Category: Recordings
A write up of some recent releases from the label OutNow has been on my mind for a bit of time now. After catching an exciting release event at Shapeshifter in Brooklyn in late November I’ve been digging into this batch, enjoying immensely…
9 Volt – Open Circuit (OutNow, 2012) ****½
Guitarist Eyal Maoz appeared recently on Shanir Ezra…
Living Jelly is saxophonist Ivo Perelman with drummer Gerald Cleaver and guitaristJoe Morris. The group’s improvised approach to the recording is described by Morris as:
… being held together by an instantaneously configured natural structure that is built on an evolving melodic and rhythmic form, made with one sound or silence at a time. The…
There is an elusive moment when music transports you to another place. Possibly a combination of music, exhaustion level, blood sugar levels and some other factors I have yet to pinpoint, it’s wonderfully hard to achieve and seemingly impossible to force. I recall such an occurrence once while standing in New York’s Penn Station listening to …
Samuel Blaser is a trombonist and composer who has been garnering well deserved attention in the avant garde jazz scene over the past couple of years and the NYC/Berlin based musician has recently released a great new album on hatOLOGY records.
As The Sea, like the sea, is a both a tranquil and violent entity, four musicians contributing to a…
Stanislav Bobrytskyy & Mikhail Paramzin – Draft Communication (self released, 2012) ****
Keyboardist Stanislav Bobrytskyy, whom we first covered back in Spring, is back, and this time with guitarist Mikhail Paramzin. Like last time, the duo format seems to fit Bobrytskyy well, his playing is intimate and he is a supportive listener unaf…
It’s been a bit since we’ve done this, but Paolo and Paulbothcould not help bursting into spontaneous prose on this new release from Paradoxical Frog…
Paradoxical Frog – Union (Clean Feed, 2012) ****½
By Paolo Casertano
What a fascinating album! If you have the chance, as I did, to listen to it in a rainy day and with a pair of comfortable …
Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz’s interpretations of John Zorn’s second Masada book is a raucous one that is full of energy and urgency. In fact, the Tzadic website describes it well as the “most primal and tribal installments in the Book of Angels series”
This power quartet of sorts is Blumenkranz on the gimbri – a bass-like instrument from Morocco,…
By Martin Schray
Once upon a time there was one of these hip clubs in Brooklyn. Some in-crowd people were lolling on expensive shabby lounge sofas, some of them were enjoying the retro ambience after a hard day in an advertising agency sipping at their over-priced beers. A local DJ played discreet house and ambient music so that the crowd was no…
Steve Lacy’s music seems to be cropping up often in the Free Jazz Blog, from the group Ideal Bread (here and here) to a set of recent Lacy issues and reissues on Emanem and Clean Feed, and now The Whammies.
The Whammies’ debut album, Plays the Music of Steve Lacy, is a captivating interpretation of the saxophonist’s music. During the course o…
I thoroughly enjoy orchestral music, big bands, symphonic adventures and daring arrangements, but I sometimes wonder, how do you pull offbalancingwriting and arranging with the spontaneity and subtle interactions found in smaller ensembles?
To present an entirely non-scientific and inconclusive answer, I offer two case studies, the 30 piece rat…
Consider me a fan of Ross Hammond’s earthy tone and free but ‘composed’ approach. I first heard the Californian guitarist when I had a chance to review the free-jazz-rockAdored this past winter. This new release, which is a document of a recent but now dormant project, The Revival Trio finds Hammond exploring African music, but still well withi…
Saxophonist, composer, band leader and figure on improvisation scene in western Canada, Coat Cooke is a player with a command of a wide range of styles and approaches. He recently released two very different and intriguing duo albums, one paired up with percussionist Joe Poole and the other with guitarist Rainier Weins.
Conversations w/ Joe …
