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Futari: Underground
by John Sharpe
Pandemic enforcement of geographic separation in no way inconveniences the adventurous combo of pianist Satoko Fujii and vibraphonist Taiko Saito, working together under the banner Futari. Having explored the option of a virtual band on Mosaic (Libra, 2021) by her This Is It! trio, Fujii tries a different approach on Underground, her second album with Saito ...
Kappeler / Zumthor: Herd
by John Sharpe
Swiss duo pianist Vera Kappeler and percussionist Peter Conradin Zumthor deliver a haunting program of eleven simple but effective mood pieces. They share a spare aesthetic which marries elements of minimalism, folk, jazz and circus music into an idiosyncratic, but by no means inaccessible, whole. While their previous outing together, Babylon-Suite (ECM, 2014), was inspired by ...
Total Music Association: Walpurgisnacht
by John Sharpe
German free jazz enjoys a celebrated history. But while the likes of Peter Brötzmann, Alexander von Schlippenbach and Albert Mangelsdorff are among the marquee names, there's a whole other strata of lesser known entities. Among them is the short-lived Total Music Association, whose only LP, Walpurgisnacht, constitutes a revelatory reissue by the Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint. It ...
Chamber 4: Dawn To Dusk
by John Sharpe
The third album from the French-Portuguese collective Chamber 4 might be the aural equivalent of comfort food. A nourishing feast of spontaneous communal navigation which slips down easily, but leaves you wanting more. Not that there's any attempt to replicate past glories from their eponymous debut (FMR, 2015) or City Of Light (Clean Feed, 2017).
Angelika Niescier & Alexander Hawkins: Soul In Plain Sight
by John Sharpe
Some of pianist British Alexander Hawkins' most potent outings have been in the intimate duo setting. Think, for example, of Leaps In Leicester (Clean Feed, 2016) with Evan Parker or Shards And Constellations (Intakt, 2020) with cellist Tomeka Reid. To that list can be added this richly-detailed double act with the Polish-born, German-resident saxophonist Angelika Niescier. ...
This Is It!: Mosaic
by John Sharpe
Fittingly for an artist as relentlessly exploratory as pianist Satoko Fujii, on Mosaic she pushes at the boundaries of recording technology, as well as the music, and comes up trumps. For the second release from the trio This Is It! lack of physical proximity proved no obstacle. Confined to base during the pandemic, Fujii and husband ...
Lao Dan / Deng Boyu: TuTu Duo
by John Sharpe
The profile of jazz and improvisation from China rates roughly the same as the chances of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, or an anti-vaxxer's feel for community (if neither of those comparisons sits comfortably, just make up your own)—vanishingly small. So the release of TuTu Duo by reedman Lao Dan and percussionist Deng Boyu, ...
Itaru Oki Quartet: Live At Jazz Spot Combo 1975
by John Sharpe
Live At Jazz Spot Combo 1975 constitutes the second entry from trumpeter Itaru Oki, who died in 2020, in the fascinating series of Japanese free jazz recordings licensed from the Chap Chap label by the Lithuanian NoBusiness imprint. It follows Kami Fusen (2017) which presented another live date from 21 years later. One of the pioneers ...
Roy Campbell / John Dikeman / Raoul van der Weide / Peter Jacquemyn / Klaus Kugel: When The Time Is Right
by John Sharpe
This date from 2013 presents New York City based guests trumpeter Roy Campbell and German drummer Klaus Kugel with three Amsterdam-located improvisers as part of the DoEK organization's annual Festival. Campbell, a stalwart of the NYC avant scene who died in 2014, gained early exposure with Jemeel Moondoc's Ensemble Muntu and went on to helm his ...
John Sharpe's Best Releases of 2021
by John Sharpe
Whether due to pent up creative energy or release schedules making up for lost time, more terrific music has come my way than for several years, in spite of the last twelve months. From the 200 or so discs that I heard in 2021, here are ten new issues (in the order I came across them), ...
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