John Clark

Quinsin Nachoff: Patterns from Nature

Read "Patterns from Nature" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
June 14, 2026

Quinsin Nachoff, a Canadian-born saxophonist and composer now based in New York, has long pursued deep connections between music, science, and visual form. Patterns from Nature grew from an extended collaboration with physicist Dr. Stephen Morris of the University of Toronto, drawing on concepts of emergent order in natural systems. The project spread itself across several formats--a recorded suite, a film with contributions from four filmmakers, and live multimedia performances--and assembles an exceptional cast: pianist Matt Mitchell, clarinetist François Houle, ...

Album Review

Bobby Kapp: Synergy

by Jack Bowers
September 7, 2023

The subtitle of Synergy is “Bobby Kapp plays the music of Richard Sussman," which is true to some extent. To be more precise, drummer Kapp is at the heart of a septet, conducted by Scott Reeves, that features composer Sussman at the piano. So, while “Bobby Kapp plays" is technically correct, it does not represent the whole picture. What is more, this is a group with a rather unusual front line of violin, clarinet, tenor sax and French ...

Album Review

Ramana Vieira: Tudo de Mim (All of Me)

Read "Tudo de Mim (All of Me)" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci

by Richard J Salvucci
July 15, 2023

No doubt it has been some time since a listener of a pop-fado recording has been treated to a rendition of Franz Schubert's “Ave Maria" complete with lyrics based on the prayer. The singer is Ramana Vieira, a product of San Leandro, CA, of a family of Portuguese origins. Paired with “Trago Fado Nos Sentidos," a song one easily imagined coming from a night spot in Lisbon or Madrid, the remarkable plasticity of the culture that produced such music, blending ...

Album Review

Franz Koglmann Septet: Fruits Of Solitude

Read "Fruits Of Solitude" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
February 19, 2020

Franz Koglmann must be a connoisseur of vinification, i.e. winemaking, because his Fruits Of Solitude has the feel of a master vintner at work. Specifically, wine blends like Super Tuscans or Côtes du Rhônes mark his amalgam of European chamber music and American jazz. Koglmann is a true polymath in that he hears all and rejects any codifications, much like Duke Ellington did throughout his long career. As for Ellington, his classic “Solitude" is the inspiration for the ...

Album Review

Nine Live Plays the Music of John Clark: Sonus Inenarrabilis

Read "Sonus Inenarrabilis" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro

by Alberto Bazzurro
February 15, 2017

Inciso nel febbraio 2014 e pubblicato a fine 2016, questo singolare album raccoglie sei pagine (tutte di durata media: dai cinque ai sette minuti) a firma del cornista John Clark, oggi settantaduenne, interpretate da un nonetto (Clark compreso) di stampo eminentemente cameristico (nello specifico third stream, se preferite). L'impianto compositivo svaria da situazioni più rigorose, contemporanee (e citeremmo qui i tre pezzi pari, “Die Kreuzotter," “Eviter les contrefaçons," e soprattutto il conclusivo “Outage," che accoglie anche lievi ...

Album Review

John Clark: The Odd Couple Quintet +1

Read "The Odd Couple Quintet +1" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
February 26, 2016

John Clark ha acquisito notorietà negli anni settanta, quando fu tra i principali strumentisti dell'orchestra di Gil Evans. Si sa che l'arrangiatore canadese aveva un debole per il corno francese e non se ne privò al varo della big-band “elettrica." Con John Clark lo strumento è uscito dal ruolo di strumento occasionale che aveva avuto nel jazz per entrare in front line al pari degli altri solisti. Ricordiamo il suo intervento nei massimi ensemble del jazz contemporaneo: quelli guidati ...

Album Review

John Clark: The Odd Couple Quintet +1

Read "The Odd Couple Quintet +1" reviewed by Budd Kopman

by Budd Kopman
August 6, 2015

Yes, it is true that French horn and bassoon are not commonplace instruments in jazz. Attempts have been made to use them, of course, most recently by Julian Schneemann on Roundabout, but in that work, they were used more as colors in the mix.What is unusual is for these instruments to be in the front line and soloing as if to say, “Why not?." This, however is exactly what John Clark and Michael Rabinowitz, both virtuosos on French ...

Recording

The Odd Couple Quintet +1 By John Clark

Source: John Clark
May 21, 2015

John Clark French horn CD Release on Composers Concordance Records “Virtually every French horn student starts playing the Mozart Concerti at a young age. I think I was 11 or 12 when I first attempted them, and even then I wanted to improvise on them. I had no idea what 'jazz' or 'creative music' was, but I had the desire to change a note here and there, to add some notes and leave some out. Thanks to Composers Concordance, this ...
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