The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

May 1, 2026
Papa Krokodeilos did not share details of his strategy for identifying a benefactor. He wasn't secretive by nature. Rather, we suppose that his plan may have been hard to describe because it involved a good portion of improvisation and some luck. Accordingly, Andromache was left to observe as events unfolded and learn by experience. Of course, many musicians, then and now, have been educated in a similar manner. That evening they played an abbreviated set on a side street, attracting a small crowd before camping for the night outside the city wall.

written while listening to:  Walter Beltrami Trio - wb3 (Philology, w715, 2005, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

May 2, 2026
On the following morning, Papa Krokodeilos extracted a promise from each of them to be on their best behavior before they set out to explore the city of Kydonia. Wandering through the lower wards, seemingly at random, they passed rows of modest houses, a few of which doubled as small shops, where couples set up stalls in the early light. The band attracted attention of course and not just for the strains of melody that wove through the narrow streets, for among them walked a giantess and a dwarf led by a man with the skin of a crocodile.

written while listening to:  Johannes Nästesjö & Guillaume Gargaud - La Rencontre (Plus Timbre, PT180, 2026, Greece, digital files, discogs.com)

May 3, 2026
Eventually they arrived in the merchant's ward, where each building housed a shop with upright looms, jeweler's anvils, a bronze-working furnace or a potter's kiln. Their pace was intentionally lackadaisical. Mama Chloë sprinkled praise of the wares at every stop. She called Andromache over to a yard where a woman embroidered a peplos with dittany blooms. "Synder, sweetheart, isn't it just lovely?" In this way, she induced a second voice to extol the artistry of the local women, adding a solicitous element to the perception of the band.

written while listening to:  The Pitch & Splitter Orchester - Frozen Orchestra (Splitter) (Mikroton Recordings, mikroton cd 61, 2018, Russia, cd, discogs.com)

May 4, 2026
Papa Krokodeilos kept a small reserve of coin for dry spells and emergencies, but the band largely earned their living day to day. Ordinarily they were inclined to avoid unnecessary expenses of dining in restaurants or staying at inns. However, for their current purposes, it would not do to have the troupe appear as beggars. A display of lavish nonchalance was deemed prudent so as to convey an air of belonging among nobles where financial exigencies were concealed. Thus, they all enjoyed a finely prepared meal of lamb at an outdoor grill.

written while listening to:  Derek Bailey & Paul Motian - Duo in Concert, tracks 3 & 4 (frozen reeds, fr24v, 2023 (rec. 1990), Finland, digital files, discogs.com)

May 5, 2026
During the meal, Andromache sat across the table from Mama Chloë. The older woman observed her delicate manners, as if she had been raised among privilege. Rather than voice this thought, she said, "Darling, I believe, we are starting to fatten you up." This was a gross exaggeration based on a kernel of truth. The hollows of her cheeks had become less deep since abandoning a diet of worms and beetles. The change in her appearance could be better attributed to a healthy glow, due as much to an improvement in companionship as nutrition.

written while listening to:  Marteau Rouge & Keiji Haino - Concert à Luz 2009 (Fou Records, FR-CD 45, 2022 (rec. 2009), France, cd, discogs.com)

May 6, 2026
The campaign to advertise their arrival paid off in increments. That night the band performed in a small saloon to an audience of regulars, none of whom rubbed elbows with wealthy residents of the city in any capacity other than stableman or plumber. Still two parties arrived with the express intent of seeing the band play. Papa Krokodeilos kept the set short and the repertoire limited for he wanted to gradually reveal his hand. For their efforts, they were compensated with dinner and as much wine as they wanted until their band leader cut them off.

written while listening to:  Kevin Norton, Joëlle Léandre & Tomas Ulrich - Ocean Of Earth (Barking Hoop Recordings, BKH-007, 2003, United States, cd, discogs.com)

May 7, 2026
On the following night, Papa Krokodeilos led them to an outdoor market at the center of which rose a stone platform used for displaying livestock. The audience gathered around this stage in all directions. As the band now stood at eight, they arranged themselves in a square with two members facing outward on each side. They played a song then rotated, so everyone in the crowd had a chance to see each musician. As word spread, the plaza continued to fill with late arrivals. Music echoed along the local alleys well past the setting of the sun.

written while listening to:  Tomomi Kubo & Fernando Carrasco - AWAI (Zona Watusa, ZW029, 2024, Spain, cassette, discogs.com)

May 8, 2026
Andromache was surprised to learn that Papa declined two offers to play at similar sites. He hoped to land a gig at a more upscale venue. To this end, he had the band leave Kydonia for a day. Taking the donkeys with them, they exercised their legs and walked eastward along the beach. They picnicked to the sound of the breaking surf and the rapid clattering trill of little grebes. They were visited by a small flock of purple herons, who were spending a few days on the island as they made an early spring migration from Libya to Hellas.

written while listening to:  Alvin Curran, Andrea Centazzo & Evan Parker - Real Time (Ictus Records, ICTUS RE 0010, 2025 (rec. 1977), Italy, lp, discogs.com)

May 9, 2026
Their brief hiatus indeed caught the attention of local businessmen who had been slow to engage them. Several proprietors thought they had lost their chance at attracting a crowd to their establishment. Upon the band's return, Papa Krokodeilos was met with competing offers for a weeklong residency. In his negotiations, he not only procured room and board for the band but nearby stabling for the donkeys. They played in a large hall forming one side of a courtyard bound by restaurants and inns. Thinking of herons, Papa let the musicians fly to their full height.

written while listening to:  The Urge Trio - Live At The Hungry Brain (Veto Records, veto-records/exchange 014, 2017, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

May 10, 2026
A new song emerged from the concert, whose title, "Purple Herons", bore homage to the creatures who had inspired it. The percussionists began the song with a steady rhythm mimicking the synchronized beat of many wings over an expanse of blue. The refuge of the island, described by strings, lured them downward. The wind instruments, including of course Andromache's flute, played in squawks and honks, like a family squabbling good-naturedly for choice spots among the reeds, as one little grebe warbled irritatedly at the newcomers.

written while listening to:  Casimir Liberski, Tyshawn Sorey & Thomas Morgan - Evanescences (Dalang!Records, Dalang!2013-03, 2010, Belgium, cd, discogs.com)

May 11, 2026
Their lodging at the inn took the form of four small rooms. Mama Chloë decided the distribution, sparing Andromache anxiety. "Synder, my little grebe," she said, "you will have to bunk with Grandpa." This arrangement suited Andromache, though she soon found that she now assumed several duties related to caring for the old man. His immobility required that he use a bedpan and it fell to her to empty it. She embraced the task for she felt her place among the troupe largely unearned and welcomed any chance to demonstrate her usefulness.

written while listening to:  Roscoe Mitchell Trio - No Side Effects, disc 1 (RogueArt, ROG-0006, 2006, France, cdx2, discogs.com)

May 12, 2026
On the third night of their residency, as the crowd left the hall after a successful performance, Papa Krokodeilos was approached by a man finely dressed but bearing the cultivated air of a servant in a high house. Commending Papa on the show, he soon made clear that he came on the business of his master, who wished to engage the band at his private residence. Still under the spell of the music, Andromache darted over to give Papa a quick hug, interrupting the conversation. He wrapped a fatherly arm about her shoulder and held her at his side.

written while listening to:  Jandek - Baltimore Sunday, disc 1 (Corwood Industries, CORWOOD 0865, 2023, United States, cdx2, discogs.com)

May 13, 2026
"Please convey my deepest regrets to your lord," said Papa Krokodeilos, "but we couldn't possibly impose. As you can see, there are eight of us in the band." He glanced affectionately at Andromache, who obliged with a charming smile. In this way, he made clear his expectation that lodging was to be part of any deal. "I assure you," said the butler, not altogether unfamiliar with this game, "that no expense is too great when it comes to satisfying the desires of my lord. No equal in wealth is to be found in Kydonia."

written while listening to:  Wadada Leo Smith & John Lindberg - Celestial Weather (TUM Records, TUM CD 046, 2015, Finland, cd, discogs.com)

May 14, 2026
Papa Krokodeilos next played his second card. "As much as it would please us to enjoy the hospitality of your master's hall, it grieves me to inform you that we are booked every night until our departure from Crete." Each morning he had visited the wharf to keep track of ship arrivals and departures. "We have already gone to considerable efforts to secure passage." The butler paused, but only for a moment. Waving a hand, he said, "The captains of several biremes owe no small allegiance to my lord. Rebooking your travel will present no obstacle."

written while listening to:  Paula Sanchez - Pressure Sensitive (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS044, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

May 15, 2026
As with any group, there was a distribution of personalities among the very rich. In this rarefied demographic, traits were skewed toward ego, avarice and lawlessness stemming from entitled impunity. Papa Krokodeilos wished to avoid association with one who embodied these characteristics to cruel excess. Fortunately, such reputations were easily discovered in the scuttlebutt of taverns frequented by the band. Of Lord Threspotus, Papa had already heard about his great wealth and relative fairhandedness in dealing with those who did not seek to deceive him.

written while listening to:  Matt Mitchell - Vista Accumulation, disc 1 (Pi Recordings, PI62, 2015, United States, cdx2, discogs.com)

May 16, 2026
The request of Papa Krokodeilos for a night to consider the offer was reluctantly granted. Clearly, the butler had hoped to return with the band in tow that very night. Later the eight sat about a table in the empty hall. Papa informed them that they would change venues on the morrow. Andromache, who had heard his conversation, asked, "I thought you said that you had secured passage for us on a ship?" Papa raised an eyebrow. "I said no lie—only that we had made efforts to secure passage, not that any money had changed hands."

