Articles by Abe Pollack

Gutbucket: Sludge Test

by Abe Pollack
May 26, 2006

The members of Gutbucket have never been satisfied with the moniker “jazz quartet," nor have they wanted to fit in with stereotypical rockers. Their sound, if it had to be categorized, should be filed under noir-jazz, or maybe klez-rock, but most likely squawk-thrash. This ambiguity shines in their third full-length album, Sludge Test. The record has moments of guitar-driven speed metal followed by abrupt changes to odd-meter funk beats, while Ken Thomson's signature raspy tone conjures up ...

Eleventh Hour; Ash & Tabula

by Abe Pollack
May 23, 2006

Buried deep within the collective minds of Eleventh Hour and Ash & Tabula are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. While neither is primarily devilish or sublime, both share an aspiration towards multiple personalities.

Fred Frith Eleventh Hour Winter & Winter 2006

Fred Frith's compositional collection moves from odd-meter baroque to atonal romanticism in mere seconds. Written for chamber orchestras as diverse as the music itself, the movements travel through moments of weeping twelve-tone rows ...

The Distance Runner; World Sonic

by Abe Pollack
April 16, 2006

Dave Liebman The Distance Runner Hatology 2005

The Distance Runner is a record of expectations, or rather lack thereof. If you're familiar with Liebman's approach to composition and improvisation, you would think that 55 minutes of saxophone solos would sound like a re-recording of late-Coltrane works mixed with early 21st Century classical motifs. Instead we have the surprise of a child-like spontaneity. With every note bend and tone alteration, we can hear Liebman experimenting ...

Robert Glasper: Canvas

by Abe Pollack
March 3, 2006

Many young jazz musicians are no strangers to pop music. More familiar with Radiohead's Kid A and Public Enemy than Jerome Kern or Cole Porter, they have become increasingly more adventurous in an attempt to make jazz a commodity for the 21st Century. Unlike glossy pop covers from the '80s, Robert Glasper uses subtlety to explore late-20th Century music. This is no surprise. Having performed with Q-Tip, Bilal and Meshell Ndegeocello, Glasper finds comfort and room to ...

Charlie Hunter/Bobby Previte: Longitude

by Abe Pollack
February 28, 2006

Longitude is the second installment from Groundtruther after Latitude (Thirsty Ear, 2004), which featured the core duo of eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and percussionist/electronica specialist Bobby Previte with guest saxophonist Greg Osby. Replacing Osby this time around, DJ Logic provides a surreal soundscape on the wheels of steel to weave in and out of Hunter and Previte's synergy. While Osby contributed some soulful fluttering and organic contrast to the electric duo, DJ Logic's smattering offers an appreciation of consonance and ...

Paul Motian: At The Village Vanguard

by Abe Pollack
February 23, 2006

Paul Motian's longstanding trio is considered one of the greatest jazz bands of today, if not all time. With guitarist Bill Frisell and tenor man Joe Lovano working in symbiotic melody and harmony, Motian has the freedom to showcase his use of color and texture. These musicians approach a standard as if it were an original, with just as much conviction and respect for the melody as if they had written it themselves. Over twenty years, this ...

Peter Epstein / Brad Shepik / Matt Kilmer: Lingua Franca

by Abe Pollack
February 19, 2006

Technology and musical development have always seemed to work in tandem. Reel to reel recording made delay effects and multitracking techniques possible. Laptop processing has allowed trumpets to sound like cellos and cellos to sound like Jimi Hendrix. But the most intriguing technological advance for music in recent years has been the introduction of the iPod. Once you have spent a day listening to Balkan folk songs, The White Album and Tower of Power on shuffle, “genre" slowly goes the ...