Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
This digital album includes a huge booklet with history, credits and never-seen photographs!
Purchasable with gift card
$115USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
This beautiful, deluxe, LIMITED EDITION BOX SET of 12 CDs and 1 DVD includes all the audio of the digital release plus a DVD of the group's entire performance at NEARFest 2005, which is found nowhere else and a beautiful 76 page book with a history of the band, told by all participants and never seen photos and documents.
Includes unlimited streaming of Baker's Dozen
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
"The Muffins were an American band from the Washington, D.C. area...Their complex approach wove Canterbury-esque prog, electric fusion, vanguard jazz, modern classical composition, and free improvisation in a sound so ambitiously creative, it's difficult to easily categorize." – AllMusic
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The below are unsolicited emails from folks who bought the box set. They are 100% exactly as I received them!
"Hey Steve, Just want to say thank you for putting together The Muffins box. I've completely immersed myself in this over the past few days. It's been incredible. I wish I had discovered this group much sooner. It feels like 12 discs went by in the blink of an eye! It's obvious that a lot of thought and care went into this set. So again, thank you very much. That is all."
“I've been a fan of Cuneiform for many years now and I'm grateful for all the music you've made available. The Muffins box may be your best yet. I've listened through it twice, with and without the book (not just a booklet!), and I feel like I've only scratched the surface. Really special music, perfectly presented and curated. I didn't expect those few albums to be just the tip of a massive iceberg. I look forward to spending a lot time more exploring this world. Thanks.”
"Hello Steve, A quick note to say thank you for the work you and others have done on the Muffins box set. It arrived in the mail yesterday, and I have been wallowing in, and enjoying the heck out of this incredible set. An obvious labour of love. When I first heard about this, I knew I'd want it, but wouldn't be able to afford it. I'm glad I came to my senses. Listening to this, I feel like I've re-united with old friends."
"'Treasure trove' is an understatement. What an exciting surprise 12 CDs (and a DVD) of unreleased Muffins music is. I've been a fan for years (thanks to Steve and Cuneiform) and this box set is more music than I could have imagined was just sitting around without having previously appeared."
“Kudos to both the band members and to Cuneiform Records for assembling this so-far (I’m just four discs in) remarkable compendium of Rock In Opposition, Made In USA. It’s no more or less improbable that music this playful, knotty and forward-thinking should emerge from Silver Springs, Maryland than anywhere else in this confounding land of ours. What’s really worth celebrating is that a group that always put creative action ahead of anything else managed to…well, get to a point where an apparently fat-free 13-disc set of sundry live recordings was possible. This is all moving and pleasurable stuff, and for the most part it’s all them. Comrade Fred Frith guests on one cut total I think. Sounds like? Sometimes Henry Cow, sometimes Tin Huey, sometimes National Health, sometimes Weather Report, but mostly like itself. A fantastic voyage.”
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The Muffins were a Washington, D.C. area band who existed from 1974-81and then again with their best-known line-up still intact from 1993-2015.
They were called, "...the finest progressive band that America produced...even at it's most complicated, (they) sounded effortless & convincing” by Fred Frith. They also acted as Fred’s backing band
on his first post-Henry Cow solo album, Gravity
It is an all-too-rare occurrence for a band, throughout its career, to create music that continually pushes the envelope and transforms the landscape. It is an even rarer occurrence for such a band to reunite after a long separation, and embark on a second musical career that continues to be as innovative as the first.
The Muffins, a group equally influenced by the then-current British progressive rock sounds of bands such as Henry Cow, National Health and Soft Machine as they were by contemporary American jazz and improvisational artists like Anthony Braxton, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sun Ra and Miles Davis, were formed in Washington, DC in the early 1970s and recorded three albums before disbanding in 1981. In 1998 the group reformed and recorded a further six albums. AllMusic describes their music as a 'unique blend of Canterbury progressive, fusion, improvisation and much more.'
During their two lifetimes, the band performed at now legendary festival events, including the ZU Festival (NYC), the Rock In Opposition Festival (France), the Villa Celimontana Jazz Festival (Rome), Sonic Circuits (D.C.) and NEARFest (Bethlehem, PA), among many others.
