Friday, March 26, 2021
Yulia Musayelyan - Oblivion (Zoho Music 2021)
Yulia Musayelyan - flute, voice #5 , bass flute #8, Maxim Lubarsky - piano,
Fernando Huergo - bass, Mark Walker - drums
There’s a new tango master in town. Her name is Yulia Musayelyan. And the town is Boston. Before you start thinking about how many tango practitioners may live in this great American city, all you need to know is that after listening to Oblivion there will surely be many more. Indeed, this is an inspired masterwork that will encourage more musicians to explore the vintage and nuevo forms of tango, and perhaps they’ll make a pilgrimage to learn from the maestra herself.
Born in Moscow, Russia, Yulia began studying music at the age of four. Along the way, she earned many prestigious recognitions as a flautist such as the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts Awards. She later moved to the United States where she is a professor at Berklee College of Music. What’s more, Yulia is a prolific performer who has played with the likes of Hector Martignon, Marta Gómez, and Marta Topferova, among others. She has also played on more than 30 albums. On Oblivion, Yulia is joined by a stellar rhythm section to complete the quartet, each of them also on the faculty at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Each member also shares Yulia’s cosmopolitan heritage and outlook– pianist Maxim Lubarsky is a native of Ukraine, bassist Fernando Huergo is from Córdoba, Argentina, and Mark Walker is from Chicago, USA.
Oblivion is an exquisite production on which you hear familiar and forward as well as anew and afresh. “Fuga y Misterio” is the well-known Astor Piazzolla number from his 1968 opera María de Buenos Aires. Yulia’s rendition begins with her searching, solo flute which gains steam with formidable bass lines as to emulate the dynamism of Piazzolla’s opera as well as the energy of Buenos Aires itself. The song continues its brisk pace before winding into a “Misterio,” a calmer, more tranquil section. “Flor de Lino” was composed by Héctor Stamponi in 1947 in the style of tango vals, which was adapted from the European waltz. It’s on this piece we can hear Yulia’s lush lyricism, her ability to craft melodic lines with thoughtfulness and emotional depth. She brings this number to vivid life with her rich tone and becoming timbre.
The title track “Oblivion” is of course the Piazzolla piece composed in 1982 for Marco Bellochio’s film Henry IV. “Its understated yet dark and powerful melody captivated me from the first time I heard it as a teenager on an orchestra tour in Havana, Cuba,” said Yulia. This particular quartet version features hauntingly beautiful flute and piano solos that are both corresponding and complementary. “Milonga de Mis Amores” was written by Pedro Laurenz in 1937 and hews to a more traditional arrangement, so that it can still function as danceable music.
“Como Dos Extraños” was also composed by Pedro Laurenz with lyrics by José María Contursi in 1940. The piece was overlooked and eventually rediscovered a couple decades later when it became a staple of the tango repertoire. The flute-bass duet with Fernando Huergo is a paired down number, which gives ample space for Yulia to sing buoyantly and brilliantly profound lyrics such as “Creyéndote mi salvación” / “Believing you my salvation.
Como Dos Extraños (“Like Two Strangers”)
Lyrics by José María Contursi
Me acobardó la soledad
y el miedo enorme de morir lejos de ti...
¡Qué ganas tuve de llorar
sintiendo junto a mí
la burla de la realidad!
El corazón me suplicó
que te buscara y que le diera tu querer...
Me lo pedía el corazón
y entonces te busqué
creyéndote mi salvación...
Y ahora que estoy frente a ti
parecemos, ya ves, dos extraños...
Lección que por fin aprendí:
¡cómo cambian las cosas los años!
Angustia de saber muertas ya
la ilusión y la fe...
Y si me ves lagrimear...
¡Los recuerdos me han hecho mal!
Palideció la luz del sol
al escucharte fríamente conversar...
Fue tan distinto nuestro amor
y duele comprobar
que todo, todo terminó.
¡Qué gran error volverte a ver
para llevarme destrozado el corazón!
Son mil fantasmas, al volver
burlándose de mí,
las horas de ese muerto ayer...
