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Fight the Big Bull
Fight The Big Bull: All Is Gladness In The Kingdom
by Martin Longley
Such an unwieldy band name and album title is almost perversely suitable for the ambitious music contained herein. Fight The Big Bull (FTBB) is, doubtless, dominant on the Richmond, Virginia alternative jazz scene, but possesses the powers to be equally noticeable on the much larger stage of, let's say, New York City. From this very place, trumpeter Steven Bernstein made the pilgrimage by car, invited to be an artist-in-residence. He okayed a heavy schedule, but did he really realize how ...
read moreFight the Big Bull: Dying Will Be Easy
by Troy Collins
Based in Richmond, Virginia, guitarist Matt White's Fight the Big Bull is a prime example of how the information age has leveled the playing field for artists outside major metropolitan areas. Originally a self-released demo, Dying Will Be Easy is now available from the illustrious Portuguese label Clean Feed. One listen to the ensemble's debut and it's easy to see why they've garnered so much attention; Fight the Big Bull has great potential.
With informative liner notes by ...
read moreFight the Big Bull: Dying Will Be Easy
by Dean Christesen
Fight the Big Bull's debut record begins darkly, with a fear brooding in the growl of a distorted trombone, unsettling bass and haunting shakers. It ends in a similar, yet tweaked tone, with an epic chorus making way for one last statement of defeat (or is it victory?). Amidst the rest of the work emerges a big band heavy on the slop--like jazz found in the back woods, blues from dirt road nomads and hymns from the swamps of the ...
read moreFight The Big Bull: Dying Will Be Easy
by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio
Fight the Big Bull describes itself on MySpace as champions of curiosity." This candid qualifier is doubly introspective because it denotes both the whimsy and the intellectual maturity of Dying Will Be Easy. The Richmond-based nonet, who played at New York City's Issue Project Room Aug. 6, 2008, is led by guitarist Matt White, who also composed the album's four tracks, which span a little more than half an hour. It is a wholly remarkable feat that an album with ...
read moreFight the Big Bull to Hit U Street
Source:
RVAjazz
Wednesday night is Cous Cous night. Fight the Big Bull has made this so, and now that the Richmond super-group has made its debut on the world stage earlier this month with its Clean Feed release, Dying Will Be Easy (which has enjoyed an excellent reception), Wednesday nights at Cous Cous will only become more popular.On October 1, Fight the Big Bull (perhaps going under the alias Ride the Big Bull" as the festival's schedule suggests?) will be ...
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Fight the Big Bull - Dying Will Be Easy (Clean Feed, 2008)
Source:
RVAjazz
by Dean ChristesenFight the Big Bull's debut record begins darkly, with a fear brooding in the growl of a distorted trombone, unsettling bass and haunting shakers. It ends in a similar yet tweaked tone with an epic chorus making way for one last statement of defeat (or is it victory?). Amidst the rest of the work emerges a big band heavy on the slop--like jazz found in the back woods, blues from dirt road nomads, hymns from the ...
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Fight the Big Bull Goes to Chicago
Source:
All About Jazz
About two years ago, Patchwork Collective organized a Richmond performance by avant-garde mastermind and saxophonist Ken Vandermark and his group Free Music Ensemble. Blown away by this performance, Patchwork co-founder Matthew White began trying to glean new knowledge about music and the business from Vandermark. White looked to Vandermark as a mentor and for the next few years, questioned and corresponded with him through email. When White's group Fight the Big Bull released their EP in 2007, he sent a ...
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Rvajazzfest: Fight the Big Bull
Source:
RVAjazz
Fight the Big Bull will perform at RVAjazzfest with Steven Bernstein on February 21, 2009, 8pm, at The Camel. Boots of Leather and Glows in the Dark open. Tickets are $10, all ages welcome. By Roberto Curtis
Saturday marks the first RVAjazzfest, a show boasting a slew of names from the Richmond community. With so much local heritage taking center-stage, it seems almost out of place to include the formidable trumpeter and arranger Steven Bernstein in the ...
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Fight the Big Bull and Ombak Trade Wednesdays at Cous Cous
Source:
RVAjazz
Fight the Big Bull will return to Cous Cous this Wednesday to bring its summer hiatus to an end. The group's first album, Dying Will Be Easy, will be released September 9 on Clean Feed, so their gigs every other Wednesday this fall are sure to be sparked with excitement from the album's release.Clean Feed has become known for its quickly growing catologue of creative recording musicians, including Anthony Braxton, Jason Stein, and Gerry Hemingway. Label co-founder Pedro ...
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