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Maria Merlino, Thollem McDonas: Rivelarsi
by Alberto Bazzurro
La quarantenne sassofonista messinese Maria Merlino e il cinquantottenne pianista californiano (di Palo Alto) Thollem McDonas (in realtà artista assolutamente vorace e multiforme, venendo descritto anche come “cantautore, interprete itinerante, educatore musicale e critico sociale, spaziando dal jazz classico al free, dallo sperimentalismo tout court al punk rock") confezionano in coppia questo album di libera improvvisazione, inciso a Palermo nel novembre 2023 con la produzione di Curva Minore. Tracciati tutto sommato piuttosto prudenti, stante il contesto, vi si ...
Continue ReadingThollem McDonas: Meeting At The Parting Place
by Francesca Odilia Bellino
Il pubblico di intenditori italiani conoscerà già il pianista, improvvisatore e attivista Thollem McDonas per essere rispettivamente pianista e cantante di una delle band anarco-jazz-punk combo italiane più interessanti e pazze degli ultimi anni: Tsigoti (quattro dischi bomba per ESP). Ma Thollem McDonas è anche qualcosa d'altro, soprattutto nell'avanguardia americana (San Francisco) e non solo date le sue numerose e stratosferiche collaborazioni con tutti i grandi nomi degli ultimi vent'anni. Infatti, suona regolarmente in varie formazioni: in duo (di preferenza ...
Continue ReadingThollem McDonas: Your Letter Must Have Followed Me All Over The World
by Dave Wayne
Coming at improvisational music from the classical realm, pianist Thollem McDonas remains resolutely outside of the main stream of the jazz world. Primarily inspired by, as he puts it in his liner notes to Meeting at the Parting Place, ... “European concert music from the Renaissance to the 20th Century and jazz, particularly of the '60s and '70s" McDonas has consciously chosen a more difficult—but more artistically rewarding—path. He's one of those rare artists whose modus operandi is predicated upon ...
Continue ReadingSoar Trio: Emergency Management Heist
by Glenn Astarita
Edgetone Records prides itself on taking risks and offers extensive support for its roster of artists, who often compose and perform outside the box. Therefore, the cleverly titled Emergency Management Heist is an avant-garde trio outing that emits a sensation that the musicians could be planning some sort of raid amid pensive or gradually climactic incarnations. They broadcast grave situations via nervy meanderings but most always get to the root of the issue. Hence, the trio means business, but doesn't ...
Continue ReadingThollem McDonas: The Beauty of Never Going Back Home
by Dave Wayne
What is often forgotten about improvised music is that it can come from anywhere. Though its history is inextricably intertwined with jazz, improvisation is part and parcel of a myriad of musical cultures. Pianist and composer Thollem McDonas is not just aware of this fact, it is part of his daily existence. About 10 years ago, McDonas burst on to the improvised music scene; fully formed and with a sound all his own--one that owes surprisingly little to jazz-piano- as-we-know-it. ...
Continue ReadingThollem McDonas - William Parker - Nels Cline: The Gowanus Session
by AAJ Italy Staff
Da quando ha iniziato a frequentare assiduamente il giro newyorchese, complice il matrimonio con l'ex Cibo Matto Yuka Honda, Nels Cline ha riscoperto il gusto di mettersi in gioco. Intendiamoci: non che prima fosse totalmente estraneo a rischi e relazioni pericolose; il vizio di tastare il polso alla propria creatività, il chitarrista degli Wilco, ce l'ha nel sangue fin dai tempi in cui era scolaretto nella classe del professor Hemphill. È però innegabile che negli ultimi due anni le collaborazioni ...
Continue ReadingThollem / Parker / Cline: The Gowanus Sessions
by Glenn Astarita
Glaring expressionism coupled with rip-roaring layers of acoustic-electric sound-sculpting maneuvers yield the bountiful fruit on this manifold studio date. When guitarist Nels Cline isn't tearing it up with the popular alt-rock band Wilco, he's knee-deep in progressive-jazz, free-form experimental and jazz-rock formats. He's catapulted to the upper echelon of modern guitarists, paralleling the colossal faculties of bassist William Parker and pianist Thollem McDonas. Parker has been a perennial driving force behind the reshaping of jazz along with ...
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