(D)IVO Saxophone Quartet - (D​)​IVO (February 18, 2022 Mahakala Music)

Innovative saxophonist Ivo Perelman is one of those rare musicians whose remarkably large discography is also uniformly superb. Despite having over 100 releases to his credit, not a single one even approaches mediocrity. Perelman’s style, unique from the onset, has evolved with breathtaking alacrity making each addition to his oeuvre distinct from the others yet equally superlative. On this album Perelman, democratically, leads the saxophone quartet D(IVO) consisting of himself on tenor, Tony Malaby on soprano, Tim Berne on alto, and James Carter on baritone saxophone. Berne and Carter also appear on this project’s precursor, an engrossing and impressive 12 disc box set of duets with various reed players.

Each such ensemble has its own character so it may not be fair to compare them, however, for context’s sake, it should be pointed out that musically D(IVO) is to the left of both World Saxophone Quartet and Rova. The seven pieces included here are all pure extemporizations and the four saxophonists react to each other with seamless camaraderie and uncanny ability to anticipate one another’s ideas. At the core of all of the intricate interplay, of course, is Perelman’s tenor anchoring the others deftly and with elegance. Even when all the musicians simultaneously embrace raw emotion with delightful dissonance the group sound manages to remain well organized.

None of this should be surprising to those who know these brilliant improvisers and their idiosyncratic creative approaches. Malaby, born in Tucson and based in Boston where he is on faculty at Berklee, is a dynamic musician with incisive ideas and confident expression. He only occasionally switches from tenor to soprano, however, he has mastered both so his virtuosity on the smaller saxophone here matches that of his bandmates. Berne, originally from Syracuse New York, now lives in Brooklyn, has a distinctive style blurring the boundaries between the notated and the spontaneous. He also incorporates elements of popular genres into his performances. The ebullient Carter, a Detroit native, who calls New York home, is known for his versatility. Not only he excels at multiple saxophones he also is comfortable in a variety of formations that includes soulful organ trios, gypsy jazz tribute bands, and western classical orchestras.

Needless to say, this shared vision owes a lot to Perelman and his restlessly inquisitive mind. When all four overlap their poignant, punch-like, phrases and lace the resulting repartee with hints of melancholy they build a dramatic ambience. Within this tense atmosphere the free flowing yet carefully crafted individual musings range from the fiery and exuberant to forlorn and wistful. Each artist simultaneously maintains his individual train of thought and remains responsive to his three bandmates. The result is thrilling and conceptually quite original and it has Perelman’s signature all over it.

As with every new release, here too, Perelman demonstrates a stylistic evolution .He has honed his singular artistry over decades and with each recording he continues to progress and advance. He states that the music on this date is the direct result of the influence the duet sessions had on him. It is also clear that he himself has strongly influenced his bandmates. To date this is Perelman’s masterpiece. It is an expressive, moving and provocative work that enlightens both performer and listener.

Hrayr Attari 

1. Part One

2. Part Two

3. Part Three

4. Part Four

5. Part Five

6. Part Six

7. Part Seven

Ivo Perelman - Tenor Saxophone

Tony Malaby - Soprano Saxophone

Tim Berne - Alto Saxophone

James Carter - Baritone Saxophone

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Tony Malaby 'The Cave of Winds' – Jan. 7 via Pyroclastic Records

Saxophonist/composer Tony Malaby reconvenes his stunning quartet Sabino with guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tom Rainey

 

The Cave of Winds, due out January 7, 2022 via Pyroclastic Records, draws inspiration from Malaby’s Covid-era sessions under a NJ turnpike bridge

" [The] tenor and soprano saxophonist Tony Malaby has earned a reputation as one of New York’s stalwart improvisers, through an array of sideman appointments and some rigorously rewarding albums."

– Nate Chinen, New York Times

 

" Malaby will play inside, outside and all around his saxophone, but never once will it sound out of place with whatever else is happening."

– Paul Acquaro, The Free Jazz Collective 

The 2020 pandemic forced most of us indoors, musicians included, resulting in a surfeit of new solo projects and home recordings. Saxophonist Tony Malaby took the opposite approach. Having hosted regular sessions at his home for years, resulting in countless new collaborations and inspired breakthroughs, he decided to take these creative get-togethers out into the streets (both as an antidote for cabin fever and out of consideration for his suddenly homebound neighbors).

 

Beginning in July of 2020, Malaby began hosting regular sessions underneath a turnpike overpass near his home in New Jersey. Leading a trio featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Billy Mintz, Malaby invited such improvising luminaries as Tim Berne, Mark Helias, Ches Smith, William Parker and others to join him in the graffiti-covered, reverberant enclave that buzzed with the sound of nearby pedestrians, overhead traffic and the usual collision of nature and humanity that fuels the city.

 

“My artistic discipline comes from playing sessions,” Malaby says. “I just couldn't let that go. It was something I needed just to keep my head above water with everything that was happening with the pandemic and the [presidential] election. Everything was nuts, so I just had to go down there and throw sound with my guys. It got me through and kept me positive.”

 

The turnpike sessions proved to be not only a respite from Covid-related stir craziness but also a source of considerable inspiration for Malaby. The saxophonist felt rejuvenated by the freedom and unique sonic qualities of the space, elements that he wanted to carry into the studio. Feeling that a guitar quartet would make the ideal setting, he reconvened Sabino, the group with which Malaby recorded his debut album in 2000. With bassist Michael Formanek, drummer Tom Rainey and guitarist Ben Monder (stepping in for the original album’s Marc Ducret), he recorded the adventurous new album The Cave of Winds, due out January 7, 2022 via Pyroclastic Records.

