Jazz Articles about Brian Groder

About Brian Groder

Album Review

Patrick Brennan: Tilting Curvaceous

Read "Tilting Curvaceous" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
July 26, 2023

In spite of being active on the NYC scene since the mid-'70s, alto saxophonist and composer patrick brennan (he prefers his name spelled entirely in lowercase letters) has a relatively sparse discography, to which tilting curvaceous constitutes a splendid addition. It constitutes the seventh release by his S0nic 0penings band since Introducing S0UP (Deep Dish, 1981), but the first since 2007's Muhheankuntuk (Clean Feed). Bassist Hilliard Greene has been an ever-present since 2002, though trumpeter Brian Groder, drummer Michael TA ...

Album Review

Patrick Brennan Sonic Openings: Tilting Curvaceous

Read "Tilting Curvaceous" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
May 23, 2023

The quintet project Tilting Curvaceous is saxophonist/composer Patrick Brennan's sixth leader/co-leader date since the late 1990s. His duo recording Terraphonia (Creative Sources Recordings, 2019) with guitarist Abdul Moimême demonstrated a strong affinity for free improvisation within unconventional settings and uncommon concepts. Brennan is joined by trumpeter and flugelhorn player Brian Groder. The native New Yorker has been a long-time fixture on the NYC jazz scene and has devoted a significant part of his career to the frequent use of free-form ...

Album Review

Cusa - Groder - Grosso - Miano: Human Pieces

Read "Human Pieces" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
May 9, 2023

Rientrato nella natia Sicilia dopo una lunga permanenza negli Stati Uniti, il pianista, compositore e didatta Tonino Miano non ha perso tempo e ha prontamente messo in piedi una formazione con due corregionali-- Riccardo Grosso al contrabbasso e Francesco Cusa alla batteria--e un suo frequente collaboratore dell'area newyorchese--il trombettista Brian Groder. L'album si articola su sette tracce, tutte di una certa ampiezza--la più lunga, “Skitties Heavy," supera i dieci minuti--e di notevole coerenza, pur nella loro mutevolezza. Il ...

Liner Notes

Patrick Brennan and sOnic Opening: Tilting Curvaceous

by Howard Mandel
March 16, 2023

Tilting Curvaceous is all-of-a-piece, s0nic 0penings' instigator and extraordinary alto saxophonist Patrick Brennan informs us, emerging from a single “meta-groove interface," to be heard whole. That may come naturally to fans of creative improvisation since the breakthroughs of Ornette Coleman, say, and new constructions by composers including Cecil Taylor, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Henry Threadgill and Brennan himself. However, as presented in 14 distinct tracks, this album is also a suite of inter-related movements--separate, comparable, able to ...

Album Review

Brian Groder Trio: Luminous Arcs

Read "Luminous Arcs" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
September 7, 2020

Il sessantasettenne trombettista newyorchese Brian Groder, alla testa di un trio coi fiocchi, confeziona uno di quegli album che rappacificano con la storia del jazz e le sue diramazioni. Solido quanto scevro da ogni banalità o facile aggancio con tracciati troppo battuti, Luminous Arcs, inciso alla fine del 2018 e uscito giusto un anno dopo, è infatti uno di quei lavori capaci di mantenere i piedi saldi per terra, memori di una tradizione che non si fa ...

Album Review

Brian Groder Trio: R Train On The D Line

Read "R Train On The D Line" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
July 22, 2016

An album like R Train On The D Line is what separates jazz listeners from non-jazz listeners. The Brian Groder Trio plays the kind of composed yet improvised music that portends to go off the rails at any time, yet never does. And that may be the true definition of jazz. Consider the audiences' double-take when Louis Armstrong put a trumpet to his lips to open “West End Blues." Satchmo broke all the musical commandments with his improvised ...

Album Review

Brian Groder Trio: R Train On The D Line

Read "R Train On The D Line" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
March 10, 2016

A New York City jazz scene regular, the trumpeter and flugelhorn player Brian Groder returns with the trio that helped make Reflexology (Latham Records, 2014) such a highly satisfying recording. Bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Jay Rosen are well-suited to supporting Groder's flexible, energetic and probing objectives. Following their previous work together, their mutual empathy of free-form approaches, combined with uncompromising melodies, the trio has proven to be an ambitious unit with a truly different sound.The title--R Train ...