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Steve Hirsh: Root Causes
by Mark Corroto
Although Steve Hirsh's name appears on the masthead of Root Causes, you might not immediately recognize it as a drummer-led recording. Unlike the unmistakable leadership of Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams, Hirsh leads with subtlety, functioning more as a selfless, responsive collaborator than a dominant force. The album features a classic piano trio format, with pianist Eri Yamamoto and bassist William Parker rounding out the ensemble. This trio forms three-quarters of the Sparks Quartet, led by ...
Continue ReadingMahakala Music: Murmuration
by Fran Kursztejn
"Birds from the east coast meet birds from the midwest," reads Mahakala Music's description for saxophonist Dave Sewelson's newest release. Sewelson himself is a bicoastal phenomenon: born in Oakland, then traipsing into the New York scene circa 1977. Like his frequent bandleader collaborator William Parker, he acts as a magnetic center to attract a variety of local and international performers alike. Murmuration's line-up consists of another fellow New Yorker-violinist Gabby Fluke-Mogul, and three Minneapolitans, bassist Anthony Cox, drummer Steve Hirsh ...
Continue ReadingHirsh / Swell / Clouse / Parker: Out On A Limb
by Mark Corroto
Can déjà vu be contagious? Or at least a particular quality or disposition that is communicable? This might be the question to ask after sitting down with Out On A Limb by the improvising quartet of Steve Hirsh, Steve Swell, Jim Clouse, and William Parker. The music this unit created spontaneously in April 2024 does not appear from thin air, it is a product of a half-century of innovation and modernism in music. Much of that history has ...
Continue ReadingChad Fowler: Alien Skin
by John Sharpe
Although the group responsible for Alien Skin might be a one-off, unlikely to meet again in this exact configuration, it contains sufficient prior connections to vouchsafe cohesion, to go with the undoubted quality. Bassist William Parker furnishes the common denominator, having previously recorded with all of the participants, even relative newcomer, reed player Zoh Amba, while pianist Matthew Shipp's releases with saxophonist Ivo Perelman are legendary and abundant. Label boss reedman Chad Fowler hooks up regularly with drummer Steve Hirsh, ...
Continue ReadingChad Fowler: Alien Skin
by Mike Jurkovic
Just from the paperwork alone, it was duly expected that Alien Skin would be unruly, raw, and cathartic. That is just the nature of the beast. That is just the way the big man planned it. But even with all that said, no one (including the players) saw Alien Skin coming down the runway. A bayou bebop rave-up of the highest order, the album's madcap namesake rips the veil, drops the mic, and makes subversive a badge of ...
Continue ReadingChad Fowler: Alien Skin
by Mark Corroto
Freely improvised music, saxophonist Paul Flaherty dubbed it “the hated music." Experiencing Alien Skin brings to mind another quote, this one from a shampoo commercial from the late 1980s: “Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." A beautiful alchemy is this session captured in the fall of 2021. It contains a three-horn front line of Chad Fowler, Ivo Perelman and Zoh Amba, plus pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and drummer Steve Hirsh. I reference alchemy because the quintet ...
Continue ReadingJoel Futterman, William Parker, Chad Fowler, Steve Hirsh: The Deep
by Karl Ackermann
The Deep brings together the quartet of pianist Joel Futterman, bassist William Parker, saxophonist Chad Fowler, and drummer Steve Hirsh. Individually—and collectively—they have been the catalysts for many who wander to the farther bounds of jazz. This leaderless group has recorded in distinct member formations, with Futterman and Parker dating back to Authenticity (Kali Records, 1998). Fowler, on his Mahakala label, has issued post-2020 releases with each of his bandmates. The Deep comprises a single title track drawing on many ...
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