Jazz Articles about Joe McPhee

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Joe McPhee Po Music: Oleo

by Jeff Stockton
December 5, 2004

Since his return to active recording and performing in the mid '90s, Joe McPhee's music has always been influenced by the palpable joy he takes from exploring the color and texture of sound. That's why it's startling to hear him tear into the familiar Sonny Rollins-penned title track so conventionally. And why it's even more startling, after you've been lulled into a comfortable post bop state for a few seconds, to hear guitarist Raymond Boni drench weird electronic effects all ...

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Joe McPhee Po Music: Oleo

by Clifford Allen
October 10, 2004

With Po Music, according to McPhee, the group concept centers on the process orientation of “po-," a linguistic prefix signifying possibility and change (Li Po, anyone?). Of course, McPhee has gone through a number of stylistic changes in his career, from high-energy free jazz to funk and R&B, to “deep listening" and chamber jazz outfits. “Po," then, was part of McPhee's lexicon long before the '82 recording of Oleo, but however the process of investigating the po ssibilities of creative ...

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Joe McPhee-Jerome Bourdellon: Manhattan Tango

by Rex Butters
September 7, 2004

Trumpeter Joe McPhee shows up for this live loft session recorded with flutist Jerome Bourdellon in 2000. The multi-instrumentalist manages to make a multi-instrument out of the pocket trumpet through extended techniques and unbounded imagination. Bourdellon matches McPhee's sonic searchfulness, artfully coaxing new flute nuances and sub sounds before articulating sweeping runs with unguessable destinations.

On the opener, “Business Hour," Bourdellon inflates the bass flute slowly, then hits the keys hard enough to produce percussion and melody, with ...

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Joe McPhee & J: Manhattan Tango

by John Kelman
August 7, 2004

Most free music can be daunting to the uninitiated. Free music where the instruments involved are incapable of chordal harmonies can be even more challenging. Freed of the reference points (or, as some free players would call them, constraints) of rhythm section instruments and more overtly harmonic definers, the result can often come across as dissonant, lacking in form and, to some, purely self-indulgent. The truth, however, is that in the proper hands, such liberation can expand the boundaries of ...

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Deep Listening Band/Joe McPhee: Unquenchable Fire

by Florence Wetzel
April 25, 2004

For the past 40 years, accordionist and visionary Pauline Oliveros has been creating music utterly her own. Oliveros’ band and label are called Deep Listening, and for Oliveros this is not just a name, but a philosophy and lifestyle; according to Oliveros, “We listen in order to interpret ourselves and our world and to experience meaning.” This deep-seated imperative has led Oliveros to produce a body of work of enormous variety, as well as tremendous depth.The latest offering ...

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Joe McPhee: Journey

by Florence Wetzel
March 18, 2004

Trio-X, composed of Joe McPhee on saxophone, Dominic Duval on bass, and Jay Rosen on drums, has made its Journey on CIMP. The label known as CIMP, or Creative Improvised Music Projects, occupies a unique place amongst its peers. Having recorded dozens of avant-garde groups, its vision includes presenting the music as is, recorded live to two tracks with no further editing. Bob Rusch and his family are closely involved in all aspects of CIMP’s recordings, as evidenced by liner ...

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Hep to HatHut

by Robert Spencer
November 19, 2003

It all started with Joe McPhee, and what better place to start? Werner X. Uehlinger, a Swiss music lover, heard Joe's music and was determined to make sure it was preserved and reached the widest possible audience. In 1975, he founded HatHut Records to put out McPhee's music. He did that, but we can also be eternally grateful that at some point early on he decided to bring us the work of other artists as well—artists of like mind and ...