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Roberto Pianca Sub Rosa: Mono No Aware
by Friedrich Kunzmann
The Roberto Pianca-led ensemble Sub Rosa's second release is a concentrated exercise in inter-communicative restraint, subtlety and woven odd meters that provokes the mind while consoling the soul. It's a cool affair that profits from the individual talents' accurate performances and inquisitive spirits as much as the leader's proficiently crafted compositions. Where the predecessor, self-titled Sub Rosa (Wide Ear Records, 2013) was a rather rigorously tempered and vigorously executed display of broad technical virtuosity, Mono No Aware scales things back ...
read moreNicoló Ricci: Pulcino
by Nicholas F. Mondello
With Pulcino saxophonist Nicoló Ricci bravely sets off on a musical excursion with only bassist Giuseppe Romagnoli and drummer Andreu Pitarch along for the adventure. The result is a fascinating portrait of an artist and players willing to forego the keyboard's harmonic support and cast improvisational fate to their own superior creativity. “The Superflourescent Boy" has Ricci and team exploring a brief theme and subsequently moving into a varying-tempoed, swingingly playful track. Ricci's inventiveness, egged on by ...
read moreNicoló Ricci: Pulcino
by Geno Thackara
It takes a confident saxophonist to step out in the classic trio format--no chordal instrument or frontline partner to share the load, just a strong trust in one's own skill and the backing of his bandmates. There's no one to hide behind, and everything is out in the figurative spotlight even when all three are sharing the load. For the Nicolò Ricci Trio, the setting isn't an intimidating one, but stimulating and full of possibilities. Their skill and chemistry are ...
read moreThunderblender: Last Minute Panic
by Ian Patterson
A rising name on the European jazz/improvised music scene, Brussels-based Irish saxophonist Sam Comerford possesses eggs and baskets aplenty, playing regularly in Ingo Hipp's AERIE, Chris Guilfoyle's Umbra, Eve Beuven's Heptatomic, Manolo Cabras' Brilliant Corners, as well as in a duo with Matthew Jacobson. Since 2015, however, Comerford has assumed the mantle of leader with Thunderblender, a trio featuring Belgians Hendrik Lasure on piano and Jens Bouttery on drums. Recorded live in 2016, the EP-length Last Minute Panic sees the ...
read moreBrainchildren of Xenog: Brain//Child
by Geno Thackara
The Dutch outfit Brain//Child seems like the progeny of many different parents: besides its actual members of course, it shows touches of a range of free players, from Ornette Coleman up to current contemporaries like Ingrid Laubrock with maybe a hint of experimental laptop-ist Ikue Mori. Three members are credited with electronics in addition to instruments, which gives a hint of how far we are from a conventional set-up-and-play session. At the same time, the notes and effects alike happen ...
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