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Phronesis: Alive
by Chris May
Copenhagen-born, London-based bassist Jasper Høiby has made a lot of noise--in both senses, all of it good--since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music and forming Phronesis in 2005. Høiby is a mainstay of several bands associated with the Loop and F-IRE musicians' collectives, and Alive is his third album with his own Phronesis, following Organic ...
Kris Davis / Ingrid Laubrock / Tyshawn Sorey: Paradoxical Frog
by Chris May
There's so much music bursting out of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, and her cultural reference points are so diverse, that you never quite know, as you take a disc out of the sleeve for the first time, what she's going to be up to--aside from going further. The intriguing Paradoxical Frog contains more surprises. Among ...
Dr. John and The Lower 911: Tribal
by Chris May
With hindsight, keyboards player and vocalist Mac Rebennack's return to his Dr. John, The Night Tripper" oeuvre might have been foreseen before the recording of Tribal, when in 2006 he once more donned the full-blown voodoo regalia for his appearance at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. But then Katrina came along and Rebennack's attentions became focused on ...
Cochemea Gastelum: The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow
by Chris May
Its title giving a nod to his Native American roots, The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow is the debut album from Brooklyn-based saxophonist Cochemea Gastelum. A touring member of Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, and a recurring saxophonist in the original band for the Broadway musical Fela!, Gastelum here pays tribute to some of his ...
Dave Holland & Pepe Habichuela: Hands
by Chris May
Centuries old, an accretion of musics absorbed by north Indian migrants as they travelled, one stream through the Balkans, the other through the Maghreb, towards their final desination in southern Spain, flamenco is not easy for a non-Gypsy convincingly to perform. Intricately codified, rich in lore and tradition, its broad mannerisms can be mimicked quickly enough, ...
Thôt: With Words Vol. 2
by Chris May
So self-contained is the modern French jazz scene by comparison with those in Britain, Scandinavia and the US, that some of its most interesting artists are practically unknown beyond their home turf. Take Thôt, the quartet led by saxophonist Stephane Payen with guitarist Gilles Coronado, bassist Hubert Dupont and drummer Christophe Lavergne. Founded in 1997, and ...
Sun Ra Arkestra: Sunrise In Different Dimensions
by Chris May
Sun Ra ArkestraSunrise In Different DimensionshatOLOGY2010 (1980) Sun Ra's discography is so vast, and its entry points so varied, that the late pianist and bandleader means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For most, Ra is probably best known for orchestral performances of ...
Spin Marvel: Spin Marvel 2: The Reluctantly Politicised Mr James
by Chris May
It's elephant in the room time. Though no-one likes to mention it, experience shows that it's wise to approach any band led by a drummer with a degree of caution. Drummers are primarily involved with rhythm--a crucial component in music, but only one of several. Unless, like Art Blakey or Chico Hamilton, a drummer/bandleader has an ...
Part 10 - Knitting Factory hits Fela Kuti purple patch
by Chris May
Knitting Factory's comprehensive, multi-format, Fela Kuti reissue program hits a new high with its second salvo, the Na Poi" batch, released in May 2010. The seven discs span 1974-77, a remarkably prolific and creative time even by the Afrobeat originator's own standards. As with the first Chop 'n' Quench" batch--reviewed in Part 7 ...
Christine Tobin / Liam Noble: Tapestry Unravelled
by Chris May
After seven, mostly self-penned albums on the Babel label, Tapesty Unravelled is something of a departure for the Irish-born, UK-based singer Christine Tobin: all but one of the tunes are covers, and, for the first time, the setting is stripped down to a duo. But as on the earlier albums, Tobin weaves her signature mix of ...


