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Amir ElSaffar and the Two Rivers Ensemble: Crisis
by Hrayr Attarian
On his third album with the Two Rivers ensemble, Crisis trumpeter and composer Amir ElSaffar continues to explore the Arabic Maqam modal system. He uses this melodic type in a context with strong American influences and particularly jazz sensibilities. The result is not merely a superficial, kitschy fusion but true marriage of two improvisational traditions.
Amir ElSaffar: Crisis
by Karl Ackermann
Chicago area native, Amir ElSaffar has been working inside and outside the typical context of jazz since his Two Rivers Ensemble debut, Two Rivers (PI Recordings, 2007). The trumpeter and composer (and master santour player) has built a unique musical architecture based his study of the microtonal techniques of his ancestral Iraqi maqam. While ElSaffar was ...
Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance: Synovial Joints
by Luca Canini
Dei suoni della foresta amazzonica e dei segreti della camouflage orchestration," delle articolazioni sinoviali, dell'antico dio Heru e del metodo di composizione spontanea, lascerò che sia Steve Coleman a parlarvi. È tutto spiegato nelle note di copertina, con estrema chiarezza e dovizia di particolari; la migliore introduzione possibile alle meccaniche (più o meno celesti) che governano ...
Henry Threadgill Zooid: In For A Penny, In For A Pound
by Hrayr Attarian
Innovative multi-reed player and composer Henry Threadgill is no stranger to adventurous projects. Starting with the groundbreaking trio Air four decades ago he has not stopped expanding his creative boundaries. The ambitious multi-part suite In for a Penny, In for a Pound highlights the unusual instrumentation Threadgill has always incorporated in his groups. Each ...
Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound
by Troy Collins
Renowned composer and multi-instrumentalist Henry Threadgill has led a number of critically acclaimed groups since his formative days as a founding member of the AACM, but none have endured as long as Zooid. Formed in 2001, the unit has undergone a few personnel changes over the years, although guitarist Liberty Ellman and tuba player/trombonist Jose Davila ...
Henry Threadgill Zooid: In For A Penny, In For A Pound
by Karl Ackermann
Fresh off his significant contribution to Jack DeJohnette's Made In Chicago (ECM, 2015), composer/saxophonist/flautist Henry Threadgill and his most long-established group, Zooid, return for the ensemble's most creative and ambitious collection. Almost thirty years ago, Threadgill told Chicago's Pulitzer winning writer, Studs Terkel, of the influence of marching bands that he saw in that city's frequent ...
Henry Threadgill Zooid: In for a Penny, In for a Pound
by Mark F. Turner
Don't call this jazz. In a 2013 interview with Larry Appelbaum at the Library of Congress, saxophonist, flautist, and composer Henry Threadgill, in so many words, denounced the association of labelling his music with a diluted categorization. Having performed with free thinking musicians like Muhal Richard Abrams and Anthony Braxton; lead highly regarded and out of ...
Henry Threadgill Zooid: In For A Penny, In For A Pound
by Dan Bilawsky
No artist manages to marry compositional specificity and independent thought to the degree that Henry Threadgill does. And while his singular vision(s) with groups like Air and Very Very Circus have already earned him a place in the history of this music, when all is said and done, his work with Zooid may be his most ...
Steve Coleman and the Council of Balance: Synovial Joints
by Hrayr Attarian
The recipient of a 2014 MacArthur Genius grant, alto saxophonist Steve Coleman is one of the most innovative contemporary improvisers and composers. Over a career that has spanned three decades Coleman has restlessly explored unique and ingenious ways of spontaneous expression and artistic conceptualization. On Synovial Joints Coleman leads his large ensemble The Counsel ...
Tyshawn Sorey: Alloy
by Hrayr Attarian
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Tyshawn Sorey's fourth release as a leader, the intriguingly mystical Alloy, is a stimulating study of contrasts. The four, long Sorey originals are simultaneously expansive and intimate, somber yet with moments of subtle vibrance and stately yet brimming with spontaneity.Sorey sticks to his main ax the drum set on the album ...


