Eric Goletz - Into The Night (April 2021 CAP Records)

INTO THE NIGHT

Brings a 30-Year Dream to Life

For East Coast Trombonist/Composer Eric Goletz

Out April on Consolidated Artists Publications

I hate the word fusion because it makes everyone think of unlistenable types of jazz. In my mind, the word means the blending of different kinds of elements into a particular kind of sound. – Eric Goletz

On his new CD, INTO THE NIGHT, releasing April 2nd on CAP Records, trombonist and composer ERIC GOLETZ offers a program that mixes funk, rock, and jazz sounds into a unique sonic blend. By featuring his own trombone over a full rhythm section with keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and percussion, Goletz’ music has no artistic parallel in the current jazz scene. While the compositions are intricate, the approach is highly accessible for music lovers of all kinds.

Says Goletz, “Growing up, I was highly influenced by funk and rock, and by the time I moved to New York, funk was very popular. As a composer, I wanted to mix the music I heard on the radio with the spirit of jazz. I also wanted to feature the trombone as the lead instrument in a fusion setting because there wasn’t a lot of that out there.”

Goletz put together a group in 1987-1988 to explore these sounds, but it took him a few years to fully realize the sound he heard in his head. Goletz was friends with an engineer from the legendary Nola Studios in Manhattan and was given access to the studio when it wasn’t otherwise booked. He recorded his groups many times during this period, and he would listen to the tapes at home to decide what was working and what needed development. In the early 1990s, Goletz pitched the recording to several people in the music business, but the edgy nature of his tunes was at odds with the smooth jazz sounds then in vogue. Goletz decided that his other music projects were sufficient to keep him going, so he shelved the idea for a few years.

Goletz continued to work in New York, most notably with pianist Mike Longo’s State of the Art Jazz Ensemble, and with Stan Kenton’s former guitarist Sal Salvador, who invited Goletz to play and write for an album, Lorinda’s Kitchen. However, by the early 2000s, Goletz decided that he could no longer afford to live in Manhattan, and like many other musicians, he moved across the river to New Jersey. In fact, he formed a group called The Jazz Locals, consisting entirely of players who had made the same exodus across the Hudson

However, Goletz still wanted to develop the concepts he had recorded with his group at the Nola Studios years before. About three years ago, he started waking up with new musical ideas running through his head. Blessed with perfect pitch, Goletz would write down the idea while still in bed. Eventually, he created a new repertoire based on an updated version of his earlier concepts.

1. SAY WHAT??  7:47

2. MR. PC 10:21

3. INTO THE NIGHT  13:17

4. AFTER HOURS  7:35

5. STEPPIN OUT  8:02

6. WHAT IS THIS THING...  5:21

7. OASIS  8:30

8. CAT ON THE CORNER 7:50

9. LULLABY  6:18

ERIC GOLETZ  trombone, keyboards

HENRY HEINITSH  guitar  

MITCH SCHECHTER  piano

MARK HAGAN  bass

STEVE JOHNS  drums

JOE MOWATT  percussion

VINNIE CUTRO  trumpet

FREDDIE MAXWELL  trumpet

BOB MAGNUSON  alto sax

ERICK STORCKMAN  trombone

JONATHAN GREENBERG  bass trombone

Consolidated Artists Publications (CAP Records)

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Mark Small - One Day

You’ve most likely seen him perform, be it Newport Jazz Fest, Village Vanguard Orchestra, or on a late night TV show with Michael Buble. Mark Small has been an award winning sideman for numerous groups in all genres, free jazz to pop, that have an inkling of improvisation to them. He has co-lead groups with fellow musicians such as Walter Smith III and Jeremy Udden. He has finally taken the plunge and released a record of his own titled One Day.

“I’ve been extremely lucky to have played with so many wonderful musicians for so long. I’ve gotten to fulfill most of my dreams such as playing at the iconic Village Vanguard, performing at Madison Square Garden, and traveling the world over. I felt it was time I made a statement of my own.” Small continues, “I thought it would be amazing to reconnect with two friends who both perform frequently together. I hadn’t had the opportunity to play with Matt Brewer and Damion Reid in years so this recording became the catalyst.”

