Articles by Maurice Hogue
Fieldwork, Matthieu Mazué, Aga Derlak & The Monkious
by Maurice Hogue
New releases are always about, but the new ones featured in this episode of OMJ are very, very special. First off, Fieldwork! Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman & Tyshawn Sorey are all formidable musicians in their own right and as the trio Fieldwork the critical acclaim was huge, the potential endless. But it's taken 17 years for the jazz world to hear a Fieldwork recording again. Cue the release of Thereupon with those 17 years of individual experiences combined into this ...
Continue ReadingFujii/Tamura, Earscratcher, Sam Weinberg & Lisa Marie Simmons
by Maurice Hogue
Pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura definitely are a power couple in the free jazz realm. Whether they are leading their own bands, playing in each other's groups, or collaborating as a duo, the music they make is amazing. Ki is their latest duet album and their tenth as a duo and surprise, it's an all-ballad affair. Poet & singer Lisa Marie Simmons has just released the third part of her Notespeak Series. Like the preceding two, Notespeak (In ...
Continue ReadingCecilie Strange, Martin Kuchen, Lina Allemano & Sheila Jordan
by Maurice Hogue
This show touches on Scandinavian artists with new releases--Swedish saxophonist Martin Kuchen and an expanded Angles (now up to 11 members), the fast-rising Lightning Trio from Norway, and Danish saxophonist Cecilie Strange. There are tributes to the recently passed--the most amazing Sheila Jordan and tubaist Joseph Daley. Plus, previews of upcoming releases by Toronto trumpeter Lina Allemano and her Canadian quartet, two from Boston's Driff Records, and vibraphonist Patricia Brennan's Of The Near And Far, and not to be overlooked, ...
Continue ReadingAngelini/Niescier/Abdou, Wojciech Jachna, Johnny Dyani & Amalie Dahl
by Maurice Hogue
French pianist Bruno Angelini found much inspiration in a quote from his favourite musician Wayne Shorter's graphic novel, “Emanon": “The lotus exists only in the swamp, in our world of turmoil, and the blooming flower purifies the water around it." It led him to make a recording called Lotus Flowers where he and saxophonists Angelika Niescier & Sakina Abdou pay tribute to Shorter and true “lotus flowers" like Nelson Mandela, Jack London, the IPCC scientists, Rosa Parks, Jane Addams, Berta ...
Continue ReadingJohn O’Gallagher, Ivo Perelman, Jon Irabagon & Tomas Fujiwara
by Maurice Hogue
Three of today's premier saxophonists share this edition's spotlight, as all have new releases--John O'Gallagher, Ivo Perelman & Jon Irabagon. O'Gallagher, now living in Portugal, reunites with guitarist Ben Monder on his new Ancestral and pulls off a first for master drummers Billy Hart and {{m: Andrew Cyrille who had never played together. Perelman, on the other hand, brings together musicians he knows well for his new A Modicum Of The Blues: Nate Wooley, Matt Moran, Mark Helias & Tom ...
Continue ReadingDave Sewelson, Aruan Ortiz, Neil Charles & Rich Brown
by Maurice Hogue
Check out the final track and you'll hear why Toronto's Rich Brown is hailed as one of the finest electric bassists on the planet. His new solo album, Nyaeba, is filled with over-the-moon technique and electronic wizardry. English bassist Neil Charles' debut, Dark Days , is fueled by the words of James Baldwin, while guitarist Gregg Belisle-Chi continues to explore his fascination with the compositions of Tim Berne. Another solo exploration comes from pianist Aruan Ortiz, continuing to dig deep ...
Continue ReadingFosterchild, Jim Black, Mathieu Donarier & Armaroli/Piccolo/Sharp
by Maurice Hogue
Drummer Fabian Arends' quintet Fosterchild highlights this edition of One Man's Jazz with a killer of an album--Order At Agan Live. This German/Danish band of Arends, Kasper Tranberg on trumpet, Sebastian Gille on saxophone/clarinet, Jacob Anderskov on piano, and David Helm on bass exude power, energy and an original language throughout the music, recorded at the end of a long tour. One could apply similar adjectives to Better You Don't, the latest from Germany-based drummer Jim Black & The Schrimps. ...
Continue ReadingBarry Guy, Jaleel Shaw, Linda May Han Oh & Zoh Amba
by Maurice Hogue
English avant-garde bassist Barry Guy is considered one of the finest in any musical genre and his compositional work is equally regarded. One of his signature pieces is “Harmos," and you will hear that as performed by the London Jazz Composers Orchestra recorded live in Krakow Poland. Saxophonist Jaleel Shaw's new Painter Of The Invisible provides a powerful tribute to Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old African American boy who was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in November 2014 ...
Continue ReadingRakalam Bob Moses/Gaia Wilmer, Karl Evangelista & Fareed Haque
by Maurice Hogue
Music from new albums sampled this time around comes from the master drummer Rakalam Bob Moses & Brazilian saxophonist Gaia Wilmer, guitarist Karl Evangelista & Apura with another master drummer Andrew Cyrille, bassist Manolo Cabras from Belgium, drummer Eric McPherson with a double bassist quartet & pianist David Virelles, guitarist Fareed Haque paying tribute to Pat Martino's “Joyous Lake" album, the brilliant pianist Fred Hersch, the Jonathan Moritz Trio Secret Tempo, and a preview of Norwegian bassist Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten & ...
Continue ReadingLouis Moholo Moholo, Sven Åke Johansson, Olie Brice & Ville Lahteenmaki Trio
by Maurice Hogue
The final tunes of this episode of One Man's Jazz are memorials to two of the most important drummers in creative music who passed away within days of each other in June, and they're honoured in this episode. Louis Moholo Moholo and Sven Åke Johansson came from very different places; Moholo Moholo was the last living member of The Blue Notes, the group of musicians who fled South African apartheid to become major players and influences on the English, then ...
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