David Murray feat. Marcin Oleś & Bartłomiej Brat Oleś | Circles – Live in Cracow | Not Two Records

David Murray is of course one of the more important tenor saxophonists of his era – or make that any era. Judging by his extensive discography, he is ready to collaborate or engage in almost any musical project. Never one to rest on his many accomplishments, any recording with Murray is worth investigating. This release is no exception, although certainly it would not be the best place to begin one’s Murray research. For this collaboration, Murray connects with two brothers, bassist Marcin and drummer Bartlomiej Brat Oles, during a special concert with “Poland’s finest rhythm section”. This live show was recorded in Cracow as part of a festival and, as the liners state, Murray was throughly on board with this partnership, despite the fact that there apparently wasn’t much rehearsal time. As a result, many of the compositions present space for a blowing session of sorts, with modal vampsbeing the vehicle for the group’s interaction. Fortunately, Murray and the brothers sound like they enjoy one another’s company, with the brothers working as full partners whether out in front or in support mode. — Jay Collins Continue reading

Conjure | Cab Calloway stands in for the moon | American Clavé

See, at the heart of Conjure is this rhythm section (yeah, it includes legends and horns) that swings so strongly and intelligently that you can hear the joy the players have working with and writing for each other and you can’t escape the living respect they have for the magic of the tradition. And at its sharp ({enter are the words and stories of Ishmael Reed (genuine American Magical Realism?) reintegrating themselves into the verbal, griot tradition from which they come. Most magic is vertical as well as horizontal, isn’t it? — KIP HANRAHAN Continue reading

Alexandre Pierrepont | Mike Ladd | Maison Hantee | RogueArt Jazz

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