"While
buckleheaded fascists continue to try and stop the progressive roiling
of the essential ecstatic impulse that lurks in us all, Flaherty and
Corsano negate their every thrust w/ gorgeous parries of sheer
emotional intellect." - Byron Coley
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Saxophonist Paul Flaherty and drummer Chris Corsano are
New
England-based musicians dedicated to the promise and purpose of free
improvisation. Paul has released over 35 recordings since the late
70's, while Chris first appeared on record in 1997 (see
discography). For the past 8 years, the two have operated
together
in duo format as well as in collaborations with some of the finest
freedom thinkers around such as C. Spencer Yeh (aka Burning Star Core),
Nmperign's Greg Kelly, Thurston Moore
and Jim O'Rourke of Sonic Youth, Tony Conrad, Matt Heyner of Test and
the No Neck Blues Band, Daniel Carter, Christina Carter and Heather
Murray of Charalambides/Scorces, Wally Shoup, and Steve Swell.
Together, Flaherty & Corsano seek to champion the cause of
total
free improvisation, an often misunderstood, underestimated, and
sometimes even hated artform.
Thurston
Moore Quartet - The Roadhouse Session Vol. 1 CD
Same
line up as Live At Tonic (Wally Shoup, Paul Flaherty, Thurston Moore
& Chris Corsano). This is a studio recording from Sept. 2002,
unintentionally aged for 5 years in the incapable hands of the drummer
and then rescued from obscurity by Jim O'Rourke for Japanese Columbia.
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Shoup/Corsano/Flaherty
- Blank Check LP
The Finnish half of the
2nd
twin-release of the Tyyfus and Records labels. The first time around
was the Flaherty-Corsano Last Eyes/Steel Sleet
LPs. This time
out it's recordings from a live set of the Wally Shoup, Corsano
&
Flaherty trio at Gallery 1412 in Seattle, WA in October 2005.
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Shoup/Corsano/Flaherty
- Bounced Check LP
The Records half of the Blank/Bounced Check sister releases. Again,
recorded Oct 2005 at Seattle's Gallery 1412. Shoup on alto, Corsano on
drums, Flaherty on alto & tenor.
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Cold
Bleak Heat - Simitu CD
Second Cold Bleak Heat
(Flaherty/Corsano/Matt Heyner/Greg Kelley) release and the lucky number
13th full length release for Flaherty/Corsano. As with the first Cold
Bleak Heat, on the Family Vineyard label.
mp3
of Pound Cake
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Dream/Aktion
Unit -
Blood Shadow Rampage CD
First release by the
Dream/Aktion Unit.
This line-up features Thurston Moore, Count Hejnowski, Heather Leigh
Murray, Flaherty and Corsano. Recorded live at Le Weekend, May 2005.
Artwork by the great Karen Constance.
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Flaherty/Corsano/Yeh
-
Slow Blind Avalanche LP
Vinyl only release,
limited to 1000
copies with the first 200 on snow-white vinyl. Recorded at the same
session as A Rock In The Snow (but totally different cuts than that
CD). Artwork by C. Spencer Yeh. Liner notes by John Olson.
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Flaherty/Corsano/Yeh
- A
Rock In The Snow CD
Recorded in Hartford as part
of the
session with C. Spencer Yeh on violin and vocals that also birthed the
Slow Blind Avalanche LP, both on Important Records. Artwork by Spencer,
liners by John Olson.
mp3 clip of We Have To Check Your Equipment
For Bombs
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Flaherty/Corsano
Duo -
Full Bottle LP
Another live one from
Louisville,
this one from 2005. Fifth duo recording (third on vinyl) by
Flaherty/Corsano. Artwork by Dennis Tyfus and released by his estimable
Ultra Eczema label. Limited to 400 copies. There is a commercial for
this record here,
done by a couple of Belgium's finest thespians.
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Flaherty/Corsano
Duo - The
Beloved Music CD
Recorded live in Louisville,
KY in 2004
and released in '06 by Family Vineyard, with liner notes by David
Keenan. "Like biting in to the skin of
free-creature and having the swarm attack your feeble body." - John
Olson.
mp3 clip of The Great Pine Tar Scandal
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Flaherty/Corsano
Duo -
Steel Sleet LP
Issued by the Finnish
label, Tyyfus,
Steel Sleet is the all-tenor (minus a little bit of alto mouth-piece on
one track) corollary to the Last Eyes LP.