Recorded in one day, the trio explores Mark’s original compositions that had been written here and there over the course of years. He’s a traditionalist with an itch to experiment so it comes as no surprise that these songs cover a wide swath range of styles, from the straight ahead swing of the blues tribute to a major influence titled “Sonny”, the Frisell-like laid-back groove of “Tumbleweed”, to the ECM inspired “Charmer”. Each song creating its own little universe.

Recorded and mixed in New York City at Samurai Hotel Recording Studio by David Stoller, Small says “I couldn’t be happier with the way David captured the sound and performance. The studio has such a warm and intimate atmosphere which is really what the songs and the trio format is all about to me. I love performing in a trio, being able to hear every single nuance from the other players around you, being able to shift at a moments notice wherever the music takes you. These musicians and this studio really made that possible in the best way”.

1. Sonny 06:01

2. Tumbleweed 06:54

3. The Charmer 03:29

4. Persephone 05:37

5. GeeZee 04:11

6. Local Color 04:15

7. Conflict of Interest 04:21

8. UP 03:54

Composer: Mark Small

Performers: Mark Small, Matt Brewer, Damión Reid

Recorded by: David Stoller at Samurai Hotel Recording Studio

The record is available only through Bandcamp in digital form

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Jason Moran / Milford Graves - Live at Big Ears (April 2021)

Preparation....

In 2016 I invited Milford Graves to perform at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. In preparation for his solo performance we spoke over the phone, and then in person as he visited the performance space, Veterans Room. He talked about transferring and transmitting energy through language, body and sound. I wanted to experience him pull the ear of the audience into his drums, the open vessels and gaping caverns. While he created a frame for his performance, he and Jake Meginsky created a new video. This video opened his performance and dove into his practice of amplifying the movements of the heart muscle and how those movements can render melodies. It was extraordinary, and his performance brought every aspect of his practice to peak.

At the end of his performance, he said "Thank You Jason....you know what's next.... we gotta play TOGETHER".

The festival producer Ashley Capps (Big Ears Festival) was in attendance that fateful evening, and two years later he invited Milford and I to his festival. Our duo had a date. I began visiting Milford at his home in Jamaica, Queens. On my first visit, I brought one of my sons and we sat in Milford's basement for hours. The basement is a laboratory. Thousands of wires, hundreds of vitrines, piles of books, stacks of drums, an enormous subwoofer, multiple video monitors. Everything that enters the basement is prone to be examined. Milford researches it all, from the voice to the pulp, and then he finds a way for those studies to exist in his music. He hooked my heart up to his computer and rendered a melody of my heartbeat. He added it to his archive of heart melodies. I'd return a few months later, we'd talk about sculpture, demand, and process. This was all in preparation for stepping onstage with him.

Milford reminded me of my teacher, the pianist Jaki Byard. Their stance and voice, their round sound and momentum, all of the history at play at once, never segmented into style, all living in the garden together. Milford spoke of gardens and how he planted species close to one another that might not otherwise meet, charging a new relationship.

This is how he approaches music.

Performance...

The music as it unfolds.

The tracks, First - Seventh , represent the pieces we created that evening. Underneath and Splash are manipulations of segments I yearned to hear drowned, draped and slowed. Over the course of the concert, a real time language was born. By Seventh, the language had unified. In Sixth, there is a gap of silence leading to a classic comedy. "I apologize..... I apologize to the drums." Fourth is a ceremony. Third is a love song. First, Second and Third are a seating, chopping it up, a continuation of our phone calls and basement meetings.

The following morning, we were interviewed by writer Peter Margasak and Milford says

"That's what we did last night—we played, man. A part of that history is missing. And there's people now I know that want to climb back into that. How do we play from deep inside? How do we compose right on the scene? That's the most difficult way to play, because after ten minutes, you can be finished! We got to bring back the people's type of thing. The name of the game today is that you've got to teach people how to get back into themselves, to learn how to be that human being."

