Jazz Articles about Lou Grassi

About Lou Grassi

Album Review

Daniel Carter / Sabir Mateen / William Parker / Lou Grassi: Keeping It In Context

Read "Keeping It In Context" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
September 30, 2026

This resounding blast from the past affirms drummer Lou Grassi's decision to flip from mainly commercial music to the adventurous end of the spectrum. He recorded Keeping It In Context in a 1996 session with some of New York City's finest avant practitioners following PoGressions (CJR, 1996), the date that led to him first dipping his toe in the free jazz waters. However, over time he forgot about the tapes. But when they resurfaced in 2023, their quality was immediately ...

Album Review

The Nu Band: In Memory of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bopshop

Read "In Memory of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bopshop" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
January 14, 2022

The fearless improvised legacy of veteran, free bop sax man Mark Whitecage may not hold a prominent place in the immediate lexicon of upstarts and legends, but the man could blow his horn. Whitecage could dice and slice a piece of music, solemn or otherwise, to shreds with his sharp metallic, testosterone tone then reassemble it seamlessly with his long, flowing phrases. So it is fitting and more than welcome that he brings it big time on this final recording ...

Album Review

Nu Band: In Memory of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bopshop

Read "In Memory of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bopshop" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
January 6, 2022

One of the underappreciated veterans of free jazz, Mark Whitecage passed away in March of 2021, leaving a well-established legacy of strong recordings in which his searing yet soulful alto saxophone merged with many of the more visible figures on the scene. Joe McPhee, Anthony Braxton, and Annette Peacock are just a few of the luminaries who partnered with Whitecage over the years. Perhaps his most fruitful period was the late 1990s and early 2000s, alongside the musicians in the ...

Album Review

The Nu Band: In Memory of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bopshop

Read "In Memory of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bopshop" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
January 5, 2022

Multiple reedman Mark Whitecage (1937-2021) may not have enjoyed the profile he deserved, but he was an extraordinary improvisational free-jazz force who recorded prolifically for CIMP Records. Bassist Joe Fonda, a member of Whitecage's Nu Band, enjoyed a forty year musical involvement with the man, and In Memory Of Mark Whitecage: The Nu Band Live At The Bop Shop is Fonda's posthumous tip of the hat to his old running mate. It is a recording bursting with the lifeforce --one ...

Album Review

Lou Grassi: Port Of Call

Read "Port Of Call" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
August 23, 2017

German pianist Klaus Treuheit and American drummer Lou Grassi present a further instalment of an irregular collaboration on the limited edition LP Port Of Call. Treuheit may not be familiar to many outside his homeland, but he maintains an active schedule based around European radio stations and has contributed film music for the likes of Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki. Currently best known as part of the cooperative Nu Band, Grassi has also lead his own Po Band units in the ...

Album Review

The Lou Grassi Po Band with Marshall Allen: Live at the Knitting Factory Volume 1

Read "Live at the Knitting Factory Volume 1" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
November 2, 2011

Il sax contralto e il flauto di Marshall Allen, la tromba di Paul Smoker, il trombone di Steve Swell e il clarinetto di Perry Robinson. Tutti insieme appassionatamente, la sera del 26 settembre 2000, sul palco della Knitting Factory di New York. Al contrabbasso Wilber Morris; alla batteria Lou Grassi, titolare del progetto Po Band, creatura mutante che da una quindicina d'anni abita il sottobosco free della Grande Mela; una sorta di laboratorio permanente di improvvisazione nella cui fila sono ...

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Album Review

The Lou Grassi Po Band with Marshall Allen: Live At The Knitting Factory Volume 1

Read "Live At The Knitting Factory Volume 1" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
February 22, 2011

Drummer Lou Grassi, with his progressive jazz and improvisational luminaries, slams matters into high gear during this gutsy 2000 recording, captured at New York City's Knitting Factory. Historically, Grassi is known for his driving passion and prominent leadership, while almost always engaging with superior musicians. Here, the frontline musicians lock horns, via intervallic spikes and scorching dialogues. “RePoZest" presents an evolving vista, commencing with introspective musings between trumpeter Paul Smoker's linear phrasings and flautist Marshall Allen's cosmological lines. ...