Jazz /
The Victoriaville Tape
'Both bassists had made regular appearances in Victo over the past two decades, but no one in the audience could have guessed that it would be Kowald's last. The German improviser died in New York City four months later. The French-Canadian radio was not recording this concert, but the mixing desk engineer kept a tape rolling, just in case, and negotiations toward the release of this performance were already in progress when fate struck. There is magic on this record, especially in the last minu…
Cecil Taylor / Bill Dixon / Tony Oxley
'As evidenced by this release of the set, the music played that night was intimate, even delicate. It still seems that Dixon didn't quite sit down at the table with his mates, and his electronic effects don't do him any favors, but credit seems due to him for keeping the set at an unusual slow burn. There aren't the displays of pyrotechnics evidenced in Taylor and Oxley's duo performances. Instead, piano and drums dance lightly around the trumpet's background wash, creating a music both sparse a…
Sextet (Victoriaville) 2005
'Simply put, this is a stunning piece of work, performed in front of a stunned audience that was won over from the first few notes. After a spell of a few years, Anthony Braxton was back in Victoriaville in 2005 to present a new line-up. This sextet of young musicians (except for tuba player Jay Rozen, who is more experienced) is impressive to say the least. Taylor Ho Bynum makes a flashy trumpeter, quickly rising to the status of Toshinori Kondo. Violinist Jessica Pavone waltzes her way through…
The Bishop's Move
'A happening. Not that these two heavyweight reedsmen had never shared a stage, but this was going to be a face-off, a clash between two of the hardest-working free improv trios on the circuit. On the left side of the stage: Evan Parker, with drummer Paul Lytton and pianist Alex von Schlippenbach, the latter filling in for bassist Barry Guy. On the right side: Peter Brötzmann and his trusty rhythm section, bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake. These are two highly experienced and gifte…
After You Gone
Reverberations from bassist Peter Kowald's passing continue to be felt two years later. Last year, a long-time bass quartet with one sub gathered to bathe Kowald's spirit in a bass balm. Comprised of close associates or admirers of Kowald, this quartet represents a summit from across borders and generations, sharing only remarkable technique and a love of the unknown.Barre Phillips helped legitimize improvised solo bass, as well as expanding its vocabulary with extended techniques. Joëlle Léandr…
Duo (Victoriaville) 2005
Anthony Braxton and Fred Frith each have about as close a relationship to the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville as just about any non-Canadians. The first release on Victo, the label run by the producers of the annual Canadian festival, was a guitar duo with Frith and Rene Lussier; the second was a duet between Braxton and Derek Bailey. Until this year, each had released three discs on the label. But 2005 was the Year of Braxton and the label has released three new Brax…
Pink Dolphins
“We’re improvisers first and we’re bringing “moment music” into these other zones of hip hop and electronic music, drum-machine music, sound-system culture… Acoustic musicians sun-kissed by electro-magnetism, flowing out into everything. This is the shit that we want to be playing on big ass systems. Omnivorous, energy space time, mosh pit dance-music. Get it in the subwoofers so you can feel it hit, cuz the music has to begin in the body!” – jaimie branch jaimie branch and Jason Nazary are Ante…
Curious Music
The music on this album was created using only Electric Guitar * Using a single instrument - Electric Guitar - As A frame and the studio as the limit ie :The sound of ‘Harp’The layering of a single, guitar chord. The sound of ‘Trumpets’ & ‘Saxophone’Were designed and treated using fuzz / Wah Wah / Pitch Box / Delay & Mic Gate.
The sound of ‘hi hat’ was designed through the scratching of two guitar strings repeatedlyetc. Thank you for listening Michael Grossman & Jai Morris-Smith
Curious Music.
