Jazz /
3 Points And A Mountain
"A real cause for celebration. A performance distinguished by gleeful energy and audacious dada wit. It possesses a vigor of discovery and invention that makes it sound timeless." - Cadence "A great and enjoyable session from three of the most creative and unique musicians in European avant-garde music." - All Music Guide"Wonderful, intoxicating stuff. Together theses three troubadours tiptoe exaggeratedly through pastiches of bop, cabaret, baroque, and lounge, and work through dozens of mood ch…
Hear And Now
Hear and Now's cover depicts a smiling Cherry posing like Buddha, and holding a trumpet with a bent mouthpiece -- an indication of some meditative sounds, but it's really a mishmash of styles with a leaning toward African rhythms. An underlying social message runs through the album of Cherry compositions (except one) produced by Narada Michael Walden. Cherry plays very little trumpet on "Universal Mother"; the African-based excursion is carried by Neil Jason's bass, Sammy Figueroa's congas, and …
Brown Rice
If Eternal Rhythm was Don Cherry's world fusion masterpiece of the '60s, then Brown Rice is its equivalent for the '70s. But where Eternal Rhythm set global influences in a free jazz framework, Brown Rice's core sound is substantially different, wedding Indian, African, and Arabic music to Miles Davis' electrified jazz-rock innovations. And although purists will likely react here the same way they did to post-Bitches Brew Davis, Brown Rice is a stunning success by any other standard. By turns hy…
Diggin'
"The master of multiphonics (playing more than one note at a time on a horn), Albert Mangelsdorff has been a giant of the European avant-garde for the past 30 years. He originally studied violin and worked as a jazz guitarist before taking up the trombone in 1948. Here he is taped live at a concert in Tokyo with what was then his regular quartet: Heinz Sauer on sax, Günter Lenz on bass, and Ralf Hübner on drums. There's a very nice blend between the leader's agile but smooth horn and the somewha…
Yokohama Concert
Stunning duo comprised of two of the most important musicians of the Japanese underground/avant-garde, Otomo Yoshihide in a duo with the great Japanese drummer, Hiroshi Yamazaki – who has Kaoru Abe among his extensive list of past collaborators, and was also a member of Masayuki Takayanagi’s pioneering New Directions group. This album is dedicated to Masayuki Takayanagi.Otomo Yoshihide moves between free jazz, noise, improvisation, composition and the unclassifiable with a generosity that opens …
Crossed & Recrossed
Crossed & Recrossed presents two works composed by Peter Knight & inspired by mappings of imagined places by iconic Australian novelist, Gerald Murnane & Italian master, Italo Calvino. Simultaneously celebrating & deconstructing the tropes of minimalism, Crossed & Recrossed creates a series of musical mirages that form on an endless sonic horizon, reflecting & reimagining the wide open spaces described in Murnane’s iconic novel, The Plains & the labyrinthine streets of Calvino’s Invisible Cities…
Middle Eastern Rock
"Crazed time signatures abound as musicians from the West look East for inspiration, infusing their rock and jazz sounds with vibes looted from India and the Far East. A true marriage of Western and (Middle) Eastern music with a fuzzed-out psychedelic edge.Released originally in 1969, Middle Eastern Rock is a unique, compelling fusion record from Armenian-American oud player John Berberian. The Rock East Ensemble, Beberian’s backing band, consists of the artist’s standard group, which specialize…
Christian Reim Trio
Melodic folk trio jazz by legendary Norwegian pianist and composer Christian Reim, featuring two different sessions with bass/drums combination: Ingebrigt Håker Flaten , Håkon Mjåset Johansen & Harald Johnsen / Jarle Vespestad.
Mike Taylor Remembered
"The Syd Barrett of the avant-jazz scene" - the comparison is inevitable, tragic, and apt. Mike Taylor, British jazz composer, pianist, songwriter, died tragically young, leaving just two albums and co-writes with Ginger Baker for Cream's Wheels of Fire to his name. A talent that burned bright and brief, gone before most people realized what they'd lost. Under the direction of Neil Ardley - himself a significant figure in British jazz composition - several performers who had worked with Taylor g…
Live at OZO Land
After a long hiatus due to obvious reasons, Goncalo Almeida & Dirk Serries played an exclusive duo performance at Jazzblazzt in The Netherlands. Open air at the lovely Ozo Land location. Recorded live on June 5, 2021.
