G – H – I

All artists filed by last name under G, H and I :

Eric Greinke | The Drunken Boat and Other Poems From the French of Arthur Rimbaud | Gazelle Books

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Text in English and French. Known only to literati since its original small press publication in 1975 and two subsequent small press editions, widely published poet Eric Greinke’s innovative American versions of Rimbaud’s best poems have received critical acclaim as the best translations of Rimbaud to date. Available for the first time as a full-length book, these translations have received high praise from fellow poets-translators such as Robert Bly and Leslie H Whitten. These versions restore the music and imagery of the originals for English-language readers. Greinke was among the first American poets to prioritise poetic elements in translation, breaking tradition with the more literal but less literate ‘old school’ approach. Contains 35 of Rimbaud’s works accompanied by the original French, including Greinke’s hauntingly evocative version of “The Drunken Boat”, a poem considered by many to be the single best poem ever written in any language. Includes a twelve page introduction by the poet-translator and an index of first lines. A ‘must have’ for all students and readers of classic poetry. Continue reading →

Ruth Goring | Yellow Doors | Gazelle Books

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“When I write poetry it’s usually pointless to start with an idea. I start with an image or a striking phrase and let it take me somewhere. For years I have thought of my poems as paintings: I want readers or hearers to be startled by colors, dazzled by the fall of light on some ordinary object or gesture. But they are not just visual; words are little buckets to scoop textures, fragrances, intriguing sounds, evocative flavors out of our teeming world. “A good rule for writing a poem: You have to earn the right to use an abstract word. Abstractions—love, truth, perspicuity—are vague by themselves. But if you have been immersed in some wet ocean of shifting blues, the word beautiful may surface like Venus, sudden, radiant and dripping.” — Ruth Goring Continue reading →

Richard Tabnik Quartet | Life at the Core | NA1016

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The songs on this album are not tunes which you are likely to start singing in the shower. More likely you will be stuck contemplating what it is about these songs that is so engaging. The elements presented could easily be a standard jazz recording session, but as soon as the first notes well-up you are immediately informed that you are in for a wild ride. The strumming and linear stylings of guitarist Andy Fite combined with the driving rhythm provided by bassist Calvin Hill and drummer-extraordinaire Roger Mancuso provide the perfect background for Tabnik’s lightening-fast improvisations. Tabnik reaches into this foundation to pull interesting and tasty pieces out which he uses to shape and create his solos out of. This is especially apparent in the two takes of Tabnik’s tune “Timescapes” (cuts 6 and 7). Listen for the interplay between Fite and Tabnik as they wind through the changes. Richard Tabnik is someone that you should definately check out. This is an artist who is not afraid to be himself. — Review (c)1996 Jason DuMars Continue reading →

Liz Gorrill | Solo Piano | For the Beauty of the Earth | NA1030

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After a stark, brooding deconstruction of Irving Berlin’s “How Deep Is The Ocean,” Liz Gorrill goes on to createa startling solo piano record that explores territoryhovering somewhere between Paul Bley and Ran Blake. Certainly there’s a classical touch and strong feel offormal rigor about her playing that ranges from the Satie-like repetitions of “Secrets Start Singing” to thefugue-like romp of “Two Hands Made Of Sun,” a startling performance that made me smile as it conjuredup a further point of reference: Lennie Tristano. From impressionist miniatures like “Shaken Out In Thunder”and “The Stormy Wind” to sustained meditations like“Gardens Dying, Blossoming,” Gorrill explores anadventurous program that is simply exquisite. — David Lewis, Cadence, January 1999 Continue reading →

Liz Gorrill | Dreamflight | NA1010

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The final “Dream Sequence” begins with a piece entitled “Blues From A Subterranean Galaxy,” which, without a hint of Sun Ra’s leavening humour, should give a sense of what’s going on here: just imagine space converted to mass. What is remarkable, however, is what Gorrill achieves by the end of the sequence. The final “Deep Awakening,” along with numerous other moments in the performance, has such kinetic energy that it levetates not only itself but the burdens of history, particularly piano history, that Gorrill so willingly assumes elsewhere. — Stuart Broomer, Coda, May/June 1993 Continue reading →

Liz Gorrill | Charley Krachy | A Jazz Duet | NA1007

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The two instrumental voices merge satisfyingly on “317 East 32nd Street” where Gorrill offers not only a bass line, but also apt commentary for the saxophonist in cleverly obscured “Out Of Nowhere” territory. Most of the structures are familiar, but they merely serve as secure foundations for daring improvisation. Dynamics are important in such intimate music, and Liz Gorrill’s variety of touch becomes an essentialingredient in ensuring that the performances move through many layers and engender subtle shifts of mood. With all its complexity, the music maintains a momenturm and inner logic that is a tribute to the participants. “How High The Moon,” that perennial jazz racer, has its character reversed by a slow, reflective treatment in which no pet licks are used to escape hatches. A most stimulating set, at its best, perhaps, when the duo swings unselfconciously and with considerable exhilaration on “My Melancholy Baby.” — Jazz Journal, July 1991, Mark Gardner Continue reading →

Connie Crothers Quartet | music is a place | NA1043

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They may have started as members of the Lennie Tristano school of jazz, but the members of this highly evolved and polished quartet, as much a collective as the band of pianist Crothers, has ventured far beyond the tenets of Tristano. They take liberties with time, tone, tempo, dynamics and attack that would horrify more orthodox Tristanoites. The lesson they do take to heart is the valuable one of perseverance, of the importance of playing their music as often as possible, or, as Crothers says, “I put a ton of time behind everything I do . . . I spend time with music. It’s a joy! Never work.” Continue reading →