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Chad Fowler: Alien Skin
by John Sharpe
Although the group responsible for Alien Skin might be a one-off, unlikely to meet again in this exact configuration, it contains sufficient prior connections to vouchsafe cohesion, to go with the undoubted quality. Bassist William Parker furnishes the common denominator, having previously recorded with all of the participants, even relative newcomer, reed player Zoh Amba, while pianist Matthew Shipp's releases with saxophonist Ivo Perelman are legendary and abundant. Label boss reedman Chad Fowler hooks up regularly with drummer Steve Hirsh, ...
read moreChad Fowler: Alien Skin
by Mike Jurkovic
Just from the paperwork alone, it was duly expected that Alien Skin would be unruly, raw, and cathartic. That is just the nature of the beast. That is just the way the big man planned it. But even with all that said, no one (including the players) saw Alien Skin coming down the runway. A bayou bebop rave-up of the highest order, the album's madcap namesake rips the veil, drops the mic, and makes subversive a badge of ...
read moreChad Fowler: Alien Skin
by Mark Corroto
Freely improvised music, saxophonist Paul Flaherty dubbed it “the hated music." Experiencing Alien Skin brings to mind another quote, this one from a shampoo commercial from the late 1980s: “Don't hate me because I'm beautiful." A beautiful alchemy is this session captured in the fall of 2021. It contains a three-horn front line of Chad Fowler, Ivo Perelman and Zoh Amba, plus pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, and drummer Steve Hirsh. I reference alchemy because the quintet ...
read moreJoel 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 ...
read moreSteve 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 ...
read moreJoel Futterman & Steve Hirsh: Warp & Weft
by Mark Corroto
Neuroscientists, psychologists, philosophers, and modern Buddhist practitioners have all grappled with the concept of consciousness. On one hand, the science-oriented folk propose consciousness to be stuff that designates the 'me' inside a person vis-à-vis the world, whereas the more spiritual approach eschews a dualistic definition in favor of a universal or 'one' consciousness. If we take up the debate using improvised music as an example, specifically Warp & Weft by Joel Futterman and Steve Hirsh, the 'me' falls away leaving ...
read moreOriginal Mind: You Know When It’s Time
by Mark Corroto
It is rather like wine tasting. The trio Original Mind's twelve tracks deliver flavors familiar to adventurous music listeners; Brad Holden's saxophone has hints of Ornette Coleman and Evan Parker, bassist Dick Studer flavors with William Parker, and drummer Steve Hirsh adds notes of Paul Motian. Like great wines, though, those tasting notes are only for the sake of reference and the act of imbibing You Know When It's Time gets better when the music is allowed to breathe.
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