Jazz Articles

UDU CALLS/Tiziano Tononi & Daniele Cavallanti with William Parker: The Vancouver Tapes

by Mark Corroto
November 16, 2014

The Vancouver Tapes might have been called The Lost Recordings had drummer Tiziano Tononi not found this recording at the bottom of a chest he stored it in after his appearance with saxophonist Daniele Cavallanti and bassist William Parker. It was their first ever meeting at the 1999 Vancouver Jazz Festival. The instant the trio hits the stage the upsurge of energy is palpable. Nay flute, bells, and the dynamo of Parker's bass ignites the two lengthy sets. ...

Keith Tippett/ Giovanni Maier: Two For Joyce

by Mark Corroto
June 23, 2013

Two For Joyce, that's James Joyce the title is referring to. And the 'Two' is a reference to the two musicians, pianist Keith Tippett and bassist Giovanni Maier, because Two For Joyce is one long (50 minute) improvised recorded live performance.Captured May 2012, during the “Le Nuove Rotte del Jazz" (New Routes in Jazz) Jazz Festival in Trieste, a city Joyce once lived. The pair draw as much density as a Joyce novel, yet nothing is lost in ...

Jim McAuley: Gongfarmer 36

by John Eyles
December 12, 2012

As its title suggests, Gongfarmer 36 is the belated follow-up to guitarist Jim McAuley's Gongfarmer 18 (Nine Winds Records, 2005). But the seven-year delay is not surprising, as additions to McAuley's discography tend to arrive sporadically--the last being Vignes (Long Song, 2009), with the wonderful Acoustic Guitar Trio which brought him together with Nels Cline and the late Rod Poole. As well as two solo and two trio albums, The Ultimate Frog (Drip Audio, 2008) features a quintet worthy of ...

Giovanni Maier: The Talking Bass

by Mark Corroto
December 2, 2010

Students of jazz have long known that the bassist can be the hippest musician on the bandstand, constantly listening, and rarely featured. That's why, when a first class bassist like Giovanni Maier gets a chance to lead and present his compositions, it should be a special event. That is just what The Talking Bass is: a vehicle to feature not only his playing, but his writing as well.Maier is a constant sideman to the likes of Stefano Battaglia, ...

Daniele Cavallanti / Tiziano Tononi: Rings Of Fire

by Mark Corroto
December 25, 2008

Poet Robert Browning may not have written the line, “a man's reach should exceed his grasp" with musicians Daniele Cavallanti and Tiziano Tononi in mind. But if he were to listen to some of their music, he might just have added, “and sometimes, they get a hold of something special out there."Rings Of Fire, a two-part suite, follows the duo's longtime collaborative efforts, which include time in the Italian Instabile Orchestra and on the discs Awake Nu / ...

Craig Green/David King: Craig Green + David King

by Elliott Simon
December 6, 2008

While the best solo jazz recordings reveal an artist's inner thoughts, the most outstanding duos endure as memorable conversations. Guitarist Craig Green and drummer David King allow us to eavesdrop on a wide variety of semi-structured discourses with this stylistically varied, self-titled release. King holds forth on drums, percussion, vibes and piano and, as is apropos of this type of project, displays sides of himself that are not all that obvious in his main gig with The Bad Plus. Green ...

Craig Green/David King: Craig Green + David King

by Mark Corroto
October 7, 2008

Sometimes when listening to improvised music there's the feelingof being Donny Kerabatsos from the movie The Big Lebowski, who Walter Sobchak scolds with the line, “...you have no frame of reference here, Donny. You're like a child who wanders into the middle of a movie and wants to know the story.”  

Giovanni Maier: Technicolor

by Mark Corroto
February 3, 2008

Italian Giovanni Maier proves that everything old can be new (meaning fresh) again. The conservatory trained bassist has been a member of the Italian Instabile Orchestra, The Enten Eller project, and the bands of Enrico Rava and Stefano Battaglia. This two-disc release finds Maier's quartet of two electric keyboards Alfonso Santimone and Giorgio Pacorig and drummer Zeno de Rossi with Maier playing electric bass and some cello, augmented by two electric guitars.

Maier's quartet Turtle Soup immediately reminds ...

Daniele Cavallanti Electric Unit: Smoke Inside

by Mark Corroto
September 26, 2007

I've got this ringing in my ears! That's electric jazz, son; trust me, it's good for you.

Italian saxophonist Daniele Cavallanti, best known for his work in Nexus and the Italian Instabile Orchestra with drummer Tiziano Tononi, assembled this Electric Unit not to play fusion, but the electric music handed down by founding fathers Miles Davis, Tony Williams, Al Foster, Steve Grossman, John McLaughlin, Dave Liebman and others.

Cavallanti's mission on Smoke Inside is accomplished with the aforementioned help of ...