I recall a coffee table book, probably from the late 90s, that was dedicated to photographs of industrial spaces. The stark black and white photography, with subtle shades of grays and grittiness, revealed a certain beauty in these man made landscapes. Stretching from Jersey City to Berlin and beyond, these images were at the same time austere an…
I seem to like a piano trio that is well marinated in rhythm. No matter how lush – both hands on the keyboard and the sustain pedal pressed – or how spare, if served with that extra dash of flavor, I’m hooked. Alon Nechushtan’s ‘Words Beyond’ hits the spot. From the opening moments of the jaunty ‘Muppet Shock’, the bass, drum and piano are perf…
Ken Vandermark is frightfully prolific. This recent release, ‘Last Train to the First Station’ by the Reed Trio is just one of the many current albums and groups in which he is a member. The Reed Trio is Vandermark on clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, Mikolaj Trzaska on bass clarinet, alto saxophone, c-melody saxophone and Waclaw Zim…
When listening to the Marcin Wasilewski Trio’s Faithful, I’ve begun developing a feeling that there is something that I’m not quite tuned in to. Having not heard this trio’s music before but having read some laudatory write-ups online, I must I admit I was anticipating something, though what, I’m still not entirely sure.
Wasilewski’s approach to…
Aram Shelton’s ‘This Was…’, recorded with his group Arrive in 2008 is a serious affair that is quite a fun and demanding listen.
I was first struck by how cool this group was, cool in the sense of how the vibes, the upright acoustic bass, the commanding sax, and some very hip drumming, casts a spell. At the same time, I was impressed by how ho…
Hailing from Poland, the Contemporary Noise Sextet is redefining the definition of the word ‘noise’ for me. To them, it seems ‘noise’ means well constructed and full sounding. “Ghostwriters Joke” is a seriously good piece of work that while not exactly free jazz, or even straight ahead jazz, is a collection of arrangements that sometimes border …
I hadn’t heard Ted Sirotas work before digging into “Vs. the Forces of Evil”, but just a glance through the personnel indicated I was in good company and the Latin groove of the opener “Grendel” — reminiscent of Return to Forever ala Light as a Feather — that came on when I clicked play on the iPod, confirmed that I was in for a treat.
‘Vs. t…
The Steampunk literary genre essentially imagines a present informed by Victorian sensibilities and driven by steam technology. Imagine though, just for a moment, another alternate present in which popular music is not shaped by lowest common denominator tastes and gobs of derivative schmear. What do you hear? For me, the top forty slots are pret…
Free Fall is a trio of Ken Vandermark, Havard Wiik, and Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on clarinets, piano and bass respectively. The trio, apparently modeled after the early 1960s Jimmy Giuffre’s Trio with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow, has delivered a challenging and sophisticated effort that reveals itself more with each listen.
The albums cover, a sta…
‘Swimmer’ is a new release from a group of the same name hailing from Chicago. I’m not entirely sure how I came across this group, but I downloaded a copy of their debut frombandcamp.comand have been enjoying the fruits of their labor over the past few days. Swimmer, the band, is comprised of the guitar and drum duo of Dave Miller and Cory …
I must admit I was afraid to listen to this album at first. I thought that I might not know how to hear, compare, or enjoy a solo saxophone recording. I like space and I like the edges of improvisation and music, but I was concerned that this would be to far off my own charts. However,I was intrigued as to what the phrase ‘Time to do my lions’ me…
Though I don’t have the numbers on this, I’m fairly certain that there are more bass clarinets in the hands of jazz musicians then before. Lots of variables here to account for, so don’t judge my research, just enjoy the hypothesis. Jason Stein, Louis Sclavis and Lucien Dubuis come to mind with little thought, and now do does Duplant/Chagas/Noyes…
