Browse by Label: TOMPKINS SQUARE

Artist:	LOUVIN, CHARLIE
Title:	Charlie Louvin
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1042CD

"The term 'living legend' gets thrown around quite a bit, but it actually applies to Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie Louvin. Charlie Louvin's influence on country, alt-country, and their many sub-genres is incalculable. The unique harmonies and lyrical folk poetry of the Louvin Brothers ('among the top duos in country music history' --All Music Guide) have inspired countless covers of their songs by such artists as Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons, The Byrds, Emmylou Harris, Uncle Tupelo and the Raconteurs (with Jack White). Produced by Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Calexico, Candi Staton) and Charlie Louvin, the new album was recorded in Spring/Summer 2006 in Nashville. It features guest performances by Elvis Costello, Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, Tom T. Hall, George Jones, Bobby Bare Sr., Tift Merritt, Marty Stuart, David Kilgour, and members of Bright Eyes, Lambchop, Superchunk, Blanche and Clem Snide, among others. The album features several Louvin Brothers classics as well as country favorites first popularized by Jimmie Rodgers, The Delmore Brothers, The Carter Family, and The Monroe Brothers."

Artist:	OCHS, MAX
Title:	Hooray For Another Day
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1059CD

"Max Ochs. Cousin of Phil Ochs. Poet. Schoolmate of John Fahey and Robbie Basho. Friend of Mississippi John Hurt and Skip James. Social activist. Takoma and Fonotone recording artist. Composer of the tune 'Imaginational Anthem.' Maryland's Max Ochs recorded two influential guitar pieces on a long out-of-print Takoma LP, Contemporary Guitar Spring '67, alongside tracks by John Fahey, Bukka White, Robbie Basho and Harry Taussig. Hooray For Another Day contains exciting new instrumental works from this American primitive master, including a new take on Fahey's arrangement of 'In Christ There Is No East or West.' The disc also contains several spoken word poems, one entitled 'Phil,' for Max's cousin, the late folk legend Phil Ochs. Max's tune 'Imaginational Anthem' inspired the guitar compilation series of the same name on Tompkins Square. This album is a stirring personal statement from an overlooked yet vital American artist."

Artist:	KIEFER & SHARRON KRAUS, CHRISTIAN
Title:	The Black Dove
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1124CD

"The Black Dove is a collaborative project between two like-minded artists, Christian Kiefer and Sharron Kraus. Kiefer is a Sacramento-based singer/songwriter with several acclaimed concept records exploring the history of the American West, who has collaborated with members of Low, Wilco and The Band. Kraus is an English folksinger in the tradition of Sandy Denny, Linda Thompson and Anne Briggs, a dark folk troubadour whose debut album Beautiful Twisted made Rolling Stone's Top Critics' Albums for 2002. In creating The Black Dove, the two worked on songs and instrumentals based on the idea of love letters between two people, one the pursuer and one the pursued, one flesh and blood, the other a ghost. Kiefer's forest-bound Northern California studio was awash with mandolins, guitars, pump organ, tongue drums, and banjos. Blue jays squawked through the trees, the flies swarmed and buzzed, the wind whistled through the pine needles. The album is meant to be experienced as a sonic novel with each song or chapter referencing the text."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Imaginational Anthem Volume Two
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1424CD

"Released in October 2005, Imaginational Anthem Volume One featured two generations of important acoustic guitarists, from John Fahey and Sandy Bull to Jack Rose and Kaki King. Volume Two expands and builds on this theme with 70+ more minutes of guitar magic -- all previously unreleased on CD in the US. 23-year old UK 12-string upstart James Blackshaw opens the record, while the late master Robbie Basho, a clear influence on Blackshaw's style, closes it. Basho's track is the only live recording by this groundbreaking guitarist ever released. Riches abound on Imaginational Anthem Vol Two, with new recordings by former Takoma roster alumni Peter Lang (who made an album with John Fahey and Leo Kottke), Billy Faier (an original Greenwich Village folkie whose late '50s Riverside records inspired a fellow crack banjo player, Steve Martin) and an archival home recording by Fred Gerlach (a favorite of Jimmy Page). The new breed is well-represented by fascinating figures of today -- Smith, Carter, Sparhawk, Kraus, Rose and Blackshaw. Legendary singer/songwriter Michael Chapman, whose first albums for the Harvest label in the '60s are now seeing the light again, contributes as well."

