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Andrew Cyrille: The News
by Ian Patterson
There is no denying the significance of Andrew Cyrille's oft-cited association with Cecil Taylor, not to mention his collaborations with other avant-garde luminaries such as Walt Dickerson, Ahmed Abdul Malik and Marion Brown. However, such reductive narratives tend to overlook Cyrille's own, fairly extensive output as a leader, beginning with What About? (BYG Actuel, 1971). Whilst there have sometimes been long gaps between his records, the Brooklyn-born drummer has struck a rich vein of form in his autumnal years on ...
Continue ReadingAndrew Cyrille Quartet: The News
by Mario Calvitti
Con una carriera che attraversa gli ultimi 60 anni di storia del jazz, dall'alto dei suoi 80 anni (compiuti un paio di mesi dopo le sessioni di registrazione di questo disco nel 2019), il veterano batterista Andrew Cyrille non ha alcun timore di mettersi ancora in gioco, come aveva già dimostrato pochi anni fa con il notevole The Declaration of Musical Independence (titolo decisamente programmatico per il suo esordio da leader per l'etichetta tedesca), di cui questo nuovo album rappresenta ...
Continue ReadingLyle Mays: Eberhard
by Mario Calvitti
La prematura scomparsa di Lyle Mays nel febbraio 2020 ha privato il mondo di uno straordinario musicista, troppo poco considerato al di fuori dell'importantissimo contributo da lui dato all'interno del Pat Metheny Group, dove ha rappresentato l'ideale complemento del chitarrista dal 1977 al 2010 prima di decidere di abbandonare definitivamente la scena musicale per dedicarsi professionalmente al mondo del software, un altro dei suoi numerosi interessi. Se i periodi trascorsi a fianco di Pat Metheny ne hanno ...
Continue ReadingLyle Mays: Eberhard
by John Kelman
When pianist, keyboardist, synthesist and composer Lyle Mays passed away at the far too young age of 66 following a long battle with a recurring (but, to this day, undisclosed) illness in February 2020, it was a major loss for his fans. It was an especially deep body blow to those who'd followed his decades-long work as performer and compositional collaborator with Pat Metheny in the guitarist's critically and commercially acclaimed Pat Metheny Group. Mays had been largely ...
Continue ReadingSkuli Sverrisson with Bill Frisell: Strata
by Mario Calvitti
Approda finalmente in formato digitale (CD e piattaforme di streaming) l'album frutto della recente collaborazione tra il bassista islandese Skúli Sverrisson e il chitarrista Bill Frisell, già precedentemente pubblicato nel 2018 esclusivamente su vinile in una edizione a tiratura limitata per collezionisti andata rapidamente esaurita nonostante il prezzo non propriamente a buon mercato. Ora che il lavoro può godere di una diffusione più ampia potrà essere apprezzato da una platea più vasta, come sicuramente merita. Viene spontaneo ...
Continue ReadingThe Bill Frisell Songbook: Part 2
by Ludovico Granvassu
Bill Frisell's instrumental voice is instantly recognizable, whether displaying its skronky side in John Zorn's Naked City or his sublime and delicate voicings infused of high-end Americana. Equally distinctive are his compositions which more and more of his peers have been incorporating into their repertoires, in a process of metabolization that goes back to the 1990s but—as it always happens for musicians whose style is so distinctive—started to really take off later in Frisell's career and is now reaching a ...
Continue ReadingThe Bill Frisell Songbook: Part 1
by Ludovico Granvassu
Every generation has a number of defining musicians who stand out for their innovations and distinctive voices. For us growing up musically in the 1980s and 1990s and interested in forward looking music, Bill Frisell is one of these foundational figures. His instrumental style is certainly unique and has shaped the way the following generations have approached the guitar, and--more and more so--his compositions are being embraced by his peers. His tunes integrate sources as diverse as country music, rock, ...
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