Matthew Shipp Trio – Signature (ESP-Disk, 2019) Oliver Nelson – Blues and the Abstract Truth (Impulse!, 1961) [vinyl] Missing Foundation – 1933: Your House Is Mine (Purge/Sound League, 1988) [vinyl] Various – Electronic Music: It Started Here; Innovative Tracks from the Early Electronic Explorers (Not Now Music, 2017) [vinyl] Getatchew Mekuria & The Ex & Friends – Y’Anbessaw Tezeta (Terp,
New York-based composer and trumpet/flugelhorn extraordinaire, Stephanie Richards returns with a follow up album to her stunningly sparse, cyclically inspired (as Richards’ instruments were set up in a semi circle during recording sessions) 2018 album, Full Moon (Relative Pitch). The new collection of compositions is entitled Take the Neon Lights (Birdwatcher). A glaring difference between Full
America often revels at powerful Black figures being co-opted by the white supremacist-capitalist super-structures of our society in familiar themes we have all heard many times over: X escaped the projects and now makes millions as a star athlete, actor, or performer, which enabled them to leave their old world behind. The underlying message is
The Hero of Warchester (Anna Webber, Nathaniel Morgan, Liz Kosack) – self-titled (Prom Night Records, 2015) [cassette] Pierce Warnecke & Louis Laurain – Phonotypic Plasticity (Astral Spirits, 2019) [cassette] Howard Riley – Live in the USA (NoBusiness Records, 2018) William Parker Violin Trio – Scrapbook (Thirsty Ear, 2003) Charles Gayle, William Parker, Rashied Ali – Touchin’ on Trane (FMP,
Peru, is there any space inside you? Is anybody listening to anything? How can I determine, or even simply understand your complex and varied mind? Such a diverse people, millions each consuming different cultural products. A mosaic of options, an unlimited space of possibilities which is brought to reality through a very refined process of
Since moving to New York City in 2000, violist and composer Jessica Pavone has become one of the most captivating musicians in the avant-garde music scene – performing in countless groups from improvisation to folk and so on. Working on a multitude of projects, Pavone has led her own string ensemble, performed in the quartet,
In January, I had the opportunity to ask Sarah Bernstein (violin, electronics, poetry, composer) about her new record, Crazy Lights Shining, released in 2018 on the Phase Frame Music label. Bernstein is a singular player on the New York scene, with more than two decades of work, numerous records, and a number of key projects
Wadada Leo Smith & Sabu Toyozumi – Burning Meditation (NoBusiness, 2018) Jessica Pavone – Silent Spills (Relative Pitch, 2016) Paco Casanova, Dylan Fujioka, Patrick Shiroishi – Kage Cometa (FMR Records, 2018) Miles Davis – ‘Round about Midnight (Columbia, 1955) Clifford Brown and Max Roach – Study in Brown (EmArcy, 1955)
On his 2016 album, No Filter, Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis dug deep into the possibilities of the Jazz trio. With heavy Funk-Rock excursions, Hip Hop infusions and fiery free music, the album’s compositions were densely textured and impeccably performed. Expanding to a quintet with Jaimie Branch (trumpet), Luke Stewart (bass), Anthony Pirog (guitar) and Warren
As the second set at Spectrum on January 4 (following the trio of Kate Gentile, Brandon Seabrook, and Matt Mitchell that I reviewed yesterday), tenor saxophonist Anna Webber played “five short pieces.” In the course of her set, she demonstrated the many different forms her music can take. The first piece opened with high-pitched repetition
