Jazz Articles about James Falzone

James Falzone: Joyful Noise from the Pain Stick

by Lawrence Peryer
June 1, 2024

Today, the Spotlight shines on clarinetist, penny whistle player, composer, improviser, and educator James Falzone. This discussion was recorded back in early March of 2024. I reached out to James shortly after seeing him perform with the bassist and vocalist Katie Ernst in their duo Wayfaring. I was initially hoping to record them together but an even better outcome came about: I had separate discussions with each of them, which allowed us to expand beyond their work together ...

James Falzone: The Room Is

by Mark Corroto
April 20, 2015

Legend has it that Jimmy Giuffre harbored a vehement distaste for the use of percussion in his ensembles. He found drummers distracting, irritating and clamorous. By the time he recorded the classic records 1961 (ECM, 1992) and Free Fall (Columbia, 1963) he had jettisoned drummers from his piano and bass trio. It must have driven marketing executives mad. How would listeners follow the music? Who kept the time? What's with all this freedom?Exactly, what is with all this ...

James Falzone - The Renga Ensemble: The Room Is

by Glenn Astarita
April 12, 2015

Enterprising Chicago-based clarinetist James Falzone and a core band of fellow improvisers signal a modern day avant-jazz summit, inspired by the leader's affinity for Renga, which is a Japanese poetic tradition where 2 or more poets work in parallel to produce a new work. Falzone yields dividends by enlisting an ensemble, featuring prominent trailblazers of the modern era's improvising circuit such as Ken Vandermark, Ben Goldberg, Ned Rothenberg and others of note. The performers' inner-workings are implanted within a holistic ...

Frank Rosaly: Cicada Music

by AAJ Italy Staff
October 21, 2013

Cicada Music è il debutto da leader del batterista Frank Rosaly, ma a giudicare dal risultato sembra il lavoro di un esperto compositore e di un navigato arrangiatore. Delle dieci composizioni dell'album quattro sono frammenti, intermezzi sonori dai colori più disparati - si va da ancestrali ritmi africani al tintinnare ossessivo di metalli - che mettono in ulteriore risalto lo sviluppo più articolato e cinematografico dei rimanenti temi. Scritti per l'appunto nell'estate del 2008 come commento sonoro al film-documentario intitolato ...

Klang: Tea Music

by Lyn Horton
September 7, 2009

Four musicians from Chicago, led by clarinetist James Falzone, call themselves Klang, which is the German word for “sound." But Klang's debut, Tea Music, projects more than just sound; it goes deeper than that. The music is a re-examination of Jimmy Giuffre's combination of vibes and clarinet in his late-1950s ensembles. Bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy join vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and Falzone to create an album that alternates between fast and moderate rhythms; and haunting and colorful tunes. ...

Klang: Tea Music

by Troy Collins
August 17, 2009

Formed in 2006 for a now defunct improvised music series, Klang has since become one of Chicago-based clarinetist James Falzone's primary working groups. An update of the swing era clarinet and vibes combination popularized by Benny Goodman and Lionel Hampton, the quartet (which features vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Tim Daisy) taps into some of Falzone's fondest indulgences on their studio debut, Tea Music, including a series of compositions inspired by clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre's 1950s-era small combo ...

James Falzone / Klang: Tea Music

by Mark Corroto
August 10, 2009

The much-admired 1950s work of clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre is the inspiration for James Falzone's quartet, known as Klang. But like most things emanating from the insular world of Chicago jazz, the signature is never forged.

Falzone, a clarinetist, has explored many musical forms, from classical and chamber music to French folk and jazz. He has played with Jorrit Dijkstra's Flatlands Collective and collaborated with Steve Lacy, Joe Maneri, and Fred Lonberg-Holm. Klang formed in 2006 when Falzone and ...