First off, it may just be the giddy anticipation of regime change in America talking, but if you’ve been following this announcement blog since it started in March, I’d like to thank you for reading.
Times are changing and so is this blog, which is now moving to technically superior digs over at WordPress.
The new and improved blog can be found at http://improvisedcommunications.wordpress.com/
Please update your browsers, RSS feeds, etc. so you will continue to receive updates going forward.
The one catch is that the previous posts are not welcome at the new place, so this blog will stay up as an archive of past posts.
Onward and upward.
Playscape Recordings is proud to announce the November 4th release of acclaimed bassist/composer Mario Pavone’s latest CD, Ancestors (PSR#011508), the recorded debut of newest working ensemble, the Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet. This recording features eight original Pavone compositions written specifically for this group and its all-star line-up of Tony Malaby (tenor and soprano saxophones), Jimmy Greene (tenor and soprano saxophones), Peter Madsen (piano) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). The band will be performing this music on its European tour in late November, and at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club on January 7th.
“The towering twin tenor approach is the focal point for Ancestors,” explains the All Music Guide’s Michael G. Nastos, “utilizing two of the finest young, experienced, and individualistic saxophone players in modern jazz music—Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene. Add the under-appreciated but awesome pianist Peter Madsen and the reliable juggernaut of a drummer, Gerald Cleaver, and you have the makings for a truly superior combo, one of the best Pavone has ever fronted. While Pavone’s recordings are generally reliable and pointedly original, this effort is close to his very best, and deserves consideration for best jazz CD of 2008.”
Ancestors is Pavone’s 10th recording as a leader/co-leader on Playscape Recordings, the label he has called home since 2000, and the follow-up to June’s Trio Arc, featuring pianist Paul Bley and drummer Matt Wilson. The music is dedicated to recently passed jazz legends Andrew Hill and Dewey Redman, whom Pavone calls “part of the spectrum of my musical forebears.” It features eight original compositions (six of them guest arranged by frequent collaborators Dave Ballou, Steven Bernstein and Michael Musillami) written specifically for this group and its all-star line-up of veteran Pavone sidemen, which brings together celebrated saxophonists Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene for the first time.
“I had been playing with Tony and Jimmy for more than eight years, but always separately, so I was keen to combine their complementary yet contrasting styles into one group,” Pavone explains. “Gerald and I have played and recorded a lot together and the great Peter Madsen, who has appeared on my last nine CDs, is almost indispensable to me. Wrapping my rhythm section around a double tenor color like this, especially one with this much grace and power, was a dream come true. The resulting sound seems larger than just five players and is almost orchestral. It may well be my favorite album so far.”
“On his day,” declared veteran jazz reviewer Brian Morton in the current issue of Point of Departure, “Mario Pavone is one of the very best — and when on his game, by far the best –- small-group composer/leaders working on the East Coast.” Critics have called him “a smart composer” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “a protean bassist” (Paul Blair, Hot House) who “never fails to implant an effective hook” (Bill Shoemaker, DownBeat) and “continues to move the tradition forward with every record” (John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com). His music has been described as “exciting and stimulating” (Jay Collins, Cadence), “sensitive and probing” (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant) and “full of smart angular swagger” (Michael Rosenstein, Signal to Noise).
Originally an engineer by trade, Pavone dropped everything to attend John Coltrane’s funeral in 1967, where he decided on the spot to dedicate the rest of his life to music. He has since spent the last four decades defining the cutting edge of jazz, both as a sideman to legendary innovators and the leader of groups featuring some of today’s most respected young improvisers. His recordings have appeared on best-of-the-year lists in publications such as Slate.com, AllAboutJazz.com, AllAboutJazz-New York, Cadence, the Hartford Courant and the Village Voice among others. In addition to his ongoing activities as a bandleader, Pavone’s artwork and photography have graced the covers of dozens of recordings since the mid 90’s, and he currently serves as an educator, administrator and board member for the Litchfield Jazz Festival and Litchfield Summer Jazz Music Institute in Litchfield, Connecticut.
