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Greg Ward: Stomping Off From Greenwood
by Mike Jurkovic
"Metropolis," the genre-shifting, stomping, opening track on alto saxophonist Greg Ward's acrobatic sophomore disc, introduces his electric jazz vision with a bristling and nervy rock 'n' roll verve. It's anchored by the sprawling kinetic energy of Chicago's tireless rhythm duo of drummer Quin Kirchner and bassist Matt Ulery, and the cutting clarity and dissonance of guitarists Matt Gold and Dave Miller. With rhythmic atmospherics and reverberant dual six-string manipulations, Rogue Parade (the quintet's official tag) make gutsy Ward ...
Continue ReadingGreg Ward Presents Rogue Parade: Stomping Off From Greenwood
by Gareth Thompson
After a stint in New York, saxophonist Greg Ward was lured home to Chicago in 2016 by a project based on Charles Mingus's The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse! Records, 1963). Ward's new vision of this record was widely acclaimed, not least for its performance with a ballet company, as Mingus had desired. Around this time Ward began a jamming fellowship, aimed at “those who don't hate, but appreciate." Whether this hate/appreciate referred to race relations ...
Continue ReadingGreg Ward & 10 Tongues: Touch My Beloved's Thought
by Vic Albani
Tanti ma tanti anni fa, di passaggio da quelle parti per un giro chicagoano, mi domandai cosa cavolo potesse lasciare ai posteri un posto come Peoria (capitale dell'omonima contea) a parte un celebre discorso di Abramo Lincoln del 1864 sulla schiavitù e i diritti del popolo nero, l'aver dato i natali a un paio di discreti scrittori e a Dan Fogelberg di cui strimpellavo le facili linee delle sue folk songs e una bella omonima improvvisazione dei King Crimson registrata ...
Continue ReadingGreg Ward & 10 Tongues: Touch My Beloved's Thought
by Mark Corroto
To describe saxophonist Greg Ward's Touch My Beloved's Thought as his magnum opus is to impede his development as a composer. Let's just say for many a jazz artist, if this recording were included in their discography, it would be their signature piece. For Ward, it just represents the possibilities. The backstory to this live recording is Charles Mingus' The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse!, 1963), a six-part composition written for dancers. Ward was commissioned to ...
Continue ReadingLiving by Lanterns: New Myth/Old Science
by AAJ Italy Staff
L'ensemble Living by Lanterns riunisce, attorno alle figure leader di Mike Reed e Jason Adasiewicz, un manipolo di rappresentanti della più effervescente scena delle città guida nell'attuale panorama improvvisativo statunitense, vale adire New York e Chicago. Il progetto nasce attorno ad un'idea tanto affascinante quanto rischiosa riferendosi ad un personaggio unico e decisamente poco esportabile come Sun Ra. La fonte è un nastro etichettato “NY 1961" proveniente dal Sun Ra/El Saturn Audio Collection, sconfinato archivio di oltre settecento ore di ...
Continue ReadingGreg Ward: Phonic Juggernaut
by Mark Corroto
Greg Ward's trio Phonic Juggernaut can be loud, it also can be fast, but it can never be described as out of control. The twenty-something saxophonist's take on the modern jazz sax/bass/drums lineup adheres to the traditions of jazz, not as a regressive act but as a forward-thinking, innovative sound. This Chicagoan-turned-New Yorker can be heard with drummer Charles Rumback and in Mike Reed's People, Places, and Things, as well as with the electronic outfit Prefuse 73. His ...
Continue ReadingGreg Ward's Fitted Shards: South Side Story
by AAJ Italy Staff
South Side Story dovrebbe essere nelle intenzioni dell'autore la sintesi più significativa della sua storia musicale. Che ha attraversato gli ambienti più disparati, dall'avanguardia di Chicago, al jazz platinato di Al Jarreau, dalle collaborazioni con uno storico interprete come Von Freeman agli esperimenti elettronici di Prefuse 73 per citarne alcuni. Fitted Shards sono i frammenti delle molteplici esperienze musicali che Greg Ward ha riunito e incollato insieme con l'intento di dar vita, non a un semplice collage, a un patchwork ...
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