Dave Segal
Dave’s Contributions
July/August 2006 Albums
Zen of Logic
DJ Logic
Through his affiliation with funky jam-band chameleons Medeski, Martin and Wood, DJ Logic (Jason Kibler) has been instrumental in bringing jazz improvisation to hip-hop (and vice versa). A highly in-demand turntablist among New York's avant-jazz set, Logic...
April 2006 Albums
In Praise of Shadows
Chicago Underground Duo
While cornetist Rob Mazurek now lives in Brazil and percussionist Chad Taylor dwells in Brooklyn, they will always be linked to the Windy City's febrile, fecund postrock and jazz communities whence both sprang and which both have imbued with unconventional...
March 2006 Albums
Spirit Walk
Steve Reid Ensemble
Perhaps the only musician to play with James Brown, Miles Davis, Sun Ra and Fela Kuti and on Motown sessions, drummer Steve Reid is a Rhodes Scholar of rhythm. His Ensemble's a lively, heraldic octet, appropriately recording for England's impeccable Soul...
January/February 2006 Albums
Living Water
Dwight Trible
From his first utterance on Living Water, it's clear that Dwight Trible is cut from the same robustly rich baritone cloth as the late Leon Thomas, minus the latter's predilection for yodeling (it's just as well; nobody can yodel like Thomas). Like his formidable...
December 2005 Albums
The Funky Side of Life
Yesterday's New Quintet Presents Sound Directions
Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) may be the most industrious studio whiz working today. (Who said smoking blunts induces laziness? While you read this, Madlib's just finished another track.) Despite his prolifigacy, Madlib maintains lofty quality control. Peruse...
November 2005 Albums
Pentagon
Mat Maneri
Pentagon proves yet again the profound impact on jazz of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, a controversial masterpiece that's still inspiring musicians 35 years after its release. Here, the prolific violinist/viola player Mat Maneri marshals the talents of nine...
November 2005 Albums
Chromosome Gun
Ultralyd
Chromosome Gun begins with a bang, a detuned guitar clang, a power drone, a truculent blast of clarinet and alto sax-and it gets progressively more intense thenceforth. Norway's Ultralyd believe in assaulting the listener from the get-go, so track one...
July/August 2005 Albums
Mandarin Movie
Mandarin Movie
Could this disc be the enema jazz needs to get it out of its logy state? The answer: "Yes!" in thunder. Mandarin Movie is the tumultuous instant classic conceived by Brazil-via-Chicago cornetist Rob Mazurek (Isotope 217, Chicago Underground Trio, Tigersmilk...
July/August 2005 Albums
Maarifa Street
Jon Hassell
This 68-year-old trumpeter is among a select sect of musicians who have coined a genre name ("Fourth World Music") and carved a distinctive sigil in the global soundscape. Every Jon Hassell album is a unique vessel of tones and atmospheres, invariably otherworldly...
March 2005 Albums
Negrophilia: The Album
Mike Ladd
With perhaps more concern for aesthetics than sales, Thirsty Ear continues to place rappers into jazz-band contexts. Following full-lengths by Antipop Consortium and El-P, Massachusetts mensch Mike Ladd hooks up with pianist Vijay Iyer, drummer Guillermo...
March 2005 Albums
Glazed Popems
Mushroom
Mushroom-who share keyboardist Brian Felix with OM Trio, whose 2003 self-release Globalpositioningrecord was just reissued by Black Beauty-are adept replicators of their eclectic record collections. Thankfully, the Oakland ensemble's members have good taste...
December 2004 Albums
Latitude
Groundtruther
Eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter and drummer Bobby Previte decided to record three albums as a duo while using a different guest on each work. On Latitude, they've chosen alto saxophonist Greg Osby. (Longitude and Altitude will complete the trilogy...
October 2004 Fused
Who Is This America?
Antibalas
Can polyrhythms-no matter how hip-swivelingly funky and relentless-spark revolution? I doubt it, but Brooklyn's Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra maintains an unshakable belief in the power of making music to shake people's asses for what its members consider...
October 2004 Fused
Lord of the Harvest
Zillatron
Former James Brown/Parliament/ Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins is an undisputable funk legend, but even his best solo LPs have been marred by sloppy jams, irksomely cartoonish vocals and tedious self-aggrandizement. Innerhythmic, cognizant of Bootsy's...
October 2004 Fused
It's All Around You
Tortoise
On Tortoise's fifth album, It's All Around You (Thrill Jockey), the group makes its most explicit homage yet to ECM's solemn, hushed jazz tropes. The Chicago quintet has always revered jazz's elites and peppered its albums with improvisational flurries that...
October 2004 Fused
Dry Humping the American Dream
Gutbucket
After reading the title (Dry Humping the American Dream) and glancing at the cover (four grown men making wacky faces), my expectations plummeted for Gutbucket's new album. Frank Zappa has much to answer for. Thankfully, though, the music on Dry Humping...
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