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Ballister: Smash and Grab
by Mark Corroto
A listener might have a premonition when they drop the needle on the hot pink vinyl version or push the play button on the CD or digital download of Smash And Grab by the trio Ballister. They understand, or have knowledge by way of the trio's ten previous releases, that a storm awaits them. The trio of saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love conjure a tempest of sound that simply refuses to become background music.
read moreRempis Percussion Quartet: Harvesters
by Mark Corroto
A couple quotes from the 1980s' film The Blues Brothers starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd seem appropriate for Harvesters, the double album by The Rempis Percussion Quartet. Elwood Blues: It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses." Jake Blues: Hit It...we're on a mission from God... we're getting the band back together." In all actuality, the Chicago residents, saxophonist Dave Rempis and ...
read moreRempis / Abrams / Ra + Jim Baker: Scylla
by Mark Corroto
Avreeayl Ra sets the tone for this entire live set as his voice and mbira open Scylla, this is for all the survivors." According to Greek mythology Scylla was a beautiful woman who turned into a monster with four eyes and six long snaky necks with heads, each containing three rows of shark's teeth and 12 tentacle legs plus six dog's heads wrapped her waist. Recorded deep into the Covid-19 pandemic, in July 2021, at Chicago's Elastic Arts, one would ...
read moreDave Rempis: Chrysopoeia
by John Sharpe
Recorded at Krakow's legendary Alchemia just two days before Znachki Stilyag (Aerophonic Records, 2020), on the same European tour, the power trio Ballister comprising saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, demonstrates an astonishing level of consistency in terms of both energy and excellence. Chrysopoeia constitutes the triumvirate's tenth release over some dozen years of existence, one which confirms that time and familiarity yield multiple benefits. While two pieces well in excess of the 20-minute ...
read moreThe GatheringRoots & Branches of Los Angeles Jazz, Survival Unit II & Hot Heroes
by Maurice Hogue
With only one opportunity left to program some music to recognize Black History Month, I decided to dedicate the last hour music by some of the great Black musicians making their own history (Andrew Cyrille, William Parker, Wadada Leo Smith and Graham Haynes & Oliver Lake of OGJB) and The Gathering: Roots And Branches of Los Angeles Jazz, an organization carrying on the work and ideas of Horace Tapscott and creating an outlet in L.A. for Black music and community. ...
read moreDave Rempis / Elizabeth Harnik / Michael Zerang: Astragaloi
by Mark Corroto
Sometimes listening to free improvisational music is, truth be told, an act of social anthropology. Who is making music? How is the combination of individual instruments configured? Where are the musicians from? Maybe more significant, how has this musical society developed? Astragaloi from the trio of Dave Rempis, Elizabeth Harnik, and Michael Zerang could be a perfect study for scholars. It is Chicago (Rempis and Zerang) meets Graz, Austria (Harnik), but maybe more important, it is the evolution of the ...
read moreDave Rempis' Percussion Quartet: Sud Des Alpes
by John Sharpe
Recorded live in Geneva during the group's 15th Anniversary tour, Sud Des Alpes is the tenth outing from Chicago-based saxophonist Dave Rempis' Percussion Quartet. The band is one of his longest established outlets, boasting a consistent membership, with the drum stools occupied by Tim Daisy and Frank Rosaly since the first album in 2005, and just one bassist prior to current incumbent Ingebrigt Håker Flaten. More to the point, they continue to find new avenues to explore within their preferred ...
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