The Squid's Ear Magazine
Victo Buy 5 for $7.00 Sale !


Borbetomagus

Songs Our Mother Taught Us

Borbetomagus: Songs Our Mother Taught Us (Agaric)

Three performances from London and Glasgow from New York saxophonists Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich, and guitarist Donald Miller, playing through pedals and distortion devices in unique and irascible free improvisations.
 

Price: $13.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 5.00 units


EU & UK Customers:
Discogs.com can handle your VAT payments
So please order through Discogs

Sample The Album:


product information:

Personnel:



Jim Sauter-saxophones

Don Dietrich-saxophones

Donald Miller-guitar


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 663445118022

Label: Agaric
Catalog ID: Agaric 1995
Squidco Product Code: 9073

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 1999
Country: USA
Packaging: Jewel Tray
Recorded on April 18th and 21st, 1999 at the 13th Note, Glasgow and The Spitz, London by Tim Fletcher.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The work of upstate New York noise-jazz trio Borbetomagus is frequently described in terms of overwhelming power and aggression. In a live context, that's absolutely the dominant impression one is likely to get. On record, though, it's possible to have some control over the volume, and thus to listen closely and carefully and discern real technique at work, not to mention a subtlety that's not really surprising, given that saxophonists Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich, and guitarist Donald Miller, have been at this game for three decades. They're not neophytes still impressed by their own ability to make a loud noise; they're sound artists whose collective improvisations have a unique beauty.

The three performances from London and Glasgow captured on this disc have no real reference points in even the free-est of jazz; rather, they sound like some huge machine sanding away at itself in an attempt to break free and lumber down the highway toward an uncertain destiny. The three men play through so many pedals and distortion devices that it's entirely impossible to discern which saxophonist is making which noise, and sometimes impossible to tell whether it's a saxophone or a guitar one is hearing. But even as each man blows or strums or otherwise plays his guts out, seemingly entranced, space always remains for the other two to be clearly heard, commenting and amplifying (in every sense of that word) and turning what could be a storm into a genuine three-way creative interaction. Borbetomagus are unique in the world, and this is as good a document of what they do as anything else in their catalog."-Phil Freeman, All Music


Get additional information at All Music

Artist Biographies

Multi-reedist Jim Sauter was born July 23, 1953 in Nyack, NY. He currently lives in Sparkill, NY. He is a primary member of Borbetomagus.

-Squidco 5/7/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Don Dietrich is a saxophonist and founding member of New York City based improvisational group, Borbetomagus. Recently, he has become involved with the noise/free jazz "supergroup" The New Monuments (with C. Spencer Yeh and Ben Hall)."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Dietrich_(musician))
5/7/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Donald Miller was born on 7 May 1958 in Washington, DC, and raised in suburban Maryland. At age 13, he began formal guitar lessons. At 18, he moved to New York City, where he was educated at Columbia University's College and the School of Visual Arts, receiving a BFA from the latter in 1982. He remained in The City for a quarter century.

Miller entered the NYC New Music scene in 1978, already possessing a strong background in the avant-garde. His first regular band was the now cult-status group Sick Dick & the Volkswagens, which featured infamous critic/crooner Lester Bangs as an auxiliary member. In February 1979, Miller met and first played with saxophonists Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich, giving immediate birth to Borbetomagus.

From 1984-99, Miller also worked closely with free jazz drummer William Hooker, in both duo and larger band formats. In this milieu, Miller met saxist Blaise Siwula, with whom he has worked in duo and trios with drummers Mike Evans, Jeff Arnal and Matt Hannafin, and the late synth guru Doug Walker.

In August 2001, Miller and his wife moved to New Orleans, four weeks ahead of the September 11 attack on NYC, and into a house 90+% unscathed by the wrath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. There he formed The Death Posture with fellow guitarist Rob Cambre and Butoh dancer Vanessa Skantze in early 2002. This ensemble performed over two dozen butoh actions, later including dancer Alex Haverfield, in the Gulf Coast area, mostly to a stunned New Orleans, until late 2004 when Skantze and Haverfield took themselves and the name (with Miller's blessing) to Seattle. Miller and Cambre have continued to perform in solo and ensemble lineups, and gave two notable reunion performances with Vanessa in 2006."