“La Muerte del Angel” is a Piazzolla piece that was composed in the 1960s, the second of his “Angel” series. This piece is synonymous with the Tango Nuevo style with its up-tempo pace and rich harmonization. An energetic drums intro by Mark Walker gives way to a softer, more introspective section over which Yulia’s flute glides, even as the vigorous tempo resumes. “Si Llega a Ser Tucumana” is a standout selection as the only non-tango piece on the album. This number was composed by Gustavo “Cuchi” Leguizamón, based on the traditional Argentinean zamba, a folkloric music style and dance from northwest Argentina. That Yulia wanted to feature this song speaks to her grasp of the raíces, the roots of music from the Americas. To be sure: people, culture, and music are intertwined in a biodiverse network. This is something we often forget.
“Nada” is a tango canción that was written by the venerable composer José Dames in 1944. Yulia’s rendition features piano and bass solos by Maxim Lubarsky and Fernando Huergo that provide dynamic and harmonic contrast throughout. Yulia plays the melody on the bass flute, which makes the piece feel ever more robust and approachable, as if to emulate the human voice. “To Ostatnia Niedziela” was composed by Jerzy Petersburski in 1935, and it’s the only tango written by a European on this album. This particular song has been part of the soundtrack to many movies. Yulia first heard it as part of Burnt by the Sun, a 1994 Oscar-winning film. The quartet arrangement features both flute and piano solos.
“Nostalgias” was composed by Juan Carlos Cobián in 1935. The piece was originally intended to be featured in a musical theater tribute to Carlos Gardel, one of the great tango singers and composers of all time who was tragically killed in a plane crash. But this piece didn’t make this cut in the tribute. It was eventually recorded by many reputable tango orchestras. Yulia’s version is first class, with verdant layers of harmonies and virtuosic solos. “Libertango”, written in 1974, is perhaps the most recognizable and well-known of Piazzolla’s compositions. Yulia begins with a heartfelt and pulsing flute melody. The bass quickly takes over the solo, effortlessly blending registers. The piece is a pleasant surprise, as each instrument plays its complementary role, and you don’t know when they’ll switch places. But one thing for certain – it sounds both fresh and free.
Yulia Musayelyan is the real deal. She makes music at the highest level, with emotional depth that draws upon her spiritual core. Oblivion is an opening salvo of a tango master. This album features some of the most iconic tango pieces of all time yet played in a manner that is refreshing and rejuvenating. This is where tango is headed, and it couldn’t be more exciting. Kabir Sehgal, Multi-Grammy & Latin Grammy award winner
1. Fuga y Misterio (Astor Piazzolla, Horacio Ferrer) 5:43
2. Flor de Lino (Héctor Stamponi) 4:35
3. Oblivion (Astor Piazzolla, Angela Terenzi) 6:40
4. Milonga de Mis Amores (Pedro Laurenz, José María Contursi) 2:30
5. Como Dos Extraños 3:31 (Pedro Laurenz, José María Contursi)
6. La Muerte del Angel (Astor Piazzolla) 3:03
7. Si Llega a ser Tucumana (Gustavo Leguizamón, Miguel Angel Pérez) 4:21
8. Nada (José Dames, Horacio Sanguinetti) 3:29
9. To Ostatnia Niedziela (Jerzy Petersburski) 4:10
10. Nostalgias (Juan Carlos Cobián) 3:31
11. Libertango (Astor Piazzolla, Oscar Escalada) 5:13
Yulia Musayelyan - flute, voice #5 , bass flute #8
Maxim Lubarsky - piano
Fernando Huergo - bass
Mark Walker - drums
Noah Preminger and Kim Cass - Thunda (April 2, 2021)
The album showcases the electrifying energy of the music on ten original tracks. While Preminger and Cass met during their college days in 2004, they didn’t start playing together until Cass moved to New York City after a brief stint on the West Coast. Through their mutual focus on pushing the boundaries of instrumental virtuosity toward innovative uses of rhythm and harmony, the two forged a strong connection, working together on countless performances and collaborations, including more than half a dozen of Preminger’s albums.
