Jazz Articles

Bones & Tones: Bones & Tones

by Dan Bilawsky
February 9, 2011

Percussion might very well be the oldest form of communication known to man, but practitioners of the percussive arts are often relegated to supporting roles in the majority of today's music. When percussionist Lloyd Haber received an invitation to form a group for the 2009 Long Beach Jazz Festival, he fought this notion and put together Bones & Tones, which places percussion right at the center of the action. Using marimba and vibraphone as the lead voices, Haber formed a ...

Freedom Art Quintet: Spirits Awake

by Matt Merewitz
October 9, 2003

A relative newcomer to the New York avant scene, the Freedom Art Quintet seems to fit in historically somewhere in between the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the funky Cannonball Adderley Quintet.

The opener, “In the Thick of It,” suggests the avant-garde while keeping things in time and relatively harmonically tame. The writing is interesting enough to catch your attention, while the bridge is abrupt, too short, and extremely corny. Thickness is followed by sparseness on “Kimbunga,” a ...

Freedom Art Quartet: Spirits Awake

by Jeff Stockton
August 25, 2003

On Spirits Awake, the Freedom Art Quartet immediately announces its overall dedication to groove and funky second-line beats with "In the Thick of It," as Jaribu Shahid’s ripely swinging bass gives way to Abraham Burton’s lush, confident tenor and Omar Kabir’s incisive and radiant trumpet. On "Kimbunga," Kabir switches to flugelhorn and makes it growl like a trombone without the aid of a slide or plunger mute, and guest altoist Douglas Yates solos busily before the band returns to state ...