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Serpentes
*2022 stock* "There is no doubt - Serpentes is the first serious candidate for the list of the best albums of 2019" — Spontaneous Music Tribune
JJ Duerinckx, sopranino saxophoneJohn Russell, guitarMatthieu Safatly, cello
Ditch School
*2022 stock* “the music has kept me at the edge of my seat each time I’ve listened.” — The Free Jazz Collective
"absorbing and vivid... guitar and piano in a beautiful collision... astonishing" — a Jazz Noise
John Russell, guitarPaul G. Smyth, piano
Tapering Arms Point Into The Wind
*2022 stock* “exceptionally huge stylistic variety, marvellous and impressive instrumentation and evocative musical language ... remarkable, bright, intensive and original ... creatively made by two innovative and original improvisers.” — Avant Scena
Rachel Musson, tenor saxophoneOlie Brice, double bass
Reflections In The Sea Of Nurnen
"Originally planned for issue on Strata-East, Hammond took his collaboration with Durrah to Detroit and issued his masterpiece. Lacquered by Bernie Grundman. Now-Again presents the definitive Tribe Records reissues. Deep, spiritual jazz of the highest order. The Tribe label, one of the brightest lights of America's 1970s jazz underground, receives the Now-Again reissue treatment. This is your chance to indulge in the music and story of one of the most meaningful, local movements of the 20th Cent…
Cooper's Test
** 200 copies ** Oiro Pena moves out of the bedroom. I, like many others I’m sure, was very much blown away after hearing the first Oiro Pena 10” released by Ultraääni in 2019. From where did this Finnish flute phantasm appear? Part of the fun was the mystery of it all, the not quite grasping or understanding the music, or where it came from. The second 10” on Jazzaggression felt like a deeper dive into the Pena universe. With 2020’s Music from Moments on 2 Headed Deer we finally got the origin …
It's Up To You
** Limited to 300 double vinyl copies, two inlays with photos and liner notes. Originally released in 1974 on Preiser Records** »It’s Up to You« is a free sound art and performance project by sound artist and singer Limpe Fuchs, sculptor and sound artist Paul Fuchs, and pianist and recorder player Friedrich Gulda, who formed the trio Anima at the time of the recordings in 1974. As musical guests they were able to enlist the trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff, the bassist Barre Phillips, the oud play…
out side work | two duets with xristian espinoza and alan bishop
*In process of stocking* We are beyond thrilled to present the latest from South African drummer / cultural worker / organizer Asher Gamedze. I'm sure many of you are familiar with his incredible debut Dialectic Soul (On The Corner, 2020) or his work with Angel Bat Dawid and Tha Brothahood, and we're happy to unveil another side of Gamedze's work with out side work | two duets. out side work | two duets is a very literal album as the album features Gamedze in a conversation of sorts, a recordi…
The Call (Magazine)
The fourth issue of We Jazz Magazine, "The Call" for Horace Tapscott. 128 pages 174 x 250 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Stories include Horace Tapscott by Andy Thomas, Ava Mendoza by Stuart Smith, Tigran Hamasyan by Rui Miguel Abreu, Istanbul Scene by Alper Kaliber, Isaiah Collier by Daniel Spicer, Bill Frisell by Debra Richards, DJ Old Crank by Matti Nives, Tokyo Jazz Joints Vol. 2 by Philip Arneill, reviews…
Orbit of Sound
“Orbit of Sound” is the new release from composer/double bassist Max Johnson’s newest trio, with Anna Webber on tenor saxophone/flute, and Michael Sarin on drumset. Formed in 2018, the trio traverses tightly knit composed music and patient, sprawling improvised textures, highlighting all three individual voices as improvisers. The trio completed their inaugural tour of Europe in February & March, having to cancel their final concert and subsequent recording due to the pandemic, delaying the reco…
Emergence
The music on this album was not preconceived or premeditated in any way whatsoever. The ensemble's method of collaboration has been to begin playing without any discussion of what is to be played or how the music should be approached. The group was formed after a number of informal, but fruitful sessions. It was unanimous among the group that the musical chemistry and dynamic we shared was fertile enough to merit further exploration. « We went into the recording studio after several years of enj…
Free Reservoir
'An exciting and forceful album of free jazz from the trio of pianist Simon Nabatov, bassist Max Johnson and drummer Michael Sarin, recording in the studio in New York City with each player propelling themselves in dynamic, inventive collective free playing with an experimental bent, but never departing from the traditions of identifiable jazz music; recommended!
"While Nabatov and Sarin met over 30 years ago (as participants of the famous Banff Jazz Workshop), the Johnson-Nabatov connection clo…
Elevated Vegetation
'Well here is Max Johnson's picture, his snapshot of three men in a room making music, and as with any great composed shot, here would be his law of thirds for creating a great image.
First Law: Max Johnson (bass) has the ability to search out the best musicians to suit his current project. Ziv Ravitz (drums), drawing from his Israeli roots, contributes not only a solid and earthy foundation for the others to play over but also provides just enough world music flavor without making it old or tir…