08 Aug
Ancient Pines by Tim O'Dell and Tatsu Aoki
Sunday, 08 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Saxophonist/composer Tim O’Dell and bassist Tatsu Aoki come to this duo recording with solid credentials. O’Dell is Saxophone/Jazz Studies instructor at the University o…
08 Aug
Path Hed by Tom Walsh
Sunday, 08 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Trombonists Tom Walsh, Steve Swell with bassists Miles Perkin, Szandal Matyas and drummers Thom Gossage and Balazs Elemer have come out with a great work of art. Tom Wal…
07 Aug
Mostly Other People Do the Killing by Moppa Elliott
Saturday, 07 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bassist Moppa Elliott's Mostly Other People Do the Killing features a kaleidoscope of jazz from a four-piece band that often sounds larger. Despite a statement of pu…
06 Aug
Mountains And Plains by Rich Halley Trio
Friday, 06 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Mountains and Plains is a pleasant release from the Rich Halley Trio. Saxophonist Halley, bassist Clyde Reed and drummer/percussionist Dave Storrs create nine expans…
05 Aug
Play by François Carrier Trio
Thursday, 05 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Free jazz is a tough field. It most often turns up as self-indulgent waste propagated mostly by artists who don’t have talent or technique and think free jazz is all abo…
05 Aug
Ancient Pines by Tim O'Dell and Tatsu Aoki
Thursday, 05 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
For an unusual and well-crafted performance collection, the CD titled Ancient Pines is memorable. It has much enjoyment within its structure, which combines fre…
04 Aug
Mountains And Plains by Rich Halley Trio
Wednesday, 04 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Saxophonist Rich Halley continues to explore new avenues on his latest release, Mountains And Plains. Working in a trio setting, Halley offers up a robust yet clean …
03 Aug
Family by Christopher Woitach
Tuesday, 03 August 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Guitarist Christopher Woitach's release Family is a rich blend of original compositions and swinging guitar. Working with a fine group of musicians, Woitach has a…
30 Jul
Big Monkey Swing by Night Skeebo
Friday, 30 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Free Jazz and drum /horn duos go back a long ways. Those galactic jaunts Elvin Jones and John Coltrane went on in the Jazz past are the stuff of no small legend. Coltran…
29 Jul
Bill McKay & Sounds of Now by Bill McKay
Thursday, 29 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
If you enjoy meandering, doodling, low-intensity jazz, this album might work for you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and while many people prefer compositions a bit …
27 Jul
Lifespan by Kris Davis
Tuesday, 27 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Pianist and composer Kris Davis displays considerable talent in both roles on her CD Lifespan. She weaves interesting melodic passages into her extended, discursivel…
26 Jul
Acrobati Folli E Innamorati by Less of Five
Monday, 26 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This recording, produced and released by Los Angeles avant gardist Vinny Golia, features an interesting avant garde jazz quartet from Italy called Less of Five. The group i…
24 Jul
Being There by Mordy Ferber
Saturday, 24 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Though guitarist Mordy Ferber is one of those musician’s musicians a technically accomplished and versatile player who is known throughout the jazz community, but who remai…
23 Jul
Fattigfolket by fattigfolket
Friday, 23 July 2004
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Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Fattigfolket is a Norwegian/Swedish quartet bringing us some free form jazz, with just the right amount of constraint. Having garnered many awards and recognition in the Eu…
22 Jul
Part 3 by Barry Romberg
Thursday, 22 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Sometimes it’s nice to sit down and listen to a CD where it’s obvious the performers "go for it." Forsaking any and all commercial aspirations they focus on making music th…
12 Jul
Bremen to Bridgwater by Chris McGregor’s Brotherhood of Breath
Monday, 12 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Brotherhood of Breath was a progressive jazz big band formed by South African expatriate Chris McGregor in the late 60’s and early 70’s. McGregor and some of his colleagues…
08 Jul
Where Are They? by Forward Energy
Thursday, 08 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This recording is "dedicated to those destroyed daily by the US war of greed." Fair enough. There is a strong tradition of political commentary associated with jazz music, …
