15 Aug
Eclipse by Matt Gordy Group
Tuesday, 15 August 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This wonderful quintet date, recorded live at the Regattabar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge, features drummer Gordy in tandem with altoist Marc Phaneuf, pianist Ben Cook…
14 Aug
Double Take by Satoko Fujii Orchestra
Monday, 14 August 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The fiery brilliance that is pianist/composer/orchestra leader, Satoko Fujii, is very evident in the current 2-CD release, DOUBLE TAKE. Satoko Fujii is the one of the leade…
07 Aug
The Inkling by Nels Cline
Monday, 07 August 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Nels Cline's improvisational guitar expertise has crossed musical "boundaries"-the avant/noise-rock of Mike Watt, Thurston Moore and The Geraldine Fibbers and the probing j…
04 Aug
Painters Spring by William Parker Trio
Friday, 04 August 2000
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The new release on Thirsty Ear Records, Painter's Spring, features William Parker on bass, Daniel Carter on reeds and Hamid Drake on drums. This CD contains more rhythmic c…
02 Aug
Sequenze Armonche (Some Gregorian Reflections) by Dolmen Orchestra Conducted by Nicola Pisani
Wednesday, 02 August 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I read the liner notes to "Sequenze Armonche" (Some Gregorian Reflections right after I began listening to the disc and immediately became quite excited. Francesco Martinel…
02 Aug
Dream After A Large Lunch by Fat Dragon
Wednesday, 02 August 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Fat Dragon gives us a blast of refreshing improvised sounds in the new release, DREAM AFTER A LARGE LUNCH, which should please many jazz listeners who have not heard this g…
28 Jul
Double Exposure by Achim Kaufmann Quartet
Friday, 28 July 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I was quite tired when the stereo’s carousel moved over to the third spot and Double Exposure. My face was buried in a pillow and I hoped for an introspective release like …
27 Jul
Live at the Velvet Lounge Volume Two by Fred Anderson Quartet
Thursday, 27 July 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Fred Anderson has been a creative force in the Chicago scene since the 1960s and was a founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians during t…
17 Jul
Jazz Bunker by Han Bennink Eugene Chadbourne Toshinori Kondo
Monday, 17 July 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This 2-CD set was made from a recorded live performance at the Jazz Bunker in Rotterdam, Holland during February 1980. It is a strange series of performances with even stra…
07 Jul
Live at the Bunker by The Fonda-Stevens Group
Friday, 07 July 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Improvised live performances have a tendency to begin awkwardly as even a group musicians that has long played together is likely to not gel perfectly at first. Then, as th…
07 Jul
Bridge Over The X-Stream by Steve Cohn
Friday, 07 July 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
For those who enjoy the piano music of Steve Cohn, his new "Bridge Over The X-Stream," features original compositions by Steve Cohn and some refreshingly original sounds! C…
06 Jul
Nailed by Cecil Taylor + The Quartet
Thursday, 06 July 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I had barely begun an over three hour long drive this past Christmas Eve when I stumbled upon on the second and final cut of Nailed, "Last," already in progress. Even befor…
27 Jun
Melaza by David Sanchez
Tuesday, 27 June 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
To call "Melaza" an extraordinary body of music is an understatement. Tenor saxophonist David Sanchez coaxes more shades from his horn than many better known players, and h…
12 Jun
Emancipation Proclamation by Joe McPhee & Hamid Drake
Monday, 12 June 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Passion for Passion - This is one of the most challenging reviews I have ever written because it involves writing about music that cannot easily be separated from itself to…
01 Jun
The Other Bridge (Oakland, 1999) by The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble
Thursday, 01 June 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
My immediate reaction to The Other Bridge was quite simply that this sounds cool. It didn’t take much effort or focus for the music to instantly grab hold of me and take me…
30 May
Joelle Leandre Project by Joelle Leandre
Tuesday, 30 May 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Both Joelle Leandre and Marilyn Crispell are respected household names in the world of Free Jazz and their collaboration on this project will be welcomed by devotees of the…
24 May
Minute Age by Reto Senn / John Wolf Brennan / Margrit Rieben
