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Recording

The Dreamers - The Gentle Side (Tzadik, 2010) **

Source: Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
May 7, 2011

By Stanley Zappa More than once Bill Dixon talked about music in terms of problems and solutions. Gerry Mulligan's quartet with Chet Baker was a solution to the problem of there being no piano. At least one semester of ensemble class with Dixon was dedicated to solving the problem of an ensemble with no drummer. Vade Mecum (5 stars, by the way) solved the problem posed by symmetric, academic sounding lines (and did so by eliminating them all together.) If ...

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Recording

Japanese jazz-pop band Free Trans Ensemble posthumously release soulful live album

Source: Lauren Rogers
May 7, 2011

Before they folded in 2009, the Japanese band Free Trans Ensemble perfectly encapsulated the old and the new, combining vintage jazz harmonies with elements of R&B, soul, and even hip-hop. Their legacy, especially as professional, hard-working performers, is cemented on the posthumously released Soul Amplified Live!, documenting their 2006 show at Shibuya PLUG. The album showcases the group's engaging versatility, from the upbeat pop jazz of “Cloudy Day" to the sweaty funk of “Itaikurai" to the rap moves of “Hadakanomama." ...

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Recording

Space Genetics, Volume 2 - Featuring Paul Scea & Eric Haltmeier

Source: Michael Ricci
May 6, 2011

Space Genetics, the experimental music duo of Paul Scea and Eric Haltmeier, are proud to announce their new release, “Volume 2." This recording evolved from an idea first explored in performance at the International Society for Improvised Music (ISIM) Conference held in Ann Arbor, Michigan in December of 2010. Unlike their musical work on “Volume 1" which was composed collaboratively by sharing musical material (played on woodwinds and electronics) via the Internet, “Volume 2" was conceived as a series of ...

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Recording

Neal Morse Announces Testimony 2 - A New 2-CD Progressive Rock Studio Album

Source: Glass Onyon PR - Keith James
May 6, 2011

Nashville, TN—Some stories are left unfinished. Sometimes the best part is what happens after the tale's end. Nearly a decade ago, Neal Morse released his landmark autobiographical progressive rock epic, Testimony. Now, he returns with an extraordinary cast of musicians to tell the rest of the story in Testimony 2. And he's saved the best for last. Picking up where he left off on Testimony, the sequel begins with Neal in the mid-'90s when his band, Spock's Beard, begins to ...

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Recording

Neil Rolnick Covers Much Contemporary Ground in His "Extended Family" Program

Source: Gapplegate Music Review by Grego Edwards
May 6, 2011

Neil Rolnick composes music that goes somewhere. Then the next piece goes somewhere else. He is not one to be pinned down to a single style. He uses whatever expressive stylistic means he sees fit for any given piece. And so it is with Extended Family (Innova 782). Three divergent works come to light herewith. “Extended Family" (2009) is a lovely, sort of neo-classical sounding string quartet, played very convincingly by the quartet ETHEL. The CD liners tell us that ...

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Recording

Dave Juarez - Round Red Light (2011)

Source: Something Else!
May 6, 2011

For a musician who has devoted his life since early childhood toward his craft and studied for many years as well as earning his stripes in the bars of the great jazz cities of the world, the release of that first album has to be a feeling of relief, elation and accomplishment. That day came for Barcelona's own Dave Juarez on April 19, when this guitarist issued Round Red Light. Taking an interest in guitar at a very young age, ...

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Recording

Red Hot + Rio 2 Tropicalia Comp out 6.28

Source: JamBase
May 6, 2011

The Red Hot Organization and Entertainment One Music have established a new partnership to produce Red Hot + Rio 2 out June 28, 2011. Red Hot + Rio 2 is a modern tribute to the late 60's Brazilian Tropicália movement. The album will shed new light on the songs of this influential, politically charged era, which changed the culture of the country forever. Red Hot + Rio 2 is the latest entry in the series of tribute albums produced by ...

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Recording

Peter Evans Quintet - Ghosts (More is More, 2011) *****

Source: Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
May 6, 2011

By Joe Higham The quintet : Evans (trumpet), Carlos Homs (piano), Tom Blancarte (bass), Jim Black (drums), Sam Pluta doing live processing. What they do with the music is like going on a roller-coaster as you're tossed up in the air, whizzed around corners, spinning down and around. The quintet mixes bop and electronics in an compelling way, reminding me of the direction John Zorn took with his zapping music. Track 1 is a post bop type melody, but with ...

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