On Friday, November 7th, veteran drummer/composer George Schuller will perform with his longstanding group, Circle Wide, as part of Firehouse 12’s ongoing 2008 Fall Jazz Series. The New York-based band, which features saxophonist (and Hartford native) Jimmy Greene, guitarist Brad Shepik, vibraphonist Tom Beckham and bassist Dave Ambrosio, will be celebrating the recent release of its latest recording, Like Before, Somewhat After (Playscape Recordings), which pays tribute to the music of jazz legend Keith Jarrett’s seminal American Quartet of the 1970’s. This two-set performance will feature innovative arrangements of classic Jarrett compositions, as well as brand new original music inspired by the source material.
“Embracing the lyricism inherent in Jarrett’s writing, Schuller’s ensemble offers one of the most euphorically adventurous albums in recent memory,” declared AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins. “Like Before, Somewhat After invokes the bittersweet intensity of Jarrett’s formative work, making this richly rewarding tribute one of Schuller’s most beautiful and accessible albums.” Other critics called it “a tribute album that exceeds its goals because it isn’t satisfied with a simple tip of the hat” (Mike Shanley, JazzTimes) and “one of the more delightful recordings of modern jazz made in the 2000’s, a definite candidate for Best Jazz CD of 2008, and a high watermark in Schuller’s substantial career” (Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide). Jazz.com’s Ted Gioia added, “They get past the notes on the page, and into something deeper, an elusive transcendence that defies even this glib critic.”
For more than 25 years, Schuller has worked with many of the most respected names in jazz and improvised music as a bandleader, composer/arranger, sideman and record producer. His diverse discography as a performer features more than 50 recordings, including collaborations with Ballin’ the Jack, Ran Blake, Bill DeArango, Burton Greene, Joe Lovano, Andrew Rathbun, Tom Varner and his father, 2008 NEA Jazz Master, Gunther Schuller. In addition to work with his own bands, Circle Wide and The Schulldogs, Schuller currently performs with the Armen Donelian Trio, Conference Call, Free Range Rat and the Michael Musillami Trio among others. He is also a co-producer of the documentary film, Music Inn, which explores the history of the legendary School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts.
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp
Ben Ratliff writes about the Mary Halvorson Trio’s debut CD, Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records), in today’s New York Times.
On Wednesday, January 7th, acclaimed bassist/composer Mario Pavone and his newest working ensemble, the Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet, will celebrate the release of their November debut, Ancestors (Playscape Recordings), with a two-set performance at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club. The group features saxophonists Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene, pianist Peter Madsen and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Pavone will also perform in New York a few days earlier on Friday, January 2nd at Cornelia Street Cafe with the sextet featured on his 2006 release, Deez To Blues (Playscape Recordings).
“The towering twin tenor approach is the focal point for Ancestors,” explains the All Music Guide’s Michael G. Nastos, “utilizing two of the finest young, experienced, and individualistic saxophone players in modern jazz music—Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene. Add the under-appreciated but awesome pianist Peter Madsen and the reliable juggernaut of a drummer, Gerald Cleaver, and you have the makings for a truly superior combo, one of the best Pavone has ever fronted. While Pavone’s recordings are generally reliable and pointedly original, this effort is close to his very best, and deserves consideration for best jazz CD of 2008.”
Ancestors is Pavone’s 10th recording as a leader/co-leader on Playscape Recordings, the label he has called home since 2000, and the follow-up to June’s Trio Arc, featuring pianist Paul Bley and drummer Matt Wilson. The music is dedicated to recently passed jazz legends Andrew Hill and Dewey Redman, whom Pavone calls “part of the spectrum of my musical forebears.” It features eight original compositions (six of them guest arranged by frequent collaborators Dave Ballou, Steven Bernstein and Michael Musillami) written specifically for this group and its all-star line-up of veteran Pavone sidemen, which brings together celebrated saxophonists Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene for the first time.
“I had been playing with Tony and Jimmy for more than eight years, but always separately, so I was keen to combine their complementary yet contrasting styles into one group,” Pavone explains. “Gerald and I have played and recorded a lot together and the great Peter Madsen, who has appeared on my last nine CDs, is almost indispensable to me. Wrapping my rhythm section around a double tenor color like this, especially one with this much grace and power, was a dream come true. The resulting sound seems larger than just five players and is almost orchestral. It may well be my favorite album so far.”