 

While there are natural rock formations that share the name in both Niagara Falls and Colorado, The Cave of Winds is Malaby’s affectionate nickname for the turnpike bridge that he made his musical home for the better part of a year. “It was like a tunnel down there,” Malaby recalls. “Wild, crazy things would happen while we were playing in that cavern. Trucks were rolling by, sirens going off, birds singing. We would be down there in 30-degree February weather and the wind would be howling. It was incredible.”

 

The compositions that make up The Cave of Winds were directly inspired by Malaby’s tenure under the bridge. With the literal and figurative space offered by that environment, he was prompted to pen minimal pieces ripe for expansion by the trio and their guests; at the same time, they also are colored by a return to more traditional jazz contexts by this inveterate free improviser.

“Billy Mintz and John Hébert got me into playing standards and jazz repertoire again,” Malaby explains. That comes into play here. We still play freely, and so, you know, but doing that led me to think about harmonic color, the richness of my roots and the joy of playing changes with someone like Ben Monder.”

 

One of the most striking examples of this collision of the tradition and Malaby’s intrepid spirit is the album’s closing track, “Just Me, Just Me.” A contrafact based on the chord changes of the classic “Just You, Just Me” (memorably recorded by the likes of Nat King Cole and Thelonious Monk, among countless others), the tune is far more agitated experience than its jaunty predecessor, and while the title is a tongue-in-cheek play on the original it also captures the fervent individuality of these four musicians.

 

Similarly, the burnished bop melody of “Corinthian Leather” is a loose reinterpretation of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody ‘n You,” leading to unspooling invention from both Malaby and Monder as they stretch the flexible theme beyond recognition. Monder’s roaring heavy metal distortion introduces “Scratch the Horse,” which draws inspiration from the Native American ceremonies depicted in the Richard Harris western A Man Called Horse. “Recrudescence” is a hypnotic group improvisation reflecting on the cyclical nature of the musical life, interrupted though it may have been by recent events, while “insect Ward” suggests a sanctuary for Malaby’s restless, flitting soprano (parried by Formanek’s buzzing bowed bass). “Life Coach” is a duo improvisation by Malaby and Rainey dedicated to their former bandleader, bassist Mark Helias, whose presence the saxophonist insists he can hear in the rhythm and language they share.

 

The Cave of Winds marks the closing of a few chapters for Malaby. For one, it spells the end of the turnpike sessions and the period of research and exploration they represented. Coinciding with the lifting of pandemic-era restrictions, Malaby also left the New York area after more than 25 years for Boston, where he’s taken a position on the faculty of Berklee College of Music.

 

The album also brings Malaby’s career full circle as he embarks on this new venture. 20 years after the release of Sabino he revisits that quartet with three of his most longstanding collaborators. Malaby met Formanek while the saxophonist was still a student at William Paterson University, when both played with the Mingus Big Band. They were both enlisted by saxophonist Marty Ehrlich for a band that also included Tom Rainey on drums, forging a connection that would remain strong for the next three decades.

 

While Ducret was featured on the 2000 album, Ben Monder actually precedes him as Sabino’s guitarist, in an early version of the quartet that featured Jeff Williams and Ben Street. Malaby had initially heard the brilliant guitarist in Marc Johnson’s short-lived band Right Brain Patrol, then approached him at the bar of the Knitting Factory. They met again a week later on a session led by Guillermo Klein and have been working together regularly and fruitfully ever since.

 

Like the primal space its name implies, The Cave of Winds is vast and tempestuous, opening into a reservoir of mystery and inviting the curious to venture deep within. Encouraged by Malaby’s dauntless curiosity, these four stellar musicians delve into the furthest reaches and emerge with inspired riches.

1. Corinthian Leather

2. Recrudescence

3. Scratch the Horse

4. Insect Ward

5. The Cave of Winds

6. Life Coach (for Helias)

7. Just Me, Just Me

Tony Malaby - Tenor and Soprano Saxophones

Ben Monder - Guitar

Michael Formanek - Double Bass

Tom Rainey - Drums

All compositions by Tony Malaby (Chubasco Music/ Sesac) except 'Recrudescence' by Monder/ Formanek/ Rainey/ Malaby

Recorded at Samurai Hotel Studios on June 24, 2021

Mixed and Mastered by Mike Marciano at Systems Two Long Island

Graphic Design by Hidde Dijkstra

Cover Art: 'Lost in Thoughts' by Marieken Cochius

Photo by Peter Gannushkin

Produced by Tony Malaby

Executive Producer: Kris Davis

Tony Malaby’s Sabino – The Cave of Winds

Pyroclastic Records – PR 18 – Recorded June 24, 2021

Release date January 7, 2022

PRE ORDER

Nick Fraser Quartet - If There Were No Opposites (Hat Hut Records)

1. Improvisation (Part 1) 02:43

2. Sketch #50 03:39

3. Shoe Dance 04:46

4. Table 49, The Rex Hotel, Toronto 09:28

5. The Bulldog And The Capricorn 09:02

6. The Fashion Show 07:38

7. Improvisation (Part 2) 05:08

Nick Fraser - drums

Tony Malaby - saxophones

Andrew Downing - cello

Rob Clutton - double bass

PREORDER

Out Fri. Nov. 12: "Just Me, Just Me" – Single from Tony Malaby's upcoming album "The Cave of Winds"

Saxophonist/composer Tony Malaby reconvenes his stunning quartet Sabino with guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Michael Formanek and drummer Tom Rainey 

The Cave of Winds, due out January 7, 2022 via Pyroclastic Records, draws inspiration from Malaby’s Covid-era sessions under a NJ turnpike bridge 

" [The] tenor and soprano saxophonist Tony Malaby has earned a reputation as one of New York’s stalwart improvisers, through an array of sideman appointments and some rigorously rewarding albums."

– Nate Chinen, New York Times 

" Malaby will play inside, outside and all around his saxophone, but never once will it sound out of place with whatever else is happening." 

