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Grand/Nebbia/Sánchez/Mendenhall/Fernández: Altered Visions
by Mark Corroto
In July 1967, The Beatles released the single “All You Need Is Love," with “Baby, You're a Rich Man" on the flip side. It's not that the quintet performing “Wild Marks," the 33-minute track comprising the entirety of Altered Visions, is covering that Lennon-McCartney anthem. But the music presented here embodies the spirit of the idea that love is all you need. Altered Visions is the inaugural release from Lilailia Records, a label founded by three artists: saxophonists ...
Continue ReadingYaron Herman: Radio Paradise
by Anastasia Bogomolets
"When I started working on this album, the first thing that came to my mind was melody. I have been writing a lot over the last few years, mostly in my notebooks, for myself. On the road or at home, anything from long lines to short fragments. With time, (and hard work) these “motifs" started to take shape and turn into 'songs,'" Yaron Herman shares about his backstage process. Even though there are no human vocals on the ...
Continue ReadingJoel Ross: The Parable Of The Poet
by Chris May
The story of jazz is part musical and part social, the two strands interacting to shape, on one hand, the sound we hear and, on the other, the demographic who make it and constitute its audience. Viewed from London, the semiology surrounding New York-based vibraphonist Joel Ross' octet, heard on his third Blue Note album, The Parable Of The Poet, tells a social story as much as it does a musical one. The octet's optics (check the ...
Continue ReadingMaria Grand, Michel Portal, Anthony Joseph, J&F Band & Other New Releases
by Ludovico Granvassu
A playlist replete with music that hits you hard and deep regardless of the volume at which it was recorded—ranging from a compelling album marking the 85th birthday of Michel Portal to the new concept album by Maria Grand [pictured], and a whole bunch of genre-defying projects to keep your spirits high! Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 The Gangsters “Le Funk" The Gangsters (Self-released) 0:16 Host ...
Continue ReadingMaria Grand: Reciprocity
by Hrayr Attarian
In a mere decade composer and saxophonist Maria Grand established herself as a refreshingly singular voice on the creative music scene. Both as a side-woman and a leader, Grand has matured into an expressive artist with a fluid style and a warm tone. Her second full-length release, the enchanting Reciprocity, well demonstrates Grand's talents in a sparse trio setting. Inspired by motherhood, the recording brims with an exalted joy. “Creation, Ladder of Swords" has a deep spiritual aura ...
Continue ReadingMaria Grand: Reciprocity
by Angelo Leonardi
«Il più grande onore che ho avuto in questa vita è quello di essere madre. Questo è per mio figlio. Ho scritto e registrato questa musica mentre lui cresceva nel mio corpo». Donald Winnicott, il grande psicoanalista britannico, evidenziava che il bambino nasce già nella mente della madre e avrebbe apprezzato le parole d'amore di Maria Grand, scritte a corredo del suo nuovo disco. Ciò che in psicologia si definisce maternità interiore è quindi centrale in Reciprocity, ...
Continue ReadingMary Halvorson's Code Girl: Artlessly Falling
by Jerome Wilson
Guitarist Mary Halvorson has displayed her playing and composing talents in a number of settings, but this second release by her song-based band, Code Girl, is one of the most focused and intense things she has ever done. Halvorson and her quintet constructed music around eight of her own poems, each written in a specific poetic form. The results are fluid and improvisational art songs, in the manner of complex but catchy British art rock groups of the ...
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