“On his day,” declared veteran jazz reviewer Brian Morton in the current issue of Point of Departure, “Mario Pavone is one of the very best – and when on his game, by far the best – small-group composer/leaders working on the East Coast.” Critics have called him “a smart composer” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “a protean bassist” (Paul Blair, Hot House) who “never fails to implant an effective hook” (Bill Shoemaker, DownBeat) and “continues to move the tradition forward with every record” (John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com). His music has been described as “exciting and stimulating” (Jay Collins, Cadence), “sensitive and probing” (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant) and “full of smart angular swagger” (Michael Rosenstein, Signal to Noise).
Originally an engineer by trade, Pavone dropped everything to attend John Coltrane’s funeral in 1967, where he decided on the spot to dedicate the rest of his life to music. He has since spent the last four decades defining the cutting edge of jazz, both as a sideman to legendary innovators and the leader of groups featuring some of today’s most respected young improvisers. His recordings have appeared on best-of-the-year lists from Slate.com, AllAboutJazz.com, AllAboutJazz-New York, Cadence, the Hartford Courant and the Village Voice among others. In addition to his ongoing activities as a bandleader, Pavone’s artwork and photography have graced the covers of dozens of recordings since the mid 90’s, and he currently serves as an educator, administrator and board member for the Litchfield Jazz Festival and Litchfield Summer Jazz Music Institute in Litchfield, Connecticut. Learn more at http://www.mariopavone.com/home.html
The Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet will perform at Iridium Jazz Club on Wednesday January 7th at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets, $25, are available for sale at (212) 582-2121. Tickets, directions and further venue details also available at http://iridiumjazzclub.com/info.php. The Mario Pavone Deez to Blues Sextet will perform at Cornelia Street Cafe on Friday, January 2nd at 9:00 and 10:30 p.m. Admission is $10 per set with a one-drink minimum. Reservations can be made at (212) 989-9319 and further venue info is available at http://corneliastreetcafe.com. The band will feature Mario Pavone (bass), Charles Burnham (violin), Steven Bernstein (trumpet and slide trumpet), Lauren Sevian (baritone saxophone), Peter Madsen (piano) and Michael Sarin (drums). Music and images available to press and radio by request.
Firehouse 12 Records is proud to announce the October 28th release of Dragon’s Head (FH12-04-01-007), guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson’s debut recording as a bandleader.
Recorded in February at the label’s state of the art studio in New Haven, it features ten new original compositions written specifically by Ms. Halvorson for her working trio with bassist John Hebert and drummer Ches Smith. She has previously composed music for recordings with her chamber music duo with violist Jessica Pavone and the avant-rock duo, People, with drummer Kevin Shea, but this is her first release alone at the helm of her own ensemble.
“A singular talent,” writes AllAboutJazz.com reviewer Troy Collins, “Brooklyn-based guitarist Mary Halvorson has come into her own as a composer and improviser with her trio debut, Dragon’s Head…light years ahead of her peers, she is the most impressive guitarist of her generation. The future of jazz guitar starts here.”
The All Music Guide’s Michael G. Nastos adds, “It is an auspicious outing in that her style within the modern creative improvised idiom leaves little doubt as to her immense talent, and resounds in a listener’s head with a sense of both bewilderment and satisfaction.”
Critics have called Ms. Halvorson “immediately distinctive” (Brian Morton, Jazz Review), “consistently one of the most fascinating and satisfying guitarists in town” (Time Out New York) and “a thoughtful and increasingly prominent presence on the avant-garde landscape” (Nate Chinen, New York Times). “She plays guitar in a way that fractures conventions,” declared Steve Dollar in the New York Sun, “restlessly inventing her own paradigms.”
A veteran of the ensembles of esteemed saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton, as well as such working groups as Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant and the Taylor Ho Bynum Trio/Sextet, Ms. Halvorson has been active in New York since 2000, following jazz studies at Wesleyan University and the New School. She has also performed alongside Nels Cline, Tony Malaby, Jason Moran, Joe Morris, Oscar Noriega, Andrea Parkins, Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp and John Tchicai. In addition to her trio, and duos with Pavone and Shea, she performs regularly in ensembles led by Jason Cady, Brian Chase, Curtis Hasselbring, Tatsuya Nakatani, Ted Reichman and Matthew Welch.
