plays most of the keyboards as well as sax, flute and some percussive. It starts and ends with just synth, and the final five minutes of side one (yes, it appeared originally on vinyl and the two parts haven't been sell taped back together again) is serious Mellotron noodling. In-between times, there are some lull orchestral rushes, and a mad freak-out section somewhere midway through side two. It's mostly pretty tuneful stuff (apart from the freak out), and Eddie Job-son adds very tasteful electric violin to a couple of parts. Mrs. Underwood is rather more prevalent, and there 'S even a guest appearance by cover designer Paul Whitehead in amongst the names. However, even better than 'The Pillory' itself are the extras tacked onto the CD, a four-part improvisation called 'In Light In Dark In Between'. This features Jasun on grand piano, Eddie Jon violin and clarinetist John Luttrelle. It's all rather splendid, very together, and at least two of the parts sound like some mad sort of scherzo than Igor Stravinsky may have penned during the Thirties. Well recommended, if only for this stuff; though 'The Pillory' isn't as bad as its initial idea may have made it seem. We may well be stocking a few copies of this, if anyone is interested.
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Roland Roque (UNITED KINGDOM)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"For me, The pillory, is indeed a true torture."
Despite a Mellotron overflow prestigious participants (Eddie Jobson on violin) this solo project is too experimental, too weird to please even a curious prog ear addicted to King Crimson's experiences. Sorry, I do prefer clear blue skies to asylum atmospheres. For me, The pillory, is indeed a true torture.
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Gibraltar (USA)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"The Pillory is an imaginative avant voyage of timeless quality."
'The Pillory' is a major electro-acoustic orchestral work that is an intense and complex composition. The concept is a perpetual one which takes place not necessarily in our past, present or future, nor within our current perceptions of time, space reality or consciousness. The music is symmetrically scored to correlate with the metaphysical ideas. It's structured into nine movements in portmanteau form (all movements in one), which corresponds with the overall thematic idea: The metamorphosis of 'lusion' through nine points of an existence--lusion is a work I coined to express that which is real, the antithesis of an illusion." -- Jasun Martz
In a 1981 interview, Martz admits that the above original concept of "The Pillory" falls perhaps into pretentious realms. Yet, in a vague and nebulous way, it also explains Martz's thought process behind the composition of this orchestral work. The nine movements to which Martz refers are Pre, Birth (Death), Realization, Confinement, Adaptation, Verge, Rebellion, Judgment and Death (Birth). Although only played once in public with a full orchestra, the 44 minute "The Pillory" is scored for a 40 piece Neoteric Orchestra (as he calls it), including 14 voices, a variety of keyboards and Mellotron, strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. Although Martz listened to the likes of the Soft Machine, Magma, Henry Cow, Van der Graaf Generator and King Crimson in the '70s, the compositional style of "The Pillory" more resembles such 20th century classical composers as Stravinsky, Schoenburg, Penderecki and Stockhausen. While I'm not particularly familiar with the last three composers, I definitely detect elements of Stravinsky in the orchestration and tonal colorations. "The Pillory" ranges from hypnotizing layers of texture to disturbingly cacaphonous free playing, from extended Mellotron-only passages to ghostly voices echoing is dank corridors, all bound together in a gel of haunted darkness. "The Pillory" is an imaginative avant voyage of timeless quality.
Also included is a four-movement, 20 minute bonus track that lives in neo-classical realms occupied also by Art Zoyd and Univers Zero. The first three movements were originally released by Eurock but the fourth movement has never before been released. "In Light In Dark In Between" is a trio improvisation of piano, electric violin and clarinet. Martz is the pianist, Eddie Jobson is the violinist (he's also the principle violinist for "The Pillory") and John Luttrelle is the clarinetist. Recorded around the time of recording for "The Pillory," Martz, Jobson and Luttrelle, who had never before recorded together, felt they could successfully improvise together. This piece is that improvisation, without overdubs or edits of any form. Although both Jobson and Luttrelle are classically trained, Martz never had such formal training. Martz does not sound out of his league, however, as his angular piano lines mesh well with Luttrelle's jagged clarinet phrases and Jobson's insistent violin melodies. An avant-classical treat that only enhances an already excellent release. The first 500 copies of the disc come with a numbered book about Martz, "The Pillory" and other Ad Perpetuam Memoriam releases.
--Michael S Taylor
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Hairless Heart (UNITED KINGDOM)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"'The Pillory is a very difficult piece of music-- but a very original piece."
Since 1976 it has always been the intention to record this piece of music with orchestra. In July that year the music was premiered with the Neoteric Orchestra but the studio recording had to wait because at the time Jasun Martz was asked by none other than Frank Zappa to embark on his 1977 tour as a synthesizer programmer. Undoubtedly the most important person in the 40-piece orchestra is Eddie Jobson who plays some vital violin parts here. Also Zappa drummer Ruth Underwood is present together with percussionist Paul Whitehead, better known as the artist who designed the sleeves for the Genesis albums 'Trespass, 'Nursery crime' and 'Foxtrot'. 'The pillory' is a very difficult piece of music, which tries to be a combination of electronic, contemporary and progressive elements.
Also the integration of the Mellotron is different than we are used to. On top of that you'll hear some very dark voices in the choir together with some scary parts in order to make this a very original piece. In fact the album deals with what Martz calls 'Lusion', the counterpart of illusion. The concept is based on nine movements, which are linked together by means of the so-called 'portmanteau' system (all movements in one). These movements are pre, birth, awakening, confinement, adaptation, frontier, rebellion, judgment and death. The piece ends with some bombastic church organ as an illustration for the renewal of the cycle. As a bonus track 'In light in dark between' was added, of which part 4 has so far been unavailable. It concerns an improvisation with next to Jasun Martz on grand piano, Eddie Jobson on violin and John Luttrelle on clarinet. This piece is even more difficult than "The pillory" itself. Jasun Martz worked with Michael Jackson (synthesizer on 'Black and white'), Starship (arrangement on We built this city'), Far East Family Band and Frank Zappa.
--BoBo Bollenberg
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I/E Magazine
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"The Pillory boasts stunning sonics, with its whisper-to-a-scream dynamics"
JASUN MARTZ: The Pillory (Ad Perpetuam Memoriam) By turns baleful, elegiac and apocalyptic, this obscure 1978 recording towers above the mass of classical-rock hybrids as a haunting aural epic. Drawing upon influences as diverse as Krzystof Penderecki, Ligeti and early King Crimson, composer / mufti-instrumentalist Martz eschews the metric conceits of progressive rock in favour of a brooding, glacially building structure. Supported by the forty-piece Neoteric Orchestra and choir, Martz layers ethereal Mellotron, organ and synthesiser drones into atmospheres of overpowering emotional intensity. Noteworthy Orchestra members include clarinettist John Luttrell and Roxy Music violinist Eddie Jobson, who join Martz in the acoustic improvisation, "in light in dark in between," recorded roughly at the time of The Pillory. The only flaw of "in light Is a sudden, ill-resolved ending, a perennial liability of group Improvisation. While APM's earliest reissues occasionally betrayed a bright, harsh sound, The Pillory boasts stunning sonics, with its whisper-to-a-scream dynamics profiling immensely from the CD medium. Vibrant with menace, mystery and Sadean passion, The Pillory should appeal both to Mellotron fans and adherents of the sinister sounds of Univers Zero and Peter Frohmader.
--Michael Drane
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Amazon.com review
"This is simply one of the most unbelievable pieces of music I have ever heard!"
