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Sebastien Ammann's Color Wheel: Resilience
by Jerome Wilson
Pianist Sebastien Ammann is originally from Switzerland but has been part of the New York City jazz scene since 2008, collaborating with musicians such as Kris Davis, Tony Malaby, Ohad Talmor and George Schuller. His current main focus is on his quintet, Color Wheel, whose second album is a kaleidoscope of fresh sounds and interesting musical combinations. Ammann's compositions often have spiky surfaces carved out by saxophonist Michael Attias and trombonist Samuel Blaser which are then made palpable ...
Continue ReadingSebastien Ammann's Color Wheel: Resilience
by Mike Jurkovic
Stark, abstract inquiries are fashioned, some resolved, some left hanging, in the jarring and resolute music of Swiss-pianist Sebastien Ammann's Color Wheel. With an uncanny ability to command the moment, Ammann and his equally inspired mates—Michael Attias on saxophone, bassistNoah Garabedian, trombonist Samuel Blaser and drummerNathan Ellman-Bell—take the moment and throw in a ton of turbulence and false leads and still close the deal. Quite nicely too. For the nine Ammann-imagined tracks on Resilience, Color Wheel's cart-wheeling follow-up to its ...
Continue ReadingMichael Attias: échos la nuit
by Karl Ackermann
In the early days of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's career, there were critics who viewed the blind man with three instruments hanging from his neck--two to be played simultaneously--as posturing. Then they heard him play. Forty years later, and filtered through the influence of four continents, Michaël Attias takes up the task of improvising on two different instruments at the same time, without overdubs or enhancements. Primarily known for his saxophone, Attias is also an accomplished pianist and on this album ...
Continue ReadingMichael Attias: Nerve Dance
by John Sharpe
Like many, Michaël Attias cultivates multiple outlets for his vibrant alto saxophone. Having moved to NYC in 1994, Attias is now inescapably associated with that city's downtown scene. What unites his Quartet with his other outfits like Renku and Spun Tree is quality. In part that's down to the variety and imagination of the frameworks Attias provides, but also down to the rich pool of players he calls on for their realization. This time out pianist Aruán Ortiz, bassist John ...
Continue ReadingMichaël Attias: Nerve Dance
by Dan Bilawsky
Methodical design, rough-and-tumble play, and thoughtful exchange are often viewed as mutually exclusive concepts in jazz. Saxophonist Michaël Attias' Nerve Dance, however, obliterates that line of thinking and any potential obstacles that could separate those realms. This is a work that's cultured, contumacious, and conversational in nature. It's principled art unbound. Nerve Dance introduces a new quartet that consistently exhibits certain traits while also presenting differently from angle to angle and piece to piece. In many places, ...
Continue ReadingRenku: Live In Greenwich Village
by John Sharpe
Born in Israel, raised in Paris and the American Midwest, saxophonist Michael Attias has lived in NYC since 1994. But in spite of that lengthy sojourn, only relatively recently has Attias come to the fore. He might just have found his ideal vehicle in Renku. That's the name of the co-operative threesome rounded out by in demand bassist John Hébert and idiosyncratic drummer Satoshi Takeishi. The moniker derives from a collaborative style of Japanese poetry that balances freedom and rigor. ...
Continue ReadingMichael Attias: Spun Tree
by Glenn Astarita
Saxophonist Michael Attias seldom rests on his laurels. Always aligning with a superlative support structure, each of his solo outings offer a fluctuating refresher course on routes previously navigated. With nouveau ideologies in place, Attias' expansive cache of weaponry once again comes to the forefront. The band skirts between introspection, aggression, and fiercely driven free bop atop the ever-present avant-garde contingent. No particular slant or proposition dominates on Spun Tree, and the musicians' intrinsic synergy cannot be understated.
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