Free Jazz / Avante Garde - CD Reviews (1158)
It would be a mistake to say that one of the main innovations of Ornette Coleman was the lack of a piano player in his bands as changes in harmony, melody, and rhythm from …
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Bob Rusch, the producer of the sequel to IN THE SPIRIT, NO GREATER LOVE, states in the liner notes that this CD is "out-of-concept" ; that is to say that it does not use th…
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My ears hear David S. Ware and my mind can’t help but say it is Jean-Michel Basquiat with a saxophone. Just as the late Basquiat would use the simplest of images, sometimes…
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Easily taking his place alongside such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, bassist and composer Charles Mingus left us a large body of work, with much of it c…
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The post-war period precipitated radical changes in how jazz was performed. The popular swing big bands began to wither and bebop started to emerge like wild weeds from the…
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Bob Rusch, the producer of the sequel to IN THE SPIRIT, NO GREATER LOVE, states in the liner notes that this CD is "out-of-concept"; that is to say that it does not use the…
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Passion for Passion - This is one of the most challenging reviews I have ever written because it involves writing about music that cannot easily be separated from itself to…
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Chicago's Atavistic Records are reissuing some of the rarest avant-jazz records of the 70s & 80s that ever were, some recorded in America but received only minimal distribu…
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Pauline Oliveros is a peer of John Cage and Terry Riley, a composer who’s written for both acoustic and electronic sound-makers and whose accordion performances have explor…
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Stark images, penetrating free-jazz passages, classical flourishes - those elements embody the debut release, "Invisible," from Japanese guitarist Osamu Moriyama.Mor…
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It is a true sign of the selfless musician, the artist who is more interested in what the music evokes than in meaningless demonstrations of technique, when he/she creates …
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URBAN SURVIVAL will appeal to those who enjoy free jazz and avante garde with a blend of contemporary jazz motifs added to the brew. Eric Olsen gives interesting piano inte…
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Like many long-lived bands, from Duke Ellington’s Orchestras to The Grateful Dead, The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s members have "outside projects" on the side (solo, group an…
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Keenan Lawler is an improvising guitarist who’s performed with Rhys Chatham, David Watson, Lukas Ligeti, Alan Licht, Kevin Drumm and Jack Wright. He concentrates on the use…
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They Have A Word For Everything..but in this particular case there is no single word to describe the odd stylings of pianist Mick Rossi, and in the tradition of the Knittin…
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This environmentally conscious band composed the tracks and they are very funky. The CD pleasantly surprised me with the depth of groove. Produced by drummer Michael Reed a…
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MURAL showcases the gifts of guitarist & composer, Bruce Eisenbeil. He is accompanied by the talented musicians, J. Brunka on bass and Ryan Sawyer on drums. This trio is ha…
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Ultima is a must buy if you missed the Frode Gjerstad Trio on their tour of Canada and the United States and have an interest in adventurous jazz. If you saw the unit, I am…
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Freedom of Assembly is tri-generational, bass, drums, and piano trio. Bassist George Donchev is the youngest at 32 and has played with the likes of Bob Gullotti and John Lo…
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This 1999 OKKA Disk begins so quietly that you do not know that there is any sound recorded. The gradually pitches of air come to your ears and the first section of BRASS C…
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