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Rob Clutton Trio: Counsel of Primaries
by Troy Dostert
Bassist Rob Clutton has been a regular presence in the Toronto jazz scene for some time, having begun his recording career in the mid 1990s, subsequently working within a cluster of fellow Canadian improvisers, including efforts with Lina Allemano, Nick Storring, Nick Fraser, and Karen Ng. The latter two are integral components of Counsel of Primaries, a compelling venture into well-crafted music that straddles the line between an abstract chamber aesthetic and jazz-based improvisation. Clutton is credited with ...
Continue ReadingPeripheral Vision: Irrational Revelation And Mutual Humiliation
by Dan McClenaghan
The Toronto-based quartet Peripheral Vision offers up Irrational Revelation and Mutual Humiliation, the group's fifth release in a discography that began in 2014 with Sheer Tyranny Of Will (Step3). The leaders, guitarist Don Scott and bassist Michael Herring, anchor a tight rhythm section with drummer Nick Fraser, rounded out with alto saxophonist Trevor Hogg. Distinctively modern in sound, toe tapping grooves abound, powering ahead with a momentum as in synch as that of Chick Corea's' Elektric Band. Irrational ...
Continue ReadingMark Godfrey: Square Peg
by Dan McClenaghan
Mark Godfrey has done his fair share of commuting in furtherance of his jazz career. Toronto--his home base--to New York has been a regular journey. The near five hundred mile trip would certainly be shorter (timewise) via airplane. But the decision was made to roll in a 2006 Dodge Caravan, due to the fact (we can guess) that an acoustic bass is a bulky yet fragile beast, susceptible to in transit damages. In your own vehicle, you can treat the ...
Continue ReadingNick Fraser / Kris Davis / Tony Malaby: Zoning
by Jack Bowers
What can be said in a positive vein about Zoning, an essentially inward-leaning and dissonant exercise in avant-garde or “free" jazz by drummer Nick Fraser, pianist Kris Davis and saxophonist Tony Malaby (supported on three numbers by tenor Ingrid Laubrock and trumpeter Lina Allemano). Well, it is music, of a sort—and it is (largely) improvised, or appears to be, which places it somewhere in the inclusive jazz sphere. And despite its often chaotic and generally unmelodious contours, the music's interpreters ...
Continue ReadingNick Fraser - Kris Davis - Tony Malaby (with Ingrid Laubrock & Lina Allemano): Zoning
by Troy Dostert
Nate Cross' Astral Spirits imprint has steadily become one of the go-to options for fans of adventurous music. With over a hundred releases in its five-year existence, including well over thirty in 2019 alone, the label has maintained an impressive commitment to both quality and quantity. However, an output this extensive can result in a few worthy releases falling through the cracks. Hopefully, that won't happen to Zoning, a particularly strong record which features the collective talents of drummer Nick ...
Continue ReadingPeripheral Vision: More Songs About Error And Shame
by Friedrich Kunzmann
The first half of 2018 sees the Toronto Jazz-scene bursting with fresh sound and innovation, bringing new and exciting nuances to what appears to be today's Status Quo. After the architecturally intense exploration that was saxophonist Gordon Hyland's Never Die!, by his group Living Fossil in February, the object of this review exposes shared similarities with the latter in its compositional approach. On Peripheral Vision's More Songs About Error And Shame, Toronto-based leaders Michael Herring and Don Scott establish a ...
Continue ReadingPeripheral Vision: More Songs About Error And Shame
by Anya Wassenberg
More Songs About Error And Shame by Toronto's Peripheral Vision offers sophisticated, melodic modern jazz with an esoteric bent and eclectic tastes. Co-founders Michael Herring and Don Scott are joined by Nick Fraser on drums and Trevor Hogg on tenor sax in seven original tracks that combine elements of contemporary jazz with a garage band vibe and a groovy Sixties flavor of cool that includes swinging guitars and a strong rhythmic pulse. With tracks titles like “And the ...
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