It's not your everyday prog rock, and the music leans much closer to avant garde classical. Fans of avant garde and prog rock fans who need something more "out there" should not go without this album!
Jasun Martz is an American who released this completely unreal album in 1978 called The Pillory on the All Ears label (a short-lived Los Angeles-based label), on clear vinyl. It was later reissued in 1981 on some small label, and it first made its CD debut on the defunct Swedish label Ad Perpetuam Memoriam. Of course if you didn't get your copy when APM was in business, never fear, an American label, Under the Asphalt (apparently Jasun Martz's label, which is great, he would know his own work better than anyone else) made this available again, with the same bonus track, "In Light In Dark In Between". The Neoteric Orchestra features himself, with Ruth Underwood (Zappa, I believe this was her final musical adventure, as she pretty much retired from music since), Eddie Jobson (Curved Air, Roxy Music, Zappa, UK, and later Jethro Tull), and Paul Whitehead (the Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator album cover artist), and tons more, with choir, strings, as well as an assortment of keyboards, including none other the Mellotron! Jasun Martz is no stranger to the mainstream, including some real atrocities, he was said to help arrange the music to Starship's "We Built This City" (yikes!), and played for Michael Jackson (he provided keyboards on "Black and White") (he ended up having to apologize for "We Built This City", which I don't blame him for doing so, it's awful, and the ultra-slick production, the commercial approach, and synthesizers are simply appalling, it's what gave the 1980s a bad name for mainstream music). At least he also played for Zappa (hence the inclusion of Ruth Underwood on The Pillory). Nothing even remotely mainstream here, not when the influences here are the likes of King Crimson and Stravinsky. You won't mistake this for lite classical, and you won't mistake this for the Moody Blues that's for sure. The album starts off really sinister, so much so it would give King Crimson a run for their money! Then you hear this weird chanting, then some extended unaccompanied Mellotron certainly to blow you away. You'll hear some wailing sounds that were created from a bendable plastic tube you twirl around (they called it a "wind hose" in the credits, in which Jasun Martz himself is credited, along with his usual array of keyboards and percussion). Some really experimental percussion, then some grand organ, and some really majestic Mellotron passages (strings, brass, flute, choir). There's also this grandiose pipe organ passage that's truly out of this world. Actually this pipe organ actually turns out to be the seldom used pipe organ tron tapes! The GForce M-Tron has the tron pipe organ as part of their package and it sounds exactly like what I hear on this album. Cathedral (the '70s American band, that is) used a little tron pipe organ on their Stained Glass Stories album from around the same time period (you'll hear it on "Introspect"). There are times the Mellotron will reminds you of Crimson's "Devil's Triangle", but with an even more sinister feel. I really love how the music can be extremely sinister, and at other times peaceful (but you know that doomy sound is always lurking). The bonus cut is from an early '80s recording with a couple of Neoteric Orchestra members. This one has a more conventional chamber feel to it, lacking the Mellotron, although it still gets highly experimental.
In 2004, Jason Martz recorded a sequel called The Pillory/The Battle, which was released in 2005, which is even more ambitious than ever before, with a 115 piece orchestra (but the only familiar face helping out here would be Mark Shreeve, one of Britain's top electronic/New Age musicians). You'll have reminders of the original, but also explorations of world music, industrial, noise, ambient, and so on. Unfortunately the Mellotron this time around is a virtual Mellotron (like the M-Tron) (Andy Thompson, who runs the Planet Mellotron website was to lend a hand in the album, but he didn't have the time, if he did, a real Mellotron would be used on that sequel). But it's nice to see the 1978 original is available once again, and I really suggest you get this if you never got to hear this odd album before.
This is simply one of the most unbelievable pieces of music I have ever heard! It's not your everyday prog rock, and the music leans much closer to avant garde classical. Fans of avant garde and prog rock fans who need something more out there should not go without this album!
--Drago Museveni
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Amazon.com review
Jasun Martz is an American who released this completely unreal album in 1978 called The Pillory on the All Ears label (a short-lived Los Angeles-based label), on clear vinyl. It was later reissued in 1981 on some small label, and it first made its CD debut on the defunct Swedish label Ad Perpetuam Memoriam. Of course if you didn't get your copy when APM was in business, never fear, an American label, Under the Asphalt (apparently Jasun Martz's label, which is great, he would know his own work better than anyone else) made this available again, with the same bonus track, "In Light In Dark In Between". The Neoteric Orchestra features himself, with Ruth Underwood (Zappa, I believe this was her final musical adventure, as she pretty much retired from music since), Eddie Jobson (Curved Air, Roxy Music, Zappa, UK, and later Jethro Tull), and Paul Whitehead (the Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator album cover artist), and tons more, with choir, strings, as well as an assortment of keyboards, including none other the Mellotron! Jasun Martz is no stranger to the mainstream, including some real atrocities, he was said to help arrange the music to Starship's "We Built This City" (yikes!), and played for Michael Jackson (he provided keyboards on "Black and White") (he ended up having to apologize for "We Built This City", which I don't blame him for doing so, it's awful, and the ultra-slick production, the commercial approach, and synthesizers are simply appalling, it's what gave the 1980s a bad name for mainstream music). At least he also played for Zappa (hence the inclusion of Ruth Underwood on The Pillory). Nothing even remotely mainstream here, not when the influences here are the likes of King Crimson and Stravinsky. You won't mistake this for lite classical, and you won't mistake this for the Moody Blues that's for sure. The album starts off really sinister, so much so it would give King Crimson a run for their money! Then you hear this weird chanting, then some extended unaccompanied Mellotron certainly to blow you away. You'll hear some wailing sounds that were created from a bendable plastic tube you twirl around (they called it a "wind hose" in the credits, in which Jasun Martz himself is credited, along with his usual array of keyboards and percussion). Some really experimental percussion, then some grand organ, and some really majestic Mellotron passages (strings, brass, flute, choir). There's also this grandiose pipe organ passage that's truly out of this world. Actually this pipe organ actually turns out to be the seldom used pipe organ tron tapes! The GForce M-Tron has the tron pipe organ as part of their package and it sounds exactly like what I hear on this album. Cathedral (the '70s American band, that is) used a little tron pipe organ on their Stained Glass Stories album from around the same time period (you'll hear it on "Introspect"). There are times the Mellotron will reminds you of Crimson's "Devil's Triangle", but with an even more sinister feel. I really love how the music can be extremely sinister, and at other times peaceful (but you know that doomy sound is always lurking). The bonus cut is from an early '80s recording with a couple of Neoteric Orchestra members. This one has a more conventional chamber feel to it, lacking the Mellotron, although it still gets highly experimental.
In 2004, Jason Martz recorded a sequel called The Pillory/The Battle, which was released in 2005, which is even more ambitious than ever before, with a 115 piece orchestra (but the only familiar face helping out here would be Mark Shreeve, one of Britain's top electronic/New Age musicians). You'll have reminders of the original, but also explorations of world music, industrial, noise, ambient, and so on. Unfortunately the Mellotron this time around is a virtual Mellotron (like the M-Tron) (Andy Thompson, who runs the Planet Mellotron website was to lend a hand in the album, but he didn't have the time, if he did, a real Mellotron would be used on that sequel). But it's nice to see the 1978 original is available once again, and I really suggest you get this if you never got to hear this odd album before.
This is simply one of the most unbelievable pieces of music I have ever heard! It's not your everyday prog rock, and the music leans much closer to avant garde classical. Fans of avant garde and prog rock fans who need something more out there should not go without this album!