Mind-Body Deal Exhibition

In November 2020, I was invited by Mark Christman of Ars Nova Workshop to give a performance within Milford's exhibition at the Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art. I asked that the piano be moved adjacent to the final sound sculpture Milford created, Bikongo Ifá: Spirit of the Being. The piano is in conversation with the heart melody.

This would be our final "duet".

1. Mind-Body Loop 01:20

2. First 09:27

3. Second 10:21

4. Third 07:51

5. Fourth 04:41

6. Underneath 01:25

7. Fifth 14:12

8. Splash 01:41

9. Sixth 03:26

10. Seventh 03:38

11. With Bikongo Ifá: Spirit of the Being 11:03

Milford Graves - Drums & Vocals

Jason Moran - Piano

Tracks 2-10 recorded in The Bijou Theatre March 24, 2018

Big Ears Festival in Knoxville, Tennessee

Tracks 1 & 11 recorded at Philadelphia Institute of Contemporary Art on November 24, 2020 within the Mind-Body Deal Milford Graves exhibition co-presented by Ars Nova Workshop. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Big Thank You to the Big Ears Festival producer Ashley Capps and to Mark Christman of Ars Nova Workshop for making space for sound.

Knoxville Recording Engineer - Matt Honkonen

Philadelphia Recording Engineer - Eugene Lew

Mix Engineer: Amon Drum

Mastering Engineer: Amon Drum

Mixed and Mastered at The Bridge Studio in Brooklyn, NY

Photograph by Kate Joyce

Cover layout by Jonas Moran

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Happy Apple - Nothin' But Net: Live 1998​-​2000 (April 2021)

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the release of our 3-disc set of live performances recorded in 1998-2000.

"Nothin' But Net" is a compilation of our favorite tracks from this never commercially available release. It also features tunes never recorded for any of the group's studio albums.

These recordings hold a special place in our hearts for both their ferocious energy and gentle introspection.

1. Are We Going Steady? 08:37

2. Computer-Aided Drafting 05:52

3. Waystation 1976 08:56

4. 1996 A.D. 05:07

5. The Bon Jovi Remasters 05:05

6. Randall's Hope 10:57

7. Marvin Says 13:13

8. A Drone for Bruiser Reynolds 29:20

Michael Lewis - saxophones

Erik Fratzke - electric bass

Dave King - drums

Recorded live to DAT by Dave DeSantis at various locations in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Mastered by Ev Olcott

Tracks 1,3,4,6 & 8 by Dave King (Franz Kline In The Dunk Tank Music/BMI)

Tracks 2 & 5 by Erik Fratzke (Commercial Ascension Music/ASCAP)

Track 7 by Mike Lewis (Songish/ASCAP)

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Happy Apple - Part Of The Solution Problem (April 2021)

1. Commercial Ascension 02:12

2. Mary's Mixture 04:01

3. Waystation 1976 09:07

4. Are We Going Steady? 09:07

5. Mom Got A New Davenport 16:00

6. The World Begins And Ends In Your Combover 05:34

7. Big Lew Leaps In! 04:34

8. This Is Your Ghost Train 06:03

9. Peach Dobler 04:08

10. Mom Got A New Davenport Reprise 06:52

Michael Lewis: saxophones

Erik Fratzke: Fender bass

David King: drums and cymbals

Special guests:

Bill Carrothers: Rhodes on tracks 4 & 6

Greg Lewis: pocket trumpet on track 2

Recorded by Jason Orris at The Terrarium in Minneapolis, September 7,12 & 13, 1998

except track 7 recorded live to 2-track digital at The Uptown Bar by Dave DeSantis

Jason Orris was assisted by Dave "Skillz" Gardner

Mixed by Orris/Apple/Gardner

Art and design by David King

Design and layout assistance by Amy Fastenau

Photographs by David and Laura King

Band photos by Douglas Talalla

Track 1 by Erik Fratzke (Commercial Ascension Music/ASCAP)

Tracks 2,3,4,6,8 & 9 by Dave King (Franz Kline In The Dunk Tank Music/BMI)

Tracks 5,7 &10 by Mike Lewis (Songish/ASCAP)

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Sachal Vasandani - Midnight Shelter (23 April 2021 Edition Records)

Up close and personal re-workings of classics by outstanding songwriters Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Lennon/McCartney and others, alongside spellbinding memorable originals.