written while listening to:  Ramdat - Maat Mons (Ramble Records, RAM-104, 2023, Australia, digital files, discogs.com)

May 17, 2026
The butler returned in the morning to receive the answer that he had fully expected. Papa accompanied him to the owner's office, who stoically accepted the bad news that the band's residency was truncated prematurely. One did not deny the wishes of Lord Threspotus without risking his displeasure, and the proffered compensation softened the blow. Papa praised the hall's acoustics and the quality of his patrons. In parting, he expressed a wish to complete his contracted stay at a later date, when the whimsical winds of fate again caused their paths to cross.

written while listening to:  Charles Ives - The Four Violin Sonatas (Bay Cities, BCD 1026, 1991, United States, cd, discogs.com)

May 18, 2026
The residence of the family of Lord Threspotus formed a gated compound situated on a scenic bluff, with the unbroken vista of the sea spread out to the north and a panorama of distant mountains to the south. So great had his wealth grown that a separate set of buildings had been constructed just outside the main walls, where servants and laborers were kept. These homes, while small in size, were clean and well maintained. They were arranged along the perimeter of a yard in which two stately oak trees had kept each other company for a hundred years.

written while listening to:  John Zorn & Bobby Previte - Euclid's Nightmare (Depth of Field, DOF 1-2, 1997, United States, cd, discogs.com)

May 19, 2026
As Andromache and her companions entered the servants' yard, the band was followed by many pairs of eyes belonging to housekeepers, cooks, scullery maids, groundskeepers, stablemen, huntsmen, and every other subordinate imaginable. Two larger buildings were reserved for the families of the steward of the estate and the butler of the house. Though not the first group of musicians to stay among them, Papa's band nevertheless attracted avid curiosity because of the unusual traits of its members, including the old man borne in the arms of the giantess.

written while listening to:  Hank Mobley - A Slice Off the Top (Blue Note, LT-995, 1979 (rec. 1966), United States, lp, discogs.com)

May 20, 2026
The butler, Simmias, led them to a single-room building with a central fireplace, divided into quarters by four wooden partitions. He assured them that their gear and instruments would be safe. He then took them on two errands, first to inspect the reception hall, where they would play, as Papa wanted to visualize the space unoccupied. Second, Simmias led them to a seamstress, who had orders to provide matching outfits for their performances. All eight were measured with utmost professionalism; no sign of surprise registered at the stature of the dwarf.

written while listening to:  Various Artists - Poetic Silhouettes (AMF Music, amf 1034, 1993, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

May 21, 2026
The seamstress had a trio of younger women apprenticing in her shop. They showed a bolt of vibrant yellow fabric, colored with dyer's woad. The men were to wear full-length chitons of linen adorned with sashes cut from a second cloth of amber hue, derived they said from the crocus. Triballos took one look at the proposed design and made his opinion known by strutting about in a curious way. "What are you doing?" asked Andromache with a smirk. "Isn't it obvious?" he replied. "I'm practicing my golden oriole routine."

written while listening to:  Steve Lacy Trio - Bye-Ya (Free Lance, FRL-CD 025, 1996, France, cd, discogs.com)

May 22, 2026
It was first proposed that the women would be garbed in skirts only. While nudity, at this time, was commonplace, Mama Chloë argued on aesthetic grounds that their stage presence would benefit from a more uniform dress. Of course, it did not escape her reasoning that men in any audience found erotic the movement of female entertainers, intended or not. In a wealthy house, she wished to avoid, for the sake of Synder as much as for Megaera and herself, the awkward situation of declining unwanted advances from their host or a lewd, privileged son.

written while listening to:  Lê Quan Ninh, Massimo de Mattia & Gal Furlan - Beneath The Forge (Klopotec, IZK CD 155, 2024, Slovenia, cd, discogs.com)

May 23, 2026
If she were a lady of stature in charge of a palatial home hosting a gathering of nobles from across the land, Andromache supposed that she would insist on a rehearsal by the band hired to entertain her guests. However, she greatly over-estimated the interest of Lord Threspotus in the arts. His life had been guided by a single-minded interest in the acquisition and accumulation of wealth. He viewed the approbation of his peers, much less the food, decorations and music employed to amuse them, as necessary means to an end.

written while listening to:  Maya Homburger, Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love - Not Two...But Twenty!, disc 4 (Not Two Records, MW 1000-2, 2020, Poland, cdx5, discogs.com)

May 24, 2026
Despite his love of improvisation in their music, Papa Krokodeilos was a stickler for details. He pleaded with Simmias to allow the band to practice at least once in the reception hall. His stubbornness on this point was rewarded when he learned that a troupe of dancers, who would perform to their music, had just been hired. When the butler let this information casually slip, the bandleader hid his surprise. "Excellent!" he said, "Perhaps, we would do well to agree beforehand on a program, with which both musicians and dancers are familiar."

written while listening to:  Robbie Avenaim, Chris Abrahams & Jim Denley - Weft (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1126, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)