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David Binney: The Time Verses
Acclaimed as a significant and extremely unique compositional talent, saxophonist David Binney is one of the most prolific jazz musicians on the scene today. Binney has created an alternative jazz scene that focuses on playing adventurous and original music, which has been key to his journey as a player. He possesses a distinctive saxophone sound and has an extensive catalog as a leader, in addition to being sought after as a sideman, appearing on record with: Medeski, Martin & Wood, ...
read moreBrilliant Corners 2017
Brilliant Corners 2017 Various Venues jny:Belfast, N. Ireland March 7-11, 2017 In just five years, Brilliant Corners--Belfast's only jazz festival--has earned a reputation for adventurous programing. The 2017 edition went one further, with the inclusion of alt rock and electronic music stretching the boundaries of what constitutes a jazz festival these days. Or perhaps not, for as jazz celebrates its first centenary it's practically the norm throughout Europe--and elsewhere--that other styles of ...
read moreDavid Binney: Anacapa
Some artists move forward in great leaps and bounds, while others evolve more slowly, over longer periods of time. David Binney is one of those rare musicians who manage to do both. While a sampling of some of his recent albums, such as Bastion of Sanity (2005), Cities and Desire (2006) and Aliso (2010l, all on Criss Cross) paint a picture of the saxophonist as evolutionary, others, like 2009's Third Occasion and 2011's Graylen Epicenter (both on Binney's Mythology Records ...
read moreDavid Binney: Anacapa
Listeners who have followed alto saxophonist David Binney's extensive discography know that rock is an intrinsic ingredient of his music. While the rock influence is almost always present, Binney's regular releases and appearances on Criss Cross Records have usually remained rooted in acoustic jazz. On Anacapa, Binney takes Criss Cross Records in a much more electric direction than the label has ventured before. With a total of ten musicians credited with contributing to the music, Anacapa ranks ...
read moreDavid Binney: Lifted Land
In a career that seems to go from strength to strength and milestone to milestone, it's hard to imagine how David Binney manages to not only release one terrific record after another, but to do so, in some cases, under some pretty constricting terms. Like the five other albums that the influential saxophonist/composer has recorded as a leader or co-leader for the Dutch Criss Cross label--most recently 2010's Aliso and the following year's Barefooted Town--producer and label owner Gerry Teekens ...
read moreDavid Binney: Barefooted Town
Since founding Mythology Records in 1998, tireless alto saxophonist David Binney has alternated between issuing ambitious projects on his own label and cutting casual blowing sessions for the Netherlands-based imprint Criss Cross. Continuing this pattern, Barefooted Town is Binney's second release of 2011, following the expansive Graylen Epicenter (Mythology). Despite the limited studio time afforded Binney's Criss Cross dates, this set's intricate originals have more in common with his elaborate Mythology-based endeavors than his usual stripped-down efforts for the Dutch ...
read moreDavid Binney: Barefooted Town
Saxophonist David Binney broke new ground with Graylen Epicenter (Mythology, 2011), which was a world unto itself, and shortly before that, he delivered Aliso (Criss Cross, 2010)--a jagged set of music featuring original works and some compositions from visionaries like Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane. With Barefooted Town, Binney returns for another outing on the Criss Cross label, bringing a whole batch of originals along for the occasion. While this music contains the rhythmic twists and turns, and ...
read moreDavid Binney: Barefooted Town
Alto saxophonist/composer David Binney must not worry about “market saturation." He releases albums, as a leader for both Criss Cross and his own Mythology label, at a rate that many top jazz artists did during the late 1950's and early 1960's. Less than six months into 2011, he has already offered up Graylen Epicenter (Mythology) and now, on Criss Cross, Barefooted Townunder his own name, in addition to sideman and producer gigs over the years for artists like saxophonist Donny ...
read moreDavid Binney: Barefooted Town
Politics isn't the only thing that increasingly demands clear vision and steadfast commitment (even if it isn't getting it). In the jazz world--where the changing landscape makes getting heard one challenge, acceptance by a broader culture that views “jazz" as a dirty word another--it takes artists with unshakable resolve to stay the course. David Binney has not only honed an instantly recognizable compositional language without the trappings of predictability, he's become a mentor for younger artists, mixing and matching from ...
read moreDavid Binney: Underground Tremors
There are recordings that constitute a personal high watermark for a composer; then there are, less frequently, recordings that mark an era. Graylen Epicenter (2011), alto saxophonist David Binney's latest recording on his own label, Mythology Records, is both. For more than two decades, this exhilarating alto saxophonist has made a string of absorbing recordings as leader that have cemented his reputation as one of the most exciting and original musicians/composers in New York. By his own ...
read moreDavid Binney: Graylen Epicenter
Undoubtedly one of the great alto saxophonists, David Binney's reputation as an original, exciting composer has also grown steadily since his debut recording, Point Game (Owl Records, 1989). Binney is so prolific a musician that it's sometimes hard to stay abreast of his current projects. However, there is little chance of Graylen Epicenter going unnoticed. With this recording Binney raises the bar, playing sublimely and drawing outstanding performances from an A-list of New York collaborators, clearly inspired by the leader's ...
read moreDavid Binney: Graylen Epicenter
Alto saxophonist and producer David Binney has become a ubiquitous presence in jazz in the last 20 years fronting his own bands while appearing with Donny McCaslin, Uri Caine, Joel Harrison, Edward Simon and Bobby Previte. He might be considered the logical next step in jazz saxophone after Wayne Shorter and Michael Brecker (Sonny Rollins remains in an orbit by himself), never mind that he is not a tenorist. Binney has been sharpening his direction over his last two recordings ...
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