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Don Peretz/Jacob Sacks: Numerals
by Dan Bilawsky
The integer most integral to Numerals is the number two. A duo date highlighting the communicative and experimental bents bonding drummer-composer Don Peretz with pianist Jacob Sacks, it was recorded in two parts, in two states, with two different modi operandi in play. The first session, at Kaleidoscope Sound in Union City, New Jersey, was entirely open-minded and open-ended, with free-composed creations forming a chassis, and Peretz, in electro-acoustic maverick mode, building around that body with post-production design elements and ...
Continue ReadingJennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace
by Jack Bowers
Asked to name the traits women most need to succeed in today's business world, Forbes magazine in a 2019 article underlined two of them as “grit and grace." One woman who took the advice to heart is bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton. She came late to jazz but has since made it her domain of choice, founding the trombone-centric septet Bonegasm and recording three albums under its name, the most recent of which, Grit & Grace, endorses Forbes' position by using ...
Continue ReadingJennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace
by Dan Bilawsky
Blessed be the 'bone of invention and intention that is Jennifer Wharton. A mere six years ago, the noted bass trombonist had the idea to form a slide-centric septet and commission new music to bring her oft-neglected and ballasting instrument to the fore. Driven to act on that concept, Wharton thought things through, put a plan in motion and willed Bonegasm into existence. That aptly-titled band recorded its eponymous debut in 2018, released that revelation of a record in 2019, ...
Continue ReadingJennifer Wharton: Not a Novelty
by Dan Bilawsky
The eponymous debut from Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm broke the mold. There are no two ways about it. And while some may look at a statement like that and cry hyperbole, history begs to differ. With rare exception, the bass trombone—a horn forever typecast as an anchor—has been marginalized. So the idea of an ensemble featuring that denizen of the depths—a band playing music specifically commissioned to hinge on it, highlight it, and showcase the playing of one of its foremost ...
Continue ReadingDon Peretz: Dikson
by Dan Bilawsky
Dikson takes its name from a sparsely populated arctic port located in northern Russia. And its music, though heated by strong individualists, largely reflects that origin, embodying the powerfully icy atmosphere of its influence. Masterminded by drummer Don Peretz, this eight-song jazz-tronica journey, nodding toward a remote realm at the top of the world, bumps, grooves and gives off an arresting, frigid energy that's all its own. Combing through hours of playing from the likes of tenor ...
Continue ReadingJennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Not A Novelty
by Dan McClenaghan
The trombone came into its own as a lead and solo instrument in jazz on the shoulders of J.J. Johnson, in the early days of bebop. His Four Trombones: The Debut Recordings (Prestige, 1953) celebrated the big brass instrument with three fellow 'bone men--Kai Winding, Bennie Green and Willie Davis, all joining Johnson in a four man front line. Now Jennifer Wharton presents a four trombone summit of her own with Not A Novelty, the second outing of her group ...
Continue ReadingDon Peretz: Foremen
by Glenn Astarita
Drummer Don Peretz is onto something here as he pilots this New York City-based quartet through an expansive musical aura where improvisation and compositional structure attain a happy medium. Take for example, Russ Johnson's crybaby-like muted trumpet choruses on “Simple Man, as Perez and bassist Dave Ambrosio lay down a tight groove amid a tunefully, blues-oriented primary theme.
The simplistic connotations of the track's title summon up acute visual characteristics, but the band's makeover features a medley of programmatic horn ...
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