Wednesday, 24 May 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Just when I thought it was "safe" to start being indifferent to most free-improvisational sessions (I know it's heresy in some corners, but I think that some free-improviso…
21 May
Make Believe by Franz Koglmann
Sunday, 21 May 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Remember Third Stream, the "fusion" of the late 1950s/early 60s? The conjoining of jazz and classical music, then-controversial, reviled, ignored & then forgotten in the ro…
19 May
Cherry Box by Eneidi / Robinson / Parker
Friday, 19 May 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Eremite Records has just released CHERRY BOX. This recording features three players: Marco Eneidi on alto sax, William Parker on bass and Donald Robinson on drums. This rec…
02 May
Hidden Gardens by Lan Xang
Tuesday, 02 May 2000
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The linear notes take a couple of paragraphs to explain why this quartet calls itself Lan Xang. Its a pretty tortured rationalization but basically boils down to Lan Xang b…
29 Apr
The Mouse That Roared by Matt Turner
Saturday, 29 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A successful improvised solo performance -by which I mean a situation where a musician plays sans accompaniment- requires a great deal of both skill and creativity. Obvious…
24 Apr
Infinity by Rare Blend
Monday, 24 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Starting off the year 2000, along comes Rare Blend with a remarkable improvisationaljazz CD titled "Infinity" which contains 9 selections of enjoyable jazz! "Z'Hadum" and "…
19 Apr
Wong Fei-Hong Meets Little Strudel by Edward Ratliff's Rhapsodalia
Wednesday, 19 April 2000
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In the brief linear notes Edward Ratliff dedicates Wong Fei-Hong Meets Little Strudel to film industry of Hong Kong. Not being familiar with this source, I can't vouch for …
14 Apr
Noumena by Frank Kimbrough
Friday, 14 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Jazz Composer Collective alum Frank Kimbrough has assembled an ebb and flow of shadows and light on this imaginative sax-piano-guitar-percussion quartet disc. Noumena prese…
13 Apr
Spirits by Pharoah Sanders Hamid Drake and Adam Rudolph
Thursday, 13 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pharoah Sanders is a figure that is hard to get a hold on. Best known for his work with John Coltrane in the last years of that legend's life, Sanders was one of the first …
12 Apr
Undersound by Duval / Howard / McPhee
Wednesday, 12 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The recently released Leo Records CD, UNDERSOUND, with Dominic Duval, bass, John Heward, drums & kalimba, and Joe McPhee, soprano sax, is an example of improvised music com…
10 Apr
Poco-A-Poco by The Ganelin Trio
Monday, 10 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Ganelin Trio was one of the most acclaimed and accomplished musical groups to ever originate in the Soviet Union. From the group’s formation in the 1970s till its end i…
09 Apr
Shuffle Play: Elegies For The Recording Angel by John Schott
Sunday, 09 April 2000
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Guitarist John Schott has made a name for himself within the challenging ensembles of Ben Goldberg and the deceptively accessible ensemble T.J. Kirk (formerly known as Jame…
07 Apr
Funsville by Mrs. Fun
Friday, 07 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
FUNSVILLE is a delightful collection of 18 improvised songs by the duo of Connie Grauer and Kim Zick better known as Mrs. Fun! For an improvised collection, this one hits i…
03 Apr
Mayor of Punkville by William Parker & The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra
Monday, 03 April 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The word is not Jazz the word is Universal Music." So says William Parker in the linear notes to Mayor of Punkville, two discs and well over two hours of musical joy, lamen…
28 Mar
Alberts Lullaby by Hal Russell Staron Sparrow & Shandling
Tuesday, 28 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Albert's Lullaby is free jazz genius and improvisation at its finest with Hal Russell on saxophone, Michael Staron on bass, Sparrow on piano, and Rick Shandling on drums. T…
22 Mar
Kingcake by Kingcake
Wednesday, 22 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I thought I'd heard it all in 50 years of jazz collecting but Kingcake is definitely different. They have a style that is in a category all by itself. Call it "free jazz" o…
21 Mar
Alasnoaxis by Jim Black
Tuesday, 21 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Drummer/percussionist/composer Jim Black is a member of the exceptionally groovy Balkan/Middle-Eastern/jazz outfit Pachora, of whose praises I’ve sung in these pages. This,…
19 Mar
Heavy Days Are Here Again by Leo Cuyers' Quartet
