"NYC's 75 Dollar Bill began its prolific career in 2012, after percussionist Rick Brown -- a veteran of the indie underground (Fish & Roses, Run On, V-Effect) -- and noise scene guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Che Chen -- connected via MySpace. Since that initial jam session, when Brown began experimenting with his signature plywood crate drum rhythms, they have released three LPs and a clutch of self-released cassette and digital releases. Last year's double album I Was Real received serious critical acclaim -- The Wire calling it 2019's Album of the Year. On their first live album, Live At Tubby's, 75 Dollar Bill assembled a unique 'little big band' [Sue Garner on bass, Cheryl Kingan on sax, Steve Maing on guitar, Jim Pugliese on percussion and Karen Waltuch on viola] for the small Kingston, NY club show. Recorded on the last day of their spring tour, the record puts a new perspective on themes from their body of work: a little more intimacy, a little more freedom, a little more controlled chaos. Brown's idiosyncratic rhythms are all the more hypnotizing in Tubby's cozy setting, and Chen's furious guitar work cuts and hums with sounds seemingly only attainable on stage. It's an album both challenging and immediate. The expanded 75 Dollar Bill's affinity for improvisation and the avant-garde even leads to a rousing take on the Ornette Coleman classic, 'Friends And Neighbors' that feels right at home in their own repertoire. The listener can't help but feel present and part of the communal joy and catharsis being shared here in this room. This performance at Tubby's turned out not only to be the last show of their tour, but the last show possible as the pandemic hit. Originally offered as a digital only release on 75 Dollar Bill's Bandcamp, Live At Tubby's now documents a highlight and closure of sorts; this kind of musical improvisation and community interaction being on hold for the foreseeable future. This double album on Grapefruit will have to tide everyone over until it can all happen again."

All three sets from December's double 75 Dollar Bill shows. Settling into the Cafe from afternoon to late at night, this special trio formation of the band features long-time collaborator Andrew Lafkas on upright bass. Given the time their music stretches into half hour reveries, warmed through with the chatter and clink of the audience. Refracted Mauritanian and Arabic modal music, New York minimalism and blown-out folk combine here to create a moving space for contemplation.   --- Tracklisting: 1. Like Like Laundry - 30:252. WZN#3 - 19:433. 15 - 13:514. WZN#4 - 7:185. (intermission) - 3:356. intro/WZN#4 - 17:497. WZN#4 - 12:078. Water in the Lock - 5:309. Beni Said - 11:1710. I Was Real - 41:2711. WZN#3 (reprise) - 20:18. --- Recorded live at Cafe OTO by Shaun Crook on Thursday 19th December 2019. Mixed by 75 Dollar Bill and mastered by James Dunn. Photo by Bradford Bailey. Thanks to Rick, Che and Chris Eckman. 

"75 Dollar Bill came to perform at les ateliers claus twice - in very different circumstances, but never uneventful. The first passage was in November 2016 as a duo formed by Che Chen & Rick Brown. A few days prior to this gig Donald Trump just got elected and the general atmosphere was low to say the least. In 2019 they came back with Andrew Lafkas on bass, politics were forgotten for one night, and they rocked a full house with instruments that just made it in time for the last gigs of their European tour. This live ateliers claus release is a compilation of both passages. Che Chen And Rick Brown edited & chose the tracks themselves, four tracks from 2016 and two tracks from 2019." --- *Touedar Akli (2016) is a cover of song by Groupe el Azhar 1-4 (2016) - Rick Brown: plywood crate, percussion / Che Chen: guitar5-6 (2019) - Rick Brown: plywood crate, percussion, homemade horns / Che Chen: guitar, soprano saxophone / Andrew Lafkas: contrabass The 2016 concert was recorded by Etienne Foyer, the 2019 by Christophe Albertijn.