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Rags to Britches

by Spanish Fly

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1.
Portrait 03:35
2.
3.
Marcus Mouth 05:57
4.
Caveman 03:33
5.
Baby 08:28
6.
If 6 were 9 03:22
7.
8.
9.
10.
Thirteen 05:37
11.
Folk Song 05:30
12.
Time Noise 01:04
13.
Hoe Cheez 03:43

about

*** Available for the first time digitally***


Liner Note by Hal Willner
In New York the stage of the Knitting Factory has provided an amazing and important forum for experimentation and a home for artists who don't fit into any specific category besides just showcasing great music. Dozens of musicians make up the center of this scene, and they often try out different combinations among themselves, with different leaders or co-leaders, which has spawned hundreds of bands. Some of these bands last one gig, others continue on and spread their sound to the world outside. I have heard and thoroughly enjoyed quite a few of these combinations since The Knitting Factory opened its doors. A few years ago I stayed late one night to hear the trio of slide guitar wizard David Tronzo, horn guru Steven Bernstein, and tuba genius Marcus Rojas--they were calling themselves "Spanish Fly". I had just worked with two thirds of the band; recently with David on a Gavin Friday album, and with Steven on
one of the classic episodes of "Night Music" which had him playing with Bootsy Collins, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow; Allen Toussaint, and Karen Mantler on the same show. I presumed that "Spanish Fly" would be another occasional Knitting Factory combination and would be pretty good, but unexpectedly I had never heard anything quite like this;
they put a spell on me. The trio created an atmosphere and magic that reminded me of how I felt when I saw Tim Buckley or Miles Davis in the early seventies. They would start with a few planned melodies, then go into extended improvising making the set seem like one connected piece. The sound was incredibly dimensional, bouncing off walls and surrounding you, transforming the room into a comfortable spaceship; it captured one hundred percent of me; it put me in that place where your eyes could wander anywhere and focus on any object in the room and the sound would be there, wrapped around ít like a comfortable blanket; it was like being in the womb of the music. They made the three instruments sound like one working machine often not sounding like tuba, guitar, and trumpet with a vibe that went from extremely harsh to sounds and melodies so beautiful it would make you cry. I returned to see "Spanish Fly' twice more and each time reacted the same way.

Calling Dave, I expressed interest in recording the group. I wasn't sure that they would need or want a producer, but I wanted them to know that I was there if they were interested. They were, and Michael Dorf offered to put the project on Knitting Factory Works.

After a few meetings in which we discussed different approaches to the recording, we decided to approach the project the same way that Miles Davis and Teo Macero made many of those incredible records in the late sixties and early seventies. We just let the tape recorder run at sessions' as if it were a live set, and then edited it down.

We recorded over a six day period at the Knitting Factory -five afternoons in the empty club, and then two nights in front of an audience,
James MeLean recorded these performances, about twelve hours worth, on an eight track A-Dat machine; everything was live, with no overdubs whatsoever though occasional "voice-overs" appeared from passing police and cab radios.

Over the next few months we made the edits; first the twelve hours were cut to four, then to three, then two, then to ninety minutes and finally eighty. These eighty minutes were mixed at Kramer's Noise New Jersey studio by Ian Bryan. Later the tracks were sequenced, then another fifteen minutes were shaved off, and the ultimate result you now hold in your hands.

Somehow, after all the months of working in the studio, I believe that we have captured on record the live feeling that "Spanish Fly" gives in performance, even though we approached the project as a record, and what you will find on this album is not exactly what you would see at a live show--and those, by the way, will be happening much more in the
future. "Spanish Fly" will continue to play, and they plan to tour next year, though the members will continue with all their other projects (you can hear these guys in bands including Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus, Lounge Lizards, etc, and David Tronzo has been performing and recording solo and with his own band). But I strongly believe that the birth of "Spanish Fly" is something to be reckoned with, and I hope they will be around for a long time.

One last note: as of this writing, Federico Fellini is in a coma following a series of strokes he suffered recently. This man's work affected me in ways that I cannot begin to explain here, but I would simply not be doing what I do had it not been for his influence, and I'm praying for his survival, and, with a miracle, perhaps there's another movie or two in him.
Ciao Federico, for now!
I'll be seeing you,
Hal Willıner
October 1993


Spanish Fly's debut album was recorded in 1993 over six days at the Knitting Factory and edited down from twelve hours of taping. It is a mellow and even solemn recording demanding that the listener be attentive to the subtle group dynamics. Important to the sound of this album is the omission of percussion instruments as a rhythmic source (although drums sound occasionally splashing texture into the generally somber mood). Some of the tracks are reflective of the less meditative side of Spanish Fly. "Caveman" is a subtly grooving tuba ostinato with some impressive guitar work by Tronzo, and "Baby" is a gently loping, New Orleans-style march. Overall, this album with its esoteric sound-explorations only hints at the elegance and excitement of its follow up, Fly By Night. (All Music, Wilson McCloy)

credits

released April 2, 2021

Steven Bernstein Composer, trumpet, slide trumpet, flugelhorn
David W. Brenner Design
Ian Bryan Mixing
Michael Dorf Executive Producer
Duke Ellington Composer
Marco Steinberg Cover Art
Jimi Hendrix Composer
James McLean Engineer
Bubber Miley Composer
Ben Perowsky Drums, Percussion
Marcus Rojas Composer, Tuba
Spanish Fly Performer, Primary Artist, Producer
Traditional Composer
David Tronzo Composer, Slide Guitar
Hal Willner Liner Notes, Producer

1 Portrait
Written-By – S. Bernstein 3:36

2 Little Thirteen
Written-By – D. Tronzo* 1:14

3 Marcus Mouth
Written-By – D. Tronzo*, M. Rojas*, S. Bernstein* 5:59

4 Caveman
Written-By – S. Bernstein 3:33

5 Baby
Written-By – S. Bernstein 8:28

6 If 6 Were 9
Written-By – J. Hendrix 3:21

7 Black & Tan Fantasy
Written-By – D. Ellington 6:10

8 Playboys Of The Western World
Written-By – D. Tronzo, M. Rojas, S. Bernstein 3:59

9 Rags To Britches
Written-By – M. Rojas 10:56

10 Thirteen
Written-By – D. Tronzo 5:37

11 Folk Song
Arranged By – S. Bernstein
Written-By – Traditional 5:30
12 Time Noise
Written-By – D. Tronzo 1:04
13 Hoe Cheez
Written-By – S. Bernstein

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Steven Bernstein New York, New York

An impactful presence on the New York scene over the past 30 years, trumpeter, composer, arranger and bandleader Steven Bernstein has immersed himself in such a wide array of music with his bands Sexmob, Millennial Territory Orchestra, Diaspora Soul, Universal Melody Brass Band, Spanish Fly, Blue Campfire and the Butler-Bernstein Hot 9 that he defies easy categorization. ... more

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