Jazz Articles about William Hooker

About William Hooker

Album Review

William Hooker: Heart of the Sun

Read "Heart of the Sun" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
January 28, 2014

Suddenly Heart Of The Sun from veteran drummer William Hooker's The Gift looks a whole lot more poignant. With the passing of trumpeter Roy Campbell in January 2014, Hooker has been deprived of one of his longest collaborators. Campbell first appeared alongside the drummer on Colour Circle (CJR, 1989) as part of the self styled three member William Hooker Orchestra, and then later as one third of The Gift on Live at Sangha (Bmadish Records, 2005). As ever here Campbell ...

Album Review

William Hooker: Channels of Consciousness

Read "Channels of Consciousness" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
May 9, 2013

On the face of it the title couldn't be more apt, as drummer William Hooker leads his four accomplices through an organically unfurling invention fashioned from their collective streams of consciousness. But a closer listen betrays signs of premeditation, not least in trumpeter Chris DiMeglio's wistful reiterated motif which reappears at regular junctures during the continuous 68-minute performance. Other evidence comes from the presence of an overarching form, as intricate drum and percussion grooves bookend the piece captured live at ...

Album Review

William Hooker Quintet: Channels of Consciousness

Read "Channels of Consciousness" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
March 24, 2013

Drummer William Hooker was a mainstay at New York City's downtown jazz haven The Knitting Factory, amid several cross-functional albums for its record label. He's a freethinker, possessing a broad musicality, largely immersed in improvisation, and communicates a comfort zone whether tackling or expanding numerous world music stylizations nestled within free-jazz, avant-rock and other genres. Recorded at Roulette in New York City, Channels of Consciousness is a passionate endeavor, where the quintet aggregates garrulous free-jazz, blues, and fluctuating asymmetrical structures ...

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Album Review

William Hooker: Crossing Points

Read "Crossing Points" reviewed by John Sharpe

by John Sharpe
September 11, 2011

After his well-received Earth's Orbit (No Business Records, 2010), drummer/composer William Hooker raids the archives for Crossing Points, drawn from a 1992 New York City date with saxophonist Thomas Chapin. The drummer has straddled the free jazz and noise camps, but here almost merges the two in a 76-minute program where the energy levels barely move out of the red. Chapin, whose early death from leukemia in 1998, at the age of 40, thwarted a career that sought to gloriously ...

Album Review

William Hooker - Thomas Chapin: Crossing Points

Read "Crossing Points" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
August 1, 2011

L'aggiornato e appassionato blog Free Jazz dedica a questo disco una recensione di pochissime righe, quasi una lista di tags che forse meglio di ogni ragionamento riesce a dare le coordinate della musica del duo tra il batterista William Hooker e il sassofonista Thomas Chapin. Certo, a elencare qualità [a volte anche apparentemente ossimoriche come lirismo e cattiveria] e chiari riferimenti - da Coltrane/Rashied Alì a Ayler - è facile fare centro, ma sicuramente non servono troppe parole quando la ...

Album Review

William Hooker: Earth's Orbit

Read "Earth's Orbit" reviewed by AAJ Italy Staff

by AAJ Italy Staff
February 2, 2011

Batterista, compositore, poeta e artista di ampi interessi, William Hooker è certamente musicista che ha saputo sempre sintetizzare in un contesto improvvisativo tante tensioni espressive, incorporando elementi rock e post-punk su una base free, incrociando la creatività newyorkese a partire dagli anni Ottanta e collaborando con artisti che vanno da Lee Ranaldo dei Sonic Youth a William Parker. In questo doppio vinile, abbina due concerti, uno tenuto al Tonic di New York nel 2007 e un altro alla Hemlock Tavern ...

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Album Review

William Hooker Trio: Yearn for Certainty

Read "Yearn for Certainty" reviewed by Raul d'Gama Rose

by Raul d'Gama Rose
August 8, 2010

Drummer William Hooker can tell stories in many more ways than one. On Yearn for Certainty, he works his majestic tenor vocal chords as he recites a poem that accompanies the initial track, “Ingratiated Beam--Leroy." One track later, on the superbly crafted, rhapsodic melody of “Century's Soles," Hooker manipulates his ensemble of drums to tell a wholly different story, reaching deep into the African-ness of the origin of all civilization, as he follows footprints in the proverbial sands of time. ...