Home » Search Center » Results: John Sharpe
Results for "John Sharpe"
Jonas Cambien Trio: A Zoology of the Future
by John Sharpe
For the debut of his new trio, Belgian-born, Oslo-based pianist Jonas Cambien joins with two rising stars of the Norwegian scene for a series of incisive cuts notable for their inventive arrangements and maverick rhythms. Drummer Andreas Wildhagen is part of Paal Nilssen-Love's Large Unit and may not be known to many, but on this showing ...
Fail Better!: OWT
by John Sharpe
Taking Samuel Beckett's exhortation from Worstward Ho as a moniker--and a highly appropriate credo for improvisers to aspire to--Portuguese co-operative ensemble Fail Better! proffer their second release, following Zero Sum (JACC, 2014), as a limited edition LP on the Lithuanian NoBusiness label. Of the five proponents, likely the most familiar will be trumpeter Luis Vicente and ...
Barry Guy: The Blue Shroud
by John Sharpe
In some ways, The Blue Shroud might be Barry Guy's signature work. It's the first to unite his varied interests in Baroque music, composition, jazz and improv at an orchestral scale. To do so Guy assembles a 14-strong crack unit capable of interpreting each aspect to the highest level, including several early music specialists who are ...
Bobby Bradford/Hafez Modirzadeh/Mark Dresser/Alex Cline: Live At The Open Gate
by John Sharpe
Veteran cornetist Bobby Bradford's penchant for conversational give and take in tandem with another horn is much in evidence on this 2013 live date from The Center for the Arts in Los Angeles. And in alto saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh, a Professor of Creative/World Music at San Francisco State University, he has found a foil who at ...
Peter Brötzmann / Heather Leigh: Ears Are Filled With Wonder
by John Sharpe
Iconoclastic German reedman Peter Brötzmann has appeared in almost every conceivable combination and circumstance over the years, from the maelstrom of Last Exit to the austere horn choir of Sonore, via hook ups with almost everyone in between, counting such free jazz luminaries as Cecil Taylor, Anthony Braxton and Evan Parker. However on Ears Are Filled ...
Joëlle Léandre - Urs Leimgruber - Fred Frith - Alvin Curran: Oakland/Lisboa
by John Sharpe
Under the moniker MMM Quartet a crew from diverse points of the compass assembled for a concert at the 2014 Jazz Em Agosto in Lisboa (Lisbon, Portugal). Three of the four principals have associations with Mills College in Oakland (the MMM acronym improbably stands for Mills Music Mafia), while the Swiss saxophonist Urs Leimgruber is the ...
RED Trio & John Butcher: Summer Skyshift
by John Sharpe
It was the release of Empire (No Business, 2011) that constituted the point at which many people first began to pay attention to the Portuguese Red Trio. That collaboration with English saxophonist John Butcher featured on several year end lists. It paved the way for a series of further alliances, documented on disc with trumpeter Nate ...
Aaron Bennett / Darren Johnston / Lisa Mezzacappa / Frank Rosaly: Shipwreck 4
by John Sharpe
Named after the Oakland studio where the disc was recorded, the Shipwreck 4 brings together three West Coast improvisers with Chicago drummer Frank Rosaly for a program of six collectively created selections. As apparent on Everybody's Somebody's Nobody (Clean Feed, 2016), his duet with guitarist Fred Frith, trumpeter Darren Johnston's work maintains a melodic core, albeit ...
Yoni Kretzmer: Five
by John Sharpe
NYC-based Israeli saxophonist Yoni Kretzmer has pulled together a dynamite cast for the debut of his quintet. Kretzmer's thoughtfully arranged compositions engender classic small group free jazz by what comes across as a little big band. It's the sort of session you might have found on the Black Saint label in its heyday, but given a ...
Jason Roebke Octet: Cinema Spiral
by John Sharpe
Bassists leading mid-size bands inevitably bring to mind the trail-blazing precedent established by Charles Mingus. Others like Dave Holland, Barry Guy and Adam Lane followed. To that roster can be added bassist Jason Roebke, one of the stalwarts of the productive Chicago scene. Cinema Spiral constitutes the sophomore effort by his Octet, following on from High/Red/Center ...
