Home » Jazz Articles » Sylvie Courvoisier
Jazz Articles about Sylvie Courvoisier
Patricia Brennan: Of the Near and Far
by Troy Dostert
Not one to rest on her laurels, vibraphonist/marimbist Patricia Brennan has continued to challenge herself and her listeners with each stop in the studio. Her tireless dedication to her craft is undoubtedly one of the reasons for her meteoric rise in the creative jazz community, which could be charted particularly after 2021 when she released her propitious solo disc, Maquishti (Valley of Search) . Since then she has had barely a moment's pause, with More Touch (Pyroclastic) coming in 2022 ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier: Angel Falls
by Mike Jurkovic
The history of humankind resounds with the sound of piano/trumpet duets. But not like this one. Not like Angel Falls. Because the true beauty of Angel Falls is that grandmaster Wadada Leo Smith, aided and abetted by the fervent curiosity of Brooklyn- based/Switzerland native pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, enlists the listener as an active creator in truly beatific, beautiful music. That is a magic thing that does not happen often. All too often, the audience is reduced to listening ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Wadada Leo Smith: Angel Falls
by Jack Kenny
Wadada Leo Smith describes his music not as “jazz" but as “creative music." He rejects the term “improvisation" in favor of “creation." These specific word choices reflect his unique approach, which is deeply rooted in his early experiences with blues and R&B. Smith uses the full range of his instrument and plays at his own pace, with a profound understanding of the power of silence and space. For him, space is as important as the notes themselves, allowing ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier & Wadada Leo Smith, Led Bib. Russ Lossing & Zack Lober
by Maurice Hogue
An episode filled with enticing new releases, highlighted by the musical union of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and trumpet master Wadada Leo Smth. Look for Angel Falls on end-of-year best-of lists. England's rowdy Led Bib is back as a quartet, while pianist Russ Lossing continues his string of excellent trio releases, this time in the company of bassist Mark Helias and drummer Eric McPherson. There's a taste of pure avant-garde from Havana, Cuba in Against The Jazz Police by bass clarinetist ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier, Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by Vincenzo Roggero
Tra i massimi interpreti dei rispettivi strumenti, Sylvie Courvoisier e Mary Halvorson sono le punte di diamante di due generazioni che si incontrano sul terreno comune dell'improvvisazione, del minimalismo sonoro, del prevalere delle idee sulle esibizionismo celebrativo. A partire dalla confezione dell'album, privo di note di copertina, ma arricchito da una grafica (opera di Miles Okazaki) a metà strada tra graffiti art e neoespressionismo alla Jean-Michel Basquiat, con la pudica concessione di una foto a colori delle ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by Mike Jurkovic
Guitarist and sound-chaser Mary Halvorsonnever fails to hypnotize. Add the equally hypnotic pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and beauties like Bone Bells materialize to shift your news-exhausted consciousness to greater possibilities. Bone Bells does that. Bone Bells does it often. Once again each woman is determined to investigate every tangent of the sonic atmosphere. Willfully and excitedly breaks down the margins of contemporary chamber and avant-garde, Courvoisier (who gets along rather well with many musical mavericks, notably Wadada Leo Smith ...
Continue ReadingSylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorson: Bone Bells
by John Ephland
Tonally, these two artists offer what feels and sounds like an ideal fit. Pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and guitarist Mary Halvorson are in no hurry with , their third collaboration as a duo, the title coming from a passage in the novel Trust, by Herman Diaz. There is gentleness mixed with a kind of dreaminess, interspersed with what feel like spasms of either delight or some sudden fury of exposition that must find an outlet. And like all duo ...
Continue Reading
