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Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double: March
by Troy Dostert
Drummer Tomas Fujiwara's March, another offering from his Triple Double sextet, was recorded in December 2019, prior to the widespread racial unrest that followed the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others in 2020. But it feels completely of a piece with those protests, with an unsettled anger and impatience that animate every moment of this absorbing album. Creating music that seems perfectly suited for a tumultuous age, Fujiwara's compositional instincts are spot-on, and he once again marshals ...
Continue ReadingGerald Cleaver: Griots
by Mark Corroto
Gerald Cleaver's Griots confirms just how far creative musicians have developed since the appearance of drum machines, music workstations and software modular synthesizers. A drummer by trade, Cleaver can be heard in innumerable ensembles including those of Ivo Perelman, Chris Lightcap, Steve Swell and Tomasz Stanko, to name just a few. His craft has blossomed beyond the drum chair, leading his own ensembles and a recent dive into electronics. He previously released the all-electric Signs (577 Records, 2020) which was ...
Continue ReadingEast Axis: Cool With That
by Karl Ackermann
Free improvisation has a special place in a polarized world. It accepts and rejects jazz culture in an ebb and flow of unprompted ideas. On the album Cool With That we get the essence of the music's history from the inside, out. The quartet East Axis is new in name but the unit has been in place for several years and its members are well-known. Pianist Matthew Shipp, saxophonist Allen Lowe, bassist Kevin Ray and drummer Gerald Cleaver are at ...
Continue ReadingGerald Cleaver Breaking New Ground
by Bob Osborne
On this show we feature some new releases including Gerald Cleaver's fascinating marriage of electronica and jazz which celebrates musicians who have influenced him—there is also music from some of those he honours. Plus, the fulsome sound of the The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra and more from the excellent Tony Malaby Turnpike Diaries series. This is accompanied by a selection of other sounds, including the sophomore album from Shijin.Playlist Shijin “Mystery of a White Dwarf" from Theory of Everything ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker: Mayan Space Station
by Mark Corroto
The immediate impact of the recording Mayan Space Station is that of a sheer out-and-out physicality presented by this music. While it is obvious the musicians—guitarist Ava Mendoza, bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver—are engaged in the nonautomatic operation of their respective musical instruments, their Herculean efforts are conspicuous. While rarely recognized, credit must be given to engineer Jim Clouse who recorded, mixed and mastered this session to center the listening experience on the band's energy. ...
Continue ReadingPaul Dunmall - Matthew Shipp - Joe Morris - Gerald Cleaver: The Bright Awakening
by John Sharpe
British saxophonist Paul Dunmall reaffirms the transcendent power of free jazz with a muscular quartet convened for his triumphant appearance at the 2012 Vision Festival, for which he invited pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Joe Morris and drummer Gerald Cleaver to join him. The pianist and reedman were well acquainted, having hooked up during a Shipp residency at London's Cafe Oto in 2010, with the group captured for posterity on Live In London (FMR, 2017). While Dunmall had not previously played ...
Continue ReadingSteve Swell: Astonishments
by John Pietaro
Among the trombonists of New York's downtown scene, or uptown for that matter, no one even comes close to Steve Swell. His level of artistry, ability to create within any sonic cloud, compositional strengths and sheer fortitude set a new standard decades ago. Deemed a veteran of the new music that tore up the 1970s and '80s, Swell has, too, been a tireless voice within new millennial jazz and free circles. The music industry has never acknowledged the music of ...
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