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Mia Zabelka: DUOS featuring Alain Joule / Tracy Lisk
by John Eyles
Although Austrian violinist, vocalist & composer Mia Zabelka's first album--a vinyl LP--was released in 1987, DUOS (Setola Di Maiale, 2023) is only her twenty-fifth album release, sixteen of which have been released since 2010. While that could be a negative sign for some musicians, for Zabelka it is an indication of the quality of her albums which do get released, every one of which is worth investigating. DUOS, her first album release of 2023, is no exception. True to the ...
read moreNo Base Trio: NBT II
by Mike Jurkovic
On their often pulse-quickening, wholly improvised double disc, NBT II, the intrepid No Base Trio—alto saxophonist Jonathan Suazo, guitarist Gabriel Vicéns and drummer Leonardo Osuna— draw on their own inner tensions and tenacity for a roiling and immersive exploration of jazz's more open-ended, less categorized, freer regions. Picking up where 2020's cascading debut No Base Trio (Setola di Maiale) left off, NBT instigate and inhabit the shadowlands. Snatches of their native Puerto Rican folk dance roll like cumulus ...
read moreIvo Perleman: Dust of Light/Ears Drawing Sounds
by Hrayr Attarian
Saxophonist Ivo Perelman is an accomplished improviser whose intrepid experimentations have resulted in one of the most provocative modern music. Despite being prolific, additions to Perelman's discography are always refreshingly innovative partially because of like-minded and equally brilliant collaborators. Joining him on the superb Dust of Light/Ears Drawing Sounds, is the French guitar virtuoso Pascal Marzan. There is a spirituality that permeates the album, which is peppered with bursts of impressionistic colors. It opens with “Hot Dust-Obscured Galaxies" ...
read moreMia Zabelka: Myasmo
by John Eyles
Although her first album was released in 1987, Austrian violinist and vocalist Mia Zabelka has not released many recordings, Myasmo being the twenty-sixth. Despite impressive albums by groupings such as Trio Blurb, those featuring Zabelka solo stand out; so it is a pleasure to report that Myasmo is the latest addition to that select collection. For Zabelka herself it is the development of her solo album Monday Sessions (Creative Sources, 2015). Whereas that album was recorded on four Mondays in ...
read moreJonathan Suazo / Gabriel Vicens / Leonardo Osuna: No Base Trio
by Mike Jurkovic
There's an eery sumptuousness to the gravity-free, genre-less sound of No Base Trio that makes it incredibly difficult to get on with the day. The slant and tilt of modular sonic eruptions grab immediate attention. Its cascading, formless ambience affords strange new spaces to inhabit, explore, and contemplate during lockdown. Hailing from Puerto Rico, this debut recording features the imaginative, often volatile union of guitarist Gabriel Vicéns, alto saxophonist Jonathan Suazo and drummer Leonardo Osuna threading the free ...
read moreSetoladimaiale Unit & Evan Parker: Live At Angelica 2018
by Mark Corroto
Let's consider the similarities of this large group improvisation to the High Renaissance frescoes. Any visit to a chapel or duomo in Italy reveals elaborate mural paintings on the walls and ceilings. These paintings were made on fresh (affresco) wet plaster eventually dyed into ornate religious scenes. Artists like Michelangelo and Raphael were required to create these masterworks in a rapid manner. The same can be said of the free improvising artists that make up the seven-person Setoladimaiale Unit assembled ...
read moreTAI No-Orchestra: TAI Fest #1 (Vol.1&2)
by Nicola Negri
TAI No-Orchestra is a multi-disciplinary project comprising some of the best improvisers of the Italian scene, both historical figures like Filippo Monico or Roberto Del Piano and new talents like Silvia Bolognesi and Paolo Botti. The main originators for this project are musicians Del Piano, Massimo Falascone and photographer Roberto Masotti; the name “TAI" refers to “Terra Australis Incognita," an imaginary southern continent which appeared on early maps of the world, later symbolizing unknown or unexplored territories. These starting points ...
read moreÉric Normand 5: Sur un fil
by Eyal Hareuveni
The quintet of electric bassist Éric Normand features reed player Jean Derome and percussionist Michel F. Côté, leading improvisers from Montreal's creative scene who have developed highly original free improvisations based on graphic scores, drawings and notated melodies that include an imaginative John Tchicai cover. This excellent quintet was recorded live in 2009 in Normand's countryside hometown, Rimouski, Quebec. The compositions drift freely between ambient, often noisy textures and minimalistic chamber and free jazz attacks. The ...
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