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Chris Lightcap: Superette
by Claudio Bonomi
Chris Lightcap, contrabassista e bassista di lungo corso con collaborazioni che spaziano da Marc Ribot a Cecil Taylor, passando per Anthony Braxton, Regina Carter e molti altri (ha all'attivo oltre una settantina di incisioni) si rigetta nella mischia con i neonati Superette, band che allinea due chitarristi elettrici, Jonathan Goldberger e Curtis Hasselbring, il batterista Dan Rieser e due super ospiti: il “magnifico" John Medeski all'Hammond B3 e all'organo Wuriltzer e {Nels Cline}}, già chitarrista dei Wilco. ...
Continue ReadingNouveau Fusion: Superette And Visitors
by Doug Collette
Bereft of forced funk and over-complicated compositions, jazz-rock fusion can be as liberating as the best rock and roll. That is, if the technical expertise brought to bear is restrained and sublimated to the unity of the ensemble and the musicians involved play with the unity of a true band. Then the emotional expression usually contained in song lyrics permeates the musicianship. Witness the work of Chris Lightcap and company as well as Jonathan Goldberger, JP Schlegelmilch, Jim Black: maintaining ...
Continue ReadingChris Lightcap's Bigmouth a Padova
by Giuseppe Segala
Cinema Torresino Padova 26.03.2017 Nella pregevole programmazione del Centro d'Arte studentesco di Padova, l'appuntamento con il quintetto Bigmouth di Chris Lightcap rappresentava l'occasione ghiotta di ascoltare un concerto in esclusiva per l'Italia, in cui alla notevole caratura dei singoli componenti si univa la bella compattezza di un gruppo tra i più significativi della scena contemporanea. Il pubblico che stipava la sala ha saggiamente colto tale occasione e i due bis hanno dato la misura ...
Continue ReadingChris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter
by Luca Canini
Ha ancora senso parlare di mainstream? Esiste un jazz che guarda al futuro riuscendo allo stesso tempo ad essere immediatamente riconoscibile e masticabile anche da chi di jazz poco, o niente, ne capisce? Domande oziose soltanto all'apparenza. Che nel loro studiato candore squarciano il velo di una dicotomia che a uno sguardo distratto può apparire insanabile: il consumo reazionario da una parte, con le sue formule fossilizzate e l'insopportabile tendenza a escludere, i musicisti di ricerca dall'altra, destinati a vagare ...
Continue ReadingChris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter
by Dave Wayne
Conceived as a continuous seven-part extended work for his band, Bigmouth, the first seven tracks on Chris Lightcap's Epicenter are as remarkable for their diversity as they are for the ways in which they're tied together. The unifying theme here is “New York: Lost and Found," and the music could indeed work as a sort of conceptual portrait of the city's colorful population and little-known, out-of-the-way nooks and crannies. Lightcap's band, now well into its second decade ...
Continue ReadingChris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter
by Budd Kopman
The closing track of bassist Chris Lightcap's muscular and vibrant Epicenter is a very intense and almost brutal version of Lou Reed's “All Tomorrow's Parties" from the 1967 release Velvet Underground & Nico. This tune, which is among Reed's most highly crafted works and which captures the essence of both the times and its subculture, is taken more slowly by Lightcap and the band, deepening its impact even further. It is the perfect ending for an album that ...
Continue ReadingChris Lightcap's Bigmouth: Epicenter
by Mark F. Turner
"Nine South" from New York bassist Chris Lightcap's Epicenter ignites the rhythm sense with its undeniable influence from West African music. Written as part of a commissioned work granted by Chamber Music America New Jazz Works, the piece was inspired by Lightcap's routine drive into Manhattan. Propelled by contagious hooks, fiery solos, and powerful harmonies, the music is driven by Lightcap's Big Mouth, a dynamic band of jazz progressives who have performed sporadically together for over 10 years.
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