Szilard Mezei Septet | Polar | Not Two Records
Szilard Mezei – viola | Andrea Berendika – flute, alto flute | Bogdan Rankovic -alto sax, bass clarinet | Branislav Aksin – trombone | Mate Pozsar – piano | Erno … Continue reading
Jazz
Steve Swell | Kanreki | Reflection & Renewal | Not Two Records
In Japanese culture KANREKI is the celebration of one’s 60th birthday. It is a time of reflection of one’s past experiences and renewal of one’s energies while moving forward into a new chapter of one’s life with clarity and determination. This CD would not have been possible without all the musicians here, Marek Winiarski and the love of Barbara Manes. — Steve Swell Continue reading
Hubert Bergmann | Elmar Guantes | 51 minutes Stories | Mudoks Records
Hubert Bergmann – piano | Elmar Guantes – double bass Recording date: 27./28. March 2014 at mudoks studio. Photo by Hubert Bergmann. Artwork: Birgit Nagengast. All compositions by the musicians. … Continue reading
The Resonance Ensemble | Double Arc | Not Two Records
The work of composing rehearsing, and performing Double Arc took place in November, 2013. Now, more than a year and a half later, I am writing the liner notes to complete the last aspect of the project. The extended distance in time between the recording and mixing/mastering of the musi gave me a different perspective toward the material than I have for most albums. Working on now — 19 months after the performance was documented at the Manggha Culture Center in Krakow — what strikes me most is that this piece seems to be my Pierrot le Fou. No insult intende toward Jean-Luc Godard by comparing his work to mine but, as that film can be seen as a such motion of ideas and filmic strategies that he had developed up until that point, Double Arc can be heard as taking similar place within my own creative development. — Ken Vandermark Continue reading
Nicole Guazzaloca | Tecniche Arcaiche / Live at Angelica | Amirani Records
We already knew the inventive freshness of this musician, but didn’t get yet the opportunity to listen him performing his solo masterpiece live. The visible secret of his music is the perfect balance between delicacy and impetus driven through a conscious journey on/outside/inside the piano. Deeply investigated in a breath-taking, brilliant live concert at Angelica Festival, the sound-elements dance is developed with un-orthodox exploration of the instrument, crystal clear storming note cascades, gentle sudden melodic flashes and textured sketches. A tasty musician, here delivering grace moments of thrilling sequences, complex designs and simple light edgy notes, that give us the idea of a marvellous sense of narration. Another great album from Nicola proudly co-produced with Aut Records. Continue reading
Dan Clucas | Mark Weaver | Dave Wayne | Hotend | Do Tell play the music of Julius Hemphill | Amirani Records
Julius Hemphill’s music is about digging under the facts, pulling out the stops, revealing the insides, telling the truth. His groove-oriented pieces (Steppin’, The Hard Blues, Otis Groove) seem to be a function of his having internalized the essence of the blues, so that the feeling, the ache of that music, is imbedded in the soul of these songs. Contrarily, his more compositional side is less about rhythm and more about sound, timbre, and tone. But always, his compositions value improvisation; even his most thoroughly notated works call for the musicians to collectively improvise within the parameters of that piece and there again lies the spirit of the blues in Julius Hemphill’s music, which is perhaps the most revealing truth of all. Continue reading
Misha Feigin & Susan Alcorn | The Crossing
“What I’ve done with the piece is to use the sequence of numbers corresponding to the elevation of the terrain in a straight line going from the east coast to the west coast of the United States at the latitude of Louisville, Kentucky as an impulse response which I convolved audio editing with the piece. Convolution is the process of multiplying the values of one linear sequence of numbers by every other member of a 2nd linear sequence of numbers. Convolution Reverb is used widely to apply a “space” to a recorded sound.” — Steve Good Continue reading
Misha Feigin | Sahara Gypsies
Sahara Gypsies: Hussam Al Aydi – oud, voice, keyboards, percussion, programming | Misha Feigin – classical and acoustic guitar, voice | Mark Hamilton – electric guitar | Danny Kiely – … Continue reading
Henry Kuntz & Paul V. Kuntz | DOUBLE VISION | HBD 03
On Double Vision, Paul and I began with the concept of “festival form” as showcased by the Envision Ensemble Live at Berkeley Arts Festival. At Paul’s suggestion, we expanded the bounds of the sonic fairgrounds to include: on Bluebonnet Poppies solo music of mine from the LP Ancient of Days, Light of Glory; on Redwood Oaks duo music by myself and John Kuntz from the cassette New World Music; and on Sagebrush Tumbleweeds generic crowd noise which is always an integral part of any festival sound field. — Henry Kuntz Continue reading
Cheryl Richards | Adam Caine | Nick Lyons | if not for you | New Artists Records
if not for you, Billie Holiday, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Connie Crothers, Nick Lyons, Adam Caine, Michael and Sylas Hollander, Sheila Jordan, and Virg Dzurinko, this album would not have been possible. thank you for your inspiration, your music, your lyrics, your support and your love. — Cheryl Richards Continue reading