Results for "William Hooker"

William Hooker

William Hooker's body of uninterrupted work beginning in the mid-seventies defines him as one of the most important composers and players in jazz. As bandleader, Hooker has fielded ensembles in an incredibly diverse array of configurations. Each collaboration has brought a serious investigation of his compositional agenda and the science of the modern drum kit. His work is frequently grounded in a narrative context. Whether set against a silent film or anchored by a poetic theme, Hooker brings dramatic tension and human warmth to avant-garde jazz. His ability to find fertile ground for moving music in a variety of settings that obliterate genre distinctions offers a much-needed statement of social optimism in the arts." Thomas Stanley. William Hooker (drummer,composer and poet) has created works that range from jazz and "new" music to experimental genres

John Pietaro's "Test" Of 2020

By JOHN PIETARO

It would be a fool's errand in a covid-damaged society to attempt a peaceably gathered year's end “Best of" list, in jazz or any other genre or medium. But artists of jazz and all avant gardes have been especially susceptible to the considerable financial ebbing and health concerns of this period. Discussing this concept with my ...

Agustí Fernández / Liudas Mockūnas: Improdimensions

By JOHN SHARPE

As one of Lithuania's premier improvisers, reedman Liudas Mockūnas has partnered an enormous array of visiting luminaries over the years. The duet is a favored format which has seen the multi-instrumentalist in tandem with bassist Barry Guy, drummer William Hooker and guitarist Marc Ducret, just to name those documented on NoBusiness Records. Here ...

Matthew Shipp: Poetic Connection

By SETON HAWKINS

It is difficult to describe the impact of pianist and composer Matthew Shipp without descending into hyperbole. A core figure in the now-legendary David S. Ware Quartet, a bandleader with a staggering recording output, a groundbreaking curator for the influential Blues Series of Thirsty Ear Records, Matthew Shipp has also more recently broken new ...

Something Else! Festival 2019

By MIKE CHAMBERLAIN

Something Else! St. John the Evangelist Church Hamilton, Ontario June 20-23, 2019 I must confess that I spend very little time in churches, so I would not normally be inclined to spend the first weekend of summer in one. But sometimes exceptions must be made, and such an exception ...

Liudas Mockūnas: Hydro 2

By MARK CORROTO

Hydro 2 is water music, but it's not to be confused with the orchestral pieces composed by George Frideric Handel back in the early 18th century. Lithuanian saxophonist Liudas Mockūnas is headed even further back in time, back to some Darwinian vision of evolution from the murky primordial seas, forward to our bipedal momentum. Note: If ...

Paula Shocron: Paths to a New Sound

By JAKOB BAEKGAARD

When Werner X. Uehlinger, the founder of Hat Hut Records, was asked about a statement on why he liked Argentinian pianist Paula Shocron's music, the answer was clear, short and succinct: “The quality of surprise." Uehlinger discovered Shocron's music through her work with the SLD Trio and he liked their debut Anfitrión so much that the ...

Liudas Mockūnas / Arnas Mikalkenas / Håkon Berre: Plunged

By JOHN SHARPE

Recorded at the 2014 Vilnius Jazz Festival by a band comprising two Lithuanians and a Norwegian, which was one of the standouts of the 2017 Vilnius Mama Jazz Festival, Plunged proves an unexpected delight. Of the three participants, reedman Liudas Mockūnas is likely best known, having recorded with bassist Barry Guy, drummer William Hooker and saxophonist ...

Edgefest 2017: Give the Drummers Some, Part 1-2

By TROY DOSTERT

Part 1 | Part 2 Edgefest Ann Arbor, MI October 18-19, 2017 When mid-October rolls around, many fans of avant-garde jazz and creative music prepare to converge on Ann Arbor, Michigan for their annual pilgrimage to the Kerrytown Concert House, home of the Edgefest festival. Now in its ...

Light - The Early Years 1975-1989

By WILLIAM HOOKER

Label: NoBusiness Records
Released: 2016
Track listing: Drum Form (includes - Wings - Prophet of Dogon - Still Water - Desert Plant - Tune); Soy: Material / Seven; Passages (Anthill); Pieces I & II; Above and Beyond; Others (Unknowing); Patterns I, II and III; 3 & 6 / Right; Present Happiness; Anchoring / Inclusion / 3 & 6 (Right); Clear, Cold Light / Into Our Midst / Japanese Folk Song; Contrast (With a Feeling); Naturally Forward; Continuity of Unfoldment.