Miguel Zenón – Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman (March 12, 2021 via Miel Music)

Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón honors Ornette Coleman’s legacy with the release of Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman

Out a few days after Coleman’s birthday, album features an international quartet recorded live in Switzerland

Digital release available March 12, 2021 via Miel Music

The digital album – featuring Zenón with an international quartet: tenor saxophonist Ariel Bringuez, bassist Demian Cabaud, and drummer Jordi Rossy – will be available on all digital platforms including Miguel’s Bandcamp page on March 12, 2021.

Alto saxophone icon Miguel Zenón commemorates Ornette Coleman’s 91st birthday (March 9) with Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman. Recorded in May 2019, after a residency at Bird’s Eye Jazz Club in Basel, Switzerland, the album features Zenón with an international quartet: tenor saxophonist Ariel Bringuez, bassist Demian Cabaud, and drummer Jordi Rossy. Though the musicians – all with connections to Zenón – had never played together in this particular configuration, the performances display remarkable synergy and intensity. The release will be available digitally on March 12, 2021.

As Miguel writes in the liner notes, “We were all just having fun, inspired by the energy from the crowd and the special feel of the occasion. And Ornette’s music proved to be the perfect platform for this kind of engagement: the kind of music that opens the door to endless possibilities for interaction and pushes you to hit the ground running.”

A special aspect of the quartet is that each member hails from a different part of the world. “I’m Puerto Rican, Ariel is Cuban, Demian is Argentinian, and Jordi is Catalan,” says Zenón. “The fact that we are all from different parts of the globe and all Spanish speakers raises another important point: Jazz music knows no boundaries or labels; it is as inclusive now as it has ever been.”

Coleman has long been one of Zenón’s musical heroes. The first time he heard Ornette’s music, Zenón was a teenager still living in Puerto Rico. “I just kind of stood there, mesmerized and in shock, trying to figure it out,” he says. “It was entirely different than anything I had heard before. There is freedom there, and lots of it. But there’s also a deep sense of cohesiveness and structure. And, above all, melody: beautiful and inspired melodic lines that serve as springboards for everyone involved.”

Later, Zenón was fortunate enough to meet Ornette. He remembers their interactions fondly. “He was always nice and supportive,” says Zenón. “Our interactions went pretty much the same way every time. Me: ‘Mr. Coleman, I’m not sure if you remember me – my name is Miguel, and I’m an alto saxophonist and one of your biggest fans.’ Ornette: ‘Nice to see you, Miguel. Have you ever thought about what would happen if you played A and Eb at the same time?’.”

Playing a concert of exclusively Ornette Coleman music proved to be magical, exciting, and more bittersweet than the quartet knew. “As I listen to the music,” says Zenón, “it almost feels like a different time. A time when we weren’t afraid to be close to each other. A time when we could still play in a packed room, with the audience right in front of us, and just feed off their energy. A time that will come back soon enough. And when it does, we’ll be ready to do it all over again.”

www.miguelzenon.com

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About Miguel Zenón

A multiple Grammy® nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Zenón is one of a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists and composers of his generation, Zenón has also developed a unique voice as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between jazz and his many musical influences. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has recorded and toured with a wide variety of musicians including Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, The SFJAZZ Collective, Kenny Werner and Bobby Hutcherson.  

Zenón’s 2021 releases also include El Arte Del Bolero, a duo album with pianist Luis Perdomo (digital release: January 8, Miel Music)  and the fall release of an album with his long-standing quartet.

Available on all digital platforms including Miguel’s Bandcamp page

Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo - El Arte Del Bolero (2021 Miel Music) in Republic of Jazz

Bill Harris - ONOMAT (March 5, 2021 Amalgam Music)

100% of the funds collected from the purchase of ONOMAT will go to Brave Space Alliance (www.bravespacealliance.org). Brave Space Alliance is the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center located on the South Side of Chicago, dedicated to creating and providing affirming, culturally competent, for-us by-us resources, programming, and services for LGBTQ+ individuals on the South and West sides of the city. We strive to empower, embolden, and educate each other through mutual aid, knowledge-sharing, and the creation of community-sourced resources as we build toward the liberation of all oppressed peoples.

