Brom - Lump Sugar (2017)

Brom - Lump Sugar (TOPOT, 2017)

Personnel:
Anton Ponomarev: baritone-saxophone
Dmitry Lapshin: double-bass
Yaroslav Kurilo: drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Stone
02 - Swamp
03 - Vortex
04 - Finger by Finger
05 - Der Schirm
06 - Omlette
07 - Heartsease

The Moscow TOPOT (ТОПОТ) label proudly presents no-jazz trio Brom and their fourth album “Lump Sugar” (“Рафинад”). It is not once that the band became softer and louder, twisting and turning from wild jazz-core jams to even faking a “blues” duo. Today Brom exists in a form of classical trio – Dmitri Lapshin (bass), Anton Ponomarev (saxophone) and Yaroslav Kurilo (drums). 

“Lump Sugar” was live recorded just like that. Lapshin and Kurilo provided perfect, precise rhythm section. It even seems that these two are brothers of the whole blood. Lapshin’s bass splendidly drowns and sets the vivid pulse again through dashing and neat part of Kurilo. Ponomarev plays violently, in style and tragic – like there ain’t no tomorrow. The album is expertly mastered and blessed by Venezuelan sound-engineer Leonardo Perez – it never sounded that crystal-clear. 

In “Lump Sugar” Brom reached the highest point of harmony and clarity in melodies. Therefore, Brom trio shows the best image of Russian experimental jazz: it’s them who blend together wild hard-bop and cock strong North-European improv, creating new Moscow jazz standards.

Yo! This one is from my own label! Listen up!

Download it for free, just name your price: https://tawpot.bandcamp.com/album/lump-sugar 

The Auanders - Live In Pisa (2013)

The Auanders - Live In Pisa (Auand, 2013)

Personnel:

Francesco Lento: trumpet

Gaetano Partipilo: alto sax, flute

Francesco Bearzatti: tenor sax, clarinet

Francesco Bigoni: tenor sax, clarinet

Beppe Scardino: baritone sax, bass clarinet

Federico Pierantoni: trombone

Francesco Diodati: guitar

Francesco Ponticelli: double bass, electric bass

Ermanno Baron: drums

Tracklisting:

01 - Loop Bed

02 - Congo

03 - A Quarries Lamp

04 - Trumpet Garden / Erba

05 - Circle

06 - Joy Plant

07 - Leica Lenses

08 - Virus

09 - Hit

This is a co-production with the Jazzit label as well as a part Auand all-star unit. The members who are leaders of their own include: Partipilo, Bigoni, Scardino and Bearzatti, five of the members have contributed songs to this long (73+ minute) effort. Considering that this is a nine-piece ensemble with four sax players, this is more of a focused group effort with well written pieces. The opening song, “Loop Bed” is a lovely, laid back song, a righteous beginning. “Congo” features layers of Latin-sounding percussion with impressive horn arrangements and some great solos from the bari sax (Scardino), trumpet (Lento) and trombone (Pierantoni). Writing for a nine-piece unit is no easy matter as each piece provides different structures, harmonies and challenges. There are a handful of freer sections amongst the more written pieces, which seem to fit the overall story which holds this together. There a couple of more mellow pieces which feature some exquisite arrangements and elegant solos as well. [DMG Newsletter]

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Torbjörn Zetterberg - Och Den Stora Frågan (2014)

Torbjörn Zetterberg - Och Den Stora Frågan (Moserobie, 2014)

Personnel:
Torbjörn Zetterberg: double bass, percussion
Susana Santos Silva: trumpet, flugelhorn, percussion;
Mats Äleklint: trombone, percussion;
Jonas Kullhammar: tenor & baritone saxophones, clarinet, flute, percussion;
Alberto Pinton: baritone saxophone, clarinet, flute, piccolo flute, percussion;
Jon Fält: drums, percussion

Tracklisting:
01 - En Bra Start På Dagen
02 - Världen Är Sig Aldrig Lik
03 - Mästare av Vad

04 - Ingen Tid Till Ingenting
05 - DO-DODO-DO-DO-DO
06 - Hyllning Till Ovissheten
07 - 1+1=1
08 - Visa Från Mitten av Universum

Swedish double bassist Torbjorn Zetterberg did not record as a bandleader for more than seven years. Zetterberg, a member of the Jonas Kullhammar Quartet and a prominent figure in Nordic jazz since the late nineties, experienced an existential crisis at the peak of his busy, successful career. He felt bored and unsatisfied, so in 2010 he decided to leave city life and moved to a Buddhist temple without his instrument. He stayed at the temple for a year and still spends half of his time there.