– Paul Acquaro, The Free Jazz Collective

The 2020 pandemic forced most of us indoors, musicians included, resulting in a surfeit of new solo projects and home recordings. Saxophonist Tony Malaby took the opposite approach. Having hosted regular sessions at his home for years, resulting in countless new collaborations and inspired breakthroughs, he decided to take these creative get-togethers out into the streets (both as an antidote for cabin fever and out of consideration for his suddenly homebound neighbors). 

Beginning in July of 2020, Malaby began hosting regular sessions underneath a turnpike overpass near his home in New Jersey. Leading a trio featuring bassist John Hébert and drummer Billy Mintz, Malaby invited such improvising luminaries as Tim Berne, Mark Helias, Ches Smith, William Parker and others to join him in the graffiti-covered, reverberant enclave that buzzed with the sound of nearby pedestrians, overhead traffic and the usual collision of nature and humanity that fuels the city. 

“My artistic discipline comes from playing sessions,” Malaby says. “I just couldn't let that go. It was something I needed just to keep my head above water with everything that was happening with the pandemic and the [presidential] election. Everything was nuts, so I just had to go down there and throw sound with my guys. It got me through and kept me positive.” 

The turnpike sessions proved to be not only a respite from Covid-related stir craziness but also a source of considerable inspiration for Malaby. The saxophonist felt rejuvenated by the freedom and unique sonic qualities of the space, elements that he wanted to carry into the studio. Feeling that a guitar quartet would make the ideal setting, he reconvened Sabino, the group with which Malaby recorded his debut album in 2000. With bassist Michael Formanek, drummer Tom Rainey and guitarist Ben Monder (stepping in for the original album’s Marc Ducret), he recorded the adventurous new album The Cave of Winds, due out January 7, 2022 via Pyroclastic Records.

While there are natural rock formations that share the name in both Niagara Falls and Colorado, The Cave of Winds is Malaby’s affectionate nickname for the turnpike bridge that he made his musical home for the better part of a year. “It was like a tunnel down there,” Malaby recalls. “Wild, crazy things would happen while we were playing in that cavern. Trucks were rolling by, sirens going off, birds singing. We would be down there in 30-degree February weather and the wind would be howling. It was incredible.” 

The compositions that make up The Cave of Winds were directly inspired by Malaby’s tenure under the bridge. With the literal and figurative space offered by that environment, he was prompted to pen minimal pieces ripe for expansion by the trio and their guests; at the same time, they also are colored by a return to more traditional jazz contexts by this inveterate free improviser. 

“Billy Mintz and John Hébert got me into playing standards and jazz repertoire again,” Malaby explains. That comes into play here. We still play freely, and so, you know, but doing that led me to think about harmonic color, the richness of my roots and the joy of playing changes with someone like Ben Monder.” 

One of the most striking examples of this collision of the tradition and Malaby’s intrepid spirit is the album’s closing track, “Just Me, Just Me.” A contrafact based on the chord changes of the classic “Just You, Just Me” (memorably recorded by the likes of Nat King Cole and Thelonious Monk, among countless others), the tune is far more agitated experience than its jaunty predecessor, and while the title is a tongue-in-cheek play on the original it also captures the fervent individuality of these four musicians. 

Similarly, the burnished bop melody of “Corinthian Leather” is a loose reinterpretation of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Woody ‘n You,” leading to unspooling invention from both Malaby and Monder as they stretch the flexible theme beyond recognition. Monder’s roaring heavy metal distortion introduces “Scratch the Horse,” which draws inspiration from the Native American ceremonies depicted in the Richard Harris western A Man Called Horse. “Recrudescence” is a hypnotic group improvisation reflecting on the cyclical nature of the musical life, interrupted though it may have been by recent events, while “insect Ward” suggests a sanctuary for Malaby’s restless, flitting soprano (parried by Formanek’s buzzing bowed bass). “Life Coach” is a duo improvisation by Malaby and Rainey dedicated to their former bandleader, bassist Mark Helias, whose presence the saxophonist insists he can hear in the rhythm and language they share. 

The Cave of Winds marks the closing of a few chapters for Malaby. For one, it spells the end of the turnpike sessions and the period of research and exploration they represented. Coinciding with the lifting of pandemic- era restrictions, Malaby also left the New York area after more than 25 years for Boston, where he’s taken a position on the faculty of Berklee College of Music. 

The album also brings Malaby’s career full circle as he embarks on this new venture. 20 years after the release of Sabino he revisits that quartet with three of his most longstanding collaborators. Malaby met Formanek while the saxophonist was still a student at William Paterson University, when both played with the Mingus Big Band. They were both enlisted by saxophonist Marty Ehrlich for a band that also included Tom Rainey on drums, forging a connection that would remain strong for the next three decades. 

While Ducret was featured on the 2000 album, Ben Monder actually precedes him as Sabino’s guitarist, in an early version of the quartet that featured Jeff Williams and Ben Street. Malaby had initially heard the brilliant guitarist in Marc Johnson’s short-lived band Right Brain Patrol, then approached him at the bar of the Knitting Factory. They met again a week later on a session led by Guillermo Klein and have been working together regularly and fruitfully ever since. 

Like the primal space its name implies, The Cave of Winds is vast and tempestuous, opening into a reservoir of mystery and inviting the curious to venture deep within. Encouraged by Malaby’s dauntless curiosity, these four stellar musicians delve into the furthest reaches and emerge with inspired riches.

