Category: Recordings
‘As The Crow Flies’ is an inspired collection of songs and ideas brought to life by a group of musicians that hardly need an introduction to readers of this blog. Saxophonist Jim Hobbs, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum and guitarist Mary Halvorson have each been busy garnering praise leading their own ensembles. They have also worked together in differe…
The album is spinning on my turntable but the font is so small and hidden in the lushly decorated label that I’ve given up on figuring out if I’m on side A listening to ‘Sloo’ or side C listening to ‘Enberg’. I’m starting to think that this obfuscation is by design, to let the fantastic music coming from the grooves speak for itself. Unawar…
Gunter ‘Baby’ Sommer’s ‘Melting Game’ recorded with The New Trio begins with a mournful and longing sound. The folk like melody of ‘Hymnus’ rolls from Floros Floridis’ clarinet as Sommer’s drums roil below. As the forlorn melody progresses, bluesy shadings and shouts fill in the spaces, while Akira Ando’s bass provides just the right amount of coun…
Hammond makes a grand entrance on the anthemic ‘Adored’. The title track kicks off with some sound effects but quickly segues into a Neil Young inspired mash of chords from his slightly overdriven guitar. But, it’s when Vinny Golia comes in with a keening line from his sax that things ratchet up a notch. Alex Cline’s percussion propels the swee…
I love hiking, often hitting trails in the New York area that I’ve covered time and time again. While I often feel the need to explore new and exotic, it’s always a pleasure to come back to the more familiar and have it feel fresh again. In a sense, Nick Moran Trio’s ‘No Time Like Now’ and Dan Messore’s ‘Indigo Kid’ are kind of like new trips from…
A work that features bass clarinet, and especially the contrabass clarinet, will usually rise to the top of the pile for me, and Chicagoan Jason Stein’s work does not disappoint. Invoking the spirit of Ornette Coleman and Eric Dolphy at times, Stein’s latest collection is an excellent mix of original compositions and choice selections from some pas…
On Pete Robbins Transatlantic Quartet’s “Live in Basel’, a refined smoothness masks a turbulent undercurrent. You can feel it as the melodic heads recede and the group delves into dense thickets of improvisation. Robbins’ sax has a strong clean sound and whether he is improvising or playing a composed melody, his lines are sophisticated and access…
I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to follow the typically adventurous path of Ken Vandermark and Peter Brotzmann through a handful of new recordings (though I begin with one by the duo of free jazz heavyweights Vandermark and Paal Nilssen-Love). I admit that on the surface these albums are only losely connected by some of the musicians i…
Switzerland’s Grand Reportage Ensemble Deluxe’s album “Live from the Surface of the Sun” takes off with two quick blasts from the woodwind team of saxophonist Jérôme Correa and guest bass clarinetist Lucien Dubuis. This double shot of low register adrenaline certainly gets things started. Weaving into free passages and finally succumbing to entro…
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of writing about The Veil, a recording with altoist Tim Berne, guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Jim Black. While the twists and turns on Snake Oil are comparable, many elements of this latest release make it an apples to oranges endeavor. Whereas ‘The Veil’ was a scathing free improvisation of unabashed nois…
Hat & Beard’s album ‘Live at Somewhere There’ is a joyful romp through the Thelonious Monk song book. Each tune is lovingly delivered to what sounds like an audience of five, which simply adds to the recording’s intimate private concert atmosphere.
Taking their duo’s name from Eric Dolphy’s tribute to Monk, guitarist Ken Aldcroft …
I think I may have had a ‘moment of zen’ while listening to this recording. I must admit that I cheated on this one a little at first, skimming the start of the recording, dipping the “play head” to see what was happening with what seemed to be a rather persistent chordal tone. Eventually though, I calmed down and just let it play.
It’s…
