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New Trio Releases And More
by Bob Osborne
A selection of new and old this week with new releases from Art Hirahara, Ernesto Jodos with Barry Altschul & Mark Helias, Mariano Sarra, Sebastian de Urquiza, and UMA, plus archive sounds from Mike Osborne and Friends and Tisziji Munoz.Playlist Art Hirahara “Groundswell" from Open Sky (Posi-tone) 00:00 Ernesto Jodos, Barry Altschul, Mark Helias “You Don't Know Your Own Tune" from Confluence (ears&eyes) 04:45 Mariano Sanna “Crol" from Via Vertebral (Isla Desierta) 09:34 Sebastián de Urquiza “Pasar De ...
Continue ReadingBehn Gillece: Still Doing Our Thing
by Kyle Simpler
2020 was an unusual year to say the least, much in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in global restrictions, causing people to make drastic changes in everyday life. The situation was particularly challenging for musicians. For one thing, live performances were on hiatus, creating new problems for players who relied on performing live. In spite of these challenges, however, many musicians were persistent, finding ways to make the best of an unfortunate situation. Vibraphonist Behn Gillece is ...
Continue ReadingAlexa Tarantino: Firefly
by Dan McClenaghan
The twenty-first century sees many of us talking to a cloud-based artificial intelligence: “Alexa, play my music." And so she does. The time frame also sees the emergence of a talented human Alexa--Alexa Tarantino, who plays her music, on Firefly, the woodwindist's third album release on Posi- Tone Records, an evolutionary leap forward— conceptually and compositionally—from her debut, Winds of Change (2019), and her second outing, Clarity (2020), both on Posi-Tone Records. Fronting a quintet which includes vibraphonist ...
Continue ReadingNew albums from Art Hirahara, Krzysia Górniak and Kate Amrine
by Bob Osborne
There are excellent newly released albums on this week's show from guitarist Krzysia Górniak and trumpeter Kate Amrine. I am also featuring the fantastic new release from pianist Art Hirahara and music from other projects by the artists involved with that album. In between some archive cuts with classic jazz from across the years. Playlist Art Hirahara “Like Water" from Balance Point (Posi-tone) 00:00 Melissa Aldana “El Castillo de Velenje" from Visions (Motéma Music) 09:07 Rudy ...
Continue ReadingArt Hirahara: Balance Point
by Kyle Simpler
There are times in life when many of us try to find a sense of stability in an uncertain world. New York-based pianist Art Hirahara refers to this as homeostasis, or “a sense of balance within ourselves regardless of what is happening around us." With Balance Point, his fifth release for Posi-Tone Records, Hirahara uses the idea of homeostasis as his central concept. He presents his own “transformative journey," inviting listeners come along for the ride. Balance Point ...
Continue ReadingIdle Hands: Solid Moments
by Dan Bilawsky
Producer and Posi-Tone co-head Marc Free wears a lot of hats, including those of curator and cooperative chemist. Since 2018, Free has been piecing together various outfits and concepts, tipping his hat to touchstones, adding new slants to his label's rich catalog and engaging in outreach and audience development in the process. Not content to simply settle for the stautus quo, Free has found a way to present a stable of important artists, both established and emerging, that draws on ...
Continue ReadingArt Hirahara: Central Line
by Dan Bilawsky
The central meaning behind pianist Art Hirahara's Central Line is simple to suss out. In literal terms Hirahara is referencing the Chuo-Sen (Central Line) subway line, a means for establishing his own relationship to the jazz world in Tokyo. But the message of the album runs deeper than that, tapping into the central lines that link person to place, past to present, culture to culture, and musician to musician. This is an exploration and manifestation of those lines that bind, ...
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