Two Words, One Answer.
Spy Satellites
 Spy Satellite (John Dierker, Jonathan Vincent, Jeff Arnal) (2002 Audio CD) $12.95 "The trio of reed player John Dierker, pianist Jonathan Vincent, and drummer Jeff Arnal explores the art of collective improvisation on Spy Satellite. It is a meteoric ride of high intensity with intermittent spaces of quietude used to break the action. Dierker plays with a brittle, biting tone and lunges into extended unstructured experiments of free sound. Whether on saxophone or clarinet, Dierker brews up a storm of activity even when the pace drops down to a fast trot after having gone at full throttle. He has the wind at his back with Vincent pushing with mighty surges from his piano and Arnal adding rapid spurts of complex drumming. Vincent builds his solos in layers of increasing resonance and strength, causing the temperature to rise in the process. Arnal is an astute drummer who colors the various textures with intricate hues and then douses the canvas with an overload of percussive activity. Many of the selections are not overly long, and the trio makes succinct group statements and then retreats; but on "There Where There Is No Other", they enter an extensive freefalling state of open exchange. It is a lengthy selection that permits them to take individual solos, even though all three musicians are effectively doing just that during the entire collective portion of the recording. They exchange volleys of invigorating missiles before entering into a calming state at the wind-down of the cut. These three musicians build a fire from within and the flames spread rapidly to scorch everything in sight. Oddly, on the closing number, the trio turns minimalist with quiet phrasing and extended use of space. It is a contrasting departure from the more volatile style displayed during the majority of the recording, but it is an effective way to bring the action down to earth. In either mode, this band communicates internally, which then transmits to the listener in cohesive terms. It is a solid example of totally open and unbridled playing."-Frank Rubolino  Wild Planet Spy Gear Mobile Satellite Listener $24.99 The Spy Gear Listener was the most horrible toy I ever had! You can't hear anything! All you hear is static! Wild Planet Spy Gear Mobile Satellite Listener]]  Spies in the Sky: Surveillance Satellites in War and Peace (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration) $34.95 Spies in the Sky, Surveillance Satellites in War and Peace. From the title, I expected a book covering all aspects of spying from space. Instead, the author focuses on the first generation Corona program, based on film return in re-entry capsules. This is normal, because he was working in this project. Still, very little is said about other kinds of surveillance satellites, such as the signal interception, electronic signature intelligence, missile detection, atomic explosion detection, submarines monitoring, etc. No description of the Echelon program, or the Vortex system, for example. Since the book is not restricted on US satellites, little is said about Soviet counterparts, some about the Zenith, equivalent to the Corona, but not much more. There is not even one word about the Almaz soviet program, which is one of the few examples of human operating spying devices from space, except perhaps the space shuttle. His style is more narrative than descriptive, making the reading very easy. The subject is well introduced, but some comparison tables would have helped to gather and compare data. As a conclusion, if this book had been titled : US spy satellites, the Corona Program, it would have been an excellent book. P. Haubrechts |
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