A – B

All artists filed by last name under A and B :

Rob Brown | Daniel Levin | Natural Disorder | Not Two Records

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Natural Disorder What a great name for an album of improvised music, especially one like this where the elements of apparent chance and seeming inevitability are in such perfect balance. It might also reflect my own dealings with Rob Brown and Daniel Levin: if I were a believer in any form of fate, then I could well feel that this is an association written in the stars. I first encountered them at a gig in New York, where I’d expected to hear Rob’s quartet with Steve Swell, Joe Morris and Luther Gray, but an unseasonal snowfall trapped Joe and Luther out of town, and Daniel – whose work I hadn’t previously heard – came in as a last minute replacement. Clearly this changed the dynamics of the group, yet the way in which Daniel immediately established a relationship of equality with the two horns made a huge impression on me. But, after an exchange of email addresses all round, I headed back to my home in the North of England, and we had no further contact for almost two years. — Paul Bream Newcastle-upon-Tyne 15th July 2010 Continue reading →

Daniel Carter | Alberto Fiori | Tom Abbs | Federico Ughi | Perfect Blue | Not Two Records

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Daniel Carter – alto sax, tenor sax, trumpet | Alberto Fiori – piano | Tom Abbs – bass | Federico Ughi – drums. Recorded on December 2, 2008 at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY by Jim Clouse. Edited by Alberto Fiori. Mixed and mastered on May 8, 2009 at ARTESOUND RECORDING STUDIO, Cavalicco, Udine, Italy, by Stefano Amerio. Produced by Alberto Fiori. Quartet photo by Alberto Fiori. Layout by Marek Wajda. All music by D. Carter / A. Fiori / T. Abbs / F. Ughi except # 1/3/5 by D. Carter / A. Fiori Continue reading →

Oluyemi Thomas | Ijeoma Thomas | Michael Bisio | Kenn Thomas | Positive Knowledge – Edgefest Edition | Not Two Records

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Oluyemi Thomas – bass, musette, flute, soprano, percussion | Ijeoma Thomas – voice , percussion | Michael Bisio – bass | Kenn Thomas – piano. Compositions by Ijeoma & Oluyemi Thomas (OLUIJEO UNIT MUSIC, ASCAP), Michael Bisio (AMB MUSIC, ASCAP), Kenn Thomas. Recorded by Oluyemi Thomas at Edgefest / Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor, MI, October 15, 2009. Mixed and mastered September 2010 by Rafal Drewniany (DTS Studio). Cover photo by Oluyemi Thomas. Inside photos by Marc Andren. Layout by Andrzej Wojnowski. Continue reading →

Tomas Fujiwara | Taylor Ho Bynum | Stepwise | Not Two Records

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On a spring day in 1997 I laid on a threadbare rug in an old Geary Street apartment in San Francisco. I had spent the day maniacally rushing around the city with my (very patient) friend to find a specific CD that had not yet come to Oregon, where I was living at the time. As my friend took a nap after all her driving, I stretched out in the sun and put on headphones : to listen. The name of the CD doesn’t matter for our purposes here, but what I heard is exactly to the point. It was pure, unadulterated joy. Big deal, right? We are constantly attacked in public by happy music. Joyful music on elevators, in ads for drugs and at the opening of tv shows. But this wasn’t just happy music; this was music that was nothing but joy, and there is a very big difference. This music I was hearing on that spring day wasn’t trying to represent joy. It wasn’t the kind of music that you want to dance to, or that gives you a warm sense of simpler times. This was a grouping of timbres, melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, played by a group of musicians, which summed up completely and wholly embodied the abstract concept of joy. It was in that moment, listening to that music as a young trumpet player, deciding whether or not to continue, that I saw a series of new paths open for me in my life. — — Nate Wooley, Fall 2009 Continue reading →

Antonio Arnedo | Brian Willson | Dominic Duval | Border Crossing | Not Two Records

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Throughout “In a Sentimental Mood” Dominic’s bass keeps a long-flowing, running dialogue with Brian sizzling cymbals and Antonio’s sublime sax. The one original piece is called “Dibujo” by Mr. Arnedo and it is sounds like a slightly twisted dream as it lurks towards a quirky conclusion. The final piece is Trane’s classic “Equinox” and a perfect closing song with some fine, haunting soprano from Antonio. This trio plays together as if they have been playing for many years, which is great considering that this was their first session together. — Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Continue reading →

