03 Jul
Hidden Fresco by Albrecht Maurer and Norbert Rodenkirchen
Monday, 03 July 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Beauty is unearthed and unabashedly displayed throughout Hidden Fresco, the latest release from the German duo of Albrecht Maurer and Norbert Rodenkirchen. Their …
It’s not common to hear a guitarist compared to adventurous players like Eric Dolphy, John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor, but Dom Minasi is not your co...
26 Jun
Out There by Eric Dolphy
Monday, 26 June 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A new entry in the Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series from Fantasy/Concord, this is a revisited classic that sounds all the more impressive 45 years after its August 15, 1…
25 Jun
Ganelin Trio Priority (DVD) by Ganelin Trio Priority
Sunday, 25 June 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
February 2007 - There are too few words available to describe musical performances in a fresh way, especially one as ethereal as given by the Ganelin Trio Priority. Their s…
01 Jun
Best Bets by Trio East
Thursday, 01 June 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
If not for Origin Records, questing ensembles, such as Trio East, would not be able to find label homes. Origin continues their fine tradition of focusing on less well k…
29 May
Synapse by Brian Allen with Tony Malaby and Tom Rainey
Monday, 29 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Brian Allen may well be the best American modern jazz trombonist that you’ve never heard of. Allen’s lack of exposure probably has more to do with his choice to live and…
29 May
Early American - The Melodies of Stephen Foster by Andy Biskin Quartet
Monday, 29 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I must confess that I was not particularly enamored of Stephen Foster’s music prior to hearing Early American - and it took me several listens to be thoroughly …
28 May
Teatro by Rodrigo Amado - Kent Kessler - Paal Nilssen-Love
Sunday, 28 May 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Distributed by the established modern/free-jazz Lisbon based record label Clean-Feed, this effort looms as the inaugural debut for European Echoes, initiated by…
17 May
A Fine Balance by Michael Bates' Outside Sources
Wednesday, 17 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Canadian bassist and composer Michael Bates has released A Fine Balance in which he blends jazz with classical moods. Visiting styles and going up into the experi…
16 May
Found Music by Scott MacLemore
Tuesday, 16 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Produced and orchestrated by Scott McLemore, this quartet utters an in-the-groove tendency, extending mercurial tempos, tonal shades and echelons of intensity. On "Hopef…
16 May
Dead Men (are heavier than broken hearts) by Christopher Woitach and the Cathexis Orchestra
Tuesday, 16 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Oh! How lucky can one be in having Christopher Woitach’s latest release Dead Men (are heavier than broken hearts), written as a tribute to the crime and…
15 May
The Guitar Trio Project by Tom Cohen
Monday, 15 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Eclectic drummer Tom Cohen sparks out with his release The Guitar Trio Project. Kaleidoscopic visions of drums/ strings promenade us with wonderful known tun…
14 May
Fugitive Pieces by Reuben Radding
Sunday, 14 May 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The newly release of Brooklyn based bassist Reuben Radding collides in a series of daring atonal sketches changing in length from track to track. Every piece snuggles a …
13 May
Anacronics by Sergi Sirvent & Santi Careta
Saturday, 13 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Emerging from the avant-garde, Catalan scene guitarist Santi Careta and pianist Sergi Sirvent comprise a duo of two out-standing improvisers. Anacronics …
02 May
4 Compositions (Ulrichsberg) 2005 Phonomanie VIII by Anthony Braxton
Tuesday, 02 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Two weeks after his sixtieth birthday, progressive jazz-improvisation and avant-garde legend Anthony Braxton was invited to partake in a sequence of performances with va…
01 May
Streaming by Muhal Richard Abrams/George Lewis/Roscoe Mitchell
Monday, 01 May 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pianist Muhal Richard Abrams affect on modern jazz and improvisation hearkens back to his founding of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). A…
29 Apr
Theres No Going Back Now by Mujician