1. Corinthian Leather

2. Recrudescence

3. Scratch the Horse

4. Insect Ward

5. The Cave of Winds

6. Life Coach (for Helias)

7. Just Me, Just Me

Tony Malaby - Tenor and Soprano Saxophones

Ben Monder - Guitar

Michael Formanek - Double Bass

Tom Rainey - Drums

All compositions by Tony Malaby (Chubasco Music/ Sesac) except 'Recrudescence' by Monder/ Formanek/ Rainey/ Malaby

Recorded at Samurai Hotel Studios on June 24, 2021

Mixed and Mastered by Mike Marciano at Systems Two Long Island

Graphic Design by Hidde Dijkstra

Cover Art: 'Lost in Thoughts' by Marieken Cochius

Photo by Peter Gannushkin

Produced by Tony Malaby

Executive Producer: Kris Davis

(c)(p) 2021 Tony Malaby & Pyroclastic Records

Tony Malaby’s Sabino – The Cave of Winds 

Pyroclastic Records – PR 18 – Recorded June 24, 2021

Release date January 7, 2022 

PREORDER

Tony Malaby - Turnpike Diaries Vol​.​3 Big Mammals (2021)

Two of my favorite sound designers, William Parker and Billy Mintz, came and propelled me into beautiful landscapes bringing out the soaring screech of raptors, the sea mammal and dancing bear in me.

1. The Dancing Bear (for Tatiana) and Birds of Pray

2. Big Mammals

Tony Malaby - Tenor and Soprano saxophones

William Parker - Bass and Tuba

Billy Mintz - Drums

Recorded by Randy Thaler

Mastered by Eivind Opsvik

Cover art by Tim Berne

Thank you Kevin Reilly

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Tony Malaby - Turnpike Diaries Volume 2 (2021)

There’s a type of Kung Fu one needs to drive in New Jersey. Hidden signs, many types of drivers with constantly changing velocities that are ahead, behind, and alongside one at all times. It’s very similar to this first track that I am calling Jersey Merge Redux (I have used this title before). I hope you can feel the Kung Fu as I did - unbelievable flow and intelligence from Michael and Mark. Enjoy. T

1. Jersey Merge Redux 48:47

2. Bonus Track - Elbow Up ! 34:59

Tony Malaby - Tenor and Soprano Saxophones

Michael Formanek - Bass

Mark Ferber - Drums

Recorded and Mixed by Randy Thaler

Mastered by Eivind Opsvik

Cover by Tim Berne

Recorded on November 10, 2020

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Tony Malaby - Turnpike Diaries Volume 1 (2021)

I started playing sessions on July 6, 2020 with Billy Mintz and John Hebert under a turnpike bridge not far from my home. We would play 3 to 4 times a week, slowly more friends began to come to play with me in addition to the trio with Mintz and Hebert. I want to share some of these field recordings with you and want to begin with this session that took place on October 19. My walk to the spot with both horns on my back was so full of joy and anticipation because I was going to throw sound with some of my favorite improvisors and mentors - my “ Jefes”.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did . I can’t begin to thank Randy Thaler and Kevin Reilly for their commitment to documenting these sessions - it still keeps me looking forward and positive during these trying times . Thank you for listening. Tony Malaby

1. Los Jefes 39:32

2. Slap Happy 27:31

Tony Malaby - Tenor and Soprano saxophones

Tim Berne - Alto Saxophone

Mark Helias - Acoustic Bass

Michael Formanek - Acoustic Bass

Ches Smith - Drums

Recorded by Randy Thaler

Cover art - Tim Berne

Mastered by Eivind Opsvik

Recorded on October 19 2020

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Tony Malaby - Cellar Notes (2021)

I never had the opportunity to document this quartet, so I am happy that I can now share these live sets from Cornelia St. Cafe. At the time of these recordings, I was leading the groups Tamarindo, Apparitions, and Paloma Recio, as well as many sideman projects, several of which featured Ralph Alessi and John Hébert . The three of us were yearning for an outlet to stretch out in a casual, relaxed setting with no predetermined solo order, solo length or complicated road maps. When I was offered a weekend at Cornelia Street, I jumped at the chance and called Billy Drummond.

I put together four books of tunes that were laying around the pad, mostly by peers such as Chris Lightcap, Angelica Sanchez, Dave Scott, Michael Attias, Eivind Opsvik, and Billy Mintz. We filled out the book with Ralph and John’s tunes, along with some Ornette, Frisell, Motian, and Sidney Bechet. At the time I called it “The Reading Band.” Drew Gress often subbed for Hébert . This group never played to an empty room. Please follow us here at Bandcamp and enjoy Cellar Notes.

1. Ralph and the Red Head (Dave Scott), Blind Pig (John Hébert), Flight (Billy Mintz) 29:31

2. Mirror Me (Angelica Sanchez), Humpty Dumpty (Ornette Coleman), Endless(Paul Motian) 21:17

3. Cajun Christmas (John Hébert) 10:59

Tony Malaby - Tenor Saxophone

Ralph Alessi - Trumpet

John Hébert - Bass

Billy Drummond - Drums

Recorded by Scott Friedlander

Mastered by Eivind Opsvik

Cover Art by Tim Berne

Recorded Live at Cornelia St. Cafe on March 13, 2009

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Simon Nabatov Quintet - Last Minute Theory (February 2021)

Simon Nabatov spent the better part of the 1980s in New York City, finishing his studies while simultaneously working as a freelance musician primarily in jazz as well as wherever else his versatility would take him. It was certainly quite an adventure for a recent émigré from the Soviet Union. Following this fertile period in New York, he began a new chapter in his musical path with a move to Cologne, Germany in 1989 where he remains to this day. Many well-documented projects and collaborations unfolded since that move, often (but not only) with musicians based in Europe.

