Easily the most adventurous and audacious outfit on today’s UK jazz scene, Led Bib has built a reputation over the course of seven albums for expansive improvisations and treks into genre-defying music of throbbing intensity. All Music Guide called their singular brand of jazz “explosive enough to blow up your speakers” while The Wire weighed in with: “This is the sound of a band having fun...like a hot chainsaw through butter.” For their RareNoiseRecords debut, the five-piece group from London continues pushing the envelope on Umbrella Weather.
Fueled by the muscular drumming of ringleader Mark Holub and the intense fuzz bass lines of Liran Donin, further tweaked by atmospheric washes and crunchy keyboard action from Toby McLaren and sparked by the pungent twin alto saxes of Peter Grogan and Chris Williams, Led Bib stakes out a unique spot in the musical terrain that falls somewhere between the realms of John Zorn, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, all imbued with a very strong jazz-rock sensitivity.
From the odd-metered opener “Lobster Terror” to their raucous textures on “Too Many Cooks,” from the fuzz-inflected mayhem of “Skeleton Key to the City” to the turbulent “At The Shopping Centre,” the expansive 5-minute ambient jam on “Insect Invasion” and the surprisingly lyrical waltz-time closer “Goodbye,” this renegade outfit never fails to inject an element of surprise into each potent track. And while certain pieces like “Ceasefire”, “The Boot” or the groove-heavy “Women’s Power” may seem like well-crafted and tightly executed compositions,
Holub explains that most of the music heard on Umbrella Weather comes about organically in the studio through a keen sense of collective intuition honed over the past 13 years of playing together.
“In general, very little is written. We are mostly working in a typical jazz style of head-solos-head but in almost every tune the solos are completely open. This concept of free improvisation is a tricky one because it has become a genre all its own, but we are looking at it in a different way. With some of the tunes, we are sort of composing in the moment, rather than the sort of free association that is often thought of as free-improvisation." Read more...
When Jimmy Scott died in 2014, dozens of musicians, hundreds of journalists and thousands of fans mourned the passing of a jazz legend. Not only had a link back to the era of Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Lionel Hampton been lost, but so had the chance to bring the fame and respect denied to him throughout his long and rich life. Now, as if sent from some righteous deity, comes I Go Back Home, an album full of life recorded by Jimmy Scott years before his death. Created by German producer Ralf Kemper, Jimmy Scott and with mixes produced by Phil Ramone, no expense was spared in giving Scott the lushest musical backdrops possible, creating an album that, like Scott’s inimitable vocal style, comes late but but right on time. I Go Back Home manages to replicate that using the finest arrangers writing for the most experienced players, mixed by the most intuitive engineers in the the best studios available. Scott revisited his favourite songs, into which he invested his lived experience, letting the listener feel the story known by far too few. The creation of I Go Back Home was the subject of an acclaimed documentary of the same name. It depicts producer Ralf Kemper’s drive to work with Jimmy and provide him with the best album he can. The film captures the challenges and sacrifices that lead up to the recording sessions, a document that makes I Go Back Home an even richer record.
Hounding Jimmy Scott through the most of his recording career was an oppressive recording contract that prevented him from releasing albums. It wasn’t until 1992 that Jimmy, aged 63, recorded the first album over which he had creative control, All The Way. Nominated for a Grammy and finally bringing him to the attention of an audience that wasn’t entirely comprised of jazz fans and a few lucky passers-by, Scott began touring and regularly releasing albums. It’s not until I Go Back Home that Scott was given the budget that allowed him unfettered control over song selection, personnel and orchestration. As the album progresses, each song sees another musician or singer join Scott for a fresh interpretation of a beloved song. Long-time collaborators such as Kenny Barron and Joe Pesci, or new, such as actress and singer Reneè Olstead, trumpeter Till Brönner and harmonica player Gregoire Maret. All give Scott the room he needs to slide between phrases, telling his story and living out the world of each song. As Jimmy explained: “The lyric is so important to me. I feel if you’re singing a song or telling the story in a song it should mean something. That’s why I protect what I have in it, because that’s where I believe it should go. It should mean something. It should make sense.” Dave Nathan wrote on AllMusic that Scott’s phrasing moves “beyond mere poignancy and close to reverence”. This is truer than ever on I Go Back Home. Scott shifts from speak-singing in album-opener (Sometimes I Feel Like a) Motherless Child to lively bossa nova take on I Remember You to full-throated commitment on If I Ever Lost You. Expertly interplaying with top tier collaborators I Go Back Home is ultimately a record of collaboration and companionship, and the sound of a singer going out on top. Scott commemorates his highest points, and spars with fresh new talent in a way that suggests that he would have had great albums in him yet. And while we can mourn the decades he didn’t record, the tragedies and injustices that never defeated him, I Go Back Home succeeds in capturing the essence of a life that was ultimately triumphant.
