All artists filed by last name under Q, R and S :
Right hemisphere the intuitive side of the brain – the god part of brain – the part that processes in wholes not in linear sequences – the part that is out of time and rooted in eternity… …These pieces are not collective improvisations but are a series of concepts and gestures put forth, discussed and then acted upon musically. — Matthew Shipp, excerpt from the liner notes Continue reading
This music, one piano /one pianist, is a system both simple & severe. it contains a full dimension of style, range, technique & sound sources. it does equally well, feels equally (un)comfortable at home (alien) here in(ner) out(er) (s)pace using broad designs, vagaries, different & difficult patterns & obvious mannerisms. it is flutt’ring soundsheets in an unpredictable breeze of varying weights. a wealth of oppositional yet embracing sequences (like nature itself). clumsy elegance lifted into, soaking & unburdening the EAR. as precious stone is heavy yet beautiful to behold & light to the touch. plundering culturally formulated ideals, manners & mannerisms. a full course meal consumed. — Steve Dalachinsky, excerpt from the liner notes Continue reading
On one level, both music and poetry are very much the same, that being sound – at least the spoken word would be. Here in “Haunted House” is a sound design or shape being put forth with multiple meanings psychoacoustically, linguistically, musically that I can only say very little about in terms of meaning, since ultimately it’s meaning will be with each individual who experiences this work. This rhythmic engagement between these two art forms create a third reality of sound gestures and events that collide and integrate. Yet knowing these facts it still does not allow me to analyze or describe exactly what “Haunted House” is. Hopefully this experience will be a catalyst at some level for good. — Henri Threadgill, excerpts from the liner notes Continue reading
For me form precedes function. If I can’t see the big picture, that universe of sound within which a given piece will come to life, it is hard to organize the internal details. The great thing about the Sax & Drumming Core experience is that I have four special forms developed for this band. So I actually get to write pieces similar to other ones I’ve already penned, just like a jazz band-leader who works with “the changes.”! It’s cool, and it really helps to get to the center of the music and probe and evolve. — Larry Ochs, quotation from the liner notes Continue reading
…we need what this music brings us – an infusion of LIFE & the ability to see/hear things a bit differently through the same set of ears in the same galaxy but with a slightly warped astronomy – mixed with a bit of astrology & star plotting – yes new stars form every day & older stars (Allen now well over 80) burn brighter than ever before… …He wears a t-shirt that says Dream Team & all I can think of at that moment is > Yes that’s it. That’s what this trio is a Dream Team. A true Dream Team traveling their own ripple-odious Space Way through breath & pitch using their own brand of perspective to box their way out of the box we call Music… …Yet there is a logic to night, it being the only path that allows us to view those stars nakedly & these musicians have surely taken us closer toward that path. — Steve Dalachinsky, excerpt from the liner notes Continue reading
Never one voice above the others all voices fan-shaped in the presence of oneself and the other. To all that, one verb in all tenses – before, during, after – and for a thousand and one actions: to play, to make what has just been said, written, or dreamed play, always in a spirit of rapture. To make things play to bring out the beauty of things into a state of existence. — Excerpt from the liner notes, written by Alexandre Pierrepont Continue reading
In the 45 years since he recorded Sound, Roscoe Mitchell’s music has steadily evolved and diversified, making the idea of a comprehensive one-disc survey an impossibility. However, as much as any album, the both/and nature of Roscoe Mitchell’s music is vividly represented on Numbers. — Bill Shoemaker, excerpts from the liner notes Continue reading
As for the penultimate phases of this polyphonic hirsutism, fortified by explosions, whirlwinds, chants, howls, bubblings and very high pitched sounds, everything happens as if the last cry recalled, as in a trance, a certain aylerien spirit – did not Robert Schumann write “Music is what permits us to speak with the heavens”. — Philippe Carles, excerpt from the liner notes Continue reading
In the vibrant, searching solos of tenor saxophonist David Boykin, multiple-reed player Mwata Bowden, violinist Renee Baker, and Mitchell herself, we encounter a bright, buoyant sense of wonder. A breathless “oh!” set against the backdrop of her majestic, brilliantly textured themes. “We recognize the symbol of the ‘arc’ in the branches of trees, the shape of the sky, the passageways of thoughts moving through our brain, and the rivers and streams carved through sand and rock by water.” Mitchell’s is a deeply organic music, playful and joyous and wondrous, but also full of sophisticated layers of emotional complexity, a spectrum of human feeling, the same range succinctly captured in the simple exclamation: “Oh.” Board the arc, feel the curve, enjoy the ride. — John Corbett, excerpt from the liner notes Continue reading
The German bassist Peter Kowald (1944-2002) was one of the major figures of Free Improvised Music. The film OFF THE ROAD was made on and around his extended tour of the USA in 2000. A journey around America in an old Chevrolet Caprice, the film is a “free improvised road movie” featuring encounters with many of the great names of Free Music, set against the background of “Off The Road” America. Continue reading