Recorded in 2020, this music captures a moment in time, one of uncertainty and reflection. Originating from a shared desire to create after months in isolation, it’s a powerfully inspiring and deeply authentic album, expressing a want and a need to connect. As Sachal explains: “I met up with my friend and neighbor Romain Collin in the park near my house. After sharing our stories, we agreed we should play – just get together and play. We didn’t set out to make a record, but getting together in the studio gave me a chance to work through the anxiety and anger I’d kept inside throughout the spring and summer.”

With a warm, compelling sound, ‘Midnight Shelter’ imaginatively reworks well-loved music by Bob Dylan, Nick Drake, Lennon/McCartney and other outstanding songwriters, alongside spellbinding sensitive originals, uniquely expressed. The healing power of music and collaboration is overwhelmingly evident here.

Romain Collin: “In this time of isolation, being able to spontaneously create music with Sachal was so refreshing. He’s such a versatile musician, and putting together a repertoire of songs that we could re-imagine in an intimate way in the studio felt special to us. I hope this music keeps people in good company.”

This music is complete in its artistry and freedom. The combination of Sachal’s deeply expressive vocals and the pianism and sensitivity of Romain’s playing is a perfect union. Each heartfelt breath is palpable, arousing intense feeling, demanding attention and drawing the listener in. These are sounds you wake up with in your head.

These have been particularly trying times for performing musicians, many of whom have lost that avenue of expression alongside their livelihoods. Yet there has not been a time in recent memory in which musical creativity and communication have played such an essential role in revealing the dark and shedding the light on life’s uncertainties.

This warm, intimate and honest album serves as a reminder of the anguish that 2020 represented for many, but also looks to the promise and optimism of a brighter future.

1. Summer No School 4.17

2. Before You Go 4.41

3. Adore You 3.29

4. River Man 3.31

5. Great Ocean Road 4.07

6. Throw It Away 4.41

7. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right 3.18

8. Love Away 3.08

9. Blackbird 2.46

10. Dance Cadaverous 4.55

11. One Last Try 3.25

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Federico Calcagno - Urlo d'Ebano (2021)

“The new bishop of the best Italian and European Jazz”

[A. Bazzurro, All About Jazz IT]

"Very special and original instrumentalist; fantastic."

[Franco D’Andrea – Premio Gaslini]

First solo album by clarinetist and composer Federico Calcagno, "Urlo d’Ebano" features seven original compositions orchestrated for clarinet septet -except for the suite "Seven Virtues of Bushido" for solo instrument- formed by four clarinets and three bass clarinets, all played by Federico Calcagno.

Recorded during the Coronavirus second wave, this work represents a cross-section of this specific historical period, denouncing how the cultural-performative sector has not been given as much attention as it was instead ensured to the main economic industries and to religious, political and sports activities in our society.

This musical adventure is in fact a creative response to a specific time in which live performances are denied to audiance and music makers. Not by chance, "Urlo d’Ebano" is a “studio”project that cannot be reproduced in a live concert by a solo instrument, unless seven different clarinet players put their forces together.

The tracks can be organized in three subgroups, following a compositional logic. The first subgroup features four pieces which are characterized by clear written structures and contents: "Perseverance", "Parallalel Events", "Escapeless" and "Cybernetic Brotherhood". The second subgroup includes two tracks – "Pentaweb" and "Labyrinth Music", which involve the use of graphic notation, while the "Seven Virtues of Bushido" suite represents the last subgroup, composed by seven different short solos.

