The self-titled album by the Chicago-based band, Hearts and Minds, was released in October of 2016. Hearts and Minds is a synthesis of electronic noise and improvisational jazz, absorbing the listener into an atmosphere of synthesized fuzz and distortion. This is combined with a bass clarinet that produces both a more “classical” sound (notable in
Cooperative Sounds #2 is a much stronger recording as it open with Hilliard Greene on bass for the first track. This kind of musical experience is becoming rare with each passing day. Young musicians aren’t getting the opportunity to work with exceptional older musicians. Greene is joined by Paula Shocron on piano and Pablo Díaz
There’s something I’ve always believed about maintaining one’s innocence, and there’s a benefit of maintaining a healthy level of aloofness that I’ve always cherished: when a dream comes to true, or when you work so hard towards something and you cannot see the outcome in sight, the manifestation of the your desired outcome is much
Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die, released in May, has been on repeat for the past few hours (it still echoes through the speakers in front of me, competing with the sound of computer keys). I was bombarded with color immediately after the first track’s opening. Branch works with Tomeka Reid (cello), Jason Ajemian (bass), and
Consisting of Americans Mazz Swift (violin) and Tomeka Reid (cello) and Italian double bassist Silvia Bolognesi, the contemporary string trio Hear in Now infuse classical forms with jazz sensibilities. Collectively, the trio’s resume of projects include work with Anthony Braxton, Whitney Houston, D’ Angelo, Roscoe Mitchell, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Butch Morris, and William Parker in
Nendo Dango Records is a fairly new record label that records free jazz. In the words of the musicians behind it, they describe the music and the record label’s mission: “Nendo Dango arises to gather not only our music, but also to show a way to reach it, a way of construction in favor of
I became a listener of jazz composer, Geri Allen when the news of her passing broke in June 2017. Her name and face suddenly flooded mainstream media, music publications and social media timelines at a rate that made me realize that I had been missing out on listening to a staple in the free jazz
482 Music (CD/DL) Recorded Oct 3, 2011; Released Apr 27, 2012 Personnel: Tomas Fujiwara (drums, compositions) Trevor Dunn (bass) Mary Halvorson (guitar) Brian Settles (tenor sax) Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet) Track List Lineage, 7:47 Double Lake, Defined, 3:30 For Ours, 5:09 Cosmopolitan (Rediscovery), 6:07 Smoke-breathing Lights, 10:52 Postcards, 11:44 Review A complaint often leveled against modern musicians
Mary Halvorson Quintet Firehouse 12 Music LP/CD (2013/2012) Recorded: Jul 30-31, 2011; Released: 2012 (CD), Mar 26, 2013 (LP) Personnel: Mary Halvorson (guitar, compositions) Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet) Jon Irabagon (alto sax) John Hebert (bass) Ches Smith (drums) Track Listing: Sinks When She Rounds the Bend (no. 22), 7:48 Hemorrhaging Smiles (no. 25), 7:59 Forgotten Men
Clean Feed Records (CD) Released: June 20, 2013 Personnel: Harris Eisenstadt: drums, compositions Ellery Eskelin: tenor sax Angelica Sanchez: piano Track List: Swimming, then Rained Out, 4:23 Additives, 6:20 From Schoenberg, Part One, 7:41 Back and Forth, 7:01 Ordinary Weirdness, 6:19 The Destructive Element, 2:36 Cascadia, 6:47 From Schoenberg, Part Two, 4:23 Here Are the
