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Quinn Sternberg: Cicada Songs
by Chris M. Slawecki
On Cicada Songs, bassist Quinn Sternberg paints a dreamy portrait of a languid summer evening at home, a visit to a comfortable front porch full of snoozing dogs, meandering cats, and the natural summer serenade of its title track. The first Cicada song is June," Sternberg and company's collective musing about what Sternberg's beloved ...
Wadada Leo Smith: The Emerald Duets
by Karl Ackermann
The pioneering British photographer/author Val Wilmer said of Wadada Leo Smith, he no longer relates to the restrictions of scales and chords. To him, music is about two things only: sound and rhythm." Her assessment, from the essential book As Serious As Your Life (Allison & Busby Ltd, 1977), was published in 1977. But in the ...
Dmitri Matheny: Cascadia
by Jack Bowers
Cascadia encompasses an hour of amiable, even-tempered jazz from trumpeter Dmitri Matheny who, like several of his predecessorsChet Baker, Chuck Mangione, Guido Basso and his mentor, Art Farmer, among themfocuses exclusively on flugelhorn. Matheny uses his gorgeous tone and remarkable lyricism to paint exquisite portraits in sound throughout a program whose ten engaging numbers enfold half ...
Shuffle Demons: All In
by Chris M. Slawecki
There aren't too many bands still standing from back when Shuffle Demons first performed in 1984. Their tenth recording, All In features three saxophonists-- tenors Kelly Jefferson and Matt Lagan plus Richard Underhill on alto and baritone--plus acoustic bassist Mike Downes and drummer Stich Wynston tearing through ten new originals. With no chord instruments (piano, guitar) ...
Federico Calcagno, Stefano Grasso, Filippo Rinaldo: Piranha
by Neri Pollastri
Piranha è la prima pubblicazione di un trio paritetico fin nella firma dei brani (i nove in programma sono suddivisi rigorosamente tre a testa), un lavoro che mescola gli stili e le ispirazioni, dando loro unitarietà entro una cifra inquieta e dalle dinamiche variabili, ma sempre permeate d'intensità. Ne sono protagonisti Federico Calcagno, clarinettista ...
Sun Ra Arkestra: Nothing Is... Completed & Revisited
by Maurizio Comandini
L'etichetta svizzera Ezz-thetics sta facendo un lavoro eccellente con capolavori degli anni sessanta riproposti in edizione da loro stessi definita 'revisited' che cerca di fare ordine e chiarezza anche su momenti un po' dimenticati che meritano di essere riscoperti e pienamente apprezzati. Tutto questo è ancora più necessario quando ci troviamo alle prese ...
Wadada Leo Smith: The Emerald Duets
by Dan McClenaghan
Wadada Leo Smith's music is often celestial, but the man himself is of this Earthof America, in particular, the progeny of people brought to the Western Hemisphere involuntarily. People who have historically been treated as less than human, for the sin" of having dark skin. This goes on. The true sin, the flames of racism, are ...
Dan Schnelle: Shine Thru
by Dan Bilawsky
This debut album from one of the West Coast's go-to drummers delivers an empyrean escape while offering a clear look at the impressive inner workings of a beautiful mind in motion. Those who know Dan Schnelle as a sideman will recognize his master musicianship right off the bat as he lays the foundation for this absorbing ...
Hermeto Pascoal: Planetario Da Gavea
by Chris M. Slawecki
Planetario Da Gavea is an enormous, sprawling document from a February 1981 outdoor performance series by Brazilian jazz wizard Hermeto Pascoal recorded under the stars in the Gávea neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, within the dome of the city's outdoor planetário (planetarium). Ten pieces, most never recorded before and several never performed again, stretch ...
Vicki Burns: Lotus Blossom Days
by Jeff Winbush
Whatever else can be said about jazz, there is little disagreement that it is best experienced in a live setting. Listening to Vicki Burns' Lotus Blossom Days is as close to a front-row seat in a New York nightclub as many of us are likely to get in these times of high fuel costs and crowded ...

