Jean Luc Cappozzo | Christine Wodrascka | Gerry Hemingway | 2° étage | Grey Matter | No Business Records

Les titres des pieces sont evocafeurs: sur un fond de matiere grise, un sherif possede arrive d’un train fantome, va pres d’un ruisseau, commence un mouvement: en haut en bas, c’est le moment de danser, belle echappee! Le trio 2° etage, compose de Jean- Luc Cappozzo, Gerry Hemingway et Christine Wodrascka improvise sa musique comme des conteurs, des peintres, des poetes. Ces trois musiciens sont des magiciens de la spontaneite, inventant dans I’instant un decor, une histoire, un monde imaginaire avec leurs sons nes de tuyaux, coquillages, peaux, ca-houtchou, bois, cloches, billes, scotch, pinces a linge… Us jouent ensemble comme des enfants, avec generosite et authenticite, pour vivre une aventure musicale et humaine, en osmose dans I’instant present.

The titles of the pieces are evocative: on the bottom of grey matter, a possessed sheriff arrives from a ghost train, goes near a rivulet, begins a movement, up down, its time to dance, beautiful escape! The trio 2° etage, comprised of Jean-Luc Cappozzo, Gerry Hemingway and Christine Wodrascka, improvise their music as storytellers, painters, poets. These three musi-cans are magicians of the spontaneous, instantly creating a setting, a story and an imaginary world with their sounds born from pipes, shells, skins, rubber, wood, bells, balls, adhesive tape, clothespins…. They piay together as children play together, with generosity and authenticity, living a human and musical adventure, through osmosis in present time. Continue reading

Mikołaj Trzaska | Devin Hoff | Michael Zerang | Sleepless in Chicago | No Business Records

This is an interesting LP consisting of two improvised performances by Mikołaj Trzaska on alto saxophone, Devin Hoff on bass and Michael Zerang on drums. This sounds like a coherent date but one side of the record was recorded in Chicago in 2011 and then the and the second the following year. The music in both of the performances follows an unpredictable path of free jazz. Trzaska is a very powerful saxophonist and his burly strength powers the opening track “Elastic – Chicago” with raw blowing and excellent support from Hoff and Zerang who are relentlessly driving the music forward. They slowly back off from the full throttle approach and move into a more abstract free section that uses a quieter and more open framework for the music to conclude. “Skylark – Chicago” continues the probing nature of the music allowing each musician to express themselves in an open and thoughtful manner. It is interesting to hear when the musicians coalesce into a ferociously powerful unit that are the masters of dynamics, tact and pacing. — Tim Niland Continue reading

The Resonance Ensemble | Head Above Water, Feet Out of The Fire | Not Two Records

Ken Vandermark – baritone saxophone & Bb clarinet | Mark Tokar – acoustic bass | Waclaw Zimpel – Bb & alto clarinet | Mikolaj Trzaska – alto saxophone & bass clarinet | Dave Rempis – alto & tenor saxophone | Michael Zerang – drums | Tim Daisy – drums | Steve Swell – trombone | Per-Åke Holmlander – tuba | Magnus Broo – trumpet | Devin Hoff – bass VI (on CD1 only)
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Kazzrie Jaxen | Mark Weber | A Million Shimmering Fish | NA1057

An evolution of gratitude to Mark for the silent spaces between the thoughts, words, and poems from which this concert arose; to Tom Guralnick for planet Outpost, base camp to parallel dimensions; to Janet Simon for divine hospitality and terrestrial support; to the audience of Dreamers who dove into the cosmic womb with us; to Steven Schmidt for discerning notes and words from satelite beeps; to Dana Duke for adding shine; to Jim Gale and JB Bryan for manifesting design; and to the playful Universerse, for having that car zoom by after Poem #4, conjuring a rocket ship vanishing into outer space, or a long forgotten inner galaxy… Kazzrie Jaxen Continue reading