Och Den Stora Fragan ("And the Big Question" in Swedish) is a welcome return. Zetterberg employs musicians who played with him before, most of them on his last album as a bandleader, Skildrar Kvinnans Kamp (Moserobie, 2008). He adds Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos Silva, who collaborated with him on a set of impressive improvised dialogues, Almost Tomorrow (Clean Feed, 2013) and drummer Jon Falt, a member of pianist Bobo Stenson's trio.

Zetterberg states that he now feels more and more that he actually lives his dream, as he should have since the beginning of his career. Indeed Och Den Stora Fragan is charged with joyful urgency, shiny optimism and confident flowing energy, despite the doubts and uncertainties that accompany any creative, artistic process. His tight arrangements with the swift shifts in rhythm and colors bring to mind the great bands of Charles Mingus. All these qualities are immediately summarized in the opening, 30-second piece "En Bra Start Pa Dagen."

Other pieces highlight Zetterberg as a resourceful and thoughtful composer, with a gift for sketching an evocative, even exotic story, as on "Varlden Ar Sig Aldrig Lik" and "Visa Fran Mitten av Universum." The powerful reed section—Santos, trombonist Mats Aleklint and sax players Kullhammar and Alberto Pinton—produce myriad colors. Zetterberg uses the same strong, opinionated musicians to question basic composition on the open-form piece,"Mastare av Vad."

"Ingen Tid Till Ingenting" is a concise, muscular and fast post-bop piece that stresses the ensemble as a tight, massive unit. "DO-DODO- DO-DO-DO" and "1+1=1" continue in the same vein featuring brilliant, passionate solos. The clarinets of Kullhammar and Pinton add a fragile, gentle colors to the lyrical,"Hyllning Till Ovissheten," that also features a beautiful solo by Zetterberg.

Brilliant, profound and inspiring. [Allaboutjazz]

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John Stevens - Fast Colour: Antwerp 1988 (1988, 2004)

John Stevens - Fast Colour: Antwerp 1988 (Loose Torque, 1988, 2004)

Personnel:
John Stevens: drums/leader
Harry Beckett: trumpet
Evan Parker: tenor saxophone
Dudu Pukwana: alto/soprano saxophones
Nick Stephens: double bass

Annie Whitehead: trombone/vocals

Pinise Saul: vocals

Tracklisting:
01 - Now Time

02 - Way It Goes

03 - John Dyani’s Gone

04 - Mbizo

05 - Way It Goes/Now Time

Great stuff came out, on an August evening in 1988, by this septet including Pinise Saul (voice), Dudu Pukwana (alto and soprano saxes), Evan Parker (tenor sax), Harry Beckett (trumpet), Annie Whitehead (trombone, voice), Nick Stephens (double bass) and John Stevens (drums). Subtitled “Suite for Johnny Mbizo Dyani”, this concert is a mixture of invocations, African rhythms and chants and, in general, musical artistry of the finest class that leaves pretty dumbstruck for its intense spirituality. Great cohesion is to be found between Stevens and Stephens, truly the septet’s heart in their incessant four-legged run through the core of a primary instinct which animates the whole album. Parker and Pukwana foster a slender feeling of liberation via ceaseless reciprocities and invasions of forbidden territories, which they visit with nonchalant studiousness corroborated by a high degree of passion. Beckett’s trumpet is featured in a stubborn solo in “Johnny Dyani’s gone”, but he also performs beautifully as a team mate in literate decodings of certain aspects of free jazz. The lyrics are sung with ardent animosity by Whitehead and Saul, who inject their interventions with determination and fortitude in a square-shouldered effort to pay homage not only to their late friend, but seemingly to a whole current of artists whose fate was sealed before they could even have a chance to show their greatness to wider audiences. Thanks to this archival material, Loose Torque is affirming itself as one of the labels most enthusiastically interested in keeping an important slice of English jazz’s pie still preserved and palatable. [Touching Extremes Archives]

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Sound & Fury - Pulsacion (2013)

Sound & Fury - Pulsacion (Ektro, 2013)

Personnel:
Jorma Tapio: alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
Pepa Päivinen: soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute
Tane Kannisto: tenor saxophone, flute
Matti Riikonen: trumpet
Julius Heikkilä: guitar
Jimi Sumén: guitar
Sampo Lassila: bass
Ilmari Heikinheimo: drums
Composed By – Edward Vesala

Tracklisting:
01 - Lamgonella Lomboo
02 - I Tell You a Story
03 - Siamese Twins
04 - Pulsacion
05 - Nattuggla
06 - Punk
07 - Shadows

For a little more than a decade before his untimely death in 1999, legendary Finnish drummer Edward Vesala led a group called Sound & Fury, which released several albums on ECM records. Largely outside of international view, the band has continued on after his death, and now returns as invigorated as ever with Pulsacion, what appears to be their first album since Nordic Gallery in 1995. Still, Pulsacion remains somewhat of a hidden gem—Ektro Records, the label run by prolific Circle bassist Jussi Lehtisalo, is known more for metal and experimental rock releases than avant-garde ensemble jazz.

