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Karen Borca: Good News Blues
by John Sharpe
Pioneering jazz bassoonist Karen Borca has had to wait a long time for her leadership debut. It arrives courtesy of the adventurous Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint, compiled from archival recordings of two appearances at New York City's fabled Vision Festival. But that is not to say that she does not have a weighty resume. An acolyte of Cecil Taylor, she played in his college ensembles at both Antioch and Wisconsin in the early 1970s. Through the pianist she also met alto ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp: New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz
by Mark Corroto
Jazz fans are much like baseball geeks; they collect facts and statistics. The baseball fan will know a player's numbers such as on base percentage, at bats, home runs and stolen bases, whereas the jazz fan, maybe better said the jazz fanatic, will note recording dates and lineups, titles, releases and recording engineers. The baseball fan will utilize those statistics to predict what a player will do in a clutch situation as in the bottom of the ninth with two ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz
by Karl Ackermann
Matthew Shipp with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker, issue their fifth album as the most enduring of Shipp's various trios. New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz is another vehicle for the pianist/composer in which to express his singular, intricate vision. The perpetual sea-change artist believes that this album is a substantial leap ahead of the highly regarded World Construct (ESP Disk, 2022). At the very least, New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz allows Shipp to move his ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley: Fire Within
by Troy Dostert
The cover and title of Rich Halley's latest, Fire Within, have a menacing edge, alerting us to the incendiary qualities that are always a part of the tenor saxophonist's music. But one of the remarkable things about Halley's output is that it is never one-dimensional; there are abundant nuances and surprises to keep a listener engaged, with plenty of rhythmic fervor and lyricism even amidst the more anarchic moments. And as he is united once again on his third outing ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley: Fire Within
by Mike Jurkovic
The name of free form saxophonist and raconteur Rich Halley may not roll off the tongue or be a secret G7 password, but he sure kicks up a lot of dust. Put him in the same room as piano slaying Matthew Shipp, bassist Michael Bisio, and drummer Newman Taylor Baker and rest assured all hell will break loose. And when all hell breaks loose it sounds hydrogen-charged and animated like Fire Within--a runaround Hail Mary with a post-rock punch and ...
Continue ReadingMatthew Shipp Trio: World Construct
by Karl Ackermann
Throughout his long and prolific career, Matthew Shipp has presented several different and impressive trio formations. Among the featured members have been bassists William Parker, and Joe Morris, and drummers Guillermo E. Brown, Whit Dickey, and Susie Ibarra. In 2015, two other premier players, bassist Michael Bisio, and drummer Newman Taylor Baker stepped in as the rhythm section on The Conduct of Jazz (Thirsty Ear). Their fourth album as a unit, World Construct makes the group the most enduring of ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley: The Shape Of Things
by Hrayr Attarian
Accomplished saxophonist Rich Halley has an easily recognizable style which is marked with his brassy, rough-hewn tone, innovative ideas and simmering passion. After starting his own Pine Eagle label, in 2010, Halley added eleven stimulating albums to his discography, featuring bassist Clyde Reed and his son, drummer Carson Halley. In 2019 Halley started fronting the equally distinctive Matthew Shipp Trio. The fiery and captivating The Shape of Things is the quartet's second collaboration and expands on the themes explored on ...
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