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Carlos Alves "Zingaro": Live At Total Meeting
by John Sharpe
The cover to Live At Total Meeting depicts a maze, and that's a good metaphor for free improvised music. No-one knows where they are going or how they will get there. Even whether they have arrived or not is open to dispute. How the participants achieve resolution (of a sort)--negotiated, as it often is, without verbalization--is ...
Liudas Mockunas & Barry Guy: Lava
by John Sharpe
Iconoclastic saxophonists Mats Gustafsson and Evan Parker furnish the most customary duo outlets for master bassist Barry Guy, so Lithuanian reedman Liudas Mockunas' situation on Lava is an exposed one. However, he acquits himself well in a voice entirely his own. Co-founder of the No Business imprint, Mockūnas weighs in as one of the country's premier ...
Mostly Other People Do the Killing: Slippery Rock
by John Sharpe
Like the previous four studio albums by self-styled bebop terrorist band Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Slippery Rock begins with a drum solo over a vamp before kicking into the first tune. That's not the only thing that remains constant. Leader/bassist Moppa Elliott's songwriting talents haven't deserted him either; his charts, named after small Pennsylvania ...
Alan Wilkinson/John Edwards/Steve Noble: London, England, January 9, 2013
by John Sharpe
Alan Wilkinson/John Edwards/Steve NobleCafé OtoLondonJanuary 9, 2013It didn't look promising to begin with. In the dark days of January with the New Year festivities over and done, there's not a lot of enthusiasm for nocturnal adventure, so it was no surprise to see just a couple of people waiting outside before ...
Alexander Hawkins: Retaining The Sense of Discovery
by John Sharpe
One of the fastest-rising stars of the UK jazz scene, pianist Alexander Hawkins is remarkable in that he shines equally in both the further reaches of free improvisation and the creation of ingeniously crafted charts. Indeed, Hawkins' particular talent might be in bringing the two so close that it's hard to distinguish between them. At times ...
Joe Morris: Graffiti In Two Parts
by John Sharpe
One of the main talking points regarding Graffiti In Two Parts, and perhaps the reason this session from 1985 has finally seen the light of day, must be the participation of the erstwhile pianist Lowell Davidson. After studying biochemistry at Harvard University, he moved to New York and played with Ornette Coleman who urged the ESP ...
The Charles Gayle Trio: Look Up
by John Sharpe
Fire-breathing saxophonist Charles Gayle has had to wait a long time for his ESP-disk debut. Allegedly, there was a 1974 session in the can, but the label folded in its earlier incarnation, before it saw the light of day. But now, a 1994 live date from Santa Monica has been issued on the revived imprint. Recorded ...
John Sharpe’s Best Releases of 2012
by John Sharpe
Here are ten new releases which stood out this year: Wadada Leo Smith Ten Freedom Summers Cuneiform Without a doubt, Ten Freedom Summers is the crowning achievement of trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith's distinguished career to date. Years in the making, the complete sequence of 19 ...
Barry Guy New Orchestra: Krakow, Poland, November 20-23, 2012
by John Sharpe
Barry Guy New OrchestraAlchemiaKrakow, PolandNovember 20-23, 2012 Now in its seventh year, the annual autumn jazz extravaganza--Krakowska Jesien Jazzowa, in the beautiful Polish city of Krakow--has gone from strength to strength. It's impossible to see all the acts on the bill without spending several months in residence as they come in ...
Marilyn Crispell / Harrison Smith / Eddie Prevost: London, UK, November 7, 2012
by John Sharpe
Marilyn Crispell / Harrison Smith / Eddie PrévostCafé OtoLondon, UKNovember 7, 2012It was almost as if no-one wanted to break the perfection of the anticipatory hush at north London's Café Oto. Eventually, Harrison Smith ventured a quizzical phrase on tenor saxophone, which inaugurated an unostentatious exchange of ideas and viewpoints. Pianist ...


