Articles by Kurt Gottschalk
Petr Kotik: Beyond Race, Beyond Genre, There’s Music
by Kurt Gottschalk
Petr Kotik has walked among giants. To the extent that he is recognized in New York City, where he has made his home for 41 years, it is as an associate of John Cage and Morton Feldman with an apparent fixation on Gertrude Stein. In his Czech homeland, he is held in higher esteem--in part, arguably, due to his move to New York. But his considerable list of musical relationships also includes the now-iconic composer Julius Eastman and a number ...
Continue ReadingAlice Coltrane: In the Spirit
by Kurt Gottschalk
From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in December 2002. Alice Coltrane walked out onstage, joining an ensemble led by her son Ravi on a recent and historic night at Joe's Pub. The bassist Darryl Hall played an immediately recognizable four-note line and the group (also featuring drummer E.J. Strickland) launched into the only reasonable song they could have chosen for the evening, if one that many in the packed room might well ...
Continue ReadingDonny McCaslin Group / Ensemble LPR: Symphonic Bowie at Central Park SummerStage
by Kurt Gottschalk
Donny McCaslin Group / Ensemble LPRCentral Park SummerStage Symphonic Bowie New York, NY June 9, 2018 New York City can't stop saying goodbye to David Bowie. And with good reason. The rock legend lived in Manhattan for more than 20 years and often spoke fondly of his adopted city. On June 9, another tribute was staged, this one at Central Park's SummerStage featuring Donny McCaslin, whose band backed Bowie on his final album, followed ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill at Tilton Gallery
by Kurt Gottschalk
Henry Threadgill Tilton Gallery Plain as plain, in plain sight New York, NY November 17, 2017 Henry Threadgill is writing a memoir. Or has written it. Or is asking people to write it for him. It may be an audiobook. It might not be about the events of his life, but it seemingly is, or will be, about the events of Nov. 17 and 18. Or maybe none of this is true.
Continue ReadingKind of Purple: Jazz Musicians On Prince
by Kurt Gottschalk
"Do you know who Prince kinda reminds me of, particularly as a pianist? Duke! Yeah, he's the Duke Ellington of the eighties to my way of thinking."--Miles Davis The tops of the pop charts isn't where we often expect to find genius. Brilliant performers sometimes, expert attention grabbers maybe more often, but it's not generally where ground is broken. Prince may not have topped the singles charts in some time, but then the charts aren't what ...
Continue ReadingKurt Gottschalk's Top 12 for 2014
by Kurt Gottschalk
A dozen of my top picks and in no particular order. <br /><br />Dave Burrell & Steve Swell Turning Point No Business Neneh Cherry & FourTet Blank Project Smalltown Supersound Gato Libre Dudu Libra JazzWerkstatt Wien New Ensemble Sympathikus-Parasympathikus JazzWerkstatt Ju Sei and Utah Kawasaki U is for Utah ftarri / ...
Continue ReadingHenry Threadgill: Very Very Threadgill 2014
by Kurt Gottschalk
Henry Threadgill Harlem Stage Gate House Very Very Threadgill New York, NY September 27-28, 2014 Henry Threadgill isn't one to repeat himself. In nearly 40 years of recording, he's only repeated a few compositions. So why would a retrospective of his work by a mere recapitulation? Very Very Threadgill--held Sept. 27 and 28 at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse in upper Manhattan--was a tribute comprised of realizations, not reunions. Pieces from the past were ...
Continue ReadingNation Time Concert at the Guggenheim Museum
by Kurt Gottschalk
Richard Hell, Arto Lindsay, The Thing Guggenheim Museum Nation Time New York, NY November 20, 2013 Over the course of three forms of media and four decades, Amiri Baraka stretched his way into New York's Guggenheim Museum. A poem he penned more than 40 years ago found its path into the venerable visual arts institution via the music of Joe McPhee, which in turn inspired a response from painter Christopher Wool. In a roundabout ...
Continue ReadingTri-Centric Orchestra Commissioning Series at Roulette
by Kurt Gottschalk
The Tri-Centric Orchestra Roulette Tri-Centric Orchestra Commissioning Series Brooklyn, NY Sept. 24-25, 2013 Addressing the audience at Roulette on Sept. 24, halfway through the first of two nights of the Tri-Centric Presenting Series, trumpeter and foundation executive director Taylor Ho Bynum acknowledged the influence of Artistic Director and spiritual godfather Anthony Braxton. “Anthony Braxton often brings up the idea of scale," he said. “He wants to work solo, he wants to ...
Continue ReadingThe Necks: Philadelphia, PA, September 22, 2012
by Kurt Gottschalk
The NecksPerforming to Food CourtLive Arts Festival + Philly FringeKimmel Center for the Performing ArtsPhiladelphia, PASeptember 22, 2012The prospect of Australian trio the Necks providing a live soundtrack for a theatrical production would seem to be either a perfect idea or an absolutely flummoxing mistake. The longstanding group is known for long, slowly-developing improvisations, owing a bit to trumpeter Miles Davis, a bit of something else to minimalist composer Steve Reich, ...
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