MUYASSAR KURDI AND NICK JOZWIAK – INTERSECTIONS AND VARIATIONS BANDCAMP RELEASE (JANUARY 1, 2017) Intersections and Variations by Muyassar Kurdi and Nicholas Jozwiak presents cutting edge sounds that will really grab your attention. The creative use of gongs, plus cello filling the air, is quite effective establishing the mood of this composition. Muyassar’s voice
WILLIAM PARKER – FOR THOSE WHO ARE, STILL (AUM FIDELITY, 2015) This box set comes with three CDs (see below for full details of the contents of the CDs). The opening sounds of For Fannie Louie Hamer + Vermeer, is basically found in music from India. This goes on at length. It is more improvised
Leap of Faith Orchestra ‐ The Expanding Universe Recorded at Nave Gallery, Clarendon Presbyterian Church Somerville, MA – 6/4/2016 The Expanding Universe by The Leap of Faith Orchestra, is one of several groups led by Dave Peck. In his own words, here’s how he describes these projects: “I have had an improvisation ensemble called Leap of Faith
Kris Davis – Duopoly (Pyroclastic Records, 2016) Duopoly (du-op-o-ly) Noun: A fun play on words suggesting that two things hold equal presence or control rather than one thing dominating the other A perfect name for an album of duets featuring Kris Davis and other creative improvisers where neither improviser is in neither the background nor
Sirene 1009 Han-Earl Park (Guitar) Caroline Pugh (Vocals/Tape Recorder) Dominic Lash (Bass) Mark Sanders (Drums) Sirene 1009 is a radical improvisational quartet made up of vocalist Caroline Pugh, bassist Dominic Lash, drummer Mark Sanders, and guitarist Han-Earl Park. Their self-titled debut is a colorful, sometimes violent and revelatory listening experience that infuses modern aesthetics with
Matthew Shipp Trio – Piano Song Newman Taylor Baker – Drums Michael Bisio – Bass Matthew Shipp – Piano Renowned pianist, composer and bandleader Matthew Shipp’s new full length album Piano Song is the latest in a discography that establishes him as a contemporary master of the jazz idiom. For nearly three decades Shipp has
Mary Halvorson – Meltframe (Firehouse 12) A few weeks ago, something amazing happened. I closed my eyes and was transported back in time to the music of my youth: the angsty, rough edges of Nirvana, the intricate and driving rhythms of Radiohead, the dark melodicism of Muse. When I opened them again, I realized it
Michael Foster’s The Ghost The Hole (Tombed Visions, 2016) The Hole is the second recording of Michael Foster’s trio, The Ghost, with bassist Henry Fraser and drummer Connor Baker. If you listened to their previous recording, There’s Always A First Time For Everything, the playing on this project is much tighter. All three musicians mesh
Leap of Faith Orchestra – Supernovae (Evil Clown, 2016) “The full orchestra (with all 5 sub-units) had its first performance on June 4, where we played my composition, The Expanding Universe. The composition does not specify notated melodic or rhythmic information, just durations (by time indices) and English language descriptions of the overall sonority desired.
Being forty years old is a curious point in an artist’s — or nearly anyone’s — life. Given the advances in modern medicine, it’s just about halfway (on average) to departure and feels like one should have passed through at least one needle’s eye, though it is far from laurel-resting territory. One is neither a
