16 Jul
Free Quartet by Sergi Sirvent
Saturday, 16 July 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Free-jazz pianist Sergi Sirvent releases Free Quartet, his debut offering of jazz improvisation, but also three Ornette Coleman compositions, which is unique in…
03 Jul
Zero Degree Music by Adam Lane Trio
Sunday, 03 July 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Hold on to your seats and be prepared to settle in for a hard-blowing, free-bop type session anchored by top-notch modern jazz bassist Adam Lane. West Coast reedman Vinn…
02 Jul
(DVD) 20th Anniversary Concert by The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble
Saturday, 02 July 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
West Coast, multi-reedman Vinny Golia states that this isn’t a jazz band, per se. But it’s a twenty-year celebration of a large ensemble that serves as a medium for Cali…
02 Jul
5 Saxophone Solos by Earl Howard
Saturday, 02 July 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Earl Howard is known primarily as a virtuoso saxophonist; however, over time he has quietly become one of the most innovative and successful saxophonists of his generati…
20 Jun
Pentagon by Mat Maneri
Monday, 20 June 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Having known Mat Maneri’s music fairly well for quite awhile, I was taken aback by the diversification of instrumentation embodied within this recording as well as the i…
14 Jun
Chicago Duos: First Look by Roscoe Mitchell & Tatsu Aoki
Tuesday, 14 June 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
First Look flashes with wide jazz images in a free jazz style, and reveals the great talents of its composers, Roscoe Mitchell and Tatsu Aoki. The music has a magical sp…
12 Jun
Blue Yonder by Steve Lantner Trio
Sunday, 12 June 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Blue Yonder is one of the most wildly exploratory piano trio dates I've heard in a long time. Steve Lantner's probing style recalls nothing so much as the v…
11 Jun
Connections by Michael Bisio Quartet
Saturday, 11 June 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Despite the fact that acoustic bassist Michael Bisio’s bridge and sound post (unexpectedly) buckled off his bass during the end of "Zephyr," this date effectively captur…
03 Jun
8 Armed Monkey by KTU
Friday, 03 June 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
When we live our lives, we automatically subject ourselves to every level of existence. How we finally interact with those levels is always in question. Sometimes we do …
29 May
Oetz/Wagner/Stuart “Permanent Flow” by Oetz / Wagner / Stuart
Sunday, 29 May 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
One might say that freestyle improvisational Jazz, in all its forms, has never really evolved since its humble beginnings in the gritty urban clubs and backrooms of the jaz…
28 May
Indian Winter by Ran Blake and David Fabris
Saturday, 28 May 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I enjoy music that subtly evokes a mood that allows me to feel a certain place and time. Sound is abstract and a particular note can be heard in various different settin…
28 May
Live from the Center by David Arner
Saturday, 28 May 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Exercising both the inside and outside of the piano means that you are dealing with the entire instrument. It means that you are dealing with all of the piano’s dynamics…
26 May
The Beautiful by Triptych Myth
Thursday, 26 May 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Someone once declared that attitude is everything. That aphorism applies to this recording. Every track starts with an honest approach. What each brings to mind i…
24 May
Way Out East by Bill Moring and Way Out East
Tuesday, 24 May 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The liner notes to Bill Moring's new effort Way Out East include a quote by guitarist John Hart: "This is a jazz record; this ain't no bulls**t." There's probably no…
10 May
Symphony For Improvisers by Don Cherry
Tuesday, 10 May 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The late trumpeter/multi-instrumentalist Don Cherry had not only a singular talent for playing (a unique cry, a most human tone), but Dame Destiny has seen fit to pair h…
28 Apr
Channel Three by Greg Osby
Thursday, 28 April 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Greg Osby Bares all in Bold Trio Configuration If Greg Osby can be considered mainstream, it shows just how far jazz has come in fifty years. At the core of Osby'…
15 Apr
Blue Yonder by Steve Lantner Trio
Friday, 15 April 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pianist Steve Lantner has assembled a terrific twosome to complete his trio, in Joe Morris on bass and Luther Gray on drums. Listening to this recording is like f…
