All of these title have either direct historical reference to New Orleans or to our visit and stay at The Creole Gardens. Special thanks to Rob Cambre and Kirah Haubrich. The concert and album are dedicated in honor of legendary master drummer Alvin Fielder. Continue reading
Upcoming Hurricane is a new group in a traditional form, a particular concatenation of musicians that gelled with remarkable speed and which brings its own strong personality to the idea of the piano trio. It has a layered rhythmic dynamism that comes directly from the tradition and the exploding, unfettered energy of free improvisation. It was the young bassist Pascal Niggenkemper’s idea to put together this band with the brilliant veterans Simon Nabatov and Gerald Cleaver, and it’s a sign of both Niggenkemper’s skills and his prescience that the group possesses the depth, vitality and vision that it does. — Stuart Broomer Continue reading
The electrified acoustic trio combines several worlds. Stories are told here in the jazz idiom: starting from a basic groove is stressed about this and also improvises with nesting and rhythmic themes. The compositions are mainly played on scales from division of the octave harmonic structures and parallelisms, scales, supposedly inspired by such contrasting worlds as well as the oriental Maqamwelt of natural horns in the Alps region. The trio moves also because of the natural inclusion of electronica outside “world music” sound is ethnocentric and exoticism of the young new century – in which bits and bytes a supporting role-play required. The clash of purely electronic and acoustic sounds of the trio receives a new topicality and urgency. Continue reading
A never earlier released duo recording that was played back in 1987 at Kassiopeia, Wuppertal brings these two great musicians and composers together for this unique and unforgettable session. Continue reading
The TARFALA TRIO has its roots from 1992, meeting at the SOLO – 92 festival in Stockholm, Sweden. After that first encounter in 1992, the trio has worked sporadically and played festivals in Europe and releasing 2 Cds on Maya Recordings. This recording captures them playing live in Belgium, 2009. It is explosive, high energy loaded ferocious music focusing on low dynamic melodic material. Tarfala Trio is at their peak creating the most exciting improvised music you can hear today. Continue reading
RED trio made a stunning debut in 2010. In this second album they play with British music veteran John Butcher pushing musical boundaries to the new realms of gripping and exciting kingdom of free improvisation. Continue reading
The late, great violinist’s first two albums — the first so obscure I missed it when I assembled a discography for my 2005 Voice piece on Bang. A quartet for the first record, with Bilal Abdur Rahman on tenor and soprano sax, William Parker on bass, and Rashid Bakr on drums. Rahman, an old friend of Bang’s, picked up Islam in prison and recorded reluctantly but more often than not his cutting and slashing is terrific here. Both albums are hit and miss, with bits of spoken word spouting political critique — “when the poor steal, it’s called looting; when the rich steal, it’s called profit” is one turn of phrase. Second album adds Henry Warner on alto sax and Khuwana Fuller on congas — Warner’s another player who shows up on rare occasions but always makes a big impression. Way back when I would probably have hedged my grade, seeing each album as promising but half-baked, but now they’re indisputable pieces of history — and not just because Bang and Parker went on to have brilliant careers. Also note that the label in Lithuania that rescued them cared enough to provide a 36-page booklet on the era and this remarkable music. — Tom Hull Continue reading
Turbina Anthem delves into the throes of assertive, sometimes chaotic experimentalism. A pungent trumpet opener pierced with mutated guitar plucks is standard fare across much of the track list, to most astringent effect on “Spoon” and “Jura”. Gomes aurally transforms his guitar into a metal sheet-washboard hybrid on the former, providing a percussive foundation for Miguel’s flaring trumpet. Beneath the grating overlap of the two strong-willed sounds, however, there does lay an appealing sense of discord and darkness – an ‘antiharmony’ of sorts. This quality reaches its height in “Jura”; Miguel plays with more apparent momentum, immediately searing the air when met with Gomes’ guitar gunshots. Turbina Anthem’s recurring piece – “The Pale Star”, recorded in five parts – offers some much-needed palate-cleansing. These tracks open with bare plucks of guitar or extended trumpet notes, proceeding serenely with few adornments. Gomes and Miguel still stretch the bounds of their instruments but on a more controlled scale, showcasing their versatility past caustic composition. —Sharon Mizrahi Continue reading
Thomas Heberer is called “a European master” and “new trumpet genius”. The music in his new double LP brings a fresh approach to blending improvisation and composition, which allows for the highest amount of freedom on the musicians’ side while incorporating significant structural tools on the composer’s side as well. His solo recording applies a vast variety of conventional and extended techniques, among which the most distinctive component is the exclusive use of circular breathing. Continue reading
It is May 30, 1992. New York. William Hooker plays drums. Thomas Chapin plays sax. They meet. All hell breaks loose. For seventy-one minutes. No holds barred. No limits. Just exploring. Just interacting. Just enjoying. Volume. Pulse. Speed. Power. Power. Energy. Anger. Depth. Scope. Lyricism. Sensitivity. Rawness. Rebels. Innovators. Ayler. Coltrane. Rashied Ali. Elvin Jones. Billy Higgins. Spirituality. Authenticity. Honesty. Integrity. Reality. Humanity. Energy. Freedom. Optimism. The creative force. Life. —Stef Continue reading