When the COVID-19 pandemic led to cancellations of their planned live tours, Preminger and Cass turned to technology as a safe outlet for creating and recording new music. THUNDA, Preminger’s sixteenth and Cass’ second release as band leaders, takes the artists’ compositions and improvisations into new territory.
1. Slaughter
2. Me You Sad
3. Chron
4. Iris
5. Tradr Hoez
6. Drone
7. Slow Ridah
8. Ricky
9. Roobz
10. Huck It
Noah Preminger - saxophone/clarinet/flute
Kim Cass - bass
Co-Produced/Engineered by Noah Preminger and Kim Cass
Mixing/Mastering by Matt Marantz
Recorded July 11th - December 20th, 2020
All compositions composed by Preminger (BMI) and Cass (BMI) 2020
Simon Denizart + Elli Miller Maboungou - Nomad (April 23, 2021 Laborie Jazz)
Simon Denizart et Elli Miller Maboungou
Nouvel album Nomad
Sortie le 23/04/2021 chez Laborie Jazz / Socadisc
Le pianiste Simon Denizart revient le 23 avril 2021 avec son quatrième album Nomad, enregistré avec Elli Miller Maboungou à la calebasse, au piano et aux percussions.
A la lisière du jazz européen, de la musique classique et de la world music, Simon Denizart joue une musique sensible et énergisante, riches de mille facettes, et portée par une énergie voyageuse.
Son nouveau projet Nomad, est né de l’idée de créer, en superposant plusieurs couches de piano, des sonorités différentes et plus électroniques sans jamais trahir sa source acoustique. L’auditeur voyage au gré des riches et éclectiques textures produites par le piano.
Tout au long de Nomad, on entend parfois des cordes pincées imitant une basse ou une guitare, des accords traités avec différents effets produisant des sons symphoniques ou encore des sonorités rock et électronique grâce aux distorsions et « delay » utilisés pour mettre en valeur les mélodies.
Le sens profond de la première note et du déroulé qui s’ensuit
Le nouvel album du pianiste français Simon Denizart intitulé « Nomad » est le fruit de trois ans de collaboration entre le pianiste et le percussionniste canadien Elli Miller Maboungou qui met en vedette principalement la calebasse (percussion d’Afrique de l’Ouest) dans cet opus.
Influencé par les musiques du monde, le jazz, le classique et la musique électronique, l’album présente des compositions originales instrumentales qui permettent de vivre un voyage éclectique sur le thème du voyage, de l’immigration et des relations humaines. Le quatrième album de Simon Denizart sortira le 23 avril 2021 chez Laborie Jazz.
Les tableaux, les vies, se plantent les uns après les autres, s’enracinent dans notre conscient et nous font trembler comme un végétal fragile. Simon Denizart sait parfaitement exprimer cette fragilité et ce déroulé scénique qui amènent au dénouement. L’univers et l’atmosphère de ses compositions ont trouvé parfait écrin avec la calebasse d’Elli Miller Maboungou.
Le végétal se fait cette fois solide, une sonorité ronde, feutrée, parfois légèrement étouffée... la précision de frappe requiert ici une maitrise et une sensibilité tellement profonde. Difficile de se détacher de cette structure musicale épurée, piano, percussions, ô combien enivrante et subtile.
Tracklist
1. Nomad (6’01)
2. Zoha (3’48)
3. Last night in Houston (3’46)
4. Square Viger (4’46)
5. Manon (5’49)
6. Oldfield 2.0 (6’48)
7. Lost in Chegaga (5'02)
8. Outro (0'37)
Eric Séva Triple Roots - Resonances (May 14, 2021 Laborie Jazz)
Je n'ai pas le sentiment d'appartenir à une musique mais d'être inspiré par toutes les musiques dans un besoin constant « d'itinérance sonore ». Qu'elles soient savantes, populaires ou traditionnelles, ces musiques nourrissent un nomadisme artistique dont l'écriture et l'improvisation sont le fil rouge de ces « conversations» que j’aime partager avec le public.
La rencontre est l’essence même de la musique, particulièrement des musiques du monde et du jazz. C’est d’elle que découle l’improvisation, un art délicat guidé par une entente absolue.