-Discogs.com (https://www.discogs.com/artist/329415-Donald-Miller)
5/7/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Aftershock 11:08

2. Songs Our Mother Taught Us 34:35

3. After Aftershock 7:45

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Electro-Acoustic
Electro-Acoustic Improv
Trio Recordings

Search for other titles on the label:
Agaric.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Scarcity Of Tanks
Fear Is Not Conscience
(Total Life Society Records)
New York/Ohio skronkers Scarcity of Tanks with Jim Sauter of Borbetomagus plus Kid Millions in a hard free rock free improv blast.
Borbetomagus
Coelacanth [7" VINYL]
(Butt Rag)
Savage noise jazz in a rare 7" from the early 90s by the trio of saxophonists Don Dietrich and Jim Sauter and electric guitarist Donald Miller, two live version of "Coelacanth" recorded a year apart.
Borbetomagus
Black Album
(Agaric)
The Borbetomagus trio of Jim Sauter (sax), Don Dietrich (reeds) and Donald Miller (guitar) in a 1982 release on their own Agaric label, high volume jazz compiled from concerts in 1979 and 1981.
Borbetomagus
White Album
(Agaric)
The first Borbetomagus, an unprecedented release of extreme free/punk improvisation and sound from the trio of Jim Sauter (reeds), Don Dietrich (reeds) and Donald Miller (guitar).
Borbetomagus / Voice Crack
Fish That Sparkling Bubble
(Agaric)
The meeting of the extreme jazz trio Borbetomagus and the electroacoustic trio Voicetrack for an album of radical textures, timbres, colors, and tone fields.
Borbetomagus
A Go Go
(Agaric)
Extreme blasts of improvisation from the dual saxophones of Jim Sauter & Don Dietrich, and guitarist Donald Miller, performing live at Pezner in France, 1998.
Borbetomagus
Snuff Jazz
(Agaric)
Long awaited reissue of this 1998 LP, originally of live performances at ABC No Rio in NYC and now expanded to include live performances at DC Space in Washington, DC.
Borbetomagus / Shaking Ray Levis
Coelacanth [10" VINYL]
(Agaric)
1991 collaboration between Shaking Ray Levis and Borbetomagus in an exquisite mix of over-amplified and otherwise bewilderingly fierce free improv.
Borbetomagus / Hijokaidan
Both Noises End Burning
(Les Disques Victo)
Two monster proponents of noise esthetics, representing two continents whose cultures have often been described as incompatible, meet in the celebration of noise.
Other Recommended Releases:
Dietrichs
No Bahdu
(Relative Pitch)
Dietrichs (Camille Dietrich / Don Dietrich)
Catch the Leaves
(Relative Pitch)
Definitely of the Borbetomagus mold, the duo of tenor saxophonist Don Dietrich and cellist Camille Dietrich, his daughter who grew up under the influence of that band's relentlessly aggressive free jazz, here in a live performance at Tubby's in Kingston, New York for four burning improvisations that take apart a tree, leaving the audience to catch the fragments; terrifyingly intense!
Nakatani, Tatsuya / Donald Miller / Rob Cambre / Emmalee Sutton
Moisant Stock Yards
(Nakatani-Kobo)
A recurring trio in New Orleans between touring percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani and guitarists Rob Cambre (Malevitus, Rough Seven, The Death Posture) and Donald Miller (Borbetomagus) performing at Mudland Public Theatre in 2018 for two extended, gritty and ringing exchanges.
New Monuments (Don Dietrich / Ben Hall / Camille Dietrich / Tony Gordon)
Language is the Skin [CD w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Torn Light)
Recording in Detroit in 2021 the ruggedly extreme free jazz quartet New Monuments of Don Dietrich (Borbetomagus) on saxophone, Ben Hall on percussion, Camille Dietrich on cello and Tony Gordon on electric bass guitar shred through six collective improvisations, taking time for burning solo moments and electrically-fueled exchanges; scorching!
Borbetomagus
Trente Belles Annees
(Agaric)
Live recordings from Instants Chavires in Montreuil, France as the final concert of the Borbetomagus 2009 tour, a blistering 46 minute improvisation celebrating 30 years of this groundbreaking noise jazz trio's work.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Grimal, Alexandra / Giovanni Di Domenico
Shakkei
(Relative Pitch)
Five duets inspired by the Japanese concept of borrowed scenery (Shakkei (借景)) — integrating background landscapes into the design of a garden — are exquisitely realized in these spiritual and introspective performances, from the 20-year collaboration between French saxophonist Alexandra Grimal (tenor and soprano) and Italian pianist-organist Giovanni Di Domenico.
Dikeman, John / Sun-Mi Hong / Aaron Lumley / Marta Warelis
Old Adam on Turtle Island
(Relative Pitch)
Saxophonist John Dikeman composed this diverse and expressively lyrical song cycle reflecting on colonization, and the double edged sword of religion which can lead to transcendence or tyranny, recorded in Amsterdam in a quartet with Marta Warelis on piano, Aaron Lumley on bass and Sun on Mi Hong on drums, presented in two extended improvisations.