Szilard Mezei Ensemble | BOT | Not Two Records

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If, as they say, the stick or rod is a part of the world-tree then this must be as true for the bow of the viola as it is for the flute, oboe, clarinet, tuba, or drumstick. Expert users of this bow are motivated by a quest for the path leading to the world-tree. As I imagine things, the person who draws his bow across his instrument knows that since they belong to the world-tree, sound and silence are not two separate things, but spring from the same stem. Because the root of these two things is one, silence cannot be the absence of sound, and sound is able to become music by virtue of the fact that it does not merely fill a space, but also creates that space. Accordingly, the person who having heard the silence stands centre-stage and calls forth sound with his bow creates and opens up a whole world. — Tibor Várszegi | Translated from the Hungarian by Chris Sullivan Continue reading →

Steve Swell’s Slammin’ The Infinite | 5000 Poems | Not Two Records

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Slammin’ IV – 5.000 Poems The title for this fourth installment of Slammin’ The Infinite takes its name from an essay by Walt Whitman. His theme in this essay, briefly summarized, is that in all art, and life too for that matter, being prolific, hardworking and productive in all you do, including trying those things whose outcome may not be exactly perfect in one’s mind, will eventually lead to that one good idea or work of art. Farmers after all plant many seeds, not just one, in the hope that some of those seeds will yield a nourishing crop. So it is with how I view my own work as an improvising musician and composer. Only by constantly creating can there be any hope that some of that creating will yield something worthwhile. Something that will mean something to someone, making that connection to even that one listener that might be moved and nourished by this most human of endeavors. I am fortunate to have a band that is still working together planting those seeds as a band and as individuals throughout the world always in the hope of creating that one crop of abundance that might fill the listener with strenght and hope and life. Also, there would be no ground to plant these musical seeds if it weren’t for the likes of Marek Winiarski, the wonderful people of Alchemia in Krakow and that most gentle and wisest of gardeners, Barbara Backer Manes. Thanking them all here does not even scratch the surface of their commitment to this music and to me personally. To all of them and the amazing musicians on this recording that I have been fortunate to work with, I am humbly grateful. —Steve Swell Continue reading →

Vijay Anderson | Hardboiled Wonderland | Not Two Records

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Vijay Anderson is a freelance drummer, bandleader, and teacher who lives and works in Oakland, California. He has been performing professionally in the Bay Area since 1997. He holds a MFA in music performance from Mills College, where he studied with Roscoe Mitchell, William Winant, David Bernstein, and Fred Frith. He earned his BA in music performance from S.F. State, studying under Eddie Marshall, Francis Wong, Hafez Modirzadeh, and Wayne Wallace. Anderson has performed and recorded with such diverse, outstanding musicians as Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalists Lynn Johnston and Vinny Golia, Bay Area composers/performers Ben Goldberg, Sheldon Brown, John Schott, Graham Connah, Darren Johnston, Smith Dobson V, Lisa Mezzacappa, Aaron Bennett and Ava Mendoza, and Austria-based saxophonist/composer Marco Eneidi. He also has worked extensively with Brooklyn based bass player/composer Adam Lane as part of Lane’s Full Throttle Orchestra, the Adam Lane Trio featuring Vinny Golia, and Adam Lane’s Blue Spirit Band featuring Avram Fefer and Roy Campbell.
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Rosa Luxembourg New Quintet | Night Asylum | Not Two Records

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Rosa Luxembourg New Quintet consists of five talented musicians who respect no boundaries when it comes to creating music. The five musicians in this group all exhibit good talent for free jazz improvisation. Heddy Brubaker’s sound hovers between the academics of Anthony Braxton and the more primordial sounds of a Marion Brown or Julius Hemphill. Piero Pepin’s trumpet growls and moans Lester Bowie style as it plays off the rest of the ensemble. Marc Perrenoud provides bass and electric guitar in a manner that adds rhythm and color rather than tonal assistance. Fabien Duscombs expertly uses a wide range of percussion instruments. Lastly, Françoise Guerlin’s voice is an improvisational instrument in its own right. — freethemusic – olatunji.blogspot Continue reading →