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Daily articles carefully curated by the All About Jazz staff. Read our popular and future articles.
Dave Rempis: Stringers & Struts
by John Sharpe
Chicago-based reedman Dave Rempis has hit such a peak of consistency that the number of stars awarded to any particular outing is more down to personal preference than any variation in quality. He's in control of his own destiny as most of his output flows from his own Aerophonic imprint. And he's achieved another high point with Stringers And Struts, the result of a one-off gathering of Windy City improvisers in town for the 2019 Chicago Jazz Fest, which makes ...
read moreKuzu: Purple Dark Opal
by Karl Ackermann
Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis has recorded thirty albums as a leader and more than another thirty as a sideman. Best known for his own Rempis Percussion Quartet and the Vandermark Five, the free jazz legend teams up with guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer Tyler Damon, under the name Kuzu. Purple Dark Opal is their third release, following Hiljaisuus (Astral Spirits, 2018) and Lift To Drag (Medium Sound, 2019) which was only released on cassette. Dorji was raised in ...
read moreDave Rempis / Joshua Abrams / Avreeayl Ra / Jim Baker: Apsis
by John Sharpe
After appearing on one half of Perihelion (Aerophonic, 2016), keyboardist Jim Baker has joined Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis' working trio with bassist Joshua Abrams and drummer Avreeayl Ra on a permanent basis. In one respect the band seems one of the most traditional of the reedman's projects. That's largely down to how the instruments in the main stick to their allotted roles and tonalities in two slabs (25 and 35 minutes plus) of unapologetic make-it-up-as-you-go rhythmically inflected ...
read moreKuzu: Hiljaisuus
by John Sharpe
Chicago-based saxophonist Dave Rempis' openness to collaboration yields new partnerships at an astounding rate. He played in separate duos with both guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer Tyler Damon during his 2017 solo tour of the USA. The drummer and guitarist are already an established pairing, so perhaps it was inevitable that Rempis would reunite with both, the resultant threesome being given the name Kuzu. Raised in Bhutan, but based in North Carolina, Dorji has shown a determination to ...
read moreDave Rempis / Brandon Lopez / Ryan Packard: The Early Bird Gets
by Mark Corroto
The trio of saxophonist Dave Rempis, bassist Brandon Lopez, and drummer Ryan Packard have released their debut recording The Early Bird Gets without devising a name for the trio. Packard, like his fellow Chicagoan Tim Daisy, is a percussionist, composer, and sound artist. He is a member of Rempis' Chicago-based Gunwale, along with Albert Wildeman. With the addition of Lopez, one of the brightest stars in New York's free jazz today (John Dikeman, Ivo Perelman, Nate Wooley, Gerald Cleaver), the ...
read moreDave Rempis: Icoci
by John Sharpe
In avant jazz, as in other artistic endeavors, talent alone isn't enough. Success requires a large slice of luck too. Chicago-based reedman Dave Rempis knows that as well as anyone. As a consequence he works hard at making his own luck: he concentrates on running a string of regular outfits; assembles a network of supportive venues; makes connections between players across the States and abroad; and documents the resulting outcomes. Icoci represents the scorching debut of a ...
read moreDave Rempis: Lattice
by John Sharpe
Since the AACM pioneered solo instrumental performance it has become a rite of passage for most creative musicians. In some ways the surprise is that saxophonist Dave Rempis, as one of the most fluent improvisers of his generation, has waited until now to record his first unaccompanied recital. That he rises to the challenge should be less of a surprise. Rempis initially came to prominence in the Vandermark 5 serving as a compelling foil to the leader, but ...
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