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Ivo Perelman: Seven Skies Orchestra
by Mike Jurkovic
In another reality, where the love one makes is what gets the headlines, the big money, the streaming specials, ceaselessly inquisitive saxophonist and downtown legend Ivo Perelman might just top the list of good guys. The guy who pushes for the better mind, the better heart, and confesses it all to tape or lacquer or binary code; chronicling one man's pursuit of the day. while hopefully inspiring others to cut the course the same. Even before the most ...
Continue ReadingTransatlantic Five: Transitions
by Mark Corroto
There is an expression in meditation for when an individual is concentrating on their breath, “it's a simple practice, but not easy." A similar statement might be made about Transitions by the Transatlantic Five. The music is not simple, but it is easy. Easy, at least for this quintet. The American duo of Ken Vandermark (tenor saxophone, clarinet) and trumpeter Nate Wooley crossed an ocean (thus the name) to perform and record with the German trio of vibraphonist ...
Continue ReadingIngrid Laubrock: Monochromes
by Mark Corroto
Saxophonist & composer Ingrid Laubrock and her partner, drummer Tom Rainey self-released an ongoing series of spontaneous duets, the Stir Crazy Episodes, recorded during the pandemic lockdown. They were most likely a kind of pressure release mechanism for both artists. With Monochromes, Laubrock heads in the opposite direction by commissioning four musicians to pre-record tape pieces based on her notations, both conventional and graphical; these form the foundations for Laubrock and three different collaborations to improvise over. The single 40-minute ...
Continue ReadingIvo Perelman / Nate Wooley: Polarity 2
by Mark Corroto
Polarity 2, the follow up to the first Polarity (Burning Ambulance, 2021) by saxophonist Ivo Perelman and trumpeter Nate Wooley, is the antithesis of its title. Never could it be said the musicians display opposite or contradictory tendencies with this recording. The best you can say is that the two musicians are the opposite sides of the same coin. To say the currency, they trade in is extended technique on their instruments does not do justice to just how revolutionary ...
Continue ReadingFavorite Jazz of 2022
by Jerome Wilson
This show looks back at 2022 by playing my favorite jazz recordings of the past year. Musicians featured include Nate Wooley (with his group Columbia Icefield), Hedvig Mollestad, Tyshawn Sorey, Wayne Shorter, and Bill Frisell. Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Tyshawn Sorey Trio “Two Over One" from Mesmerism (Yeros7) 1:02 Mary Halvorson “Amaryllis" from Amaryllis (Nonesuch} 8:14 Host ...
Continue ReadingJerome Wilson's Best Jazz Albums Of 2022
by Jerome Wilson
2022 was the year that the jazz world seemed to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Musicians went back on tour, festivals reemerged and some artists released multiple albums that were the results of all the involuntary isolation they went through during quarantine. Veteran masters such as Nate Wooley and Charles Lloyd kept up their standards of excellence while a stunning new voice debuted on record, Zoh Amba. A young saxophonist from rural Tennessee, she plays an intensely spiritual ...
Continue ReadingColumbia Icefield: Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes
by Jerome Wilson
Trumpeter Nate Wooley can create impressive large-scale compositions. His Seven Storey Mountain VI, (Pyroclastic, 2021) is a massive work, dealing with the rights of women, that used fourteen musicians and singers. His group, Columbia Icefield, achieves similar results with just four members, Wooley himself on trumpet and amplifier, Mary Halvorson on electric guitar, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar and Ryan Sawyer on drums plus Mat Maneri and Trevor Dunn guesting on some tracks. This music moves at a glacial ...
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