The band were a hugely creative force during both lifetimes, combing intense, rehearsal intensive compositions with spirited free play, and moving effortlessly between musical boundaries and genres. They were one of the great American contemporary music ensembles of our time.
Baker’s Dozen is a 13 disc box set of nearly all previously unreleased live and studio recordings from 1975 - 2010! It includes 12 CDs, a DVD, and a huge, informative booklet. The entire box is a treasure trove of never seen and never heard material.
credits
released November 18, 2022
Disc 1
1. Prelude (Wiser, Newhouse)
2. Phase 1 – Portable Hollow (The Muffins)
3. Interlude 1 (Wiser, Newhouse)
4. Phase 2 – Buzz Aldrin (The Muffins)
5. Interlude 2 (Wiser, Newhouse)
6. Phase 3 – What a Place for a Wart (The Muffins)
7. Brix
8. Three Days That Won’t Soon Fade
9. English (Bass, Prokofiev)
10. Bartok Stockpot (Bass, Bartok)
11. The Return of Uncle Don (The Muffins)
12. Blind Cave Tetra
Mike Bass – drums, xylophone, acoustic piano
Dave Newhouse – Fender Rhodes, woodwinds, toy horn, voice
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, maracas, xylophone, whistling, bell tree, voice
Billy Swann – Gibson EB0 electric bass, voice
Michael Zentner – guitar, violin, voice
Robert Wiser – classical guitar (1, 3, 5)
1, 3, 5 recorded 1975 at the band house, Gaithersburg, MD.
2, 4, 6, 7, 8 recorded July 25, 1975 at The Music Carry-Out, Washington, DC.
9–12 recorded July 1975 at Sounds Reasonable Studios, Washington, DC for live radio broadcast.
1–6 are the tape album Three Improvisations Live at The Music Carry-Out.
Disc 2
1. English (Bass, Prokofiev)
2. Teddy Roosevelt (The Muffins)
3. Egress Gnome Odd (Scott, Princiotto, Zentner)/Impromptu Factory
4. Wombat (Newhouse)
5. 1916/Why Pursue It/Captain Tugg Tocatta/Swashbuckler With a Brainblock (Swann, Newhouse)
6. Courtesy of Your Focal Interest Span/Please Do Not Open Dr. Fisher
7. The Manilla Robots/Joe Crop on a Toxic Planet/The Bush
8. Chronometers
9. Crezner Okay
Stuart Abramowitz – drums
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, Yamaha organ, woodwinds, toy xylophone, tambourine, voice
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, oboe, melodica, xylophone, soprano recorder, bell tree, voice
Billy Swann – bass, voice
Michael Zentner – guitar, violin, Rhodes, voice
1–4 recorded November 1975 at Paragon Studios, Silver Spring, MD by Brian Rapp.
5 recorded November 14, 1975 at W.A.F.U. Coffee House, Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
6–8 recorded July 9, 1976 at the University of Maryland – College Park by Collen Scott.
9 recorded as a demo for Michael spring/summer 1976.
Disc 3
1. Intro
2. Solemn Music (Frith)
3. President Nixon’s Retirement (The Muffins)
4. 3 Ways Till Sunday
5. Carbons (The Muffins With Over the Edge) (The Muffins, Over The Edge)
6. Expected Freedom (Newhouse, The Muffins)
7. Prince Albert in the Can (The Muffins)
8. Monkey With the Golden Eyes
9. Amelia Earhart (Newhouse, Sears)
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, organ, acoustic piano, woodwinds, pennywhistle, percussion
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, oboe, kalimba, double soprano recorders, bell tree
Paul Sears – drums, xylophone, steel drum, percussion
Billy Swann – fretless Fender Precision bass, Rhodes, organ, acoustic piano, penny whistle, drums, percussion
1, 3, 4, 5 recorded August 13, 1976 at W.A.F.U. Coffee House (Washington Area Free University), Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
2, 6, 7 recorded October 2, 1976 at American University, Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
8 recorded at the band house in Autumn 1976, Gaithersburg, MD.