--Benjamin Miler
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Художник, скульптор, композитор, музыкант, продюсер... Последовательность здесь не так уж важна. В конечном счете, все это свидетельствует об одном: Джасан Мартц - личность исключительно творческая. И было бы в корне неправильно оставить за кадром его
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Improjazz (FRANCE)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Seconde rdition par le label Ad Perpetuam Memoriam d'un "classique" de la musique progressive de l'anne 78, d repress une premire fois (mais toujours en LP) en 1981. Jasun MARTZ a fait partie dun des groupes de Zappa en 77 (tourne mondiale) et a produit cet album aprs un sjour Londres. Certes Jasun Martz a jou avec le moustachu pendant qu'il travaillait pour "The PilIory, mais l'influence du matre est assez faible, car le compositeur avait en tte des ides bien prcises. "The Pillory", c'est un peu (de loin) une rponse amricaine "Tubular Bel's", avec ses progressions, ses recherches, ses rptitions et insistances, en plus fort; mais au-del de la simple comparaison, c'est une oeuvre originale. Il y a aussi des relents de Centipede et de la suite "Septober Energy", certaines oeuvres de David Bedford, avec comme vedette le violon d'Eddie Jobson (co-compositeur de l'oeuvre). Les sonorits chres Robert Fripp apparaissent grce au mellotron et au travail sur les synths (1re priode King Crimson), puis l'ensemble de l'orchestre (Neoteric Orchestra) fait clater les percussions et les voix. Certes la base reste la musique electronique, mais la tentation est forte de hisser cette oeuvre la hauteur des matres (amricains) du genre. La cassure invitable de chaque face du vinyl intervient au bout des 21 premires minutes fatidiques, mais la qualit du compositeur a t de placer cette csure dans un moment calme et le charme n'est ainsi pas rompu. Pour utiliser les possibilits techniques du Cd, 3 pices formant un morceau de 20 minutes ont t rajoutes, pices qui apparaissentet c'est normal- plus faibles dans la construction. Nammoins, possdant un des lps originaux, je peux assurer que la qualit du pressage a t nettement amliore et donne dsormais une profondeur intense l'oeuvre principale. "The Pillory: drle de bonne ide d'avoir resorti ce disque pass aux oubliettes, essentiellement cause de sa raret sur le march. Ad Perpetuam Memoriam nous promet encore plein de surprises avec des rditions d'albums sudois mythiques (Akasha, Atlas, Blakulla, deathORGAN, Samla...) avec en prime les deux Lps d'Eskaton!
--Philippe RENAUD
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Interferenze Blu
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Un nome ambizoso per uno label da poco attiva, che si occupa di un genere musicale decisamente dmod quandanche non ritenuto morto e sepolto do anni Uno sfida, dunque, che rasento il masochismo commerciale nel momento in cui la "scelta editoriale" Si orienta verso la riproposizione di opere quasi del tutto sconosciute e per di pi prive di qualsiasi parvenza di commerciabilit. Fin dalle loro prime uscite i dioscuri dello A.P.M. (Ulf Danielsson e Michoel Thorne( dimostrano di avere le idee alquanto chiare. i dischi di KULTIVATOR e MYRBEIN, oscure formazioni svedesi di 15 anni or sono, diventano presto oggetti di culto per gli amanti del genere; ma il debuito degli ENSEMBLE NIMBUS che fa la fortuna dell'etichetta: sfruttondo l'onda lungo dei vari Anglagord, Landberk & co. i progsters italici decretano il successo di questa nuova formazione, guidata dall'attimo chitarristo Hakan Almkvist su arcane e spigolose melodie che strizzano l'occhio all'avanguardia. Il (relativo) successo degli ENSEMBLE NIMBUS spinge Danielsson e Thorne a produrre altri gruppi nuovi. E casi, accanto alle ristampe di classici quali ATLAS, ZARAGON E AKASHA, sul catalogo compaiono i deathORGAN (non spaventatevi: si parla di metal "tastieristico"), SIMON STEENSLAND (percussionisto, autore di un disco assai ostico al semplice ascolto) e soprattutto i finlandesi HOYRY-KONE, dalle voci - e dall'idioma... - impossibili, epigoni ultramoderni (anzi, evalutori) di quella scuola sperimental-elitaria che ebbe come elementi di spicco all' inizio degli anni '80 Art Bears, King Crimson & compagnia genialoide. Ma un'indicazione riduttiva, poich le influenze ed i richiami con nomi illustri del passato sono tali e tanti da formare un "melting-pot" sonoro pi che inquietante. Ascoltare per credere: i pezzi si succedono senza un apparente continuit o fila logico, creando una situazione di disagio nell'ascoltatore abituata a monolitici concept album (peraltro tipici della scuola progressiva). L'ultima arrivato in casa A.P.M. invece un disco. . . mai uscita, edita solo su cassetta nel 1979. 4 Visions non fece altro che anticipare l'uscita dei due album veri" degli ESKATON, Ardeur e Fiction, anch'essi di prossimo pubblicazione su A.P.M. La musica del gruppo da inserire in quel filone tipicamente francese denominato Zeuhl music che ebbe come capostipiti i Magma: molti agganci con la classica moderna, cori alla Carl Orff (Carmina Burana) e testi improntati su esoterismi e visioni apocalittiche. Ho tenuto per ultimo il disco che preferisco, e cio quello di JASUN MARTZ. Uscita in origine nel 1982 su etichetta Eurock (la stessa della cassetto degli Eskaton sopra citata), rappresenta l'opera omnia di questo ipersconosciuta Von Karajon del rock progressivo, che usa il sua mellotron (pardon, bacchetta) per dirigere un'eterogenea "orchestra di 40 elementi Oltre 60 minuti di poesia musicale, ideale sfondo sonoro per i pi eterei viaggi della mente, fragile vascello in balia di uno tempesta percussiva firmata Ruth Underwood / Paul Whitehead (ma si, il vecchio copertinista dei Van Der Graaf Generator!) il tutto sotto la supervisione di Eddie Jabson, poli-strumentista di estrazione classica che vanta un'infinit di callo boraziani, qui ottimo aiuto del "maestro" statunitense soprattutto per quanto concerne gli arrangiamenti. Un'opera che mi senta d consigliare a tutti coloro che amano il suono deile tastiere analogiche. Se non trobate questi dischi, li potete richiedere direttamente all'etichetta.
--I.O.
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Koid9 No. 31
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Dans le chaudron du Viking fou (Bertrand, mon ami, il faudrait penser a rduire les injections de fromage Corse): fidle son thique musicale profondment intgre et idaliste, AD PERPETUAM MEMORIAM (et passe moi l'sel), excellent label sudois dvou corps et ame a la promotion acharne des musiques Progressives les plus audacieuses, russit un brillant coup d'clat en cette fin d'anne 94 avec la rdition laser soigne de l'excellent "The Pillorv" sign Jasun MARTZ, complt po'ur la circonstance par "In Light, In Dark, In Between", longue suite indite Rappelant BARTOK ou STOCKHAUSEN. Enregistr l'origine en 19' cette oeuv authentiquement Progressive, accompagne d 'ui livret biographique de 28 pages avec un soin mu mticuleux, nous offre l'occasion de dcouvrir les impressionnants talents de clavristc et de compositeur de Jasun, jeune prodige ricain qui s'illustrera par la suite au sein du Frank ZAPPA Band du groupe japonais culte The FAR EAST FAMILY BAND avant de s'afficher au ct Michael JACKSON (sur l'album "Black & White") ou du PERVERS BEBERT MUSETTE COMBO (sur le 78 tours "Reviens Anne, jai les mme a la maison... ou presque"). Accompagn par circonstance par Eddie Jobson, Ruth Underwood (ex-percussioniste ZAPPA), Paul Whitehead (percu . et compagnon de route de Brian Eno) et le NEOTERIC ORCHESTRA, I'ami Jasun nous propose une uvre symphonique rsolument avant gardiste la beaut tnbreuse paifois prizdette. Mme Si elle fait preuve d'une indniable singularit cratrice, la 'zique de ce laser prsente une vidente similitude avec les travaux d'un ZAPPA (pour l'tonnante complexit rythmique, le got des dissonances et de I 'exrimentation), d'un ART ZOYD, d'un MAGMA (churs) ou d'un CRIMSON (nappes de Mellotron prsence du sax et violon). Un ensemble dense et complexe donc qui ne devrait pas manquer de sduire les oreilles les plus aventuretises recommand!
