Articles

Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.

ALBUM REVIEW May 12, 2019

Dom Minasi: Remembering Cecil

Read "Remembering Cecil" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian

Innovative pianist Cecil Taylor, who passed away on April 5th 2018, was a transformative force in the world of improvisational music. His signature percussive pianism was imbued with dynamic poetry and he, together with saxophonist Ornette Coleman, is credited with starting the free jazz movement. Taylor has also been a source of inspiration for fellow New Yorker, guitarist Dom Minasi. Minasi who is equally idiosyncratic, and similarly pushes artistic boundaries, pays tribute to Taylor on the emotive and vibrant Remembering ...

ALBUM REVIEW April 18, 2019

Dom Minasi: Remembering Cecil

By Dan McClenaghan

Guitarist Dom Minasi counts the late pianist Cecil Taylor (1929-2018) as one of his idols. Taylor was among the true pioneers of free jazz, with free-flying ensemble recordings like Unit Structures (Blue Note, 1966), Conquistador (Blue Note, 1967), and scores of solo piano outings, notably including Silent Tongues (Freedom, 1974), and For Olim (Soul Note, 1986). For many free jazz fans, it was the solo sets that showcased Taylor's true genius, so it is fitting that Minasi goes solo for ...

ALBUM REVIEW April 12, 2019

Dom Minasi & Juampy Juarez: Freeland

By Mark Sullivan

American guitarist Dom Minasi and Argentinian guitarist Juampy Juarez have performed as a duet several times, first during a tour in Buenos Aires, then at some shows in New York. Recorded in Buenos Aires, in April 2018, Freeland documents their playing partnership. Minasi has a history of duets, most recently on record with guitarist Jack DeSalvo on Soldani Dieci Anni (Unseen Rain Records, 2016). Like that album, the program here is much more diverse than its title suggests.

ALBUM REVIEW August 2, 2018

Improvising Trio: Manna for Thought

By C. Michael Bailey

This is the house that Ornette Coleman built some 60 years ago. Guitarist Dom Minasi and his like-minded colleagues, vocalist Nora McCarthy and saxophonist Ras Moshe, show that the free jazz tradition is very much alive as we approach the third decade of the new millennium. Minasi has for the past 20 years, progressed further into the heart of improvisation, sporting a round, fuzzy guitar tone that seems to proceed from slow melodicism to light-speed electron sparking off the edge ...

ALBUM REVIEW July 5, 2016

Dom Minasi & Jack DeSalvo: Soldani Dieci Anni

By Mark Sullivan

Guitarist Dom Minasi is known as an experimentalist and free player, so there is much in this set of acoustic duets with fellow guitarist Jack DeSalvo that will confound expectations. Opener “The Indelible Delible" is a free improvisation with the expected outside playing and flurries of notes--but there is also some delicate textural playing. Then Minasi's “Angela" announces a complete change of mood. It's a beautiful bossa, with DeSalvo taking the lead on classical guitar, followed by Minasi's acoustic flat-top ...

MULTIPLE REVIEWS April 19, 2015

Dom's Duos: Dom Minasi Meets Blaise Siwula, Chris Kelsey, And Hans Tammen

By Dan Bilawsky

Improvising musicians all pay lip service to the idea of working without a net, but most end up building safety precautions--no matter how slight or subtle they may be--into their work. Dom Minasi, however, isn't one of those musicians. The indefatigable guitarist has no interest in sonic safeguards or insurance. He's a law unto himself, creating music that speaks to his intelligence, fearlessness, and mischievous nature. And while Minasi has been at it for half a century, he shows no ...

ON AND OFF THE GRID October 17, 2014

Free Jazz Versus Free Improvisation

By Dom Minasi

Free jazz versus free improvisation. Are they the same? I submit they are not. Let's take a look at what makes up music. I was taught from the very beginning that music is composed of three parts: 1. Melody; 2. Harmony; 3. Rhythm. Now add improvisation to the mix, and call it melody, and we have what is known as jazz. The main components of jazz are the improvisations and the rhythms. Without improvised ...