Monday, February 22, 2021

The Ray Russell Sextet (feat. Harry Beckett) - Forget To Remember: Live Vol​.​2 1970 (May 10, 2021 Jazz In Britain)

The Many Faces of Harry Beckett is the first publication dedicated to the life and work of the legendary Barbados-born British progressive jazz trumpeter. It fulfils author John Thurlow’s lifelong ambition of creating a book which would pay a fitting tribute to his hero. Harry’s career spanned more than fifty years, encompassing thousands of gigs across the globe, and over 220 currently known recordings. His exquisite playing led to him perform with many of the world’s most famous acts in a myriad of different genres - from African highlife music in the 1950s with the likes of Ambrose Campbell; through rock in the 1960s with Jack Bruce, Keef Hartley, Colosseum and others; to progressive jazz in the 1970s, most notably with bassist/composer Graham Collier, Harry’s dear friend guitarist Ray Russell, and in his own groups. During the 1990s Harry could even be found playing dub and dance music with a founding member of Public Image Limited, bassist Jah Wobble.

This book is in part a biography, and in part a compendium of articles written contemporaneously about Harry and his co-musicians, drawing from an enormous pool of resources. John Thurlow acts as a guide through his incredible collection of paraphernalia, and his extraordinarily in-depth, forensic knowledge of Harry’s career, including the most complete Harry Beckett discography ever published, alongside rarely seen photographs from various stages in Harry’s long and illustrious life. It represents an absolutely essential addition to any jazz collector’s bookshelf. (Matt Parker - Editor - Jazz In Britain)


1. Forget To Remember

2. Triple Goddess

3. Rites & Rituals

4. Disinterested Bystander

5. The Third Real

6. Forget To Remember (false start & take 1)

7. Rites & Rituals (take 1)


Ray Russell - guitar

Harry Beckett - trumpet/flugelhorn

Tony Roberts - saxes

Nick Evans - trombone

Daryl Runswick - bass

Alan Rushton - drums


All tracks composed by Ray Russell

Don Rendell Ian Carr Quintet - Blue Beginnings (April 1, 2021 Jazz In Britain)

Subversion Through Jazz examines the beginning of the British progressive jazz (BPJ) movement from 1956 to 1964, attempting to identify and plot the progress of its coming into being. This eight-year period of inception was set against the backdrop of two specifically relevant world events: the failed Hungarian revolution in 1956; and the Cuban Missile Crisis, a potentially apocalyptic nuclear standoff between the United States and the USSR in the Gulf of Mexico in 1962. Like many art forms in the UK, British jazz underwent a paradigm shift during this period, transforming from imitator to innovator. A new generation of post-war musicians - spearheaded by the West Indian alto-saxophonist Joe Harriott - discovered their own sound, no longer aping American Jazz traditions but instead seeking out their own methods of expression within improvisation, embracing hugely diverse influences such as Blues, Indian music, twentieth-century Classical music, Rock’n’roll, African music, classic and contemporary poetry and literature, Caribbean music, Folk, R&B, and Soul, forging them into a uniquely British identity which would in turn influence musicians across the globe.

The obsession with British art and culture which was all-pervasive in the pop and rock music of the UK from 1965 onwards had its roots in BPJ. The musicians involved in the movement were the first post-war contemporary jazz players outside the U.S. to meld an artistic nationalism to their music, introducing non-musical influences from the worlds of British and European art and literature, left-wing politics and musical influences from outside the sphere of jazz, such as the abstract classical compositions of Cornelius Cardew and Anton Webern, brass bands, and the music-hall traditions of Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

The location of most of these artistic developments – an area of roughly four square miles in and around Soho, London - was simultaneously the covert battleground of the British Secret Service department MI5 and their adversaries the Soviet Russian KGB, an old empire pitted against a new one, and at least one significant Communist of concern to MI5, the Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm, took a very serious interest in the British jazz scene at this time. Inspired by his cousin, the British jazz record producer and label-owner Denis Preston, and the Italian Communist intellectual Antonio Gramsci, Hobsbawm embedded himself in the movement, authoring a study of it in 1959 entitled The Jazz Scene, for which he adopted, as jazz writer for the New Statesman magazine, the pseudonym Francis Newton, an alias he had been developing for three years prior, unbeknownst to the British agents who were surveilling him.