Éric Séva en avait conscience lorsqu’il a créé ce trio en réunissant Kevin Reveyrand et Jean-Luc Di Fraya. Bien des points rassemblent les membres de cette formation : des racines artistiques profondes, une terre musicale nourricière qui leur a chevillé au corps la passion des conversations mélodiques et rythmiques issues des musiques populaires, et un don commun pour le partage, entre eux comme avec le public. Une rencontre idéale autour du jazz et des musiques du monde.
Dès la première rencontre, leurs affinités se sont retrouvées au centre d’une combinaison magique pour servir une musique faite de compositions originales. Dans sa formule de prédilection, Éric se retrouve entouré de deux musiciens d’exception, au carrefour d’un trio acoustique et épuré dont la musique circule naturellement. Ce trio est une évidence, jouer, improviser, partager, voyager...
1. Les roots d'Alicante (8’24)
2. Luz de Port Coton (6’19)
3. Résonnances (7’26)
4. Le village d'Aoyha (5’25)
5. Green landscapes (4’46)
6. Reason and heart (3’43)
7. Canopée (6'22)
Éric Séva - Saxophones ténor et soprano, compositions
Kevin Reveyrand - Basse
Jean-Luc Di Fraya - Batterie, percussions, cajòn, voix
Desertion Trio - Numbers Maker (April 23, 2021 Cuneiform Records)
From the first notes of Numbers Maker, the third album by Desertion Trio, it is clear that the band is leaning into a new direction. While the band has always been a three-piece, Desertion Trio have brought along friends on their previous records — making Numbers Maker their first true trio release and giving the album a distilled and darker edge that hits a little differently.
Although Desertion Trio is following a new musical path, the sound of the band — described by the Philadelphia Inquirer as “exploratory, distorted, and warped” — is still recognizable, using angular riffage, tumbling grooves and a debt to the darker side of Miles Davis’ electric bands, Funkadelic guitar-maestro Eddie Hazel, and oblique fisheye references to 1960s spy and surf guitar themes, while the collective always is shooting for the stars with sprawling and effected tones.
In order to celebrate the spirit of a power trio in its natural state, Desertion Trio recorded Numbers Maker in front of a live audience at New Haven, CT’s Firehouse 12 studio. The result is a detailed studio recording that finds the band all-in with no overdubs and no re-takes, capturing the energy of a great live ensemble.
"[Desertion Trio] hits the sweet spot between Neil Young's exploratory Crazy Horse jams and a spaghetti western soundtrack." – NPR
"...the band’s tunefulness and delicate touch—even during its most punishing passages—have a universal profundity that I’ve been unable to resist." – Chicago Reader
1. Albion
2. Powers
3. Buist
4. Taboo
5. Numbers Maker
Nick Millevoi – guitar
Johnny DeBlase – bass
Jason Nazary – drums
Recorded live at Firehouse 12 on October 18, 2019 by Greg DiCrosta.
Mixed and mastered at Menegroth by Colin Marston.
All songs by Nick Millevoi, copyright 2020 Circlesperanto ASCAP, except “Taboo” by Margrita Lecuona and Al Stillman.
Alan Gowen & Hugh Hopper with Nigel Morris / Bracknell - Bresse Improvisations (March 2021 Cuneiform Records)
I knew Alan Gowen personally only from 1978 to his death from leukaemia in 1981 – three short years really when I think how close I felt to him musically and as a friend.
With his technique and talent he could have been one of those keyboard monsters playing in giant stadia and making gothic concept albums – if he’d been a more arrogant and extrovert person. Instead he spent most of his time in his front room in Tooting surrounded by keyboards, LPs and cassettes, reams of sheet music, small bells and percussion instruments, hooters and clockwork toys. And there he would sit writing and playing music – working wonders with Mini-moogs and other analog keyboards that in those days were somewhat less than user-friendly.
