Jazz Articles

Alex Koo / Attila Gyárfas / Ralph Alessi: Identified Flying Object

by Mark Corroto
March 25, 2021

Belgian-Japanese pianist Alex Koo and Hungarian drummer Attila Gyárfás formed the duo Identified Flying Object to explore fully improvised music that has one foot in jazz, one in chamber music, another in minimalism, and a fourth in electronic manipulations. Their initial release Galactic Liturgy (2017) is followed up here with the addition of Ralph Alessi's trumpet and piccolo trumpet. Alessi, along with Mark Turner, was heard on the stunningly beautiful Appleblueseagreen (Clever Tree Records, 2019). Where Galactic Liturgy ...

Ben Sluijs: True Nature

by AAJ Staff
November 9, 2005

On the recently released Ancesthree, Belgian alto saxophonist Ben Sluijs led a heartfelt, swinging session of bop-based chamber jazz. Now, on True Nature, Sluijs and his top-shelf European quartet tackle a program of post bop and free music, and the results are delightful.

With a front line of two saxophonists and no chording instrument, the lineup of the Sluijs band recalls Ornette Coleman's great quartet of 1970-71, which included Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden, and Ed Blackwell. And indeed, ...