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William Parker, Clemens Kuratle, Ernesto Jodos & Apophenia
by Maurice Hogue
There is plenty of new releases in this edition of One Man's Jazz, headed by a retrospective of earlier works of William Parker and a who's-who of guests (Universal Tonality). Also tracking back in time are releases from drummer Idris Muhammad and with his own retrospective of his ECM releases, guitarist Steve Tibbetts. From Europe come new albums by Swiss drummer Clemens Kuratle & Ydivide and Polish bassist Wojtek Mazolewski plus a debut from the Lisbon, Portugal quartet, Apophenia, and ...
Continue ReadingJoel Futterman, William Parker, Chad Fowler, Steve Hirsh: The Deep
by Karl Ackermann
The Deep brings together the quartet of pianist Joel Futterman, bassist William Parker, saxophonist Chad Fowler, and drummer Steve Hirsh. Individually—and collectively—they have been the catalysts for many who wander to the farther bounds of jazz. This leaderless group has recorded in distinct member formations, with Futterman and Parker dating back to Authenticity (Kali Records, 1998). Fowler, on his Mahakala label, has issued post-2020 releases with each of his bandmates. The Deep comprises a single title track drawing on many ...
Continue ReadingSteve Hirsh: Sparks
by Mark Corroto
Listeners are inclined to classify music into categories. There's trad jazz, bebop, hard bop, post bop, avant-garde, free jazz, third stream, free improvisation, fusion, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, pigeonholes are for the birds. One might agree after listening to Sparks by Eri Yamamoto, Chad Fowler, William Parker, and Steve Hirsh. The quartet characterizes this two disc set of feel good (actually, extra feel good) music as “spontaneous folk music." This in not ...
Continue ReadingZoh Amba: O Life, O Light Vol. 1
by John Sharpe
Since relocating to NYC from Tennessee, twenty one year old tenor saxophonist and flautist Zoh Amba has been keeping fast company. On her debut O Sun (Tzadik, 2022), in a sign of affirmation label boss John Zorn guests on one track, while O Life, O Light continues in the same vein as she helms a heavyweight trio comprising celebrated bassist William Parker and storied drummer Francisco Mela. Amba studied with David Murray, but her sound owes more to the raw ...
Continue ReadingDaniel Carter / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver: Welcome Adventure! Vol. 2
by John Sharpe
Such is the magic of free jazz that even when uniting known quantities, the outcomes can still surprise and enchant. Welcome Adventure! Vol. 2 constitutes the second release from an October 2019 session which brought together four seasoned veterans of the NYC scene in reedman Daniel Carter, pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Given countless prior collaborations, in all manner of permutations, it's not a bombshell that they form such a flexible and empathetic unit on ...
Continue ReadingDopolarians: The Bond
by Vincenzo Roggero
Rispetto alla formazione che diede alle stampe l'ottimo Garden Party, ci sono due avvicendamenti: Brian Blade sostituisce Alvin Fielder, storico batterista membro dell'AACM, deceduto pochi mesi dopo quell'incisione e il trombettista Mark Franklin al posto del veterano sassofonista Kidd Jordan. Ma lo spirito e l'approccio rimangono gli stessi, un dialogo aperto tra musicisti di generazioni differenti accomunati dalla passione per la improvvisazione (più o meno libera). E quale veicolo migliore di due lunghi brani tra i venti e i trenta ...
Continue ReadingIvo Perleman Quartet: Magic Dust
by Hrayr Attarian
On all his recordings, the accomplished improviser and saxophonist Ivo Perelman is known for building seamless rapport with his side musicians, regardless of whether he has a long- standing relationship or is newly collaborating with them. The stimulating and often mellifluous Magic Dust superbly demonstrates this synergy and the individual innovative skills of the band members. The 101 minutes of music is divided into four captivating segments which flow into one another with fiery elegance. “Impromptu," for instance, ...
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