Jazz Articles about Tyshawn Sorey

Gerald Cleaver / William Parker / Craig Taborn: Farmers By Nature

by Lyn Horton
February 28, 2009

The seeds for improvised music were sown long ago in an age that can only be imagined, but are reflected in the improvised music of today. The sound of musical instruments, both contemporary and from times gone by, can symbolize the voices of those people who made up songs while they worked, practiced rituals, or congregated with their families. Drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist William Parker, and pianist Craig Taborn own this agency of improvisation. The trio, a group designed by ...

Tyshawn Sorey: That/Not

by Marc Medwin
December 11, 2007

While drummer Tyshawn Sorey has demonstrated his talent in many contexts, this is the first set of recordings dedicated to his own compositions. In the shadows of several established styles of improvisation/composition but beholden to none, it is one of the most shockingly bold debuts imaginable. The title of the opening piece, “Leveled, says it all. It is as if the myriad traditions that inform these moments of energy-suffused introspection have quietly, gently, laid waste to the ...

Tyshawn Sorey: That/Not

by Nic Jones
November 30, 2007

Tyshawn Sorey That/Not Firehouse 12 Records 2007

This is drummer/pianist/composer Tyshawn Sorey's first outing on record. It's a two-disc manifesto of some downright iconoclastic music, and the work of a quartet of musicians with their eyes seemingly on expansive, open, new vistas.

That much is clear in every note they play. Thus, “Leveled" on the first disc is an exercise in stealth and nuance where Sorey proves himself to be ...

Tyshawn Sorey: That/Not

by John Sharpe
November 19, 2007

Just because there are no drum solos doesn't mean that percussionist/composer Tyshawn Sorey is self-effacing in his leadership debut. Sorey has a strong conception which pervades every nook and cranny of this two disc set by his year old quartet. He has garnered critical acclaim for his work as one third of Fieldwork alongside Steve Lehman and Vijay Iyer, as well as working with Steve Coleman, Dave Douglas, Muhal Richard Abrams and Wadada Leo Smith. Though best known as a ...

Tyshawn Sorey: That/Not

by Mark F. Turner
November 13, 2007

The enigma that is Tyshawn Sorey: while most young drummers are walking in the footsteps of the elders and the influences of the mainstream, Sorey thrives on the outside, composing and performing free improvised music, leading experimental groups such as Oblique, or doing stints with progressives like Fieldwork (pianist Vijay Iyer, saxophonist Steve Lehman) and M-Base leader Steve Coleman. His debut That/Not further exposes the inner workings of a young musician with the ability to play in any context, but ...