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Octets and Octopi

by Patrick Burnette
Hooraywe've made it alive through 2020 and through eight seasons of this podcast, too. To celebrate the big eighth" (the internet claims it's bronze and pottery for that anniversary, should you want to send gifts) we talk about half that many jazz octets, and throw in an album named after a funky sea-creature as a bonus. In pop matters, Harry Nilsson's alternate takes and Italian prog get brief look-ins.Playlist Discussion of Rod Levitt's album Dynamic Sound Patterns (Riverside) ...
read morePaul Dunmall's Sunship Quartet: John Coltrane 50th Memorial Concert At Cafe Oto

by John Sharpe
If John Coltrane had lived he would have been 90 in July 2019. It's fair to say that there has been no saxophonist anywhere near as influential since his passing in 1967. To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, percussionist Mark Wastell organized a concert headlined by two affirmed devotees of the great reedman, namely Paul Dunmall, leading his Sun Ship Quartet, and special guest Alan Skidmore, at London's esteemed Cafe Oto. This splendid double CD captures the entire ...
read moreBarker / Dunmall / Dahl: Luddite

by Glenn Astarita
This is the second album emanating from celebrated British saxophonist, Paul Dunmall's 2012 visit to New York City, performing at the Vision Festival, and follows his initial 2013 appearance for New Atlantis Records on a date led by guitarist Edward Ricart, titled Chameleon. Hence, top New York City-based improvisers, drummer Andrew Barker and bassist Tim Dahl--the latter appearing on three tracks, lend their faculties for a set that poses a myriad of irregular rhythmic explorations. And while Dunmall's explosive tenor ...
read moreMikolaj Trzaska / Paul Dunmall: London, England, October 15, 2012

by John Sharpe
Mikolaj Trzaska / Paul DunmallCafe OtoLondonOctober 15, 2012Three for the price of one? How could you resist. London boasts a sizeable Polish population, and it seemed like a large part of them had braved the cool Monday evening to visit Cafe Oto for a visit by Gdansk-born reedman Mikolaj Trzaska. But in a night of unabashed, spontaneous creation, he wasn't all that was on offer. Trzaska has been featured on over forty recordings, dating back ...
read morePaul Dunmall Quartet : London, England, January 9, 2012

by John Sharpe
Paul Dunmall / Matthew Bourne / Steve Davis / Dave KaneVortex Jazz ClubLondon, UKJanuary 9, 2012 Although saxophonist Paul Dunmall performs in London with reasonable frequency, he rarely appears in the same configuration twice. But for anyone who's heard his excellent Moment To Moment (Slam, 2009), tonight's gig was not to be missed, as the reedman renewed his acquaintance with the young trio of pianist Matthew Bourne, bassist Dave Kane and drummer Steve Davis.
read morePhilip Gibbs / Paul Dunmall / Tony Hymas / Paul Rogers / Neil Metcalfe / Tony Levin: Mumuksuta

by John Sharpe
With over 60 releases by the end of 2010 on his own Duns Limited Edition label, reedman Paul Dunmall has been trying to slow down. That yet another new issue turns up regardless is testament to the quality contained therein. Derived from yoga teachings, the title Mumuksuta translates as a burning desire to realize the Self within. While it's hard to say whether the participants have succeeded in freeing themselves of earthly desires, they certainly manage to perform without ego. ...
read morePaul Dunmall: Identical Sunsets

by Raul d'Gama Rose
If history is to be served properly, saxophonist Paul Dunmall's Identical Sunsets reaches, with much nervous energy, that part of the sonic universe that John Coltrane reached in the last months of his playing career. In the stellar regions of that universe, the heart--and, therefore, Dunmall's instrument of choice (in this case, the tenor saxophone)--does not beat as it does on earth. It fibrillates as life reaches a rarefied plane--the life of an artist who must now bow to the ...
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