13 Apr
Beauty Is A Rare Thing by Giancarlo Tossani Synapser
Wednesday, 13 April 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This Italian modern jazz quartet led by pianist Giancarlo Tossani enjoys investigating a multitude of contrasts, evidenced by a few hard-bop pieces, but more so during t…
10 Apr
Climbing The Banyan Tree by Ravish Momin's Trio Tarana
Sunday, 10 April 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Released several months ago, there seems to be a relatively unanimous consensus that drummer Ravish Momin’s Trio Tarana is in the running for a 2005, top-ten pick. And i…
05 Apr
Channel Three by Greg Osby
Tuesday, 05 April 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Of all the forward-thinking jazz artists today, few are worthy of more respect than saxophonist/composer Greg Osby. One of the leaders in the M-Base movement of the 1980…
04 Apr
Thousand Oaks by Natto Quartet
Monday, 04 April 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This quartet’s unlikely instrumentation and abstruse conceptions work rather nicely within a quasi, organic-electronic method of deployment, substantiated by the members…
01 Apr
Two Concerts from a Golden Age of British Jazz by Workpoints
Friday, 01 April 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
As I have stated in my reviews, Jazz comes in many different formats and structures. Since the 60s and 70s, we have now branched out into many categories of jazz. There is …
30 Mar
Longitude by Groundtruther with guest DJ Logic
Wednesday, 30 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Groundtruther’s Longitude is a logical extension of Latitude released in 2004, not only metaphorically, but also musically. The latter is grounded; the…
28 Mar
Beyond the Sound Barrier by Wayne Shorter Quartet
Monday, 28 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Wayne Shorter, a legend, an icon, a teacher, philosopher, artist - all of the above. At 72, Shorter has been part of such bands as Art Blakey and the …
27 Mar
Live by Sound on Survival
Sunday, 27 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Much of contemporary avant garde jazz seems to accentuate the avant garde aspect of the proposition at the expense of the jazz part. Sound on Survival, however, exempts the…
26 Mar
Firedance by Joelle Leandre & India Cooke
Saturday, 26 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Firedance is a collection of improvised dialogs between violinist India Cooke and bassist Joelle Leandre recorded at last year's Guelph (Ontario) Jazz Festival. It's…
20 Mar
From the Bottle by Tigersmilk
Sunday, 20 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
There’s a magical element that permeates throughout this session recorded in Chicago at an intimate space known as "Empty Bottle." On this date, Rob Mazurek uses a corne…
19 Mar
Short Stories by Evan Parker and September Winds
Saturday, 19 March 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This European quintet’s third outing consists of brief encounters or perhaps musical vignettes, spanning twenty-three works featuring free-improv sax hero Evan Parker. C…
16 Mar
The Ins And Outs by Free Base
Wednesday, 16 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
They’re a free-improvisation power trio that purports to a methodology driven my combustible outbursts amid patches of shifting patterns and more. Here, British alto/bar…
15 Mar
Not Just.... by David Taylor - Steve Swell 5tet
Tuesday, 15 March 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This "5tet’s" unusual instrumentation offers a curiously interesting proposition. Chalk it up to the artists’ willingness to explore and take risks, where trombonists Da…
14 Mar
Iskra3 by Paul Rutherford
Monday, 14 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Estimable British free improviser, trombonist Paul Rutherford embarks upon the man versus (digital) machine methodology by lining up with live EFX processing artists, Ro…
13 Mar
Beyond the Sound Barrier by Wayne Shorter Quartet
Sunday, 13 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Wayne Shorter Quartet is back on disc with Beyond the Sound Barrier, another collection of live recordings. And it is tempting to look at it that simply; Foot…
09 Mar
New Folk, New Blues by Rosenberg / Baker / Hatwich / Daisy
Wednesday, 09 March 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Saxophonist/composer and modernist, Scott Rosenberg is one of those young explorers who is willing to take risks, while maintaining a clear-sighted sense of artistic int…
28 Feb
Vietnam: Reflections by Billy Bang
Monday, 28 February 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