Half of the music on this CD was recorded on the first tour we did together in May, 1978. It was supposed to be three weeks of gigs in France for the band Soft Head, but the middle week disappeared as if by magic and by French ‘promoter’. Elton Dean and drummer Dave Sheen went back to England for the week, but Alan and I drove down from Paris to the tiny Burgundy village of Bress-sur-Grosne where we were due to play the following weekend. What we discovered there was the near wreck of an old village inn in the process of being renovated by longhaired, bearded, ex-actor Jacky Barbier and his entourage, with the eventual idea of setting up a club and recording studio. The first of many visits to Jacky’s…
Alan and I floated through the days eating fabulous food cooked by Jacky’s wife Pascale, drinking the local wine, and occasionally rehearsing music for the gig. One afternoon Jacky Barbier plugged us in and just let the machine run unti the tape ran out. What you hear on the second half of the CD is the result – some noodling, some lulls and pauses for breath and some colourful extended improvisations. Sixteen years later it still recalls for me that pleasant, unplanned week.
The other three tracks here come from the very last music I did with Alan. We’d recorded the LP Two Rainbows Daily in June, 1980, the first musical project I’d been involved in after giving up all music for over a year. Alan was always trying to get me back into playing and writing, and when he finally persuaded me, we made the LP at his house in a low-profile way – Peter Ball recording just the two of us, overdubbing keyboards and basses. So when I was offered a one-off gig at Bracknell a few months later, Alan was the obvious partner to choose. We asked percussionist Nigel Morris to play too – Nigel had been in East Wind and Isotope with me, but I hadn’t played with him for about four years. A chance to do some improvising and other strange stuff.
I prepared a backing tape of loops and other weirdness for us to play along with for the first set, another thing I hadn’t done for a long time – in fact not since the LP 1984 or the last gig I did with Soft Machine in Hamburg in May, 1973. We had no rehearsal for the gig. Nigel showed up at Bracknell with a wonderfully eccentric drum kit, including a giant, custom-made cowbell about two foot across that gave the whole kit a special reverberation. No good for a clean jazz rock band, but a marvel to behold for the subtle free improvisation he was playing at the time.
It rained hard, limiting the audience to a few enthusiasts. And those who did come were further bombarded by another bizarre tape I took along to be run off during the interval – voices and loops and all manner of oblique statements of musical intent. Sensibly, most people went to the bar.
Alan was off on holiday to Morocco the next day. I had a postcard from him saying “Gad – the heat! The flies!” Two weeks later Celia, his partner, called me to say that Alan was in hospital with suspected leukaemia. He died eight months later.
1. Floating Path 17:58
2. Now What Exactly? 08:03
3. Zaparoshti 05:24
4. Ranova 02:07
5. a L’ouest 17:13
6. Winged Trilby 04:50
7. Six Cream Bombs From Beaune 01:20
8. Rubber Daze 03:46
Alan Gowen : keyboards
Hugh Hopper : bass, tape loops
Nigel Morris : percussion [1-3]
Tracks 1-3 recorded live September 21, 1980 at South Hill, Bracknell, UK.
Tracks 4-8 recorded May, 1978 at Bress-sur-Grosne, France by Jacky Barbier, with Jean-Pierre Weiller & Pierre Roger.
Gabriel Borden - Borden on Borden : Gabriel Borden Plays David Borden (March 2021 Cuneiform Records)
"During the summer of 1987 Trudy and I took our son Gabriel to see guitarist David Torn perform in Trumansburg, NY at the Rongovian Embassy, AKA The Rongo. Gabe was eighteen. He had had a few years of piano lessons when he was younger, but had given them up at around age 11.
The next day, after hearing David Torn’s beautiful performance, Gabe bought a Stratocaster, and proceeded to teach himself the guitar. That is to say, he spent eight to twelve hours a day learning the instrument on his own with the help of various guitar method books he bought along the way.
