02 Feb
Todo Chueco by Gallo & The Roosters
Thursday, 02 February 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
"No tenemos que pedir permiso para ser libre," indeed no and this slogan fit perfectly in the music composed by Danilo Gallo. Contrabassist, composer and arranger, livin…
30 Jan
Carnival Skin by Bruce Eisenbeil Klaus Kugel Perry Robinson Peter Evan
Monday, 30 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Carnival Skin stumbles across five consummated musicians and brings you back through the labyrinth of beautiful, and the most beautiful of labyrinths: free impr…
29 Jan
Metalix by Matthias Lupri Group
Sunday, 29 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
With each successive CD he releases, Summit Records vibist Matthias Lupri exhibits noticeable growth. Not only that, but he also becomes increasingly experimental. In that …
28 Jan
Shot X Shot by Shot X Shot
Saturday, 28 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Seductive is the first word that comes to mind about the debut recording from the quartet, Shot X Shot. The resonance produced as a result of the church recording space …
25 Jan
Killdozer by Robert Sabin
Wednesday, 25 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Killdozer is a suite of program music based on the armored bulldozer rampage of a mechanic named Marvin Heemeyer through the town of Granby, Colorado on Friday Ju…
24 Jan
Like Jazz by Natural Artefacts
Tuesday, 24 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This Swedish improvising trio pushes the proverbial envelope a bit, largely due to Per Anders Nilsson’s computer manipulations, used as an improvising and counterbalanci…
19 Jan
Only by Beans (featuring William Parker and Hamid Drake )
Thursday, 19 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Not long ago, I saw a documentary on the rehabilitation of a jazz club in Jackson, Mississippi called "Subway." In the film, the owner of the club interviewed musicians …
11 Jan
Lost Brother by Assif Tsahar Cooper-Moore Hamid Drake
Wednesday, 11 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist Assif Tsahar captured my ears as soon as I played the first track of his latest album "Lost Brother," recorded with Cooper-Moore a…
11 Jan
The Compass, Log and Lead by Fred Frith Carla Kihlstedt Stevie Wishart
Wednesday, 11 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
"The Compass, Log and Lead" is a beautiful accomplishment of three virtuoso improvisers. This album is impressive because of the quality of the music and the eclecticism…
11 Jan
Study II, Stringer by Barry Guy London Jazz Composers Orchestra
Wednesday, 11 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
For a jazz lover, the joy is great when Burry Guy arrives to a concert with his travel-bass, an instrument of his own conception (Barry & Dawson). Composer Barry Guy is …
06 Jan
Zimbabwe Nkenya and the New Jazz by Zimbabwe Nkenya and the New Jazz
Friday, 06 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Zimbabwe Nkenya is a superb New Mexico-based, bass violinist who aligns himself with good company on this live set recorded in Santa Fe. With East Coast alto saxophonist…
02 Jan
One by Matthew Shipp
Monday, 02 January 2006
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Matthew Shipp’s One is nothing shy of an overt statement about belief in everything, spiritual, psychical, physical, mystical. The recording te…
01 Jan
Time Lines by Andrew Hill
Sunday, 01 January 2006
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Andrew Hill's excellence and innovative genius, both as a composer and pianist are majestically displayed on this new Blue Note release, due out in February. This deeply…
18 Oct
Self-titled by Trio Askeladd
Tuesday, 18 October 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
With the same context as Norwegian folk songs, hymns and traditional music, Trio Askeladd has given a great album and a great example of how a trio can work. With a pian…
17 Oct
Sachor by Full Metal Klezmer
Monday, 17 October 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Full Metal Klezmer has striking sounds with its second album, Shachor. The album gathers an impressive line up: guitarist Fabio Basile, pianist Giorgio Pacorig, d…
16 Oct
Brian Had a Little Plate by Rootless
Sunday, 16 October 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Brian Had a Little Plate is one of the greatest recordings released by El Gallo Rojo Records in 2005. Rootless captures our ears and attention for their timbre an…
16 Oct
Cosmologic III by Cosmologic
Sunday, 16 October 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
There is a certain loquaciousness that often attaches itself to the avant-garde in the world of music, one need look no further than the writings of Xenakis or Cage to w…
