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Rich Halley 4: Eleven
by Alberto Bazzurro
Ci troviamo oggi a occuparci del terzo album del quartetto di Rich Halley, uno all'anno, per cui, dopo Crossing the Passes e The Wisdom of Rocks, usciti rispettivamente nel 2013 e nel 2014, ecco questo Eleven (tanti sono i brani che lo compongono), edito a fine 2015 (e quindi preceduto, in ciò, da Creating Structure) seppure inciso oltre un anno prima, a fine maggio del 2014. Si tratta in qualche misura di uno di quei prodotti vagamente ...
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by Budd Kopman
Following up on his wonderful previous release, Creating Structure, the Rich Halley quartet (Halley on tenor, trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, bassist Clyde Reed and drummer Carson Halley) strikes again with Eleven, tearing through eleven Halley compositions. The organizing factor of the previous album was how structure can arise and be perceived in music that is spontaneously improvised by skilled musicians with fast reflexes who know each other. Eleven turns this on its head in that while there is compositional ...
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by Dave Wayne
Rich Halley and Michael Vlatkovich have been on a real hot streak as of late. Halley, who also runs the Pine Eagle record label, continues to maintain a number a groups. Besides the quartet featured on Eleven, he has a new quartet with the excellent LA-based trumpeter Dan Clucas, and continues to work with the legendary Bobby Bradford. Halley also leads the Outside Music Ensemble, a large group which performs creative music exclusively in outdoor settings. Vlatkovich, also a member ...
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by Dan McClenaghan
Saxophonist Rich Halley exploded out of a five year recording hiatus in 2010 with Live at Penofin Jazz Festival, a growling, high energy, in-front-of-the-crowd mad man rant that featured trumpeter Bobby Bradford in the front line of a wild and often raucous chordless quartet. Five years off or not, there was a history there--a bunch of fiery quartet and trio sets on Louie Records. Coming off the break, Halley formed his own label, Pine Eagle Records. He has taken Bob ...
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by Mark Sullivan
Saxophonist Rich Halley again leads his empathetic quartet through eleven new compositions on this thoroughly engaging session. It's the sixth album by the group (Halley on tenor saxophone, trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, bassist Clyde Reed and drummer Carson Halley) and they display a remarkable chemistry throughout. Halley provides very distinctive compositions as starting points--he gives a brief overview of the structure of each of them in his liner notes--then gives the band freedom to move. As he describes the working method, ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: Creating Structure
by Budd Kopman
While hiding in the great Northwest (specifically Portland, Oregon), saxophonist Rich Halley has built an impressive body of work of composition and performance in many different settings. Creating Structure is the latest from his quartet, the Rich Halley 4 whose previously releases are The Wisdom Of Rocks, Crossing The Passes, Back From Beyond and Requiem for a Pit Viper. However, this release is the first by the group to be made up completely improvised (i.e. “free") material. The ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: Creating Structure
by Hrayr Attarian
The totally improvised Creating Structure is saxophonist Rich Halley's fifth release with his regular working quartet in as many years. With this exquisite album Halley achieves a new level of musical excellence as he perfects his signature sound of raw sophistication and his unique, simultaneously emotive and cerebral style. On the dramatic and free flowing “Riding the Trade Winds" for instance Halley launches into a moving and muscular solo. He utilizes short, erudite phrases to build a crystalline ...
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