04/15/11    Albums

Cosmic Lieder
Darius Jones/Matthew Shipp

Borrowing from the idea of romantic song, otherwise known as classical German “lieder,” in Cosmic Lieder , alto sax player Darius Jones and pianist Matthew Shipp come together for their first duet. Jones is the primary voice and story-teller. In the most...

04/15/11    Albums

Montreal Parade
The Rempis Percussion Quartet

Taken from four hours of recording in a studio, the one-hour straight improvisation that is Montreal Parade by The Rempis Percussion Quartet is stunning. Reedman David Rempis has reinvented former band member, Anton Hatwich, with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten in...

03/06/11    Albums

Lark Uprising
Joe McPhee, Mikolaj Trzaska, Waclaw Zimpel, Paweł Szamburski, Michael Górczyński

For any bandleader, it is a challenge to pull together a group whose members work well with each other, especially as an improvising unit. Polish multi-reedman Mikolaj Trzaska achieved success with the musicians he assembled for his clarinet quintet: Waclaw...

02/22/11    Albums

The success of Jane Ira Bloom as a musician comes through her instrumental voice, which the soprano sax player uses eloquently in Wingwalker . She has surrounded herself with a strong group of colleagues as well: Dawn Clement on piano and Fender Rhodes...

02/11/11    Albums

Travel Music
Michael Bisio

Dedicated to his parents, Paul and Kathleen Bisio, who taught him “the Sound of Love,” bassist Michael Bisio’s first self-released Travel Music communicates the unique sound quality of his playing. Emboldened to vibrate the bass strings for releasing rare...

02/05/11    Artist Profiles

Frank Rosaly: Music From Within

Lyn Horton interviews drummer about his life and his approach to improvisational music

01/13/11    Albums

Be It As I See It
Uncle June

Dedicated to his be-bopping drummer father and Sun Ra, Gerald Cleaver stretches contemporary musical modes in Be It As I See It with his band Uncle June. Cleaver’s compositions interweave intimate and grand statements with a graceful story-telling beauty...

12/27/10    Albums

Eastern Man Alone
Charles Tyler

That Charles Tyler comes out of the school of Albert Ayler is a well-known fact. Listening to Tyler in his quartet on Eastern Man Alone , recorded in January, 1967, his second for ESP, is delving into history. His music is seminal, even more so it seems...

12/27/10    Albums

Three Kinds of Happiness
Locksmith Isidore: Jason Stein/Jason Roebke/Mike Pride

Art Lange’s nearly illegible liner notes for Three Kinds of Happines s promulgate copious speculation on the meaning of the music in the third release from Locksmith Isidore, the trio led by Chicago bass clarinetist Jason Stein. A boppish tempo within the...

12/08/10    Albums

Blue Chicago Blues
Joe McPhee and Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten

In Blue Chicago Blues , recorded in 2007, the duo of tenor player Joe McPhee and bassist Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten balances out very well, in ethnicity, instrumentation, musical personality, and tonal character. McPhee is relaxed with the openness of his horn...

11/23/10    Albums

New Orleans Suite
Andrew Lamb Trio

Paying tribute to the population of New Orleans in the wake of hurricane Katrina which struck in August of 2005, the Andrew Lamb Trio recorded New Orleans Suite . Remixed and re-released five years later, Suite allows saxophonist Andrew Lamb, drummer Warren...

11/03/10    Albums

Betweenwhile
Mike Pride’s From Bacteria To Boys

The debut Betweenwhile from drummer Mike Pride’s quartet, From Bacteria to Boys, is a successful balance of the tuneful and the abstract, avoiding the “little bita dis-- little bita dat” musical scenario. This group--made up of Pride, Peter Bitenc on bass...

10/17/10    Albums

Unauthorized Caprices
Kihnoua

Leading the trio, Kihnoua, saxophonist Larry Ochs directs his interest to both literal and musical voices in Unauthorized Caprices . In more than one of the five tracks, trumpeter Liz Allbee, guitarist Fred Frith and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud expand the trio...

10/02/10    Albums

Macroscopia
Claire DeBrunner/Ken Silverman/ Daniel Carter/Tom Zlabinger

The continual intrigue of creative improvisation is the nature of the combination of instruments which the musicians choose. In Macroscopia , the quartet exists without a drummer. Tom Zlabinger plays bass; Daniel Carter, the trumpet and reeds; Ken Silverman...

09/16/10    Albums

Aerial Age
Vox Arcana

In his liner notes for Aerial Age , thirty-four year old Chicago percussionist Tim Daisy reveals the sources of his music with indisputable objectivity. His compositions have grown from his assimilation of a scintillating cultural environment that includes...

08/10/10    Albums

Parrhesia
Stephen Haynes/ Joe Morris/ Warren Smith

In Parrhesia , trumpeter Stephen Haynes, bassist and guitarist Joe Morris, and percussionist Warren Smith bring to light that the interaction and exchange of the phrasing from instruments of purposely varied timbres makes all the difference in how musical...