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Sean Conly: Hard Knocks
by Glenn Astarita
This trio gives credence to the old saying that, “too many cooks spoil the broth." Given the musicians' course of action, it would seem that additional instrumentalists may have gotten in the way of progress. This is due to the band's extreme agility coupled with a horde of alternative routes, undulating bop grooves, an uncluttered soundstage ...
Matthew Golombisky's Cuentos: Volume 3
by Gareth Thompson
At the tender age of four, Isabella Golombisky shows the promise of a young Kandinsky. Her artwork adorns this inspired release from her father, Matthew, wherein she uses colours not contained by lines, and gives priority to form over content. Or maybe it was a jolly good splash at the kitchen table. Either way, 'Izzi' is ...
Miguel Zenon: Yo Soy La Tradicion
by Jerome Wilson
Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon has undertaken several projects over the years exploring the folk music traditions of Puerto Rico, but he takes that to a new level with this work featuring the string playing of Chicago's Spektral Quartet. The interplay of saxophone and strings here sometimes recalls the lush conversations of the classic Stan Getz / ...
Ingi Bjarni Trio: Fundur
by Mike Jurkovic
Hailing from Reykjavik, pianist and composer Ingi Bjarni fluidly melds the extreme landscapes of his native Iceland with an innate, resilient melodicism that shifts willfully within the body of his music like a slideshow of the wild Icelandic terrain. Translated roughly as 'finding/discovery' or 'to have found something' Fundur immediately captures the ear with ...
Benoît Delbecq - Jorrit Dijkstra - John Hollenbeck: Linger
by Glenn Astarita
Thes New England-based record label, Driff Records, was established in 2012 by Jorrit Dijkstra (reeds, electronics) and Pandelis Karayorgis (piano) with the intentions of creating “transatlantic improvised music." Dijkstra and drummer, composer John Hollenbeck have enjoyed a productive working relationship since the 1990s, and invited forward-thinking French pianist Benoît Delbecq into this beguiling and uncanny improvisational ...
Eric Dolphy: Musical Prophet:The Expanded 1963 New York Sessions
by Dan McClenaghan
Multiple woodwind-ist Eric Dolphy (1928-1964) is one of the most prominent “What If" guys in jazz. What if he'd lived beyond his 36 years--he died unexpectedly of undiagnosed diabetic complications. What if he'd been able to nurture his distinctive musical vision to a full flowering? What if--like his sometimes co-conspirator, saxophonist John Coltrane in his move ...
Andrew Cyrille: Lebroba
by Mark Sullivan
Veteran drummer Andrew Cyrille—best known for his long association with the avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor—made his ECM debut as a leader with the quartet date Declaration Of Musical Independence (ECM, 2016). This is a trio session with chameleon guitarist Bill Frisell returning, along with legendary trumpeter/composer Wadada Leo Smith. Frisell is the glue that binds both ...
Felipe Salles Interconnections Ensemble: The Lullaby Project
by Jack Bowers
The five profound and picturesque lullabies on Brazilian-born, Massachusetts-based composer-arranger Felipe Salles' new CD, The Lullaby Project, are followed by three tango-inspired themes whose texture mirrors the bright and rhythmic musical landscape of his native country and southern neighbor Argentina. Salles' concepts are brought vividly to life by the nineteen-piece Interconnections Ensemble which has no trouble ...
Charles Mingus: Jazz In Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden
by Karl Ackermann
With previously unreleased material from Dexter Gordon, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, and now, Charles Mingus, it may feel in 2018 like we are living fifty years in the past. Jazz In Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden captures a short-lived quintet that--given time--could have been Mingus' best. Drummer Roy Brooks and trumpeter Joe Gardner ...
Jack Mouse Group: Intimate Adversary
by Chris Mosey
The great Spanish cellist Pablo Casals would sometimes refer to his instrument as his “intimate adversary." Illinois drummer/composer Jack Mouse has borrowed the term as title for a laid-back, carefully orchestrated piece, which he plans as the first movement of a two-part suite. It's the most ambitious number on this, the album of the same name, ...
