22 Jun
Mantis by Eric Truffaz
Friday, 22 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
It would be easy to caricaturize Erik Truffaz as another branch of the tree of Miles Davis. Truffaz’ involvement with silence as a component of sound, his experimentation w…
21 Jun
Transformation by Don Preston Trio
Thursday, 21 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Don Preston is best known for his tenure with Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention from 1967. Fair enough, perhaps; it's an incredible body of work, and it's no coincid…
20 Jun
Black Stars by Jason Moran
Wednesday, 20 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The days of innovation in music are far from being over.Witness pianist Jason Moran’s body of work, most recently his 2001 Blue Note release, Black Stars. Here is…
19 Jun
Voluminous Venture by Masashi Harada & Barre Phillips
Tuesday, 19 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The nine pieces of music on this CD can't be described as tunes. To call them songs seems somehow incorrect as well. Compositions? Yes, in the sense they are the products o…
18 Jun
Tales from the Lower East Side by Stephen Gauci and Andrew Greenwald
Monday, 18 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Manhattan island’s Lower East Side, much like so-called "free" jazz, is a territory that attracts newcomers primarily based on a reputation built up in its early years: a r…
18 Jun
Amaryllis by Crispell / Peacock / Motian
Monday, 18 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I’d really didn’t think they made records like this anymore. Ethereal, breathing, cerebral, rhythmic, haunting . . .A spectral, glacial presence moving to it’s own inner wo…
12 Jun
Clouds by Natsuki Tamura & Satoko Fujii
Tuesday, 12 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Blending avante garde with contemporary jazz, pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamura create a unique series of images which will intrigue the listening audience …
08 Jun
Speak Easy by Raphe Malik
Friday, 08 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Trumpeter Raphe Malik has been a mainstay in the free and avant-garde jazz scenes for nearly thirty years now. Malik came to prominence in the 1970’s through work wi…
06 Jun
Shooters and Bowlers by John Butcher and Gerry Hemingway
Wednesday, 06 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The performances on this CD are simply music to my ears. This is not a case of my merely stating the obvious; I am using this cliché to underscore both how refreshing I fin…
05 Jun
Op*Ed by Mario Pavone and Michael Musillami
Tuesday, 05 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
There's a lot of upside to this CD. That the four musicians on this recording constitute a regular working unit is evident by the ease and fluency with which they communica…
05 Jun
Takin the Duke Out by Dom Minasi Trio
Tuesday, 05 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Jazz writer Howard Mandel once recounted an observation he’d heard from Michael Cuscuna a propos of the loft-jazz scene in 1970’s New York - the surprising realizati…
04 Jun
Mukilteo by Whirled Jazz
Monday, 04 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
MUKILTEO features six jazz compositions by Tom Bergeron, a gifted reeds performer, accompanied by Keller Coker on trombone, Page Hundemer on bass, and Dave Storrs on drums.…
03 Jun
Gift of Forgiveness by Kahlil Kwame Bell
Sunday, 03 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The CD opens with the aptly titled "Child's Play" which features kids singing, playing laughing and having a good time. The music comes in about 1:23 minutes into the song …
01 Jun
Don't Shave the Feeling by Ez Pour Spout
Friday, 01 June 2001
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Experimental musicians playing pop songs would be an accurate description of Don't Shave the Feeling. In theory that could lead to an enjoyable, if not exactly revol…
01 Jun
Avatar in the Field by Rent Romus' Lords of the Outland
Friday, 01 June 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A short while ago I was down with the flu and spent a good deal of time listening to Albert Ayler recordings. The experience left me with several thought. Of course, Ayler …
31 May
Cave Sleepers by The Tone Sharks
Thursday, 31 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Paraphrasing a comment saxophonist Paul Desmond once made about free jazz he said that it was like a house in which every room was painted red. Interesting to visit, perhap…
28 May
On The Run by Fred Anderson
Monday, 28 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In this post Ken Burns "Jazz" status quo, where legends are dusted off for an occasional spin and treated as footnotes and "authoritative" types like Wynton Marsalis and hi…
