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Charles Downs
Charles Downs: Inner
by Don Ball
It has been a long time coming for Charles Downs' debut recording as a leader. He began his career in the 1970s playing as Rashid Bakr with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Jemeel Moondoc, William Parker and others before reverting to his birth name in the new century. Since then, he has performed as part of the Flow Trio with Joe Morris and Louis Belogenis, as well as playing with Larry Ochs, Joe McPhee, and Peter Brötzmann, among others. At ...
Continue ReadingWhat You May Call It: Da Qi
by Glenn Astarita
Emerging from New York's experimental underground, What You May Call It treats the avant-garde less as a destination than as a starting point. Da Qi (Chinese for atmosphere or elegant) pushes that logic hard enough to test even seasoned listeners. This is not a record interested in easing anybody into the experience. The band rarely signals where anything is headed, forcing listeners to either commit fully or wander off in search of safer weather. The album opens with ...
Continue ReadingFlow Trio with Joe McPhee: Winter Garden
by Mark Corroto
The thing about free jazz is that it is very much like abstract expressionist painting. Many an inexperienced museum goer will spot a Jackson Pollock and say to herself, “I coulda done that." Actually, you couldn't. Same thing with free jazz. From a distance, it's all hubbub and din, but try your hand at it, and you're just creating babel. In the hands of masters like the Flow Trio and their guest Joe McPhee, that cacophony becomes a beautiful thing, ...
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Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson
