Cora Seo

Hallelujah Anyway is an important retrospective of underrecognized and versatile cellist Tom Cora. A worthy eulogy, released one year after his death, this double-disc set includes songs written in his memory, songs that he composed for others, and a great cross-section of the myriad projects and musical contexts that Cora embraced. And that means a cross-section of all the creative experimenters and improvisers in avant garde rock, jazz, etc. spanning the late '70s through the late '90s. This collection includes some of Cora's solo recordings, as well as projects with John Zorn, Carlos Zingaro, Richard Teitelbaum, the Ex, Barre Philips, and the bands Curlew, Roof, Third Person (with Samm Bennett), the Chadbournes, and Skeleton Crew (with Fred Frith)…

In 1978, Italian percussionist Andrea Centazzo toured the United States with a cutting-edge sextet, and then recorded it live for New York City radio. This is the first complete release of that recording session, adding important tracks to two earlier releases. A quick look at the personnel is telling: John Zorn on reeds; Toshinori Kondo on trumpet; Tom Cora on cello; Eugene Chadbourne on guitars; the woefully underappreciated Polly Bradfield on violin; and, of course, Centazzo leading on percussion…