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Oliver Lake / Christian Weber / Dieter Ulrich: All Decks
by John Sharpe
So successful was the off-the-cuff meeting that produced For A Little Dancin' (Intakt, 2010) that American reedman Oliver Lake once again renewed acquaintance with the Swiss pairing of drummer Dieter Ulrich and bassist Christian Weber at Zurich's unerhört Festival. But this time out they rang the changes by adding German trombonist Nils Wogram. So far so ...
Rodrigo Amado's Motion Trio + Jeb Bishop: The Flame Alphabet
by John Sharpe
Remember free-bop? While there's no hard and fast definition, the term was used to encompass jazz boasting a written head, often at rapid bebop tempo, which subsequently opened up harmonically and rhythmically, but without straying completely off the map. Think some of the freewheeling Blue Note discs of Sam Rivers and Andrew Hill or some of ...
Frank Lowe: The Loweski
by John Sharpe
Producer Michael Anderson has unearthed yet more music from the ESP-disk vaults to complement tenor saxophonist Frank Lowe's Black Beings (ESP-disk, 1974), the session which announced the Memphis-born reedman's arrival as leader on the NYC jazz scene. Recorded at the same date, reputed to be from Ornette Coleman's Prince Street loft, The Loweski adds another 37-minutes ...
Anthony Braxton: Tentet (Wesleyan) 1999
by John Sharpe
Even though his output suggests that saxophonist/composer/educator Anthony Braxton has never wanted for outlets for his music, he hasn't always had the control he desired. All that changed with the launch in 2011 of the New Braxton House imprint, which issues a new digital download each month drawn from his voluminous archives. This initiative has allowed ...
Thomas Borgmann / Wilber Morris / Reggie Nicholson: Nasty & Sweet
by John Sharpe
From the first few notes, it's apparent that something special is happening on Nasty & Sweet. Perhaps it's the way bassist Wilber Morris and drummer Reggie Nicholson sound so assured in their placement of the merest splashes of color. Completely unafraid to take their time, creating a powerful tension which isn't released even when German reedman ...
Frank Wright: Blues For Albert Ayler
by John Sharpe
Reedman Frank Wright's eponymous first album surfaced on ESP-Disk in 1965, so it is fitting that this historic live recording also appears on the newly-revived imprint, making good its mission of releasing unheard sessions by label stalwarts, alongside newer works. Though dedicated to his erstwhile employer, saxophonist Albert Ayler, Wright's tenor saxophone also hints at the ...
The Group: Live
by John Sharpe
What quirk of fate governs whether or not a band captures the public imagination? A star-studded lineup? A strong set of tunes? Or just the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time? For The Group--a stellar mid-'80s aggregation of New York City avant talent--all these preconditions seemed to be in place, ...
Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House: Strong Place
by John Sharpe
With Strong Place, New York-based German saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock moves one step further in cementing her place at the heart of the Big Apple's fertile Brooklyn scene. Already on a roll with her plangent contributions to a series of stunning music including Sleepthief's Madness of Crowds (Intakt, 2011), drummer Tom Rainey's Camino Cielo Echo (Intakt, 2012), ...
Roscoe Mitchell: Three Compositions
by John Sharpe
On Three Compositions, veteran Chicago saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell's scores are interpreted by an established grouping with an AACM lineage, namesake flautist Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble, unlike his previous album of written material, Numbers (Rogue Art, 2011), which featured a varied cast of contemporary players. It makes all the difference. This performance was one of three ...
Matthew Shipp: Greatest Hits
by John Sharpe
It takes more than a degree of chutzpah for any modern day jazzer to title a collection Greatest Hits, let alone a doyen of the avant-garde. But pianist Matthew Shipp has never shied away from controversy--indeed, on occasion has actively courted it. Slightly apologetically, sleeve note annotator Tad Hendrickson points out that the selections were those ...


