Jazz Articles
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Louie Belogenis: Outer, Inner, Secret
by Mark Corroto
Let's not call the music by the trio Terton dangerous. Because, although no one could be injured while creating it or listening to Outer, Inner, Secret, the path is precarious and unpredictable. Well, that is, if one is not a true believer. Let me explain. Terton in Buddhism refers to a person, in this case, persons, who discover and reveal ancient teachings at a spiritually efficacious time. For our purposes, the ideas or principles are passed on through sound via ...
read moreTerton: Outer, Inner, Secret
by Glenn Astarita
Terton's Outer, Inner, Secret is a leading-edge set that transcends the conventional boundaries of jazz, venturing into the realms of the avant- garde with unparalleled finesse. Released by the future-facing powerhouse Tzadik Records, it stands as a beacon of innovative musical exploration, pushing the boundaries of sonic experimentation. The musicians' remarkable ability to convey complex emotions through their instruments is evident throughout the album, offering an improvisational listening experience that is both introspective and expansive. Each ...
read moreJohn Zorn and Bill Laswell: Memoria
by Nenad Georgievski
John Zorn and Bill Laswell, two towering figures of the New York Downtown scene, have once again joined forces to deliver a captivating musical experience, entitled Memoria. Following the success of their previous collaboration, The Cleansing, (Tzadik, 2021) this new release pays tribute to three artistic visionaries whose legacies continue to inspire and shape the realms of creativity and artistic integrity. The album title, Memoria, serves as a heartfelt tribute to three influential figures who have passed away: ...
read moreJohn Zorn: Gnosis: The Inner Light
by Nenad Georgievski
John Zorn's album Gnosis: The Inner Light serves as a poignant memorial and homage to the creative genius of one of modern music's most visionary composers, Ennio Morricone, who played a vital role in shaping Zorn's musical path. Decades ago, Zorn captivated audiences with The Big Gundown (Nonesuch, 1986), a groundbreaking release that boldly reimagined Morricone's compositions. Now, with Gnosis: The Inner Light, Zorn once again pays tribute to the maestro's enduring influence, delving into mystical realms and creating a ...
read moreJohn Zorn and Bill Laswell: The Cleansing
by Nenad Georgievski
The Cleansing represents a meeting between two titans of contemporary music--composer and saxophonist John Zorn, and bassist and composer Bill Laswell. Both have spent over forty years camped out in spaces between avant-garde, experimental, jazz, improv, psychedelia, noise and ambient, each having created immersive, forward-thinking, sometimes brutal, and colorful music worlds. They have been pushing the boundaries of the possible for a long time; their almost single-minded commitment has made them leading figures in a broad range of contemporary musics ...
read moreJohn Zorn: Nove Cantici per Francesco d'Assisi
by Don Phipps
Those who admire Spanish guitar music will greatly appreciate the beautiful airy set of compositions on Nove cantici per Francesco D'Assisi by John Zorn. Zorn, best known for his challenging, cerebral and complex avant-garde offerings, conjures up a set of pastoral tunes composed as part of a residency at New York's Frick Museum. The tunes feature the delicate interplay of a trio of guitarists, Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, and Gyan Riley. Some may be surprised that Zorn could ...
read moreJohn Zorn: Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus
by Don Phipps
John Zorn begins his 38-minute musical treatise, Tractatus Musico-Philosophicus with a bitten reed while racing up and down the keys of his saxophone. What remains is some of the most interesting music in modern jazz—a wonderful treatise on the absurdity of life. Zorn wrote and plays all the instruments on this fascinating album--and the soundscapes he creates run the gamut from harsh confusion to mellow contemplation. Zorn's collage of sound creates a bold and awakening listening experience. At ...
read moreWinged Serpents: Six Encomiums for Cecil Taylor
by Karl Ackermann
The link between the late Cecil Taylor and the members of the Winged Serpents collective is one driven by admiration and inspiration, from a distance, rather than through collaboration. Taylor, in fact, had only shared billing twice in his half-century of recording. The Mary Lou Williams duet Embraced (Pablo, 1977) and Max Roach's 1979 recording of Historic Concerts (Soul Note, 1984) constitute the entire library of his communal projects and date back at least a generation before any of the ...
read moreJohn Zorn: The Urmuz Epigrams
by Don Phipps
Prolific composer John Zorn's The Urmuz Epigrams offers up an infectious mix of Stockhausen effects, polyrhythmic percussion, and twisty tunes, a combination which produces music that is unsettling, surprising, and humorous--often at the same time. All the pieces repeat themselves. Zorn notates the first rendition as “modern" and the second as “original." And while the dual versions of each piece offer variations, the general structures of the compositions remain similar. Zorn performs with Ches Smith, a ...
read moreMary Halvorson: Paimon: Book of Angels Volume 32
by Don Phipps
Paimon: Book of Angels Volume 32 offers up the final installment in prolific composer John Zorn's 32-album sojourn (titled Book of Angels). It is an exciting and fitting capstone. From the start, the music dances its way through contrasts of exciting, mysterious, probing, exotic, and shifting musical folk-jazz idioms, improvisations and compositions. The Mary Halvorson Quartet are Tomas Fujiwara on drums, Drew Gress on bass, Mary Halvorson on guitar, and Miles Okazaki on guitar. There is ...
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