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L'Histoire Du Monde No. 6
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
La musique du compositeur sudois JASUN MARTZ, enregistre en 1978 sous le nom de THE PILLORY, rdite en 1994 chez AD PERPETUAM MEMORIAM se rvle ds la premire audition d'une extraordinaire ambition une symphonie des temps modernes domine par les claviers. La panoplie instrumentale de JASUN MARTZ s'avre des plus impressionantes synthtiseurs, Mellotrons, orgue, Grand Piano, saxophones, fte, gongs tandis qu'on retrouve parmi une myrriade d'invits rien moins qu'EDDIE JOBSON au violon solo et synthtiseur. La difficult de la musique de JASUN MARTZ, son approche hautement avant-gardiste rduira d'autant, c'est probable son audience, L'oeuvre possde cependant un souffle, une puissance peu commune et mrite nombre d'auditions attentives, seule condition pour pouvoir accder toutes ses richesses. Une oeuvre rserve aux amateurs de musique "difficile'
--Didier Gonzalez
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Lunar Suite No. 9
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
JASUN MARTZ: "THE PILLORY". Un CD de dificil crtica. Editado en el 78 por ALL EARS/PBR y reeditado por el mismo JASUN en el 81. Olvidaros de las copias en vinilo. Son imposibles de encontrar y su sonido es bastante ms inferior a su prensaje digital.
JASUN MARTZ es un teclista y msico de sesin que ha colaborado con gente tan variopinta como ZAPPA, MICHAEL JACKSON, STARSHIP o BLOODSTONE.
Esta obra que se mueve entre la msica contempornea y el progresivo ms oscuro y rebuscado, cuenta como base predominante la inclusin de varios mellotrones para crear un extrano clima sonoro. Silos extraterrestres nos mandaran su msica, seguramente se parecera a sta. Le ayudan la NEOTERIC ORCHESTRA, (ms de 40 miembros pertenecientes a la vanguardia, msica clsica, rock y no-msicos). Ms EDDIE JOBSON y RUTH UNDERWOOD (ambos de la ZAPPA band), como nombres conocidos. Se han incluido tres banus tracks de fila y distante belleza: "IN DARK", "1N LIGHT", "IN BETWEEN", en los que MARTZ al gran piano, JOBSON al violn elctrico y JOHN LUTRELLE al clarinete, forman un ente sonoro de inclasificable ectoplasma. No soy la persona ms adecuada para dar un veredicto al respecto, pero para determinados (y muy escogidos) momentos, puede tener su hueco. De dificil asimilacin. Si lo tuyo es la bsqueda de nuevas sensaciones (AVISO: VALORACION MUY PERSONAL)
--J.J Iglesias
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Margen (SPAIN)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Muchos aficionados dabamos este disco por perdido ya que desde su edicin y casi inmediata descatalogacin en 1978, nadie pareca interesado en la reedicin en CD de este clasico de la msica progresiva, a pesar de que algunas de las copias usadas del Lp se cotizaban a mas de 50 dlares. Muchos conocereis a Martz por su trabajo al lado de Frank Zappa durante la decada de los 70, o mas recientemente su colaboracin a los sintetizadores en el xito de Michael Jackson Black orWhite, pero quiza los menos recordareis o hayais odo hablar de esta obra estrenada en 1976 cuando Jasun contaba 25 aos. The Pillory es una obra nterpretada por la neoteric Orchestra, que rene a msicos de la talla de Eddie Jobson y Ruth Underwood, junto a mas de cuarenta ejecutantes. Una orquesta sinfonica, en defintiva, al servicio de esta composicin hipntica de innumerables referencias repetitivas y de rock progresivo, sobre todo por la utilizacin del mellotron. Ademas el CD incluye como tema extra una pieza en cuatro movimientos titulada in light in dark in between y en una onda mas improvisada. La edicin corre a cargo dell sello sueco Ad Perpetuam Memoriam que ya anuncia trabajos a cargo de Eskaton, Arturo Meza, Atlas, Akasha.
--Rafa Dorado
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Musicmania No. 17
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Carne tous les gots sont dans la nature, certains aimeront, mais pour 'vol c'est la galre, la bonne, vieille et franche galre au sens le plus strict du terme. Il y a des narents o ne rien chroniguer est prfrable mais, politesse oblige, guand faut y aller, faut y aller! Mais, commencons par le carmencenent. Jasun Martz a compos se premire oeuvre l'ge de 15 ans. Par la suite il fut producteur, carpositeur et bien sur musicien. Il a collabor bon nuebre de musiques de films, de vidos et d'albums. Il a nota"rsent jou du synthtiseur sur 'Black or white te' de Michael Jackson (mais est-ce une rfrence?), arrang le titre 'We built this city on rock and roll' du STARSHIP'S (c'est mieux), enregistr avec la formation japonaise THE FAR EAST FAMILY BAND) et Frank ZAPPA (l, rien dire). Jasun MARTZ a carnenc travailler sur "PILLORY" 25 ans, les sessions ayant t te"poraireeent suspendues oeuse de la tourne sondiale de 1977 dont il assurait la premire partie. Il partit ensuite pour Londres afin de peaufiner ses enregistrements. le rsutat final sort en 1978, rdit une premire fois en 1981 sur le propre label de Jasun, NEOTERIC MUSIC, puis en compact disc par AD PERPETUAM MEMORIAM RECORDS, label sudois, en 1994. Pour "THE PILLORY", Jasun Martz, (claviers), est accompagn par les musiciens prestigieux de la scne internationale et professionnels du disgue, jugez plutt: Eddie Jobson (violon et synths), dont le palmares est lapressionnant, ex-CURVED AIR, Roxy music, KING CRIMSON, Frank ZAPPA1 U.K et JETHRO TULL, Ruth UNDERWOOD> longtemps percussionniste de ZAPPA; ou alors Paul WHITEHEAD, ancien musicien de Brian Eno. La production est assure par William BOTREELL, qui a travaille avec (en vrac): Madonna, Michael JACKSON (encore lui'), ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA ou Thomas DOLBY. La pochette est inspire d'un aitiste franais, jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), qui apprciait particulirement la musique de Jasun MARTZ Magre cet actif tonnant, "THE PIILORY" n'arrive jamais dcoller. Attention! Cette opinion n'engage que moi et j'en prends la responsabilit. J'essaie toujours de modrer mes propos pour ne pas dcourager les bonnes intentions (voir texte d'introduction), mais l, je me suis franchement ennuy 1 'coute de oea longs moroeau; insipides, mariage entre un TANGERINE DREAM scolaire et de la NEW AGE de fond de tiroir vaquement avant-gardiste, bref, une sorte de CENTIPEDE planant aussi intressant qu'un bac fleurs vide. Cela peut plaire cependant, le genrecolo-zen-relaxation-jeboiquedlo est susceptible d'apprcier, malheureusement je reste froid devant un tel talage de sonorits sans trame harmonique basique.
