Jazz Articles
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Duo Atanasovski: Liberte Toujours
by Glenn Astarita
Liberte Toujours by Duo Atanasovski is a musical odyssey that skillfully blends jazz, Balkan folk, and classical influences, displaying the extraordinary talents of these Slovenian artists. In this album, Ariel Vei Atanasovski, wielding both guitar and cello, partners with Vasko Atanasovski, a virtuoso of the saxophone and flute. They are joined by the formidable talents of Marko Churnchetz on piano, Jošt Drašler on double bass, and Marjan Stanić on drums and percussion, creating a powerhouse ensemble. This musical ...
read moreSoft Machine: Other Doors
by Glenn Astarita
Soft Machine's Other Doors is a compelling exploration into the progressive jazz-rock fusion realm, highlighting the band's evolution and continued dedication to innovative musical expression and capturing the essence of Soft Machine's improvisational brilliance. The record unfolds like a sonic journey, inviting listeners into a world of intricate compositions and virtuosic performances. What sets Other Doors apart is its raw energy and the band's ability to blend various musical elements seamlessly. Tracks such as Kings and Queens" and the Kevin ...
read morePercy Jones, Alex Skolnick, Kenny Grohowski, Tim Motzer: PAKT
by Mark Sullivan
It was the Plague Year, and musicians denied the ability to tour and play in front of a live audience quickly began to pivot to virtual concerts. As early as April performances from musician's homes started (including one large series that was titled Live From Our Living Rooms). By August some conventional performance venues had gotten into the act, including the Village Vanguard and Smalls Jazz Club in New York City. But this ShapeShifter Lab concert felt like a real ...
read moreDewa Budjana: Joged Kahyangan
by John Kelman
Dewa Budjana may not be a household name outside of his native country, Indonesia, but with MoonJune Records picking up this exciting guitarist and composer, all that could be about to change. He's already garnered some serious attention with his first recording for the label, Dawai in Paradise, released earlier this year (2013), but at home, he's nothing short of a pop star. Lead guitarist and songwriter for the multi-platinum, million-selling Indonesian pop/rock group Gigi, the fifty year-old Budjana has ...
read moreDewa Budjana: Surya Namaskar
by John Kelman
There was a time when artists were able to release albums on their own schedule rather than that of the record label. While most jazz artists release, at most, one album a year these days, for some there's an even longer gap between recordings. For the most part, the days when an artist like Miles Davis was releasing two, three, sometimes even four albums in the space of a single year are long gone. There are a number of reasons ...
read moreDwiki Dharmawan: Pasar Klewer
by John Kelman
Indonesian keyboard star Dwiki Dharmawan returns following his 2015 MoonJune Records debut, the more fusion-heavy So Far, So Close, with the even more ambitious Pasar Klewer. This vibrant, acoustic piano-driven two-CD set features the cream of Britain's younger expat crop, blending with Indonesian musicians to create a passionate, seamless cultural cross-pollination. Bassist Yaron Stavi and drummer/percussionist Asaf Sirkis form the core trio with Dharmawan, while reed multi-instrumentalist Gilad Atzmon, Gamelan musical virtuoso Aris Daryono and guitarists Nicolas Meier ...
read moreMachine Mass: Inti
by John Kelman
One of music's most remarkable qualities is its ability to provide a context for expression of otherwise indescribable feelings. The genesis of Machine Mass Trio came at a time of duress for Tony Bianco, the expat American drummer who, since relocating to Europe in the mid-1990s, has performed with A-list improvising musicians including Elton Dean, Evan Parker and Alexander Von Schlippenbach. He's also a charter member of douBt, alongside fellow MMT mate, Belgian guitarist {Michel Delville. My wife ...
read moreStephan Thelen: Fractal Guitar 3
by Mark Sullivan
Guitarist/composer Stephan Thelen presents the third installment of his Fractal Guitar series. Like the previous albums, the emphasis is on multiple guitars, layered in kaleidoscopic arrangements based on his compositions and guitar playing, but significantly colored by the contributions of his collaborators. This edition was also influenced by the other albums that he was working on simultaneously: Transneptunian Planets with J. Peter Schwalm, Eivind Aarset, Tim Harries and Manuel Pasquinelli (RareNoiseRecords, 2022); Fractal Sextet with Jon Durant, Fabio Anile, Colin ...
read moreClint Bahr: Puzzlebox
by Chris M. Slawecki
Puzzlebox is precisely that: A hard-cover box of musical curios arranged around an 11-minute improvisation ("As Tympani Melt in the Greek Heat") performed not by a band but by a rotating caravan of progressive jazz and rock musicians organized by multi-instrumentalist and composer Clint Bahr. Bahr's collaborators in this curious collection include pianist Marilyn Crispell, violinist David Cross, the late Yes guitarist Peter Banks and other musicians who have performed with artists as far-ranging as Sun Ra and Rahsaan Roland ...
read moreStick Men: Tentacles
by Dan McClenaghan
In the early 1960s, before every teenage rock band wanted to be the Beatles, many of them (especially in Southern California) wanted to be the Chantays (1963's Pipeline"), The Surfaris' ("Wipeout" and Point Panic," both from 1963) or Dick Dale and the Deltones ("Miserlou," 1962). Those days were the short-lived peak of surf rock, and it was big. All of those mentioned tunes hit the pop record charts, something that became rare for instrumental music thereafter. For some, these succinct, ...
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