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Dave Burrell / Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session, Paris 1979
by John Sharpe
A lot of hoohah gets thrown around about legendary lost dates, but few live up to the billing. But The Lost Session by pianist Dave Burrell and drummer Sam Woodyard assuredly does. During the summer of 1979, Burrell had a three-month stand at the Campagne Premiere Club in Paris, which allowed him to fully explore and refine the series of pieces that would ultimately comprise his solo masterpiece Windward Passages (Hat Hut, 1980). But here he did so in the ...
Continue ReadingJimmy Lyons: Live From Studio Rivbea (Jimmy Lyons)
by John Sharpe
Alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons was underappreciated even at the height of his powers, but to those with ears attuned to the radical innovations of the loft jazz era, he was a galvanizing presence. That his legacy remains under-lit is due in part to his long-standing tenure in Cecil Taylor's incandescent orbit. Lyons was more than a foil; he was Taylor's most empathetic interlocutor, the tether to bebop logic amid Taylor's eruptive torrents. But a fatal cocktail of perfectionism ...
Continue ReadingMisha Mengelberg / Sabu Toyozumi: The Analects Of Confucius
by Mark Corroto
Come for the music of Dutch pianist Misha Mengelberg, and stay for Sabu Toyozumi. Or perhaps you are here for the Japanese drummer--the first non-American invited into the ranks of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM)--and are thrilled to hear him engage in a distinctly Japanese take on the New Dutch Swing. Either way, The Analects of Confucius, a newly unearthed gem from NoBusiness Records, offers a compelling document of creative improvisation at its finest.
Continue ReadingDave Burrell / Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session, Paris 1979
by Mark Corroto
Listeners would be hard-pressed to name another artist besides Dave Burrell who commands such mastery across jazz's entire timeline, from its ragtime origins to its most adventurous avant-garde territories. The pianist, born in 1940, brings equal authenticity to Jelly Roll Morton's classic compositions and completely free improvisation. His discography spans the works of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, while his versatility extends across calypso, reggae, stride piano, blues, bebop and opera. Burrell made his mark in ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker / Hugo Costa / Philipp Ernsting: Pulsar
by John Sharpe
Inestimable bassist William Parker has made hundreds of records, but this unlikely meeting with two stalwarts of the Rotterdam scene, Portuguese alto saxophonist Hugo Costa and German drummer Philipp Ernsting, should not to be overlooked. The Dutch-based pair invited Parker to join them for a recording in October 2023 and Pulsar is the splendid result. Costa and Ernsting more than hold their own. However, this date is notable for featuring Parker in an unencumbered free environment where he displays the ...
Continue ReadingJoel Futterman: Innervoice
by John Sharpe
Veteran pianist Joel Futterman may be best known for his long association with saxophonist Kidd Jordan and drummer Alvin Fielder, but he is also a prolific purveyor of solo sessions. Innervoice, recorded in July 2024, is a worthy addition to a tally that also includes gems like the monumental five CD box set Creation Series (NoBusiness, 2021), among many others. Like much of Futterman's output, it was birthed entirely in the moment, with no subsequent edits. That suggests stupendous concentration, ...
Continue ReadingRodrigo Amado: La Grande Crue
by John Sharpe
Inviting guests to supplement his core bands has proven a winning formula for Portuguese saxophonist Rodrigo Amado in the past, and the gambit bears fruit again on La Grande Crue. This time out, French pianist Eve Risser is the plus one, following in the footsteps of trombonist Jeb Bishop, trumpeter Peter Evans and pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach. She joins the outfit known as The Attic, completed by Amado's countryman bassist Gonçalo Almeida and Dutch drummer Onno Govaert. Amado's ...
Continue ReadingThe Attic & Eve Risser: La Grande Crue
by Troy Dostert
While it is always challenging to keep up with the prolific output of saxophonist Rodrigo Amado, one consistently sure bet is his Attic trio, which has been a working ensemble since at least 2017, with a series of stellar recordings that have helped stake Amado's claim as one of the premier free improvisers of his generation. Accompanied by drummer Onno Govaert and bassist Gonçalo Almeida, who joined the trio on its sophomore release, Summer Bummer (NoBusiness, 2019), Amado navigates his ...
Continue ReadingArthur Blythe Quartet: Live From Studio Rivbea, July 6, 1976
by John Sharpe
Saxophonist Arthur Blythe arrived in New York City in 1974 with a gorgeous tone and a fully formed conception. Having featured in the ensembles of pianist Horace Tapscott in his native LA, he first caught the ear in the Big Apple after his recruitment into the bands of drummer Chico Hamilton and pianist/composer Gil Evans. This gem from Sam Rivers' Studio Rivbea archive constitutes his debut as a leader, recorded some seven months before the previous contender for that title, ...
Continue ReadingPeter Brötzmann / Toshinori Kondo / Sabu Toyozumi: Complete Link
by John Sharpe
Complete Link offers classic Peter Brötzmann, albeit of a modern vintage. The German reed iconoclast combines with two Japanese peers, trumpeter Toshinori Kondo and drummer Sabu Toyozumi for almost 70 minutes of fiery live action. Recorded in Japan in 2016, this is their first recording as a trio, although as pioneers in their respective countries, their paths have intersected numerous times in the past. Notably so in the case of Kondo who has acted as a livewire foil to Brötzmann ...
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