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Ellery Eskelin: About (or On), First Visit
by Stefano Merighi
All'interno di un catalogo variegato ma di sicuro assottigliato negli ultimi anni, il tenorsassofonista Ellery Eskelin ha dato prova di controllare una cultura musicale ampia e sofisticata, nutrita sia dalla tradizione gospel e blues che dalle decostruzioni postmoderne. I due dischi di cui la ezzthetics stavolta meritoriamente cura la riedizione, pubblicati nel 2011 e nel 2013 dalla Prime Source Recordings, stanno un po' per conto loro nella discografia del compositore, ma brillano per inventiva, maestria e originale sonorità, ...
Continue ReadingJason Stein: Anchors
by Giuseppe Segala
Il clarinetto basso vanta nel jazz contemporaneo una rosa di solisti eccellenti, a partire da Eric Dolphy, che ha letteralmente inventato un modo di interpretare lo strumento, di valorizzarne colori e incisività espressiva. Però la sua frequentazione, con lo stesso Dolphy e con personalità quali Michel Portal, John Surman, Vinny Golia, Marty Ehrlich, Don Byron, si è sempre affiancata ad altri strumenti, alla ricerca di una duttilità tipica degli esploratori di tavolozze timbriche aperte e audaci. Tra i rari musicisti ...
Continue ReadingEllery Eskelin Trio New York: About (or On), First Visit
by Mark Corroto
It might be tempted to say that Ellery Eskelin's Trio New York is deconstructing the eleven standards on the two-disc set About (or On) First Visit. But that would be a misreading. This is not a breakdown of classic material in search of alternative meanings or structural analysis. Rather, Eskelin, alongside organist Gary Versace and drummer Gerald Cleaver, channels something more elusive--what ancient philosophy once called the fifth element, or aether. Their interpretations evoke the atmospheric essence of these songs, ...
Continue ReadingDarius Jones: Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)
by Jerome Wilson
As Darius Jones' new album shows, even the most harrowing music can serve as a form of healing, The alto saxophonist has released a trio album that draws from his attempts to deal with personal mental trauma via a daunting musical journey that begins in screams and ends with serenity. This album is the seventh volume in Jones' nine-volume Man'ish Boy series of releases. Working in a trio format with Gerald Cleaver on drums and Chris Lightcap on ...
Continue ReadingJason Stein: Anchors
by Jerome Wilson
Six years after releasing his previous album, bass clarinetist Jason Stein returns with a new trio recording that goes outside the realm of conventional jazz. He has been undergoing healing therapy in those six years to combat physical injury and this album is inspired by that process. Aided by bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Gerald Cleaver, Stein constructs trio music that is both meditative and explosive, with the three musicians tightly focused on their collective sound. Stein's playing ...
Continue ReadingGerald Cleaver: The Process
by Mark Corroto
Will the latest offering by Gerald Cleaver quiet the haters and jackals? Listeners accustomed to his drum work with Craig Taborn, William Parker, Daniel Carter, JD Allen, etc. etc., might believe they have to make a choice, one similar to the historic divide Miles Davis created when he went electric. Starting with Cleaver's recordings for Positive Elevation Records--Signs (2020), followed by Griots (2021), and 22/23 (2023)--he has ventured into the realms of modular electronics, machine drumming and synthesizers.
Continue ReadingJason Stein: Anchors
by Mark Corroto
Jason Stein would never in a million years characterize Anchors as his variation of A Love Supreme (Impulse!, 1965). But a comparison can be made. John Coltrane's quartet recording was the most personal and profound statement of his career. The same can be said for Stein and Anchors. He had taken time off from recording and performing due to some chronic pain that plagued him. Stein set about diving deeply into the body, studying massage, specifically trigger point therapy, practicing ...
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