Los Angeles-based alto saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi is set to release another record, this time on the Thin Wrist label. For this release, Shiroishi delved into the personal and political terrain of concentration camps both as they relate to his family history and in the current cycle of immigrant and minority oppression, in what feels nothing
Editorial based on interviews written and conducted by Eline Marx Patricia Nicholson is an artist and the founder and director of the free jazz organization Arts for Art (AFA). In 2016, I was interning at Arts for Art and taking one-on-one dance classes with Patricia when William Parker suggested I interview her in the perspective
Percussionist Flin van Hemmen has been a catalyst for many things happening in New York since he arrived in 2007. He has released two records under his own name, Drums of Days in 2016, and just in September he followed with Casting Spells & the Coves, both on Neither/Nor Records. He has also been a central figure
Guest Reviewer: John Pietaro Composer: Benjamin Barson, Librettist: Ruth Margraff (Nejma Nefertiti, tracks 7-8) From its opening notes, US composer-baritone saxophonist Ben Barson’s suite for this “epic jazz opera” speaks of the revolutionary politics from which it is derived. With a firm grasp on the canon of liberation music before him, Barson (a student of
Carlo Costa has played a transformative role on the New York improvised music scene since he moved here in 2005. Originally from Rome, he studied at Berklee College of Music before moving to the city and studying with master percussionist Susie Ibarra through CUNY-City College. Since arriving in New York, Costa has been a major
Ami Yamasaki is a vocalist from Japan who has been doing innovative work for quite a few years now. I had the opportunity to see her perform with alto saxophonist Chris Pitsiokos in the Limited Resources series at Muchmore’s on February 6, 2019, and after that I approached her to do an interview. Yamasaki just
Bobby Bradford & Hafez Modirzadeh – Live at the Blue Whale (NoBusiness, 2018) Various – Mushroom Hour Half Hour Presents SPAZA (Mushroom Hour, 2019) Jason Stein, Greg Ward, Eric Revis, Jim Black – Nature Work (Sunnyside, 2019) Pneuma – Who Has Seen the Wind? (Songlines, 2019) Uivo – Zebra (Bocian Records, 2018)
Nick Sanders Trio – Playtime 2050 (Sunnyside Communications, 2019) Ben Stapp & Joe Morris featuring Stephen Haynes – Mind Creature Sound Dasein (Listen Foundation!, 2019) Michael Attias – Echoes la Nuit (Out of Your Head Records, 2019) Logan Strosahl’s Spec Ops – Sure (Sunnyside Communications, 2019)
Charles Rumback – Cadillac Turns (Astral Spirits, 2019) Harris Eisenstadt – Old Growth Forest II (Astral Spirits, 2019) Simon Nabatov, Barry Guy, Gerry Hemingway – Luminous (NoBusiness, 2018) Aron Namenwirth, Eric Plaks, Sean Conly, Jon Panikkar – Hurricane (Culture of Waste Records, 2018)
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Anna Webber has emerged as a major force since arriving in New York in 2008. She has released a series of innovative records including her trio, Simple (2014) and Binary (2016), both on Skirl Records, and most recently, her septet, Clockwise, just released in February. Her performances and recordings bristle with compositional ideas and sophisticated
