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Rob Brown: Walkabout
by Fran Kursztejn
Despite spending the majority of his career as a side man for William Parker and Matthew Shipp, Rob Brown is perhaps the most recognizable alto saxophonist on the East Coast. Recognizable not because he is famous (far from it), but simply because he is rather difficult to mistake. His sound is abrasive, bellowing and free, oozing with a crooning full-force poignancy reminiscent of his late mentor Lee Konitz. Perhaps it is the singular presence of Charlie Parker in his oscillating ...
Continue ReadingPNY Quintet: Over the Wall
by Giuseppe Segala
PNY è l'acronimo che unisce Parigi e New York. All'insegna di tale tracciato avviene l'incontro che sta all'origine di questo CD, sfociato nella registrazione di Over the Wall. Anche se l'album è a nome collettivo, e se nell'ordine dei musicisti elencati in copertina sono in prima fila i ben noti Steve Swell e Rob Brown, una serie di indizi porta ad ipotizzare che buona parte della responsabilità di questo incontro sia, oltre che dell'attenta produzione di RogueArt, del flautista parigino ...
Continue ReadingKaren 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 ReadingRob Brown Quartet: Oblongata
by John Sharpe
Although reedman Rob Brown has a string of small group leadership outings to his name, dating back to his first, Breath Rhyme (Silkheart) in 1990, Oblongata may be one of his finest. The 2022 studio session reunites him with some of his most enduring collaborators, the same crew responsible for From Here To Hear (Rogue Art, 2019), as well as an outstanding appearance at the 2019 Vision Festival, namely trombonist Steve Swell, bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Chad Taylor.
Continue ReadingRob Brown: Oceanic
by John Sharpe
Solo albums for single-line instruments such as the saxophone always present a challenge. One that many but not all rise to meet. For New York City reedman Rob Brown, Oceanic is only the second such document in a career stretching back some 35 years, following an obscure CDR-only release, Silver Sun Afternoon (Nolabel, 2003). Over that period Brown has never quite received his due, despite being one of the first names on the team sheet for a series of bassist ...
Continue ReadingWhit Dickey Quartet: Astral Long Form: Staircase In Space
by Alberto Bazzurro
Al suo secondo album in veste di leader per i tipi della Tao Forms dopo l'eccellente Village Mothership, in trio con Matthew Shipp e William Parker (estensore delle note di copertina di questo nuovo capitolo, inciso nel febbraio 2021), Whit Dickey coglie altrettanto felicemente (e, diremmo, naturalmente) nel segno alla testa di questo quartetto (tutti suoi i brani in scaletta), estremamente agguerrito e forte di individualità (a cominciare da Mat Maneri, uno che caratterizza sempre massicciamente ogni lavoro a cui ...
Continue ReadingRob Brown/ Juan Pablo Carletti: Fertile Garden
by John Sharpe
Two regular collaborators, alto saxophonist Rob Brown and Argentinean drummer Juan Pablo Carletti, unite in unbridled dialogue on Fertile Garden, a studio date from August 2020. Brown's considerable talents should be well-known, vouchsafed by his tenure in the bands of bassist William Parker over many years and appearances with the likes of drummer Whit Dickey and pianist Matthew Shipp. Since moving to New York City in 2006, Carletti has become a fixture on the Brooklyn scene, where he teamed up ...
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