In 2001 when Billy Bang released his first Justin Time album, Vietnam - The Aftermath, that allowed him to come to terms with the feelings that still haunted him fro…
27 Feb
Sound Unity by William Parker Quartet
Sunday, 27 February 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
William Parker is a story-teller, both musically and verbally. Sometimes, one language interprets the other. And in the interpretation, the two still work together. It i…
14 Feb
Nine Gardeners Named Ned by Brad Dutz
Monday, 14 February 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This album is elaborate, quirky and quite a bit of fun, but it might easily be put in the "difficult listening music" category. I enjoyed Nine Gardeners Named Ned but I wou…
The New York City-based trio occasionally works with 13/8 time signatures for a rather dizzying set, awash with odd-metered rhythms and frenetic, avant-garde type rock groo…
29 Jan
The Sugar Hill Suite by Trio X
Saturday, 29 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
On CIMP is a new release from Trio X, which is Joe McPhee, Dominic Duval, and Jay Rosen. The instrumentation for THE SUGAR HILL SUITE is straightforward and simple: McPhee …
26 Jan
Triotone by Anthony Braxton / Gyorgy Szabados - Vladimir Tarasov
Wednesday, 26 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pianist Gyorgy Szabados (Hungary) and percussionist Vladimir Tarasov (Russia) have been pursuing the free jazz thing for many years, amid the damnations of the former Sovie…
25 Jan
Strom by Serge Baghdassarians Boris Baltschun Alessandro Bosett
Tuesday, 25 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
These four prominent European avant-garde denizens, attempt to alter the listener’s stream of consciousness partly due to stylizations brimming with intense multiphonics, a…
23 Jan
One Foot In The Swamp by John Ellis
Sunday, 23 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The compressed experiences of John Ellis’s 30 years of life have exposed him to a multitude of situations that many people don’t encounter in a lifetime. Ellis so far has l…
21 Jan
Live in the World (Three Discs) by David S. Ware Quartets
Friday, 21 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
It has been 18 months to the day that I interviewed David S. Ware. Today, February 22 is the street date for the Thirsty Ear release of David’s LIVE IN THE WORLD. LIVE IN T…
19 Jan
One Too Many Salty Swift And Not Goodbye by Cecil Taylor Unit
Wednesday, 19 January 2005
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This 2-CD reissue highlights pianist Cecil Taylor’s "Unit" in rather exemplary fashion. On disc one, the musicians perform a series of duets and solos, prior to Taylor’s em…
18 Jan
Isms Out by Burton Greene & Roy Campbell Quartet
Tuesday, 18 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This is one of those magical outings, where free-bop, avant-garde and straight-ahead jazz seamlessly coalesce into an undeniably harmonious set executed by forward thinking…
15 Jan
Leaves Of Grass by Fred Hersch
Saturday, 15 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Fred Hersch has recorded the album that will be played in English literature classrooms for many years in the future. In the process, he has continued to pursue the impu…
07 Jan
Negrophilia, The Album by Mike Ladd
Friday, 07 January 2005
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
On this Thirsty Ear Blue Series release, Mike Ladd, with his well chosen ensemble of musicians and instrumentation, dares to bring through time and from words, a sound pict…
15 Aug
after dark by Prana Trio
Sunday, 15 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
There is a telling quote from the famed improvisational pianist Ran Blake framed over the back of the jewel box: "Prana Trio takes the listener on a nightmare from Soho …
14 Aug
Dream Car by Istvan Grencso & Surprise Kollektiv
Saturday, 14 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The jazz scene in Hungary - from what I can tell - consists of two basic elements: conservatory-trained professionals who can whip out jaw dropping solos on any number o…
13 Aug
Family by Christopher Woitach & the Cathexis Orchestra
Friday, 13 August 2004
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Here is an album that embraces a unique kind of music. On Family guitarist Christopher Woitach & the Cathexis Orchestra make sounds both ancient and with prospect…
12 Aug
Growing Pains by Bik Bent Braam
Thursday, 12 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Dry humour, rigor, and brilliancy mixed with a stalwart musical wisdom delineate Dutch composer and pianist Michiel Braam. Always searching out on the edge, Braam script…