Agnel, Sophie / Michael Zerang
Draw Bridge
(Relative Pitch)
French classically trained pianist Sophie Agnel and percussionist Michael Zerang explore unconventional techniques in nine captivating improvisations recorded at Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio, blending Agnel's prepared and extended piano methods with Zerang's nuanced percussion to create a strikingly compatible and dynamic sonic dialogue.
Parkins, Zeena / Chris Brown / William Winant / Ben Davis
Scree
(Relative Pitch)
Recording in the Mills College Concert Hall in Oakland, the quartet of Zeena Parkins (harp), Chris Brown (piano and electronics), William Winant (percussion), and Ben Davis (cello) work in an ethereal mode of electro-acoustic improvisation, drawing unconventional sounds from their instruments as they weave a virtuosic and intricately creative sonic tapestry evoking the rugged unpredictability of the album's title.
ES Trio (Steyer / Kwan / Zerang)
The Foreign In Us
(Relative Pitch)
Recorded at Experimental Sound Studios following a powerful and inspired concert at Elastic Arts, this trio captures the distinct musical voices of Edith Steyer (alto saxophone & clarinet), Mabel Kwan (piano), and Michael Zerang (drums & percussion), weaving sound-oriented improvisations and diverse transatlantic influences from Berlin and Chicago.
Jackson, Keefe / Raoul van der Weide / Frank Rosaly
Live at de Tanker
(Kettle Hole Records)
Keefe Jackson on tenor & bass clarinets, Raoul Van Der Weide on bass & cracklebox, and Frank Rosaly on drums are heard in this 2022 live performance at De Roze Tanker in Amsterdam, reuniting the Chicago reedist with Rosaly, who is now based in Amsterdam, for six free jazz tunes: two Jackson compositions and four superb collective dialogs.
Shipp, Matthew / Steve Swell
Space Cube Jazz
(RogueArt)
The first duo recordings from fellow New York jazz musicians, trombonist Steve Swell and pianist Matthew Shipp, having brushed shoulders together with Whit Dickey, Dom Minasai, Jemeel Moondoc, Allen Lowe &c., they bring a wealth of familiar knowledge and language to their binary concentration, through twelve concise dialogs themed around the dark expanse of space; masterful and intimate.
Fonda, Joe (Fonda / Braxton / Bufalino / Dodd / Robertson / Alexiev)
From The Source
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A unique 1995 studio album from bassist Joe Fonda, remastered reissued to bring to life this septet with Anthony Braxton on reeds & winds, Herb Robertson on trumpet, Grisha Alexiev on drums, Vickie Dodds on vocals, and integrating tap dancer Brenda Bufalino as a full percussive voice into the ensemble's unique merging of jazz and dance, and of the healing arts and the performing arts.
Glennie, Evelyn / Szilard Mezei POLAR QUARTET
Capt's Look
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
Originally working together in avant percussionist Evelyn Glennie's improvisation Core-tet Project, Serbian violist and composer Szilard Mezei comes together again with his quartet of Bogdan Rankovic on reeds, Ervin Malia on double bass and Ivan Burka on vibraphone to present this 2022 meticulous chamber improvisation concert at Gradska Koncertna Dvorana / City Concert Hall.
Harnik, Elisabeth / Steve Swell
Welcome to the Troposphere
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
An explorative album of collective free improvisation from the transatlantic duo of German pianist Elisabeth Harnik and New York trombonist Steve Swell, following up on their 2020 album Tonotopic Organisation, this 2022 live concert at Offene Ohren, in Munich brings listeners current to both improvisers immense creative drive, masterful skill, and their mutual, exuberant rapport.
Johnson, Russ / Tim Daisy / Max Johnson
Live at the Hungry Brain
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A patiently evolving collective performance at Chicago's Hungry Brain from the trio of New Yorkers--trumpeter Russ Johnson and bassist Max Johnson--and Chicago drummer Tim Daisy, whose arsenal of percussive devices adds unexpected asides to the trio's confident free jazz explorations, Johnson adding lyrical lines as the band moves as one through two extended improvisations.
DUOT & ZARM Ensemble (Cirera / Prats / Zingaro / Alves / Mitzlaff / Rosso)
DUOT with Strings
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
The DUOT pairing of Argentinian, Barcelona-based sax player Albert Cirera and Spanish drummer Ramón Prats is joined on their 6th album by the Portuguese string quartet ZARM Ensemble of Carlos Zingaro on violin, David Alves on violin, Ulrich Mitzlaf on cello and Alvaro Rosso on double bass for a dynamic concert at Igreja do Espírito Santo in Caldas Da Rainha, Portugal.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC