Jazz /
Today, This Moment
1994 release ** The Mosaic Sextet is Dave Douglas on trumpet, Michael Jefry Stevens on piano, Mark Feldman on violin, Michael Rabinowitz on bassoon, Joe Fonda on bass, and Harvey Sorgen on drums.
Icaros
1992 release ** "Icaros was a project of the last line-up of Saxioma. A longplayer was planned but this was never realised. This recording of Icaros is based on a tape from a show in Waregem, April 1987. The variations (tracks 7 & 8) are probably recordings of rehearsals for the textile fair Made in Belgium, October 1987 (as maybe also track 9). The 'Sketchbook' are small pieces from Frits De Cauter meant as basis for compositions. The last track 'N.V. Verdriet' is the last part of an Aroma di A…
Con Anima / Concerto Grosso
2001 release (RARE) ** Limited edition 750 copies. The first two studio recordings of The Ganelin Trio Recorded in Vilnius, 1976 and 1978.
Vyacheslav Ganelin - piano, campanelli, guitar, tromboneVladimir Chekasin - saxophones, flutes, okarina, bass clarinet, violinVladimir Tarasov - drums, trumpet, rabob
Awakening
2011 release ** "When jazz critic Peter Margasak interviewed Nicole Mitchell for the liner notes he wrote for Awakening, she explained: "I wanted to dig back into the old-school jazz a bit and yet still make room to branch out into never-never land." And that is a perfect description of what the Chicago-based flutist/composer does on this 2011 date, which finds her leading a pianoless quartet that employs Jeff Parker on electric guitar, Harris Bankhead on upright bass and Avreeayl Ra on drums an…
Defiant Life
Anchored in the idea that, despite all obstacles, the human experience casts a net of possibilities, Defiant Life – Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith second duo recording for ECM – proves a profound meditation on the human condition and both the suffering and resilience it entails. An ethereal iridescence glistens between Leo Smith’s unmistakable trumpet wail and Vijay’s textural key strokes on piano and Fender Rhodes, conjuring multi-dimensional spaces of thoughtful musical conversation. “We work…
Luminosity (Homage To David Izenzon)
1996 release ** "The thing to do would be to get all misty-eyed about what a great bassist the late David Izenson was and how he brought in the whole deep-bowing technique to jazz with Ornette Coleman in the early '60s. It would also be summarily reasonable to note the student-teacher relationship between Lindberg and Izenson, as well as their friendship, and then discuss the influence of the object of this CD on the subject in terms befitting a jazz record. But forget it. The deal is clear: Joh…
Ivo
1989 release ** "For his recording debut, Ivo Perelman performs seven folk melodies, five of which are traditional Brazilian children's songs. A powerful tenor player whose style and sound at times recalls Albert Ayler (without the vibrato), Gato Barbieri, and Clifford Jordan, Perelman uses the simple melodies as points of departure and places to land after his intense and fairly free but melodic improvisations. The first three songs co-feature vocalist Flora Purim, who is at the top of her game…
Saxophones
2004 release ** "The percussionist as poet, the drummer as sound painter, the composer as storyteller, and the improviser as artist of survival. What Pierre Favre writes for the Arte Quartet is like a choral fantasy, a suite for individualists with a strong collective spirit. Four singers, each with their own utterly unique timbre, a chamber choir with a highly developed sonic sensuality. The percussionist runs his threads between the voices, becomes one himself, creates space, provides the beat…
Infra-Red
American Vibraphonist Dave Pike may not be as well-known as contemporaries Gary Burton and Bobby Hutcherson, but recordings with Bill Evans, Herbie Mann, and Paul Bley evince Pike’s pedigree. His MPS albums from 1969 through the early 70s have become minor classics.
Underpinned by funk and fusion, Infra-Red ventures into country rock on Suspicious Child and trips through fractured iridescent landscapes on Attack of the Green Misers. Raga Jeeva Swara is a rock meditation and Send Me the Yellow Gu…
Open, To Love
After Chick Corea’s Piano Improvisations, and Keith Jarrett’s Facing You, Paul Bley’s Open, To Love was the third fabulous chapter in ECM’s quietly revolutionary solo piano manifesto, whose impact endures and continues to influence improvisers today. In the liner notes to this Luminessence vinyl edition, Bley biographer Greg Buium writes, “After more than fifty years, Open, To Love remains an imperishable gem, lodged forever in the present tense, and among the great masterpieces in ECM’s vast c…
Lullaby
For Lullaby, Norwegian trumpeter Mathias Eick draws on the quartet formation in a programme that includes some of his most exploratory and improvisatory qualities, with a cast of ECM familiars Kristjan Randalu and Ole Morten Vågan on piano and bass, and new arrival Hans Hulbækmo on drums. There’s a sense of abandon within these melodic songs, as the musicians flow smoothly between harmonies, collectively building momentum from within the forms. Eick’s immediately recognizable and soothing tone i…
Under The Surface
Julia Hülsmann’s quartet resurfaces with a fresh Norwegian voice on horn in tow and presents an attractive batch of originals that finds the group thoughtfully exploring common ground with a knack for adventure. As on past outings, each quartet member contributes music to the session, the leader herself being responsible for half the programme. Saxophonist Uli Kempendorff’s introduction to Julia’s trio on 2019’s Not Far From Here already brought a new dimension to the group’s interplay – this se…
After the Last Sky
Eight years after Blue Maqams, Anouar Brahem returns with a poignant project, titled after a line of verse by poet Mahmoud Darwish, which asks “Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?” Graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass subtly address the metaphysical question and its broad resonances in a troubled time. While drawing upon the traditional modes of Arab music, Brahem has consistently sought to engage with the wider world, too, and found inspiration in many sources from…
Walks The Blue Circle
*200 copies limited edition* Technicolor Band is a revolving-cast, cross-genre improv unit based in Bloomington, IN. The group, initially instigated by multi-instrumentalists David Brown and Caleb Hickman as a regular gathering to explore improvisation behind closed doors, eventually made its way into public via a residency at a 50 cap bar called Orbit Room. Over the next two years a core lineup formed around the quintet of Brown (keys, percussion, tape manipulation), Hickman (alto sax, electron…
Live
2002 release ** "Long before the Italian Instabile Orchestra, Andrea Centazzo was organizing and leading his Mitteleuropa Orchestra that focused on free improvisation, complex arrangements, and outstanding soloists. Most, although not all, of the musicians of the orchestra were Italians, and the all-star nature of the groups on this live recording make this a must-have for anyone immersed in its genre. The first four tracks -- with Enrico Rava, Franz Koglmann, Giancarlo Trovesi, and Carlos Zinga…
Jubilation
William Hooker is a musician, composer, and poet with over 70 recordings as a leader, encompassing jazz, new music, experimental music and multi-disciplinary forms of expression (e.g. dance, silent film and spoken word). He has been recognized as “an iconoclast, and one of the most innovative musicians and drummers of his generation” - The Wire, which is evident nowhere more than on his latest album, Jubilation. The new work features collaborators Matt LaVelle on trumpet, Sarah Manning on alto…
Transparent Skin
2011 release ** "Canadian drummer André Michel Arraiz-Rivas is a versatile guy, one who you find grinding out prog with Quasiviri and post-folk ghosts with Ronin, just to name a few. Then he happens to be seized by the urge for jazz, and here he is, whipping together a made in Italy quartet, calling it Mondongo – like a traditional hypercaloric South American soup – and releasing an album that will make your ears prick up. Transparent Skin – this is the title – is eight tracks plus one (ghost) i…
The Talking Bass
2010 release ** ""Giovanni Maier is an architect. No, not the traditional brick and mortar sense but a true architect of sound. With his latest CD "The talking bass" he is building musical bridges all over the map. The quartet he has assembled for the recording doesn't just glow, they shine! Crossing and blurring the boundaries of music are what these guys do best and together they seem unstoppable. There is a deep beauty and rawness in the sound of Giovanni's compositions. The bass gives us the…