stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Nov 4, 2009, 10:13 am
The album's cover gives a good idea about the music: it is sparse, organic/human and repetitive. Drummer/percussionist John Hollenbeck is obsessed with rhythm, rhythmic patterns, musical forms, an...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Nov 2, 2009, 4:41 pm
I'm always reluctant to put people into boxes, and especially the big boxes like gender, race or religion. But apparently not John Zorn, who creates this all female band, to release an album calle...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 31, 2009, 5:04 pm
 A welcome addition to the rare concept of double bass duets, with classically trained jazz bassist Giorgio Dini from Italy and William Parker interacting for five freely improvised pieces, with ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 29, 2009, 6:15 pm
Recorded live in Coimbra, Portugal, this Swedish quartet and the enthusiastic audience do exactly what you would expect: play music and have fun. The four musicians have played together before in one ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 28, 2009, 5:20 pm
 I'm sure I miscalculated, but the sum so far is 3 albums this year with Joe Morris as a leader, and 6 as a sideman/bandmember, and the distinction between the former and the latter is also n...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 26, 2009, 5:23 pm
 No doubt Larry Ochs is one of the best modern saxophonists and creative musicians, possibly best know from the ROVA Quartet, but some his recent work is also stellar, such as "Up From Under", wi...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 25, 2009, 4:38 pm
There are albums that are gripping from the first moment that you listen to them, others have to ripen through repeated listens. "Bendowa", a title that refers to the book by the Japanese zen master D...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 24, 2009, 4:54 pm
Blues legend Muddy Waters' major hit Mannish Boy comes to mind when you hear the title, with its basic heavy blues beat and the great simple ironic text, full of the boasting self-confidence betra...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 23, 2009, 5:58 pm
 I forgot to mention two other upcoming/just released Ken Vandermark albums. I don't have them, and I haven't listened to them yet (sounds logical). Actually, Vandermark updated his webs...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 22, 2009, 3:52 pm
Two years ago this trio released the rather groundbreaking record "Digital Primitives", all fun and great music, and their sophomore album continues in the same vein: all fun and great music. The crea...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 18, 2009, 11:58 am
 The nice thing about being a fantastic musician, is the chance you get to play a lot, in various line-ups, clubs and regions, possibly leading to lots of gigs and the possibility for new release...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 17, 2009, 3:51 pm
 Clean Feed really is the label that spots most of the upcoming talent: here again, Chicagoan drummer Charles Rumback gets a chance for his debut release with a band consisting of the double sax ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 16, 2009, 3:10 pm
 I must admit that it took a while before I wanted to listen to this album, because I feared an endless parade of undefinable sounds, clicks and quacks and squeals, the kind of avant-garde meanin...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 15, 2009, 3:56 pm
 Marty Ehrlich is without a doubt a fantastic saxophonist, former member of Julius Hemphill's sextet, but also a creative artist who's been struggling to find his voice over the past deca...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 14, 2009, 5:30 pm
Calling Signals is a band started by British bassist Nick Stephens and Norwegian saxophonist Frode Gjerstad (here on alto and clarinet) in 1994 (with Paul Rutherford and Terje Isungset), with now in i...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 12, 2009, 3:27 pm
I was quite enthusiastic recently about EASilence, a collaboration between Mirio Cosottini on trumpet and Alessio Pisani on bassoon and contrabassoon. And now, some months later, their new project is ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 11, 2009, 3:28 am
How to find the right middle ground between simplicity and complexity? Too much elaborated pieces tend to be stifling for direct emotional delivery and spontaneous interventions, but you have the expe...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 10, 2009, 5:23 am
After his magnificent African-inspired album "Guewel", Canadian drummer Harris Eisenstadt returns to his native soil, celebrating his home country. The band further consists of Nate Wooley on trumpet,...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 7, 2009, 4:52 pm
Wadada Leo Smith is like the Roman god Janus : he has many faces, but he's always the same. Whether he plays contemplative solos or duets, or complex modern jazz like on "Tabligh", or his endless ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 6, 2009, 4:51 pm
Whit Dickey, who is best known for his collaborations with David S. Ware, is not only a great drummer, the four CDs that I have of him as a leader all rank with four stars (in my obsessive personal bo...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 5, 2009, 4:02 pm
 Regular readers of this blog know about the joy I find in trumpet music in small ensembles, and here is another album to enjoy from beginning to end. You will hear Herb Robertson like you've...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 5, 2009, 5:21 am
Because I listened earlier today to L. Subramanian's solo violin album, I thought I would add a short memo  on the topic of this rare kind of performance. Gunda Gottschalk's Wassermonde,...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 4, 2009, 3:22 am
The clarinet is possibly a lead instrument that spans the broadest range of musical genres, from classical, over folk, klezmer, Turkish, balkan, to jazz, and soundtracks, from street musicians over da...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 3, 2009, 5:09 pm
More than two years ago trumpet-player Brian Groder released "Torque", a stellar CD with Sam Rivers on sax. Ever since, I've been scanning the usual information sources, eager to find new material...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 3, 2009, 3:52 pm
"Listening to a recording of free jazz is a bit like watching travelers in a busy train terminal. People of all sizes and colors are moving in every direction; some of them are headed out of town, whi...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 3, 2009, 10:38 am