16 Oct
Crooning The Anger by Henry Taylor
Sunday, 16 October 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
El Gallo Rojo Records has produced a wonderful release in 2005 which features amazing voices from Italy such as reedist Enrico Sartori, pianist Fabrizio Puglisi, bassist…
15 Oct
The Foxbourne Chronicles by The Foxbourne Chronicles
Saturday, 15 October 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Foxbourne Chronicles is the forward thinking collaboration of pianist/composer Dave Fox and banjoist, guitarist Eugene Chadbourne. This eclectic set was recor…
15 Oct
Let’s Call Ed by Erwin Vann
Saturday, 15 October 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Erwin Vann is a skilled European saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer, his home base is Brussels, the capital of Belgium. He is leader on an impressive outing that …
11 Oct
cyber@musique by Herve Provini
Tuesday, 11 October 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Herve Provini is a Swiss drummer-percussionist who grew up listening to progressive rock and jazz and started to play the drums as a teenager. He learned about computer …
09 Oct
Licalecca by Licaones
Sunday, 09 October 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Recorded, produced and distributed in Italy, Licalecca clusters together saxophonist Francesco Bearzatti, trombonist Mauro Ottolini, organist Oscar March…
09 Oct
Useful Music by Jeff Baumeister Quartet
Sunday, 09 October 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Philly native, Jeff Baumeister met the horns at a very early age only to switch to piano when he was a teenager. He obviously succeeded there while also be…
05 Oct
Abstracts by Jacob Garchik
Wednesday, 05 October 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
For me there are always contradictions with this type of music. As I discovered myself after an extended involvement with free playing, it isn't free; it imposes a set of s…
30 Sep
Directions by Marcin Olés/Bartolomiej Bart Olés/Theo Jörgensmann
Friday, 30 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Directions is a substantial, free improvisation and structured quest embraced with unimpeachable instrumentalism, a strong sense of lyricism and a vitriolic pu…
30 Sep
Suite for Trio + by Marcin Olés/Mikolaj Trzaska/Brat Olés/Jean Luc Cappozzo
Friday, 30 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Agile Polish twins Marcin and Brat Olés gestated on Suite trio + after to listenig to French trumpeter Jean-Luc Cappozzo’s work done with Louis Sclavis. Suit…
27 Sep
No Relation by Charles Evans/Peter Evans & The Language Of
Tuesday, 27 September 2005
Published in
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There you go .... a young bright baritone player who doesn’t want to imitate anybody and dares to tread on dangerous waters. His name is Charles Evans, the many slopes o…
24 Sep
The Whimbler by Gerry Hemingway Quartet
Saturday, 24 September 2005
Published in
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The spinning glance of Gerry Hemingway to the New York scene makes a lot of artists sigh while also delighting others, particularly those able to hear the subtle compara…
24 Sep
The Party Suite by Dan Blake
Saturday, 24 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A native New Jerseyan, Daniel Blake is a whimsical reedist, pedagogue, and composer. The muse touched him ever since he was a kid--playing piano at 5 years old and saxop…
23 Sep
Message From the Errand Boy by MOKUTO
Friday, 23 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Mokuto’s up-to-the minute approach, Message From The Errand Boy, is an industrious five partitions, deputizing a tuneful blowing dominion. The tracks are appeas…
22 Sep
Human Motion by Jeff Greene: Human Motion Jazz Quintet
Thursday, 22 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Listening to Human Motion is a lot like visiting an art gallery - the CD gives us an array of "sonic landscapes," as one critic puts it. Making up these "musical p…
22 Sep
La Fiancée du Pirate by Windsleepers
Thursday, 22 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
It is said that pirate’s fiancées possess such a wild-voice that they are able to face the pirate’s foes. According to a few source legends they are resourceful, powe…
22 Sep
Chamber Quintet by Marcin Oles & Bartlomiej Brat Oles
Thursday, 22 September 2005
Published in
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Polish twins Marcin Oles & Bartlomiej Brat Oles are amazing composers, startling musicians and sensitive characters. Bassist Marcin Oles and drummer Brat Oles awe us wit…
17 Sep
Negra Tigra by Pierre Dorge & New Jungle Orchestra
Saturday, 17 September 2005
Published in