On Friday, October 31st, the improvising quartet Magic will make its American debut at New Haven’s Firehouse 12. The group adds renowned Polish musician Mikolaj Trzaska to the well-documented rapport of the seminal free-jazz collective, Trio X, featuring multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee, bassist Dominic Duval and drummer Jay Rosen, creating a new quartet with its own distinctive identity. Magic is on tour this fall, with support from the Polish Cultural Institute, to celebrate its forthcoming self-titled live release on the Not Two label.
“Anyone familiar with the legacy of Trio X,” writes the All Music Guide’s Steven Loewy, “knows the remarkable heights to which these musicians are capable. In truth, you could not ask for a more accomplished, in-sync set of musical partners. There is a near-perfect synergy among them, so much so that they seem to anticipate each other’s every move, almost like dancers who instinctively follow one another’s steps.” Trio X, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2008, has toured and recorded prolifically over the past decade, including a half-dozen releases for the CIMP and Cadence labels.
Trzaska first officially joined forces with Trio X in November 2007 as a guest on the band’s tour of Poland, but he had already appeared a trio CD with McPhee and Rosen called Intimate Conversations (Not Two) a year earlier. Although mostly unknown here in America, Trzaska was an architect of the yass movement in Polish jazz as a founding member of the group Milosc, and has collaborated with musicians across Europe and beyond, including Lester Bowie, Peter Brötzmann, Peter Friis Nielsen, Peter Ole Jorgensen, Tomasz Stanko, John Tchicai and Peeter Uuskyla among many others. He is also a film and theater composer.
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic (Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/Jay Rosen/Mikolaj Trzaska)
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp
AUM Fidelity is proud to announce the January 27th release of Shakti (AUM052), eminent saxophonist/composer David S. Ware’s fifth album for the label and his first studio recording since 2003. This release marks the recorded debut of Ware’s new working ensemble, his first since the disbanding of the long-lived and prolific David S. Ware Quartet (1989-2006). Shakti presents a distinctive selection of Ware compositions written specifically for this ensemble, as well as a new interpolation of “Antidromic” from 1997’s Wisdom of Uncertainty (AUM001). The group, which has solidified both its sound and its line-up through various performances over the past year and a half, features guitarist Joe Morris, bassist William Parker and drummer Warren Smith.
“By any definition, David S. Ware has to be counted among the giants on his horn,” declared All Music Guide’s Steven Loewy. “His sound alone is enough to clear the room of contenders,” added Gary Giddins in the Village Voice. “It is huge, big enough to house a large family, several pets, and half the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It derives from the classic, free, often vociferous tradition of Ben Webster as filtered through the 1960s trinity of Rollins, Coltrane, and Ayler, all of whose shadows can be traced—Rollins in Ware’s capacious low register, Coltrane in his high overblowing, Ayler and Webster in the grit that coats his every note with a sandstone finish, all four in the euphoric tenacity he calls bliss.”
Critics have noted “his penchant for strong thematic hooks draws the listener into the hurricane-like turbulence of his music” (Bill Shoemaker, JazzTimes) and “his solos are so magnificent in their sweep, so propulsive in rhythmic drive and so linear in melodic development that they prove impossible to resist” (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune). “Ware’s music breaks down the artificial obstacles that still separate avant-garde jazz from the mainstream,” wrote Brian Morton in The Nation. “And in the course of a career that has involved considerable sacrifice and humility, he has created a body of work that is—uniquely on the current scene—epic.”
David Spencer Ware is best known to jazz audiences for his work at the helm of the longstanding David S. Ware Quartet, fueled for nearly two decades by its core line-up featuring pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker, but his distinguished career extends back to the late 1960’s. During that time, he met lifelong friend and mentor Sonny Rollins before leaving his native New Jersey to study music in Boston, where he first performed with fellow saxophonist Michael Brecker as well as soon-to-be longtime collaborators Cooper-Moore (né Gene Ashton) and Marc Edwards. By the early 1970’s, Ware was a member of the storied loft scene in New York and would go on to tour and record with groups such as Andrew Cyrille’s Maono, Beaver Harris’ 360 Degree Music Experience and the Cecil Taylor Unit.