9 recorded at the band house in December 1976, Gaithersburg, MD.
Disc 4
1. Intro
2. Expected Freedom (Newhouse, The Muffins)
3. Band of Brothers (The Muffins)
4. Expected Freedom (Newhouse, The Muffins)
5. Not Alone solo
6. Amelia Earhart solo (Swann)
7. Imprimatur (The Muffins)
8. Not Alone
9. Closing Hours (The Muffins)
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, organ, woodwinds, harmonica, tenor recorder, percussion
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, oboe, penny whistle, bell tree
Paul Sears – drums and percussion
Billy Swann – bass, guitar, plastic tube, tenor sax, percussion
1, 2, 5, 6 recorded June 4, 1977 at a backyard summer concert, Gaithersburg, MD.
3 recorded on unknown date in 1977 (most likely) in Washington, DC.
7, 8 recorded on unknown date (circa 1977) at an unknown location.
4, 9 recorded April 1, 1977 at Pipeline Coffee House at the National Cathedral, Washington, DC.
All were probably recorded by Colleen Scott.
Disc 5
1. Monkey in the Middle (The Muffins)
2. Lady in a Brown Paper Bag
3. Amelia Earhart (Newhouse, Sears)
4. Monkey With the Golden Eyes/Hobart Got Burned
5. The Adventures of Captain Boomerang
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, organ, woodwinds, penny whistle, bicycle horn, tenor recorder, percussion, voice
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, oboe, soprano recorder, bell tree, voice
Paul Sears – drums and percussion, xylophone, gong, voice
Billy Swann – bass, guitar, Rhodes, alto recorder, percussion, whistle, voice
1–5 recorded October 21, 1977 at W.A.F.U. Coffee House, Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
Disc 6
1. Not Alone solo
2. Whistling While We Work (The Muffins)
3. To-ing and Fro-ing (The Muffins)
4. Children and Art (The Muffins)
5. Not Alone
6. Under Dali’s Wing
7. Horsebones (Scott)
8. The Grammy Snap
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, organ, woodwinds, acoustic piano, percussion
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, oboe, xylophone, bell tree
Paul Sears – drums and percussion, soprano sax
Billy Swann – bass, guitar, percussion, whistles
Scott Raffel – alto sax, bass clarinet, kalimba (3, 4)
Greg Yaskovich – trumpet (3)
Fred Frith – guitar (8)
1, 2, 7, 8 recorded December 15, 1978 at the Trinity Theatre, Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
3, 4 recorded December 31, 1977 at DC Space, Washington, DC.
5 recorded October 21, 1977 at W.A.F.U. Coffeehouse, Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
6 recorded October 8, 1978 at the Zu Manifestival, New York, NY.
Disc 7
1. Under Dali’s Wing (false start)
2. Under Dali’s Wing
3. Horsebones (Scott)
4. Horsebones (Scott)
5. Zoom Resume
6. Boxed and Crossed (Newhouse, Swann)
7. Zoom Resume
8. Bit Hand (The Muffins)
9. Wonder World (The Muffins)
10. Not Alone solo
11. silence
12. Chrestomathy (The Muffins)
13. Through Shawn’s Lens (The Muffins)
14. Father Tongue (The Muffins)
15. Dirty Trousers (Scott)
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, organ, woodwinds, percussion
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, bell tree
Paul Sears – drums and percussion, soprano sax
Billy Swann – bass, guitar, percussion, tenor sax, radio, vocals
Steve Feigenbaum – guitar (8)
Scott Raffel – alto sax (12–15)
1–8 recorded January 1979 during rehearsal at the band house, Rockville, MD.
9–10 recorded April 14, 1979 at American University, Washington, DC by Colleen Scott.
12–15 recorded May 16, 1980 at W.A.F.U. Coffeehouse, Washington, DC.
