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Jazz Articles about Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet
About Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet
Instrument: Band / ensemble / orchestra
The Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet, Frank Carlberg, and Sullivan Fortner
by Jerome Wilson
This show features recent music from the Alex Coke and Carl Michel Sextet, Sullivan Fortner, and Frank Carlberg plus older work from Devin Gray, Nucleus, and Joe Harriott. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Alex Coke and Carl Michel Sextet “Situation" from Situation (PlayOn) 00:54 Thumbscrew “Swirling Lives" from Multicolored Midnight (Cuneiform) 7:43 Host Speaks 15:57 Bill Charlap Trio ...
Continue ReadingAlex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Situation
by Jack Bowers
As might be envisioned from a sextet whose membership encompasses harp, vibraphone, flute and pedal steel guitar, the themes on saxophonist Alex Coke and guitarist Carl Michel's third album, Situation, are in large measure thoughtful and atmospheric. And while the music is charming and graceful, its ties to jazz are tenuous at best. Yes, there is some improvisation, but it seems more an afterthought than an essential part of the equation. There are no appreciable departures from ...
Continue ReadingAlex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Situation
by Jerome Wilson
This is the third album by the Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet and, on it, they continue to refine their integration of jazz, country and classical styles into a more expansive and complex whole. Their use of vibraphone, pedal steel and harp, in addition to the more common instruments of guitar, saxophone and bass, gives the group a uniquely layered sound that can be delicate or driving. The instruments combine into sound collages that blend the ethereal with toughness. ...
Continue ReadingAlex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Emergence
by Jack Bowers
Emergence, the latest album by the Texas-based Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet, is by and large chamber jazz, veering often into the realms of avant-garde and free improvisation. The standard of musicianship is high, the urge to listen a second time rather less so--an opinion that must be qualified by the admission that it expresses a neophyte's point of view. The question thus becomes, what can be said about such an enterprise, given one's basic unfamiliarity ...
Continue ReadingAlex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet: Emergence
by Jerome Wilson
The Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet expand their sound on this album, the follow-up to their debut, The Emissary, (Play On, 2022). Their unique instrumental blend of reeds, guitar, pedal steel, vibes, harp, and bass retains its ethereal charm while also pushing forward into fresh musical territory. “Bagatelle II," by Ukrainian composer, Valentin Silvestrov, sounds like a medieval folk song. Its melody is laid out by Michel's guitar and Coke's flute while Carolyn Trowbridge's vibraphone and the ...
Continue ReadingAlex Coke & Carl Michel: The Emissary
by Jerome Wilson
With instrumentation that includes harp, pedal steel guitar and vibraphone, this album is clearly not meant to resemble a classic jazz session. Instead, it ambitiously incorporates jazz, medieval composition and exotic folk melodies into a hypnotically beautiful set of diverse rhythms and motifs. The most austere selection is “O Pastor Animarum" by 12th century composer, Hildegarde von Bingen. Here Carl Michel's guitar, Elaine Barber's harp, and Bob Hoffnar's pedal steel guitar combine into a thick, iridescent weave of ...
Continue ReadingAlex Coke & Carl Michel: The Emissary
by Kyle Simpler
While much of the world was in lockdown during 2020, saxophonist Alex Coke and harpist Elaine Barber had an idea that caught on. They decided to bring their instruments out on the driveway of the Austin, Texas home they were sheltering in and play music while waiting for their groceries to be delivered. These impromptu concerts turned out to be popular and soon became weekly events. The Emissary grew out of these concerts. The Coke-Barber combination opened up ...
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