Sound & Fury still contains five members from the group’s heyday—hornsmen Jorma Tapio, Pepa Päivinen, Jouni Kannisto, Matti Riikonen and guitarist Jimi Sumén—all of whom have been present since 1989’s Ode to the Death of Jazz. Added to this core is an all new rhythm section and an additional guitar. Tellingly, it takes two percussionists to fill the void left by Vesala, both of whom do an admirable job infusing these tunes with the bursting passion Vesala seemed to bring to everything he did. With Pulsacion, the band turns to previously unreleased compositions, here expertly arranged by Vesala’s wife, Iro Haarla.

Opener “Lamgonella Lomboo” gives an idea of the bright, expansive sound of the group, which immediately calls to mind both the open spaces of Nan Madol and the more forceful, adventurous albums of the late 80s and early 90s. It all sounds like standard Vesala fare—complex arrangements of ghostly melodies that swirl over a seething swarm of drums—until halfway through, when the guitar is suddenly thrust to the forefront. Long, reverb-soaked lines cut across the rest of the band, almost perpendicular to those used to sketch out the song’s framework. It calls to mind Sumén’s angular work on “Somnamblues” from Invisible Storm, but also feels like a daring step forward.

“I Tell You A Story” has some utterly gorgeous sax tones, the whole thing a shimmering, laid-back tropical cruise that feels so familiar. I’m still trying to fully place it—sometimes jaunty, Very Very Circus-era Henry Threadgill comes to mind.

Later on, the title track takes a turn toward the intense. It teeters on an unsteady rhythmic base, with complex, jabbing horn motifs that build to the disorienting, shrieking cacophony of your life flashing before your eyes. But if “Pulsacion” represents the confusion of dying, “Nattuggla” is like finally ascending to that higher place: a dream of flutes and ringing guitar arpeggios that’s settled around a beautiful bass-driven centerpiece.

If there’s anything here that’s less than convincing, it’s portions of the brief “Punk”, which veer a little too close Zorn-style big band parody. The track has an energy that can’t be faulted, however, and it rushes into closing track “Shadows”, a much more satisfying piece that meanders through a loosely-knit counterpoint of horns and guitar noise.

It’s heartening to see Vesala’s long-time bandmates keeping his music alive. I’d like to think Pulsacion wouldn’t sound any different if it still was Vesala behind the kit. It’s certainly a welcome addition to Vesala’s canon, and an impressive accomplishment for a group that still lives and breathes these compositions.

A great late-year surprise.[Free Jazz Blog]

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Chris Speed - Really Ok (2014)

Chris Speed - Really Ok (Skirl Records, 2014)

Personnel:
Chris Speed: tenor saxophone

Chris Tordini: bass

Dave King: drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Really OK

02 - All of Me

03 - Takedown

04 - Nimble Demons

05 - Argento

06 - End of the Day

07 - Delaware

08 - Round Trip

09 - Tamborino

10 - 26-2

Saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed's two decades descent into New York City's underground jazz realm has proven a multi-pronged mission. Not only has myriad groups he's either led or assumed membership in been vital in levitating the local scene but the multireedist has also helped document the innovators roiling the landscape via his Skirl Records imprint. Speed had a banner year in 2013: a collaboration with intrepid electro-acoustic trio Lama (Lamaçal, Clean Feed); another set of intertwining wizardry from Endangered Blood (Work Your Magic, Skirl); rock/jazz hybrid of Jim Black's AlasNoAxis (Antiheroes, Winter & Winter) and post-jazz sprawl of The Claudia Quintet (September, Cuneiform). Now, in these early days of 2014, it turns out Speed has wasted nary a minute in both further highlighting his craft and imprint, equipped with not just a single release, but a pair of disparate recordings. Speed's modus operandi has long been underscored by his effortless penchant for mellifluous phraseology mated to tasteful improvisational moxie and on Really OK, he runs that gamut - and then some. Leading a trio of bassist Chris Tordini (Tyshawn Sorey; Greg Osby) and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus), the results are decidedly striking in their spirited, full-toned and deep resonance. Speed's immaculate rapport with his oft collaborator King has already been rooted on efforts by the drummer's Trucking Company ensemble and in duo settings (a particular raucous set last year at Barbès comes to mind) and Really OK - comprised of seven original Speed compositions, a standard (All of Me), plus tunes by John Coltrane (26-2) and Ornette Coleman (Round Trip) - illustrates that vernacular between the veteran twosome and the neophyte Tordini. The requisite term often attached to Speed's aesthetic has been described as warm but in assuming the leader role and ignited by Tordini and King s rambunctious oomph and the bass-drums clinic they dish out, the tenor saxophonist is anything but. Excluding the subtle rendition of All of Me , the trio boasts intense rhythmic fire on cuts such as the Tordini-King-dominated Nimble Demons , soul-searching epic Delaware and breathless energy music of Argento. [The New York City Jazz Record]