His first recording as a leader, prophetically titled Birth of a Being (HatHut), was released in 1981, and by the end of that decade, following collaborations with Ahmed Abdullah, Milford Graves and Peter Kowald among others, he had refined his own musical approach and created the band-as-institution template that would redefine creative improvised music throughout the 1990’s and beyond. Over the course of 17 years and as many albums, the David S. Ware Quartet would flirt with major label stardom, perform all around the world and establish itself as one of the premier ensembles in jazz history before going out with a bang at the 2006 Vision Festival in New York. Now, as he prepares to celebrate his 50th anniversary playing the saxophone in 2009, Ware is officially turning the page on the next chapter of his musical story with new music, a new record and a new all-star ensemble. Learn more at http://www.aumfidelity.com/david-s-ware.html
Ben Ratliff explores the recorded legacy of The Creative Music Studio, and previews the benefit concert at Symphony Space this Friday to help fund its preservation, in today’s New York Times.
On Friday, November 21st, cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum and his improvising chamber jazz ensemble, SpiderMonkey Strings, will present the New Haven premiere of his innovative secular oratorio, Madeleine Dreams, at Firehouse 12. Inspired by the novel Madeleine is Sleeping (Harcourt), a 2004 National Book Award finalist written by his sister, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, the piece draws text from the book while further exploring its theme of “the logic of dreams.” SpiderMonkey Strings, which takes its name from two mythical tricksters, Anansi the Spider of West Africa and the Monkey King of China, features Kyoko Kitamura (vocals and electronics), Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Jessica Pavone (viola), Tomas Ulrich (cello), Pete Fitzpatrick (guitar), Joseph Daley (tuba) and Luther Gray (drums).
“Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum is at the forefront of a younger generation of creative musicians in New York,” writes AllAboutJazz.com’s John Sharpe. “He combines thrilling improvisation with stealthy composition, unconfined by genre.” Other critics agree, calling him “one of the most exciting figures in jazz’s new power generation” (Steve Dollar, Time Out Chicago), “a strong cornetist and serious-minded composer with experimental tendencies” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “an agile and creative improviser who sounds like no one but himself” (Chris Kelsey, JazzTimes). Jazzwise reviewer Kevin Le Gendre adds, “Bynum is thinking outside of the jazz box without getting trapped inside another in the process.”
Bynum’s expansive resume includes a wide variety of work with both his contemporaries and legendary figures alike, most notably the iconic saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton, with whom he has performed and recorded extensively over the past decade. His most recent recordings as a bandleader include The Middle Picture (Firehouse 12, 2007), featuring his trio/sextet, and True Events (482 Music, 2007), a recording of cornet/percussion duets with Fujiwara that veteran jazz writers Howard Mandel, Brian Morton and K. Leander Williams, among others, included on their top 10 lists for the year. In addition to leading his own bands, Bynum is a member of such groups as Jason Kao Hwang’s Edge and the large ensembles of creative music legends Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor. He is also a curator for the annual Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) in New York and a partner in the Firehouse 12 Records label.
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic (Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/Jay Rosen/Mikolaj Trzaska)
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp
A new interview with cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum is now posted at Glowing Realm, the We site/blog of the avant-garde jazz group, Glows in the Dark.
Taylor will be on tour in November performing with three of his own groups in four different cities over the course of five dates. The tour will celebrate both his new sextet release, Asphalt Flowers Forking Paths (hatOLOGY 675), and his innovative secular oratorio, Madeleine Dreams, which he will record later in the month for a 2009 release on Firehouse 12 Records.
On Friday, October 24th, New Haven’s Firehouse 12 will present the New York-based quartet Bad Touch (formerly the Loren Stillman Quartet). Reconfigured as a collective ensemble in 2008, the group features alto saxophonist Loren Stillman, guitarist Nate Radley, organist Gary Versace and drummer Ted Poor. This two-set performance is part of the band’s eight-city fall tour in support of its self-released debut, Like A Magic Kiss.
