Keyboardist Craig Tabornis no stranger ’round these parts. His versatile piano playing and use of electronics have certainly been documented in our reviews of his efforts as a leader (check out his solo ECM recording Avenging Angel) and as a sideman (check out his work with Roscoe Mitchelland contemporaries like Christian McBride and Tys…
By Eric McDowell, Lee Rice Epstein, and Paul Acquaro
I would be hard pressed to come up with a musician who is as thorough and reflective as reed player Ken Vandermark. His January 2016 residency at the Stone was years in the making and he succinctly, but without skipping important details, sums it up in the booklet accompanying Momentum 1:…
I have been a long time fan of saxophonist Tim Berne, catching when I can his concerts and covering hisSnake Oil albums and the brilliant BB&Cfor the blog. His complex and interlocking melody lines have always been a draw, his music wraps around itself, like vines growing up the tree, overlapping and intertwining, beautiful, and sometimes o…
John Abercrombie – Up and Coming (ECM, 2017) ***½
John Abercrombie is a master of dynamics, his masterful use of quiet introductions and spacious melodies hightens the impact of every note and modulation. Abercrombie began laying out his musical vision in his late 70’s/early 80’s quartet, whose recordings were re-released as abox set a few y…
Shane Parish – Undertaker Please Drive Slow (Tzadik, 2016) ****
North Carolina’s Shane Parish is the guitar half of the ‘math-rock’ duoAhleuchatistas. The heady group plays extremely tight and calculated songs; however, on this solo acoustic guitar effort, parish lets the numbers go and embraces the deep musical heritage of Appalachia.
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BassDrumBone – The Long Road (Auricle, 2016) ****
BassDrumBone is celebrating their 40th year together – their journey began in 1977 at an impromptu gig in Connecticut – and they are celebrating theirruby anniversary with a gift to all of us, the generous double CD The Long Road. Like other long-standing trios (my mind wanders to the Schlip…
John Butcher, Thomas Lehn, Matthew Shipp – Tangle (Fataka, 2016) ****½
The trio of saxophonist John Butcher, pianist Matthew Shipp, and analog synthesizer player Thomas Lehn deliver powerful and unique music on ‘Tangle’. Shipp, who has been making waves recently discussing his decision to stop making albums, is in fine form, as is Butcher an…
A few months ago we dug into a bunch of German jazz festival recordings from the 60s and 70s. It was a joy to spend time with those recordings, suffused in their history and importance, fortunately, it is suffice to say Germany is a still fertile ground for free jazz. Whether it’s the rapid-fire ping-pong exchanges, tonal explorations, or extrapola…
As on a Pivot of Air is a 10″ vinyl gem that snuck out into the wild late last year. The record is a fascinating soundscape featuring Amplified Palette inventor and player Hal Rammel and cellist Matt Turner. The opener ‘The Windows are Frameless’ sees the duo ensconced in calm, the atmosphere accentuated by creaks, clops, and double stops. T…
Paul Dunmall, Phillip Gibbs, Ashley John Long – Now Has No Dimension (FMR, 2016) ****Paul Dunmall Phillip Gibbs Ashley John Long, & Trevor Taylor – Cardiff (FMR, 2016) ****
Saxophonist Paul Dunmall’s versatility is simply phenomenal. I first heard him with drummer Tony Bianco in their tribute to John Coltrane, where he is a fiery p…
When you invite 21 musicians onto a stage, with probably two to three times the number of instruments between them, you better have a plan! Boston-based musician and band leader David Peck (aka PEK) certainly does.
PEK’s reinvigorated Leap of Faith quartet came out of hiatus a few years ago and since they have been busy creating music – and i…
ByPaul Acquaro
What better way to end a week of big band reviews than with a two-disc release featuring a total of 49 musicians? Californian drummer and composer, Nathan Hubbard and his Skeleton Key Orchestra’sFuriously Dreamingis a sprawling mixture that features in all 49 musicians andencompasses many styles and approaches over its two hou…
