Tag: Free Jazz Blog

Ivo Perelman, Photo by Susanne Baltes

It’s a rainy Saturday here in New Jersey and I finally have a chance to sit down and think about last Sunday’s release show for saxophonist Ivo Perelman’s and pianist Matthew Shipp’s latest set of releases on Leo Records,The Art of Perelman & Shipp. I’ve cued up Volume 3, Pandora, which pairs Per…

Cooper-Moore, at the Stone in2013. Photo by Peter Gannushkin

In anticipation of the 22nd Vision Festival, which takes place May 28th to June 3rd in New York City’s West Village, this year’s lifetime achievement awardee, Cooper-Moore, took some time to answer a few questions about his work, the award, and the challenges that artists face.

Coo…

Filosofer – landet er gitt oss (Nakama Records, 2016) ***½

‘Planet earth is about to be recycled … your only choice to survive is to leave with us,’ so says the omnipotent voice that begins ‘vi er universitet’. A loopish sequence of plucked strings follows, sounds rise and fall, explosions, synthetic drum beats, and waves of electronic nois…

BassistEivind Opsvik, originally from Norway but living in Brooklyn for a number of years, has been slowly releasing a series of albums with the title ‘Overseas’. Now on volume V, the group refines the more rock oriented sound that emerged on Vol IV, this time with a distinctive New Wave/No Wave intent.

So, no better place to do this th…

Illegal Crowns is an unusual new formation for some well known collaborators – cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, drummer Tomas Fujiwara, and guitarist Mary Halvorson already work together in a number of combinations, but by adding French pianist Benoît Delbecq into the mix, an entirely new dimensions seem to open up.

On the opener, ‘Colle …

An homage of sorts … in November 1961, John Coltrane played at the Granada Theatre in Walthamstow, North East London, on A Jazz at the Philharmonic tour. A young Evan Parker was in the audience that night, and the event obviously left an indelible impression. 55 years later, Parker returned to the scene of the ‘crime’ (a cinema located at186 …

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…