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The Volcanic World Of Pyroclastic Records
ByWhat happens then when a label's mission statement zigs when you expect a comfortable zag? Enter composer/pianist/educator Kris Davis' Pyroclastic Records, founded in 2016 "to support those artists whose expression flourishes beyond the commercial sphere." Maybe read that quote again, "to support those artists whose expression flourishes beyond the commercial sphere." Is that a suicidal mission statement? Yes, but not if you have the bona fides of an artist like Davis. Since moving to New York nearly twenty years ago from her native Calgary, Alberta, Canada, she has distinguished herself both as a leader, collaborator, and side musician with artists such as Jon Irabagon, Ingrid Laubrock, Tony Malaby, Tyshawn Sorey, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Eric Revis, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Michael Formanek, to name but a few. Her music can be found on labels such as Clean Feed, Tzadik, Intakt, Astral Spirits, and ECM.
Add to that list Pyroclastic Records. Pyroclastic, as in the fragments of rock spewed from an erupting volcano. Think of these releases as hot magma, but also the building blocks of island chains that appear from seemingly nowhere birthing new civilizations. Okay, maybe we've gone a bit too far with this analogy, but Davis' Pyroclastic Records is all about advancement and enlightenment. In it's brief existence, founded in 2016, the label has turned heads with several recordings voted 'best of the year' releases. Let's take a brief look at the catalog, and please search AAJ's database for more in depth reviews of individual titles.


That nod to poetry can be found on clarinetist Ben Goldberg's Good Day For Cloud Fishing (2019). Taking the poems of Dean Young, Goldberg fashions music for himself, Nels Cline and Ron Miles to which Young writes new poems while listing to the performances. The release is packaged with both the before and after poetry, so the listener can also get into the act. Jazz yes, but this is also literature, art, and a clear elucidation of improvisation.


Angelica Sanchez and Marilyn Crispell perform the two-piano duet How to Turn The Moon (2020). Both artists are established piano voices in the improvisational world, and this right channel/left channel conversation was crafted from seven Sanchez originals and three improvisations. The original material was comprised of minimal sketches for the pair to develop. This tête-à-tête takes place both inside the piano and at the keyboards, reminding listeners that the piano is both a percussive and harmonic instrument.

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We Travel the Spaceways
Mark Corroto
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Kris Davis
Jon Irabagon
Ingrid Laubrock
TONY MALABY
Tyshawn Sorey
john zorn
Craig Taborn
Eric Revis
Terri Lyne Carrington
Michael Formanek
Don Byron
Tim Berne
Marcus Gilmore
Billy Drummond
Angelica Sanchez
Julian Lage
Bill Frisell
Sun Ra
Chris Speed
Mat Maneri
Cecil Taylor
Julius Hemphill
Esperanza Spalding
Nels Cline
JD Allen
Ches Smith
Ron Miles
Cory Smythe
Andrew Hill
nate wooley
John Coltrane
Marilyn Crispell
Ken Vandermark
Bill McHenry
Darius Jones
Chad Taylor
Justin Faulkner
Pyroclastic Records
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