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Tmershiduween
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Nel 1976 J. MABTZ iniziava a comporre"THE PILLORY". Dopo il suo primo concerto a LOS ANGELES, viene chiama to da F. ZAPPA per partecipare al suo World tour. Intanto Jasun riunisce un'orchestra di 40 elementi per registrare questo disco,che trovera' in seguitouna gra ode acclamazione da parte di parecchie testate giorna-listiche. La A.P.M. nel 1994 fa'uscire su cd un'opera che ha del particolare in quanto a originalita'. Il disco ottico contiene tre pezzi :"IN LIGHT, IN DARK, IN BETWEEN", durata totale 65 minuti. In quest'opera prende parte (solo violin, synth) il grande EDDIE JOBSON (ex U.K. K; CRIMSON, J. TULL), R.UNDERWOOD (facente parte della lista dei dieci migliori percus sionisti mondiali), P. WHITEHEAD(che ha suonato con la SCRATCH ORCHESTRA alla LONDON'S ROYAL ALBERT HALL),W. BOTTRELL e J. DUBUFFET oltre ai sopracitati restanti elementi meno importanti ma non per questo meno bravi dei piu' quotati colleghi. Strana,originale,istintiva,astratta e fors'anche privc di una qualche derivazione, questa musica al primo ascc ito vi lascera allibiti,ma se avrete la pazienza e la voglia di ascoltare note e strumenti alternativi e for se per questo progressivi,assaporerete all'unisono la dolcezza e l'irruenza propostevi da "THE PILLORY". Attenzione pero',questo un cd che ha due sole alter native:o impazzire ed ascoltarlo spesso, oppure dimen ticarlo in un cassetto. Se ho destato la vostra curio sita', l'unico consiglio che posso darvi di ascotrn lo prima di acquistare;potrebbe essere pesante.
--Mauro Mazzone
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Sophisticated Rock Magazine (GERMANY)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
The PIIIory, Ad Perpetuam Memariam 9404 Jason Martz - ein musikalisches Wunderkind, das 1976 mit 25 Lebensjahren ein episches Werk (44 Minuten Laufzeit) schuf, mit Genies wie Frank Zappa zusammenarbeitefe, Ende der 60er Jahre Bands wie Jimi Hendrix Experience oder Blue Cheer begegnete, wenig spter Bekanntschaft mit der Musik von Interpreten wie Van der Graaf Generator, Henry Cow, King Crimson, Magma oder Soft Machine machte - ist vielleicht derjenige, der als einziger das Mellotron in die zeitgenssische moderne Musik eingebracht hat; zumindest jedoch auf ungewhnliche Weise. Untersttzt wird er auf dieser bisher einzigen Aufnahme aus dem Jahr 1978 vom 41-kpfigen ,,Neoteric Orchestra", dem so klangvolle Namen wie Ruth Underwood (Zappa) oder Eddie Jobson (UK, Tull, Zinc, Curved Air) angehren. Nicht zu vergessen: Paul Whitehead, Maler zahlreicher LP-HIlen fr Genesis, Van der Graaf oder Le Orme, bedient perkussive Instrumente. Die Musik orientiert sich, grob gesagt, am Stil moderner Musik. Der Beginn und der Schlu des Werkes, das in der Portmanteau-Form angelegt neun, movements" bergangslos in sich vereinigt, bringt mir z.B. Bilder des Films ,,2001: A Space Odyssey" (1969) in den Sinn. Andere Passagen sind eher ruhig angelegt, ekstatisch oder avantgardistisch: Dieses Wechselspiel ergibt sich u.a. aus der Thematik der neu ,,movements": pre, birth (death), realization, confinement, adaption, verge. rebellion, judgement und death (birth). Als kleinen Bonus gibt es noch den 20-mintigen Track ,,In light in dark in between" mit Martz, Jobson und John Lunrelle. Wer auf Bands wie King Crimson oder Magma steht, und dann vielleicht im Klassikbereich Komponisten wie Penderetzki, Henze, David Bedford, Glass, Ligeti oder Berio hrt, der sollte unbedingt in diese CD hineinhren!
--Markus Schurr
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Tanelorn Post
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Det hr r ett verkligt mellotronspckat album, som ursprungligen kom ut 1978. Jasun Martz och The Neoteric Orchestra r helt fantastiska! The Pillory r ett 40 minuter lngt, vldigt kraftfullt, orkestralt verk. Jasun Martz, som bl.a. jobbat med Frank Zappa, har hr dragit ihop en hel del intressanta musiker. Sjlv spelar han synthar, mellotroner och en mngd andra instrument, medan bland annat den fantastiske Eddie Jobson spelar fiol och synth och mlarkludden Paul Whitehead, som vl fr de flesta r knd fr att ha mlat skivomslag till album med Genesis och VdGG, spelar en del slagverk och cymbal med strke. Sedan r det ytterligare 38 musiker och icke-musiker, som spelar eller sjunger p detta stycke. The Pillory r nu terutgiven p CD av och plattan r ett mste fr mellotrondrar. Detta r allts vad en del kallar Neo-Classical Progressive, d.v.s. en korsning av Igor Stravinskijs Vroffer och King CrimsonsThe Devils Triangle (frn In The Wake Of Poseidon) fr att hlla sig till mycket vlknda exempel.
Som bonuslt fr man hra 20 minuter lnga friformsimprovisationen in light in dark in between dr Jasun Martz spelar piano, Eddie Jobson el-fiol och John Luttrelle klarinett.
--GCz
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Arlequins No. 13
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
The Pillory un imponente opera colta, profonda e complessa composta per un'orchestra elettro-acustica di 40 musicisti. Raccoglie elementi di musica elettronica, contemporanea, progressive e classica muovendosi "ambigua" fra questi ambiti per giungere a dare forma ad un insieme assolutamente organico ben Intano da ci che abitualmente gira nei lettori cd. l lavoro potrebbe essere sempicisticismente etichettato come musica d'avanguardia elettronica assolutamente sbagliato visto che la concezione dell'opera non assolutamente riconducibile a questo 2non genere" e, ad esempio, un ruolo chiave svolto da uno strumento tanto "primitivo e superato" quale il mellotron. Pubblicato originariamente su All Ear-PBR nel 1978 trova qui il "riconoscimento" che viene da supporto ottico ad opera della Ad Perpetuam Memoriam, etichetta svedese impegnata nel ripescaggio di proposte assolutamente tuori da ogni ottica di mercato; non comunque corretto parlare di ristampa in quanto l'assoluta inesistenza di legami spazio-temporale con il mondo tenenopermette di gustare The Pillory con la stessa "freschezza" che aveva nel 1978. Strutturato in 9 movimenti costituiti in modo tale che tutti siano ritrovabili in ognuno dei singoli, descrive la metamorfosi di quella che l'autore defin "Lusion" in antitesi ad illusion; rappresenta quindi la parabela della "realt" di qualunque entit persona, cosa, tempo, posto, pensiero attraverso 9 fasi definite Pre-Nascita (morte)-Percezione-Restrizione-Adattamento-Limite-Ribellione-Giudizio-Morte (nascita). Jasun disse: "le permne che ascoltano The Pillory sono abitualmente colpite sia in modo positivo che negativo...nessuno sembra comunque rimanere uguale dopo aver ascoltato questa musica!". Forse una considerazione eccessiva. Forse no. P.S. Poco prima di andare in stampa arrivata l'informazione confidenziale della realizzazione di un hooklet di 28 pagine formato A4 da allegare ad un'edizione limitata del cd in questione. Per gli interessati si consiglia la prenotazione all'indirizzo riportato nelle news.
