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Whit Dickey/Kirk Knuffke: Drone Dream
by John Sharpe
Duets with drummers form the bedrock of cornetist Kirk Knuffke's whole musical experience, ever since jamming with a friend in high school. Consequently, Drone Dream constitutes the third such twosome to appear in his discography. And he obviously finds drummer Whit Dickey--still best known for his tenure with fiery saxophonist David S. Ware and adventurous pianist ...
Tom Rainey: Combobulated
by John Sharpe
Recorded live at Firehouse 12 in New Haven, Connecticut, Combobulated constitutes the fourth outing for what might be now seen as a free jazz supergroup, even if it wasn't when they cut Pool School (Clean Feed, 2009). The stars of saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and guitarist Mary Halvorson have continued to rise in the intervening years, while ...
James Brandon Lewis: An Unruly Manifesto
by John Sharpe
An UnRuly Manifesto feels like the album tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis has been working towards since his relocation to New York in 2012. His quintet's standout set at the 2019 Vision Festival was based around this program, no surprise given that this is such a formidable disc. Lewis retains the services of bassist Luke Stewart ...
The Attic: Summer Bummer
by John Sharpe
Although the cover painting might be interpreted as a comment on the two-dimensional nature of beach holidays, the title actually derives from the name of the festival in Antwerp where this invigorating free jazz by The Attic was recorded. It's the second outing by the band, which takes its name from its eponymous debut (NoBusiness, 2017). ...
Friends & Neighbors: What's Next
by John Sharpe
With its fourth release, the Scandinavian quintet Friends & Neighbors, whose moniker references Ornette Coleman's album of near enough the same name, continues to find fertile soil in the American free jazz furrow. This time out the unchanged quintet of trumpeter Thomas Johansson, reedman André Roligheten, pianist Oscar Grönberg, bassist Jon Rune Strøm and percussionist Tollef ...
Kuzu: Hiljaisuus
by John Sharpe
Chicago-based saxophonist Dave Rempis' openness to collaboration yields new partnerships at an astounding rate. He played in separate duos with both guitarist Tashi Dorji and drummer Tyler Damon during his 2017 solo tour of the USA. The drummer and guitarist are already an established pairing, so perhaps it was inevitable that Rempis would reunite with both, ...
Lisbon Freedom Unit: Praise Of Our Folly
by John Sharpe
History has repeatedly demonstrated that it may be foolish to bring together large numbers of musicians without any form of roadmap. Those who have set out the slender case for the opposing view include the Globe Unity Orchestra and Peter Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet, but not many more. To that number should now be added the Lisbon ...
Christoph Erb / Michael Vatcher: Yellow Live
by John Sharpe
At one time a drum and saxophone encounter would always invoke comparisons with the urtext of John Coltrane's Interstellar Space (Impulse, 1974). While that is still a potent model, present day practice encompasses almost every possible mood and temperament. Swiss saxophonist Christoph Erb and formerly expatriate American drummer Michael Vatcher touch on many such wayward territories ...
Paul Dunmall's Sunship Quartet: John Coltrane 50th Memorial Concert At Cafe Oto
by John Sharpe
If John Coltrane had lived he would have been 90 in July 2019. It's fair to say that there has been no saxophonist anywhere near as influential since his passing in 1967. To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, percussionist Mark Wastell organized a concert headlined by two affirmed devotees of the great reedman, namely ...
Frame Trio: Luminária
by John Sharpe
With freely improvised music, you have to trust that the performers will take you somewhere you want to go and that the journey itself will be as worthwhile as the destination, if not more so. Those expectations are more than met by the Frame Trio on Luminária, the first album by the collective of trumpeter Luís ...