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Flaherty/Corsano
Duo -
Last Eyes LP
4 years after the The Hated Music, the Flaherty-Corsano Duo makes
another appearance on record, this time a vinyl full length of all-alto
& drums material. Released by Records in conjunction with it's
tenor-heavy sister record, Steel Sleet on the Tyyfus label.
mp3
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Steve
Baczkowski/Chris
Corsano/Paul Flaherty - The Dim Bulb CD
Baritone player Steve Baczkoski hails from Buffalo, rides his bike to
gigs with his horn on his back (it's a baritone for Christ's sake!),
and wails harder than most sax players either 1/2 or double his age or
anywhere in between. This is a live recording of a this trio's first
show, May 31st, 2003.
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Cold
Bleak Heat - It's
Magnificent, But It Isn't War CD
Flaherty, Corsano, Greg
Kelley
(trumpet - nmperign, Heathen Shame, BSC) and Matt Heyner (bass -TEST,
No Neck Blues Band, Izitiitz). On Family Vineyard. Liner notes by Dredd
Foole.
mp3 clips from It's Magnificent, But It
Isn't War:
Raising
The Dead (Freezer Fight)
The
Blue Dabs Of Varicose Veins
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Wally
Shoup/Paul
Flaherty/Thurston Moore/Chris Corsano - Live at Tonic CD
On Leo Records. A live
set recorded
at Tonic in NYC on September 14th, 2002. Cover art by Wally Shoup.
mp3
clip: Live at Tonic
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Paul
Flaherty/Greg Kelley/Chris
Corsano - Sannyasi CD
The second offering from Flaherty & Corsano is a trio disc with
Boston-based trumpeter Greg Kelley. Released in July, 2002, on
Flaherty's new imprint Wet Paint, with Paul's artwork gracing the front
cover.
mp3
clip from Wayless Way
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Flaherty/Corsano
Duo - The
Hated Music CD
This is the debut CD from the Paul Flaherty-Chris Corsano Duo, released
by Ecstatic Yod, the combination of Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace
& Byron Coley's Father Yod labels. With cover art by the great
Gary
Panter and liner notes by Byron "power kuk" Coley.
mp3 clips from The Hated Music:
Hat
City Fire Truck
Tom
Wilson's Dream
Rut
One
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See Flaherty & Corsano's full
discographies here or view video
footage.
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SOME WORDS FROM THE PRESS
"Flaherty
and his
saxophones are a subterranean legend in the kingdoms of the north.
Since the 'In the Midst of Chaos' LP was recorded, back in the mid
'70s, Paul has been a persistent roar in the distance - pervading the
aura of the region's improvisational underground, whilst eschewing its
spotlights. Chris Corsano is one of the most immensely talented
drummers to have emerged from the recent past. Those who have witnessed
the giganticism of his formal leaps in the jaws of post-avant-garde
power surging, have been left slack w/ the wonder & hilarity of
it
all." - Byron Coley
"If the duo situation is all about
communication,
then Flaherty and Corsano are clearly an ideal musical partnership." -
Robert Iannapollo, Cadence Magazine
"The Hated Music
is an absolute tour de
force, superbly recorded and positively spitting fire from beginning to
end. Taking its place in the canon of magnificent sax/drums
collaborations starting with Coltrane's Interstellar Space
and Frank Lowe's Duo Exchange (both with Rashied
Ali on
percussives), The Hated Music can stand its
ground against
these two classics without fear." - Dan Warburton, Paris
Transatlantic/Signal To Noise
"It's the focused flashes of pure
white light
that'll keep you coming back, from the strangulated beauty of 'Incident
At Powder Ridge' through the duo assault of 'Closing The Tea Party',
Flaherty and Corsano make an infernal tag team." - David Keenan, The
Wire on The Hated Music
"More than thirty years after the
death of Albert
Ayler, Flaherty and Corsano's music is the most compelling evidence
I've heard in some time that music like this still needs to be played."
Charlie Wilmoth, Dusted Magazine
More
press quotes here.
photo by Stephanie
Pollnac
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