26 May
Place of Resonance by Rob Garcia
Saturday, 26 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The title of this CD is "Place of Resonance" - subtitled "A state of being where one feels a connection to life and the universe." A quick look up (courtesy of "Dictionary.…
21 May
The Ark and The Ankh by Sun Ra and Henry Dumas
Monday, 21 May 2001
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The first of a two volume (2-CD) set released by IKEF recordings is a conversation, which, according to Eugene Redmond, executor of the estate of Henry Dumas, was probably …
21 May
X-RAY by Gianluca Petrella
Monday, 21 May 2001
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
On the newest CD release X-ray by the Italian trombonist Gianluca Petrella, one hears strong reverberation of the avant-garde sounds of Ornette Coleman, Charles Ming…
19 May
Black Stars by Jason Moran
Saturday, 19 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Apparently entirely absorbed in his art and not so much in making a name for himself, Jason Moran is making a name for himself through the personalized art he creates. Seep…
11 May
Mukilteo by Whirled Jazz
Friday, 11 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This brilliant collection from reeds player Tom Bergeron and his quartet of Keller Coker (trombone), Page Hundemer (bass) and Dave Storrs (drums) is marked by Bergeron's in…
11 May
nonparticipant + milk by Tricolor
Friday, 11 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Chicago free jazz scene is one of vibrancy and daring, which is one of the keys to its success and being held in high esteem by players, fans, and critics around the gl…
09 May
Sankt Gerold by Paul Bley / Evan Parker / Barre Phillips
Wednesday, 09 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
What happens when three master improvisors get together to record, what happens? I mean, aside from the clash of egos and personalities, impossibly high expectations from t…
08 May
Funky Donkey by Luther Thomas / Human Arts Ensemble
Tuesday, 08 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The spirit of independence - of record labels, that is, has always been part of jazz. In the 60s & 70s, the avante/free wing of jazz was getting the cold shoulder from the …
Ed Littman describes himself as an "Eclectic Jazz Guitarist" in the title of the front page for his web site. It is a fitting moniker since the bio on the site says that he…
06 May
Delirium by Ori Kaplan Trio Plus with Steve Swell
Sunday, 06 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
DELIRIUM poses the never-ending question to me: how can this work so well? I think that it can be compared to a recipe. All the right ingredients are here and the mixture, …
04 May
Spirit House by Jemeel Moondoc & The Jus Grew Orchestra
Friday, 04 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
It was almost exactly a year ago that I reviewed the concert of the Jus Grew Orchestra at UMass Amherst. That concert was recorded and SPIRIT HOUSE is the name of the CD, j…
03 May
Translucide by Vincent Courtois
Thursday, 03 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This outstanding CD presents an exciting direction for 21st century jazz. French cellist Vincent Courtois performs unaccompanied on about half of the album's twelve tracks …
01 May
Cinemagique by John Wolf Brennan and Pago Libre
Tuesday, 01 May 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
CINEMAGIQUE is an interesting, unique adventure in free jazz and allows Pago Libre to create some enterprising and unusual jazz songs. It contains 15 songs with a playing t…
30 Apr
The Art of Falling by Jeff Johnson
Monday, 30 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
When making lists of the most innovative contemporary jazz musicians, many denounce what they see as pure American centrism, an inability to look beyond the shores of jazz’…
25 Apr
Poetic Justice by Anker / Crispell / Mazur
Wednesday, 25 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Poetic Justice is a recording of coexistences. Coexistence of the mathematical and organic, the cerebral and visceral, the harmonically and rhythmically dense and spare. Th…
24 Apr
Jazz Solo Piano by Charles Gayle
Tuesday, 24 April 2001
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Charles is an intriguing and contradictory personality. The cover of his newly released album "Jazz Solo Piano" shows him in conservative banker attire: dark suit and tie, …
21 Apr
Piano Music by Conlon Nancarrow / George Antheil
