Jazz /
The Eighth House - Riding with Pluto
** 2021 Stock ** The 8th House is a disc of solo clarinet and saxophone improvisations with a few duets with Juma Santos thrown in. Wendell Harrison and the Tribe were pioneers along with BAG in St. Louis and the AACM in Chicago. Here Wendell recalls some of the freedom and soul from his early work with the Tribe in Detroit. He is joined by percussionist Juma Santos on a few tracks. You may recall Juma from his work with Miles Davis on the Bitches Brew record, or some of his work with Marion Bro…
Luc Houtkamp in Chicago
** 2021 Stock ** This disc represents the first American release for Dutch saxophonist Luc Houtkamp. Here, he appears with Chicago stalwarts Kent Kessler (double bass) and Michael Zerang (drums) in a 1997 studio date. Liner notes by Ken Vandermark, and artwork by Northwoods' Mike Johnston. "Houtkamp often showcases an aural dictionary of multiphonics complete with echoing tongue slaps, colored hissing and speedy key pops, adding the coagulated vibrato of every bar-walking saxophonist's nightmare…
Lattice
** In Process of Stocking ** Dave Rempis is a mid-career artist whose deep roots in the Chicago improvised music scene have by now stretched themselves out across the world through his multiple ongoing collaborations. But he waited a long time to put out this first solo recording. Highly aware of the singular statements in this context put forth by artists such as Coleman Hawkins, Eric Dolphy, Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Joe McPhee, Evan Parker, Ab Baars, and Mats Gustafsson to name just a few,…
Cochonnerie
** In Process of Stocking ** Aerophonic Records presents Cochonnerie by The Rempis Percussion Quartet. With a band that’s been around for thirteen years, one might reasonably ask with a new recording, what’s new here? Are there now dance beats superimposed on the music? Maybe some electronics? A different instrumentation, or perhaps some special guests? The answer on this recording – the eighth official document of this improvising quartet since it started in 2004 - is a resounding no. It’s the …
Perihelion
** In Process of Stocking ** This sophomore release by the working trio of Dave Rempis, Joshua Abrams, and Avreeayl Ra shows a band doubling down on the slow, patient approach to improvising that characterized their first release, 2014’s Aphelion. The trio continues to pulsate, expanding ever outwards, yet returning to a central core each time to launch their next adventure. The live sets presented on this new two-disc set document that musical expansion and contraction within the trio, but also…
Polynya
** In Process of Stocking ** This debut release by the working trio Gunwale matches veteran Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis up with two of the brightest up-and-coming stars from the next generation of Chicago improvisers. While Ryan Packard is known mostly for his extensive work as a composer and percussionist within the thriving contemporary classical scene in Chicago, Albert Wildeman has achieved notoriety for his meteoric rise from novice instrumentalist to one of the busiest players around a…
Cash and Carry
** In Process of Stocking ** On August 31st, 2014, The Rempis Percussion Quartet celebrated its tenth year in existence with an increasingly rare hometown concert at Chicago’s venerable Hungry Brain, a bar whose dark, relaxed, and frequently hard-drinking atmosphere helped to define more than a decade of the Chicago improvised music scene. The band had cut its teeth with regular performances at the Brain in the mid-aughts, but sadly, this would be the last time they hit the stage before the bar’…
Western Automatic
** In Process of Stocking ** Four generations of Chicago saxophonists join forces in this collaborative quartet, each one separated in age by almost exactly ten years. This wasn’t a calculated decision when Rempis and Vandermark first brainstormed the idea of the group in late 2013. The lineup came together based purely on the musical affinity of the personalities involved. (Oddly enough, Mazzarella and Williams had also been discussing the idea of forming a saxophone quartet at that time). Howe…
Aphelion
This debut release by the regular working trio of Dave Rempis, Joshua Abrams, and Avreeayl Ra is a perfect example of what makes Chicago such a fertile breeding ground for improvised music; three musicians of widely varying ages, backgrounds, playing experiences, and musical interests join forces to deliver moments of both sublime beauty and volcanic energy, continually tempered by the seamless narrative momentum that they weave together in a seemingly effortless way. Although the trio has only …
Second Spring
Dave Rempis and Tim Daisy are two musicians whose work has helped to define an entire generation of Chicago improvisers. Having performed together since they both hit the Chicago scene in the fall of 1997, these two have joined forces on hundreds of performances and dozens of recordings with notable groups including Triage, The Engines, The Rempis Percussion Quartet, The Vandermark Five, and countless other ad hoc groupings. Their duo pairing has a similarly long history whose roots date back to…
