Across the Way
…n performance instead of beforehand by a single composer, [which] allows us as musicians as well as the audience to interpret the music based on the present situation. For myself that includes as much as I could potentially be aware of at that moment – my own emotional and physical state, the physical space we’re in, the acoustics, the sounds of the…
Expansion
…ics mix with…not-so-free jazz. — David R. Adler, Allmusic.com **** “[the band members] are quite adept at melding fragmented motifs into comprehensive statements that intertwine and redevelop into climactic opuses featuring Zimmerli’s extended notes and richly melodic lyricism…However, the saxophonist employs a shift in strategy as he turns in a sof…
Enter, a Dragon
…Dragon is an experiment in ensemble playing in great wide-open constructs with a strong, arching backbone.” — Spike Taylor, Exclaim! ****1/2 “Granelli follows his own muse, with an eclecticism that combines an array of styles…[He] mixes offbeat compositions with scintillating solos for each of the fifteen tracks…Moods change with the drop of a coin,…
Polyogue
…t airy structures meant to showcase both his considerable compositional skills and the group’s musicianship and improvising powers. For example, on the title track, Laster sets up tricky polyphonic structures but leaves room for a cooly compassioned duet between he and drummer Tom Rainey. Elsewhere, Laster sets up intriguing instrumental combination…
A Bowl of Sixty Taxidermists
…his group in relation to particular movements in music. I feel that we all have many influences but what happens through the writing and the working together feels very organic and honest.” The title of the record is a Taggart quote. Jon relates: “I would go and visit Ross in the hospital, as did many other people who were wanting to do what they co…
Because She Hoped
…lates ambient mics catching the resonances of that space. [In mixing] you send some of the mics into this preset, then you just have to adjust the general tone of the reverb returns – there might be two or three different presets mixed together. I like the feeling of constructing an imaginary ideal venue.” Beyond such questions of expressive means h…
The Songlines Anthology
…filling an ambitious vision.” — Steven A. Loewy, Allmusic.com “This collection has a lot of everything that makes the label distinctive.” — Andy Bartlett, Earshot Jazz “Musical connections and overlapping personnel create a textural mosaic of the label and its approach to sound…Reif’s choices reveal a pronounced awareness of the many stylistic curre…
Matt Choboter
… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4K22Vb5udE …
Warblepeck
…llenbeck’s highly melodic percussive layering. This music combines freedom and discipline, openness and density, beauty and harshness, humor and seriousness in very personal ways. The audiophile recording and especially the multi-channel mix effectively transmit its expressive depth and audacity. Further info: lonberg-holm.info, johnhollenbeck.com….
Quest
…ies in world music. “Rapturous…Koushkani is a virtuouso [and] the presentation is visceral and immediate. Part of that has to do with the fact that Koushkani sings, and his throaty voice has the same kind of passionate intensity that you might find in the blues…But don’t let the relative familiarity of the sound take away from its emotional impact…
