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Charlie Apicella and Iron City Meet the Griots Speak: Destiny Calling
by Troy Dostert
Since the early 2000s, guitarist Charlie Apicella's Iron City trio has devoted itself to maintaining the tradition of soulful, organ-based jazz. The aptly-titled Groove Machine (OA2 Records, 2019) preceded Destiny Calling, the group's 2023 album. And the latest one is quite a change-up. For this outing, Apicella has teamed up with The Griots Speak, an all-star assemblage of veterans who trace their roots to the halcyon days of the New York loft scene of the 1970s: multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, percussionist ...
Continue ReadingCharlie Apicella & Iron City: The Griots Speak: Destiny Calling
by Hrayr Attarian
Guitarist Charlie Apicella and his organ trio Iron City are solidly based in the hard-bop mainstream. However, some of their releases are flavored with other motifs, partially by virtue of the guest artists. For instance, the tribute to legendary guitarist B.B. King, Payin' the Cost To Be the Boss (CArlo, Music, 2016), with an augmented sextet, was aptly bluesy. Meanwhile Classic Guitar (Zoho, 2020), with tenor saxophonist Stephen Riley, was an intimate interpretation of the Great American Songbook.
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker New Heart Trio at The Chapel
by Roy Strassman
William Parker New Heart Trio The Chapel San Francisco, CA May 15, 2023 William Parker is a free jazz phenom, as his current New Heart Trio heartedly demonstrated. Accompanied by the legendary William Hooker on the drum set and firebrand Isaiah Collier on tenor saxophone and hand percussion, Parker, attired in a Tophi (Fez-like Indonesian cap) and knee-length variegated striped smock, began the set with a free-jazz crash and swing motif, Collier's horn ablaze. His ...
Continue ReadingGauci Leibson Parker Sorey: Live at Scholes Street Studio
by John Sharpe
Tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci certainly knows how to pick a band. On another of his regular bulletins which go under the title Live At Scholes Street Studio, he has assembled a line-up to die for, notable for the appearance of Tyshawn Sorey on drums and William Parker on bass. Although Argentinian pianist Santiago Leibson may be less feted, he is a trusted collaborator who combined effectively with Gauci on Pandemic Duets (Gaucimusic, 2021), and he plays a full role on ...
Continue ReadingSteve Swell’s Fire Into Music: For Jemeel: Fire From The Road
by Mark Corroto
If listeners only had the one recording, Swimming In A Galaxy Of Goodwill And Sorrow (Rogueart, 2007) from Steve Swell's Fire Into Music, and did not have the pleasure of hearing the quartet live in person, there certainly would be a large blank spot in their metaphorical dance card. The trombonist Swell, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake must also mourn the loss of the fourth member of the quartet, alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc (1946-2021). Much like Ornette Coleman, ...
Continue ReadingWilliam Parker: Universal Tonality
by John Sharpe
Bassist William Parker has originated a personal philosophy which he calls Universal Tonality. He expresses his idea thus: “all sounds, like human beings, come from the same place. They have different bodies and faces, but the soul of each sound comes from the same perfect 'creation.'" The near two-hour double album which bears the same name (also aptly chosen for the title of Cisco Bradley's 2021 Parker biography) represents one of the first occasions on which Parker put his theory ...
Continue ReadingFrancisco Mela: Music Frees Our Souls Vol. 2
by John Sharpe
The three protagonists gaze out from the cover, variously smiling, appearing wryly amused, and looking stern. The image suggests a will to tackle things head on, without artifice or adornment. To tell it like it is. And that is the result: a thrilling no-nonsense representation of the combined artistry of drummer Francisco Mela, pianist Cooper-Moore and bassist William Parker. Though billed as Volume 2 of Music Frees Our Souls it isn't more from the same session. In ...
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