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Ned Rothenberg / Catherine Jauniaux / Barre Phillips: While You Were Out
by Kurt Gottschalk
Belgian vocalist Catherine Jauniaux is one the most underappreciated of a generation of free improv vocalists. Less a storyteller than Shelley Hirsch, more overtly musical than Phil Minton or Jaap Blonk, she falls somewhere between their spontaneous explorations and the avant art songs of Joan La Barbara. She has released only a handful of records with bands still loved by the few who recall (The Hat Shoes, Aksak Maboul and Vibraslaps, her duo with Ikue Mori) and is, perhaps, best ...
Continue ReadingBarre Phillips: Live in Vienna
by A. Henkin
Barre Phillips Live in Vienna Quantum Leap 2006
In a brief interview segment included in the extra features of Live in Vienna, bassist Barre Phillips discusses the foundation of improvising. He speaks of music-making in terms of vocabulary, a musical language, which a player uses in lieu of structure to make recognizable statements. The solo performance that makes up the bulk of this DVD--recorded in Vienna on February 19, 2005 --thus functions ...
Continue ReadingBarre Phillips/Joelle Leandre/William Parker/Tetsu Saitoh: After You Gone
by Rex Butters
Reverberations from bassist Peter Kowald's passing continue to be felt two years later. Last year, a long-time bass quartet with one sub gathered to bathe Kowald's spirit in a bass balm. Comprised of close associates or admirers of Kowald, this quartet represents a summit from across borders and generations, sharing only remarkable technique and a love of the unknown.
Barre Phillips helped legitimize improvised solo bass, as well as expanding its vocabulary with extended techniques. Joëlle Léandre boasts a resume ...
Continue ReadingBarre Phillips
by A. Henkin
Last year AllAboutJazz-New York had the chance to sit down with groundbreaking bassist Barre Phillips and discuss his myriad accomplishments in improvised music. This year, Vision Festival attendees will have the rare opportunity to see him in action. All About Jazz: You grew up in San Francisco and had a background in classical music. Why switch to jazz and move to New York as you did in the early '60s? Barre Phillips: I was ...
Continue ReadingBarre Phillips/Bertram Turetzky/Vinny Golia: Trignition
by Mark Corroto
Pure improvised music is sometimes hard to listen to and even harder to write about. But given notice, the experience of challenging music can be gratifying. Multi-instrumentalist Vinny Golia has produced several recordings with contrabassist Bertram Turetzky, the duo Intersections (1986), and 11 Reasons To Believe (1996), plus trio recordings Pratakis with Leo Smith (1997), Triangulation with George Lewis (1996), and Glossarium with Ed Harkins (1998). The pair collaborates with Barre Phillips, a 1960s innovator of the contrabass and electronics. ...
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