Recording News

Review of Mechanical Uprising by Tokafi

Source: Marco Oppedisano
December 6, 2010

"Proving their humanity: Five electroacoustic composers deserving your attention." Marco Oppedisano: Wilfully unaccommodating & hauntingly inten-reber-base While the guitar is just a tool among many on Music for Film and Electro-Theatre, it is at the very heart of the oeuvre of Marco Oppedisano. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, he has made the search for the intersections between heavy Rock, atmospheric soundscapes and an intricate, intellectually challenging take on contemporary composition his goal. While it has become somewhat fashionable of lately ...

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New CD release: Mechanical Uprising by Marco Oppedisano

Source: Marco Oppedisano
December 5, 2010

OKS Recordings of North America is pleased to announce the release of Mechanical Uprising,our twelfth major release. This CD is available through CDBaby.com as will soon be availableat Amazon.com, Los Angeles' Amoeba Records, Austin, Texas' End of An Ear and Waterloo,New York's Other Music. It is available for digital download at iTunes, and many other digital download services. Marco Oppedisano is a classically trained composer and guitarist with a background in rock guitar. His style uniquely melds the experimental guitar ...

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Michael Formanek - The Rub and Spare Change (ECM, 2010)

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
December 4, 2010

Bassist Michael Formanek is a well known presence on the creative music scene, but usually as a band member rather than a leader. ECM rectifies this situation by releasing this thoughtful and patient album, filled with excellent playing and composing. Joining Formanek are Tim Berne on alto saxophone, Craig Taborn on piano and Gerald Cleaver on drums. The music has a fascinating sense of haunted mystery about it beginning with “Twenty Three Neo" that builds from a noirish late night ...

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Buddy Guy - Living Proof (2010)

Source: Something Else!
December 4, 2010

By Nick DeRiso News this week that Buddy Guy had been Grammy nominated for best contemporary blues album had me revisiting the scalding blisses of Living Proof. I loved it from the first solo, this sharp outburst of gnarled sexuality on “74 Years Young": “There ain't nothing I haven't done," Guy yowls, giving the finger to old age. “I've been a dog; I've been a tom cat. I chased some tails and I left some tracks." That's typical of Guy's ...

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Hidden Jazz Downloads (Vol. 16)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers
December 4, 2010

Warning: Reading this post is going to cost you money. That's because the five downloads that follow are superb. New to JazzWax? My “Hidden Jazz Downloads" series is ongoing and meant to expose you to albums at iTunes and Amazon that are little known. I call them “hidden" because e-retailers add vintage jazz albums without any sign that they've done so. You'd never know they were there unless someone told you. I find them by rummaging around the sites or ...

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Fans Inspire Jazz Guitarist B.D. Lenz New CD "Five & Live"

Source: DeBlaze & Associates
December 4, 2010

“Featuring Scorching Live Set and Brand New Song"

Hackettstown, NJ— Contemporary jazz guitarist and composer, B.D. Lenz delivers a scorching live set on his new CD, Five and Live—answering his fans' appeals to capture and record the raw passion he delivers during his live performances. B.D. Lenz released his seventh CD today featuring recordings made during east coast gigs. Taking a different approach, Lenz for the first time recorded all performances in a live setting instead of in the controlled ...

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Thelonious Monk's 'Monk's Dream': The Greatest Jazz Album Ever

Source: All About Jazz @ Spinner
December 3, 2010

I came across Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) early in my jazz education and began to track down his stuff. I loved the way he played piano, and based on his status as one of jazz's greatest artists, many others did. too. It took about three seconds to recognize Monk's playing, and you can't say that about many others. When he first established himself in New York in the '40s, Monk was more infamous than famous as other ...

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But All the Cool Kids Are Doin' It...

Source: Music and More by Tim Niland
December 3, 2010

Seems a little early to be dispensing with the annual top ten, but since the lists seem to be proliferating the Internet, and I don't have any fresh content to add, here goes... Vandermark 5 Special Edition—The Horse Jumps and the Ship is Gone (Not Two) Ches Smith and These Arches—Finally Out of My Hands (Skirl) Mary Halvorson Quintet—Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12) David S. Ware—Onecept (AUM Fidelity) Rudresh Mahanthappa and Bunky Green—Apex ...

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