In September of 2018 Nabatov, after many years of exploring predominantly free improvised music, went to New York City with a desire to explore a more traditional jazz setting with a hand-picked group of master musicians; colleagues with whom he shares musical sensibilities and tastes. Some of them he has known for a long time, but never played a note together before, like saxophonist Tony Malaby, with some of them he already shared the stage on a number of occasions, like the drummer Gerald Cleaver. Completing this formidable band is guitarist Brandon Seabrook, and bassist Michael Formanek. It can be easily said of all four musicians that they participate for many years now in writing the history of jazz from the New York perspective.

The album opens with the nostalgic stroll „Old Fashioned“. The band gets right away into a leisurely stride, with a few odd bars in the tune to assure a slight stumbling effect along the way. The overall modus operandi is hinted at, with Malaby’s robust melodic voice propelling the story, Seabrook’s unique method of blending seemingly incongruous elements into one marvel, and the rhythm section providing a solid and supple feel.

„Slow Move“ appears to suspend the time, with an austere atmosphere driven by spiky chords. The piece travels through a series of mysterious episodes, Malaby’s soaring soprano sax is well-matched with Seabrook’s breath-of-dragon effects – before returning briefly to the initial material.

„Rickety“ starts as a relatively sparse and light premise, but promptly develops into a rambunctious all-in collective dance, groovy and ecstatic, with twirling lines atop charged by Montuno-like piano figures.

Nabatov admits that the political moods in his former residence made their way into his mind, hence the „Marching Right Along“, a piece reflecting the resolve of people who raise their voices for the common good. Gerald Cleaver invites us into this feeling with his succinct introduction.

„Translated“ evokes the dreamy feel of the musical worlds of the great late drummer Paul Motian, with whom Nabatov recorded the „Circle The Line“ album back in 1985. Tony Malaby, a veteran of Motian’s band, brings that authentic experience to this flowing ballad.

Piano is featured in the first part of „Good Pedigree“, initially as a duo with bass, later joined by drums. The rest of the band eventually joins for a stretch of joyous interjections, before a calming glide towards a full stop.

The closing piece, „Afterwards“, starts with an intense collective improvisation, full of energy and exuberance, followed by Michael Formanek’s melodic and pensive solo.

The tune and the whole album come to a conclusion with Brandon Seabrook’s quirky solo over the repeated peaceful song-like phrases.

„Last Minute Theory“ offers a collection of original works celebrating the city that remains Simon Nabatov’s other musical home. Combining a straight-forward approach with intricate details, both joyful and melancholic, this album brings Nabatov’s diverse musical abilities into a new light offering a new perspective to this remarkable and prolific musician.

1. Old Fashioned 08:33

2. Slow Move 07:46

3. Rickety 05:38

4. Marching Right Along 05:59

5. Translated 07:12

6. Good Pedigree 08:03

7. Afterwards 07:44

Tony Malaby - tenor and soprano saxophones

Brandon Seabrook - guitar

Simon Nabatov - piano

Michael Formanek - bass

Gerald Cleaver - drums

all music by Simon Nabatov (GEMA)

recorded September 29 2019 by Nolan Thies

at the Bunker Studio, Brooklyn NY

mixed and mastered by Srefan Deistler

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Ben Monder / Tony Malaby / Tom Rainey - Live at 55 Bar (February 26, 2021 Sunnyside Records)

If anything good has come from the past year, it has been an enhanced appreciation of friendship and communal interaction. In jazz and improvised music, the former is always a blessing, but the latter is a necessity. Guitarist Ben Monder set out with the intent of recording a studio album with longtime collaborators, saxophonist Tony Malaby and drummer Tom Rainey, but circumstances led to a more informal situation, providing a visceral glimpse of these stellar musicians’ rapport.

The performance world was on the brink of shutting down in early March 2020 due to the appearance of COVID-19. Monder decided to take the opportunity provided by his monthly Tuesday residency at New York City’s stalwart jazz club, The 55 Bar, to present a recurring project with Malaby, a bass-less trio with drums. Rainey commanded the revolving drum chair on March 3rd and the two sets were recorded as a remarkable live document of fully improvised music making from three masters, released now as Live at The 55 Bar.

Monder has made a mark on the contemporary jazz world as a brilliant technician, virtuosic soloist and meticulous composer. The concept for his nearly 25-year partnership with Malaby was to focus on improvisation, as the saxophonist’s energy and creativity have always provided a perfect foil for the guitarist. Monder’s relationship with the versatile Rainey goes back even farther to the guitarist’s first demo recordings in the early 1990s; their familiarity is obvious in the ease of communication between them.

There are many active elements in this type of musical approach. Monder considers performing with this amalgamation particularly rewarding because of his bandmates’ abundance of ideas and penchant for improvising compositionally. These traits allow the music to evolve naturally, in a long-form manner, granting the musicians the ability to venture into different places without repeating themselves.

Three long improvisations were recorded that night, each piece unfolding organically. The ebb and flow and the building of tension to release demonstrate just how confident these musicians are in their craft of composing on the fly, in full control of their musical choices. The recording was made by the brilliant producer Joseph Branciforte, who was able to provide gorgeous studio quality sound and help with the narrative arc for the completed recording.

The trio took the suite approach to heart, naming the three pieces as such with the date of performance. The beginning segment, “Suite 3320 – Part I,” begins quietly with guitar arpeggiations, searching tenor moans and skittering drums. The brooding feel blossoms as Malaby pokes and prods at melodic ideas and the ambient guitar harmonics begin to unfurl more and more. Rainey’s tempo and volume build the intensity, and the guitar distortion adds to the density of sound.

“Suite 3320 – Part II” was actually almost the entire second set played on the evening of March 3rd. Malaby’s playful soprano jousts with Rainey’s lightly played snare as Monder patiently builds. The percussion focuses the group in its ascendancy. The saxophone and guitar push against one another, the dissonance electrifying the proceedings. The intensity breaks with waves of controlled reverbed guitar feedback and ghostly plucked tones over pounding drums. The thirty-minute performance rolls through echoing, ambient valleys and rocky, percussive slopes.