Artist:	TAUSSIG, HARRY
Title:	Fate Is Only Once
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1523CD

"Released as a short-run private press LP in 1965, Fate Is Only Once has long been a coveted collectible among American Primitive guitar enthusiasts. The only other recorded work by Taussig surfaced on the out of-print Takoma LP Contemporary Guitar Spring '67alongside John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Max Ochs and Bukka White. 'Dorian Sonata' was recently featured on the acclaimed acoustic guitar compilation Imaginational Anthem Vol. 1, and now the album is here. remastered, with original liner notes and vintage photos. The album features takes on traditional tunes ('Dark Town Strutter's Ball', 'Revs Rag' and 'St. Louis Tickle'), expressive originals in the American primitive vein ('Blues For Zone VII', 'Dorian Sonata') and re-workings of songs popularized by Rev. Gary Davis and Elizabeth Cotten ('Baby Let Me Lay It On You/That'll Never Happen No More', 'Sugar Babe, Yoir Papa Cares For You.')The 'headiness' of the album is remarkable for a 1965 guitar recording. While many guitarists were still stuck in the stuffy, conservative world of 'folk", Taussig was mining spacier territory like his colleague John Fahey. The musical ideas on the album sound remarkably fresh 41 years later."

Artist:	VA
Title:	A Raga For Peter Walker
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1622CD

"Guitarist Peter Walker came up in the Cambridge, MA and Greenwich Village folk scenes of the '60s. He recorded two albums for the Vanguard label in the late '60s. Their style can best be described as American folk raga. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and was Dr. Timothy Leary's musical director, organizing music for his 'Celebrations.' His debut album from 1967, Rainy Day Raga, features one of the first studio appearances by jazz flautist Jeremy Steig, as well as guitarist Bruce Langhorne, who recorded with Bob Dylan and many others. It is a gentle and beautiful fusion of Eastern and Western musical traditions, and one of the earliest examples of a style introduced by Sandy Bull several years earlier. The second album, Second Poem to Karmela or Gypsies Are Important (1969) found Walker going even deeper into Indian instrumentation, playing sarod and sitar. The musicians Peter played with or was associated with during this time period include Lowell George, Sandy Bull, Fred Neil, Tim Hardin, Joan Baez, and many others. Peter Walker's first recordings in 37 years appear on A Raga For Peter Walker, which features four new tracks from Peter and original unreleased compositions by revered guitarists Steffen Basho-Junghans, Jack Rose, James Blackshaw, Greg Davis, Thurston Moore, and Shawn David McMillen. More a tip of the hat than a 'tribute' album, these players all share an appreciation for a musician whose small yet amazing body of work still resonates."

Artist:	MCMILLEN, SHAWN DAVID
Title:	Catfish
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1721CD

"Guitarist and composer Shawn David McMillen is a native of the East Texas town of Lake Jackson, known as the 'Cancer Capitol of America' due to its large concentration of chemical plants. In the early '90s, Shawn met Tom and Christina Carter (Charlambides) -- now considered early pioneers of the present avant-folk movement -- as well as Heather Leigh Murray. Heather and Shawn moved to Galveston where she attended Texas A & M/Galveston while 'working at an animal clinic, recording music constantly and having cataclysmic experiences on acid together at the beach.' Shawn and Heather recorded as Ash Castles on the Ghost Coast. Catfish is acoustic-based only because Shawn had no electric guitar at the time. Other instruments include autoharp, Roland keyboard, Indian goat bell, Indonesian gongs, bowed electric bass, African kalimba (thumb piano) and shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute). Cited influences at the time include American Indian lore, music from the Middle East and India, Phil Yost, Robbie Basho and Malachi Favors. A recent Wire review noted that Catfish 'shares the peculiar sense of temporal and topographical resonance that exemplifies the soporific, glazed music created by artists from Texas. Though their music references psychedelia (a notionally placeless aesthetic), there is something very specific about the manifestations of place and space in Texas psych...'."

