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Charlie Porter: Hindsight

by Paul Rauch
Portland based trumpeter/composer Charlie Porter is back, and following the trend industry wide over the past year, has released a finely crafted collection of pieces attached to a social narrative. Hindsight examines how we act in hindsight dealing with the long term societal struggles of racism, corruption and inequality. While two of the pieces feature the lyrics of Majid Khaliq and Madelaina Piazza, Porter has namaged to weave the emotional uncertainty of daily life during the Covid-19 pandemic into bittersweet ...
Continue ReadingOut To Dinner: Play On

by Kyle Simpler
Record producers don't always get the same amount of attention as the musicians featured on an album, but their role and influence is vital in the recording process. Take The Beatles' producer, George Martin, for example. His involvement brought the music to a new level. This is also the case with Blue Note co-founder Alfred Lion, whose direction led to some of jazz music's most important recordings. Following Lion's lead, Posi-Tone Records' producer Marc Free tries to capture the spirit ...
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 ReadingNew releases by Behn Gillece, Giovanni Guidi and More

by Bob Osborne
New releases from Behn Gillece, Giovanni Guidi, and, Mats Eilertsen, plus a mop-up of some of last year's releases that I have not featured as yet. Playlist Behn Gillece Break the Ice" from Parallel Universe (Posi-Tone) 00:00 Giovanni Guidi Avec Les Temps" from Avec Les Temps (ECM) 06:24 Mats Eilertsen Trio Perpetum" from And Then Comes The Night (ECM) 13:36 Eric Harland The Teller (Aquila)" from 13th Floor (GSI Records) 20:41 Erik Jekabson San Pablo Avenue" from Erik ...
Continue ReadingNew Faces: Straight Forward

by David A. Orthmann
New Faces is the brainchild of producer Marc Free, who comingles the talents of six young jazzers, each of whom has led at least one session for Posi-Tone. With the exception of a Herbie Hancock composition, the material is comprised of attractive, catchy themes of varying degrees of complexity, penned by a number of the label's artists and originally released on records throughout Posi-Tone's two-decade plus history. The record was recorded in one day, the group sounds well prepared, and ...
Continue ReadingNew Faces: Straight Forward

by Paul Rauch
The collection of musicians on this record, collectively referred to as New Faces," is an attempt by Posi-Tone producer Marc Free to create a sampler of the label's mission, utilizing a selection of young leaders to collectively personify their overall musical vision. As stated on the Posi- Tone website, The entire series of succinct performances included on this album are deliberately intended to provide accurate practical auditory insight and representation of the musical aesthetics and operational ethos of Posi-Tone Records." ...
Continue ReadingBehn Gillece: Dare To Be

by David A. Orthmann
It pays to listen to Dare To Be, Behn Gillece's second release as a leader for Posi-Tone Records, from the bottom up. Bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jason Tiemann are one of most congenial, articulate, and straightforward bass and drums team in recent memory. They're self-effacing, deeply focused and frisky. Regardless of the differences in the material and tempos of the individual tracks (not to mention additional percussive sounds fashioned by Gillece's vibes and Nate Radley's guitar) Okegwo and Tiemann ...
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