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Jazz Articles about Barry Altschul
Paul Bley Trios: Touching & Blood Revisited
by Mark Corroto
Pianist Paul Bley (1932—2016) wasn't just a witness to jazz history, he was a key contributor. Bley performed with Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Sonny Rollins, yet his true sound was set in motion when he performed with Ornette Coleman in California, evidenced by Live At The Hillcrest Club 1958 (America Records, 1971). While Coleman eschewed a piano in his ensembles until he made the Sound Museum (Harmolodic / Verve, 1996) sessions in the 1990s, Bley kept Ornette's ...
Continue ReadingBarry Altschul’s 3Dom Factor feat. Jon Irabagon & Joe Fonda: Long Tall Sunshine
by Mark Corroto
The fourth release by Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor, Long Tall Sunshine, evokes (in a weird way) the lyrics to “Helter Skelter" by The Beatles: “When I get to the bottom I go back to the top of the slide Where I stop and I turn and I go for a ride Till I get to the bottom and I see you again." We're not talking the Charles Manson thrill kill angle of Helter Skelter, ...
Continue ReadingSam Rivers Trio: Ricochet
by Glenn Astarita
Other than new product framed on forward-leaning jazz and improvisational artists, this record label annually resurrects gems from the vaults, evidenced on this adrenaline- fueled recording of the late great saxophonist Sam Rivers and his superstar trio. This follows the label's release of Zenith (No Business, 2019) which is Rivers' quintet caught live at a Berlin venue in 1977. The saxophonist and his trio are captured at San Francisco's legendary Keystone Korner club. Hence, they shoot for the ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors, Barry Altschul: Around Again: The Music Of Carla Bley
by Neri Pollastri
Sontuosa rilettura di dodici tra le più belle composizioni di Carla Bley, quest'album nasce da un'idea del contrabbassista Ulf Krokfors, condivisa con la pianista Iro Haarla--che frequenta la musica di Carla fin dai tempi del conservatorio e che ha da sempre Paul Bley come modello pianistico--e poi concretizzata assieme a Barry Altschul, batterista nel trio del pianista canadese che per registrò parte di questi brani, ben cinquantaquattro anni fa, negli album Touching e Closer. Il disco è notevole ...
Continue ReadingSam Rivers Quintet: Zenith
by Vincenzo Roggero
Probabilmente è questa l'unica data che vede all'opera questo quintetto e sicuramente è questa l'unica registrazione conosciuta. Siamo durante il tour europeo datato ottobre-novembre 1977 nel quale Sam Rivers tiene concerti a capo della Rivbea Orchestra, o suonando in quartetto, in trio, in duo e per l'appunto in quintetto, in sostanza il quartetto stabile dell'epoca con l'aggiunta di un secondo percussionista. Scelta perlomeno curiosa quella operata da Rivers, perchè Charlie Persip era noto più per l'appartenenza ai gruppi di Dizzy ...
Continue ReadingSam Rivers Quintet: Zenith
by John Sharpe
Concertgoers must have been forced back in their seats by the intensity of Sam Rivers opening foray at the 1977 Berlin Jazztage Festival. After an annunciatory tenor saxophone burst, he goes for the jugular with fierce vocalized overblowing atop a churning four piece rhythm section. But if that sounds forbidding, then like the audience, listeners to this historic recording, released as the second installment of NoBusiness Records' estimable Sam Rivers Archive Project, following Emanation (2019), should be enthralled by the ...
Continue ReadingIro Haarla, Ulf Krokfors & Barry Altschul: Around Again: The Music Of Carla Bley
by Jerome Wilson
Although much of her music is imbued with subtle humor, Carla Bley's compositions are serious music. Finnish pianist Iro Haarla is a long-time admirer of the Bley, and on this CD she gives her music an appropriate gravity, while retaining its spirited nature. Haarla is accompanied by her musical partner, Ulf Krokfors, on bass and Barry Altschul on drums. They play Bley tunes that were mostly introduced on record by Paul Bley back in the 60s and 70s, ...
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