Artist:	WALKER, PETER
Title:	Echo Of My Soul
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1752CD

"Peter Walker came up in the Cambridge, MA and Greenwich Village folk scenes of the '60s. He recorded two albums for the Vanguard label in the late '60s in a style best described as American folk-raga. He studied with Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, and was Dr.Timothy Leary's musical director, organizing music for the LSD advocate's 'celebrations.' A Raga for Peter Walker was released by Tompkins Square in 2006, featuring four new tracks from Peter along with original, previously unreleased compositions by revered contemporary guitarists Steffen Basho-Junghans, James Blackshaw, Greg Davis, Shawn David McMillen, Thurston Moore, and Jack Rose. In recent years, Walker has developed an intense interest in flamenco guitar and, through regular trips to Spain, has been accepted into flamenco's exclusive musical elite. Peter states, 'the music on this CD was reviewed and acclaimed in Andalucia by some of the "old guard" who have encouraged its release. With its roots in ancient East Indian music, "flamenco" has influenced much of the world's music. These Spanish-inspired pieces reflect my passion for this musical rubric.' Maverick guitar master, Peter Walker's first album in 40 years!"

Artist:	BLACKSHAW, JAMES
Title:	Litany of Echoes
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1783CD

"Initially inspired by the guitarists of the '60s Takoma label to teach himself fingerpicking, London-based musician James Blackshaw writes pieces primarily for solo 12-string guitar that share more in common with the minimalist works of composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine, as well as French composers Claude Debussy and Erik Satie, than the blues/raga influence of his peers. Using drones, overtones and repeating patterns alongside a strong inclination for melody, Blackshaw creates instrumental music that is both intelligent, hypnotic and unashamedly sentimental. Litany of Echoes, Blackshaw's sixth studio album in five years, shows a more mature, focused and, on the whole, accessible approach to composition. While the album often feels darker and more introspective in nature than on previous releases, many of the songs have a huge-sounding, classical quality to them. With Blackshaw adding some glistening piano work for the first time and Fran Bury returning to play swarms of sweeping string parts for violin and viola, Litany of Echoes is a truly original, affecting and timeless album from a guitarist/composer coming into his own."

Artist:	BASHO, ROBBIE
Title:	Venus in Cancer
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1820CD

The 1969 guitar classic, remastered from the original tapes. With new reflections by Will Ackerman, Max Ochs, Steffan Basho-Junghans, and Pete Townshend. "Robbie Basho released Venus in Cancer in 1969 on the Blue Thumb label. After five albums for the Takoma label in the '60s, Basho had cemented his reputation alongside John Fahey and Leo Kottke as one of the most brilliant guitarists of his generation. His wide range of musical influences from around the globe set him apart from other blues-based players, incorporating Arabic, Himalayan and Indian themes; Japanese and Chinese scales, and classical and European folk music. All are on magnificent display on this sprawling, spiritually-charged album. Released on CD for the very first time, the album has been remastered from the original tapes. The package includes original album artwork and new appreciations from Windham Hill label founder Will Ackerman, Basho college friend and fellow Takoma recording artists Max Ochs, German guitarist Steffen Basho-Junghans, and Pete Townshend of The Who. Twenty years since his death in 1986, Basho's legend continues to grow, having strongly influenced a new generation of guitarists including Jack Rose, Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) and James Blackshaw, among many others."

Artist:	BLACKSHAW, JAMES
Title:	Celeste
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1837CD

Reissue of this 2004 album, originally issued as a CD-R on Celebrate Psi Phenomenon; half of this was also on the Bo Weavil Sunshine/Celeste LP in 2005. "Guitarist/composer James Blackshaw's 2007 Tompkins Square album, The Cloud of Unknowing, received 'Top 50 Albums of the Year' honors from Pitchfork and Wire magazine. Fresh off a U.S. and UK tour with Jose Gonzalez, and a bevy of year-end praise from the blogosphere to The New York Times, Tompkins Square reissues four catalog titles previously only available as tiny, limited edition CD-R pressings. 'Mr. Blackshaw plays 12-string acoustic guitar, picking endlessly circling, intertwining arpeggios: stately, tolling ones on the lower strings and faster ones, verging on tremolo, up above. Yet what usually emerges from the welter of notes is not bustle but tranquility. The music has the same contemplative scope that turns countless tiny daubs into a Monet water lily.' --Jon Pareles, The New York Times, Dec 31, 2007."