--Luca Rodella
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Bad Alchemy (GERMANY)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
The Pillory" ist die CD-Wiederverffentlichung eines Wahnsinnsprojektes des 70er-Jahre Progressive Rocks, einer Komposition fr das 40-kpfige Neoteric Orchestra, die der Synthesizer-, Keyboard- und Mellotronspieler, Komponist und Arrangeur JASUN MARTE 1978 verffentlicht hatte. MARTZ, Jahrgang 1951, bndelte darin seine Faszination durch zeitgenssische Klassik (Bartok, Varese, Xenakis..), Elektronik (Stockhausen..) und Magas, Soft Machine, King Crimson zu einer elektroakustischen Grotat vergleichbar vielleicht mit Keith Tippetts Ark und Centipede und hnlichen Free-Jazz-Megalomanien. Nur wenige drften jedoch einen 14-stimmigen Chor aufgeboten haben, um ein wirklichber-wltigendes, hynnisch-orgiastisches Inferno zu entfesseln. MARTZ gelingen erstaunliche Spannungabgen und eine gute Balance zwischen leisen und gerusch-haften Passagen und dem furiosen, mystischen Finale. The Pillory-CD enthlt als Bonus-Tracks , in light in dark in between", eine vierstzige Improvisation r Piano, Violine und Klarinette, Kammermusik, die Momente erstaunlicher Intuition und Empathis einfngt. Da das Pillory-Cover von Jean Du-buffet gestaltet wurde, gibt einen deutlichen Hinweis, in welche Richtung MARTZens Ambitionen zielten.
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Canterbury Nachrichten (GERMANY)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
"The pillory" ist ein legendres US-album, das ich bisher nicht kannte (man kann ja nicht alles kennen). Vielleicht weil ich nie so ein ZAPPA-Freak war, der alles aus diesem Umkreis kennt und hat Wer einer ist, kennt diese Platte (ZAPPA spielt nicht mit!) wahrscheinlich, hat ZAPPA doch deren Er-scheinen erstmal um ein Jahr verzgert, da er Jasun MARTZ in seine Band und mit auf seine 77er World-Tour nahm. Uraufgefhrt wurde ,rhe pillory im Juli 1976 in Los Mgeles, Plattenaufnahmen fanden dann bis 78 in London, New York und Los Mgeles statt, und die Lp wurde auf All Ears verffentlicht 1981 hat MARTZ sie auf seinem eigenen Label Neoteric Music wiederverffent)icht eine absolute Raritt ist sie trotzdem gewesen (und geblieben). MARTZ hat das Werk mehrere Male solo aufgehrt (er spielt synthesizer, mellotron, organ, neben weiteren Tasteninstrumenten auch Blasin strumente, percussion und electronics), in der Originalbesetzung mit dem Orchester kam es nur ein-mal bei der Lk-Premiere zur Aufftihrung, bei einem 40-kpigen Orchester (rund 1/3 davon ist Chor) durchaus verstndlich. MARTZ gibt als Einflsse STOCKHAUSEN, VARESE, RILEY, CAGE und vergleichbare an, das deutet darauf hin, was den Hrer hier erwartet ein schweres, monumentales Werk in Tradition der aufgelsten Musikkategorien, elektronisch, zeitgenssisch, neu-klassisch avantgardistisch - also nix fr einen gemdichen Abend. Man mu sich schon intensiv damit beschftigen und wird dabei ordentlich gefordert Es ist in Anstzen vielleicht mit BEDFORDscher Musik und wohl auch HENRY COW-Platten (jeweils der hrteren Art) vergleichbar. Um die CD vollzumachen (Pillorv luft 45 Minuten), gibt es als Bonus noch rund 20 Minuten in Iight in dark in between', die 1982 -bis auf Movement 4 - von Eurock Records verffentlicht wurden. Dieses Werk wurde vom Trio MARTZ grand piano), John LUTTRELLE (darinet) und Eddie JOBSON (electric violin), whrend der Proben und Aurnahmen zu Pillory eingespielt - in absolut freier Improvisation. Dieser Teil geht dann vielleicht wegen der klassischen Ausbildung der beiden Mitspieler - mehr in Richtung (moderner) klassischer Musik. brigens erklrt MARTZ in einem abgedruckten Interview, da die Erwhnung von Robert FRIPP, ENO, Peter GABRIEL auf der Original-LP purer Hype der Plattenfirma waren, Kontakt bestand oft nur ber's Telefon. Einzig Dagmar KRAUSE sollte wirklich bei den Aufhahmen dabei sein, was aber aus Zeitrnangel nicht zustande kam. Zu der auf 500 limitierten CD gibt es noch ein groformatiges Booklet, mit Informationen zu der CD, nummeriert und mit einem signierten Bild von Jasun MARTZ Da die Portokosten unterschiedlich sind (je nach Luft- oder Landweg) und auch verschiedene Gebhren fr Schecks dazu kommen, erkundigt euch bei Interesse am besten direkt bei:
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Canto Di Prog (ITALY)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
In questo CD a tiratura limitata (500 copie) ci sono due brani per la durata complessiva di "soli" sessantaquattro minuti, e il primo pezzo dura quanto un tempo di una partita di calcio, recupero compreso. Entrambi i brani sono un susseguirsi di so-luzioni rumoristiche cnmsomano-spentnentali, che creano nell'incauto ascoltatore un'ansia che lo porta ad un livello pre-suicida, almeno questo l'effetto che ha fatto al vostro povero recensore. Jasun Martz coadiuvato dalla Neoteric Orchestra nella quale, oltre a figurare ben 19 cantanti che si sentiranno si e no due volte in tutto il CD, si erge maestosamente la prestazione delle tre sorelle Terri, Karen e Francie, appartenenti alla ben nota famiglia Delle Fave ( il cognome, cosa avevate capito?! Questo CD potrebbe essere definito "genialata" come "due palle cos", ma la vera questione nmane un'altra: cosa mangia Jasun Martz a colazione?
--Claudio Guerrini
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Crystal Infos No.
