I was tipped off to John Oswald, Henry Kaiser and Paul Plimley’s
At One Timeat the same time that I learned that Canadian pianist Paul Plimley, who plays vibraphone on this recording, had just passed away rather suddenly from cancer. Wanting to know more about Plimley, his work and life, I turned to my Free Jazz Blog colleague Stuart …
Many years ago I discovered a recording that rewired parts of my
musical listening brain, the dark and lugubriously melodicOctave Of The Holy Innocents(Day Eight Music,
1993)from bassist Jonas Hellborg along with guitarist Buckethead
and drummer Michael Shrieve. After many
listens, my infatuation cooled but the album had buried itself deep
in my br…
It’s probably safe to say that everyone went at least a little stir-crazy during the first two years of COVID. Between shut-downs, bountiful misinformation, and most importantly, no live music, we were all knocked off-kilter. There was either too much time or not enough of it in the right places, but for some folks, the time was put to quite creati…
John Butcher at Ausland, November 2019. (c)Cristina Marx
By
Paul Acquaro
British saxophonist John Butcher is no stranger to Berlin. Linked to the
Echtzeit scene that emerged during the heady days of post re-unification Germany in
the abundant derelict spaces that …
Concert review, Myra Melford’s Fire and Water Quintet, organized by Jazzwerkstatt.Myra Melford (p), Mary Halvorson (g), Ingrid Laubrock (s), Tomeka Reid (c), Susie Ibarra (d)Pianist Myra Melford and the members of her Fire and Water Quintet took to the stage area of the Institut Français Berlin under adverse conditions: it was too dark to see thei…
As I began writing this review, I was about half-way through Phil Freeman’s Ugly Beauty: Jazz in the 21st Century. I had been picking it up and putting it down for a week or so, which is no fault of the author, rather I blame my computer-mediated attention deficit disorder. The thing is, Ugly Beauty is perfect for this approach to reading. The stor…
Myra Melford. Photo: Brian McMillen and Stef Gijssels with Myra Melford
Paul (FJB): Thanks for taking the time to speak with us, it’s nice to have a
chance to talk with you and catch up with the work that you’re doing.
So, to start, you just played at the Big Ears Festival in Tennessee,
how was it?
…
It’s pretty much a dream team on
For the Love of Fire and Water: pianist Myra Melford along with with
guitarist Mary Halvorson, saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, cellist Tomeka Reid,
and percussionist Susie Ibarra. All have played with Melford at one time or
another, but never all together, until one fateful night a few years back at
…
An Interview with Markus Müller about the bookFMP: The Living Music, reviewed here.
In 2017, my wife and I visited Munich’s Haus der Kunst, an imposing concrete building set on the edge of the English Garden, and next to the Eisbachwelle, the mission to see the FMP exhibition. We did not have much time on the vacation, so we skipped documenta 14 i Kassel, even though it only happen every five…
I took a long walk on a bright late winter’s day to listen to Weft in full. It’s one long 45-minute track and for walking, a fine piece. The music flutters ceaselessly like the wind blowing through trees or water cascading through a stream, a trickle of constant, gentle sound. I looked at the barren trees and the nascent buds on some of the bushe…
Florian Arbenz – Conversations #1 (2021) ****
About a year ago Swiss drummer and composer Florian Arbenz released the
first of his planned dozen “Conversations” recordings.
Conversations #1 with Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras and American
trumpeter Hermon Mehari. Arbenz’s CV features tours with Greg Osby ;
Dav…
