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David Bixler: BEATitude
by Dan Bilawsky
Felicity finds its way into the heart and soul of David Bixler's music on BEATitude. Reconvening the quartet that drew wonder out of adversity on In The Face Of Chaos (Red Piano, 2019), this acclaimed alto saxophonist delivers eight numinous originals that speak to conviction and faith in moving form(s). “A Power Deferred," opening the proceedings, artfully deals in the divine, exhibiting strength through patience. Providence--encircling this entire affair, and making its initial presence felt in this ...
Continue ReadingDavid Bixler, Milosz Pieczonka, Reza Askari, Marilyn Crispell & Jason Stein
by Maurice Hogue
This edition of One Man's Jazz is the 600th done for Taint Radio, and to mark the occasion two albums that would have fit in perfectly with Black History Month in February, but good music has no timetable. Saxophonist David Bixler drew upon not on the jazz poetry of the great Black Poet, Langston Hughes, but rather on his concepts in writing and how he used words with pitch and rhythm and phrasing. The final result was The Langston Hughes ...
Continue ReadingDavid Bixler: Inside the Grief
by Mike Jurkovic
Following his 2019 nonet offering, Blended Lineage (Red Piano), alto-saxophonist David Bixler, no stranger to the stress and strains of our collectively jagged, irregular days, sets out heroically to make sense of it all on Inside the Grief. And make sense of it all he does with six probing, conversational originals that manage to restore some balance of life and light into many of today's darkest recesses. Stripping it all down to a trio format, Bixler, bassist Gregg August and ...
Continue ReadingDavid Bixler: In The Face Of Chaos
by Dan Bilawsky
In The Face Of Chaos marks a re-emergence, if not a complete artistic rebirth, for David Bixler. It serves as a true inspiration, drawing beauty from pain, and peace from personal struggle. Life took an unexpected turn for the saxophonist's family when his youngest son suffered a traumatic brain injury a number of years ago. With that, logically, came a need to re-evaluate priorities. So, Bixler took a step back and did what any loving parent would do; ...
Continue ReadingDavid Bixler: The Nearest Exit May Be Inside Your Head
by Dan Bilawsky
Saxophonist David Bixler's ties to pianist Arturo O'Farrill have had positive and negative consequences. The positives are a raised profile, a fairly steady gig for twelve years and counting, and the opportunity to paint atop brilliantly arranged Latin platforms of varying shapes, colors and sizes for audiences around the world. So, one might wonder, what could possibly be negative about this connection, and the answer comes with one simple word: pigeonholing. This saxophonist isn't bound to a ...
Continue ReadingTake Five With David Bixler
by AAJ Staff
Meet David Bixler: Alto saxophonist, composer, and educator David Bixler has been steadily garnering attention for his unique playing and writing. Since moving to New York City from his native Wisconsin, David has performed and toured with the orchestras of Lionel Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Duke Ellington. In 2000 he joined the Chico O'Farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra which was the beginning of several musical collaborations with GRAMMY award winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill. In 2008 ...
Continue ReadingDavid Bixler and Arturo O'Farrill: The Auction Project
by Bruce Lindsay
Altoist and composer David Bixler leads The Auction Project, with Grammy-winning pianist Arturo O'Farrill, who has described this album as being “very much about colliding cultures." This may slightly overstate things but the album does represent what is, for jazz, a rather unusual meeting of cultures. Half of The Auction Project is devoted to Bixler's compositions, while the other half features tunes from the folk canon of the British Isles--the island of Ireland in particular. The key ...
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