Jazz Articles about Chris Engel

About Chris Engel

Interview

BigSpoon's Chris Engel: Intention... And Spontaneity

by Ian Patterson
September 14, 2022

So much goes into a debut album—a lifetime of learning, experiences and myriad influences. The music that springs forth is also often shaped in subtle and unfathomable ways that are sometimes not entirely clear even to the composer. Some musical reference points may appear obvious, others much less so, and so it is with The Return of the Prodigal Son (Diatribe Records, 2022) by Dublin four-piece BigSpoon. It's a visceral affair, hewn from jazz and improvised traditions, electronic ...

Album Review

BigSpoon: The Return Of The Prodigal Son

Read "The Return Of The Prodigal Son" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
September 14, 2022

South African saxophonist Chris Engel has been a ubiquitous figure on the Irish jazz/improvised scene since arriving in Dublin in 2011. Whether in Chris Guilfoyle's modernist Umbra, Cote Calmet's Afro-Peruvian-inspired Phisqa, Italian guitarist Julien Colarossi's quartet or the Weather Report tribute band, Plaza Real, Engel's commitment is total, his fierce technique matched by a fearless improvisatory spirit. Engel has also embraced the world of electronica, notably in the duo Cafolla-Engel, whose DJ/improvised saxophone sets whip up the night owls. Engel, ...

Album Review

Umbra: West

by Ian Patterson
September 15, 2018

American road trips have long inspired writers, from Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck and Tom Wolfe, to Hunter S. Thompson, Robert M. Pirsig and Bill Bryson. Fewer are the extended works, similarly inspired, written by musicians. Some things, it seems, may be easier put into words. Umbra's West is inspired by founding member Chris Guilfoyle's 2017 road trip, as evidenced through the song titles, through North America's Western states to Canada. It marks Umbra's full debut, but can be seen as ...