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Bobby Naughton: Housatonic Rumble - Live at Charlie's Tap
by John Sharpe
Vibraphonist Bobby Naughton helms a finely attuned trio on Housatonic Rumble, a 1985 live recording drawn from previously unissued tapes discovered in his archive. Although he worked extensively with edge-loving adventurers such as Anthony Braxton and Wadada Leo Smith, and co-founded the Connecticut-based Creative Musicians' Improvisers Forum, this live set affirms a commitment to accessibility which does not constrain group interaction. Drawn from two performances at Charlie's Tap in Cambridge MA, the program showcases bassist Joe Fonda and drummer Randy ...
Continue ReadingGebhard Ullmann: New Conference Call
by John Eyles
In May 2000, at Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, a quartet entitled Conference Call recorded together for the first time to produce the album Final Answer, which was released on the Soul Note label in 2002. The quartet at that recording session comprised the German Gebhard Ullmann playing bass clarinet and soprano saxophone (he could also play clarinet, as his membership of The Clarinet Trio demonstrated), alongside Americans Joe Fonda on double bass, Michael Jefry Stevens on piano and Matt Wilson on ...
Continue ReadingBobby Naughton Trio: Live at Charlie's Tap
by Mark Corroto
Today, a number of drummers, including Ches Smith and Kenny Wollesen, also double on vibraphone, underscoring the instrument's fundamentally percussive nature. In the hands of Bobby Naughton, however, the vibraphone functioned as something more expansive: a reimagined piano, capable of both harmonic depth and rhythmic propulsion. Naughton began studying piano at the age of eight, performing classical repertoire before moving on to rock 'n' roll and the organ. It was only after encountering free jazz that he migrated ...
Continue ReadingJoe Fonda: Joe Fonda & Bass Of Operation
by Jerome Wilson
The bassoon is rarely heard in a jazz context, but bassist Joe Fonda got the idea to use the instrument in a free-swinging small group format. He incorporated Michael Rabinowitz, one of the few improvising bassoonists around, into a quartet with two of his long-time collaborators, drummer Harvey Sorgen and reed player Jeff Lederer. Fonda's original idea was for Lederer to play tenor saxophone in the group, but Lederer decided instead to play higher-pitched reeds, clarinet, flute, and piccolo. The ...
Continue ReadingJoe Fonda: Joe Fonda & Bass Of Operation
by Mike Jurkovic
Only bassist /composer Joe Fonda--who cut his teeth and honed his humor in the company and camaraderie of such global visionaries as Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, Barry Altschul, Paul Bley, and Annette Peacock-- can stand defiantly at the epicenter of a free jazz and classical quartet and ease the ensemble through either door with the deceptively sly and boozy opener “Deja Vu for DC." It whirls. It twirls. It is a whole lot of fun and a particularly ...
Continue ReadingAlbum Review
Joe Fonda Quartet: Eyes on the Horizon
by Alberto Bazzurro
Quattro super-leader, fra cui anche il nostro Tiziano Tononi, per il quale far parte di questo illustre consesso rappresenta un'autentica medaglia, compongono l'organico protagonista di questo notevole album a nome del bassista (nonché, qui ma non solo qui, anche flautista) Joe Fonda, fresco settantenne, una carriera iniziata nei primi anni Ottanta proprio accanto a Wadada Leo Smith, che gli fa l'onore di tornare al suo fianco, e proseguita soprattutto accanto a Anthony Braxton (ma anche a Satoko Fujii, che qui ...
Continue ReadingJoe Fonda: Eyes On The Horizon
by Mike Jurkovic
As we enter into the season of giving, what better gift can there be than Eyes on the Horizon, bassist/composer Joe Fonda's sonic tribute to his mentor, muse, and like-minded creator, trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith. As if welcoming one to a grand destination, Smith's clear and majestic timbre, supported by Fonda's pronounced bowing, proclaims “Inspiration Opus #1" into consciousness and Eyes on the Horizon sets out on a path all its own. More than just head-solo-head, Fonda employs ...
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