Artist:	BLACKSHAW, JAMES
Title:	Sunshrine
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1844CD

Reissue of this November 2005 release (originally issued on Digitalis and Bo Weavil). "...Blackshaw has already mustered up enough talent on the guitar to put many more renowned acts to shame. His gorgeous finger picked melodies on 12-string guitar are incredibly affecting and a stark contrast to the ragas and ragtimes of peer Jack Rose. Instead of concentrating on replicating a specific era of music or showing his technical prowess, Blackshaw aims straight for the heart and listening to these two extended pieces is enough for you to be transported into another realm entirely. One of the standout releases in the now slightly bloated folk revival movement, Sunshrine is a real pleasure to listen to and should be wedged firmly into any self-respecting folk follower's CD shelf." --Boomkat

Artist:	BLACKSHAW, JAMES
Title:	Lost Prayers and Motionless Dances
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1851CD

James Blackshaw's second release, originally recorded in October 2004 by John Hannon, NRS. Released as a CD-R on Digitalis December 2004. "An absolutely monumental recording, Lost Prayers and Motionless Dances re-examines many of the themes that were explored on Celeste and distills them into one brilliant 35-minute composition that is full of excitement and surprise. The piece begins with a harmonium drone and acoustic 12-string, tuned to the guitar-unfriendly C-F-C-F-C-F (I can't find any examples of this tuning being used elsewhere) and unfolds beautifully. Blackshaw moves effortlessly from Takoma-inspired picking into electroacoustic improvisation and concludes with 12-string, harmonium and ride cymbal falling into a blissed-out circular folk groove that is absolutely infectious." --Grown So Ugly.

Artist:	VA
Title:	People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	3CD
Price:	$52.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1875CD

...1913-1938. "Songs of death, destruction and disaster, recorded by black and white performers from the dawn of American roots recording are here, assembled together for the first time. Whether they document world-shattering events like the sinking of the Titanic or memorialize long-forgotten local murders or catastrophes, these 70 recordings -- over 30 never before reissued -- are audio messages in a bottle reflecting a lost world where age-old ballads rubbed up against songs inspired by the day's headlines. Featuring beautifully remastered recordings by the some of the cornerstones of American vernacular recording such as Charlie Patton, Ernest Stoneman, Furry Lewis, Charlie Poole and Uncle Dave Macon, these songs tell of life and death struggles forever immortalized on these rare and compelling 78 rpms. Produced and annotated by the Grammy-winning team of Christopher King and Henry 'Hank' Sapoznik with an introduction by Tom Waits, the accompanying 48-page 3CD anthology designed by Grammy award-winning Susan Archie brims with many eye-popping historic images never before reproduced."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Imaginational Anthem Vols. 1-3
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	3CD
Price:	$27.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1899CD

"Imaginational Anthem Vols. 1-3 brings together all three volumes of the essential acoustic guitar series. Released in October 2005, Imaginational Anthem was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and received 4 stars from Uncut ('Entrancing'), All Music Guide ('Masterful') and Mojo ('Groundbreaking'). Rolling Stone's David Fricke wrote, 'the history and beauty here speaks for themselves, at the perfect volume.' Jon Pareles wrote in The New York Times, 'old and new, the music meditates on blues, Appalachian music, raga and ragtime, and traditions are transfigured by a deep love for the sonority of the acoustic guitar.' Released in June 2006, Imaginational Anthem Volume 2 opened with the gorgeous 'River Of Heaven' by Tompkins Square recording artist James Blackshaw, and featured unreleased recordings by legends such as Michael Chapman, Fred Gerlach, Billy Faier, Peter Lang and Robbie Basho. The album was supported by a national Arthur Magazine-sponsored U.S. tour with Blackshaw, Sharron Kraus and Sean Smith. Pitchfork wrote, '[IA2] pairs some of the leading lights of the current avant-folk subculture with unearthed vintage folk rarities.' Tompkins Square has been steadily mining the genre known as 'American primitive guitar' with a string of acclaimed releases." Other artists include: Max Ochs, Brad Barr, Suni McGrath, Harris Newman, Harry Taussig, Jack Rose, Steve Mann, Glenn Jones, Gyan Riley & Terry Riley, Bern Nix, Bob Hadley, Janet Smith & Steve Mann, John Fahey, Kaki King, Sandy Bull, Jose Gonzalez, Jesse Sparhawk, Sean Smith, Christina Carter, Sharron Kraus, Richard Crandell, Ben Reynolds, Greg Davis, Nathan Salsburg, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Cian Nugent, Matt Baldwin, Mark Fosson, George Stavis, R. Keenan Lawler and Shawn David McMillen.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Imaginational Anthem Volume Three
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1905CD

