Q – R – S

All artists filed by last name under Q, R and S :

William Parker | Centering | Unreleased Early Recordings 1976 – 1987 | 6 CD Box Set | No Business Records

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This box of music is dedicated to my wife, Patricia. I would also like to thank the producer Danas Mikailionis for his conviction to the project and Ed Hazell for guiding us through these musical memories. I give sincere thanks to all the musicians who made a commitment to the music; those who have passed on to the next life – Billy Bang, Malik Baraka, Denis Charles, Raphe Malik, Jay Oliver, Charles Tyler, Arthur Williams – and those who continue to play and create beautiful music of their own today – Ramsey Ameen, Brenda Bakr, Roy Campbell Jr., Daniel Carter, Ellen Christi, Charles Downs, Charles Gayle, John Hagen, Masahiko Kono, Rozanne Levine, Alex Lodico, Zen Matsuura, John Mingione, Jemeel Moondoc, Lisa Sokolov, Ricardo Strobert, and David S. Ware. — William Parker Continue reading →

Szilárd Mezei Vocal Ensemble | Fújj szél, Zenta, visshangozz szél | Blow Wind Zenta, Echo Wind! | Not Two Records

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The disk stands out for its very intriguing, substantial large ensemble new jazz compositions, the distinctive sound of the band, Szilard’s working of traditional Hungarian, eastern European folk elements into the mix here and there, and the improvisational heft of the band as a whole. It is music that is very original, and as such difficult to describe in words. It’s very beautiful, and this is an excellent album. If you are looking for something different on the new jazz scene, here it is! — Gapplegate Music Review Continue reading →

Theo Jörgensmann Quartett | Ta Eko Mo

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The german clarinetist Theo Jörgensmann has always been open for progressive experiments. He is one of the musicians who made the clarinet socially acceptable again in the world of jazz, after the instrument had for years been considered to be old fashioned. It is now fifteen years ago that Theo Jörgensmann lead a successful quartet. After years of playing as a soloist in various projects he has now found a new ensemble with which he can make his visions of a vital, sensuous sounding, European improvised music become real. Christopher Dell, Christian Ramond, Klaus Kugel and Theo Jörgensmann were brought together by the sheer joy of playing music.The remarkable of this new group are its imagination, individuality and creative power. Continue reading →

The Resonance Ensemble | What Country Is This? | Not Two Records

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In mid December of 2004for some completely unknown reason, a complimentary issue of Time Magazine showed up in my mailbox. I hate the periodical, never read it except when I’m at the dentist, so I have no idea why it arrived. On the front cover was George W. Bush’s face, he had been selected as “Person of the Year” by the magazine’s editors after his reelection as president. Just one more reason to hate the publication. As I flipped through the pages with masochistic curiosity while drinking my morning coffee, I came across the following, an excerpt from Late Ripeness, written by Czeslaw Milosz, a poet I had never heard of. — Ken Vandermark Continue reading →

Henry P. Warner | Earl Freeman | Philip Spigner | Freestyle Band | No Business Records

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Why should an album as good as this one is be so obscure? Well, there are many reasons. There are all the ugly assumptions in the music world that poor black people can’t make serious art, the assumptions that George Lewis lays bare to such devastating effect in his history of the AACM, A Power Stronger than itself. There’s the economic corollary to that assumption: that if it’s not art, then it must be subject to the marketplace pressures of pop music, which European, or “real,” art music doesn’t have to contend with. Since avant-garde improvised music isn’t popular music, the economics always work against it. And so this album, and countless others, fade away due to social and economic neglect to become the quarry of avid record hounds. The reasons albums like this one sink out of sight are not entirely due to impersonal social and economic forces, however. It’s not as if these conditions were mysterious or unknown to musicians. Indeed, they have always been a source of anger and frustration. By the early ’70s, this anger and frustration boiled up into the do-it-yourself, countercultural, and black separatist spirit of the loft movement. Rejecting the system that in effect rejected them, the musicians who lived and worked in the lofts established their own performance venues and sometimes their own record labels. — Ed Hazell Continue reading →

Mockuno NuClear | Drop It | No Business Records

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This is the first album of this trio with my homeland musicians. The music balances in between impro and composed, between heavy and beautiful, between jazz and whatever… I’v been playing most of these tunes with different ensembles of mine during the last 6 years, but they have never been released for different reasons. I realised – to be able to move on you really have to finish your unfinished work… Here it is. Enjoy! — Liudas Mockūnas Continue reading →

The Fonda | Stevens Group Trio + 2 | Live in Katowice | Not Two Records

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Harvey Sorgen – Drums |Ireneusz Wojtczak – Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet | Maciej Obara – Alto Saxophone | Joe Fonda – Acoustic bass | Michael Jefry Stevens – Steinway Grand Piano. Recorded on October 22, 2009 at the Upper Silesan Centre of Culture in Katowice, Poland / Jazz Club Hipnoza. Recorded by Marcin Chlebowski. Edited and mastered by Jon Rosenberg. Produced by Joe Fonda and Andrzej Kalinowski. Continue reading →

Matthew Shipp | Joe Morris | Broken Partials | Not Two Records

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This dynamic duo features Matt Shipp on piano and Joe Morris on contrabass. Recorded at the Roulette studio in February of 2010. This is the third disc that this particular duo has been involved with, although the other ones featured Joe Morris on guitar. Since Mr. Morris has been switching off between bass and guitar, he has played bass with Matt in both trio and quartet dates. Joe’s acoustic bass playing continues to grow stronger all the time so he sounds superb and spirited spinning those notes underneath Matt’s layers of cascading waves. In the first piece, Joe is quite a bit busier than Matt, yet the balance is consistently strong. There is a strong dialogue going on, like a familiar conversation between two old friends. Joe switches to bowed bass and kicks off the second part by himself. This piece moves more slowly and the currents are darker and more murky. Joe takes a fine long bass solo during the first half of part three which Matt follows with an equally thoughtful solo piano interlude. Both are solos somber and carefully constructed. Matt often seems to be developing a few different themes, building different layers or currents as the tide rolls in and then out. It sounds as though a story is being told as different connected scenes unfold and evolve into other scenes. There are quite a few moments here that are stunning, lovely or transcendent. I got a promo of this disc in June and have been playing it often ever since. It still blows me away. This is an incredible duo whose time has come. The poetic liner notes by Steve Dalachinsky and stark cover art by Steve’s wife Yuko Otomo also fit this disc perfectly. — Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Continue reading →

Scott Fields Ensemble | Frail Lumber | Not Two Records

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Scott Fields (born September 30, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois), is a guitarist, composer and band leader. He is best known for his attempts to blend music that is composed and music that is written and for his modular pieces (48 Motives and 96 Gestures). He works primarily in avant-garde jazz, experimental music, and New Music. Fields was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He started as a self-taught rock musician but soon was influenced by the musicians of the Association for the Advancement for Creative Musicians, which was active in the Hyde Park neighborhood in which he grew up. Later he studied classical guitar, jazz guitar, music composition and music theory. In 1970 Fields co-founded the power avant-jazz trio Life Rhythms. When the group disbanded two years later he played sporadically, but soon all but quit music until 1989. Since then he has performed and composed actively. His ensembles and partnerships have included such musicians as Marilyn Crispell, Hamid Drake, John Hollenbeck, Joseph Jarman, Myra Melford, Jeff Parker, and Elliott Sharp.
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