Disc 8
1. Horsebones (Scott)
2. Under Dali’s Wing
3. Squeaker's Dream (The Muffins)
4. Boxed and Crossed (Newhouse, Swann)
5. Zoom Resume
6. Queenside
7. Angle Dance
8. Antidote to Drydock
9. World Maps
10. Bob the Bat
Dave Newhouse – Rhodes, Yamaha organ, woodwinds, acoustic piano
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, oboe, bell tree
Paul Sears – drums and percussion, soprano sax, xylophone, vocals
Billy Swann – bass, guitar, tenor sax, vocals
Doug Elliott – trombone (10)
Scott Raffell – alto sax (10)
1–2 recorded September 1980 at Track Recorders, Silver Spring, MD by Bill McCullough and are outtakes from <185>.
3–5 recorded March 3, 1979 at The Psyche Delly, Bethesda MD by Colleen Scott.
6 recorded December 1979 at The Washington Ethical Society, Washington, DC.
7, 8, 10 recorded January 29, 1981 at The Washington Ethical Society.
9 is a composite of January 29, 1981 at The Washington Ethical Society recordings, and circa-1981 bandhouse recordings.
Disc 9
1. In the Black Room (The Muffins)
2. Ups and Downs (The Muffins)
3. Poetry Drive (The Muffins)
4. North of Muffin Head (The Muffins)
5. She Wears Her Dead Mother’s Hat (C.W. Vrtacek)
6. Talking With the Planets (The Muffins)
7. Down From the Sun Tower/Impossible John
8. Dancing in the Street (Gaye, Hunter, Stevenson)
9. Horny Toads (The Muffins)
10. There Not There (The Muffins)
11. Vocabulario (The Muffins)
12. Hobart Got Burned
13. silence
14. The Highlands (Scott)
15. The Two Georges
16. Breaking The X (The Muffins)
Dave Newhouse – Roland RU-20 and Yamaha keyboards, woodwinds
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, Casio keyboards, percussion
Paul Sears – drums
Billy Swann – bass, guitar
Mark Gilbert – tenor sax (9)
Scott Forrey – trumpet (9)
1–5 recorded 1993/1994 in the Black Room, Washington, DC.
6–7 recorded July 15–16, 1998 at the Merklehaus, Washington, DC.
8–9 recorded July 17, 1999 at Phantasmagoria, Wheaton, MD by Carl Merson.
10,16 recorded summer 2002 in rehearsal, Madison, VA.
11 recorded September 1, 2002 at ProgDay, Chapel Hill, NC by Carl Merson.
12 recorded September 1, 2001 at ProgDay, Chapel Hill, NC by Carl Merson.
14–15 recorded September 14, 2002 at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD by Mike Potter.
Disc 10
1. Walking the Duck
2. These Castle Children
3. World Maps (Newhouse, Scott)/Down From the Suntower/Impossible John/Military Road
4. Under Dali’s Wing
5. Horsebones (Scott)
6. Dear Mona
7. People in the Snow
8. Out of the Boot/Nan True’s Hole (Miller)
9. East of Diamond/The Adventures of Captain Boomerang
10. silence
11. Writing Blind
12. Combo (The Muffins)
Dave Newhouse – keyboards, woodwinds, harmonica
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, keyboards, programming, percussion
Paul Sears – drums
Billy Swann – bass, guitar
1–9 recorded July 27, 2001 at The Knitting Factory, New York, NY by Carl Merson.
11 recorded October 2, 2004 at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD by Mike Potter.
12 recorded in 2002 at Tom’s mom’s house, Madison, VA.
Disc 11
1. Intro
2. These Castle Children
3. The Adventures of Captain Boomerang
4. The Ugly Buttling (Scott)
5. Walking the Duck
6. Dear Mona/Impossible John/People in the Snow
7. East of Diamond
8. The Man in the Skin-Painted Suit
9. Childhood’s End (Scott)
10. Stethorus Punctum (Scott)
Dave Newhouse – Roland RU-20, Nord Electro 2 and Yamaha keyboards, woodwinds, harmonica
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, keyboards, programming, percussion
Paul Sears – drums
Billy Swann – bass, keyboards
with
Ena Scott – alto sax
Nathan Berry – trumpet
Sam Newhouse – alto sax
All tracks recorded July 10, 2005 at NEARFest, Bethlehem, PA.