ONOMAT

1. Onomatopoeia

2. Mangosteen 04:16

3. Razbliuto

4. Vagaries

5. We Are Alone But Not the Same

6. Barramundi 05:54

7. The Superintendents

8. Modern Bodies

9. Heavy Curtains

Solo improvisations for drum set,

Metal and wooden objects,

Particle 2 (tracks 1, 7),

Microphone/amplifier (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 9),

Drum feedback manipulation (tracks 3, 5, 9),

Close-mic detuned floor tom (track2)

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Matt Piet (pentimento) / 2021 Amalgam Music

pen·ti·men·to

: a reappearance in a painting of an original drawn or painted element which was eventually painted over by the artist

: Italian, literally, repentance, correction, from pentire to repent, from Latin paenitēre

In a traumatic time…

It goes without saying that, at the time of this writing, the country into which I was born is suffering. Like a set of stacking dolls, our current trauma houses other trauma, which houses yet more trauma, and on and on. It is not merely “2020” that is our national tragedy. Thankfully, more and more people who are not among the most disenfranchised are waking up to this. If you are reading this, you know what I mean, and it is not I who ought to have the first or last word on any of it. All I can speak to is my own personal trauma, and that is what I aim to do with these words, and with this recording.

…the individual…

In the spring of 2018, I suffered a mental collapse largely of my own making. After a decade of struggling with substance abuse and mental illness, I was finally receiving recognition for my art and did not know how to process it. The death of Cecil Taylor impacted me in ways I had not anticipated. I was proud of the work I was releasing, but could not reconcile that pride with the guilt I felt knowing that Cecil had opened the door for me in so many ways.

How can I accept any recognition right out of the box when this man paved the way? What have I stolen from him? Am I a fraud? Can I see artistry as a long game, the way he did? How could I reconcile, as a queer white man in the 21st Century, what had so long been denied my hero of heroes?

I could not stop thinking about it.

It was not the anxiety of influence that was affecting me most. Abrupt cessation of all mind-altering substances, including psychiatric medication, led me to experience nearly two years of self-doubt, paranoia, anxiety, depression, and numbness to pleasure. This inability to experience pleasure was most evident in my capacity to listen to music, let alone play it. I was not myself, I was not playing like myself, and I had brought this anhedonia upon myself through sheer neglect of my spiritual condition and my health. I was proud enough of the material I had released that I found myself thinking, “Well, if I never play again, at least I did this.” Yet my creative paralysis made me fearful that this sentiment might be true. I was frightened that I had lost my creative spark, and that it would never return. I had forgotten to live by Cecil’s own words: “You own nothing. It isn’t about possession; it’s about giving.” I needed to learn how to give again.

…given a set of circumstances…

Cut to 2020. I was beginning to be able to play again, beginning to find joy in the making of music. Just as I was ready to return to the stage, abruptly there were no stages available to me. Fine. There was still much work to be done. I took this as an opportunity to get to work, in private, and get back in touch with my creativity. In that hermetic environment, it worked. I had awakened from dormancy with such gratitude that I could play music again in any capacity, grateful that music is an essential part of who I am, and fortunate that I play an instrument that one can explore at great length, alone.

After two years, I was ready to speak once again through my music. But how? Without being able to record new music with others safely, and feeling no need to make just another solo piano record, what was I to do? I decided that I would go against my own instincts to make something new. I wondered what might be possible if I went into the studio alone and overdubbed some improvised vignettes. I settled on three layers of multitrack solo piano, just as Bill Evans had done on Conversations with Myself. I wrote down a few concepts I wanted to explore. Just words on a page, a prompt for myself. I was concerned with texture and simplicity, and how these prompts (like “open fifths”; “inside the piano”; “within one octave” etc.) might be a vehicle for instant composition through a gradual process. In the interest of spontaneity, I wanted to record each subsequent overdub without listening back, relying on my own memory and the element of surprise to produce a finished product. I stuck to this process for the recording session, which yielded 20 pieces, 15 of which this record is composed.

