Articles

Gerald Cleaver, Steve Khan, Raffaele Casarano and More

By Ludovico Granvassu

In the second part of this week's episode (for the first part click here) we continue our exploration of new releases with music by the likes of Gerald Cleaver, David Sánchez, Raffaele Casarano and Mirko Signorile as well as the return of veteran guitarist Steve Khan. Happy listening! Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Raffaele Casarano, Mirko Signorile “La mer" D'amour (Parco Della Musica) 0:16 Host talks 7:02 ...

Balance with Gerald Cleaver and Bill Harris at the Detroit Public Library

By Troy Dostert

Balance with Gerald Cleaver and Bill Harris Detroit Public Library Detroit, MIApril 7, 2019 Detroit-based jazz fans have become well-acquainted with pianist Michael Malis and saxophonist Marcus Elliot, both of whom are fixtures among the up-and-coming generation of musicians in the city, playing in all kinds of configurations and in wide-ranging, cross-stylistic endeavors. As the duo Balance, they've worked together for several years, releasing a very promising self-titled CD back in 2017 that reveals the ...

Gerald Cleaver: Be It As I See It

By John Sharpe

On his fourth disc as leader, and the first with his Uncle June ensemble, Detroit-native drummer Gerald Cleaver shoots for the stars. Though termed a sound collage based on the Great Migration, Be It As I See Itis not programmatic. Cleaver's approach is personal, celebrating the intelligence, strength and humor of the folks he grew up with, and those who made one of the first real choices for black people in America: the movement of two million out of the ...

Gerald Cleaver / Uncle June: Be It As I See It

By Nic Jones

Drummer Gerald Cleaver has a CV which takes in names like Mario Pavone, Joe Morris, Charles Gayle and Roscoe Mitchell. Of these names it's the last which inspires not only Cleavers's music, but also his appetite for working in new musical forms, and striving for new forms of musical expression. It's hardly surprising, then, that Be It As I See It, his fourth as a leader in his own right--and in the company of his Uncle June ensemble, featuring reed ...

Gerald Cleaver / Uncle June: Be It As I See It

By Mark F. Turner

Be It As I See It, Gerald Cleaver's fourth release as a leader, is an artistic vision of the Great Migration of African American families, in particular his family's movement from the rural South to the urban landscapes in the North, arriving at his home in Detroit, Michigan. The New York-based drummer/composer is a major player in forward-thinking music, his reputation and acumen evolving through his early tenure with AACM leader Roscoe Mitchell, and involvement with like- minded contemporaries including ...

Gerald Cleaver / William Parker / Craig Taborn: Farmers by Nature

By Ian Patterson

Truly improvised music is, like the depths of the great oceans, a place where few have really ventured, and it remains a largely unexplored world. On Farmers by Nature pianist Craig Taborn, drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist William Parker are like cartographers of the unknown, diving deep into the world of improvised music. Guided by each others' rhythms, their ear is their compass, plotting a course through unfamiliar soundscapes which can be both intimidating and awe-inspiring.

So tentatively does the ...

Gerald Cleaver: Farmers By Nature and Live at the Loft

By Sean Patrick Fitzell

Gerald Cleaver / William Parker / Craig Taborn Farmers by Nature Aum Fidelity Records 2009 Lotte Anker / Craig Taborn / Gerald Cleaver Live at the Loft Ilk Music 2008

Eschewing histrionic displays, drummer Gerald Cleaver uses the subtlest motions--bare hands on the drum heads, scraped cymbal edges and judicious pauses--as ...