The concluding “Suite 3320 – Part III” initially finds the trio in a hazily disjointed space. Malaby’s sputtering tenor vocalizes and bleats over Monder’s dark, densely-packed and reverb-drenched guitar manipulations. Rainey’s drums are relentless as the trio’s level of intensity remains full tilt. A sudden break finds the musicians in an icy realm of false calm, Monder’s cold ominous waves of sound only broken by Malaby’s entreating sax.

Monder, Malaby and Rainey’s Live at The 55 Bar is a rare document of the guitarist convening an impressively supportive and expansive unit in a purely improvisational setting. The recording should reinforce the importance of, and will surely whet the appetite for, live improvised music made in the moment.

1. Suite 3320 - Part I

2. Suite 3320 - Part II

3. Suite 3320 - Part III

Ben Monder - guitar

Tony Malaby - saxophone

Tom Rainey - drums

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Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet - Time Like This (INTAKT RECORDS 15 Oct 2018)

One marker of bassist Michael Formanek's creativity and versatility is the range of distinguished musicians of several generations he's worked with. While still a teenager in the 1970s he toured with drummer Tony Williams and saxophonist Joe Henderson. Starting in the '80s he played long stints with Stan Getz, Fred Hersch and Freddie Hubbard.

Formanek is also a composer and leader of various bands. One of his principal recording and international touring vehicles has been his acclaimed quartet with Tim Berne, Craig Taborn and Gerald Cleaver. His occasional groups include the 18-piece all-star Ensemble Kolossus, roping in many New York improvisers he works with. Currently his primary focus is the Michael Formanek Elusion Quartet with Tony Malaby, Kris Davis, and Ches Smith. 

In putting together the Elusion Quartet, interpreting his music with these specific musicians, Michael Formanek says he sought "a more direct connection to emotions: mine, theirs and the listener's." Hank Shteamer writes in the liner notes: "As one zeroes in on the details of Time Like This, it's clear that this sort of emotional immediacy permeates the album. You hear it in Kris Davis' flowing, balletic solo on "A Fine Mess"; in Tony Malaby's ululating tenor cries on "The Soul Goodbye"; in Ches Smith's raucous grooves on "That Was Then"; or the leader's poised, sinewy lines on "Culture of None." Elusive? Certainly. But as this album proves, under the right conditions, with the right personnel, it's still out there."

Der New Yorker Bassist und Komponist Michael Formanek präsentiert mit seinem Elusion Quartett ein neues, wegweisendes Projekt. Sein erstes Album auf Intakt Records versammelt vier höchst profilierte Musiker/innen verschiedener Generationen aus der New Yorker Jazzszene: den Saxophonisten Tony Malaby, die Pianistin Kris Davis und den Schlagzeuger Ches Smith.

Er suche mit dieser Besetzung einen direktere Verbindung zu den Emotionen, sagt Formanek. Der Jazzkritiker Hank Shteamer schreibt in den Liner Notes: "Wenn man sich auf die Musik von "Time Like This" einlässt, wird evident, wie eine emotinale Unmittelbarkeit das Album durchdringt. Man hört es in Kris Davis' fliessendem, tänzerischem Solo auf "A Fine Mess", in Tony Malaby's heulenden Tenorklängen auf "The Soul Goodbye", in Ches Smith's rauen Grooves auf "That Was Then" oder in den balancierten, sehnigen Linien des Leaders auf "Culture of None". 

"Time Like This" ist die Musik unserer Zeit: erdig, atmosphärisch und bewegend. Musik, die Grenzen überspringt, swingt und anregt, reich an Klangfarben, voller Kanten und Schönheit und überraschend.

Michael Formanek Double Bass

Tony Malaby Tenor and Soprano Saxophones

Kris Davis Piano

Ches Smith Drums, Vibraphone, Haitian Tanbou

1 Down 8 Up 5

2 Culture of None

3 A Fine Mess

4 This May Get Ugly

5 The Soul Goodbye

6 That Was Then

7 The New Normal

All music by Michael Formanek.

Recorded February 14th, 2018, at Oktaven Audio, Mount Vernon, New York, USA, by Ryan Streber.

Mixed in April 2018 and mastered in July 2018 at Oktaven Audio by Ryan Streber.

Cover art: Heike Liss. Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Photos: John Rogers. Liner notes: Hank Shteamer.

Produced by Michael Formanek and Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt and Anja Illmaier.

Published by Intakt Records, P. O. Box 468, 8024 Zürich.

Jacob Sacks - Fishes (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

It makes so much sense for a Portuguese record label to release a new opus of the New York pianist and composer Jacob Sacks, considering his many connections with the jazz scene of this country and musicians like João Lencastre, Sara Serpa, André Matos, Gonçalo Marques and Demian Cabaud. Sacks is widely recognized as one of the most creative musicians in his hometown, and “Fishes” presents him in the company of other notable protagonists of the New York jazz scene, all of them members of the Clean Feed family: Ellery Eskelin, Tony Malaby, Michael Formanek and Dan Weiss. Here is a meeting of giants led by someone who has already covered the entire range of that music we call jazz, by the side of the greatest: Clark Terry, Joe Maneri, Charles Gayle, Paul Motian, Lee Konitz and too many more to mention, going from mainstream to the most audacious exploratory music. Inside this recording you’ll find all the identifying characteristics of Sacks’ personal style and more: harmonic subtleties, structural simplicity, deep and mysterious meanings, a refined sense of form, poetic beauty, rhythmic drive and lots of soul. You start to be overwhelmed by the way the little pieces of the clock function, until you let yourself go with the balance produced by the sculptures of time coming track by track.