“Although short at just over forty minutes, Like A Magic Kiss makes a deep impact due to the underlying cohesiveness of its emotional sound world,” writes AllAboutJazz.com reviewer Budd Kopman. “The balance between arranged structure and improvisation is always audible and fascinating to follow. The intensity never lets up, since it comes from both the rhythmically propulsive compositions of Poor, and the dangerously beautiful compositions of Stillman, allowing Bad Touch to mine many different emotions and vistas.”
Collectively, the members of Bad Touch have appeared on more than 80 recordings and worked with many of the most respected names in jazz, including John Abercrombie, Bill Frisell, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Paul Motian, Maria Schneider, Cuong Vu and Matt Wilson. They have also worked as bandleaders in their own right and earned honors such as the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award and strong showings in the annual DownBeat Critics Poll.
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic (Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/Jay Rosen/Mikolaj Trzaska)
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp
On Thursday, October 23rd, vocalist Yoon Sun Choi and pianist Jacob Sacks will celebrate the release of Imagination: The Music of Joe Raposo (Yeah Yeah Records), their second and most recent recording together, with a free performance at the Ida K. Lang Recital Hall at Manhattan’s Hunter College. This innovative release finds the eight year-old jazz duo reinventing both the familiar and the more obscure music of the prolific theater, film and television composer, Joe Raposo (1937-1989). Nearly 30 years after first hearing his music as children, Choi and Sacks respectfully transform the inspiring lyrics and beautiful melodies of Raposo’s timeless songs into creative experiments in texture, form and improvisation.
Critics have called Imagination “one of the best jazz vocal CDs of the year” (Ted Gioia, Jazz.com) and “a sophisticated reworking of the memorable melodies and lyrics that many of us first heard on children shows like The Electric Company and Sesame Street…leaving us with grown-up versions of the songs that inspired our childhood dreams” (Suzanne Lorge, AllAboutJazz-New York). “The most striking track on the album is ‘Bein’ Green’,” adds The Wire’s Philip Clark. “Choi’s deadpan delivery of the whimsical lyric is underpinned by a dense carpet of chromatic harmony, and the tune inhabits unexpectedly disturbing dimensions as the dislocation between voice and piano symbolises a profound sense of isolation.”
The Choi/Sacks Duo has been playing Raposo’s music in earnest since late 2003, including performances at clubs all around their home base of New York City and Ms. Choi’s home province of Ontario, Canada. “What Choi and Sacks give to his music,” explains the All Music Guide’s Michael G. Nastos, “is a challenging edge that harkens back to both the bop tradition and the exploratory nature of modern creative expressionism. Choi’s pretty voice is as flexible an instrument as you might hear in contemporary jazz…easily able to scat, contort phrases, or offer witty repartee. Sacks is a different kind of piano accompanist, part Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner and Misha Mengelberg.” Learn more at http://www.yeahyeahrecords.com
Guitarist/composer Mary Halvorson earned a double-dose of praise in the latest issue of the British jazz magazine, Jazz Review. Editor Brian Morton interviewed her for a feature article entitled “The Wind Cries Mary…” in which he wrote, “Halvorson’s sound is immediately distinctive, viscerally powerful and, yes, intriguingly ‘anti-guitar’.”
When discussing Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records), her forthcoming debut as a bandleader, he added, “She produces the sounds necessary to each piece by whatever technique seems best suited. It’s richly nuanced music and testimony to Halvorson’s refreshing belief that making a record isn’t just about documenting one more stage in the process and then moving blithely on. It’s a powerful experience…”
As it happens, another of the U.K.’s great jazz writers, Philip Clark, also weighed in on the new disc in the issue’s review section.
He wrote, “…this music is allusive and anti-catchy in a very catchy way. The wide melodic leaps characteristic of her playing evoke Dolphy and the transparent complexity of her lines are oddly reminiscent of Ornette, and liberation replaces stuffy jazz political correctness. Here’s a young musician entirely comfortable in her own skin – she’s closer to the true spirit of jazz than many who self-consciously mull over its past glories, but end up fiddling with licks.”
