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Jazz Articles about Michael Dessen
Michael Dessen Trio : Irvine CA, May 7, 2011
by Robert Bush
Michael Dessen TrioUC Irvine, Winifred Smith HallIrvine, CaliforniaMay 7, 2011 Michael Dessen is, according to a frequent employer, the contrabass virtuoso Mark Dresser, “a black-belt trombonist." He is, in fact such a consummate sideman in so many contexts that the opportunity to hear him as a leader is a rare treat, indeed. Dessen was able to bring his NYC trio-mates out for this concert : on double-bass, the phenomenal Christopher Tordini, ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dessen Trio: Between Shadow and Space
by Greg Camphire
Between Shadow and Space is an aptly named release from trombonist and computer manipulator Michael Dessen’s trio, which creates oblique and evasive soundscapes that can’t be easily categorized. As Dessen writes in the album’s liner notes, “the past half century has produced a staggering array of improvisational music…my music draws energy from overlapping musical communities and histories.”
Over the course of this record’s duration, the music has points of reference such as European musique concrete as well as languages ... Continue ReadingMichael Dessen: Between Shadow and Space
by AAJ Italy Staff
Ecco un Cd attuale, piuttosto vario, senza dubbio interessante, anche se non convincente dall'inizio alla fine. In quasi tutti i brani Dessen affianca al trombone l’utilizzo del computer, deformando ed integrando con sonorità filamentose la pronuncia classica dell'ottone. Fra i trombonisti dell'avanguardia storica Grachan Moncur III è quello il cui insegnamento traspare maggiormente nel linguaggio di Dessen: l'attacco delle note, inizialmente deciso e screziato, nelle parti finali delle frasi evolve verso un ripiegamento un po' malinconico. Ciò è evidente soprattutto ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dessen Trio: Between Shadow and Space
by Troy Collins
A trombonist with strong roots in the acoustic tradition and a fondness for cutting edge electronic experimentation, Michael Dessen straddles the line between the avant-garde and the accessible better than most. A dauntless sonic explorer, Dessen has bolstered his extensive academic career studying with icons like Anthony Davis, Yusef Lateef and George Lewis.
In addition to numerous projects involving solo trombone performances augmented by live electronics, Dessen is a member of the West Coast quartet Cosmologic, whose recent ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dessen / Cosmologic: Between Shadow and Space / Eyes in the Back of My Head
by Clifford Allen
Somehow it's not at all surprising to read in Michael Dessen's bio that he studied with trombonist George Lewis and pianist Anthony Davis, two of this music's most well known academes. Dessen is a trombonist, composer-improviser and scholar who explores new media arts, the internet and cross-cultural migration through sound. Improvised music has a hard time fitting in with the academy, and can often feel bereft of something once it does enter even the most wide-open of academic contexts. However, ...
Continue ReadingMichael Dessen: Lineal
by AAJ Italy Staff
Convince solo a metà quest’esordio discografico del trombonista californiano Michael Dessen, side-man navigato già titolare del quartetto Sintaxis. A destare perplessità non sono tanto le doti strumentali del leader, solista dal fraseggio sicuro e spigliato che si destreggia a meraviglia fra puntate goliardiche alla Ray Anderson (“What Space Can Hide the Liberty of a Time” e “Not Minutes, but Breaths”), destrutturazioni alla George Lewis (di cui il nostro è stato allievo) e singulti di scuola free alla Roswell Rudd (“Levity ...
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