Jazz Articles about Ben Allison

like 146

Michael Blake: Drift

by Glenn Astarita
April 1, 2001

Following up his stunning and hauntingly beautiful 1997 solo release, Kingdom of Champra - saxophonist/composer Michael Blake enlists fellow “Jazz Composers Collective” performers along with modern jazz saxophonist Briggan Krauss and others for this equally impressive production simply titled, Drift. Here, the New York City-based artist once again demonstrates his melodic compositional gifts to coincide with his full-bodied tenor sax tone and witty arrangements.

Blake’s superb thematic invention is supplemented by a large ensemble who sound as though they enjoy ...

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Ben Allison: Riding The Nuclear Tiger

by Mark Corroto
February 1, 2001

Like Charles Mingus, the bassist Allison has taken an aggressive approach to his music. Allison formed the Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, nonprofit with a mission to foster creative artists and new music. Not waiting for the jazz establishment to pick up on what he is laying down, he performs and writes for small ensembles and large orchestras. Like Mingus, music seems to constantly flow from all his activities.

Together with pianist Frank Kimbrough, he formed the Herbie Nichols Project ...

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Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel: Third Eye

by David Adler
September 1, 1999

The next time someone tells you that jazz is dead, hit them upside the skull with a copy of Third Eye. Bassist and bandleader Ben Allison is simply a towering talent, a jazz innovator, and he’s put to tape some of the grittiest, prettiest music I’ve ever heard.Instrumentation-wise, the ensemble is slightly offbeat: two tenor/soprano/bass clarinets, trumpet/flugelhorn, cello, piano, bass, and drums. Ana Dinkjian joins the band on oud and cümbüs (pronounced “jumboosh") for “Kush," a Middle Eastern-influenced ...

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Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel: Third Eye

by Jack Bowers
August 1, 1999

This is bassist Allison’s second recording with his group Medicine Wheel, and again he has mapped out an astute game plan and brought together sidemen who are capable of carrying it out. Allison, the founder and artistic director of the Jazz Composers Collective in New York City, is far more interested in the broad panorama of sound than in labels or doctrinal approaches to Jazz, and his music is not easy to categorize. To say that I found much of ...

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Ben Allison: Third Eye

by Glenn Astarita
August 1, 1999

Bassist/composer Ben Allison has been making lots of waves these days. A recent profile in “Downbeat” magazine discloses that Ben is among the top 25 young jazz cats on the scene. Also, Mr. Allison is the founder, Composer-in-Residence and Artistic Director of the New York City based Jazz Composers Collective. Here, with Allison’s third release, Third Eye the bassist composer along with stalwart members from the Jazz Collective, follow up on Allison’s highly acclaimed 1998 release, Medicine Wheel.

Not long ...

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Ben Allison: Medicine Wheel

by Glenn Astarita
December 1, 1998

Ben Allison asserts: “The Medicine Wheel is a mirror in which the universe is reflected. Any idea, person or object can be such a mirror". Derived from North American Indian beliefs Allison's somewhat mystical approach adheres to the overall attitude behind his music and the band's execution. The Septet aptly called “Medicine Wheel" is a conglomerate of “new jazz" musicians who yearn for new sounds and ideas while extending the capabilities of their respective musical instruments.

Medicine Wheel is: Ben ...