Finally, keeping with the Brit theme, this week’s episode of BBC 3’s Jazz on 3 featured a track from Dragon’s Head. Host Jez Nelson called the music “endearingly eccentric” and described Halvorson herself as “a New York guitarist who’s definitely on the rise.” You can hear the entire episode online on the show’s Web site through next Monday.
Dragon’s Head will be released on October 28th and the Mary Halvorson Trio will perform in celebration at Brooklyn’s Barbès on November 12th.
On Friday, November 14th, New Haven’s Firehouse 12 will present New York flautist/composer Jamie Baum and her longstanding septet as part of the venue’s ongoing 2008 Fall Jazz Series. This decade-old ensemble, featuring Shane Endsley (trumpet and flugelhorn), Doug Yates (alto saxophone and bass clarinet), Chris Komer (French horn), Aaron Goldberg (piano), Johannes Weidenmueller (bass) and Jeff Hirshfield (drums), is on the road celebrating its most recent release, Solace (Sunnyside). The disc, Ms. Baum’s fourth as a leader and second with this band, features ten of her original compositions, including a tribute to pianist Kenny Wheeler and a four-part commissioned suite inspired by composer Charles Ives.
“Embroidered with poignant melodies, elegant counter-lines, lush harmonies and shifting rhythms,” writes AllAboutJazz-New York reviewer Sean Patrick Fitzell, “Solace deftly melds formal elements of modern classical with broad improvisation.” Critics have described the music as “both beautiful and poignant” (Ralph A. Miriello, Jazz.com), “endlessly imaginative and ingratiating” (Scott Albin, JazzTimes) and “a welcome take on that ongoing wrestling match between composition and improvisation” (John Ephland, DownBeat). Time Out New York adds, “Her long-running ensemble negotiates intricate charts, including a Charles Ives–inspired suite commissioned by Chamber Music America, with exuberance and ease.”
A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Ms. Baum has spent the past two decades working in New York with a long list of noteworthy collaborators that includes John Abercrombie, Randy Brecker, Dave Douglas, Mick Goodrick, Fred Hersch, Paul Motian, George Russell and Kenny Werner. She has also performed at major jazz clubs, festivals and conferences all around the world, including multiple tours as a U.S. Jazz Ambassador, and received commissions from organizations such as Doris Duke/Chamber Music America and Meet the Composer. Critics have recognized her work as a jazz flautist with multiple nominations in both the annual DownBeat Critics Poll and the Jazz Journalist Association Awards, and her previous release, Moving Forward, Standing Still (OmniTone), was featured in best-of-the-year lists in numerous prominent publications.
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic (Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/Jay Rosen/Mikolaj Trzaska)
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp
Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead’s review of Petit Oiseau will run at the conclusion of today’s episode of Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
Check it out on your local station or online at the following link:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95690977
Today is the official street date of the William Parker Quartet’s third and latest CD, Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity).
Here’s a sample of the critical response thus far:
“Bassist-composer William Parker’s quartet may be the best working band in jazz today – it’s certainly one of the most exciting. Every track on their third CD contains examples of their unexcelled collective and individual brilliance. Their liberated and disciplined use of the music’s possibilities makes this a deeply hopeful and uplifting album.”
—Ed Hazell, PointofDeparture.org
“…it’s never less than absorbing…they take Parker’s melodies, fill them with joy, sorrow and adventure, and make them fly.”
—Bill Meyer, DownBeat
“This superb studio session features the same passionate swing and heartfelt lyricism that made their debut record, O’Neal’s Porch (Centering, 2001), an instant classic. Resoundingly melodic, this session highlights some of Parker’s most tuneful writing. A welcome return to the studio from one of today’s most esteemed working groups, Petit Oiseau is one of Parker’s most accessible and enjoyable releases.”
—Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com
I’m pleased to report that lots of other exciting print and radio coverage is also on the way.
And, if you haven’t read it yet, we hope you’ll check out the William Parker feature by David French in the October issue of DownBeat.
