Jazz Articles about David Torn

About David Torn

Album Review

David Torn/Tim Berne/Ches Smith: Sun Of Goldfinger

Read "Sun Of Goldfinger" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
February 22, 2019

Sometimes a recording comes with a “play it loud" recommendation. Let's give one of those to Sun Of Goldfinger, from guitarist David Torn, alto saxophonist Tim Berne and percussionist Ches Smith. Torn, a self-described “texturalist/guitarist," has been associated with ECM Records since the '80s, with Cloud About Mercury (1987)--a disc the label is reissuing in 2019--and Without Warning and Best Laid Plans, both from 1984. Berne and Smith are relative newcomers to ECM, with four CD releases, beginning ...

Interview

David Torn: Making Records, Film Composition, and Working With David Bowie

by Mark Sullivan
October 19, 2017

Experimental guitarist, looper, songwriter, improviser, session guitarist, film composer, record producer, mixer...David Torn is all of those things. He is constantly on the move, looking forward to the next thing. He was last interviewed for All About Jazz in 2007 ("David Torn: A Lifetime Of Improvisation In Non-Improvisational Settings“). Our conversation mostly ranged over his many activities in the ten years since then. Asked about researching his playing history, and the Wikipedia article in particular: The ...

Live Review

ECM @ Winter Jazzfest 2016

by Tyran Grillo
January 25, 2016

ECM @ Winter Jazzfest ECM Records Stage The New School, Tishman Auditorium New Yor, NY January 15 & 16, 2016 New York City's 2016 Winter Jazzfest Marathon capped off a string of first-week performances. The running theme of the festival was transition, as musicians of all walks emphasized the collaborative spirit of their chosen profession and the metamorphic possibilities without which jazz would wither. At the heart of this year's Marathon ...

Album Review

David Torn: Only Sky

Read "Only Sky" reviewed by Mario Calvitti

by Mario Calvitti
June 15, 2015

Nonostante gli oltre trent'anni di carriera -l'esordio discografico risale al 1982 con la pubblicazione di Everyman Band, primo di due album per ECM del gruppo omonimo -il chitarrista David Torn rimane un personaggio difficile da inquadrare. Un po' per il suo continuo e incessante girovagare tra label discografiche e progetti musicali, (compreso anche il dedicarsi a composizioni di colonne sonore per film e videogames, e la creazione di loop e samples per software musicali), senza mai fermarsi più di tanto ...

Live Review

David Torn at Streamside Concerts

by Mark Sullivan
June 10, 2015

David Torn Streamside Concerts Arden, NC June 6, 2015 Experimental electric guitarist David Torn was touring to support his album only sky (ECM, 2015), a collection of solo performances done in real time using looping and other electronic processing. But there was no attempt to play selections from the recording: as Torn explained during the Q&A after the concert, all of the performances on the tour were completely improvised. Anyone who has followed Torn's career ...

Extended Analysis

only sky

by John Kelman
May 1, 2015

Despite a career that now goes back over three decades, the relative infrequency of releases from guitarist and sound sculptor David Torn renders any new one, at the very least, a cause for speculation...if not enthusiastic anticipation. Beyond the soundtracks that have become one piece of the puzzle that defines who Torn is--and acting as engineer and/or producer for fellow unfettered explorers like saxophonist Tim Berne on albums including Shadow Man (ECM, 2013) as another--Torn was last heard on a ...

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Live Review

David Torn's Prezens at Joe's Pub, NYC

by Budd Kopman
March 26, 2008

David Torn and Prezens at Joe's Pub, NYCJoe's PubNew York City, NYMarch 13, 2008 The quartet that took the stage is a live version of the group that is on prezens (ECM, 2007), which is the result of guitarist/electronics magician David Torn's post-processing of many hours of improvising by him, Tim Berne (alto saxophone), Craig Taborn (keyboards) and Tom Rainey (drums). When the chance to hear this band live presented itself, I jumped at ...