About a year later, he contacted Chris Woitach, a local guitarist who now lives in Washington State, for lessons. He also discussed with me and with Les Thimmig, the woodwind virtuoso and great jazz improviser who was a member of my ensemble Mother Mallard, how best to learn about improvisation. I wasn’t much help, but Les recommended a book by Howard Roberts, the noted jazz guitarist. So Gabe added that to his daily routine or should I say marathon, because, really, from the summer of 1987 until the end of summer 1989 he spent practically all of his waking hours practicing the guitar. Many, many hours were spent methodically upping the tempo of the metronome so that he could play things perfectly at any tempo he chose, no matter how fast or slow. By the end of the summer of 1989 he sounded like a virtuoso. Actually, he WAS one.” – David Borden
"Having heard my father's pieces, especially The Continuing Story of Counterpoint (TCSOC) series, throughout my childhood, as they were being composed and premiered, I had subconsciously begun to develop my own arrangements and interpretations. The process of learning some of the parts and recording and performing them led to the conscious crystallization of these ideas.” – Gabriel Borden
1. The Continuing Story Of Counterpoint 6 13:11
2. The Continuing Story Of Counterpoint 7 06:18
3. The Continuing Story Of Counterpoint 8 09:01
4. The Continuing Story Of Counterpoint 9 15:47
5. Enfield In Winter 11:55
All performances by Gabriel Borden
1. TCSOC.06 (1978)
Multi-tracked harmonica, electric guitar and electric bass guitar
2. TCSOC.07 (1978) 06 minutes and 16 seconds
Multi-tracked large and regular harmonica, electric guitar and banjitar
3. TCSOC.08 (1979)
Multi-tracked electric guitar
4. TCSOC.09 (1980)
Multi-tracked acoustic guitar and electric guitar
5. ENFIELD IN WINTER (1978)
Multi-tracked electric guitar
Gabriel Borden, recording engineer
BLOOP (Lina Allemano / Mike Smith) - Proof (April 11, 2021)
1. Decanted
3. Recanting
4. Oracle of Chanterelle
5. Actual Bloop
6. The Nestlings (Metamorphosis)
7. Cremini Oracle
8. The Summoning
Lina Allemano, trumpet / mutes / percussion / whistling
Mike Smith, live-processing / effects
All songs by Lina Allemano / Mike Smith
Produced by Lina Allemano
Recorded at All-Set Coin Recording in Toronto on July 1-3, 2020
Recorded and mixed by Mike Smith
Mastered by Fedge
Lina Allemano Four - Vegetables (April 11, 2021)
1. Onions
2. Beans
3. Champignons
4. Brussel Sprouts, Maybe Cabbage
5. Oh Avocado
6. Leafy Greens
Lina Allemano, trumpet / compositions
Brodie West, alto saxophone
Andrew Downing, double bass
Nick Fraser, drums
All songs by Lina Allemano
Produced by Lina Allemano
Recorded at Union Sound Company in Toronto on Jan 3 & 4, 2020
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Fedge
Álvaro Pérez & Álvaro Domene - ZODOS (April 2, 2021 Iluso Records)
Iluso Records is delighted to be presenting the first duo recording by Madrid based alto saxophonist-composer Álvaro Pérez and New York based guitarist-composer Álvaro Domene.
On “Zodos”, their first recording together since Zöbik-3’s 2013 debut, longtime collaborators Pérez and Domene present an original collaborative repertoire of exploratory creative music for alto saxophone and seven string electric guitar which delves into and beyond the wide spectrum of functions and textures that these two instruments can adopt individually and with each other.
Their chamber-like, and mostly algorithmic, compositional structures are perfect vehicles that assist in catalysing their telepathic interplay during improvisatory passages, which are filled with highly detailed contrapuntal statements, rhythmic propulsion, and a crystalline elegance that this well recorded session makes salient. There is a certain level of eeriness and menacing tension that permeates throughout the entire recording, giving it a solid sense of cohesiveness, direction, and personality.
The duo brings virtuosity to the sensitive requirements of this remarkably labyrinthine music, which calls for deep instrumental dexterity and an acute awareness for leveling out all of the components of their language to generate a singular aural result that, often times, feels as if it had a three-dimensional tactile element to it.
The six pieces that form "Zodos" reveal two performers in peak form, each of whom displays his abilities to the fullest, at the vanguard of repertoire development for this particular instrumentation.
Play loud and enjoy.
1. Z-I: Sonata
2. Fractal Structure I
3. Z-II: Nocturne
4. Orbit: For Alto Saxophone
5. Fractal Structure II
6. Z-III: Elegy For The Neglected
All compositions by Álvaro Pérez (alto saxophone) and Álvaro Domene (seven string electric guitar and live electronics), except Track 4 by Pérez.