07 Jul
Gathering of Spirits by Saxophone Summit
Wednesday, 07 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Gathering Of Spirits isn’t the kind of CD that one normally associates with Telarc Records, even though Telarc’s roster of high-profile jazz artists like McCoy Tyner…
06 Jul
Resolve by Clint Smith
Tuesday, 06 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
For some ungodly reason unknown to me, Mr. Smith’s CD is not on a proper label. Unbridled restraint would best describe this intricate and cerebral music. Resolve pu…
03 Jul
A Jazzar No Zeca - A Musica De Jose Afonso by Ze' Eduardo Unit
Saturday, 03 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This young Portuguese jazz trio date led by bassist Ze’ Eduardo, looms as one of the true modern jazz surprises of 2004. And while Eduardo nestles in rather tightly with dr…
02 Jul
Life Tied by Koch / Schutz / Studer
Friday, 02 July 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The latest offering from this largely, inventive modern/free-jazz power trio features dabs of thrusting like, mayhem and pulsating grooves. Once again, the trio intertwines…
01 Jul
29 Pieces For The Microtonal Guitar: Live At The Knitting Factory New York by Sten Höstfält
Thursday, 01 July 2004
Published in
Electronica - CD Reviews
Sten Höstfält has more than absorbed the teachings of some of the free-jazz New England-based musicians he studied with at the New England Conservatory of Music and Berklee…
30 Jun
Resolving Doors by Joel Futterman / Alvin Fielder / Ike Levin Trio
Wednesday, 30 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
For those who entertain comparisons, saxophonist Ike Levin and pianist Joel Futterman - vigorously supported by drummer Alvin Fielder - may fit somewhere in between the Cec…
30 Jun
Bright Light Group by Bright Light Group
Wednesday, 30 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
The Bright Light Group is a Boston-based quintet led by guitarist Jeff Platz. From the opening track, "Bright Light," you get a sense of the virtuosity, the intelligent app…
30 Jun
Sonny II by Noel Akchoté
Wednesday, 30 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Fate can really bite you on the hiney - take the late Sonny Sharrock (1940-1994). After years of inactivity, one of the very first (if not THE first, playing with Ph…
29 Jun
Home & Home & Some Other Place by Florian Ross
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A quartet of fine musicians playing an indistinct jazz form, sort of emblematic of a dreary day. The themes seem to be melancholy and dark.The highlight of the album is …
29 Jun
Indivisible by John Hart
Tuesday, 29 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
This latest release by The John Hart Trio, entitled Indivisible, consists of eight originals by Hart, and three cover tunes including A Nightingale San…
26 Jun
A Gift For The Unusual: Music For Contrabass Saxophone by Vinny Golia
Saturday, 26 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
When Vinny Golia entitles a CD "A Gift For The Unusual," you know that the album contains something really unusual. For Golia often overlooked for his contrib…
25 Jun
Live at Joans by DDYGG
Friday, 25 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Recorded live in Brooklyn on July 15, 2001, in a large industrial space, DDYGG has carved a fine groove between improvisational art and compositional discipline. At first, …
25 Jun
Translinear Light by Alice Coltrane
Friday, 25 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
It’s been 24 year since Alice Coltrane last released an album. That’s far too long, but the wait has been well worth it. The name of the album is "Translinear Light" and it…
24 Jun
Eyes On Mars by Bob Hartig and Ric Troll
Thursday, 24 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Michigan area improvisers, Rob Hartig (alto sax) and Ric Troll (percussion) dish out an agile program of duets, while conveying spacious musical environs during this multif…
23 Jun
Life as we see it by now by Brpobr
Wednesday, 23 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Difficult as this music is to describe, we can turn to the group's publicity material:"Brpobr, Michael Bruckner (g), Fabian Pollack (g), and Bernard Breuer (d) improvise…
22 Jun
Storm Walking Singing by Jonas Tauber
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
A Swiss native, Jonas Tauber has returned to Zürich after making some important contacts in the United States as he pursued his education. After graduating from the Eastman…
22 Jun
Music For Flute(s) And Contrabass by Nancy Turetzky & Bertram Turetzky
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bertram and Nancy Turetzky have been performing togeths for over 44 years now. And they’ve been married that long too. Internationally renowned, both of them are musicians’…
22 Jun
Music For Flute(s) And Contrabass, I by Nancy and Bertram Turetzky
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bertram and Nancy Turetzky have been performing together for over 44 years now. And they’ve been married that long too. Internationally renowned, both of them are musicians…
21 Jun
Swell Henry by Yeah No
Monday, 21 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed’s latest rendition of the band features Jamie Saft (keys) and Rob Burger (accordion) among others lending their goods here. Ultimatel…
20 Jun
Where the two worlds touch by Myra Melford
Sunday, 20 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Whether Myra Melford's true talents favor her composition skills or her performance skills is inconsequential to what amounts to a fine album. "Where the two worlds touch" …
19 Jun
Time-Space Modulator by Kevin Norton's Bauhaus Quartet
Saturday, 19 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Composer, drummer and percussionist Kevin Norton fuses aspects of Germany’s avant-garde art and design (Bauhaus) abstractions into a modern jazz-improvisational context. Re…
18 Jun
The Best Of Eric Dolphy by Eric Dolphy
Friday, 18 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Innovating. Frenetic. Underrated. These are just a few of the words I would use to describe flute, clarinet and saxophone master Eric Dolphy. I think of Dolphy as one of th…
The trio, in jazz, is always an interesting dynamic because there is nowhere to hide. In the case of Bift, Matt Glassmeyer, Sean Moran, and Jason Wildman are not onl…
16 Jun
Die Faden by E.C.F.A (Emanation Creation Formation Action)
Wednesday, 16 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
E.C.F.A. and "Die Faden" are not for the faint of heart. Fans of easy listening jazz or big band jazz with pronounced melodies, harmonies and forms will not find them here.…
15 Jun
Anglo American by Gary Windo
Tuesday, 15 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Anglo American (AA) is an extremely wide-ranging retrospective of tenor saxophonist Gary Windo, made up of rare and previously unreleased music. Windo had an uncanny…
15 Jun
I Wish You Peace by Paul Dunmall Moksha Big Band
Tuesday, 15 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I Wish You Peace is a big band composition in three parts by saxophonist and composer Paul Dunmall. With the sponsorship of BBC Radio 3, the original concept was sim…
14 Jun
Et Ses Amis Européens by Michel Donato
Monday, 14 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Like a number of Canadian jazz musicians, Michel Donato’s public profile outside of his native country isn’t as well known as those of some of his American and European cou…
13 Jun
The Seeds Of Analog Rebellion by Kakalla
Sunday, 13 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Anyone who has followed Kakalla, the innovative group from New England, knows that its leader, bassist Thomson Kneeland, inevitably will encompass more than mere music when…
11 Jun
Sounds From the Source by soNu
Friday, 11 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
I imagine that most devotees of avant garde jazz have their moments of advocacy to their unbelieving friends: "No, really, check out this Ornette album, it really swings" o…
10 Jun
Segments by John Hagen
Thursday, 10 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Saxophonist John Hagen has been in the modern jazz trenches over the years, performing and recording with the likes of bassist William Parker, saxophonist David Liebman and…
09 Jun
[Oeil] Solo Guitar by Vinz Vonlanthen
Wednesday, 09 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
On this outing, Swiss improvising electric guitarist Vinz Vonlanthen goes it alone, aided by two pedals, primarily used for loops and EFX purposes. And for those who enjoy …
09 Jun
Four Compositions by SFQ
Wednesday, 09 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Bassist/composer Simon H. Fell is long considered as one of the premier exponents of the modern day British progressive jazz scene. As this two-CD set features works that w…
07 Jun
Hope by Francesco Bearzatti - Bizart Trio + Rava
Monday, 07 June 2004
Published in
Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews
Tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Francesco Bearzatti aligns with fellow Italian musicians and French organist Emmanuel Bex for a somewhat variable, modern jazz set. Highly reg…