I read somewhere recently an enumeration of pianist John Escreet’s unique selling points. One placed him the pantheon of modern masters such as Kris Davis, Matthew Shipp, David Virelles, Myra Melford, Marilyn Crispell, and Craig Taborn. That is one hell of a list, and after many listening to the British expat’s most recent relea…
In just about every mention of Trio Xolo’s debut recording “In Flower, In Song,” the following seems to appear: the trio is “an improvising group composed of Mexican-American bassist Zachary Swanson, Baltimore-based saxophonist Derrick Michaels, and Lithuanian percussionist Dalius Naujo.” Knowing who plays what on the recording is good information,…
Berlin guitarist Ronny Graupe’s The Call opens with a bass and drum line that had me thinking of Dave Holland’s opening on Gateway’s ‘Back Woods Song’ – the moment is fleeting but it set my expectations high. Soon, the combination of vibraphone and guitar enter, setting the music off in a different direction entirely, ending the comparison but more…
My first visit to A L’ARME was for it’s second installment in 2013 when Iwas still bedazzled by the shaggy chic of Berlin. It was there that I met up with my Free Jazz Blog colleague Martin Schray for the first of many times at the festival and took in the neighboring ‘beach bar,’just one of many that dotted the Spree river as it flowed throug…
Since its inception in 2012, Berlin based organizers Louis Rastig and Karina Mertin’s A L’ARME festival has carefully avoided being defined as only a free-jazz festival. Sure, through the years free jazz icons such as Peter Brötzmann, Sven-Åke Johansson, Irène Schweizer, Han Bennink, John Butcher, Ken Vandermark, Lotte Anker, Ikue Mori, Wil…
Saturday, August 6th and Sunday August 7thHeading south east on Av. Alvares Cabral, a mere kilometer over a hill from the Reservatório da Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras (see part 3), is another neighborhood park, the Guerra Junqueiro Garden. It’s similar to the other park with plenty of wonderful old trees, like the giant Ficus macrophylla behind the …
Thursday, August 3rd and Friday August 4thLet us start back at the park, the Amoreiras Garden / Marcelino Mesquita Garden, like many of the small neighborhood parks in Lisbon, the park has several playgrounds for kids, gravel paths to saunter on and a small cafe. Typically reasonably priced and stocked with an assortment of drinks and pastries, lik…
Part two in the ongoing coverage of Jazz em Agosto 2022.
The evening was cooling down, nicely, from the mid-90s of the late afternoon, and a very light breeze kept the air moving. After two years of festivals in modified formats and scope, the return to the outdoor amphitheater in the Gulbenkian gardens in the middle of Lisbon felt good in many senses…
Vision Festival 2022 Logo, from Arts for ArtBy Gary Chapin, Matthew Banash, Paul AcquaroUnable to be in New York this June, the Free Jazz Blog took part in the The Vision Festival this year from afar, enjoying the high quality video stream, but missing the community that forms around the festival … and some of us missed the merch tables too … h…
Der KulturhofI am wondering if it would be better if I did not write anything about
the Potentiale Festival. It feels like I’m exposing a precious secret. It’s not
that I think I have any great influence on the course of events, but rather,
when something seems so perfectly done, do we really want anyone else to know
about it? Well here goe…
Slovenian guitarist Samo Salamon is having a busy 2022, just half-way into the year and there are at least four recordings that he has released, two of which my colleague Matt Banash reviewed this week: Joy and Sorrow and Pure and Simple. Going back to the start of the year, Salamon released Dolphyology, an ambitious solo guitar project…
