Duo records are made for the patient listener. There is typically a special kind of intimacy unfolding that invites interpretation or alienates those within earshot. Depending on the genre (loose use of the term here) and the methodology of the musicians, great ideas can become historic documents or forgotten works. Consider John Coltrane’s Interstellar Space
Anteloper (Jaimie Branch, Jason Nazary) – Kudu (International Anthem, 2018) [cassette] Dietrich – self-titled (Pica Disk, 2017) Welf Dorr Unit – Blood (Chant Records, 2018) Myra Melford, Zeena Parkins, Miya Masaoka – MZM (Infrequent Seams, 2018) Dennis Gonzalez – Yells at Eels (1Car Garage, 2012) [vinyl] Matt Lavelle & Reggie Sylvester – Retrograde (ESP-Disk, 2018) J. Peter Schwalm – How We
After seeing Gibrán Andrade lead his band Géiser at El Quinto Piso in Mexico City on December 30, 2017, I managed to sit down with him at the cafe El Chalet on New Years’ Day to talk with him about his music. Andrade is a drummer, saxophonist, composer, and educator active in Mexico City who has toured
Joshua Trinidad – In November (Rare Noise Records, 2018) Sarah Bernstein‘s Unearthish – Crazy Lights Shining (Phase Frame Music, 2018) Rallidae – Paper Birds (self-released, 2014) Harriet Tubman – Araminta (Sunnyside Communications, 2017) Whit Dickey – In a Heartbeat (Clean Feed, 2005) Patrick Shiroishi – Ima (Confront, 2017) [cassette] Sean Conly – Hard Knocks (Clean Feed, 2018) Kibrom A. Birhane – Time for
Sunday evening I had my first opportunity to see Anteloper play live. It was well worth the wait. Anteloper consists of Jaimie Branch (trumpet, electronics) and Jason Nazary (drums, electronics). The band creates intense layers of sound, recording loops, playing their instruments over electronics, and using delays in a manner to create far more sound
The opening track on Fodder, released in January this year, sounds like a Friday night in the city … It is alive and crazed, moving in pursuit of a hot moment at a small bar or dancefloor. Though somewhat odd as “fodder” can mean “food,” I listen to this track and feel the energy of
In February, I had the opportunity to sit down with Chad Taylor and discuss his recent solo record release and his duo record with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis as well as the many bands and records he has been a part of throughout his prolific career. Cisco Bradley: Chad, it’s wonderful to have you here.
I spoke with trumpeter, Stephanie Richards in April about her album, Fullmoon, which was released on Relative Pitch Records on May 18th. But of course, even more than I wanted to speak about her stunning, enigmatic, creative and expressive album, I wanted to talk about her womanhood. This interview was done before my debut interview
At the height of the 1960s through 1970s Cecil McBee was a very busy man. The bassist extraordinaire had appeared, probably, on hundreds of Jazz LPs ranging from unknown to classic. Just scrolling through my personal record collection, or his Discogs page, can boggle the mind of any collector, or new jack to the game,
Guitarist Matteo Liberatore’s, Solos, released early this year, is a study of sound and the direction it takes when odd objects manipulate seemingly ordinary instruments. Liberatore uses the acoustic guitar the way a visual artist might use the end of a paintbrush. He does not limit himself to strumming or even tapping on the guitar’s surface,