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
D'un chaos sonore qui voque le Septober Energyde Centipede (chef d'oeuvre rcemment rdit en CD bootleg), monte comme une cration du monde, puissante et image, qui clate sur un silence de clochettes avant de renatre dans des discordances grandissantes et d'accoucher sur un choeur primitif, scand et puissant qui rappelle Magma... Puis c'est une fanfare satanique o le violon d'Eddie Jobson invente de nouvelles figures d'apprentis sorciers et ouvre le passage vers une folle orchestration digne de Philip Glass... Tout cela n'a dur qu'une douzaine de rninutes et l'on dbouche sur des merveilles sculptes au mellotron et qui comptent parmi les plus belles et les plus inventives que cet instrument ait connu (avec celles de Robert Wyatt sur la fin du premier album de Matching Mole). Evoquant Debussy ou le Tangerine Dream de Phaedra, ces volutions qui me lent recherche de composition et thmes mlodiques, sont de pure merveilles d'inventivit et de climats. L'irremplaable son chaleureux du mellotron dcrit des mondes anciens et modernes, travers ses fltes dmultiplies par la technologie des bandes magntiques et ses violons sensuels perdus dans les imageries galactiques de ses drives Si particulires et ingales depuis. Des sonorits de la musique contemporaine viennent achever le premier mouvement en diversifiant les images progressives de ce monde Sitrange o Jasun Martz avait fait le pari de nous emporter et qui est rest unique chuintements, tintinabuiements, cotps tombs dans une composition qui n'est pas un hasard me me Si elle en laisse l'apparence immdiate, sonorits tires, dchires mais toujours conduites par une logique de la cration... A plusieurs reprises, claviers et mellotron reviennent dans des fresques impressionnistes et grandioses o se me lent choeurs et infini, irrel et humanit profonde. Deux ans de travail pour cette oeuvre sans ige et majestueuse, entre le rock progressif et la musique contemporaine et qui runit de trs nombreux musiciens. On pense Zappa, Stravinslty... Unanimement salue par la critique de l'poque (1978), cette pice qui alterne mouvements amples et recherches lectroacoustiques, est unique. Elle est ici complte, dans sa version CD, de pices pour piano et violon qui sont plus proches d'une musique de chambre contemporaine et qui montrent un autre aspect du compositeur. Chef d'oeuvre indispensable
--Claude Chemin
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Paperlate (ITALY)
Jasun Martz: The Pillory
Siamo gi al a seconca r stampa (la prima, su vinile, del 1981; per in aloum da molt definito un vero capolavoro delta musica contemporanea; affermazioni difficili da smentire, almeno considerando i numero e la fama degli ospiti sul disco, ma altrettanto ardue da dimostrare. Jasun Martz, artista statunitense gi colaboratore di Frank Zappa. Far East Family Band e perfino Michael Jackson, realizz questo curioso album nel lontano 78, con la colaborazione della Neoteric Orchestra (gruppo di 40 elementi di ispirazione classica e avant-garde), di Eddie Jobson (King Crimson, U.K., Roxy Music) e numerosi altri musicisti, artisti, tecnici del suono, tra cui William Bottrell e perfino Paul Whitehead, autore dele pi famose copertine dei Genesis oltre che collaboratore di Brian Eno. Avrete probabilmente gi capito che aria tira nell'album: un misto di musica elettronica, sperimentazioni, sonorit progressive, avant-garde: da FrankZappa a Terri Riley, da Bartok ai Magma; la lunga suite di visa in nove movimenti, stata ispirata da alcune concezioni 'metafisiche' del 'autore sulla realt. Incredibile il parco strumenti utilizzato per la ruscita de l'album: synth, organo, marimba, flauti, sax, trombe, percussioni di ogni tipo, ma soprattutto i mellotron: un album che non pu lasciare indifferenti, a condizione di entrare in sirtonia con l'autore' Lasciateci dire che non facile. Questa ristampa contiene inoltre una bonus track di oltre venti minuti composta nel 1982 dal titolo in light In Dark in Between: un lungo strumentale per solo pianoforte, con l'auto di Eddie Jobson al violino e Jonn Lutrel al clarinetto, entrambi co-autori della composizione.
--Ezio Candrini
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DeBaser (Italy)
Jasun Martz The Pillory
https://www.debaser.it/jasun-martz/the-pillory/recensione
Recensione scritta da TheJargonKing per DeBaser. (il 16 giugno 2010 nel tardo pomeriggio)
Voto:*****
Che Jasum Martz sia stato il tecnico del suono di Frank Zappa e il tastierista di Michael Jackson, poco importa. Forse nulla. A tutti gli effetti un genio è tale indipendentemente da con chi abbia lavorato. Nella sua scheda personale, sul sito, appare come pittore, scultore, musicista, compositore, un artista a tutto tondo, insomma. Nel 1978, dopo l'esperienza zappiana, pensò bene di produrre musica propria. Moltissimo materiale era in cantiere già dal 1976 ma, al momento di incidere, nella sua mente si rivoluzionò tutto e volò a Londra per assumere la Neoteric Orchestra: ci voleva un'orchestra di 40 elementi, per fare da contraltare alla suo spasmodico, egocentrico ed onanistico concetto musicale che troppo spesso prevedeva: Lui e il suo mellotron. Quando agli orchestrali, Martz sottopose le partiture, pensarono ad un folle, oppure ad uno che se la tirasse da novello Stravinsky.
Eppure, il risultato ottenuto strabiliò tutti, sia per la struttura stessa dell'opera, formata un solo brano, "The Pillory", appunto, di quasi 45 minuti e poi per i contenuti musicali, ferocemente avanguardistici, sperimentali e dalla forza evocativa straordinaria.
Nella lavoro non c'era Zappa, se non in piccoli particolari dettati dall'insegnamento nell'utilizzo orchestrale, c'era essenzialmente musica in splendida e radicale progressione. L'idea di abbinare grandi dosi di mellotron ai cori e all'orchestra fu quella vincente: l'anomalia generata risultò di una freschezza straniante e l'apoteosi sinfonica interrotta, ora dal violino di Eddie Jobson, ora da cori da brivido, ora dalle folli percussioni di Ruth Underwood e Paul Whitehead, sembrava senza fine. I tortuosi percorsi delle tastiere elettroniche sapevano ben evidenziare la sua malattia musicale, rimandando talvolta alle inusitate improvvisazioni floydiane della suite "Atom Heart Mother" e inglobando gli sperimentalismi orchestrali dei grandi compositori del ‘900.
Nella più recente versione su CD è stata inserita una lunga suite a mo' di bonus track. Il brano "In Light In Dark In Between" è di qualche anno successivo ed è, anche questo, di una grande e coinvolgente bellezza compositiva. Il brano ruota attorno ad una immaginifica partitura orchestrale con clarinetto e violino protagonisti e dove il pianoforte contrappunta con note di rara saggezza creando una sorta di chambre music personale e particolarissima.
Dopo le prime entusiastiche recensioni, all'epoca, Martz disse che le gente, ascoltando "The Pillory" era colpita positivamente o negativamente, ma nessuno era più quello di prima. Questo cambiamento che l'autore trova generato nell'ascoltatore è un punto fermo dal quale partire, dimostra ancora una volta la forza della musica, dell'idea stessa, di quanto il concetto musicale possa essere determinante, se esce, ovviamente, dalla testa di un genio.
Google translate to English:
Written review by TheJargonKing for DeBaser. (June 16, 2010 in the late afternoon)
Vote:*****
What Jasum Martz was the sound engineer of Frank Zappa and the keyboardist of Michael Jackson, no matter what. Maybe nothing. In all respects, a genius is so independent of who has worked. In his personal file, on the site, he appears as a painter, sculptor, musician, composer, an artist in all round, in short. In 1978, after the Zappian experience, he thought good to produce his own music. A lot of material had been in the works since 1976 but, at the time of engraving, he revolutionized everything in his mind and flown to London to hire the Neoteric Orchestra: he wanted an orchestra of 40 elements to counteract his spasmodic, egocentric and Onanistic musical concept that too often foresaw: He and his mellotron. When the orchestras, Martz submitted the scores, they thought of a crowd, or one who would be pulled by new Stravinsky.
Yet, the result obtained strabiliated all, for the very structure of the work, formed a single track, "The Pillory", about 45 minutes, and then for the musical contents, fierce avant-garde, experimental and extraordinary evocative power.
