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Anne Mette Iversen: Invincible Nimbus
by Mike Jurkovic
Given the sometimes Euro-chamber sounding approach to Denmark's Berlin-based bassist/composer Anne Mette Iversen's thoroughly interactive music, when she wants to have some fun, the music moves more to the freedom swing of Charles Mingus and the rhythmic conjurings of Dave Holland. This is heard most enjoyably on her dynamic second disc, Invincible Nimbus. Mingus walks in early on the lead-off, “Polychromatic Pictures," a twisting, tempo-defying runaround of high register solos bursting from the inventive teaming of trombonist Geoffroy ...
read moreAnne Mette Iversen's Ternion Quartet: Invincible Nimbus
by Jerome Wilson
Anne Mette Iversen's Ternion Quartet is a frisky, loosely controlled ensemble with a fierce drive that recalls Charles Mingus' small groups. Iversen and drummer Roland Schneider push the music relentlessly forward while the front line of saxophonist Silke Eberhard and trombonist Geoffroy De Masure carouse boisterously on the top. Iversen's themes carry traces of classical structure, like the fugue used in “The Rose Window" and the brittle, percussive chopping that begins “Polychromatic Pictures," but the music always ...
read moreNoam Wiesenberg: Roads Diverge
by Geno Thackara
A title such as Roads Diverge probably isn't surprising from someone as well-traveled as Noam Wiesenberg. The sound largely sticks to one category--mostly-acoustic contemporary jazz with a high dose of rollicking cheer--and yet still reflects how much the young bassist has learned from his travels through life so far. The confident smoothness, eclectic writing-style and casting of excellent session-mates all show the lessons of his first decade as a working player, which subtly inform this debut as a leader.
read moreJorn Swart: Malnoia
by Dan Bilawsky
The debut from Dutch pianist Jorn Swart--A Day In The Life Of Boriz (Mainland Records, 2013)--presented music with an eccentric tilt crafted by a fairly conventional quartet. This sophomore date continues along an offbeat path, delivering an incredibly absorbing collection of curious curios, but it does so with a less-than-conventional instrumental line-up in place. Malnoia turns the idea of the piano trio on its head. Swart forgoes the hustle and bustle of drums and the ballast of ...
read moreMichael Blanco: Spirit Forward
by Dan Bilawsky
Spirit Forward carries several connotations in its name and sound. First there's the overt reference to bartender terminology and the way it connects to the music presented by the feisty and flexible foursome of bassist Michael Blanco, saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Kevin Hays, and drummer Clarence Penn. A spirit-forward cocktail is one which focuses on enhancing rather than masking the core characteristics of a base liquor through the addition of other spirits and suggestions. It's an intoxicating parallel for what ...
read moreSam Sadigursky: Follow The Stick
by Budd Kopman
After spending nearly ten years with the four Words Project albums (see here, here and here for three of them), reedman and multi-instrumentalist Sam Sadigursky has decided to concentrate on clarinet, returning to purely instrumental music with Follow The Stick. Starting initially with a trio comprised of pianist Bobby Avey (who work with Dave Liebman's latest group is stellar; see Samsara , and The Puzzle) and drummer Jordan Perlson, the group was expanded to include vibraphonist Chris Dingman. ...
read moreRob Garcia: Finding Love in an Oligarchy on a Dying Planet
by Franz A. Matzner
A complex amalgam, drummer-composer Rob Garcia's Finding Love in an Oligarchy on a Dying Planetis as densely constructed and provoking as its title. Despite the socially conscious themes that its track titles, lyrics, and multi-layered musical journeys explore, Garcia has made clear this is not a protest album. At least not in the typical sense. It is not advocacy. It does not call for denial, dissent, or even dismissal of the social ills the album's thirteen pieces directly ...
read moreSam Sadigursky: Follow The Stick
by Dan Bilawsky
It's a new day for multi-reedist Sam Sadigursky. After spending many a year focusing on The Words Project--a well-balanced exploration of the relationship between poetry and music that yielded four recordings on the New Amsterdam imprint--Sadigursky is focusing on a different project, recording for a different label, and emphasizing his work on clarinet. The music presented on this album straddles a variety of worlds and styles, bringing chamber-esque angles, dance forms, metric twists, outré ideals, minimalistic thoughts, ...
read moreNathan Parker Smith Large Ensemble: Not Dark Yet
by Budd Kopman
Slip Not Dark Yet into your player and STAND BACK! The Intergalactic Big Band of Doom is about to crush everything in its path. Otherwise known as the Nathan Parker Smith Large Ensemble, this absolutely burning group is simply a thrill to listen to. Smith is the composer and director of the group, creating music which evokes the world (or soundtrack) of say, “Adventures of Roddick" (and “Pitch Black"), “Blade Runner," “Battlestar Galactica," “I Robot" with ...
read moreAlex Norris Organ Quartet: Extension Deadline
by Dan Bilawsky
Extension Deadline isn't the first organ-based date that trumpeter Alex Norris put together. It is, however, the first one to see the light of day. In the liner notes for this satisfying quartet outing, Norris notes that he recorded an organ-centric record in the '90s, but that record was shelved. So it is with great satisfaction that he sees this record to its release on the BJU Records imprint. While Norris has been a fixture on the ...
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