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Rich Halley 4: Creating Structure
by Dan McClenaghan
Saxophonist Rich Halley, home-based in Portland, Oregon, has put out seventeen CDs. A good handful of those, pre-2006, were released on the now-dormant Louie Records. These were mostly chordless trio and quartet affairs that showcased Halley's talent for creating category four maelstroms that gelled and bopped their way into surprisingly catchy, damned near mainstream grooves. Pine Eagle Records, Halley's record label, was born in 2010, and the saxophonist and his like minded friends--trombonist Michael Vlatkovich, bassist Clyde Reed ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: The Wisdom of Rocks
by John Sharpe
Portland-based saxophonist Rich Halley mines a rich seam, despite plying his wares away from the limelight. Halley has been fortunate to overcome the plight of anyone working outside the main centers of jazz activity by finding a coterie of like-minded talents to sympathetically explore his inside/outside conundrums. As a result his discography contains a stream of solid, timeless dates that ignore current fashion, of which Wisdom of Rocks is just the latest installment. An easy interplay pervades a program of ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: The Wisdom of Rocks
by Alberto Bazzurro
Nuovo capitolo della saga di Rich Halley e del suo ormai più che collaudato quartetto, un anno dopo l'apprezzato Crossing the Passes, di cui questo The Wisdom of Rocks riproduce la solidità, la corporeità di tratto, l'invidiabile interscambio tra i fiati (e del resto fra tutti i membri dell'ensemble). Ciò che si avverte semmai come potenziale limite del lavoro è una qualche rigidità e ripetitività strutturale che aleggia nei quaranta minuti lungo cui lo stesso si sdipana, ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: The Wisdom of Rocks
by Hrayr Attarian
Over the span of a uniformly superb career, saxophonist Rich Halley and his working quartet have blended sophisticated style and unbridled vigor into impeccable performances that brim with creative energy. Their fourth release The Wisdom Of Rocks is no exception. What is unique about this provocative and exhilarating record is its unadorned beauty and mordant sound. Like the title insinuates, a pervasive theme is a raw, almost primal erudition that permeates its dozen, mostly, short tracks. The hard-hitting ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: The Wisdom of Rocks
by Bruce Lindsay
Tenor saxophonist and composer Rich Halley believes in the wisdom of rocks, or so one must assume from the title of his 16th album as leader, The Wisdom Of Rocks. It's probably smart to acknowledge Halley's expertise in such matters: as a qualified field biologist who lives in Oregon he's no doubt encountered more than a few rocks in his time. As a musician, composer and band leader Halley has a distinguished and extensive discography. The Wisdom Of Rocks follows ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley 4: The Wisdom of Rocks
by Dan McClenaghan
Portland, Oregon, based saxophonist Rich Halley calls his 2014 quartet outing The Wisdom of Rocks, and on the disc' opener, “The Atoll," he blusters out of a two horn intro--with trombonist Michael Vlatkovich--into a tenor sax solo that sounds as if its roaring from some dark cavern, up out of the bedrock from its origins in the roiling magma closer to the Earth's core. Talk about torrid. Halley's saxophone roars and growls and pontificates in your face in front of ...
Continue ReadingRich Halley: Crossing The Passes
by Dave Wayne
In the popular media, jazz is seen as a completely urban phenomenon. There's plenty of precedent for this. It's not worth going into here. But the mere mention of the word “jazz" evokes images of neon- illuminated city streets, ice cubes tinkling in rock glasses, lit cigarettes, and bustling nightlife. For some, though, jazz is not about place. It's about spirit; a spirit unfettered and free in thought and action. Free enough to chip away at long-held archetypes to reveal ...
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