Saturday, 21 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Neither of these gents featured on this disc are, strictly speaking, "jazz" composers - yet, their music would be vastly different without the spirit of jazz coursing throu…
20 Apr
Short Trip by Brad Shepik Trio
Friday, 20 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In the vast array of music available today, it is a refreshing alternative to encounter musical collaborations that pare musical forces down to bare essentials. As an examp…
17 Apr
Compassion by François Carrier Trio + 1
Tuesday, 17 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Canadian alto sax player François Carrier has pulled together a very talented group of musicians to transform poetry in a global context into music. This CD bears an inesca…
16 Apr
The Line Between by Bob Kaufman Bruce Gertz Jerry Bergonzi
Monday, 16 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In a way free jazz can be imagined as the study of chaos and nonlinear mathematics. It can be visualized as a rising column of smoke breaking into wild swirls or a dripping…
15 Apr
Live At The Plough by John Stevens Trio
Sunday, 15 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The late John Stevens (1940-94) was one the grand daddies of the UK free/avant garde jazz scene, a protean drummer and bandleader who’s had his fingers in so many noteworth…
10 Apr
St. Louis Blues by Archie Shepp
Tuesday, 10 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
John Swenson’s liner notes to "St. Louis Blues" expresses it succinctly: "Archie Shepp, one of the most strident voices of the jazz revolution that took place in the 1960s,…
09 Apr
Poems and Preludes by Brian Agro
Monday, 09 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Brian Agro is a Canadian-born pianist/composer who, like Gunther Schuller, William Russo and Anthony Davis, straddles the sometimes-overlapping worlds of jazz and contempor…
06 Apr
On Tour...Toronto and Rochester by Trio X
Friday, 06 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This is the third recording made by Trio X. And the third time is quite a charm. I cannot tell that it is taken from live sessions except for one brief applause splash in t…
05 Apr
Serious Fun + One by Nils Wogram Konrad Bauer Dominic Duval
Thursday, 05 April 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Since the passing of J.J. Johnson, I am reminded of the vast contribution he made to the jazz world of the importance of the sound of the trombone. To take this point furth…
30 Mar
Destroy All Nels Cline by Destroy All Nels Cline
Friday, 30 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Nels Cline has been at the forefront of both the jazz and new music scenes in Los Angeles for the past twenty years. He has worked with such jazz artists as Vinny Golia, Ju…
21 Mar
New Orbit by Matthew Shipp
Wednesday, 21 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Besides musicians who recorded in the sixties like Ornette and Trane, the first avant gardist that I ever dug was Matthew Shipp. I am unsure when I first heard of Shipp but…
20 Mar
Corridors & Parallels by David S. Ware Quartet
Tuesday, 20 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The new release from AUMfidelity, CORRIDORS & PARALLELS, unfolds a journey that surprises. The intensity of sound that comes from this quartet is nearly unsurpassable. Ware…
20 Mar
Travelling Somewhere by Chris McGregor's Brotherhood Of Breath
Tuesday, 20 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The late Chris McGregor was a pianist/composer/bandleader from South Africa who resided in the somewhat more hospitable clime of Great Britain, where he assembled his band …
18 Mar
Voices & Dreams by Raymond Boni & Joe McPhee
Sunday, 18 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Spirituality can emanate from music that has no "spiritual" song attached to it or interwoven through it. In the case of VOICES & DREAMS, a European release on Émouvance , …
14 Mar
Vulcan by Satoko Fujii Quartet
Wednesday, 14 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
VULCAN is a choice work, a great showcase for the genius of jazz pianist Satoko Fujii! Fujii continues to create meaningful and entertaining sound expressions for the piano…
14 Mar
Junction by Satoko Fujii Trio
Wednesday, 14 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Satoko Fujii never fails to surprise her jazz listeners with new techniques and new creations! In the new Satoko Fujii release, JUNCTION, the jazz listener will find Fujii …
13 Mar
Totem Blues by Mario Pavone Octet
Tuesday, 13 March 2001
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
While the previous album by bassist/composer Mario Pavone, Remembering Thomas, was a conscious tribute to the late saxophonist/composer/band-mate Thomas Chapin, his latest …