Sunday, 19 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Chicago's Atavistic Records are reissuing some of the rarest avant-jazz records of the 70s & 80s that ever were, some recorded in America but received only minimal distribu…
12 Mar
Toward, To West by Satoko Fujii
Sunday, 12 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Satoko Fujii's latest release is full of daring exploration, conviction and a high level of musicality. Fujii's music begs the listener to pay attention and follow her ever…
09 Mar
Let It by Pandelis Karayorgis / Nate McBride
Thursday, 09 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This duo plays a piano/bass concerto in thirteen movements. Becoming a continuation of the one before, no one part can really be distinguished from another in terms of proc…
05 Mar
Synesthesia by Chicago Underground Duo
Sunday, 05 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This duo - from Chicago, no doubt - consists of Rob Mazurek (cornet, electronics) and Chad Taylor (vibes, percussion), both fine players who play jazz that resists "easy" c…
04 Mar
The Milwaukee Tapes, Vol. 1 by Fred Anderson Quartet
Saturday, 04 March 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson has long been a fixture on Chicago's cutting-edge jazz scene, and a founding member of that city's hugely influential Association for the Ad…
29 Feb
Straight Lines Skewed by Donald Robinson
Tuesday, 29 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
STRAIGHT LINES SKEWED appeals to a visual sense. (Some of the titles of the cuts allude to visual art ventures as in BRUSH UP, BLUE ABSTRACTION, SLICE OF LINE, WET PAINT, &…
27 Feb
Floating Rhythms by Terje Isungset
Sunday, 27 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The standard genre names aren’t adequate for Floating Rhythms. This is literally free jazz meets techno meets industrial meets traditional African rhythms as created by mus…
23 Feb
The Experiment by Dominic Duval & Jason Kao Hwang
Wednesday, 23 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
THE EXPERIMENT is avant garde jazz at its finest, and this 8 selection collection performed by Dominic Duval on the Hutchins bass and Jason Kao Hwang on the violin shows so…
22 Feb
The Experiment by Dominic Duval & Jason Kao Hwang
Tuesday, 22 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Experiment is an apt title for this duo recording by Dominic Duval and Jason Kao Hwang. These two highly respected musicians embark on a series of eight "tone poems" fo…
20 Feb
Blue Log by Urs Leimgruber
Sunday, 20 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Many brave saxophonists have performed without a net (that is, unaccompanied) in times past: Steve Lacy, Roscoe Mitchell, Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton. Such situations are i…
11 Feb
Songs from the Time of Great Questioning by Matthew Goodheart
Friday, 11 February 2000
Published in
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It would be a mistake to say that one of the main innovations of Ornette Coleman was the lack of a piano player in his bands as changes in harmony, melody, and rhythm from …
10 Feb
Anniversary by Dominic Duval
Thursday, 10 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bassist and composer/arranger Dominic Duval has a new CD called ANNIVERSARY released on the CIMP Label, The Spirit Room Series, Volume 103. I would not have expected this r…
08 Feb
No Greater Love by Joe McPhee - Joe Giardullo - Michael Bisio - Dominic D
Tuesday, 08 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bob Rusch, the producer of the sequel to IN THE SPIRIT, NO GREATER LOVE, states in the liner notes that this CD is "out-of-concept" ; that is to say that it does not use th…
04 Feb
Surrendered by David S. Ware
Friday, 04 February 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
My ears hear David S. Ware and my mind can’t help but say it is Jean-Michel Basquiat with a saxophone. Just as the late Basquiat would use the simplest of images, sometimes…
29 Jan
West Coast 1945-49 by Charles 'Baron' Mingus
Saturday, 29 January 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Easily taking his place alongside such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, bassist and composer Charles Mingus left us a large body of work, with much of it c…
14 Jan
West Coast 1945-49 by Charles 'Baron' Mingus
Friday, 14 January 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The post-war period precipitated radical changes in how jazz was performed. The popular swing big bands began to wither and bebop started to emerge like wild weeds from the…
13 Jan
No Greater Love by Joe McPhee / Giardullo / Bisio / Duval
Thursday, 13 January 2000
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bob Rusch, the producer of the sequel to IN THE SPIRIT, NO GREATER LOVE, states in the liner notes that this CD is "out-of-concept"; that is to say that it does not use the…