Jazz Articles about Katt Hernandez

Westgaard / Hernandez / Strid: The Knapsack, The Hat, and The Horn

by Glenn Astarita
April 4, 2024

The Knapsack, The Hat, and The Horn is a compelling exploration of free improvisation and acoustic sounds. The album, recorded in a single day in Gävle, Sweden, features Hein Westgaard on acoustic steel string guitar, Katt Hernandez on violin and Raymond Strid on drums. It dives into a rich soundscape that merges elements of hypnotic folk motifs, chamber music and abstract sonic territories, creating a unique listening experience that feels both adventurous and deeply personal.The music draws inspiration ...

Vilhelm Bromander: In This Forever Unfolding Moment

by Chris May
September 15, 2023

Ornette Coleman's haunting “Lonely Woman" is becoming something of a 2023 soundtrack. At the time of writing, we have had memorable versions from Kahil El'Zabar's Ethnic Heritage Ensemble on Spirit Gatherer (Spirit Muse), and Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter on The Iridescent Spree (Edition), plus another couple of efforts about which the less said the better. Here comes a third boss edition. Sort of. “Låt Våra Tårar Bli Våra Vapen," which opens side two of Vilhelm Bromander's ...

Elsa Bergman: Playon Crayon

by John Eyles
April 8, 2023

Ever since 1967, when British composer Cornelius Cardew's 193-page graphic score Treatise was published, there has been controversy about the role graphic scores play in improvised music. Having worked on Treatise from 1963 to 1967, once it was published and discussed, Cardew wrote Treatise Handbook, published in 1971, which shed no light on how Treatise's complex graphics should be interpreted. The reason for the historical note is that with Playon Crayon Elsa Bergman may be following in Cardew's footprints. The ...

Katt Hernandez: Spiral Passes

by Gordon Marshall
May 19, 2010

Katt Hernandez plays violin with a hand and eye versed in the vagaries of natural sound. A student of microtonal music, she is also steeped in European folk traditions, and skilled in classical forms of improvisation. While her work goes in many directions, it stays sharp and swift and supple.

She is equally adept in all modes of musical reasoning. Whether alone or in ensemble, she wraps her mind around her improvised, atonal melodies and anti-melodies, on the ...