Playlist for the Week of February 11, 2019

Mattin – Songbook #7 (Munster, 2019) [vinyl] Cecil Taylor – In Florescence (A&M, 1990) [vinyl] Ingrid Laubrock – Contemporary Chaos Practices (Intakt, 2018) William Parker Clarinet Trio – Bob’s Pink Cadillac (Eremite, 2001) William Parker – For Those Who Are, Still (AUM Fidelity, 2015) Liudas Mokunas – Hydro 2 (NoBusiness, 2018) Michael Foster, Katherine Young, Michael Zerang – Bind the Hand(s) that

Review: Kate Gentile, Brandon Seabrook, and Matt Mitchell, Live at Spectrum, Jan 4, 2019

Three idiosyncratic players, drummer Kate Gentile, guitarist and banjoist Brandon Seabrook, and pianist Matt Mitchell came together at Spectrum for an interesting set of music. All three musicians are composers and each contributed pieces to this collective unit. The ways that the three fit together in different ways throughout the night was the driving narrative

New Experience Series at Hart Bar: Feb 21

The New Experience is a music series at Hart Bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It’s aimed at giving audience members something each night that they have not experienced before. It features a variety of experimental and improvised music as well as edgy or avant-rock, hip hop, or punk, as well as video projections and a DJ

Review: Kassa Overall – Go Get Ice Cream and Listen to Jazz

Since its earliest days on record, Hip Hop has not only taken inspiration from Jazz via sampling, it has quite literally plucked at its musical body, carrying aspects of Jazz’s DNA into the future. More recently, Jazz musicians have become adept at referencing the rhythmic tension as well as the stylistic and textural breadth that

Last Night at Cornelia: Tom Rainey Trio, Dec 30, 2018

Anyone who frequented Cornelia Street Cafe in recent years is aware of the tradition that arose with the Tom Rainey Trio playing the second to last night of the year. For each of the last eight years, an eager crowd gathered to hear one of New York’s most cutting-edge bands. Drummer and composer Tom Rainey has

Review: Lotte Anker, Craig Taborn, and Gerald Cleaver at Rehearsal Studios, Dec 19, 2018

Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker’s tour through New York in December was one of the highlights of the year and was the crescendo to four performances that she did, each with a different band, over the course of ten days. Her unique approach to her instrument pairs perfectly with the equally exploratory American pianist Craig Taborn

Interview: Bassist Adam Hopkins

Bassist Adam Hopkins moved to New York in 2011 and played extensively as a sideperson in a range of innovative projects. In 2018, he launched his own label, Out of Your Head Records, while simultaneously releasing his debut record as a leader, Crickets. I had a chance to speak with Mr. Hopkins in January about

Feminist Jazz Review: In Conversation with ​Angel Bat Dawid

Chicago based composer, clarinetist and pianist, Angel Bat Dawid took the time to speak with me about her new album, The Oracle (International Anthem), which was released on February 8. Dawid’s spiritual collection of music takes you through the watery depths of travel, ancient and ancestral connections, and improvised composition led by the talented multi-instrumentalist.

Review: Nate Wooley’s Battle Pieces IV Live at Roulette, Dec 3, 2018

Nate Wooley is one of the most thoughtful and interesting musicians working in New York. Battle Pieces makes daring new explorations into song structure, reinventing the relationships between members of an ensemble in a way that retains an alert sharpness during every live performance. Since the band formed for Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Music Festival in 2014,

Review: Yarn/Wire at the Stone with Popebama, Jan 30, 2019

Yarn/Wire‘s ambitious Stone residency included some experiments worthy of the designation “experimental” to be sure, and Popebama was no exception. On one of the coldest days I’ve experienced here in New York City, January 30th, I walked from Tribeca to the Stone at the New School in the Glass Box Theater. I had been there