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Julius Gawlik: It's All in Your Head
by Nenad Georgievski
When jazz musicians talk about composition, they often mean something closer to architecture--blueprints that guide but do not dictate. Julius Gawlik's debut album takes this idea seriously, treating written material as a starting point rather than a destination. The Berlin-based saxophonist and clarinetist has assembled a quartet that thrives on incompleteness, where sketches become conversations and melodies exist to be challenged. The personnel tells part of the story: drummer Jim Black brings decades of boundary-pushing work, vibraphonist Evi ...
Continue ReadingNatuski Tamura, Jim Black: NatJim
by Alberto Bazzurro
Un bel dialogo franco e convincente illumina le varie città evocate nei diversi momenti della giornata e stati d'animo dai titoli degli otto brani che coprono la parte preponderante del CD, tutti a firma di Natsuki Tamura, dove peraltro il propellente-Black è senz'altro decisivo per tracciare il perimetro espressivo, il climax, dell'album attraverso una prova di grande sostanza cui il trombettista nipponico si adegua assolutamente di buon grado. Un quarto di secolo dopo il loro primo incontro ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Grossi Blend 3 + Jim Black: Axes
by Angelo Leonardi
La spinta avventurosa che ha animato la musica del Blend 3 fin dal 2017 (due anni dopo il primo disco Lubok, seguito dal progetto orchestrale Four Winds e da Songs and Poems con Beatrice Arrigoni) trova nuove e palpitanti forma d'espressione. Nel nuovo disco il trio riformula alcune prospettive di base inglobando il formidabile batterista Jim Black, uno dei protagonisti dell'avanguardia degli anni '90 e successivi, accanto a Tim Berne, Ellery Eskelin, Chris Speed, Dave Douglas e col ...
Continue ReadingNatsuki Tamura & Jim Black: NatJim
by Glenn Astarita
Few albums capture the sheer joy of music-making as vividly as NatJim, the first duo recording from trumpeter-composer Natsuki Tamura and drummer Jim Black in over a quarter century. This avant-garde jazz session is a spirited reunion, highlighting their exceptional synergy and limitless creativity. The artists have previously collaborated on two albums led by eminent pianist-composer Satoko Fujii's Four, among others. Tamura, a globetrotting trumpeter since his initial U.S. visit in 1986, infuses the presentation with his powerful, ...
Continue ReadingAndrea Grossi Blend 3 + Jim Black: Axes
by Mark Corroto
When Sonny Rollins recorded “A Night At The Village Vanguard" (Blue Note, 1957) and later toured Europe in 1959, he was frequently asked about performing without a pianist. His saxophone, bass, and drums lineup was unconventional at the time, but it gave him the added freedom to explore his creative powers. Similarly, bassist Andrea Grossi's trio, Blend 3, which includes alto saxophonist Manuel Caliumi and electric guitarist Michele Bonifati, has taken a similar approach. On their previous releases Lцbok (We ...
Continue ReadingJazz&Wine of Peace 2023
by Neri Pollastri
Jazz&Wine of Peace 2023 Cormons e altre località del Friuli e della Brda slovena Varie sedi 26-29.10.2023 Tagliato un importante traguardo con la splendida edizione celebrativa del venticinquennale, il Jazz&Wine of Peace di Cormons ha ripreso il suo corso, che ne fa uno dei festival più interessanti della penisola, approntando un programma come sempre tanto estremamente vario, quanto ricco di personalità di spicco. Dopo un'anteprima andata in scena lunedì 23 ottobre al ...
Continue ReadingJim & the Schrimps: Ain't No Saint
by Troy Dostert
Although the group's name (and album title) sound like something one might associate with a second-rate bar band, there is nothing oafish or pedestrian about drummer Jim Black's latest outfit, a hard-hitting ensemble which channels the distinctive energies of Black and his well-chosen compatriots. With saxophonists Asger Nissen (alto) and Julius Gawlik (tenor) and bassist Felix Henkelhausen alongside him, Black brings his characteristic manic intensity and crafty songwriting to an album filled with interesting and engaging musical interactions.
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