Countercurrents
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
Alarm
Atavistic Records
Originally recorded in 1981 and released in 1983 on FMP—still at the height of the Cold War—Alarm consists of what might be called a Brötzmann little big band interpreting a reaction to a nuclear emergency. The title track is a 37-minute tour de force, with...
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
Mountain Air
CIMP Recordings
Those looking for a jazz recording here, even an experimental one, would be looking in the wrong place: Mountain Air sits squarely in the avant-classical realm, but the spirit of jazz heavily permeates it. “Led” by Dominic Duval, one of Cecil Taylor’s more...
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
People of the Ninth
Flying Note Records
With People of the Ninth, Kali Z. Fasteau attains another remarkable achievement of stylistic and timbral breadth, in a first-time collaboration with tenor saxophonist (and New Orleans native) Kidd Jordan and percussionist Michael T.A. Thompson. Fasteau...
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
Ins and Outs
CIMP Recordings
Though his profile may not be that of Cecil Taylor or even Andrew Hill, 69-year-old pianist Burton Greene has been—very arguably—just as proficient and uncompromising. While Taylor favors completely free improv, Greene, like Hill, opts for angular and even...
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
Drum Dance to the Motherland
Eremite Records
Like a time capsule dropped smack-dab in the center of left field, this reissue could just as easily be some prehistoric artifact as an object from a futuristic space age. Even in the realm of avant-garde music, where anything and everything is possible...
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
Gate
Atavistic Records
Gate might be Ken Vandermark’s 27th release this year—we lost count a few months ago—but like most of his recordings it exhibits a singular identity and focused approach. This is the second Sound in Action Trio album and the follow-up to 1999’s Design in...
January/February 2007 By Scott Verrastro
Roulette at Location One
Cadence Jazz
Captured live at Jim Staley’s Roulette on March 4, 2005 on the heels of their previous CIMP album, Sugar Hill Suite, Roulette at Location One exhibits Trio X in peak form, opting for spatial exploration by utilizing remarkable restraint and extraordinary...
October 2006 By Chris Kelsey
Plea for Peace
Reckless DC
“This album is about peace...We pray for peace everywhere and everyone—especially (but not exclusively) for the cynics.” So say the liner notes for this album. As a card-carrying atheist and cynic, I should be happy someone’s got my back, just in case. But...
October 2006 By Chris Kelsey
Ride
Playscape Recordings
Thomas Chapin’s death of leukemia in 1998 hit me hard. It hit the people close to him harder, of course—I knew him only slightly—but it upset me to the point that I could no longer listen to his records. This newly released live recording of the alto saxophonist...
October 2006 By Chris Kelsey
Natural Selection
Squidisc
John Flanders is a young, talented saxophonist who seems to be searching for a niche. Despite exploring a variety of grooves and feels, he doesn’t find it here. The problem is two-fold. First, there’s the disparity between Flanders’ rough-hewn improvising...