"I struggle to recall any recent comps that glide together as seamlessly as these Tompkins Square projects, and Volume Three is no exception. Contemplative, intricate, a simple but ornate school of folk that hangs effortlessly between the ancient and the avant-garde -- I could listen to this stuff all day." --John Mulvey, Uncut. "NYC's Tompkins Square label releases Imaginational Anthem Volume Three, the third in a series of compilations devoted to acoustic guitar mavericks past and present. As with Volumes 1 & 2, the 3rd volume features extraordinary young talents such as Cian Nugent (Ireland), Ben Reynolds (UK), and Shawn David McMillen (Austin, TX) alongside unsung heroes from decades past, such as banjo master George Stavis, who recorded an album for Vanguard in the '60s; Richard Crandell, whose rare private press works will hopefully now come to light; and Mark Fosson, whose lost 1977 Takoma album was recently issued." Other artists include: Greg Davis, Nathan Salsburg, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Matt Baldwin and R. Keenan Lawler.

Artist:	LOUVIN, CHARLIE
Title:	Live At Shake It Records
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1912CD

"Country Music Hall of Fame legend Charlie Louvin co-wrote and recorded some of the most enduring country songs of all time with his brother Ira. Charlie recorded this live album in May 2007 during a non-stop tour in support of his acclaimed new album on Tompkins Square. In fact, this past year has seen the 80-year-old tour with Lucinda Williams, play major festivals like Bonnaroo, share bills with Ryan Adams and Neko Case, and release a video for the song 'Ira.' The Louvin Brothers songs featured on Charlie Louvin, and on this live CD, have been handed down by Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, The Byrds, Emmylou Harris and Uncle Tupelo, and recently made it into live sets by the likes of Beck and Jack White. Charlie's influence on a new generation is clear. This live set captures Charlie at one of his many 'in store' appearances. It's a stripped-down field recording from a true living legend."

Artist:	MOORE, SPENCER
Title:	Spencer Moore
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	TSQ 1950CD

"88 year-old country singer Spencer Moore played a tent show with the Carter Family in the '30s, and was recorded in 1959 by Alan Lomax, who called him 'as genuine as a rail fence.' This is his debut album. In our headlong rush into the age of iPods and laptops, it is reassuring to know that there are still people around like Spencer Moore. In a rustic mountain home perched on a green hillside of the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, Spencer Moore remains almost untouched by modernity. He provides his own entertainment on an acoustic guitar now a half-century old. Knowing between 500-600 songs by heart, he can sing you most any old-time song known in this part of the Blue Ridge. Born into a family of 11 children on February 7, 1919 in the northwestern corner of North Carolina, Spencer was introduced to old-time music early on. After the family moved across the mountains to Laurel Bloomery the Moore family was exposed to more old-time music via their neighbor, the blind fiddler and singer, G.B. Grayson. Spencer's father acquired a wind-up phonograph and records. Hearing records by the likes of Charlie Poole, Jimmie Rodgers , Riley Puckett and their neighbor, G.B. Grayson, stoked the fires of Spencer's love of old-time music that much more. A few dollars bought him a guitar from Sears and Roebuck via the mail. In 1933, at age 14, Spencer attended the famous Whitetop Mountain Folk Festival. There he heard Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt sing 'Three Little Babes,' an old British ballad also known as 'The Wife of Usher's Well.' By the late 1930s, Spencer and his brother Joe were performing publicly themselves as The Moore Brothers in the Delmore Brothers style. It was during this period that The Moores performed in a tent-show with The Carter Family. In 1959, famed folklorist Alan Lomax along with Shirley Collins came into the hills of southwest Virginia to collect Blue Ridge mountain music. Lomax recorded a number of pieces by Spencer including 'Jimmy Sutton' and 'The Girl I Left Behind.' The performances were released on Atlantic and Prestige Records. Spencer Moore is a living link to our musical past. He knew and played with The Carter Family, G. B. Grayson and Henry Whittier. Such links are becoming increasingly rare. He is a treasure we should cherish."

Artist:	BLAKE, RAN
Title:	All That Is Tied
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1965CD

"Ran Blake recorded All That Is Tied, his 35th album, exactly 40 years since cutting his very first solo piano LP for the ESP label in 1965. Marking that anniversary, and his 70th birthday, the master pianist and composer revisits selections from his entire career, bringing new life to an extraordinary and unique body of work. A cult figure surrounded by the same mysterious aura that permeates the classic Film Noir scene which so inspire him, pianist/composer/educator Ran Blake has been one of improvised music's most respected and incomparable voices for more than 40 years. His noteworthy collaborators on record have included Anthony Braxton, Clifford Jordan, Steve Lacy, Jeanne Lee, and Houston Person among others, but his seminal solo recordings have always defined his discography and his career."