I am not a real fan of modern piano albums. It's hard to explain why. I prefer the more expressive power of horns. I often find piano music too cerebral and scholarly, with too much focus on the ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 2, 2009, 3:11 pm
Han Bennink is without a doubt one of the best and also most entertaining drummers in the free improv scene. I should have gone to a concert* by him tonight with this same trio, with Simon Toldam on p...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Oct 1, 2009, 3:01 pm
Unknown to me, this young British free jazz band brings a remarkably mature and highly enjoyable record. Led by Philip Somervell on piano, the band consists of Chris Williams on alto saxophone, Joe Eg...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 29, 2009, 5:22 pm
Wadada Leo Smith's second record for the Treader label is better than the previous "Brooklyn Duos", on which he plays duets with John Coxon on guitar and harmonica. The latter still plays guitar o...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 28, 2009, 4:55 pm
I do not usually review CDs that I don't like, but once in a while I will do it to make a more general point. The Swiss KiKu Trio consists of three excellent musicians : Yannick Barman on trumpet,...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 27, 2009, 4:58 pm
When I said some days ago that there aren't many women trumpet-players, I missed one who is basically living and playing in my backyard. Sanne van Hek is a Dutch trumpet-player, who started on cla...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 27, 2009, 3:18 am
Your humble servant is a great fan of the "Bitches Brew" period of Miles Davis, so when young bands bring materials that is influenced by the master, it is always with interest that I listen to them. ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 27, 2009, 3:14 am
Maybe I exaggerate, but I like albums to have a musical coherence from beginning to end. Variation is needed, and even necessary, but a good album has to offer one line of thought and approach. Despit...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 26, 2009, 2:58 pm
More than any other art form, music has the possibility to express anything that goes beyond the rational and the logical, which makes it of course hard to describe in words, but which makes it all th...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 24, 2009, 3:56 pm
Tearing his way through jazz, Icelandic guitarist Hilmar Jensson continues to move even deeper into the possibilities of power jazz, building his music on the mad yet solid foundation of hardhitting d...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 22, 2009, 4:32 pm
Dallas-based trumpet-player Dennis González will always be one of my favorites for this warm and solid tone, his openness of mind and the emotional power of his music. With the exception of "Paura", ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 21, 2009, 4:58 pm
You like free jazz raw and hard and real and authentic? Well then here's a treat for you: Daniel Carter meets Randall Colbourne meets Paul Flaherty in a free-for-all blowing session. The session?...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 21, 2009, 3:00 pm
There aren't many women trumpet-players. I know Ingrid Jensen, Jamie Branch, Nadje Noordhuis, and now Gunhild Seim. Seim is a Norwegian and someone to watch. On her sophomore album, she is accompa...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 20, 2009, 4:39 am
A self-serving message today: below you will find the results of a recent poll that Improvised Communications conducted among jazz editors, and I copy as it was published on their website. "We recent...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 19, 2009, 3:31 pm
The great thing about music is that its inherent possibilities for novelty are absolutely endless. Yet rare are those who manage to create something entirely new, perplexing the audience, wrongfooting...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 18, 2009, 1:03 pm
JUSTICE FOR JAZZ ARTISTS Read more about this campaign on the dedicated website, now with Youtube video. © stef  Subscribe
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 16, 2009, 4:16 pm
Sitting in my hotel room, waiting for the New York Clean Feed Festival to start, my ears, brain and body receive full enjoyment from what might possibly be the re-issue of the year. Recorded at a live...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 16, 2009, 12:36 am
JUSTICE FOR JAZZ ARTISTS Read more about this campaign on the dedicated website. © stef  Subscribe
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 14, 2009, 3:14 pm
I knew Vancouver guitarist and oud-player Gordon Grdina from his debut album "Think Like The Waves", with nobody less than Gary Peacock on bass and Paul Motian on drums. Quite a feat for a young music...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 12, 2009, 2:47 pm
Don't be misled by the art work. Although it gives the impression of featuring a dixieland or swing band, what you get here is pure improvisation between three musicians who know their instruments...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 11, 2009, 3:09 pm
Written as "a virtual film score", this album is the sequel to a commissioned soundtrack that pianist James Carney worked on, and which offered interesting options, yet was too restrictive in terms of...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 9, 2009, 3:25 pm
Ten years after it was recorded, this music is finally released, and with reason: the trio, with Bobby Bradford on cornet, Tom Heasley on tuba and Ken Rosser on guitar, brings not only an unusual line...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 8, 2009, 3:48 pm
The Fonda Stevens Group is a band that's been around for more than 20 years in various line-ups, but always with the solid foundation of Joe Fonda on bass and Michael Jefrey Stevens on piano, and ...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 6, 2009, 10:37 am
DCIC stands for DC (Washington) Improvisers Collective, a band with changing line-ups. For this album, it consists of Ben Azzara on drums, Daniel Barbiero on bass, Jonathan Matis on guitar, Mike Sebas...
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stef g. posted an article on Free Jazz - Sep 4, 2009, 3:11 pm
This is the second release by the wonderfully free band "Nuts", and the first release was in my opinion among the best albums of last year, with a double trumpet front line, two drums and the bass of ...
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