1. Blue Doom

2. Autumn Leaves

3. Garrison '64

4. Shades Of Blue

5. Sailin'

6. Latin Blue

7. You'll Never Know

8. Big City Strut


Previously unreleased.

Live in London.

1-4, 6, 8: Recorded 16th November 1964. From the Neil Ardley tape archive.

5, 7: Recorded 4th April 1964. From the Dave Green tape archive.


Don Rendell – soprano, tenor saxophone

Ian Carr – trumpet, flugelhorn

Colin Purbrook – piano

Dave Green – bass

Trevor Tomkins – drums

Neil Ardley - Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows: Live '75 (March 21, 2021 Jazz In Britain)

Previously unreleased. Recorded live at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, on the 20th October 1975. This is (almost) the complete Kaleidoscope Of Rainbows suite as originally imagined by Neil Ardley, over twice as long as the 'concise' version which appeared on his Gull studio album a year later.

Unfortunately, due to tape issues on the night, only the first two minutes of the closing number of set one were captured. Otherwise, this album is presented exactly as the audience would have heard it that evening.


1. Intro

2. Prologue/Rainbow 1

3. Interlude 1

4. Rainbow 2

5. Interlude 2

6. Rainbow 3 (incomplete)

7. Rainbow 4

8. Rainbow 5/Rainbow 6

9. Interlude 3

10. Interlude 4

11. Rainbow 7

12. Rainbow 8

13. Interlude 5

14. Rainbow 9

15. Epilogue

16. Outro


Neil Ardley – composer, director

Ian Carr - trumpet

Brian Smith, Barbara Thompson, Bob Bertles, Tony Coe – sax, woodwind

Geoff Castle – keyboards

Dave Macrae - keyboards

Ken Shaw - electric guitar

Paul Buckmaster – electric cello

Roger Sutton - bass guitar

Roger Sellars - drums

Trevor Tomkins - percussion

Machine Mass Sextet - Intrusion (February 2021 Off)

MACHINE MASS started out in 2011 as an idiosyncratic MoonJune power duo made of longtime collaborators American drummer Tony BIANCO (Elton Dean, Paul Dunmall, Evan Parker) and Belgian guitarist Michel DELVILLE (The Wrong Object, Vegir). Hailed as a « feisty and rebel rousing exhibition that contains a surfeit of diametric contrasts and smoldering exchange » (All About Jazz), it has since then morphed into various forms and ventures involving guests such as Dave LIEBMAN (Inti, 2014) and Univers Zero and Wrong Object keyboardist Antoine GUENET (Machine Mass Plays Hendrix ; 2017).

Intrusion, Machine Mass’s fourth official album in a decade of existence, is a full-blown sextet extravaganza comprising eight live-in-the-studio tracks (six originals and two covers) featuring Wrong Object bassist Damien CAMPION alongside two seminal members of the Belgian and international jazz scene: Laurent BLONDIAU (Mâäk's Spirit, Andy Emler MegaOctet, Octurn) and Manuel HERMIA (Slang, Orchestra Nazionale della Luna, Hermia-Ceccaldi-Darrifourcq Trio).

Three years after the psychedelic fireworks of their acclaimed Jimi Hendrix tribute (which Brazilian producer Arnaldo de Souteiro described as « probably the best tribute to Hendrix since the legendary 1974 Gil Evans album ») Machine Mass’s Intrusion offers a set of steaming acoustic jazz laced with moderate yet significant amounts of electric and electronic guitar sounds.

The album builds as much on modern-day jazz structures and rhythms as it harks back to the relentless ostinati and horizontal intricacies of modal jazz (the CD opens with John Coltrane’s « Africa » and closes with Joe Zawinul’s « In a Silent Way »).


