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Marco Eneidi Quintet: Wheat Fields of Kleylehof
by Mark Corroto
To borrow a phrase once associated with Charlie Parker after his death: “Marco Eneidi lives!" Though less widely known in the mainstream jazz world, alto saxophonist Marco Eneidi (1956--2016) was a towering figure in free jazz and creative music. A West Coast native, he moved to New York in the 1980s and, following the passing of Jimmy Lyons, assumed the alto chair in Cecil Taylor's band. Taylor's rigorous methodology had a profound impact on Eneidi, as did the energy of ...
Continue ReadingStefan Keune / Sandy Ewen / Damon Smith: Two Felt-Tip Pens: Live At Moers
by Mark Corroto
This recording from the Moers Festival in May 2023, Germany, is dedicated to the late Hans Schneider. Bassist and label curator Damon Smith has made it a lifelong practice to seek out and collaborate with his musical heroes, a list that includes Jaap Blonk, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Kaiser and Vinny Golia. Naturally, that list also honors pioneering bassists like Joëlle Léandre, Peter Kowald, Bertram Turetzky--and Schneider, who passed away in 2024. Joining Smith for this performance are American ...
Continue ReadingJason Stein / Damon Smith / Adam Shead: Volumes & Surfaces
by Glenn Astarita
Jason Stein, a saxophonist with a penchant for pushing boundaries, brings his avant-garde sensibilities and razor-sharp technique to the fore in Volumes & Surfaces. Known for his dexterous command of the bass clarinet, Stein has made a name for himself in the jazz world with his innovative approach and fearless improvisation. His contributions to this album are no exception, as he seamlessly blends precision with spontaneity, creating a dynamic and engaging listening experience. Stein's work with the trio, alongside bassist ...
Continue ReadingGregorio / Smith / Bryerton: The Cold Arrow
by Mark Corroto
Maybe the surprise release of 2021 was the trio recording Room Of The Present (Fundacja Słuchaj!). Adventurous bassist Damon Smith and percussionist Jerome Bryerton have had a long working relationship as a duo, in various groups and settings, large and small. Adding the clarinetist and composer Guillermo Gregorio was quite the revelation. The trio is back with a new studio session, ten tracks of which only two were composed. Still, one might get the impression that all were taken from ...
Continue ReadingDamon Smith, Peter Kowald, Joëlle Léandre & Bertram Turetzky: Bass Duos 2000-2007
by Jeff Schwartz
One function of recordings is to document a performer's development. Damon Smith's Bass Duos 2000-2007 not only captures his artistic and technical evolution, his choice of duet partners represents the expanded options for the bass in creative music since the 1960s. Two of the three discs in this set were previously released, but they have been remastered by Weasel Walter. The unreleased disc is excellent and, as Smith highlights in his liner notes, the combination of these ...
Continue ReadingJason Stein / Damon Smith / Adam Shead: Volumes & Surfaces
by Mark Corroto
Damon Smith might be the hardest working man in show business. Free-jazz show business, that is. If there is a performance or recording somewhere in the States or Europe, there is a very good chance his double bass is in attendance. You name an improvising artist and he's recorded with them, from Roscoe Mitchell to Joe Morris, Jaap Blonk, Joëlle Léandre, Peter Kowald, Sandy Ewen, Burton Greene, Joe McPhee, Fred Van Hove and Henry Kaiser. The list is practically endless. ...
Continue ReadingDamon Smith: Whatever Is Not Stone Is Light
by Mark Corroto
A well-known standing joke instructs a concert goer that the proper time to have a conversation during a performance is to wait for the bass solo. Maybe that joke is funny because it does happen all too often. Try as one might, though, it is impossible to get side-tracked during this solo bass performance by Damon Smith. This COVID-19 virus solo recording follows Smith's previous live solo date Winter Solos for Robert Ryman (Balance Point Acoustics, 2019) and presents an ...
Continue ReadingHenry Kaiser/Steve Parker/Damon Smith/Chris Cogburn: Nearly Extinct
by Mark Corroto
The title of this improvising free jazz quartet's release Nearly Extinct, is a reference to the current state of instant composing. The cover lists various players (Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, John Coltrane), Bands (ICP Orchestra, SME, AMM, AACM, ISKRA 1903), and refers to differing scenes from San Francisco to London and Wuppertal. That title is certainly a misnomer. If we think of it in terms of popular music, free jazz or free improvisation was a stillborn child back ...
Continue ReadingFred Van Hove / Peter Jacquemyn / Damon Smith: Burns Longer
by Eyal Hareuveni
This unique, ad-hoc trio features Belgian master pianist Fred Van Hove, one of the architects of European free improvised music and close collaborator of influential European improvisers such as German reed man Peter Brötzmann, late bassist Peter Kowald, Dutch drummer Han Bennink, fellow countryman and double bassist (and sculptor) Peter Jacquemyn. Both of them rarely recorded in recent years with prolific American double bassist Damon Smith, who initiated this meeting and is influenced by the European approach to free improvisation. ...
Continue ReadingAlvin Fielder / David Dove / Jason Jackson / Damon Smith: From-To-From
by Eyal Hareuveni
This quartet represents a meeting of generations and their approaches to jazz and improvised music. The quartet resembles such early free jazz units as the New York Art Quartet or the Archie Shepp--Roswell Rudd Quartet. Veteran drummer Alvin Fielder--the eldest member, with an encyclopedic knowledge of modern jazz drumming--is known for his extensive collaborations with saxophonist Kidd Jordan, bassist William Parker and trumpeter Dennis González; double bassist Damon Smith studied contemporary music and free improvisation with renowned bass players Lisle ...
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