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Wadada Leo Smith's Great Lakes Quartet: The Chicago Symphonies
by Karl Ackermann
The prolific virtuoso Wadada Leo Smith gave us two TUM Records box sets in the first half of 2021 and will end the year with two more, including the very ambitious The Chicago Symphonies. The four-disc collection features the trumpeter/composer's Great Lakes Quartet with saxophonist/flutist Henry Threadgill, bassist John Lindberg and drummer Jack DeJohnette. The final ...
Ivo Neame: Glimpses of Truth
by Chris May
"The Rise of The Lizard People," the title of the scene-setting opening track on Ivo Neame's Glimpses Of Truth, was prompted by an article Neame read which claimed that 12 million Americans believe that interstellar lizards run the United States. Only 12 million? In a country with a population approaching 332 million, around half of whose ...
Jack Cooper & Jeff Tobias: Tributaries
by Gareth Thompson
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus claimed that No one ever steps in the same river twice," as everything is in flux and constantly changing. By the same logic we might say that no jazz musician ever plays the same piece twice. Now consider the album Tributaries, a river-inspired work created by Jack Cooper (guitar) and Jeff Tobias ...
Halley-Clucas-Reed-Halley: Boomslang
by Dan McClenaghan
Rich Halley has a thing about snakes. Those on the receiving end of a postal delivery from the Portland, Oregon-based saxophonist are likely to find a serpent coiled in the upper right hand corner of the envelope--a stamp featuring scarlet king snake, perhaps. Or maybe some sort of pit viper. And speaking of pit vipers, Halley ...
Mulo Francel: Mountain Melody
by Geno Thackara
Mulo Francel turned out to be somewhat ahead of his time. He didn't need to wait for a pandemic to send everyone into isolation; he already had a habit of making music in the middle of nowhere for several years before the 2020 outbreak. His fascination with mountains (natural enough for someone who grew up in ...
Alex Ward: Gated
by Glenn Astarita
British multi-instrumentalist Alex Ward plays everything but the kitchen sink on this thrilling solo effort, where he plays guitar, woodwinds, keys, electric bass and uses various software-based mechanisms, including drums. Well-known as a free improviser, the artist fuses electro parts with peppery horns choruses, wily solos on several instruments, jumbling drum patterns and clamorous distortion-laced guitar ...
Shannon Gunn: On A Mountain
by Dan Bilawsky
Across the years, vocalist Shannon Gunn's raison d'être was the stage. A mainstay of the Canadian jazz scene for several decades, both as an influential educator and performer, she staked her claim in front of countless audiences and acquired plenty of admirers in the process. But when this respected musician passed away in July of 2020, ...
Adam Berenson, Scott Barnum & Bob Moses: Assemblages
by Karl Ackermann
Keyboardist and composer Adam Berenson has at his disposal an arsenal of instruments, electronics, synthesizers, etc. But to hear him in the traditional acoustic piano trio setting is immensely enjoyable, while hardly traditional." On the double-disc Assemblages, Berenson puts aside his Korg Triton Extreme, Yamaha Symphonic Ensemble and other impressively named and plugged-in instruments in favour ...
Kaylé Brecher: Bredux: Collected Edges
by Geannine Reid
Vocalist Kaylé' Brecher has continuously honed her skills as a creative composer and arranger. A Summa Cum Laude graduate of Temple University with a double major in performance and compositions/arranging, she has always pushed for continued growth. Brecher studied composition and arranging privately with Jim McNeely and Michael Abene, a vehicle to polish her creative writing. ...
Noam Lemish: Erlebnisse
by Dan McClenaghan
Pianist Noam Lemish carries multiple talents in his jam-packed bag of tricks: jazz artist, classical composer, improviser, accompanist. The Toronto- based artist-educator is probably best known for his leader/co-leader work in several different ensembles, including his jazz quartet and a twelve piece chamber jazz orchestra and jazz choir. With 2021's Erlebnisse he pares things down and ...

