The opening bars of Lucidity reminded me of something. The refined relaxed piano and unison melody on the trumpet and sax invoked a sound that was at once classic and unique. From what I readhere,structure, sound, and attitude referencing classic post-bop / free-jazz, mixed with free passages and virtuosic playing is the winning formula that…
I’m glad I had the opportunity to write about Tim Daisy and Jason Stein’s duo album Alive at the Woodland Book Center. I have an unfettered bias to all things bass clarinet and have enjoyed Stein’s woodwind work in his other recordings includingThe Story this Time.Daisy’s discography is excellent as well, as the reviewers from this blog will ea…
The blog has covered some of the music coming from a somewhat intertwined scene in Sweden that includes the groupsGlas,HeadJive,Baptet, and some of the solo material from guitarist Gunnar Backman. GuitCussion is another permutation, in which we find Backman joined by second guitarist Stefan Thorpenberg and drummers Henrik Wartel and Per Ander S…
ByPaul Acquaro
Brooklyn based drummer Andrew Drury is a phenomenon to watch perform as his playing often transforms the instrument itself. His kit will be disassembled during a show as unorthodox methods and unexpected equipment, such as violin bows and actually blowing into the instrument, are used to play the drums. It is little surprise then to…
This one snuck in the back door, under the radar, if it wasn’t for a mention on Facebook, I wouldn’t have known this gorgeous recording of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and bassist Bill Laswell existed. The Stone is recording of a live date at the Stone in NYC during Bill Laswell’s week long residency in date. Another date with Milford Graves is a…
Kali Z Fasteau is pianist, flutist, cellist, vocalistwho has traveled extensively, and lived abroad, and has an impressive vita that includes work free jazz luminaries likeArchie Shepp, Oliver Lake, Joe McPhee, Hamid Drake and Noah Howardjust to name a random few. This I’mgleaning from her website. Yes, as you can tell, I’m newto her mus…
ByPaul Acquaro
Not so long ago, I had the pleasure of seeing a gig that paired up saxophonist Tony Malaby, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and bassist Ingebrit Haker-Flaten at the tin foil lined JACK Arts in Brooklyn. The music from the trio was just cooking. There was a point in the groups playng when there was no longer a group, but a THING. To start th…
Afterimage, recently released on Driff Records, was recorded live at Constellation in Chicago and follows in the footsteps oflast year’sstudio recordingCircuitous. As you may already know, besides the Boston based group leader pianist Pandelis Karayorgis, the group is comprised mainly of Chicago based players* – and benefits wonderfully from …
Reedman Jorrit Dijkstra: New Crosscurrents is a sextet that seamlessly meshes a classic jazz sound, descendent of the Tristano school, with a healthy helping of full on ensemble free-playing on their download only Live Bimhaus Amsterdamfrom Driff records. The group is comprised of Dijkstra on alto saxophone, David Kweksilber on tenor and alto …
Dálava is an ambitious – and it seems – very personal project by husband and wife team guitarist Aram Bajakian and vocalist Julia Ulehla. It’s a song cycle set to fragments and stanzas of poetry and verse recorded by Ulehla’s great-grandfather Vladimir Úlehla in eastern Europe at the start of the 20th century. While the poems are set to music…
The Winter Jazz Festival hit NYC last weekend. It was a crazy scene – sold out shows, SRO venues – but there was a lot of great music. One show that really stood out was Nate Wooley and Ken Vandermark’s duo set. Their concept was modeled after the combo of trumpeter Bobby Bradford and saxophonist and clarinetist John Carter, who were based out …
Ah, memories … I recall downloading Lawnmower’s first album, West, from eMusic at Stef’s enthusiastic recommendation. Then, I remember falling for it, becoming enthralled by the two guitars spinning ambient textures, Luthar Grey’s understated drums and Jim Hobb’s earthy saxophone. I also had the luck to catch a performance at the a sweltering…