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Inspired by Duke Ellington's original Jungle Orchestra that performed at the Cotton Club in Harlem during the late 1920s, Danish guitarist Pierre Dorge formed his New Ju…
12 Sep
Floriculture by Carl Maguire
Monday, 12 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A heterogeneous composition on Maguire’s piano opens up the tempo on "Egocentric," the first track of Floriculture. Then, a tandem between the piano and Trevor …
12 Sep
Kinda Dukish by Ab Barrs
Monday, 12 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The invention of the time machine is one that we have all wondered about at one point or another. Some of us would travel to the future to see what is in store for manki…
07 Sep
Transparent Horizons by Stich Wynston's Modern Surfaces
Wednesday, 07 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Transparent Horizons, the latest CD by Stich Wynston’s Modern Surfaces, starts with a rather unsubtle joke. Describing itself as "trio comprised of saxophone, gui…
02 Sep
Immediately by Dan Clucas
Friday, 02 September 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This is the first time I´ve heard cornetist Dan Clucas and I must confess I made the right choice listening to Immediately, a release bowing to Ornette Coleman.…
30 Aug
Einstein’s Dream by Ursel Schlicht Reuben Radding
Tuesday, 30 August 2005
Published in
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Pianist and composer Ursel Schlicht is an improviser who has shared stages with Dominic Duval, Sandy Evans, Ken Filiano, Christina Fuchs, Ratzo Harris, Lenora Zenzalai H…
30 Aug
Sea of Lead by Agustí Fernández & Peter Kowald
Tuesday, 30 August 2005
Published in
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Agustí Fernández is considered one of the greatest pianists, composers and improvisers in Spain; a gentleman with an open mind mixed into a sense of modest serenity. His…
26 Aug
Vigil by Andy McWain
Friday, 26 August 2005
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Pianist Andy McWain is known mostly for his excursions into free-jazz, and it is in this genre he, bassist Albey Balgochian and drummer Laurence Cook, work on Vigil
22 Aug
Closure by Mark O'leary
Monday, 22 August 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I have a friend, who as much as he loves jazz, refuses to listen to trios. When pressed, all he can do is mumble about how boring they are. Now, my friend’s judgment is …
22 Aug
Levitation by Mark O'leary
Monday, 22 August 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Seems that for every jazz guitarist there are a hundred horn players. Reasons for such rarity are vague and varied. Maybe it’s the inherent distance between the body and…
17 Aug
Prestige Profiles: Eric Dolphy by Eric Dolphy
Wednesday, 17 August 2005
Published in
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Prestige Profiles: Eric Dolphy was previously released by Fantasy as The Best of Eric Dolphy in a 2004 collection. My 2004 review appears here unchanged. Howe…
13 Aug
There, Just as You Look for It by Kris Tiner
Saturday, 13 August 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
West-coast avant-garde trumpeter/flugelhornist/composer Kris Tiner has appeared on 25 recordings for mostly small independent and self-published labels. He has been hear…
10 Aug
Quark Bercuse -- Solo Percussion Vol I by Kevin Norton
Wednesday, 10 August 2005
Published in
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The first of a two-volume solo percussion project, composer/percussionist Kevin Norton transmits yet another angle of his rather divergent musical repertoire. Throughout…
05 Aug
Levitation by Mark O'Leary - Tomasz Stanko - Billy Hart
Friday, 05 August 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
One telltale signal that there’s an extremely talented artist on the rise, would be the scope of (jazz) all-stars that have already performed/recorded with him or her. I…
26 Jul
Reflections of the City by Christian Pincock Quintet
Tuesday, 26 July 2005
Published in
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Recorded live at Myers Hall on 2004, Reflections of The City is an album composed and arranged by the talented trombone player, Christian Pincock. Eclect…
26 Jul
Imprints by Foot Loose
Tuesday, 26 July 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Imprints is a compilation of improvisation and originality. Its language is abstract, revealing some bright moments.Foot Loose is a Swedish group featuri…
19 Jul
Frozen Ropes by String Trio of New York with Oliver Lake
Tuesday, 19 July 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The addition of alto sax great Oliver Lake adds yet another disparate dimension to this time-honored modern jazz unit. From the onset of the first track titled "Shifts,"…