1. Labyrinth Music 02:50

2. Perseverance 04:46

3. Pentaweb 03:13

4. Parallel Events 04:30

5. Cybernetic Brotherhood 03:50

6. Escapeless 06:25

7. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Justice 01:02

8. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Courage 01:15

9. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Benevolence 01:02

10. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Respect 01:10

11. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Honesty 01:28

12. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Honour 01:09

13. Seven Virtues of Bushido: Loyalty 00:59

Federico Calcagno: Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Compositions

Recording Engineer: Federico Calcagno

Mixing/Mastering Engineer: Alessandro Mazzieri

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Luke Stewart / Patrick Shiroishi (April 2021)

For the second edition in the Profane Illuminations series of long form temporal suspensions we find two of contemporary music’s most vital and expressive characters - Patrick Shiroishi and Luke Stewart - thoroughly exploring properties of spatial resonance on two sidelong solo pieces.

The A side begins in gorgeous elegiac fashion with Shiroishi alone with a saxophone in a parking garage. Delicately dancing with the echoes of intermittent horn blasts, the piece slowly moves into a sonorous modal ballet of fluttering, combative notes before departing again in desolate elegance.

The B side finds DC multi-instrumentalist Luke Stewart viscerally interacting with the properties of sound itself while drawing out the characteristic resonances of the room at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. Scraping, ringing, piercing, clicking sounds result in frequencies that are gradually layered and emphasized as they resonate throughout the room and oscillate around their central figure eventually turning to the pure, rich tones of the room itself.

1. Staying Human 20:13

2. Works For Pioneer Works 25:56

Luke Stewart: Works for Pioneer Works

Recorded during the Music Residency at Pioneer Works.

Room Feedback by Luke Stewart with

Assistance from Ryan and Federico.

Mixed by Luke Stewart

Photo by Peter Gannushkin

Patrick Shiroishi: Staying Human

Recorded live underneath the Jazz Cat in Monterey Park, California.

mastered at FyK studios by Felix Salazar

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Nasuno Mitsuru and Ryoko Ono DUO (NEWDUO series 023) April 2021

Nasuno Mitsuru is a bassist based in Tokyo. His performances is wonderful and beautiful. You can hear that elaborate and delicate sounds from deep darkness. listen it with close your eyes, it makes you a more deep impression.

"The NEWDUO series" is improvised DUO recordings by Ono Ryoko on digital release.

1. CAVE I 09:49

2. CAVE II 07:17

Nasuno Mitsuru (Electric Bass and Devises)

Ono Ryoko (Alto Saxophone)

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Graham Costello - Second Lives (May 7, 2021 Gearbox Records)

Glasgow drummer and composer Graham Costello returns with his second STRATA album, 'Second Lives', out May 7th on Gearbox Records

Second Lives spans Reichian minimalism, semi-free jazz à la Binker and Moses, polyrhythmic math rock, and pensive, cinematic ambience. The album was recorded straight to tape last summer at RAK Studios with co-producer and engineer Hugh Padgham at the helm, mixed at British Grove, and subsequently mastered in-house at Gearbox. The inspiration and wider themes of Second Lives sit with thoughts of identity, heritage, and Stoicism, as well as the theme of overcoming inner challenges - what you face and the process you go through to get to the other side.

The album features STRATA, an ensemble formed by Graham in 2016 which brings together stylistic elements of minimalism, jazz and noise-rock whilst channelling a strong DIY ethic. Made up of some of Scotland's most exciting musical proponents, the band features: pianist Fergus McCreadie, whose critically acclaimed new solo album just came out via Edition Records; guitarist Joe Williamson, who was named Young Scottish Jazz Musician Of The Year in 2018 and leads hard-hitting 5-piece Animal Society; rising Trombonist Liam Shortall, who also leads jazz collective corto.alto; renowned bassist Mark Hendry and rising saxophonist Harry Weir who also leads AKU!.

