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Jazz Articles about Mark Helias
Quinsin Nachoff: Pivotal Arc
by Friedrich Kunzmann
Canadian saxophonist and composer Quinsin Nachoff's newest outing out on Whirlwind Recordings once again proves what was established long before: that nothing about his approach to jazz is common. As a matter of fact, if his name weren't almost exclusively mentioned in jazz publications, jazz wouldn't necessarily be the first thing that came to mind when confronted with his music. A fact that appears even more valid with regard to his new effort, Pivotal Arc. Opening with a ...
Continue ReadingGordon Grdina: Safar-E-Daroon
by Mike Jurkovic
Safar e Daroon germinates from its dark, submerged interiors immediately and immediately brings you into the light. But a light of what? A lover's lamp? A hushed arena? An Australian wildfire? Take your pick and let your mind go. It's all going to happen and does so in spades on oudist Gordon Grdina's second go-round with his associates, The Marrow. As it has been on recent releases such as Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio> (Skirl, 2020) with pianist Matt ...
Continue ReadingKirk Knuffke: Brightness Live In Amsterdam
by Doug Collette
Kirk Knuffke's well-developed musical pedigree compelled the ever-so-astute drummer/composer/bandleader Allison Miller to recruit him for her forward-thinking ensemble Boom Tic Boom. It's the same premise upon which guitarist Charlie Hunter enlisted this man with the horns accompaniment for Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Mouth (Self-Produced, 2016). And in also assuming the roles of bandleader/composer for Brightness Live in Amsterdam, Knuffke calls upon his well-honed versatility as well. Accordingly, this forty-five minutes begins with ...
Continue ReadingMark Helias - Tony Malaby - Tom Rainey: The Signal Maker
by Stefano Merighi
Mark Helias è persona cordiale, generosa, empatica. Un carattere aperto, bilanciato tuttavia da un rigore assoluto che caratterizza la sua attività di bandleader e di contrabbassista. Ricordiamo che il suo curriculum è aureo avendo suonato con maestri come Ed Blackwell e Dewey Redman, Anthony Braxton e Ray Anderson, garantendo una versatilità ed una affidabilità assolute. Da molti anni guida propri gruppi il più longevo dei quali è Open Loose, trio che in passato comprendeva Ellery Eskelin, ora ...
Continue ReadingMark Helias Open Loose: The Signal Maker
by John Sharpe
Bassist Mark Helias runs a tight ship. Not in the sense of tricksy arrangements or impossible time signatures. It's more the laser sharp focus his accomplished Open Loose combo brings to the job in hand. And that job is breathing bustling and unpredictable life into the baker's dozen selections that constitute The Signal Maker, the unit's 7th release since 1998. Drummer Tom Rainey has been there since the inception, while saxophonist Tony Malaby is the new boy, having joined a ...
Continue ReadingMark Helias - Tony Malaby - Tom Rainey: The Signal Maker
by Glenn Astarita
Celebrated bassist Mark Helias brings his all-star Open Loose trio back to the studio where compositions are reimagined, and heavy doses of improvisation are devised with a whole lot of cunningness. With these 13 pieces, the band infuses changeable and buoyantly rendered grooves, ideas, and detours, highlighted by the respective musicians' signature styles and striking intuitiveness. It's a manifold program that projects a sense of adventure via off-kilter deviations, gobs of counterpoint and a flock of shrewdly conceptualized twists and ...
Continue ReadingBassDrumBone: The Other Parade
by AAJ Italy Staff
A trentatre anni dalla prima incisione (Oahspe - Auricle Records), esce il nuovo lavoro di BassDrumBone, super trio composto da tre maestri dei rispettivi strumenti che rispondono al nome di Ray Anderson (trombone), Mark Helias (contrabbasso) e Gerry Hemingway (batteria). Tre composizioni a testa, a sottolineare la natura assolutamente paritaria del combo, commissionate dalla prestigiosa Chamber Music America, The Other Parade conferma la miscela di jazz, funky, blues, free e quant'altro, che aveva fatto scalpore nel panorama jazzistico all'avvento del ...
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