Results for "Red Hill"

Red Hill

There is a sense of mystery, majesty and daring surrounding this remarkably deep studio session, the first of its kind for the adventurous renegade label RareNoiseRecords. Each piece resounds with such compelling, conversational, in-the-moment playing that it sets a new standard in collective improvisation. “I believe it raises the bar for what improvised music can achieve on record,” says pianist Jamie Saft of Red Hill, the group's mesmerizing debut on the RareNoise label. Fueled by the urgent high note blasts and expressive muted trumpet work of avant-garde icon Wadada Leo Smith and underscored by an uncanny group-think of RareNoise stalwarts Jamie Saft (Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber Pup, Plymouth, The New Standard) on keyboards, Joe Morris (Plymouth, Slobber Pup, One) on acoustic bass and Balazs Pandi (Obake, Metallic Taste of Blood, Slobber, Pup, One) on drums, Red Hill is a kind of clarion call for the new avant-garde. Pandi's sensitive, highly interactive brushwork and coloristic cymbals underscore Smith's lyrical muted trumpet playing on the sparse opener, “Gneiss.” And yet, when that piece builds to a turbulent crescendo near the end, the drummer is right there to fuel the frantic proceedings. With mallets, Pandi engages in a conversational duet with Smith at the outset to “Janus Face,” a piece that evolves from slow, open rubato statements to dense explosions of tumultuous free jazz sparked by Saft's Cecil Taylor- esque attack on the piano

Formats – Solo Through Nonet

by C. Michael Bailey
February 23, 2018

One plus Two, equals three, and so on. What arbitrary combo size constitutes a big band? None of these. Solo: Jamie Saft Solo a Genova RareNoise Records 2018 That musical provocateur Jamie Saft, he is a prankster. After making all kinds of noise with the likes of Metallic Taste ...

Red Hill

By Wadada Leo Smith

Label: RareNoiseRecords
Released: 2015
Track listing: Gneiss; Janus Face; Agpaitic; Tragic Wisdom; Debts Of Honor; Arfvedsonite.

Wadada Leo Smith: Red Hill

by John Sharpe
May 8, 2015

A first time meeting in the studio pitches avant-garde trumpet master Wadada Leo Smith against a crew of improvisers who cover diverse bases. All three of Smith's collaborators work together in Slobber Pup, what you might term a thinking man's noise band, as well as overlapping in a range of other outfits including Metallic Taste of ...

Red Hill

By Red Hill

Label: RareNoiseRecords
Released: 2014
Track listing: Gneiss; Janus Face; Agpaitic; Tragic Wisdom; Debts Of Honor; Arfvedsonite.

Red Hill: Red Hill

by John Ephland
September 26, 2014

Red Hill is the collection of six group-composed pieces, led by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, this very fine aggregate also including keyboardist Jamie Saft, Joe Morris playing acoustic bass and drummer Balazs Pandi. Indeed, Red Hill can't be heard except as a portrait of four vivid musical personalities interacting across musical terrain loaded with many unexpected ...