What they say about Graham and STRATA:

"unrelenting waves of cinematic imagery accrue an intensity that never seems to level off, even after the last note has faded.” - Bandcamp

“Vibrant, caustic, fascinating” - Clash Magazine

“Dedicated, artful… fantastic” - Sunday Times

1. အစ

2. Eudaimonia

3. Legion

4. Iris

5. The Colossus

6. Circularity 

7. Impetu

8. Snowblind

9. Arrowhead

10. Ataraxia

11. Second Lives

Graham Costello’s STRATA features:

Harry Weir - tenor saxophone

Liam Shortall - trombone

Fergus McCreadie - piano

Joe Williamson - guitar

Mark Hendry - electric bass

Graham Costello - drums + composition

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Don Cherry - Cherry Jam (2021 Gearbox Records)

"Hip as hell" - The Wire

"Their output doesn’t suggest an incendiary avant-garde so much as an extended post-bop language, cool-tempered and abidingly hip." - WBGO

"It captures a really interesting period in his career... This is my favorite sound. It is just so chill and smart and just cool." - Robin Hilton, NPR Music

After having released Don Cherry's Cherry Jam as a limited Record Store Day title in the Autumn of 2020, Gearbox presents this essential release on specialist Japanese Edition vinyl and CD as well as digitally.

‘Cherry Jam’ sets the scene in 60s Copenhagen, a city which at the time proved instrumental in the hosting and development of jazz musicians both local and American. Cherry had performed and recorded there with Archie Shepp in 1963, toured with Albert Ayler in the autumn of 1964, and would go on to have a residency at the hip Cafe Montmartre in 1966.

Our recording is taken from the original tape of a 1965 radio broadcast, programmed by Denmark’s national radio station (Danmarks Radio.) It was in this same year that Cherry would record his landmark Blue Note recording, ‘Complete Communion’, with Leandro 'Gato' Barbieri on tenor saxophone, Henry Grimes on double bass, and Edward Blackwell on drums, as well as feature on fellow American expatriate George Russell’s live album ‘George Russell Sextet at Beethoven Hall’. This particular line-up however, consisting of Danish musicians, has never been heard after its original broadcast date, and neither have the three original Don Cherry compositions that are featured on the recording credits.

These four pieces show Don Cherry in the midst of his transformation from pivotal sideman in New York’s avant-garde jazz scene to leader of his own groups and world traveller. His endless curiosity, free-thinking openness to different cultures, and rejection of musical boundaries paved the way for future creators in jazz, world music, and beyond.

1. The Ambassador From Greenland 05:32

2. You Took Advantage Of Me 05:15

3. Priceless 06:47

4. Nigeria 04:48

Don Cherry - cornet

Mogens Bollerup - tenor saxophone

Atli Bjørn - piano

Benny Nielsen - bass

Simon Koppel - drums

Recorded at Danmarks Radio Studio 2, Copenhagen, October 1965

Mastered in-house at Gearbox Records

Artwork photograph by Riccardo Schwamenthal

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Jay McShann - It Feels Good (April 2021 nagel heyer records)

"You'd hear some cat play, and somebody would say, 'This cat, he sounds like he's from Kansas City.' It was Kansas City Style. They knew it on the East Coast. They knew it on the West Coast. They knew it up North, and they knew it down South." - Jay McShann

One of Jay McShann's favorite stories to tell was how band member and friend Charlie Parker got his nickname "Bird". During their drive to a gig in Nebraska with a car full of musicians, the driver of the car accidently hit a chicken. According to McShann, Parker requested the driver turn around so he could get the bird, and sat with it in the backseat of the car all the way to Lincoln. Once they arrived he asked the keeper of the home they were staying in to cook it up for him.

1. Tenderly 04:27

2. Blue and Sentimental 06:26

3. Confessin' the Blues 02:53

4. Memories of You 05:21

5. Moten Swing 06:27

6. Duke and the Brute 02:52

7. Hootie's Ignorant Oil 04:29

8. Lady Be Good 03:55

9. Say Forward, I'll March 04:43

10. Nasty Attitude 02:55

11. Hootie's in Hutchinson 06:08

12. Slow Drag Blues 05:52

13. Reach 02:47

14. Four Day Rider 04:01

15. You Can Depend on Me 04:18

16. Doggin' Around 06:11

17. Jay's Boogie Woogie 04:13

Jay McShann - piano

plus

Various Artists

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