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Eric McPherson: Double Bass Quartet - Live
by Pierre Giroux
Drummer Eric McPherson has long been recognized as a musician who combines rhythmic ingenuity and structural awareness in any project he undertakes. With Double Bass Quartet, recorded before a quietly appreciative New York audience, McPherson has assembled an unconventional line-up of Cuban pianist David Virelles along with bassists John Hébert and Ben Street, that challenges and redefines the traditional quartet format. The ensemble's two-bass configuration immediately invites comparisons to the more exploratory aspects of jazz history, yet this is no ...
Continue ReadingThe Burton/McPherson Trio: The Summit Rock Session at Seneca Village
by Jack Bowers
The Burton/McPherson Trio consists of tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton, drummer Eric McPherson and bassist Dezron Douglas. Why it isn't called the Burton/McPherson/Douglas Trio is anyone's guess; the hope is that bassist Douglas' feelings weren't too badly hurt by the omission. He may have found solace in the outer jacket's addendum, “Featuring Dezron Douglas." In any case, this is the trio recorded live in June 2021 at Summit Rock in Seneca Village, an historic mostly African-American settlement in New York City's ...
Continue ReadingBorderlands Trio: Wandersphere
by John Sharpe
Like a billionaire with money to burn, the Borderlands Trio frequently launch into space, and hit the jackpot in doing so. On this double disc set, the threesome—comprising bassist Stephan Crump, pianist Kris Davis and drummer Eric McPherson—luxuriate in the wide open vistas of four expansive improvisations of between nineteen and forty-two minutes. The decision to play and present entire pieces rather than excerpts, as they did on some of the shorter numbers on their debut Asteroidea (Intakt, 2017), pays ...
Continue ReadingStephan Crump: Wandersphere
by Mark Corroto
Let's play a game. Call it “Is it improvised or composed?" Today's contestants are the Borderlands Trio, comprised of bassist Stephan Crump, pianist Kris Davis, and drummer Eric McPherson. Their release Wandersphere, recorded in December, 2020, consists of four tracks on two CDs. Four lengthy tracks, the shortest nearly twenty minutes and the longest at forty-one minutes plus. The game is, of course, rigged because listeners of the trio's previous release Asteroidea (Intakt, 2017) will know all the music is ...
Continue ReadingBorderlands Trio: Stephan Crump / Kris Davis / Eric McPherson: Wandersphere
by Dan McClenaghan
It begins so quietly, whispering out of silence like a ghost. The creaking door of Stephan Crump's arco bass, the hiss of Eric McPherson's brushes, the parsimonious delicacy of Kris Davis' piano notes. This is what opens Disc one of this two CD outing by the Borderlands Trio. The tune's following half hour's worth of improvisational expressionism--an exercise in filling the vacuum with free flowing musical ideas--gathers momentum, like an incoming storm, or maybe a colony of microscopic organisms reaching ...
Continue ReadingTony Davis: Golden Year
by Kyle Simpler
Tony Davis definitely knows how to get things done. At 25, he has already earned a Master's Degree and is involved in musical education. He has played and recorded with some of the most notable jazz musicians around, including the group, Works for Me. With Golden Year, his first solo album, Davis captures the energy of his recent experiences and transforms it into an exciting musical offering. This record not only showcases Davis' talent as a guitarist and composer, but ...
Continue ReadingEric McPherson: Continuum
by Jim Santella
Drummer Eric McPherson leads a creative ensemble on this eclectic program for the free transmission of ideas. He's grown out of deep experience with the late legends Jackie McLean and Andrew Hill. Tradition remains intact as his ensemble interprets pieces by the former and bassist Richard Davis, while several original compositions power the drummer and his partners solidly. Abraham Burton joins on saxophones and flute, adding an alluring voice. When they team with bassist John Hebert--McPherson's rhythm mate from Hill's ...
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