D – E – F

All artists filed by last name under D, E and F :

Pepe Medri & Timbuctu Orkestra | Fernando | El Gallo Rojo Records

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A good artistic fellowship needs lucky encounters and a balance of personalities that is often hard to reach. I can tell that Pepe Medri’s Timbuctù Orkestra has these features. The credit is to give to Pepe’s music, which comes from tango and folk music and trusts to the collective arrangement of an ensemble made from musicians coming from jazz and contemporary classical music. The balance produced, between folk roots and free-improvised areas, strictness and naïvety, is real magic. — Dimitri Sillato Continue reading →

Pete Robbins’s Unnamed Quartet | Live in Brooklyn | Not Two Records

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The experience of playing completely improvised music can completely run the gamut. When the performance isn’t working Ifor reasons that are only somewhat predictable), there are few situations that are more uncomfortable and less enjoyable. But when the music really IS working, ifs a feeling of privilege and of pleasure that can otherwise be hard to come by. Particularly in New York, musical collaborations come and go all the time, and often their longevity or the frequency with which they showcase their work don’t necessarily correspond to how compelling the music might be. The group heard on this recording had only performed a handful of times (and only in front of a handful of people) when this concert was documented. But the fact that I felt moved to have this gig recorded is testament to the special nature of this lineup of musicians. It is truly rare to stumble upon a group where each of us can be so comfortable being both active and re-active, primary and complementary. This is a function of the respect that each of us has for one another as creative agents, sponges for sonic information, and partners in crime. I hope the music is as enjoyable to listen to as it was to create. — Pete Robbins Continue reading →

Avram Fefer | Eric Revis | Chad Taylor | Eliyahu | Not Two Records

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Avram Fefer – Alto, Tenor Saxes | Eric Revis – Bass | Chad Taylor – Drums. All compositions by Avram Fefer (SACEM) except track 1 and track 5. Recorded January 9, 2010 by Ivan Julian in NYC at HED Recording Studios. Mixed September 3, 2010 by Jason Candler at The Maid’s Room. Cover photo by Avram Fefer. Photos of Revis and Taylor by Michael Jackson. Photo of Fefer by Marie-France. Continue reading →

The Resonance Ensemble | Kafka In Flight | Not Two Records

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Magnus Broo – trumpet (Stockholm) | Michael Zerang – drums (Chicago) | Ken Vandermark – tenor saxophone, Bb clarinet (Chicago) | Mikolaj Trzaska – alto saxophone, bass clarinet (Gdansk) | Mark Tokar – bass (Kiev) | Steve Swell – trombone (New York) | Dave Rempis – alto & tenor saxophones (Chicago) | Per-Âke Holmlander – tuba (Stockholm) | Tim Daisy> – drums (Chicago) | Waclaw Zimpel – Bb & bass clarinet, taragato (Warsaw). All compositions by Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music / ASCAP). Recorded in concert at the Philharmonic Hall, Gdansk, Poland, by Piotr Traszkiewicz on October 31, 2009. Mixed by Bob Weston and Ken Vandermark at Chicago Mastering Service. Cover design by Marek Wajda. Thanks to the musicians, Marek Winiarski, Marek Wajda, Ola Trzaska (who made the concert in Gdanks possible), the presenters who took a chance on the band (except for the organizer in Szekesfehervar, who never paid us), and of course – the listeners. Continue reading →

Vandermak 5 Special Edition | The Horse Jumps & The Ship Is Gone | Not Two Records

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This 2-CD’s set documents an expanded Vandermark 5 at Chicago’s Green Mill club in June of 2009. The quintet is assisted by Scandinavian stalwarts Magnus Broo (trumpet) and Håvard Wiik (piano), both members of Atomic who previously worked with several members of the Chicago outfit. The album once again proves that the Vandermark catalogue for this band is an awe-inspiring work-in-progress. Using several songs from ‘Annular Gift’ (Not Two, 2009) as a foundation, leader Ken Vandermark augmented his compositions, rewriting passages and rethinking their structures to fit this seven-piece Special Edition. The result is a striking balance of tight interplay, free excursions and anything in between. The album includes recent compositions, returns to ‘A Discontinuous Line’ and ‘Beat Reader’ (with a marvellous version of “Friction”), contains one new composition (“Nameless”) and two pieces composed by the guests: Broo’s “New Weather” and Wiik’s “Green Mill Tilter”. ‘The Horse Jumps And The Ship Is Gone’ is another strong V5-release, that not only confirms Vandermark’s reputation as one of the hardest working men in the business, but also the band’s telepathic interplay and adventurous spirit. — Instantjazz Blog 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 →

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 →

Joe McPhee | Dominic Duval | Jay Rosen | Mikolaj Trzaska | Magic | Not Two Records

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As the 1990s drew to a close McPhee discovered two like-minded improvisers in bassist Dominic Duval and drummer Jay Rosen. The trio premiered at the Vision Jazz Festival, but the concert went unnoticed by the press; McPhee, Duval and Rosen therefore decided that an apt title for the group would be Trio X. A number of Trio X recordings, have since been released on the CIMP and CADENCE JAZZ RECORDS labels, and the band has received favorable critical notice for these, as well as for its live concert and festival appearances. This is the first Trio X album on NotTwo, and it features a special guest – one of the leading European improv music masters — Mikolaj Trzaska. Continue reading →