Jacob Sacks  piano

Ellery Eskelin  tenor saxophone

Tony Malaby  tenor & soprano saxophones

Michael Formanek  bass

Dan Weiss  drums

All compositions by Jacob Sacks; Jacob Sacks Compositions BMI

Recorded April 13th, 2017 at Systems Two Studios, Brooklyn, NY, by Mike Marciano | Mixing and mastered by Mike Marciano | Mixing and mastering produced by Chet Doxas

Produced by Jacob Sacks | Executive Producer by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul | Design by Travassos

Robert Burke / Tony Malaby / Mark Helias - Head Under Water (June 14, 2018)

HEAD UNDER WATER takes the listener on an immersive journey. Tony Malaby, Robert Burke and Mark Helias bring to each track their own identity, experiences, expertise and egos. 

The musical decisions made by the ensemble in the moment of recording are central to the improvised interaction and the outcome.

Tony Malaby searches for ‘the big idea’, Robert Burke and Mark Helias choose whether to match ideas or develop, introduce something new, play or not to play, to take a conciliatory or an oppositional position… to question.

The resulting aural narrative demands that the audience let the music surround and flow over them—to actively listen to the interplay in each track, and engage with the intuitive emotions evoked.

Recorded in Brooklyn, New York and mixed in Italy, HEAD UNDER WATER is a daring, instinctive and organic performance by three renowned jazz musicians.

1. Immersion 09:13

2. Commitment 03:07

3. Plight 05:23

4. Bond 08:30

5. Engrossment 00:19

6. Involvement 02:29

7. Captivation 04:57

8. Engagement 06:20

9. Fascination 00:47

10. Intentness 05:03

11. Enthrallment 09:12

12. Attention 00:46

13. Saturation 06:42

14. Lost 04:01

15. Absorption 03:43

Robert Burke — Tenor and Soprano Saxophone

Tony Malaby — Tenor and Soprano Saxophone

Mark Helias — Acoustic Bass

Recorded

17th July 2017

Acoustic Recording, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Engineer—Michael Brorby

Mixed and Mastered

December 2017—Andrea Benassai

Sonoria Recording Plant, Prato Italy

Editing—Pietro Falaschi

Producer—Robert Burke

Samo Salamon, Tony Malaby & Roberto Dani - Traveling Moving Brething (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2018)

A former student of John Scofield, Samo Salamon was named by the magazine Guitar Player as one of 10 most interesting guitarists of the moment, with All About Jazz stating that this Slovenian is «one of the most talented and interesting to emerge on today’s jazz scene», putting him at the same level of Kurt Rosenwinkel and Ben Monder. The Penguin Jazz Guide choose his debut record “Ornethology”, from 2003, as one of the 1001 Best Albums in the history of jazz, and Salamon’s partnerships with such different musicians as David Binney, Sabir Mateen, Dominique Pifarely and Mark Helias say much about his importance on the world circuits. “Travelling Moving Breathing” is a new opus of his Bassless Trio, a project in constant change of contributors, after previous recordings with Tim Berne and Tom Rainey or with Julian Arguelles and John Hollenbeck and only the Italian drummer Roberto Dani staying from line-ups with Paul McCandless, Michel Godard, Achille Succi and others.

Now the third wheel of this band’s dynamics is the American saxophonist Tony Malaby, culminating a good number of adventures together with the Eastern European who possesses «a monstruous technique and an intense desire to navigate multiple jazz related genres» (critic Glenn Astarita dixit) dating from 2004 and from the Samo Salamon Quartet. Salamon couldn’t have better company in Malaby and in Dani (him who already had the best with him) in his commitment to play a improvisationally-driven music capable to keep us on our toes from the first to the last minute.

1 Dephony 6:03

2 Moving Target 6:05

3 Breathing 6:35

4 Grey Matter 9:13

5 Traveling Without Motian 6:15

6 Too Much 4:03

7 Kei's Dream [Explicit] 7:43

8 Arnold 8:05

Pedro is Clean 4:26

Tony Malaby  tenor & soprano saxophone

Samo Šalamon  guitar

Roberto  Dani drums

All compositions by Samo Salamon except for #3 by Salamon/Malaby/Dani

Recorded in Ravne na Koroškem in April 2017 by Domen Hudrap | Mixed and mastered by Samo Salamon

Produced by Samo Salamon | Executive production by Pedro Costa for Trem Azul | Design by Travassos | Photos by Nika Hölcl – Fotobeležnica

Nick Fraser / Tony Malaby / Andrew Downing / Rob Clutton - Is Life Long? (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2017)

What do Anthony Braxton, Wynton Marsalis, William Parker and Dave Liebman have in common? The fact that they have played with a drummer from the Toronto jazz scene, Nick Fraser, one of those few cases of a musician so flexible that he can practice all the tendencies of this music. Or, when he is the band leader and composer, chooses to cross those different styles, as that combination enables his capacities to swing and to color, to control time and to design textures. Generally, you either shine in one domain or the other, but not Fraser, preferring small gestures instead of technically exhibitionist actions  and always committing to the kind of improvisation that has a sense of natural, moment to moment form. He has found a soul mate in Tony Malaby and if their previous partnerships were already gems of contemporary jazz, the new “Is Life Long?” has all the ingredients to convince you to take this record to your hidden island. One of them is the way Andrew Downing’s cello combines either with Malaby’s saxes, amplifying the melodic effect, or with the double bass of Rob Clutton, for a richer harmony. The others are on the CD for you to find…

1 Quicksand 12:43

2 Disclosure 5:16

3 Empathy 6:15

4 Skeleton 7:35

5 Arachnid 6:25

6 The Predictor 11:07

Nick Fraser  drums

Tony Malaby  saxophones

Andrew Downing  cello

Rob Clutton  bass

Satoko Fujii: Satoko Fujii Orchestra New York - Fukushima (LIBRA RECORDS 2017)

