Home » Jazz Articles » Ches Smith
Jazz Articles about Ches Smith
Ches Smith / We All Break: Path of Seven Colors
by Jerome Wilson
In his group We All Break, drummer Ches Smith puts together a robust hybrid of the rhythms of Haitian Voudou music and the free- flowing impulsiveness of modern jazz. The basic music and lyrics of the songs here are based on traditional Haitian melodies. The group builds from that foundation, starting with the tangled interplay of Smith and three Haitian drummers, Daniel Brevil, Markus Schwartz, and Fanfan Jean-Guy Rene. Jazz improvisation is stirred into the mix by alto saxophonist Miguel ...
Continue ReadingAksel Rönning Trio, Blue Reality Quartet & Ches Smith’s We All Break
by Maurice Hogue
Like Haitian-drums? Drummer Ches Smith does and he taps into the Voudo rhythm and spirit of Haiti on his new Path Of Seven Colors. Like Bob Dylan's music? The German quartet Absolutely Sweet Marie tackles nothing but; their third volume, Wherever You Roam, is just out and there are a some tunes from that featured. What about something new, like the Norwegian Trio led by saxophonist, Aksel Rönning? He shows he has chops and ideas on his new ART. There's ...
Continue ReadingChes Smith’s We All Break: Path of Seven Colors
by Vic Albani
Il fatto che da qualche anno la produzione discografica non sia più nelle strette mani delle multinazionali sta man mano aprendo infinite possibilità per gli artisti più creativi e, quantomeno in questo caso, ai nomi collegabili all'avanguardia. Oramai la situazione è chiarissima per i fruitori della stessa (in breve, a noi ascoltatori). Si brindi dunque e innanzitutto alla pianista-compositrice canadese Kris Davis che ha fondato la Pyroclastic Records nel 2016 (al tempo per trovare sbocco alle sue registrazioni ...
Continue ReadingChes Smith / We All Break: Path of Seven Colors
by Karl Ackermann
For some time, drummer/composer Ches Smith kept his interest in the Voudou music of Haiti at bay. Recognizing himself as an outsider in that world, he researched, listened, studied, and after years brought a project to fruition. Smith's group We All Break released their self-titled, self-produced debut in 2017 and received less attention than deserved. Now on Kris Davis' Pyroclastic Records, the outstanding Path of Seven Colors should produce wide recognition. Path of Seven Colors is a two-disc ...
Continue ReadingTim Berne's Snakeoil: The Deceptive 4 - Live
by John Sharpe
With the sixth entry in their discography, alto saxophonist Tim Berne offers a progress report of sorts on his band Snakeoil. The Deceptive 4 Live collects together two cracking sets, one from a brace of appearances in NYC in 2009/2010 before Berne had even settled on the group name, and the other a latter-day outing from New Haven's esteemed Firehouse 12 in 2017. Testament to both sufficient challenge in the scripts and sufficient sustaining work for the band, the cast ...
Continue ReadingTim Berne: The Deceptive 4—Live
by Mark Corroto
The difference between disc one and disc two of Tim Berne's Snakeoil release The Deceptive 4, two live recordings made eight years apart, might be the same difference between Miles Davis' first and second great quintets. Where Davis' The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions (Prestige, 2006) with John Coltrane from 1955-56 are stellar, they lack the complex riskiness of his 1965 date, The Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel 1965 (Columbia, 1995) with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony ...
Continue ReadingJason Robinson: Harmonic Constituent
by Mark Corroto
If you've ever visited Mendocino County you would have a head start to appreciate saxophonist Jason Robinson's Harmonic Constituent. His week-long retreat to this magnificent Northern California coast inspired this ambitious and diverse recording. Robinson, a musical omnivore previously recorded with the quartet Cosmologic, his Henry Threadgill inspired Janus Ensemble, in duos with Anthony Davis and Eric Hofbauer, and in electro-acoustic settings, to name just a few of his diverse interests. Robinson's quartet here includes pianist Joshua White ...
Continue Reading