Recorded by Álvaro Domene & Álvaro Pérez, November-December 2020. No overdubs.
Mixed by Álvaro Domene at Singularity Studio, Kingston (New York).
Mastered by Dane Johnson at Asbestos Head Recording in Kingston (New York).
Michael Bisio / Kirk Knuffke / Fred Lonberg-Holm - Requiem for a New York Slice (March 2021 Iluso Records)
"This recording is dedicated to Mike Panico (August 30,1965 - October 2, 2018), co-owner and producer at Relative Pitch Records, he was also a wonderful friend. I met Mike through his volunteer work a both the Vision Festival and The Stone. He was open, friendly and had a deep respect/love for this music. When he started RP he invited me to be on the label. From 2011 - 2018 Mike produced a half dozen recordings that I took part in either as leader or collaborator. As a producer Mike showed the same love and respect for the process that he did for all things ...people included.
As our friendship grew I learned Mike's enormous ability to love extended to pizza! Whether it was after a gig or an arranged daytime adventure the search for the best slice was often the central theme, man o' man Mike knew where to find that slice!
His untimely departure is a great loss. This music, recorded three days after his death, is a tribute to his life." Big Love, Michael Bisio
Iluso records presents Requiem for a New York Slice by Michael Bisio (bass), Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello).
Comprising five spontaneously composed pieces, Requiem for a New York Slice is a yearning and deeply emotive homage to the life of the late Mike Panico. From heart-wrenching anguish to joyous exaltation this trio of master improvisers open their hearts with a performance that is ethereal and transcending, traversing the breadth of human emotion with prolonged moments of intense and introspective solitude interspersed by episodes of shimmering buoyancy, boundless joy and humour.
Equally exhilarating and reflective, Requiem for a New York Slice is a truly breathtaking and transcending statement by a group of improvisers at the forefront of the creative music world.
Michael Bisio is one of the world’s most virtuosic and imaginative performers on the double bass. He has over eighty-five recordings in his discography, including most notably his collaborations with modern piano icon Matthew Shipp and the great Joe McPhee. Nate Chinen in the New York Times writes, "The physicality of Mr. Bisio's bass playing puts him in touch with numerous predecessors in the avant-garde, but his expressive touch is distinctive..." Bisio has performed with Charles Gayle, Connie Crothers, Whit Dickey, Ivo Perelman, Barbara Donald, Newman Taylor Baker, Rob Brown, Sonny Simmons and Sabir Mateen.
Cornetist Kirk Knuffke has been described as “one of modern jazz’s most skilled navigators of the divide between inside and outside, freedom and swing." Accolades for Knuffke include NPR’s Best Jazz Album of the Year for 2017’s Cherryco (SteepleChase) and winner of DownBeat Magazine’s “Rising Star” critics poll in 2015. Described by the New York Times as “one of New York City’s busiest musicians,” Knuffke has released 18 recordings as leader or co-leader and is featured as a sideman on over 50 recordings with leaders Matt Wilson, Allison Miller, Butch Morris, Uri Caine, Pierre Dorge and Michael Formanek. He has performed with Roswell Rudd, William Parker, Myra Melford, Steve Swell, Marshall Allen, Tootie Health and Billie Hart.
Cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm is one of the most acclaimed and prolific musicians in the new music world. A former student of Anthony Braxton, Morton Feldman, Bunita Marcus and Pauline Oliveros, his primary projects are his Valentine Trio and The Lightbox Orchestra. He also currently plays in groups led by Joe McPhee (Survival Unit III), Peter Brotzmann (Chicago 10tet) and Ken Vandermark (Vandermark 5, Frame 4tet, Territory Ensemble). Fred has perfomed with Jim Baker, John Butcher, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Kowald, Nicole Mitchell, Jim O'Rourke, Jeff Parker and rock groups Califone, Freakwater, God-is-my-co-pilot and Wilco.