Satoko Fujii Confronts the Fukushima Nuclear Accident

in Major New Work for Orchestra New York

Fujii's nuanced musical response to the disaster features some of her most powerful composing for improvisers

"Satoko Fujii's large ensemble music is one of a kind... For avant big band, this is an outfit on the cutting edge." -Grego Edwards, Gapplegate Music Review

"... a triumph of modern big band music, powerfully brought to life by an immensely talented group." -Stuart Kremsky, Journal of Jazz Record Collectors reviewing 2014's Shiki

"The Ellington of Free Jazz." -Cadence Magazine

Fujii conducts ensemble featuring Tony Malaby, Ellery Eskelin, Nels Cline, Dave Ballou, Natsuki Tamura, Joey Sellers, Joe Fiedler, Curtis Hasselbring, Stomu Takeishi, Ches Smith, Andy Laster, Oscar Noriega, and Herb Robertson.

Gathering together her all-star Orchestra New York to record for the tenth time, composer-pianist Satoko Fujii releases Fukushima (Libra, available December 15, 2017), a deeply moving and personal contemplation of the nuclear power plant disaster that shook Japan and the world in 2011. Fujii conducts the 13-piece ensemble in a monumental album-length composition that runs the emotional spectrum from despair to hope. With her characteristic attention to form, texture, and melody, she also provides a platform for some of New York's best improvisers, many of whom were founding members of the band 20 years ago, to make powerful statements of their own. The close collaboration between composer-conductor and performers results in one of the most riveting and moving socially conscious musical statements in recent memory.

"Right after the accident, I was afraid that we might not be able to live in Tokyo or even anywhere else in Japan," Fujii says. "A crazy-big area was affected by radiation and our country is not big. The distance between Tokyo and Fukushima is only around 200 kilometers. I felt hopeless. Of course, there were some people who didn't think it was a serious problem. The worst thing for me was the election right after the Fukushima accident. People still supported the politicians who said we need nuclear reactors. Other people in Japan thought differently and didn't support those politicians. And I have found people all over the world who think differently, as well. Fukushima is one of those issues that connects deeply with other matters in the world now-money, power, nationalism."

Fujii's musical response conveys the full weight of her feelings. Her assured handling of drama and pacing have never been more evident or used to such telling effect. The hour-long piece opens with the simple sound of air passing through instruments, echoing the sound of human breathing, creating a sense of vulnerable humanity that suffuses the entire work. "In the context of Fukushima, the breathing or air sound is peaceful, calm, and life-affirming for me," she says.

Shaping the music in real time as she conducts, Fujii leads the band on a spiritual journey through sorrow, rage, and ultimately to a stunning sense of hope and optimism. "I know we human beings can live brightly in any situation and circumstance," Fujii says. "I would like to believe it is not too late for us to make a change for the better."

Of course, Fujii's compositions are incomplete without improvised contributions from her remarkable ensemble. "My charts for large ensemble are not like classical music that can be played only by reading," she says. "With my charts, I need great improvisers to play and develop them. And with all these improvised parts, I need to conduct and give cues to the band to make the charts work, come together, and feel alive. I feel like the whole band is my instrument."

And what an instrument she has in this band, which includes saxophonists Tony Malaby and Ellery Eskelin, guitarist Nels Cline, trumpeters Dave Ballou and Natsuki Tamura, trombonists Joey Sellers, Joe Fiedler and Curtis Hasselbring, and the blue-chip rhythm team of bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Ches Smith, among others. With an ear for creative combinations of voices and contrasting textures and density, Fujii deploys them in different combinations, ranging from solo to duos and trios to full ensemble improvisation, throughout the course of the performance. Highlights include the close interplay between baritone saxophonist Andy Laster and guitarist Cline on the first track (the piece is continuous, but split into five tracks on the disc) and Oscar Noriega's melodic solo cradled by a lovely brass choir on Track 3. A sustained series of alternating passages for duet pairings of trumpeter Herb Robertson with drummer Smith and bassist Takeishi with guitarist Cline highlight the fourth track.

Fujii is also making available a second version of Fukushima, featuring her singing on Track 2. CDR copies of the vocal version of the composition can be ordered on her website: www.satokofujii.com/.

Fujii always tackles big musical ideas in her big band writing and sometimes turns to life's deepest spiritual issues as well. With this ambitious album, her first extended piece for large ensemble that addresses social issues, she has made another step forward with her art. "I just would like to have the listener take in the whole piece as an experience," she says, "and feel something."

Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She's "a virtuoso piano improviser, an original composer and a bandleader who gets the best collaborators to deliver," says John Fordham in The Guardian.

In concert and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, she synthesizes jazz, contemporary classical, avant-rock and Japanese folk music into an innovative music instantly recognizable as hers alone. Over the years, Fujii has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including the ma-do quartet, the Min-Yoh Ensemble, and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins.

Her ongoing duet project with husband Natsuki Tamura released their sixth recording, Kisaragi, this year. "The duo's commitment to producing new sounds based on fresh ideas is second only to their musicianship," says Karl Ackermann in All About Jazz. Aspiration, a CD by an ad hoc band featuring Wadada Leo Smith, Tamura, and Ikue Mori, was released this year to wide acclaim. "Four musicians who regularly aspire for greater heights with each venture reach the summit together on Aspiration," writes S. Victor Aaron in Something Else.

She records infrequently as an unaccompanied soloist, but her latest solo album, Invisible Hand, led Dan McClenaghan in All About Jazz to praise her "stream of ideas, eschewing repetition and cliché in the crafting of her solo work, her loveliest and most accessible music." Fujii has also established herself as one of the world's leading composers for large jazz ensembles, leading Cadence magazine to call her, "the Ellington of free jazz."