1. Africa (Coltrane) 10:48

2. Intrusion (Guenet) 14:17

3. This Is (Bianco, Blondiau, Campion, Delville, Guenet, Hermia) 2:19

4. Not Another Loud Song (Delville) 9:01

5. Intro (Campion) 2:12

6. The Roll (Delville) 9:02

7. ED (Delville) 6:16

8. In a Silent Way (Zawinul) 11:14


Laurent Blondiau: trumpet

Manuel Hermia: saxophones

Michel Delville: guitar, Roland GR09

Antoine Guenet: piano

Damien Campion: double bass

Tony Bianco: drums

Ashton Smith Octet - Further Afield (Live) February 2021

Further Afield is an original five-piece suite of music composed by UK born and based trumpeter Ashton Smith, inspired by fond memories of his time spent in various places on the continent and overseas. The suite draws inspiration on a love for travelling, sight-seeing, and experiencing new cultures, with influences in jazz, folk, and contemporary large ensemble music. Although representative of many different locations, there remains a common theme to the suite: natural beauty. In times of uncertainty and unrest, this music aims to celebrate the magnificence and wonder of the world we live in, through the creative and unique voices of the musicians in the Ashton Smith Octet.

ASHTON'S WORDS

"I feel lucky to know and have played with the exceptional musicians who agreed to be a part of this project, and I'm so grateful to everyone involved who helped me produce everything before, during, and after the gig. I'm also very thankful to all those who came out to hear this music played live, making the entire project and event so worthwhile and memorable.

A big thank you to anyone and everyone who chooses to support this album in whatever way they can - your generosity is hugely appreciated.

1. The Falls 09:56

2. Island of the Knights 10:08

3. Town Called Aalen 08:27

4. The Grand Place 11:42

5. Sunset at Vilamoura 12:14


Ashton Smith - Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Compositions

James Romaine - Alto Saxophone

Michael Anning - Tenor Saxophone

David Sear - Trombone

Francis Tulip - Guitar

Will Markham - Piano

James Owston - Bass

Nathan Jones - Drums

Pre-order

Paula Shocron / Pablo Díaz - Algo en un Espacio Vacío (February 2021 NendoDango Records)

"This might be the first music in real time in a clear space vibration. Recurring poetry and beauty floats on the rebirth. Of visual language that bends backwards to touch the circle of the future. These sounds are like an ocean in a painting..." - William Parker (From the liner notes. Complete text on physical edition / more information on nendodango.records@gmail.com)

////

"...¿cuál es el espacio? ¿qué es algo? ¿qué es esto que habitamos realmente? ¿qué es lo real? estaré mutando a formas más acordes a esta época? ¿será que soy unx avatar que se despertó en el siglo equivocado y no entiende nada, o que finalmente llegó el día en que no existe encasillar todo por su nombre, sus años y estilos, sino que lo importante es la autenticidad de la vibración y la conexión del ser en comunidad?..." -Violeta García (From the liner notes. Complete text on physical edition / more information on nendodango.records@gmail.com)

1. Obertura 04:10
2. Alterna 04:17
3. Calma 04:23
4. Agua 03:51
5. Caer 02:48
6. Vaciarse 08:01
7. Lejanía 04:51
8. Ritmo 05:27
9. Forma 03:55

Paula Shocron: piano, cello, voice
Pablo Díaz: drums, percussion

Verónica Trigo: watercolors

Recorded on December 16th, 2019, at Estudio Libres, Buenos Aires
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Sam Nacht
Audiovisual record: Sebastián Duran

Pablo Díaz - Breves poemas sonoros (NendoDango Records)

Breves poemas sonoros que intentan escuchar estos nuevos tiempos.