Saturday, 29 April 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This CD contains on piece at just over forty five minutes which all four musicians show that there is, no going back.This could a great example of how free jazz i…
British geniuses Metropolis have released an album titled III as an homage to Led Zeppelin and well it is their third album.The song titles are unconvent…
23 Apr
Pulling Strings by Michael Bisio and Tomas Ulrich
Sunday, 23 April 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Turning up the volume to hear Pulling Strings clarified everything. It is a genderless pas-de-deux with strings. Muscular, dramatic and straightforward.To …
16 Apr
Streams of Expression by Joe Lovano
Sunday, 16 April 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Like most of Joe Lovano’s music, this album is very novel and very out. It consists of two suites, The Birth of the Cool Suite as the centerpiece and then the …
13 Apr
Paradise Road by Steve Lantner Quartet
Thursday, 13 April 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The beauty about Paradise Road, from the Steve Lantner Quartet, is that it is different every time you listen. The conglomerate of abstractions becomes a m…
06 Apr
Balladware by David S. Ware Quartet
Thursday, 06 April 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Rod Stewart recorded his version of the American Songbook, Smokey Robinson has put down some "jazz standards" and now the Davis S. Ware Quartet thrust into the scene a r…
31 Mar
Industrial Jazz A Go Go by Industrial Jazz Group
Friday, 31 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
One of the first things I noticed when I listened to the Industrial Jazz Group’s CD entitled Industrial Jazz A Go Go was the band’s propensity towards improvisati…
30 Mar
Pastellic Reflections by Joe Battaglia/Terrence McManus
Thursday, 30 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In order to be considered a dynamic instrumental guitarist, you need to be willing to take your music to the next level; a level that many attempt to attain, yet fall sh…
30 Mar
Pastellic Reflections by Joe Battaglia/Terrence McManus
Thursday, 30 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In order to be considered a dynamic instrumental guitarist, you need to be willing to take your music to the next level; a level that many attempt to attain, yet fall sh…
27 Mar
Enigma by Joel Futterman and Ike Levin
Monday, 27 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pianist and soprano saxophonist Joel Futterman and multi-reedman Ike Levin proceed directly from the free jazz tradition often referred to as "energy music" that was pio…
27 Mar
Sketches from the Other Side, for A.I. by Herb Robertson and the Space Cadets
Monday, 27 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This album was recorded in a single, nearly hour-long session of almost consistent improvisation. Even without considering how mentally, physically and emotionally taxin…
26 Mar
Walk Songs by Marcin Olés featuring Brat Olés Simon Nabatov and Chris Speed
Sunday, 26 March 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Whereas Marcin Olés has appeared on the jazz world’s spotlight as an amazing composer and bass instrumentalist in avant-garde music, this record is an able-bodied wink t…
26 Mar
Good Night Songs by John Tchicai Charlie Kohlase and Garrison Fewell
Sunday, 26 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Good Night Songs is a recording of this unusual trio’s performance at the end of their 2003 tour at the Unitarian Meeting House in Amherst, MA. The combination …
24 Mar
The Golden Boat 2 by Zlatko Kaucic
Friday, 24 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This precious double album is a tribute to illustrious soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy; the music was inspired from avant-garde Slovenian icon Srecko Kosovel’s poetry and…
21 Mar
Out There by Eric Dolphy
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Listening to Eric Dolphy is like being trapped in an endless labyrinth filled with abstract paintings whose images are supposed to give you a hint to the question, "So, how…
The whimsical and forward mentality of Amsterdam and Boston natives has gathered since 2001, and thus, Troglodytes. Ria their new release showcases such…
21 Mar
Transmutations by Stefano Pastor
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Conversion into another state, change, reduction and sometimes evolution recall what transmutation is, in the sciences. It happens that jazz lies among many ot…
19 Mar
Awakening2 by Mark O' Leary -- Steve Swallow -- Pierre Favre
Sunday, 19 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Irish guitarist Mark O’Leary’s budding discography features collaborations with the crème de la crème of modern-jazz pros. Simply stated, he’s a standout talent who has …
