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Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
by Troy Dostert
Not one to rest on her laurels, vibraphonist/marimbist Patricia Brennan has continued to challenge herself and her listeners with each stop in the studio. Her tireless dedication to her craft is undoubtedly one of the reasons for her meteoric rise in the creative jazz community, which could be charted particularly after 2021 when she released her propitious solo disc, Maquishti (Valley of Search) . Since then she has had barely a moment's pause, with More Touch (Pyroclastic) coming in 2022 ...
Continue ReadingChes Smith: Laugh Ash
by Glenn Astarita
Ches Smith's Laugh Ash is not your garden-variety jazz concoction. Instead, it is a genre-defying, shape-twisting auditory escapade that does not just push the envelope--it sends it soaring into the stratosphere. It is both bewildering and bedazzling. These compositions stand as a towering testament to Smith's impressive acumen as a drummer, percussionist, and composer, a veritable Houdini of the music world who escapes the shackles of convention to chart a mesmerizing course through uncharted musical terrains.Right from the ...
Continue ReadingChes Smith: Laugh Ash
by Vic Albani
Dopo lo straordinario lavoro dedicato al Vudù haitiano del 2021 (Path of Seven Colors) anch'esso uscito per la straordinaria Pyroclastic Records di Kris Davis, il batterista, percussionista e compositore Ches Smith, acclamato dal New York Times come “uno dei batteristi più dinamici della scena sperimentale del pianeta," colpisce ancora con un nuovo sorprendente lavoro immensamente variegato, sorprendente (bisognerebbe scriverlo almeno due volte una dopo l'altra) ed imprevedibile sotto ogni punto di vista. La singolare visione musicale del musicista ...
Continue ReadingJohnny Gandelsman: Hemingway
by Hrayr Attarian
Documentarian Ken Burns is an accomplished storyteller and on Hemingway he tackles the life of another masterful author, Ernest Hemingway. For the soundtrack of this intriguing, three-part film a group of genre-bending modern virtuosos perform nine mesmerizing originals. Released on award winning violinist Johnny Gandelsman's In A Circle label the album features, in addition to Gandeslman, several notable artists. The Latin flavored “Un Gitanito En La Habana,” composed by Venezeulan keyboardist Gonzalo Grau, mixes Afro-Cuban motifs with hints ...
Continue ReadingThird Sound: Heard in Havana
by Chris M. Slawecki
In July 2015, the US and Cuba re-established formal diplomatic relationships with the joint opening of their respective embassies in Havana and Washington, DC. The following November, the American Composers Forum sent ten composers and the instrumental ensemble Third Sound to perform a program of contemporary American music at the 28th Havana Contemporary Music Festival. Heard in Havana simultaneously presents this program and the recording debut of Third Sound: Sooyun Kim (flute), Romie de Guise-Langlois (clarinet), Karen Kim (violin), Michael ...
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