The lyric is so important to me. I feel if you’re singing a song or telling the story in a song it should mean something. That’s why I protect what I have in it, because that’s where I believe it should go. It should mean something. It should make sense. JIMMY SCOTT … Scott’s phrasing moves beyond mere poignancy and close to reverence. DAVE NATHAN - ALLMUSIC
SIDE A
1. Motherless Child 5:23 FEATURING JOEY DE FRANCESCO
2. The Nearness of You 6:38 DUETT WITH JOE PESCI
3. Love Letters 4:08
SIDE B
1. Easy Living 4:17 DUETT WITH OSCAR CASTRO NEVES
2. Someone To Watch Over Me 4:15 FEATURING RENEE OLSTEAD
3. How Deep Is The Ocean 5:10 FEATURING KENNY BARRON
SIDE C
1. If I Ever Lost You 5:46 FEATURING TILL BRÖNNER
2. For Once In My Life 5:07 DUETT WITH DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
3. I Remember You 4:26 FEATURING MONICA MANCINI & ARTURO SANDOVAL
SIDE D
1. Everybody Is Somebody’s Fool 3:55 FEATURING JAMES MOODY
2. Folks Who Live On The Hill 4:57 FEATURING JOE PESCI
Wellesley native Matt Dibiase is a bouncy vibraphone player. In a video of a live performance by his jazz band Frisson, Dibiase is bobbing up and down from his knees, even when he's just listening. Frisson, his eight-piece jazz band, is playing "Stability Searches," which is about "searching for your identity early on in your college experience," according to Dibiase, who just graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory. As "Stability Searches" reaches a crescendo, Dibiase charges up to double bounce mode, nearly crossing over to full-on party bopping. His enthusiasm for the piece might be buoyed by the fact that he wrote it. Every part. Dibiase is the band's composer, making him a full-time Frisson spark plug both on and off the stage. And the most exciting part is still to come. Frisson will be releasing their debut album, "Frisson," on Feb. 1. And as a special treat, they will be showing new music videos of their studio tracks throughout the month of January. The music video for the studio recording of "Stability Searches," is viewable at the top of the page. All of the videos will be viewable as they are released on Frisson's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Frisson.bandinfo/ In 2015, Dibiase reeled in the following Oberlin jazz majors to form Frisson: Ashley Hale (trumpet), Nathan Rice (tenor sax), Russell Gelman Sheehan (guitar), Michael Orenstein (keys), Eli Heath (bass),Chase Kuesel (drums) and Patrick Graney (aux. percussion). "The major reason I do this is just because I'm inspired by the musicians around me," Dibiase said. "I like collaborating." Dibiase had known Kuesel for two years before the band formed.
Few groups live up to their name as well as Bohemian Trio, whose debut album Okónkolo speaks to the true voice of America: a cacophony of cultures that together forge a new identity that transcends Old World boundaries. Their original blend of classical lyricism, jazz harmony, Latin dance and Afro-Cuban beats reflects their diverse cultural and musical backgrounds. Saxophonist/composer Yosvany Terry and pianist Orlando Alonso were born and trained musically in Cuba, while French-American cellist Yves Dharamraj is also part Trinidadian. Sax, piano and cello? This unique configuration was a conscious choice by the group to eschew traditional instrumentation for an improvising group, and it pays dividends in the sound of Okónkolo, at once refined and edgy. The album’s title track is named for the “baby” or smallest member of the Batá drums used in Yoruba religious ceremonies. The okónkolo traditionally serves as timekeeper while the “father” itótele and “mother” iyá drums converse, improvise and entertain. In Terry’s “Okónkolo,” this drumming tradition is both a metaphor for the interaction between saxophone, cello and piano, and a reflection of the cultural diffusion that embodies the Bohemian Trio and its music. Also on the album are works by Pedro Giraudo and Manuel Valera, some of which use Latin and jazz idioms while dovetailing classical sounds and techniques. Giraudo’s “Push Gift” is a relentless Argentinean milonga that borrows Baroque imitation and Impressionistic harmonies. Valera’s “Impromptu” is a breezy piece that pays homage to George Gershwin. As Adam Parker writes in the liner notes, “We might think of Bohemian Trio as a commingling of various musical styles and lived experiences, and this can help us as we seek to explain the group’s generous display of talent. Or we can just listen and marvel at the beauty of it.”
“This chamberlike improvising trio specializes in music of traditional Latin American origin, though its methods are cosmopolitan.”– The New York Times “Alonso and Terry, Cuban-born and trained, and the French-American Dharamraj are paving a new course, one that wholly relies on their refined abilities while embracing that dangerous, edgy quality one finds in complex jazz and lots of contemporary classical music.”– Adam Parker (The Post and Courier) “I have listened to the trio before and they brought me a big surprise, what I expect is to once again be surprised.”– Larry Blumenfeld (Wall Street Journal) “Terry’s sound is most distinctive on soprano, and “Tarde en La Lisa” was the best example of the exuberance and plenitude of his ideas. Alonso’s backing had steely force as the composer played the line, a perfect launch pad for the soprano rant that followed. Then the piano was an island of calm, setting us up for a full round of vigorous Bohemian solos before Terry circled back to the melody. “Hiroshima,” the placid finale on the Giraudo Jazz Orchestra’s 2009 El Viaje release, was not radically altered at all as the Bohemians’ valedictory. Dharamraj eloquently played the line before Alonso and Terry, still on soprano, paid their soulful, subdued respects.”– Perry Tannenbaum (Jazz Times Magazine) “The Trio opened with a piece influenced by traditional Latin American sounds, called “Bohemia: Memories from Childhood,” by Yosvany Terry. (Not only does Terry play numerous instruments throughout the performance, he also composes half of the music). The piece began in an uneasy tone sad, haunting, and dissonant. Alsonso’s hands swept the piano like leaves fluttering and Terry’s soprano sax was hypnotic as the Pied Piper.”– Celeste McMaster (Charleston City Paper)
Gáspár Károly zongorista a hazai jazzélet egyik legaktívabb szereplője. Triójával fesztiválokon, hangversenytermekben és klubokban rendszeresen ad nagy sikerű koncerteket. A Gáspár Károly Trió mainstream gyökerekből táplálkozó, ugyanakkor friss, mai hangzást képviselő formáció. A romantikus, esztetizáló hangzás ugyan úgy sajátjuk, mint a free jazz felé hajló motívumok. A zongorista Gáspár Károly és partnerei, Horváth Balázs.