Registrado unas semanas antes de que comience el aislamiento social. Durante una semana de Febrero decidí ir al parque todos los días. A las nueve de la mañana comenzaba a investigar sonoridades con un set que me llevaba en la bicicleta. Me intentaba rodear del entorno más natural que tengo en el barrio, y el Parque Chacabuco era la representación más clara de ese entorno. Allí me rodeaban pájaros (cotorras en especial), bodeadoras, regadores, paseadores de perros y paseadores de si mismos.

Una vez que comenzó el aislamiento social, volví a escuchar el material que había registrado e hice una recopilación de lo que más me interesaba. De esa edición quedaron seis breves poemas sonoros que están acompañados por unos breves textos/reflexiones sobre la escucha y la ausencia de la misma en los parques.

////

Recorded some weeks before the lockdown, at Parque Chacabuco, Buenos Aires, in February 2020. 

This album is the recording of some improvisations I played during five days of a week, every morning, at Parque Chacabuco, which is a beautiful park close to my home. 

Some weeks after these performances the lockdown started and the park became empty. We could walk around it but we couldn't enter. This situation took me to re-listen all the tracks, edit some pieces, and write some poems about the emptiness of sound in the parks; the emptiness of listening there.


1. ¿cómo es escucharnos debajo de los árboles? 06:09

2. recuerdo de voces 03:30

3. como si se oyera con la piel 05:25

4. el viento choca cuerpos 01:53

5. escuchar sonidos nuevamente 04:55

6. desparramado de sonidos 01:35


Pablo Díaz: floor tom and sound objects


Recorded and edited by Pablo Díaz

Cover design, photos and texts by Pablo Díaz

Produced by Nendo Dango Records

Albert Cirera / Alexis Perepelycia - La Melodía del Idioma (NendoDango Records)

Este es el resultado obtenido de la suma de giros lingüísticos de Albert Cirera (España) y Alexis Perepelycia (Argentina).

Reunidos por primera vez en un encuentro tan fortuito como fugaz: Albert pasó un día por Rosario, ambos tocaron juntos en el ciclo de improvisación all free! y al día siguiente grabaron estas músicas.

Como una explosión, mezcla de ansiedades y certezas la música salió así, de una y sin tapujos, sincera y visceral.

El lenguaje en tanto que entidad viva evoluciona constantemente, de otro modo moriría. La melodía del idioma también: puja constantemente por devenir sonido en movimiento, elementos de una estructura que se construye a cada instante, se inventa y se reinventa, de otro modo moriría.

En formato de dúo acústico: tambores y metales, una fanfarria con innumerables semblanzas, pero con una búsqueda propia.

////

"Another ingenious saxophone-drums duo pf Albert Cirera, very different from Duot, yet equally creative and innovative. During his visi to Argentina in 2019, Albert encounters here a phenomenal Argentinian drummer Alexis Perepelycia.

They play three tracks, all very abstract and very expressive,d to compare to anything I know. Maybe some recordings of Evan Parker have similar spirit -- listen to the opening "Surubí frito". "Litoral" is on the lyrical free improvisation side. More quiet an dpeaceful, contains nevertheless incredible emotional load.

The best, however, is the closing, the most "traditional free jazz" track, "Espinas". The album deserves ***, the only drawback is the total length of it: only 25 minutes." (Maciej Lewenstein)


1. Surubí frito 06:46

2. Litoral 09:28

3. Espinas 08:45


Albert Cirera - saxophone

Alexis Perepelycia - drums


Recorded, mixed and mastered by Alexis Perepelycia at La Rana Estudio, November 21, 2019, Rosario, Argentina.

John Fedchock NY Sextet - Into The Shadows (Summit Records)

John Fedchock NY Sextet releases Into The Shadows,
a recording featuring an all-star roster 
performing fresh originals and new takes on standards

“Straight from the shoulder, unpretentious jazz.” – Jazz Journal
 
“a lineup of dazzling New York post-bop talent.” – Boston Post Gazette
 
“This is modern music that is symmetrical and harmonious and therefore a joy to the ear.” – AllMusic
 
“This tight sextet is astounding.” – Jazzscene

The John Fedchock NY Sextet recording Into The Shadows – released by Summit Records on July 17, 2020 – is the trombonist’s tenth album as leader, this time with an all-star group showcasing Fedchock’s notable solo skills and bringing his special composing/arranging to the forefront. The recording features new treatments of familiar standards coupled with five Fedchock originals in a dynamic album capturing a seasoned group of veterans. Fedchock shares the spotlight equally with the sextet’s other top-notch soloists: trumpeter Scott Wendholt, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, pianist Allen Farnham, bassist David Finck, and drummer Eric Halvorson. 