1. Introit et Kyrie 12:36
2. Sanctus 10:22
3. Pie Jesu 18:12
4. Agnus Dei 07:49
5. In Paradisum 09:38
Michael Bisio · contrabass
Kirk Knuffke · cornet
Fred Lonberg-Holm · cello
Recorded (5 October 2018), Mixed and Mastered by Jim Clouse at Park West Studios, Brooklyn, NY
All music composed by Michael Bisio AMB Music ASCAP, Kirk Knuffke BMI, Fred Lonberg-Holm BMI, except Agnus Dei, Michael Bisio AMB Music ASCAP
Álvaro Domene - HEPTAD Volume I (March 2021 Iluso Records)
"Heptad is stunning! Vivid, rich in sound and emotion, and packed with ideas." - Elliott Sharp
Iluso Records are thrilled to release a new solo recording by guitarist-composer Álvaro Domene
Heptad is the first volume of Domene’s new works for seven string electric guitar which, instead of being a continuation of his monolithic sounding solo pieces heard on Illustris (2020) and The Compass (2018), it signifies a tangent in Domene’s solo works. If the two previous albums were conceptualized as new orchestral-inspired music performed on electric guitar, Heptad is the chamber equivalent, on which Domene’s seven notated, but spontaneously interpreted pieces, evoke the enveloping sonorities of small string ensembles.
All the pieces were conceived to be performed and recorded live, with no overdubs, and, to achieve this imaginative sound, Domene meticulously programmed over two dozen pitch delay algorithms that assisted him in shaping the harmonic and melodic palette of each compositional framework, which, along with his angular approach on guitar and dazzling energy, allowed him to weave nets of contrapuntal statements, eerie chordal textures, and chilling harmonics.
Heptad Volume I is a serious solo guitar recording, pivotal in Domene’s solo output, and presented with all the meticulousness and imagination that these exploratory and unearthly pieces deserve.
Play loud and enjoy.
1. Particle Seepage 04:23
2. Attrition 09:11
3. Theoretical Clutter 07:07
4. Where The Universe Is Set On Cold Fire 05:03
5. Entropy Maximizers 05:29
6. Power As Capacity: The Expansion Of One’s Options. 08:22
7. Power As Control: The Suppression Of One’s Options. 04:57
All music composed and performed live by Álvaro Domene (seven string electric guitar and live electronics). No overdubs.
Recorded and mixed by Domene on different sessions between November 2020 and January 2021 at Singularity Studio, Kingston (New York).
Mastered by Dane Johnson at Asbestos Head Recording (Kingston, NY).
Killick Hinds & Álvaro Domene - Hocket Pulsar (March 2021 Iluso Records)
Iluso Records are proud to present Hocket Pulsar, the first long-form aural collaboration between Domene and Hinds, on which clouds of pitches, harmonies, and metallic strata quake like veering tectonic plates, and guitar strings gleam with overtones and hypnotic pulsations.
Avant-guitar pioneer Henry Kaiser was the common link between Athens (Georgia) based Killick Hinds and Kingston (New York) based Álvaro Domene.
Having worked with both artists in different contexts, Kaiser suggested the two connect for potential collaboration based on similar interests and aesthetic sensibilities. The simpatico was immediate as manifested in their first piece together, the audiovisual composition titled "Uplift" at the end of October 2020.
After finishing that first joint effort, the two decided to pursue the documentation of a duo album that would take inspiration from natural phenomena such as precipitation events, fauna and flora sonorities, and also meditation and shamanistic rituals, on which sound can turn into an overwhelming but healing physical experience where it's no longer music as entertainment but the entrance to another dimension of perception and state of consciousness.
Grab a good set of headphones and enjoy the experience.
1. Hocket Pulsar 10:14
2. Voces Magicae 08:40
3. Kinesis in Unlimited Dimensions 05:26
4. Chthonic Regions 05:22
5. On Ecdysis 07:28
6. The Diaphanous Membrane 04:12
7. Meditation on Mediation 07:08
8. Pulsar Hocket 11:44
Álvaro Domene: compositions, seven string electric guitar and live electronics
Killick Hinds: compositions, stringed instruments and computer
Recorded by Álvaro Domene & Killick Hinds, November-December 2020.
Mixed & mastered by Killick Hinds at H(i)nds(i)ght Studio, Athens GA.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)