Artist:	BLACKSHAW, JAMES
Title:	The Cloud of Unknowing
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 1967CD

"When UK-native James Blackshaw plays his 12-string guitar, something spiritual takes place. Performing and recording since 2003, his name is frequently mentioned as one of the foremost modern solo acoustic guitarists. Now at the age of 25, Blackshaw, an untrained musician born and still residing in the suburban environs of Greater London, draws as much inspiration from early religious music, South-Asian folk music and composers such as Arvo Part, Simeon Ten Holt, Steve Reich and Charlemagne Palestine as he does from John Fahey, Robbie Basho and the early Takoma Records roster, constantly breaking boundaries in what could be conceived as a somewhat limited medium. In his part improvised and part written songs, Blackshaw makes expert use of Eastern and Western scales, chord changes reminiscent of European classical music and incredibly intricate fingerpicking patterns to make a sound that is both challengingly minimalist, yet warm and approachable to anybody who might hear it, with a rare sensitivity that conveys immense beauty, hope and sadness."

Artist:	BARR, BRAD
Title:	The Fall Apartment: Instrumental Guitar
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 2011CD

"This is guitarist Brad Barr's solo debut, The Fall Apartment: Instrumental Guitar. As a member of Northeast-based band The Slip, Brad's guitar prowess has always been notable, but his true gifts and distinct musical voice are on full display throughout this solo guitar album. A heady set of original compositions is complimented by such diverse covers as Maria La O by legendary Cuban musician Ernesto Lecuona, Kurt Cobain's 'Heart Shaped Box,' and Le Trio Ferret's 'Gin Gin.' The introspective tone of the album recalls such autumnal, overlooked loner guitar gems as Lenny Breau's Cabin Fever or Richard Crandell's In The Flower Of Our Youth, while staking out a thoroughly modern approach to solo guitar here in the late '00s."

Artist:	MILLER & HIS OLD SOUTH QUARTETTE, POLK
Title:	Polk Miller & His Old South Quartette
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 2028CD

"Historic recordings by Polk Miller and His Old South Quartette. These are some of the earliest sound recordings of African-Americans and whites making music together. Polk Miller was born James A. Miller near Burkeville in Prince Edward County, Virginia on August 2, 1844. He picked up the banjo early on and grew up learning the music of the slave quarters on a large Virginia plantation. In 1892, He created a traveling show, 'The old Virginia Plantation Negro" including banjo tunes, nostalgic dialect stories and a lecture, without resorting to farce or black-face. The show glorified the plantation music and important African-American spirituals that our young country was hungry for In the 'gay '90s.' Mark Twain, upon hearing Miller and his Quartette exclaimed, 'I think that Polk Miller, and his wonderful four, is about the only thing this country can furnish that is originally and utterly American.' It is in this historical context that Tompkins Square reissues a CD of seven 1909 Edison cylinder records And seven 1928 qrs/broadway disc recordings. The booklet includes photos and memorabilia with notes by African-American music scholar Doug Seroff. The CD package is designed by multiple Grammy Award nominee, Susan Archie."

Artist:	CRANDELL, RICHARD
Title:	In The Flower of Our Youth
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 2035LP

Reissue of this classic solo acoustic guitar album. "In The Flower of Our Youth, originally released on the private press label Cutthroat Records in 1980, was Richard Crandell's first LP. His tune 'Rebecca' was famously covered by admirer Leo Kottke on his Chewing Pine album. Crandell has gone on to record several other guitar albums, as well as two mbira recordings for John Zorn's Tzadik label. Crandell's music has recently been featured on Tompkins Square's Imaginational Anthem Vol. 3, as well as the guitar compilation Wayfaring Strangers: Guitar Soli."

