Tag: Free Jazz Blog
Bassist and composer Lisa Mezzacappa has been delighting the writers here at the Freejazz blog with herBait & SwitchandNightshadereleases over the past few years. Here, the Bay Area bassist teams up with Brooklyn based drummer Mike Pride and guitarist Chris Welcome for an excellent album with composition credits shared amongst the trio.
I …
It’s not often you connect free jazz albums through amphibians… (and there are more salamanders in recent jazz – the first track onAlexander von Schlippenbach’s”Vesuvius” (2005), the third track on Vinny Golia’s “9 Pieces for solo Bb clarinet”, the tenth track on Aych’s “As The Crow Flies” (2012) … so much for irrelevant information)
Dørge,…
Guitar and drums … even more elemental that the classic guitar, bass, and drum line up. Every note counts, every percussive splash, every strike of the pick …
Ava Mendoza – Quit Your Unnatural Ways (Weird Forest, 2012) ****½
Sometimes you get lucky. I came across Ava Mendoza’sQuit Your Unnatural Waysat a recent show and put in on in the…
For the second installment of guitar week, I am excited to be sharing some thoughts on recent releases from two great guitarists (oh hell, they’re all great). From these two artists, the blog has most recently reviewed Raoul Bjorkenheim’s Scorch Trioand Mary Halvorson’s Ghost Loops…
ByPaul Acquaro
Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek, Tomas Fujiwar…
Over the course of the years we have featured several round-ups of guitar centered free jazz albums, and last year, we presented the first “guitar week”. This week we continue both of these ‘traditions’ with a new guitar week that kicks off round-up style.
Dom Minasi & Hans Tammen – Alluvium (Straw2gold Pictures, 2014) ****
Experimen…
I did a little internet research on this father and son duo before I cracked open their new CD as if anything could be the same. By the time I finally plunked it into my player and the music began I had already formed a rather positive feeling towards both musicians. I was taken by saxophonist Jack Wright’s uncompromising story: his moves betw…
With his teacher’s signature soprano sax in mind, Charles Evans, a student of David Liebman, carefully craftedSubliminal Leaps, a set of both composed and freely improvised music. The considered combination of Evans’ baritone and Liebman’s soprano saxophones is ably accompanied by pianist Ron Stabinsky and bassist Tony Marino. The album is the …
A set of new releases onOutNow showcases adventurous musicianship and diverse styles…
Alex Weiss – Fighter Planes & Praying Mantis (OutNow, 2013) ****
Saxophonist Alex Weiss’ Fighter Planes & Praying Mantis is a peculiar mix. Layered post-rock, ambient and melodic horn arrangements, and at times hard-core vocals and pounding rhythm…
Use Aram Bajakian’s there were flowers also in hell to kick off your next party. Put on ‘Texas Cannonball’ and watch as your guests begin to dance. A little later in the tune they may be tempted to get stoned, but they’ll soon be dancing again, albeit perhaps just a little slower. In fact, your guests won’t even notice the seque into the next t…
The recordings from Va Fongool, a label out of Norway dedicated to the fringes of music, can easily be seen as music for ‘new ears’. It’s a concept of music that is sometimes beyond categorization, and while a bit hard to define the term, these recordings certainly help explain the idea …
Mumuu – Mitt Ferieparadis(Va Fongool, 2013) ***½
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Last year I stumbled upon the group Glas from Sweden. It was a pleasant surprise — their live album, Live at Brötz Gothenburg Swedenisa dynamic set ofimprovisedmusic.
From that sextet, two of the members seem to have spun off a smaller trio called “HeadJive”. Comprised Gunnar Backman on fretted virtual guitar, Anders Berg on bass, and new…
On guitarist Elliot Sharp’s new recording you’ll hear plenty of horns and a fiery rhythm section, but you will not hear a guitar.
Fans of the first Aggregat album, by the Elliot Sharp Trio, know that Sharp switched to saxophone for a good portion of the recording. Always an experimental guitarist,Aggregatshowed a more ‘conventional’ si…
