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The Rempis Percussion Quartet: Sud Des Alpes
by Mark Corroto
Sometimes a band hits a stretch, much like an athlete with a hot hand, and produces a string of special recordings. Sud Des Alpes is The Rempis Percussion Quartet's tenth release and it follows Cochonnerie (Aerophonic, 2017). Like all the quartet's releases except Montreal Parade (482 Music, 2011), it captures a live performance. This at AMR ...
Sabu Toyozumi / Mats Gustafsson: Hokusai
by John Sharpe
In a departure from the archival recordings customarily offered by the NoBusiness label's Japanese Chap Chap series, Hokusai presents a meeting of minds between Swedish reedman Mats Gustafsson and veteran drummer Sabu Toyozumi, recorded live in June 2018. The 65-minute program includes a solo piece from each man but still affords over 40-minutes of the pair ...
Wadada Leo Smith with Milford Graves and Bill Laswell: Sacred Ceremonies
by Karl Ackermann
As he approached his eightieth birthday, Wadada Leo Smith could have been content to sit out the year of nothingness that Covid-19 brought in 2020 and beyond. With his 2013 Pulitzer Prize nomination, a 2016 Doris Duke Award, and nearly one-hundred recording credits, the trumpeter & multi-instrumentalist has landed at the top of countless polls throughout ...
Francois Bourassa: L'Impact du Silence
by Dan McClenaghan
Solo piano outings often serve as a baring of the artist's soul. Montreal-based pianist Francois Bourassa does just that on his tenth album, L'impact du Silence. Influenced by the piano artistry of Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau and Bill Evans, Bourassa has concentrated on small ensemble worktrios and quartetson his previous recordings. Bringing his classical music influences ...
Rodney Whitaker: Outrospection: The Music of Gregg Hill
by Paul Rauch
Bassist Rodney Whitaker grew out of the Detroit jazz tradition, paying dues along the way on the road with the likes of Terence Blanchard, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis and Kenny Garrett. His hard-driving style personifies modern post-bop jazz, with his dedication to tradition acting as a catalyst rather than a deterrent from innovation. On ...
Paul Dunmall - Matthew Shipp - Joe Morris - Gerald Cleaver: The Bright Awakening
by John Sharpe
British saxophonist Paul Dunmall reaffirms the transcendent power of free jazz with a muscular quartet convened for his triumphant appearance at the 2012 Vision Festival, for which he invited pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Joe Morris and drummer Gerald Cleaver to join him. The pianist and reedman were well acquainted, having hooked up during a Shipp residency ...
Dzijan Emin & The Magical Orchestra: Live in Ohrid
by Nenad Georgievski
Recorded live, composer Dzijan Emin's Magical Orchestra uses a different kind of impulse, spectrum of colors and kind of propulsion from all his previous projects. By now, his audience should be used to his shape-shifting ways. Emin, who has a unique and diverse musical approach and boasts an extensive résumé, has been navigating from one shape-shifting ...
Martial Solal: Coming Yesterday: Live At Salle Gaveau 2019
by Chris May
In 2010, a British writer travelled to Paris to interview the pianist Martial Solal. The address he had been given was in the affluent suburb Chatou. On arrival, Solal's house struck the writer as something quite unlike the home of any other jazz musician he had ever visited, an haute bourgeoisie villa surrounded by an ornamental ...
Benito Gonzalez: Sing To The World
by Jim Worsley
Unbridled rhythmic fury fueled by a rich harmonic underbelly is the essence of Sing To The World. Pianist Benito Gonzalez has once again assembled a vibrant cast that flourishes on ten original creations. Inventive and energetic, the ensemble gels in the moment and establishes interplay with rich and intelligent conversation. The depth and articulation comes as ...
Jeffrey Morgan: Quasar-Mach
by Robin B James
Stark, electronic, space-age, experimental jazz by Jeffrey Morgan and friends, a gift from the 1980s when the left field was exuberant, loud and sometimes harsh. In those halcyon days, when you saw that a musician played more than one instrument on a tune, there was no multitracking, each musician would have an array of instruments laid ...