…finds that the process is the product.

When I conceived of this record, the word “pentimento” came to me first as an art history term with which I was vaguely familiar. It seemed an appropriate analogue for what I aimed to do in the studio. A pentimento, in painting, is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over." This seemed appropriate enough for what I was trying to create: a series of multi tracked improvisations made in sequence so that their layers would create a sound world that would not, and could not be created on one piano in real time by one pianist. That was enough for me, having a fitting title. However, it was not until I investigated the etymology of the word “pentimento” itself that it became clear to me what I was doing with this project. “Pentimento” in Italian means “repentance.”

Now, I am admittedly drawn to double-meanings, whether they be lewd for the sake of humor, poetically useful, or conveniently revelatory. In this case, it was the latter, and the concept of repentance colored my approach to the personal content. To get out of this rut, and get past it, I needed to repent for the sins I had committed against myself in the past, and I needed to do so by documenting my present feelings in an honest, discrete way. The process of recording this music was as important as the final product. In fact, in the case of this record, the process is the product. Following through on this creative act allowed me to extend myself some mercy, in the hope that I can get better, but also be better: be a better artist, a better person, a better citizen…

Just… better.

I hope we are all better soon.

Matt Piet

1. only a phase 00:58

2. alt-man 01:03

3. swipe left 01:53

4. hands of time 01:39

5. a(whole)nother thing 02:07

6. fluster cuck 01:45

7. 750 ml. 03:06

8. held hostage 01:08

9. danse macabre 02:05

10. insense 02:25

11. to elijah 03:02

12. say on 01:22

13. the power and the freedom 00:56

14. momento mori 02:10

15. plod on as one 03:22

Matt Piet - Piano

(improvised sequentially in three subsequent layers)

Recorded June 27, 2020 at belAir Sound Studio by Todd Carter.

Mastered by Bill Harris

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The Underflow - Instant Opaque Evening (2021 Drag City Records)

An epic second installment from the trio of Mats Gustafsson, David Grubbs, Rob Mazurek, nearly 90 minutes of intense live performances from January 2020. They converge here on a wide swath of sounds: expansive free improvs, full-tilt electronics, alt-universe chamber music and spontaneous arrangements of three previously released Grubbs’ songs.

1. Instant Opaque Evening 16:58

2. Planks 05:18

3. An Optimist Declines 05:16

4. Self Portrait as Interference Pattern 13:42

5. A Thiny Eternity 03:48

6. Not at My Funeral 06:06

7. Sound of a Wet Leather Ball 08:58

8. Gethsemani Night 05:11

9. Purple Lacquer Portal 12:28

10. Cooler Side of the Pillow 08:24

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JD Allen "Who Owns This Culture?" | Jazz and Social Justice: A Salon with Music Vol. 14 : The National Museum in Harlem : Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 7pm

Vol. 14: JD Allen – Who Owns This Culture?

Jazz and Social Justice: A Salon with Music

This event is presented on the Museum FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE page.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

7:00 pm

Facebook Live

Performance - JD ALLEN TRIO w/Justin Dawson & Cedric Easton

Discussion - JD, NASHEET WAITS & ALEXIS LOMBRE

Curated & Hosted by Larry Blumenfeld

The legacy of and audience for jazz culture relies on access to the music. The story of the music depends on who does the telling, how it’s told and who’s there to listen. Jazz’s lineage relies on education, equity and a community. JD Allen is an essential voice on jazz’s landscape for both his force and his restraint, as well as for the beauty of his tenor saxophone’s sound. Off the bandstand, Allen is a co-founder of We Insist!, a jazz and arts action community and their sister organization, We UP – Re UP.

For this virtual edition of the “Jazz and Social Justice” series, Allen will lead his trio, with bassist Justin Dawson and drummer Cedric Easton, through a hard-swinging performance. Following the music, in discussion with host Larry Blumenfeld, Allen, drummer Nasheet Waits, and pianist Alexis Lombre will talk about equity, opportunity and outreach, and about how best to uphold jazz’s legacy.

