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Jazz Articles about Fred Lonberg-Holm
Dave Rempis: Chrysopoeia
by John Sharpe
Recorded at Krakow's legendary Alchemia just two days before Znachki Stilyag (Aerophonic Records, 2020), on the same European tour, the power trio Ballister comprising saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, demonstrates an astonishing level of consistency in terms of both energy and excellence. Chrysopoeia constitutes the triumvirate's tenth release over some dozen years of existence, one which confirms that time and familiarity yield multiple benefits. While two pieces well in excess of the 20-minute ...
Continue ReadingBallister: Chrysopoeia
by Mark Corroto
It is difficult to imagine a Ballister recording having its origins in any setting other than a live performance. The trio of saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love fuels each performance with the audience's energy on all their recordings, including Chrysopoeia, their tenth. Not that the trio could not produce their music in a studio setting, it is just the intensity of their free jazz performances would not contain the fevered eruptions available to the music ...
Continue ReadingJoe McPhee, Michael Bisio, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Juma Sultan: The Sweet Spot
by John Sharpe
Making music with one's neighbors was one way of getting by during the pandemic. Of course, it helps if your colleagues are all of the caliber of the foursome assembled on The Sweet Spot, all of whom reside in the Hudson Valley, a couple of hours north of NYC. But it is not just geographic proximity which promotes the special chemistry in evidence on the set. Saxophonist Joe McPhee and bassist Michael Bisio go back to the mid-'90s, and have ...
Continue ReadingMichael Bisio - Kirk Knuffke - Fred Lonberg-Holm: The Art Spirit
by Mark Corroto
If you thought Requiem For A New York Slice (Iluso Records, 2019) from bassist Michael Bisio, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm was a one-off recording, you were mistaken, and thankfully so. Interestingly enough, The Art Spirit was actually recorded a couple weeks before Requiem and it is the continuation of a beautiful relationship begun with the Bisio-Knuffke duo session Row For William O. (Relative Pitch Records, 2016). Housekeeping aside, these three musicians are making magic here.
Continue ReadingSteve Swell: The Center Will Hold
by John Sharpe
Unusual instrumentation inspires NYC-based trombonist Steve Swell to ever greater heights on the six compositions comprising The Center Will Hold. Pride of place goes to veteran drummer Andrew Cyrille, who certainly deserves the extra billing he receives on the cover. Beside him are a mixture of long time colleagues of the trombonist, violinist Jason Kao Hwang and cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and more recent collaborators, pianist Robert Boston, who fulfilled a leading role on Swell's accomplished Brain In A Dish (NoBusiness, ...
Continue ReadingMars Williams: An Ayler Xmas Vol. 4: Chicago vs. NYC
by Mark Corroto
For more than a decade, Mars Williams has been making (to borrow a phrase) Christmas music great again. He does so by exchanging the saccharine for the sublime, intersecting holiday classics with the music of Albert Ayler. Born out of his Chicago Ayler repertory band which can be heard on Witches And Devils At The Empty Bottle</em> (Knitting Factory Records, 2000), Williams applied the Gospel and spiritual nature of Ayler's methodology to Xmas music. While the eponymously titled first volume ...
Continue ReadingBallister: Znachki Stilyag
by John Sharpe
Although the title, composed of two unrelated Russian words chosen because they sounded good, doesn't have a meaning, the contents not only sound good but carry rather more weight. The high intensity free jazz trio Ballister comprises reedman Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, three of the finest proponents on their instruments in this particular ballpark. For its ninth release the band selects three dynamite cuts, coming in at just under an hour, from a live date ...
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