Joe McPhee | Fred Lonberg-Holm | Michael Zerang | Survival Unit III | Game Theory | Not Two Records

Joe McPhee – alto sax, pocket trumpet |Fred Lonberg-Holm – cello, electronics | Michael Zerang – percussion. Recorded in concert on October 26, 2010, at Instants Chavires, Paris, France by Jean-Marc Fossat. Mixed by Michael Zerang and Lou Mallozzi at Experimental Sound Studio, Chicago. Mastered by Rafal Drewniany (dts studio). Inside photo: Steve Robinson. Cover photo: Filip Przewozny. Cover design: Malgorzata Lipinska. Continue reading

Christian Winther & Christian Meaas Svendsen | M/W | Va Fongool Records

M/W is a double-solo-CD by the two great Norwegian musicians Christian Winther (Guitar) and Christian Meaas Svendsen (double bass). Both spinning out of the creative environment around the Music Academy in Oslo the two musicians has been noticed in the world of improvised music from several of their other projects the last years, like ICH BIN N!NTENDO, Mopti, Mokey Plot, KNYST!, Karokh, Duplex, Mummu, Aksiom, Unbird and others, making them some of the busiest musicians in the scene. M/W is the debut as solo artists for both musicians. It is a result of years of experimenting and finding their own sound, and it really shows what they are capable of with their instruments. Mesmerizing repetitive sounds meets new way of thinking about traditional instruments, leaving the listener with a feeling of experiencing something truly unique and new. Continue reading

Andreas Wildhagen | Kjetil Jerve | Henrik Munkeby Norstebo | Lana trio | Va Fongool Records

Lana trio is an experimental ensemble for the exploration of historic, non-ideomatic improvisation. Andreas, Henrik and Kjetil started playing together quickly after meeting at Sund Folk College in 2007, and extensively explored how musical parametres like density, speed, duration and volume could be stretched in order to create different possibilities for musical interplay. The trio have worked both with graphical notation and so called free improvisation, and plays music that draws inspiration from a wide variety of genres. The members of Lana trio are already experienced musicians, active in bands like Mopti, Einer, Skadedyr, Orter eparg and As deafness increases. Together or seperately they have played concerts around Europe in countries like England, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Czech republic, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, and taken part in longer study trips to New york and The Gambia. The trio did a small Scandinavian tour in 2009, followed by a longer period with little activity due to geographical challenges. 2013 will bring new life to the band, with the release of the long-awaited debut recording and concerts in Norway and around Europe. Continue reading

Sabir Mateen | The Sabir Mateen Jubilee Ensemble | Not Two Records

greetings my sisters and brothers…
i (we) really hope that you enjoy this debut recording of the jubilee ensemble. this is not a big band but an extension of the sabir mateen quartet (the name at that time, now it is called the sabir mateen ensemble). these compositions were originally composed for a small band but like most of the music i write, it can be played for any size band. this is one dream that has been fulfilled to release a large band recording. I want to thank the creator for allowing me to be alive to do this and my fellow musicians / artists for their never ending hard work and dedication to their art and i want to thank robert o’haire, plus marek winiarski and the staff of nottwo records for giving me the opportunity to record this. peace! — sabir mateen – february 22nd 2011 Continue reading

Horacio el Negro Hernandez & Robby Ameen | Robby and Negro at the Third World War | American Clavé

I guess we could start tracing this music to Negro in Cuba in the early nineteen-eighties, when, still a kid, he was arrested for playing Jack Bruce’s “Sunshine of Your Love” in Havana. Jack was thrilled, in fact, to find out about that music still being subversive somewhere in the world. But the deep subversive element of the story is also Negro defying rules and expectations and playing what he needed to play, in spite of the consequences. Given his intoxicatingly musical touch of subversive musical adventures (now, outside of Cuba, the adventure and chances, and their effect, are bigger and more fluid), and the defiance is just a small part of his musical genius. His musical ideas are spectacular. But, of course, there’s more. — Kip Hanrahan Continue reading