Codes / Myths
** In Process of Stocking ** Saxophonist Dave Rempis and percussionist Frank Rosaly share a musical relationship of the once-in-a-generation variety. These two improvisers have worked together for almost twenty years, beginning in 2001 when they met in the basement of the Nervous Center, a divey Lincoln Square café that served as a crucial breeding ground for young improvising musicians in Chicago at that time. From the spark of that first musical encounter, the two went on to work together in c…
Sud Des Alpes
** In Process of Stocking ** This record is the tenth release by The Rempis Percussion Quartet, recorded during a 2019 European tour that celebrated their fifteenth anniversary as a working ensemble. Those are some pretty hefty milestones. So how do they push forward artistically with so much already under their belt? From what we hear on Sud Des Alpes, it’s all about digging deeper into the musical dilemmas they’ve been examining for years. These four improvisers continue to grind ideas and per…
Znachki Stilyag
** In Process of Stocking ** 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of the working trio Ballister, and it’s been a productive ten years. Eight previous records, and regular concert dates across North America and Europe, have produced a band that maintains a core sound and energy, while taking the time and space to continually expand their individual voices and respective interests. In October 2019, these three musicians met up in Europe for the first time since a US tour in late 2017. With the myria…
Echoes of Africa
Highly recommended, a true Revelation! After a long hiatus since the homonymous 2006 release on Schema Records, The Invisible Session is back with Echoes Of Africa to be released on the newly-launched Space Echo label. Initiated in 2006 by Schema Records’ co-founder and musician Luciano Cantone, The Invisible Session’s influences are rooted in Black music. Written in collaboration with trombonist and multi-instrumentalist Gianluca Petrella, and with lyrics by poet, rapper, and MC Martin Thomas P…
Solo:Trio
** In process of Stocking. 2021 Stock ** John Fordham It would make an absorbing blindfold test to present a panel of interested listeners with a track from this disc and one from the same pianist's Little Klunk trio session for Decca, 40 years ago, and invite them to decide which one's played by the 71 year-old. Not that the early record didn't sound as fresh, witty and jostling with clamorous harmonies and sidelong melody as Tracey has done for most of his life, but that the later one is, mira…
Don't Worry 'Bout Me
** In process of Stocking. 2021 Stock ** Cadillac presents Don't Worry 'Bout Me by Bobby Wellins Quartet. Recorded At – The Vortex Jazz Club, Stoke Newington, London 16 Feb 1996. Tenor Saxophone, Bobby Wellins, Piano – Graham Harvey, Bass – Alec Dankworth, Drums – Martin Drew, Engineer, Mixed By – Dave Bernez, Mixed By – Victor Schonfield, Dave Bernez, Bobby Wellins, Producer – John Jack for Cadillac Music & Publishing with financial assistance from Shirley Thompson, Photos by Kent Matthews and …
For Heaven's Sake
Cadillac presents For Heaven's Sake by The New Stan Tracey Quartet. Recorded in Wembley, 14 September 1995. Engineered and mixed 3 October 1995. The opportunity to present this first recording by the New Stan Tracey Quartet has been an event of great importance to me for a number of reasons. It perfectly fulfils the motivation for the Cadillac Label's creation and continuance since 1973, to wit the documentation and dissemination worldwide of unique moments of creative music making by artists wi…
The Crane River Jazz Band
Cadillac presents The Crane River Jazz Band. John Jack reissued this album in 1996 as part of a projected series in honour of his friend and mentor Doug Dobell. This compilation brings together rare live and studio recordings from the early 1950s and includes extensive notes from Bill Colyer and Pat Hawes and rare photos from the Pat Hawes archive. This is the first time the album has been made digitally available.
Instruments [Suitcase], Liner Notes – Bill Colyer, Executive-Producer [Assistant]…
The Real Ken Colyer
Cadillac presents The Real Ken Colyer by Ken Colyer's Jazzmen featuring Pat Hawes, recorded live at The White Horse, Willesden, London, February 27, 1964. John Jack reissued this album in 2000 as part of a projected reissue of a number of 77 albums in honour of his friend and mentor Doug Dobell. Extra takes were added from the original session acetate. This is the first time the album has been made digitally available. Ken Colyer's life and musical career have been well documented, but many youn…
The Last Night at the Old Place
** In process of Stocking. 2021 Stock ** Cadillac presents The Last Night At The Old Place by Mike Westbrook Concert Band, recorded at Ronnie Scott’s Old Place 25 May 1968. Exactly 50 years on, a unique event featuring the music of the most exciting British jazz group of its time in full swing, released for the first time. Remembering John Jack
Mike Osborne, Harry Miller, Paul Rutherford. So many good things were contained within the Mike Westbrook Concert Band of 1968 that it’s hard to know wh…