This Friday, October 17th, New Haven’s Firehouse 12 will present a two-set performance by renowned trombonist/composer Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet. One of Roseman’s newest ensembles as a leader, this eclectic Brooklyn-based group creates music ranging from the intense to the theatrical, with elements of game theory thrown in for good measure. Its chord-less line-up features trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, Dutch saxophonist Ben Van Gelder, bassist Chris Lightcap and drummer Dave Treut.
“Josh Roseman has the quirky charisma necessary to turn the often sedate trombone into a leading instrument,” declared the All Music Guide’s Michael Gown. Critics have called him “an excellent trombonist” (Liz Spikol, Philadelphia Weekly), “a high-spirited musical provocateur” (Andrew Gilbert, San Jose Mercury News) and “a powerful and eccentric presence” (Mike Ross, Edmonton Sun). The BBC’s Peter Marsh adds, “music made with this much intelligence and passion is definitely worth your time.”
A perennial winner in the Rising Star Trombone category of DownBeat’s annual critics poll, Roseman has been an integral member of the New York jazz scene for nearly two decades. His diverse resume includes membership in a long list of notable groups, including Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, Uri Caine’s Mahler Ensemble, the Dave Douglas Sextet, the Either/Orchestra, Groove Collective, the Dave Holland Big Band and the SFJAZZ Collective. He has also worked outside the jazz realm with artists such as Cibo Matto, Mike Gordon, Sean Lennon, Me’Shell NdegeOcello, The Roots and The Skatalites. His third and most recent recording as a leader is 2007’s New Constellations: Live in Vienna (Accurate Records).
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic (Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/Jay Rosen/Mikolaj Trzaska)
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp
Pianist/composer Eri Yamamoto will perform with her longstanding trio at the Hartford International Jazz Festival this Saturday night. The group, which features bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi, is celebrating the release of its fifth and most recent recording, Redwoods (AUM Fidelity).
On Friday, November 7th, veteran drummer/composer George Schuller will perform with his longstanding group, Circle Wide, as part of Firehouse 12’s ongoing 2008 Fall Jazz Series. The New York-based band, which features saxophonist (and Hartford native) Jimmy Greene, guitarist Brad Shepik, vibraphonist Tom Beckham and bassist Dave Ambrosio, will be celebrating the recent release of its latest recording, Like Before, Somewhat After (Playscape Recordings), which pays tribute to the music of jazz legend Keith Jarrett’s seminal American Quartet of the 1970’s. This two-set performance will feature innovative arrangements of classic Jarrett compositions, as well as brand new original music inspired by the source material.
“Embracing the lyricism inherent in Jarrett’s writing, Schuller’s ensemble offers one of the most euphorically adventurous albums in recent memory,” declared AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins. “Like Before, Somewhat After invokes the bittersweet intensity of Jarrett’s formative work, making this richly rewarding tribute one of Schuller’s most beautiful and accessible albums.” Other critics called it “a tribute album that exceeds its goals because it isn’t satisfied with a simple tip of the hat” (Mike Shanley, JazzTimes) and “one of the more delightful recordings of modern jazz made in the 2000’s, a definite candidate for Best Jazz CD of 2008, and a high watermark in Schuller’s substantial career” (Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide). Jazz.com’s Ted Gioia added, “They get past the notes on the page, and into something deeper, an elusive transcendence that defies even this glib critic.”
For more than 25 years, Schuller has worked with many of the most respected names in jazz and improvised music as a bandleader, composer/arranger, sideman and record producer. His diverse discography as a performer features more than 50 recordings, including collaborations with Ballin’ the Jack, Ran Blake, Bill DeArango, Burton Greene, Joe Lovano, Andrew Rathbun, Tom Varner and his father, 2008 NEA Jazz Master, Gunther Schuller. In addition to work with his own bands, Circle Wide and The Schulldogs, Schuller currently performs with the Armen Donelian Trio, Conference Call, Free Range Rat and the Michael Musillami Trio among others. He is also a co-producer of the documentary film, Music Inn, which explores the history of the legendary School of Jazz in Lenox, Massachusetts.
2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:
09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg’s Sync
10/10: Shakers n’ Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman’s Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic (Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/Jay Rosen/Mikolaj Trzaska)
11/07: George Schuller’s Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio
Tickets and more information available at:
http://firehouse12.com/performance_space_calendar.asp