Although he’s garnered many accolades and GRAMMY award nominations for work with his New York Big Band, Fedchock explains his foray into the smaller format:  “Working with the sextet is the best of both worlds. While still giving plenty of space for individual soloists, the configuration offers unique, creative writing options and maintains a sleek and mobile blend.” Fedchock updates standards with a 21st century feel through his modernized arrangements while still embracing the heritage and provenance of the music. Considering the history of legendary sextets in the jazz canon, Fedchock understands that those groups “set an extremely high standard, so my biggest challenge in forming this NY Sextet was to honor that distinguished tradition and create something individual.” 
Fedchock’s NY Sextet has been in existence for nearly 20 years. It was first heard on a few tracks on Fedchock’s 2000 release, Hit The Bricks (Reservoir), which initiated the official formation of the band. The group’s 2010 release, Live At The Red Sea Jazz Festival (Capri), showed a glimpse of the sextet at a large international showcase. AllAboutJazz called the performance “electrifying” and declared Fedchock “a wildly creative composer who suggests melodies that turn into spectacular edifices.” Improvijazzation Nation exclaimed, “When you experience the levels of intensity they are playing, you know you're in the presence of jazz royalty, no doubt!”
 
With Into The Shadows, the trombonist’s acclaimed composing is clearly on display, featuring fresh writing anointed with Fedchock’s indelible musical signature. Five Fedchock originals cover the gamut of styles and emotions, honoring but not imitating music from history’s great sextets. The opening track RSVP starts off with a bit of abstract dissonance before opening up into familiar chords and an infectious Latin groove. Alpha Dog, the assertive shuffle, harkens back to memories of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, but Fedchock’s harmonic approach gives the tune a decidedly updated sound, taking away any intent of a “retro” message.  Manaus, dedicated to the city in Brazil’s Amazon region, is smooth and warm, with a seductive melody and lush horn harmonies. The title track, Into The Shadows, inspired by Fedchock’s introspective time writing at the Yaddo artist’s retreat, is a lamenting theme with a fragile allure. His a cappella trombone introduction sets the mood of solitude, and dense harmonies create a solemn tone for reflective solos by Fedchock, Wendholt and Farnham.

Fedchock’s distinctive arranging style puts each of the three well-known standards into a completely new and different light. I Should Care, normally performed as a ballad, is treated as an up-tempo vehicle offset with a disjointed rhythmic vamp to keep things off balance. An Afro-Latin setting transports the classic Nature Boy deep into the rainforest, giving the theme an added depth and heightened intensity. And Star Eyes, a straight-ahead standard played by many bebop masters, is totally transformed utilizing bright post-modern harmonies and a churning even-eighth feel that eventually relents to Fedchock’s trombone in a masterfully swinging extended solo. And although an original melody, RSVP is actually a contrafact that Fedchock describes as a “reply” to the chord changes of the old standard, Invitation.
 
Closing out the session is On The Edge, Fedchock’s energetic blues theme, culled from his 1998 big band release of the same name. It is the album’s most straight-ahead tune set in an open blowing format, showcasing each player’s mastery of the music while displaying a relentless and undeniable groove, right to the final note.
 
Regarding his stellar sidemen, Fedchock says, “All are master improvisers who not only thrive within a modern framework, but also have not forgotten how to swing in a genuine and profound way. Players with these qualities give me the freedom to experiment with vintage repertoire by adding a new viewpoint while still maintaining the true essence of the material.” 
 
