Results for "Troy Collins"
Troy Collins' Best Releases of 2017

by Troy Collins
Considering the quantity of recordings released in a year's time, attempting to compile a comprehensive end of the year list mentioning every first-rate session would be difficult at best. The ten titles listed below represent a fertile cross-section of some of the most compelling modern jazz heard in 2017. William Parker Quartets
Vinnie Sperrazza Apocryphal: Hide Ye Idols

by Troy Collins
Forward-thinking drummer Vinnie Sperrazza has proven to be an exceptionally creative and magnanimous bandleader; Hide Ye Idols expands well beyond the imaginative inroads made on Apocryphal, his impressive 2014 debut for Loyal Label. Conveying a distinctive group sound, the original lineup featured on his first album--alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, guitarist Brandon Seabrook, and bassist Eivind Opsvik--returns, ...
Mike Reed: Flesh & Bone

by Troy Collins
Years in the making, Flesh & Bone was inspired by a racist incident Chicago-based drummer Mike Reed experienced in 2009. While on a European tour, Reed and his band, People, Places & Things, were caught in a neo-Nazi rally in the Czech Republic. Reed's ensemble--half black, half white--had been deliberately deceived into boarding a train bound ...
Joe Fiedler: Like, Strange

by Troy Collins
Change can occasionally be necessary for artistic growth. For over a decade, trombonist Joe Fiedler has led a stripped-down bass and drums trio, as documented on Plays The Music of Albert Mangelsdorff (Clean Feed, 2005), The Crab (Clean Feed, 2007), Sacred Chrome Orb (Yellow Sound, 2011), and I'm In (Multiphonics, 2015). Seeking a greater range of ...
Eivind Opsvik: Overseas V

by Troy Collins
Norwegian-born bassist Eivind Opsvik has been a mainstay of the Downtown scene since his relocation to New York over two decades ago. Starting in 2003, he began issuing a series of sequentially numbered instrumental albums under the banner Overseas, which have featured some of Gotham's finest musicians. Bolstered by the improvisational mettle of his longstanding bandmates, ...
Matthew Shipp Trio: Piano Song

by Troy Collins
Matthew Shipp has long been considered one of the leading pianists of his generation. Collaborating with artists from wide ranging genres over the past three decades, Shipp has maintained a distinctively singular vision with an immediately recognizable sound. Publicized as Shipp's final release for Thirsty Ear, Piano Song follows in the footsteps of The Conduct of ...
Troy Collins' Best Releases of 2016

by Troy Collins
Compiling end of the year lists is never easy. Considering the quantity of recordings released in a year's time, attempting to compose a list mentioning every first-rate session would be difficult at best. These ten albums represent a fertile cross-section of some of the most compelling modern jazz issued in 2016. Many of the records listed ...
Rova Orkestrova: No Favorites!

by Troy Collins
Ever since its formation in 1977, Rova, the pioneering West Coast saxophone quartet, has been augmenting its ranks to explore structured improvisation. No Favorites! pays homage to Lawrence D. “Butch" Morris, the inventor of Conduction, a revolutionary system for organizing large-ensemble improvisation using coded gestures. This ambitious album epitomizes a working relationship that Rova began with ...
BassDrumBone: The Long Road

by Troy Collins
Trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias, and drummer Gerry Hemingway have been performing together as BassDrumBone for almost four decades. The Long Road, the trio's tenth release, was recorded in celebration of the ensemble's forty-year anniversary, and is the group's most wide-ranging and definitive effort to date. In honor of this auspicious occasion, they invited esteemed ...
Sao Paulo Underground: Cantos Invisíveis

by Troy Collins
Democratically led by Chicago-based sound explorer Rob Mazurek, São Paulo Underground has been defying genre conventions and musical boundaries for almost a decade. Originally formed with percussionist Mauricio Takara and keyboardist Guilherme Granado during Mazurek's sojourn in Brazil (2000-2005), the ensemble's membership has undergone a subtle change on its fifth album with the addition of Swiss-born ...