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Paul Bley: Floater & Syndrome The Upright Piano Sessions Revisited
by Chris May
One way for a musician to conjure rapture is through full-frontal shamanic assault, the sonic equivalent of the Orgasmatron machine that Jane Fonda's character encounters in Roger Vadim's 1968 sci-fi romp Barbarella. Funk is an ideal vehicle. But the sensations produced are superficial and short-lived. A less travelled path instead uses subtlety, understatement and nuance, and the music approaches laterally, almost by stealth. The stratagem demands more of the musician, and indeed more of the listener, but the result can ...
Continue ReadingString Players: Steve Swallow, Charles Mingus and More
by Jerome Wilson
This program showcases string players, mostly guitarists and bassists, as bandleaders, composers, and soloists. The featured players include Steve Swallow, Charles Mingus, Avishai Cohen, Joe Venuti, and Chris Lightcap. (Please excuse the brief pause after the first track.) Playlist Henry Threadgill Sextett “I Can't Wait Till I Get Home" from The Complete Novus & Columbia Recordings of Henry Threadgill & Air (Mosaic) 00:00 Leroy Vinnegar “Big Shoes (For Your Feet)" from Walkin' The Basses (Contemporary) 1:05 Lionel Loueke ...
Continue ReadingGeorge Russell: Ezz-thetics & The Stratus Seekers revisited
by Maurizio Comandini
George Russell è uno dei pilastri sui quali si è costruito il jazz moderno degli ultimi 70 anni. Forse non è uno dei primi nomi che ci vengono in mente, ma di sicuro il suo contributo come compositore, come band leader, come musicologo, è fondamentale. Nei primi anni sessanta i suoi album fornirono una interessante variante al free jazz 'classico' che abitualmente associamo ad Ornette Coleman, ad Albert Ayler, a Cecil Taylor e a tanti altri. Russell preferiva ...
Continue ReadingJimmy Giuffre: Free Fall Clarinet 1962 Revisited
by Alberto Bazzurro
Cosa scrivere, ancora, di un capolavoro assoluto, che magari chi legge conosce quanto e meglio di chi scrive, un disco che personalmente annovereremmo fa i tre massimi di quello straordinario, originalissimo musicista che fu Jimmy Giuffre, con Clarinet e Western Suite (o se preferite, di analogo contesto e periodo, Four Brothers Sound)? Per esempio quali sensazioni ha destato questo nuovo ascolto, dopo i numerosi precedenti, ma con in mezzo un intervallo di tempo che ci ha fatto percepire come nuovi ...
Continue ReadingJeff Lederer: Eightfold Path
by Jerome Wilson
The “spiritual jazz" tradition has been undergoing something of a revival and it gets a real boost with this robust new offering from tenor saxophonist Jeff Lederer. This is a revival of the Sunwatcher Quartet, a group Lederer formed in 2011 to celebrate the music of Albert Ayler. This version of the band retains original members Jamie Saft on keyboards and Matt Wilson on drums but adds the distinctive electric bass sound of Steve Swallow. Lederer wrote all ...
Continue ReadingJeff Lederer's Sunwatcher: Eightfold Path
by Mark Corroto
Knowingly or unknowingly, we are all on the Dharma path. It doesn't matter if you are a Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, or Satanist. Okay, maybe not Satanist, but we are all in our own way desiring some form of enlightened awakening and the end of suffering. During the height of the pandemic, saxophonist Jeff Lederer assembled his Sunwatcher quartet to explore this noble Eightfold Path. As students of the path are told, you must walk hand in hand with ...
Continue ReadingHans Ulrik & Anders Mogensen: The Meeting with Steve Swallow
by Thomas Fletcher
The partnership between Danish saxophonist Hans Ulrik and American bassist Steve Swallow can be traced back to the late '90s when they toured Europe and recorded three albums including Tin Pan Aliens (Stunt Records, 2005). Meanwhile drummer Anders Mogensen's collaboration with Swallow also began in the '90s, his busy calendar saw him perform alongside musicians such as Jerry Bergonzi and Walt Weiskopf. The final member in this meeting is guitarist and fellow Dane, Niclas Knudsen. Having performed with familiar names ...
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