Jazz Articles about Agusti Fernandez

Agusti Fernandez: El Laberint de la Memoria

by Mark Corroto
September 24, 2011

An improviser's take on 20th century Spanish classical music might seem like odd subject matter for a worldclass free jazz pianist like Agustí Fernández, but El Laberint de la Memòria ("The Labyrinth of Memory") testifies to the artist's imagination and facility. In addition to being a member of several of Evan Parker's ensembles, recent sessions by the mega-talented Fernández's have included Joe Morris' Ambrosia (Riti, 2011), Peter Evans and Mats Gustafsson's Kopros Lithos (Multikulti, 2011) and, with the ...

Agusti Fernandez & Joan Saura: Vents

by John Eyles
June 21, 2011

Although their Trio Local, with saxophonist Liba Villavecchia, has been well-documented for over a decade, Vents is the first duo recording from pianist Agustí Fernández and Joan Saura, on live electronics and sampling keyboard. The album was recorded in Barcelona, between July 2009 and February 2010. It is well-titled, and so are its tracks, which share their Catalan names with the eight winds from various compass directions. Time and again during the album, this seems entirely appropriate, as the musicians ...

Agustí Fernández / Barry Guy / Ramón López: Morning Glory

by Mark Corroto
May 11, 2011

In what could easily mistaken for a release on the ECM label, Morning Glory inhabits that crisp minimalist style so familiar to producer Manfred Eicher. Surprisingly enough, this studio recording, with bonus Live In New York disc, is delivered by three of today's most zealous improvisers and outcats. Formed in 2005, the trio's previous release, Aurora (Maya, 2006), began bassist Barry Guy established their improvisation bona fides with saxophonist Evan Parker's intellectual explorations and Mats Gustafsson's noisier ones. ...

Agustí Fernández: saber escuchar

by Guillem Vidal
October 26, 2009

Agustí Fernández (Palma de Mallorca, 1954) comparece puntualmente a su cita con All About Jazz en una mesa del bar del Auditori de Barcelona contigua a la que ocupa en ese momento Horacio Fumero, el contrabajista de Tete Montoliu. Estamos entre el edificio donde el pianista imparte clases de improvisación en jazz y música contemporánea ("el principal consejo que doy a mis alumnos es que no intenten reproducir cosas de otras personas y otros lugares, sino que se esfuercen en ...

Agusti Fernandez and Evan Parker in Levontin 7, Tel Aviv

by Eyal Hareuveni
October 23, 2008

Agusti Fernandez and Evan ParkerLevontin 7Tel Aviv, IsraelSeptember 4 and 5, 2008 Catalan pianist Agusti Fernandez and English master reed player Evan Parker have been cooperating for more than a decade in different formations, as a duo on Tempranillo (Nova Era, 1996), on the collaborative quartet Topos (Maya, 2007) and on Parker's Electro-Acoustic Ensemble's The Eleventh Hour (ECM, 2005). Both are master improvisers and both are gifted with a highly idiosyncratic musical language that ...

Agusti Fernandez / Peter Kowald: Sea Of Lead

by Nic Jones
May 15, 2006

One perhaps perverse thing about free improvisation is that not hearing it on record for a while can make you realise what a vital form it is when that situation ends. And despite the fact that it's now part of a wide soundscape of musical approaches, it still has the ability to surprise.

The late Peter Kowald's bass was a cornerstone in so many ensembles specialising in this form; he was working with the Globe Unity Orchestra as far back ...

Agusti Fernandez & Mats Gustafsson: Critical Mass

by John Eyles
February 6, 2006

For a duo, pianist Agusti Fernández and saxophonist Mats Gustafsson are capable of producing a huge dynamic range and variety of sounds. At one extreme Gustafsson can generate the same kind of intensely hard-edged tone and energy as Peter Brötzmann (of whose Tentet he is an occasional member) or Ken Vandermark (another Tentet member). When, as on “Critical Mass 4:26, this is combined with a sustained torrent of chords from Fernández, the resulting music can induce the kind of adrenalin ...