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The Fictive Five: Anything Is Possible
by Don Phipps
The music of Larry Ochs's The Fictive Five's Anything Is Possible reminds one of a Rubik's cube, with every twist and turn encouraging more twists and turns, promising a resolution that seems just beyond reach. Ochs and his bandmates use an incredible diversity of sound ranges, rhythms, tones, and electronic effects to fashion their abstractions. At ...
Chris Mondak: Eternal Youth
by Don Phipps
New England Conservatory of Music student Chris Mondak's Eternal Youth harkens back to early and hard-bop eras. Mondak, who has studied with Dave Holland and Cecil McBee, composed all of the songs (with the sole exception of “Be Honest with Yourself," which was co-written with his grandfather, Art Mondak). The music has a West Coast—Pacific Jazz ...
Brandon Goldberg: Let's Play
by Don Phipps
Can a 12-year old pianist offer up the emotional depth necessary to handle tunes like Duke Ellington's “In a Sentimental Mood," Matt Dennis's “Angel Eyes," or Thelonious Monk's “Well You Needn't?" The answer appears to be yes, and then some. Brandon Goldberg's exciting album, Let's Play, reveals that a young man can not only convey emotional ...
Charlie Apicella: Groove Machine
by Don Phipps
On Groove Machine, Charlie Apicalla & Iron City serves up a gumbo of styles that run from New Orleans blues and Chicago funk to Motown and New York bop. The combination makes for a “groovy" listening experience—road music that will keep the head nodding and the mind trucking. Apicella penned five of the eight numbers on ...
Greg Burk: As A River
by Don Phipps
Having studied with George Russell and Paul Bley, and performed with Kenny Wheeler, David Murray and Steve Swallow, there is no doubting Greg Burk's bona fides. And with As a River, Burk has fashioned a series of deeply-felt original compositions--15 in all--that would make his mentors proud. Burk's compositions are edgy and serene, bluesy ...
Bill McBirnie: The Silent Wish
by Don Phipps
On this set of choice covers and one original, Bill McBirnie uses the flute to express dancing, happiness, blues, romance and melancholy. Sliding effortlessly along the keys of his instrument, McBirnie produces a wonderfully cool tone. Take his work on Ray Bryant's “Reflection" or Kenny Dorham's “Blue Bossa." There's a peppy action to it, like a ...
Empathy Project: Influences
by Don Phipps
Influences, a breezy affair from Empathy Project, is like viewing fluffy white clouds while seated at a street side café on the South Bank of Paris or the beach in Rio. The music swirls and bounces gently in boppish fashion -a happy affair with an emphasis on romance. Featuring soft but assured vocals from ...
Caterina Palazzi Sudoku Killer: Asperger
by Don Phipps
An album dedicated to villains in Disney films might be brushed off as novelty, but those that do would be mistaken. Rather than childhood fears, the tunes on Caternina Palazzi Sudoku Killer's album Asperger explore a dark and sinister side to being, like a non-stop view of a snarling Donald Trump barking insults from an 85-inch ...
Christoph Irniger Pilgrim: Crosswinds
by Don Phipps
With Crosswinds, Christoph Irniger's quartet Pilgrim offers a scintillating trip into a musical subconscious --a dream state where one opens doors only to find more doors --a spiral staircase where the top is always just beyond reach. For the most part, the album consists of tunes that are both sparse yet engaging. And it is this ...
Nate Wooley: Columbia Icefield
by Don Phipps
Nate Wooley's Columbia Icefield begins with a dueling repetition of chords by bandmates Mary Halvorson and Susan Alcorn on “Lionel Trilling." The ambiguity generated by this back and forth is the perfect start to his album's shape-shifting music. Wooley's trumpet is both poetic and piercing. There's a sense of longing in his tone and ...