JD Allen:

Hailed by the New York Times as “a tenor saxophonist with an enigmatic, elegant and hard-driving style,” JD Allen is a bright light on today’s international jazz scene, with 14 albums as a leader to his credit. His unique and compelling voice on the instrument – the result of a patient and painstaking confrontation with the fundamentals of the art – has earned Allen years of critical attention signaling his ascension to the upper ranks of the contemporary jazz world.

Originally from Detroit, Allen’s apprenticeship, anchored by his lengthy tenure with Betty Carter, occurred largely in New York, where he worked with legends Lester Bowie, George Cables, Ron Carter, Louis Hayes, Frank Foster Big Band, Winard Harper, Dave Douglas, Cindy Blackman, Butch Morris, David Murray, Wallace Roney, Rufus Reid and Geri Allen. Allen’s most recent album, “Toys / Die Dreaming” (High Note/Savant), extends his singular and well-honed approach to the trio. His solo saxophone release, “Queen City,” will be released in 2021. Off the bandstand, Allen is a co-founder of We Insist!, a jazz and arts action community and their sister organization, We UP – Re UP, a collective of jazz musicians whose primary goal is to foster jazz performance curating opportunities within non-traditional inner city and rural performance settings.

Jazz and Social Justice:

This ongoing series connects the music we love with the social and political issues that matter to us all. Each salon blends live performance with conversation between artists, activists, and experts. Curated and hosted by journalist Larry Blumenfeld, whose NJMIH programs during the past dozen years have considered Afro-Cuban influence within New York’s jazz scene and contemporary New Orleans.

Flow Trio with Joe McPhee - Winter Garden (March 26, 2021 ESP Disk')

It is an interesting question how old “free jazz” is. At some point, even a theme and a plan became optional. In the ESP-Disk’ catalog, “Taneous” on the Giuseppi Logan Quartet’s eponymous album sounds like this approach of complete freedom starting from scratch; it was recorded on November 11, 1964. Joe McPhee, in 1967, appeared on Clifford Thornton’s album Freedom and Unity, so his recording career covers 53 of those 56 years, 95% of the approach’s history. Each succeeding decade found another player on this album joining the confraternity: Downs in 1976, Morris in 1983, and Belogenis in 1993. By that method of counting, there are 159 years of collective experience being heard on this album.

Joe McPhee: tenor saxophone

Louie Belogenis: tenor and soprano saxophones

Joe Morris: bass

Charles Downs: drums

All compositions by McPhee, Belogenis, Morris, and Downs.

Recorded on January 11, 2020 by Jim Clouse at Park West Studios, Brooklyn NY

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Ivo Perelman Trio - Garden Of Jewels (Tao Forms / Aum Fidelity 2021)

A rather exquisite new communion between these three master improvisers.

One of the most exhilarating qualities shared by great improvising musicians is the ability to bring one’s immediate situation – the joys, sorrows, fears and desires of the day – into each unique performance. What made this most recent convening of the Ivo Perelman Trio so singular was the fact that not only were all three musicians – prolific saxophonist Ivo Perelman, pianist Matthew Shipp, and drummer Whit Dickey – immersed in the same present-day miasma, so was every potential listener, wherever they might be.

Garden of Jewels was recorded in June 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic raged across the globe. On the day that these three longtime collaborators warily (and safely) entered the studio for the first time since the virus forced us indoors, the un-precedented circumstances provided the trio a profoundly urgent source of inspiration. At the same time, the country was in the midst of a series of turbulent protests that added an additional layer of vitality to the proceedings.

“There was so much creative tension in the air,” Perelman recalls. “It was the first time that I came out of hibernation in my Brooklyn apartment, where I’d been focused on playing the saxophone for many, many hours every day while listening to sirens outside and wondering what life was about. Matt, Whit and I came together and cathartically created music out of all this mess.”

