Articles by Marc Medwin
Wadada Leo Smith: Abbey Road Quartet; Spiritual Dimensions & Spirit Catcher
by Marc Medwin
Wadada Leo SmithAbbey Road QuartetTreader2009 Wadada Leo SmithSpiritual DimensionsCuneiform2009 Wadada Leo SmithSpirit CatcherNessa2009 There are few players that continue to be as adventurous in maturity as they were in youth. Trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's work is as uncategorizable as his sound is unique. This trio of ...
read moreLarry Ochs: The Celestial Septet & We All Feel The Same Way
by Marc Medwin
ROVA Sax Quartet/Nels Cline SingersThe Celestial SeptetNew World Records2010 Jones JonesWe All Feel The Same WaySoLyd2010 The synchronicity and boundless energy that separate great groupwork from everything else pervades these two new additions to multi-instrumentalist and composer Larry Ochs' already formidable discography. He has always negotiated the permeable boundaries between improvisation and composition with ...
read morePiano & Violin: Jorge Lima Barreto/Carlos Zingaro; Borah Bergman/Stefano Pastor & Minamo
by Marc Medwin
Jorge Lima Barreto/Carlos ZingaroKits 2Numerica2009 Borah Bergman/Stefano PastorLive at TortonaMutable2009 MinamoKuroi Kawa--Black RiverTzadik2010 Here are three very different takes on the traditional grouping of piano and violin and, despite 'free jazz' tendencies, all are rooted in the romantic chamber music originally associated with the pairing. The ...
read moreNuscope Recordings
by Marc Medwin
"At this point, I prefer space and beauty over noise and volume," says Nuscope Recordings producer and frontman Russell Summers. It's a bold statement, considering that much of what is called free improvisation is modeled on the “fire music" of the '60s. “Don't get me wrong," Russell is quick to add, “There was a time in which that type of improvisation had a deep influence on my developing musical tastes. It's just not the aesthetic I prefer now and it's ...
read moreJoe McPhee: Live in Vilnius & The Damage is Done
by Marc Medwin
Trio XLive in VilniusNo Business2009 Joe McPhee / Peter Brotzmann / Kent Kessler / Michael ZerangThe Damage is DoneNot Two2009 Though conjuring quite different and sometimes problematic soundworlds, these Joe McPhee projects are satisfying as they blend tradition with innovation. Trio X' 2006 concert activity receives further documentation on the double ...
read moreKalle Kalima / Ed Schuller / Ernst Bier: Jazz Parasites: Very Early
by Marc Medwin
Parasites is an international trio that has been in existence for over five years. Drummer Ernst Bier and bassist Ed Schuller's long-fostered musical partnership is evident throughout, resulting in an airtight but loosely swinging rhythmic feel, no matter what the context. Similarly, guitarist Kalle Kalima demonstrates his diverse influences while never falling victim to them. He'll introduce a certain flexibility of vibrato or a delicate turn of phrase or change of dynamic that is beholden to none. ...
read moreHans Tammen: Third Eye Orchestra
by Marc Medwin
This is a stunning live recording from one of improvised music's most fascinating proponents. Hans Tammen has gathered a dream team of 13 improvising musicians, but that's hardly the totality of this project, which combines composed material with extemporization to create a score whose modus operandi is constant change on every level. This is one of those discs that verbiage won't encapsulate. The music on offer here is not to be compartmentalized, though it exists in discrete ...
read moreFred Frith: To Sail, To Sail, Pas de Deux & The Big Picture/Still Urban
by Marc Medwin
Fred FrithTo Sail, To SailTzadik2008 Fred Frith, Danielle Palardy RogerPas de deuxActuelle2008 Fred Frith and Arte QuartettThe Big PictureIntakt2009 Fred Frith and Arte QuartettStill UrbanIntakt2009 There are very few musicians as versatile yet as instantly recognizable as Fred ...
read moreNew Artists Records
by Marc Medwin
"We prize individuality," states pianist Connie Crothers emphatically of New Artists Records. “It's an integral part of our label identity and we have always safeguarded the individuality of each musician." New Artists being a cooperative, such a statement may contain an element of contradiction, but it stands at the heart of a label that has moved beyond simple categorization for nearly 30 years. The music produced blurs all manner of boundaries while maintaining a recognizable aesthetic, one in ...
read moreGunter Hampel: Vibes Vibes (Vibrafon Solos 2008)
by Marc Medwin
Glass, shimmer, impressionism and cool all vie for prominence throughout these excursions into the multiplicitous world multi-instrumentalist Gunter Hampel creates on every solo . Logical proportions are exposed only to disappear; tones glisten, swell and fade, either in rapid succession or in glacial dance. This is only the second solo release from the prolific improviser on his own label, a company which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year and a more fitting one would be hard to imagine.
read more
Giveaway
Days remaining: 13