There was not Zappa in the work, except in small details dictated by teaching in orchestral use, there was essentially music in gorgeous and radical progression. The idea of ombining large doses of mellotron with choruses and orchestra was the winning one: the resulting anomaly was of strange freshness and the apoptosis was interrupted, now by the violin of Eddie Jobson, now chubby chorus, now by Crazy drums by Ruth Underwood and Paul Whitehead, seemed endless. The tortuous paths of electronic keyboards were well known to highlight his musical illness, sometimes referring to the unusual floyd improvisations of the Atom Heart Mother suite and incorporating the orchestral experimentalism of the great composers of the twentieth century.
In the latest CD release a long suite of bonus tracks has been added. The song "In Light In Dark In Between" is a few years later, and this is also a great and engaging compositional beauty. The piece revolves around an imaginary orchestral score with clarinet and violin protagonists and where the piano contrasts with notes of rare wisdom creating a kind of personal chambre personal and very particular.
After the first enthusiastic reviews, at that time, Martz said that people listening to "The Pillory" was hit positively or negatively, but nobody was more than before. This change that the author finds in the listener is a point from which to start, once again demonstrates the strength of music, the idea itself, how the musical concept can be decisive if it comes out of the head of a genius.
Sioulette
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Sound Voyager (Russia)
Jasun Martz & The Neoteric Orchestra, The Pillory
http://soundvoyager.blogspot.com/search/label/Jasun%20Martz
Художник, скульптор, композитор, музыкант, продюсер... Последовательность здесь не так уж важна. В конечном счете, все это свидетельствует об одном: Джасан Мартц - личность исключительно творческая. И было бы в корне неправильно оставить за кадром его звуковое наследие.
Родился и вырос наш герой в Нью-Йорке. По окончании колледжа Джасан в качестве роуди (грузчика и сборщика аппаратуры) колесил по стране со множеством коллективов. В начале 1977 года судьба свела его с Фрэнком Заппой. К тому моменту юный американец страстно увлекся синтезаторами, и это не укрылось от пристального взора старины Фрэнка. Джасану доверили обслуживание гигантского агрегата семейства E-mu Modular Systems (на нем тогда играл британский виртуоз Эдди Джобсон). Итогом успешного концертного тура стала запись "Zappa, Live in New York", для которой усатый маэстро позволил головастому технику не только сделать несколько вокальных наложений, но еще и исполнить вспомогательные партии перкуссии. Впрочем, главное тут другое. В ходе турне Мартц: а) подружился с Джобсоном; б) приступил к сочинению магнум-опуса "The Pillory". Слово "виновнику торжества": "Замысел напрямую прорастал из моих музыкальных пристрастий: прог-рок, авангард, нойз, фри-джаз и обязательно невпупенное количество меллотронов! Штука в том, что дома я держал два таких инструмента и буквально балдел от их невероятного саунда..."
Затея требовала немалого количества времени. Впрочем, великодушный Заппа отнесся с пониманием и одобрением к идее своего протеже. Эксперименты он поощрял, а тут явственно чувствовалось нечто необычное! Щедрый Фрэнк предоставил в распоряжение Джасана сверходаренного коллегу Джобсона (скрипка, синтезатор) и маримбистку Рут Андервуд. Оставшиеся 38 позиций заняли участники специально сформированного объединения The Neoteric Orchestra. Рабочие сессии выдались сложными: разные студии - в Голливуде, Лондоне, Лос-Анджелесе... Курсировать между ними было тяжело, но у энтузиаста Мартца все получилось.
Композиционный размах "The Pillory" впечатляет. Эта внушительная 45-минутная махина представляет собою стилевой мега-микс с поступательным развитием сюжета. Исторический контекст: мрачнейшее средневековье. Как следствие - весьма своеобразная аура и типовой атрибутивный ряд: бряцанье цепей, незримые костры инквизиции, торжественные хоры, безмолвно клеймящие еретиков... В подобной грозовой атмосфере протекают первые 13 минут. Дальнейшее напоминает музыку к балету, где основными средствами служат меллотрон, флейта, струнные и перкуссия. После получасового священнодейства слушателя потчуют приемами из области авант-джаза, а завершается все на драматической хоральной ноте... Дополняет программу развернутое камерное трио "In Light In Dark In Between" - совместное авторское произведение Мартца (рояль), Джобсона (электроскрипка) и Джона Латтрелла (кларнет). Сокращенная версия данной вещи впервые была издана в 1982 г. на сборнике "An American Music Compilation". И лишь четверть века спустя Джасан вынес ее на суд аудитории в исконном виде. Что сказать? Серьезнейший образчик академического авангарда, заслуживающий воплощения под сводами консерватории.
Резюмирую: глубокий и комплексный релиз, рассчитанный на знатоков и ценителей жанра RIO. Однако и рядовым прогерам ознакомиться с ним не грех. Хотя бы для расширения кругозора.
Google Traslation: Russian to English
Painter, sculptor, composer, musician, producer ... The sequence here is not so important. Ultimately, all this shows one thing: Jasun Martz - is a very creative person.
And it would be fundamentally wrong to leave behind the scenes of his sound heritage.
Born and raised our hero in New York City. After college Jasun as a roadie (loader and tech of equipment) traveled around the country with a variety of ensembles. In early 1977 fate brought him to Frank Zappa. By the time the young American was intensely interested in synthesizers, and it did not escape the watchful eye of Frank's antiquity. He put Jasun's trusted service to the giant family unit E-mu Modular Systems (played by the British virtuoso Eddie Jobson). The result of a successful concert tour began recording "Zappa, Live in New York", for which the moustached maestro allowed tadpole tech Jasun to not only make a few vocal overdubs, but also perform auxiliary percussion parts. However, the main thing was during the tour Martz said he: a) I made friends with Jobson; b) I started his writing magnum opus "The Pillory". The word "hero of the occasion": "The ideas directly sprout from my musical tastes: prog-rock, avant-garde, noise, free jazz and always his two Mellotrons (stuck in that house I had two of these tools literally loved their incredible sound ... )"
The venture required a considerable amount of time. However, generous Zappa reacted with understanding and approval to the idea of his protege. The experiments he encouraged, and there is clearly felt something unusual! Generous Frank at the disposal Jasun's synthesizer colleague Jobson (violin, synthesizer) and marimba Ruth Underwood. The remaining 38 positions are occupied by participants in a specially crafted combination of The Orchestra by Neoteric . Working sessions stood out complex: different studios - in Hollywood, London, Los Angeles... Cruising was heavy between them, but in the enthusiast Martz all happened.
The composite sweep of "The Pillory" impressive. This impressive 45-minute album represents style mega-mix to the progressive development of the plot. Historical context: the Dark Ages. As a consequence - a very peculiar aura and typical attributive number: clanking chains, invisible fires of the Inquisition, grand choruses, silent branding heretics ... the first 13 minutes take place in such a stormy atmosphere. Further reminds the music for the ballet, which serve as the main means of mellotron, flute, strings and percussion.After half an hour of ministering the listeners were treated to techniques from the field of avant-jazz, and completed everything on the dramatic choral note ...
Complementing the expanded program of chamber trio "In Light In Dark In Between" - co-authorship Martz (piano), Jobson (electroviolin) and John Luttrell (clarinet). A shortened version of this item was first published in 1982 in the collection "An American Music Compilation". And only a quarter of a century later Jasun carried it to the audience in the court of original form.
What to say? The most serious example of the academic avant-worthy incarnation under the roof of the conservatory.
To sum up: a deep and comprehensive release, designed for connoisseurs of the genre RIO. However, for ordinary progresives, it is not a sin to get acquainted with him. At least for the memories.
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