Crypto Musings

New York State of Mauping/Gauthier...NEWS!

Misters Gauthier and Maupin just arrived back from NYC after a heavy 4 day meetings & interviews-scheduled publicity trip for their new May 9th releases!

Ben Ratliff  will be reviewing "Penumbra"  this Sunday April 30th in the New York Times.  The Times has requested a photograph of Bennie so strategically this is a VERY big deal for all concerned parties, especially since all signs and intimations are pointing to a very positive review !!!

also! XM satellite radio's "Beyond Jazz" station has scheduled "Penumbra" to start playing on Sunday April 30th, the same day as the New York Times review.  Jeff and Bennie went to our distriubution's Big Apple head quarters to "meet and greet" and talk about the exciting new releases. As usual Ryko-folk were terrific. Jeff Gauthier brought lunch and made a presentation and he and  Bennie answered questions about the releases. Bennie surprised EVERYONE by bringing along his bass clarinet and playing a few numbers for the group!!! It was a magical moment that no one expected.  Jeff and Bennie went with Rob Teftt down to the Downtown Music Gallery to finally meet the very Crypto-supportive Bruce Gallanter!

NPR Morning Edition has begun airing clips from Penumbra as "bumper" music on its morning news program. They have aired 2 cuts per show from the CD each day since Monday April 17.   Bob Boylen and Tom Coles of NPR have been contacted about scheduling an NPR feature on Bennie Maupin.

Cryptogramophone has recorded and produced two Radio-friendly limited edition CD Interviews with Bennie Maupin and Jeff Gauthier. The discs will be mailed with the radio station promo copies! Stay tuned for more!!!

Officially someone... GO GO Gauthier!

from the LA WEEKLY - LA PEOPLE 2006 special issue

Jeff Gauthier

By GREG BURK

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 3:00 pm

He doesn’t look scary. But look again: Jeff Gauthier (“goaty-AY”) is a Secret Agent for Musical Revolution. Watch him, stroking his violin with his band Goatette or a dozen other post-jazz groups, eyes closed as if he’s dreaming of celestial pastures. All the while, the war against mediocrity and megapop boredom rages on, and he’s actually winning some battles.

As a member of the key local chamber-jazz group Quartet Music in the ’80s, as well as a classical player and an in-demand improviser for some three decades, Gauthier has seen the dirt that gets done to musicians who try something different. So when fellow Quartet member Eric von Essen died an unknown genius in 1997, Gauthier decided to do something about it by dirtying his own hands in the grubby recording business. His tool was Cryptogramophone Records, which he launched in 1998 to expose von Essen’s compositions, then expanded to showcase the best of West Coast avanteers (Don Preston, Nels Cline, Alex Cline, G.E. Stinson, Scott Amendola, Ben Goldberg, Jeanette Wrate, Mark Dresser, Bennie Maupin) and select Easterners (Erik Friedlander, Gregg Bendian). Behold: For the uncompromised quality of the music, the excellence of the sound and the beauty of the packaging, he’s gathered substantial respect worldwide.

Yet something still bothered Gauthier: These warriors needed a live arena where they could stretch their muscles. He discovered an unlikely ally in Carlos Rodriguez, proprietor of a little Salvadoran restaurant called Club Tropical in Culver City. “Without his support for music that was completely new to him three years ago,” says Gauthier, “the Cryptonight series would not have been possible.” Each Thursday since 2003 (and recently with a world-music night on Fridays), Cryptonight, co-booked by David Witham, hosts the best of the locals plus visitors from as far away as New York (Ned Rothenberg), Holland (Han Bennink) and Japan (the bicontinental Carl Stone).

The Tropical now fills up most every Thursday. Two reasons: 1) Comfortable sit-down atmosphere, good food, full bar. 2) You don’t have to look at the calendar; you can go any week and be dead certain you’ll experience the most mind-stretching, most proficient and plain old best improvisational music on the planet.