Artist:	LOUVIN, CHARLIE
Title:	Steps To Heaven
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 2059CD

"Features 10 traditional gospel classics including 2 Louvin Brothers songs. The release will be followed by Charlie Louvin Sings Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs. Both albums were produced, recorded and mixed by Mark Nevers (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Andrew Bird, Bobby Bare Sr.). Instead of hanging back at age 81, Charlie has instead chosen to challenge himself. Steps To Heaven was recorded live with a gospel choir comprised of three sisters, journeyman gospel pianist Derrick Lee, and Chris Scruggs, adding doghouse bass and electric guitar. Louvin had never recorded with black gospel musicians before, and in doing so discovered a new musical path. Charlie remarks, 'I did things on the gospel record I had no idea I could do. I'd be thinking along the way, 'How can I do things I've never done before?' And I did it.' 2007 saw Louvin celebrate his 80th birthday amidst a swirl of activity around the release of his first studio album in ten years, Charlie Louvin. Grammy-nominated for 'Best Traditional Folk Album,' the disc features George Jones, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Will Oldham, and Elvis Costello, among others. Charlie toured and recorded with Lucinda Williams, made a video for the song 'Ira,' released a field recording of one of his many in-store performances, Live at Shake It Records, played over 100 concert dates sharing stages with Ryan Adams and Neko Case, appeared on giant festivals like Bonnaroo and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and placed a medallion around Emmylou Harris' neck inducting her into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Charlie's self-titled album earned 4 out of 5 stars in Uncut and MOJO magazines, and sparked a bevy of great press and renewed interest in his fascinating career."

Artist:	GAYLE, CHARLES
Title:	Time Zones
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 2839CD

"Time Zones is Charles Gayle's first solo piano album of all original compositions. Although he is known primarily as a fiery tenor saxophonist with a sound that blends the spirituality of John Coltrane with the free expression of Albert Ayler, his first instrument was the piano. Since putting his long and storied past as a homeless New York street musician behind him, and recording for the first time in the late 1980s, he has steadily integrated piano into his performances, leading AllAboutJazz.com reviewer Dennis Hollingsworth to declare, 'Charles Gayle is without question one of the most intriguing figures in modern jazz today. Like with his saxophone playing, Gayle uses the entire range of the piano. His style is highly personal, yet firmly grounded in the playing of past masters like Art Tatum and Bud Powell.'"

Artist:	SMITH/ADAM SNIDER/MATT BALDWIN, SEAN
Title:	Berkeley Guitar
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	TSQ 5252CD

"Berkeley Guitar is a collection of new recordings by three of the Bay Area's finest young acoustic guitarists: Sean Smith, Adam Snider, and Matt Baldwin. The city of Berkeley and the acoustic guitar share a rich, decades-long history -- most notably as the '60s home base of Takoma Records, which released landmark recordings by John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Leo Kottke and many others. This history inspired three young guitarists from the Bay Area to create a document of the present-day guitar scene. The album was produced by Sean Smith and recorded and mastered at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Larry Kelp of Berkeley public radio station KPFA contributes liner notes, as does Ed Denson, co-founder of Takoma Records." Each artist gets 3-4 separate tracks, not a collaborative album.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Imaginational Anthem
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	CD
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	TSQ 531CD

"Imaginational Anthem brings together pioneering acoustic guitar heroes of the '60s and '70s alongside a new generation of amazing players. Nearly 70 minutes of archival, live and newly recorded studio tracks -- some by artists who haven't released any music in decades. Plus a deluxe booklet with producer's notes and never before seen photographs. A solo guitar extravaganza! Imaginational Anthem features 16 tracks, 14 of which are previously unreleased, and nine of which were recorded specifically for the project. As evidenced by the recent success of experimental neo-folk troubadours like Six Organs, Devendra Banhart and Joanna Newsom, there's a strong interest in psychedelic folk sounds, both old and new. This compilation of solo acoustic gems spans 40 years and bridges two generations of guitar masters, from legends Sandy Bull and John Fahey to modern practitioners like Jack Rose and Kaki King." Artists: Max Ochs, Jack Rose, Glenn Jones, Sean Smith, Bern Nix, Harris Newman, Brad Barr, Jesse Sparhawk,Sandy Bull, John Fahey, Bob Hadley, Kaki King, Steve Mann, Suni McGrath, Gyan Riley, Janet Smith and Harry Taussig.

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Artist:	MCGRATH, SUNI
Title:	Seven Stars b/w Fantasia
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	7"
Price:	$6.00
Catalog #:	NM 53167

Artist:	FAIRFIELD, FRANK
Title:	I've Always Been A Rambler b/w Darling Corey
Label:	TOMPKINS SQUARE
Format:	7"
Price:	$5.50
Catalog #:	TSQ7 003EP