While Garden of Jewels is only the second time that Perelman, Shipp and Dickey have recorded as a trio – the first, Butterfly Whispers, was released in 2015 – all three share a long and rich history. Shipp and Dickey, of course, worked together as integral members of the David S. Ware Quartet & in Shipp’s own Trio, while the pianist and Perelman have spent the last decade creating one of the most well-documented partnerships in improvised music history.

The trio entered the studio without having discussed what might transpire at the session – the eight tracks that resulted provide vivid evidence of the band’s deft spontaneity, kaleidoscopic versatility and deeply felt camaraderie. It’s also the latest glimpse of the ongoing evolution of their collective identity. “We’re like scientists dealing with sound,” Perelman says with a chuckle. “Each recording is a means to check our development.”

Also of note here is Perelman's revived interest in jewelry-making, which Perelman initially took up 20 years ago and resumed shortly before the pandemic. One example of his recent work graces the cover of Garden of Jewels. In addition to suggesting its title, the graceful, elegant piece seems to materialize the fluid swoops and whorls of Perelman’s tenor sax lines into golden arabesques.

These pursuits not only provide an outlet for Perelman’s indefatigable creativity, but a source of light amidst the darkness of the present era. That balance is one that Perelman says the trio felt that June day in New York, and one whose energy pervaded beyond the studio walls.

“There was a dark energy surrounding all of us, counterbalanced by the sheer power of creation. We had to become an antenna to capture the angst and anxiety of the times and transform it into art and catharsis. There was a social function to that music, not just for us but for anyone who might hear it one day. I left the studio with a new soul.”

1. Garden of Jewels 06:09

2. Tourmaline 04:51

3. Amethyst 06:51

4. Onyx 07:12

5. Turquoise 07:20

6. Emerald 06:48

7. Sapphire 06:20

8. Diamond 05:25

Ivo Perelman: tenor saxophone

Matthew Shipp: piano

Whit Dickey: drums

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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"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.

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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

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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

Florian Arbenz / Hermon Mehari / Nelson Veras - Conversation #1: Condensed (April 23, 2021)

2021 sees the launch of an ambitious project from Swiss drummer Florian Arbenz who is set to release 12 albums (or “conversations”) with 12 radically different groups of musicians.

The 1st of this series, recorded from his studio in Basel and accompanied by a feature-length video of the session, features American trumpeter Hermon Mehari and Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras.

Across a career spanning more than 25 years, drummer and percussionist Florian Arbenz has carved out a reputation as not just a skilled musician, but as a creative collaborator.

Whether with the long-standing trio VEIN who have recorded and toured with Greg Osby & Dave Liebman, or with his own project Convergence which brings together musicians from 4 continents, he is not content to sit still.

In 2021, he launches perhaps his most adventurous collaboration yet: a series of 12 albums - or “conversations” - with 12 different line ups.

The thread that joins them all together is his fascination with bringing visionary musicians together and giving them space to express themselves in his studio. Together, they work through a selection of music curated by Florian to suit the individual musical personalities present.

Conversation #1 - subtitled Condensed - sees Florian joined by American trumpeter Hermon Mehari & Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras.

“I’ve known and played with Nelson for several years and am captivated not only by his highly original and virtuoso playing, but also by his unique character and his great sense of humor. He's a complete player both rhythmically & harmonically so it seemed obvious to get him on board for this series. Hermon, on the other hand, I had never met before our recording session. I had, however, admired his warm tone, open-minded musicality & improvisational skills from afar and am so happy to have finally recorded with him!"

This slightly unusual line up of guitar, trumpet & drums might, at first glance, miss a bass instrument. But despite the challenges, the creativity of the musicians involved, as well as Florian’s addition of custom percussion instruments covering this range, make for a fascinating listen which moves from hard-swinging soloing to dreaming soundscapes. 

1. Boarding The Beat

2. Let's Try This Again 04:57

3. Groove A

4. Olha Maria

5. In Medias Res

6. Vibing With Morton

7. Race Face

8. Dedicated To The Quintessence

9. Circle

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