Eden's Island - Extended
Now here we go with a project that can easily be labeled a mammoth. Who remembers Eden Ahbez actually, except for a couple of born too late retro hippies? Well, here we go with the story: It is 1960, Rock’n’Roll has just lost a couple of its protagonists during this and the previous year, the time of the great balladeers has just begun, but soon will run out due to the new and exciting beat invasion. In the US mainstream the tiki culture has reached a certain peak and is about to collapse, but s…
The Other Lies
“”The Other Lies is a collection of six improvised duets performed by Tom Jackson on clarinet Colin Webster on alto and baritone saxophones. Tom Jackson is very accomplished in the fields of contemporary classical music and free improvisation. He also holds a Ph.D from Canterbury Christ Church University. Colin Webster is a musician whose works I’ve reviewed here before. When one of his releases comes up on my Bandcamp feed I always take notice. He’s a prolific and under appreciated figure in th…
Melancholia
“‘Melancholia’ is, perhaps, a somewhat misleading title for the duet of John Edward (double bass) and label boss Dirk Serries (acoustic guitar). One might expect some sad music, a soft thud on the bass, a few strums on the acoustic guitar, but it is clear that these men deal with a different kind of melancholia right from the start. In the two pieces (forty-four minutes), I think there is a mutual agreement between the two to work along dynamic lines. They cut out the middle ground, it seems. Th…
One In The Eye
“From May this year, One In The Eye is a double CD bringing together Alan Wilkinson and Dirk Serries for selection jagged, moody, to-playful improv. The set features one disc taking in eight tracks, and a second disc features two longer work-out.
The first disc opens with the nearing six minutes of “Upshot”- here we find Serries jagging ‘n’ jerking strums weaved with Wilkinson energetic and at points quite seared sax work- this works as a nicely urgent and shifting opener for the release, throwi…
Ballads From The Wrecked Ship
Ballads From The Wrecked Ship is a decidedly varied and rather wonderful improv release, which sits somewhere between sonic creativity and atmospheric moodiness. The seven-track album slides in at a concise and focused forty minutes, and I must say it certainly stand as one of more distinctive/ original improv release I have heard in some time. The album appears on the always worthy/ interesting New Wave Of Jazz- coming in the labels house style mini grey gatefold packaging, which as always fea…
Flute Music
James Newton’s 1977 self-released solo-debut, ‘Flute Music’ is an unheralded gem of the 70’s jazz underground. An album that showcases a diverse range of styles and fervent cross-pollination, while retaining a clear sense of direction and cohesion. An artist funnelling their wild expression into multiple facets of “The New Music”, crafting an auspicious and artistic debut. Newton would later go on to record with revered jazz labels like India Navigation and ECM, and collaborate with fellow creat…
Spie(l)gelungen
The EMS Synthi AKS was introduced in 1972 as a portable analog synthesizer, used in many avant rock & electronic settings; on Spielgelungen both Jean-Marc Foussat and Thomas Lehn perform on the Synthi, their adept skills and experience with the instrument in free improv highlight both their incredible creative drive and the flexibility of the AKS.
SololoS
A stunning solo album of improvised violin from Viennese violinist Irene Kepl, showing a great range of style and technique while keeping the music playful and interesting, invoking a quote from Trisha Brown: "Dancing on the edge is the only place to be."
Egypt Strut
In 1968, while he was also the leader of the Military Music Departments in Heliopolis, Salah Ragab formed the first jazz big band in Egypt, The Cairo Jazz Band. Some of the best musicians in Egypt of that time were members – Zaki Osman (trumpet), Saied Salama (tenor sax), Khamis El-Kholy (piano) and Ala Mostafa (piano). On these recordings The Band consists of five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, bass, drums and percussion and various other oriental instruments. The opening con…
Birth Of A Fossil
Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.
In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now lege…