In recent years, Fedchock has focused on featuring his virtuosic trombone in small group projects, most notably with his quartet. His two releases Fluidity and Reminiscence (Summit) brought praise from critics including DownBeat, who observed,“With a golden tone and powerful delivery, Fedchock leads the quartet through standards and originals, delivering a timeless brand of hard-bop that’s free of cliché.” The New York Times has heralded Fedchock for his “dazzling trombone virtuosity.”His style eschews mere pyrotechnics for a relaxed lyricism and his sound is inviting and perfectly articulated.
Amidst it all, Fedchock has continued to keep his critically lauded 16-piece New York Big Band on the front burner.  The stellar unit, which has set the standard for modern, post-swing large ensembles for over three decades, has become a marquee group bringing Fedchock to the GRAMMY finals twice for his notable arranging skills.  The band has been stunningly captured on four Reservoir releases and one for MAMA Records.  
 
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Fedchock began his career in 1980 as a jazz trombonist with the legendary Woody Herman Orchestra, serving as featured soloist, musical director and chief arranger for Herman's last two GRAMMY nominated albums.  Herman said of Fedchock, "He's my right hand man. Everything I ask of John he accomplishes, and I ask a lot. He's a major talent." Fedchock has also toured with Gerry Mulligan, T.S. Monk, Louie Bellson, Bob Belden and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and has performed as a featured soloist, composer and conductor around the world. 
 
After the NY Sextet’s 2010 live release, DownBeat exclaimed, “Here's hoping Fedchock can keep this group out on the road so their impressive rapport can evolve even further.” Fedchock took that comment to heart, and now, ten years later, this album is the delightful result of that evolution.

1. RSVP 6:37
2. Alpha Dog 7:24
3. Manaus 7:16
4. I Should Care 7:01
5. Nature Boy 8:10
6. Into the Shadows 7:37
7. Star Eyes 7:16
8. On the Edge 6:25

John Fedchock: Trombone
Walt Weiskopf: Tenor Saxophone 
Scott Wendholt: Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Allen Farnham: Piano
David Finck: Bass
Eric Halvorson: Drums

March 21: John Fedchock's NY Sextet performs in WPU's Jazz Room Series at Home

William Paterson University's Jazz Room Series at Home
Presents
John Fedchock’s New York Sextet

Streaming on Sunday, March 21 at 4 p.m. EST

CD release concert for Into The Shadows

“A near-perfect combination of mobility and weight, and with them, confident modernity…” (DownBeat)

 Advance tickets required, pay what you choose, $10-$25 general public, $8 students and WP community, WP students free. Click here for information and tickets.  


3 p.m. –  Sittin' In Meet–the–Artist session with Fedchock via the WP Presents! YouTube channel. Click Here to View


The concert was recorded live at Shea Center for the Performing Arts

The event celebrates Into The Shadows, Fedchock's dynamic tenth album as leader (July 2020). The album showcases new treatments of familiar standards coupled with five originals. Joining Fedchock on the album are trumpeter Scott Wendholt, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, pianist Allen Farnham, bassist David Finck, and drummer Eric Halvorson.  The album earned wide critical acclaim.

4 stars: "John Fedchock’s writing and arranging skills have been admired since his days with Woody Herman.  This smaller unit gives him a near-perfect combination of mobility and weight, and with them, confident modernity, even as Fedchock examines some repertory favorites.... one of his most poised and assertive recordings yet.” – Brian Morton, DownBeat

4 stars. '"The level of musicianship is high all around. Everything, understandably, falls right into place on Into The Shadows." –  Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

"As always, Fedchock has gathered a stellar crew around him to bring his original compositions and arrangements to life, and they play with all the tightness and joy you’d hope." – Rick Anderson, CD Hotlist

"When you have a band of musicians with the solo strengths that these players bring to the table, it is guaranteed that one moment of listening pleasure after another will occur.  The album may be titled Into the Shadows, but the excitement that pervades this music is definitely out in the open." – Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz