Cisco Bradley

Interview: Devin Brahja Waldman

Saxophonist and composer Devin Brahja Waldman has been working in New York for about a decade and has led bands, contributed to projects such as Heroes Are Gang Leaders, and had numerous collaborations including Radical Reversal, with poet Randall Horton. In July, I interviewed Waldman about the release of the record, Kadef. CB: How did

Review: Singularity Codex (Matthew Shipp) by Clifford Allen

There has always been a dearth of quality writing on free jazz. Many mainstream jazz critics fundamentally have not understood the music and have distorted its reception, while in academia the music has often been shunned by conservative music programs. But in recent years, there have been a number of important books addressing some of

Review: Big Ears Festival

For years, I have been meaning to attend the Big Ears Festival which is held annually in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is one of the premier music festivals in the United States featuring cutting-edge, thought-provoking, and experimental music. This year was my first time at the festival and I was impressed by the range of music

New Work: Eli Wallace

During the Covid pandemic, I experienced contrasting periods of artistic lucidity and activity and periods of despondency. Overall, the former won over, and I’m happy to share a few developments that occurred during this time. When the pandemic first hit, I knew if I didn’t stay active playing piano I would go insane, so I

New Work: Han-earl Park

It’s not everyday that everyday looks like any day.   The pandemic was a time of opportunity, perhaps, to woodshed, to workshop, to reflect, to reassess. It was also, for me, a time of uncertainty, anxiety, and of doubt. Keeping busy, and doing “the good work,” seemed at once absolutely necessary, but searching the corners

New Work: Dan Kurfirst

  Arkinetics Daniel Carter – Trumpet, Reeds Alexis Marcelo – Fender Rhodes Damon Banks – Bass Roshni Samlal – Tabla Dan Kurfirst -Drums, Percussion, Compositions Arkinetics is an instrumental quintet that utilizes the practice of rhythm as mantra to enter a space of boundless joy and freedom. The concept has been inside of me for the

New Work: Anna Webber

Early in the global pandemic, I learned about the theory of the “hedonic treadmill.” Maybe all of you know about this already, but in case you, like me, didn’t know, basically this theory posits that after an extremely positive or extremely negative change in a human’s life, we ultimately return to about the same level

New Work: Carlo Costa

Despite performing rarely the past couple of years have been fruitful in a few different ways. Below is a list of some of my musical activities since the spring of 2020. In May of 2020 I started a long distance collaboration with Philippe Lauzier, a composer, improviser, clarinetist and saxophonist based in Montreal, Canada. We began

New Work: Travis Laplante

From saxophonist Travis Laplante: Before I write about my personal and artistic experience during the pandemic thus far, it feels important to acknowledge that this period of time has been devastating for countless people.  Whether it’s losing loved ones, working in an over-taxed health care environment, losing one’s business, or dealing with severe long-Covid symptoms—my

New Work: Patrick Shiroishi

From saxophonist and composer Patrick Shiroishi: When 2019 was ending, I was excited for the year to be reborn. Not only did I have my first vinyl coming out, but there were also plans to have a septet assembled to reimagine the music for the record release show as well as my first solo tour