Digital multitrack recording: Brett Kull of MM3, West Point, PA
Disc 12
1. Intro
2. Exquisite Corpse/Out of the Boot/Sam’s Room
3. Smaller but More Heads (The Muffins)
4. Maya (Scott)
5. Aquatone (The Muffins)
6. Angel From Lebanon
7. Queenside/Antidote to Drydock/Angle Dance
8. Choombachang
9. Amelia Earhart (Newhouse, Sears)
10. Beat 10 (The Muffins)/In the Ghost Light (The Muffins)
11. KGB
Dave Newhouse – keyboards, woodwinds
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, keyboards, programming, percussion
Paul Sears – drums
Billy Swann – bass, guitar
1–6 recorded October 2, 2004 at Orion Studios, Baltimore, MD by Mike Potter.
7–11 recorded September 5, 2010 at ProgDay, Chapel Hill, NC by Mike Potter.
Disc 13 [NTSC/all-region DVD]
1. Intro
2. These Castle Children
3. The Adventures of Captain Boomerang
4. The Ugly Buttling (Scott)
5. Walking the Duck
6. Dear Mona/Impossible John/People in the Snow
7. East of Diamond
8. The Man in the Skin-Painted Suit
9. Childhood’s End (Scott)
10. Stethorus Punctum (Scott)
Dave Newhouse – Roland RU-20, Nord Electro 2 and Yamaha keyboards, woodwinds, harmonica
Tom Scott – saxes, clarinets, flutes, keyboards, programming, percussion
Paul Sears – drums
Billy Swann – bass, keyboards
with
Ena Scott – alto sax
Nathan Berry – trumpet
Sam Newhouse – alto sax
All tracks recorded July 10, 2005 at NEARFest, Bethlehem, PA.
All songs composed by Dave Newhouse except where indicated.
Release coordination, performance selection, editing and direction by Steve Feigenbaum.
Sourcing, tape transfer, restoration and mastering on discs 1–9 by Ian Beabout at ShedSoundRecordings. Discs 9–13 mixed and mastered by Ian Beabout at ShedSoundRecordings.
Graphics, layout, and booklet design by Eric Kearns at PhinBot Graphics.
Muffins history narrated and assembled by Dave Newhouse.
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Palindrome
1) The Angels’ Share (Scott)
2) Not Yet Awake (Newhouse / Scott / di Falco)
3) Fishing In America (Swann)
4) Dynamite Is Not The Solution (Scott)
5) When Fela Comes To Town (Newhouse)
6) King Fish (Scott / Newhouse)
7) Bats And Birds (Newhouse)
8) Yukapoe’s Lament (Scott)
Billy Swann - bass
Thomas Frasier Scott - soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet, alto clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon, chanter, keyboards, vocals
Paul Sears - drums
Dave Newhouse - keyboards, soprano, tenor, and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, alto flute, accordion, maracas, kalimba
with
Doug Elliott - trombone
Elaine di Falco - vocals
Brian Sullivan - guitar
Keith Cottril - tuba
Engineered by Tom Scott at The Mountain Studios
Edited, Mixed, and Produced by The Muffins
Thank You:
Mike Potter at Orion Sound Studios in Baltimore, Maryland, for giving us such a wonderful place to perform and for digitizing many of the old Muffin archives.
Joe Paradiso, for also digitizing the old Muffin archives.
Brian Sullivan, for his compositional efforts on “King Fish”.
Steve Gore from Rascal Reporters, for all the ‘happy accidents’ he gave us over the years.
Our individual families, for being so patient over the years.
And our many fans, for such generous support - we know you’re out there.
I feel like the COVID pandemic allowed/forced Dave to really think through and seriously polish his ideas. The songs here all feel so complete, sophisticated, and fully realized--moreso than the previous Manna / Mirage releases. While I've been loving these releases since 2015s Blue Dogs, this is the one I will be listening to the most ten years down the road. GREAT collaborations from all guests and great compositions/ideas from the playful brain of Dave Newhouse. Well done! wafiii
This album belongs to the 'Canterbury Scene' but with something more: there is new excitement here and lots of different ingredients that transcend existing styles. Dragonjazz
