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Jazz Articles about Marty Ehrlich
The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony
by Stefano Merighi
Che trionfo per Julius Hemphill! A dispetto delle poche pagine--o righe--che le recenti storie del jazz dedicano al maestro di Fort Worth, Hemphill emerge da questo cofanetto di inediti come sassofonista-improvvisatore-compositore tra i più profondi della musica afroamericana nei decenni compresi tra gli anni '70 e '90. E questa preziosa edizione non solo torna a far luce su repertori e organici già conosciuti dai cultori, ma porta in superficie una gran mole di musica fresca, sorprendente, che ...
Continue ReadingJulius Hemphill: The Boyé Multi-National Crusade For Harmony
by Mark Corroto
There is something inherently objectionable when a billionaire acquires an artistic masterpiece by say, Leonardo DaVinci or Claude Monet, only to sequester it from public view. You might feel the same about Julius Hemphill's recordings Dogon A.D. (Mbari, 1972) and 'Coon Bid'ness (Arista/Freedom, 1975). Both five star recordings, now out of print, cost a small fortune to acquire. Years ago saxophonist Tim Berne, a disciple of Hemphill, endeavored to rescue the saxophonist's Blue Boyé (Mbari, 1977) by rereleasing it in ...
Continue ReadingSoundpath
by Victor L. Schermer
Muhal Richard Abrams (1930-2017) was a revered pianist, composer and teacher of great capability and range who, in addition to his own achievements, inspired and influenced many jazz musicians in both the mainstream and avant-garde categories. Largely self-taught as a result of a personal decision to follow his own path, and early on pursuing church music, big band, blues, bebop and avant-garde jazz in his home city of Chicago, he grasped music from its roots, and so was able to ...
Continue ReadingMarty Ehrlich: Trio Exaltation
by Troy Dostert
After his previous release, 2013's magnificent big-band disc A Trumpet in the Morning (New World Records), it was unclear whether multi-instrumentalist Marty Ehrlich would continue down the path of large-scale composition or return to the small-to-medium-sized ensembles he's used for most of his recorded output over the years. Well, he's gone small all right: all the way down to a trio, something he's not done since 2000, when he teamed up with Andrew Cyrille and Mark Dresser on C/D/E (Jazz ...
Continue ReadingChristy Doran: In The Corner Of The Eye
by Glenn Astarita
Celebrated Irish guitarist Christy Doran's penchant to keep reinventing his musical self is quite evident due to the disparate bands and solo projects he's undertaken for several decades. Whether imparting a jazz fusion spin on Jimi Hendrix with the band Call Me Helium Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix (Double Moon, 2005) or experimental jazz and improvisational efforts with keyboardist John Wolf Brennan and other notables, Doran's hefty discography yields a kaleidoscopic perspective. The program on In The ...
Continue ReadingFunk Off: Things Change
by Alex Franquelli
The whole point, when it comes to marching bands, is that they have to well, stroll around while playing their instruments. I guess, you guess, that the whole point is lost on CD, where the mono-dimensional (time) facet of the spectrum monopolises the dynamics of the whole. Things Change makes obviously no exception, but does it matter? Not at all. The range of influences at play here is-- by itself--praiseworthy and laudable; the magnitude of their individual skillsets reveals a ...
Continue ReadingMarty Ehrlich Large Ensemble: A Trumpet in the Morning
by Maurizio Zerbo
Ricercatore instancabile, Marty Ehrlich torna dopo 13 anni con un progetto per big band, firmando uno dei dischi più belli del 2013. Rara avis, il lavoro di arrangiamento si distingue per una idea di jazz magnificamente svincolato da regole e formulette. Prevale una pratica musicale estremamente volatile, che anche all'interno di un solo episodio cambia continuamente forma e soluzioni, giocando mimeticamente con più stili. Le composizioni si impongono per l'obliquità ruvida del tessuto sonoro, con masse sonore graffianti, in continuo ...
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