06 Mar
Brion Gysin Songs by Steve Lacy
Monday, 06 March 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Not one of the late great soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy’s typical recording endeavors, this reissued outing reflects a slight diversion, featuring controversial painter…
03 Mar
Edge by Jason Kao Hwang
Friday, 03 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Composer/Violinist Jason Kao Hwang is no stranger to creative music. Having worked in New York’s thriving cauldron of music and musicians, his prowess has been noted not…
02 Mar
Palm of Soul by Kidd Jordan Hamid Drake William Parker
Thursday, 02 March 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Sets of broken patterns become the source of this music. In listening to this music you need to steer away from pushing the round peg of what you hear into a square hole…
25 Feb
Change This Song by Trio Braam De Joode Vatcher
Saturday, 25 February 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Dutch pianist, Michiel Braam and bassist, Wilbert De Joode as well as American drummer, Michael Vatcher, are not only multivalent artists, they are also serendipitous me…
24 Feb
Virgo Suite by Mauro Bonomi/ Paolo Cattaneo / Fabio Mignola
Friday, 24 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Virgo Suite is an attainment of Mauro Bonomi and Paolo Cattaneo’s interplay birth broiled by an exquisite, courteous and accurate inventor, Fabio Mignola.B…
21 Feb
Interruptions by Terry Day
Tuesday, 21 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Terry Day is one of those "marginal figures" in the world of modern music, one of those intrepid souls who make music with little or no regard to fame, …
16 Feb
Earthworks Underground Orchestra by Bill Bruford - Tim Garland
Thursday, 16 February 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
England is a wonderfully green Island and one the most attractive countries over Great Britain. English jazzers are among the finest composers of the eccentric Britons. …
16 Feb
Fleeting by Amphis-Baena
Thursday, 16 February 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Electric jazz is winning over audiences in giant steps. It has all the ingredients to please: creation, improvisation, daydream and new rhythms. Miles Davis knew what he…
15 Feb
The Choir Boys with Strings by The Choir Boys with Strings
Wednesday, 15 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In conventional music terms, the notions of strings would indicate violins, cellos and so forth. On this release, trumpeter, Jeff Kaiser, and multi-woodwind expert, Andr…
14 Feb
Raw Materials by Vijay Iyer & Rudresh Mahanthappa
Tuesday, 14 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pianist Vijay Iyer and saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, both American jazz musicians of South Asian Indian descent, have been performing together in different ensembles …
13 Feb
Duos by Ellen Burr
Monday, 13 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Flutist, Ellen Burr, released Duos for our ears' and hearts' delight. Burr plays here choices between two aesthetics, which would be, first, the inspirational a…
13 Feb
Good Night Songs by Tchicai Kohlhase Fewell
Monday, 13 February 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Good Night Songs captures on two CDs a two and a half year-old live trio performance from three accomplished musicians and educators. John Tchicai, the Dutch re…
12 Feb
Stingy Brim by Johnnie Valetino
Sunday, 12 February 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Los Angeles based guitarist, Johnnie Valentino, has put together an eclectic quintet on his new OmniTone release, Stingy Brim. The use of Randy Jones on tuba in…
11 Feb
Cardo by Collectif INaudible
Saturday, 11 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
These twelve, trio and quartet-based workouts highlight the artistry of Belgian improvisers who recorded these tracks from 2001 thru 2005. The liners provide in-depth de…
10 Feb
Mineralia by The Alan Lechusza / Christopher Adler Duo
Friday, 10 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Alan Lechusza and Christopher Adler duo are definitely an eclectic band. These two virtuosos float in a patchwork of musical influences on the rate of improvisation.…
07 Feb
Time Lines by Andrew Hill
Tuesday, 07 February 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Music in general, and jazz in particular, has advanced so much over the past 40 or so years that the compositions of pianist Andrew Hill’s new disc, Time Lines, don’…