Jazz Articles

Mice Parade: Bem-Vinda Vontade

by Paul Olson
May 15, 2005

New York musician Adam Pierce is Mice Parade--note the anagrammatic qualities of the names--but he's come a long time since he played every instrument on Mice Parade's 1998 debut The True Meaning of Boodleybaye. Pierce still plays the lion's share of instruments on the new Bem-Vinda Vontade, but he's supplemented by a host of other players like keyboardist Rob King and vibes player Dylan Cristy (with whom Pierce plays in the Dylan Group). This has been a continuing trend with ...

HiM: Many In High Places Are Not Well

by Farrell Lowe
July 25, 2003

Many In High Places Are Not Well is a gentle and iridescent collision of color and cultures. The group combines elements of reggae, West African kora music, hip hop, and trance into a unique solid amalgam of modern music. Whether one calls it “jazz" or “not jazz," doesn't matter--this is inspired music played by people who care about what they're expressing, and they do it very well.

Drummer Doug Scharin formed HiM in 1995, and after numerous personnel changes and ...

HiM: Many In High Places Are Not Well

by Mark Corroto
July 25, 2003

There is a new intersection in music town, where jazz meets rock, dub, world, soundtrack, and studio manipulation. While the foundations for this intersection may first have been laid down by Sergio Leone, Miles Davis, and Teo Macero, it has certainly been made into high art (or at least garage art) by groups such as Pinetop Seven, Gastr del Sol, Town & Country, and Pillow.

Fitting in the ‘no category’ section of your record store, Doug Scharin’s varying lineups as ...

H.i.M.: New Features

by Mark Corroto
August 1, 2001

When is rock music jazz? I’m not talking jazz/rock fusion, but rocked-out jazz. In the case of the latest music experimentations by the band know as HiM, calling their music jazz would be like labeling Wynton Marsalis avant-garde. Founder and multi-instrumentalist Doug Scharin and his brainchild have been through more style changes than Elton John’s wardrobe. HiM has dabbled in dub, afro-funk, electronics, rock, post-rock, electric-Miles and post-electric-Miles music. Their previous recording, Our Point Of Departure (Perishable) applied Miles’ On ...

Mice Parade: Mokoondi

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2001

For all practical purposes, multi-instrumentalist Adam Pierce is Mice Parade. Pierce plays drums, guitars, organs, vibes, and cheng. Using studio tools, he blends all these sounds together to craft groovy, percolating textures. His third disc under the Mice Parade moniker, Mokoondi, gains extra personality through the efforts of additional musicians on saxophone, vibes, violin, and voice. However, it's Pierce's personal vision which organizes the music and sets the tone. Multiply-overdubbed performances form a thick, pulsing collage of sound--always moving forward, ...

Mice Parade: Mokoondi

by AAJ Staff
April 1, 2001

For all practical purposes, multi-instrumentalist Adam Pierce is Mice Parade. Pierce plays drums, guitars, organs, vibes, and cheng. Using studio tools, he blends all these sounds together to craft groovy, percolating textures. His third disc under the Mice Parade moniker, Mokoondi, gains extra personality through the efforts of additional musicians on saxophone, vibes, violin, and voice. However, it's Pierce's personal vision which organizes the music and sets the tone. Multiply-overdubbed performances form a thick, pulsing collage of sound--always moving forward, ...

Alex Blake: Now Is The Time

by Mark Corroto
November 1, 2000

Randy Weston’s secret is revealed on this live date from New York’s Knitting Factory. But anyone who has seen the tall pianist knows his rhythm secret is Alex Blake. The Panamanian-born, New York-raised bassist started out with Mongo Santamaria and toured with Sun Ra and Dizzy Gillespie. For the past decade he has been touring and recording with Randy Weston, one of the best live acts in jazz today.

This recording is Blake’s first domestic release as a leader. But ...

Alex Blake Quintet featuring Pharoah Sanders: Now Is The Time (Live at the Knitting Factory)

by AAJ Staff
September 1, 2000

Bassist Alex Blake, though an experienced virtuoso, has released only two records under his own name. Now Is The Time is his first disc released outside Japan. It's not as if Blake hasn't been around the block: he toured with Sun Ra at the age of 16, and has recently been working with Randy Weston and Pharoah Sanders.

Now Is The Time documents a recent show at the Knitting Factory, and it retains a very dynamic “live" feel. Blake's quintet ...