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John Stevens' Away - At Home (2013)

John Stevens' Away - At Home (Loose Torque, 2013)

Personnel:
John Stevens: drums
Robert Calvert: saxophones
Jon Corbett: trumpet
Nick Stephens: electric bass
Nigel Moyse: guitar
Martin Holder: guitar

Tracklisting:
01 - Openersanni
02 - Just a Matter of Time
03 - Relative Space
04 - Whoops a Daisy
05 - Homewhats That

A funk and soul music binge undertaken by John Stevens when he was laid up after surgery was the impetus for the group Away. Though it remains dwarfed next to Stevens’ accomplishments with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Away was the drumming giant’s unique way of tapping into the jazz-rock craze of the mid and late 1970s. Away released several albums on the Vertigo label in that time period, and recordings have been sporadically released in the years and decades since, but for the most part, much of the group’s output has been largely unavailable, existing only as assorted notations in the mind-boggling John Stevens discography. Over the past few years, however, Away bassist Nick Stephens has taken to releasing some vintage recordings on his own Loose Torque label, and it’s a wonderful thing. You see, Away was a group that made most fusion bands sound like mere fission.

Away at Home was recorded in 1978 at the Plough Stockwell, a frequent haunt of the band. For this gig, Jon Corbett joined the group, creating a formable funk-jazz sextet of sax, trumpet, drums, bass, and dueling electric guitars. While there’s no question this ensemble was wading into the same waters as Miles Davis, Weather Report, and others across the pond, there’s an energy continually present on Away at Home that seems sorely lacking from a lot of American electric jazz. Away at Home presents an unsubtle, driving music that both embraces the intoxicating headspace of a tightly locked groove and captures the intensity of the classic free jazz free-for-all. Away feared no tempo or crescendo.

Away at Home features four long tracks (and a short fifth piece), most of which are extended mash-ups of tunes from Away’s Vertigo LPs. “Relative Space” makes its mark with an unbearably catchy descending horn line, the track rocketing along until it eventually segues into the  funky, cymbal-driven beat of “What’s That.” The beat is reprised much later at the end of the band’s set, sending the audience through the roof. It’s a perfect encapsulation of what made Away more remarkable than so many of their contemporaries: a small club exuberance that always trumps the bloated, arena-rock detachment that would become fusion’s downfall.

Away at Home is piece of jazz-rock history worth grabbing on to, especially when there’s currently so little from this group to go around. It’s also a side to John Stevens that some of his fans might not be aware of, and a great reminder of what a tireless, passionate force he was in all realms of this music. [Free Jazz Blog]

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Faruq Z. Bey With Northwoods Improvisers - Infa'a (2006)

Faruq Z. Bey With Northwoods Improvisers - Infa'a (Qbico, 2006)

Personnel:
Faruq Z. Bey: tenor & alto sax
Mike Carey: tenor, alto sax, flute, kalimba
Skeeter Shelton: tenor, soprano sax
Mike Gilmore: vibes
Mike Johnston: bass
Nick Ashton: drums

Tracklisting:

A1. Oncala        
A2. Ethiopia        
B1. After Death        
B2. Ode To E. R. 

"Qbico often has cool color-swirled vinyl, but this time it seems like it’s mood-vinyl, a soothing and fervent green spins around the turntable almost as an entrancing as this release itself. There are minor flashes of red and blue and white…but the green is elemental and rich. This supports the garden of sound cultivated here, Bey’s sax takes deep roots, often shadowed and wrapped with brotherly vines from fellow saxmen Mike Carey and Skeeter Shelton. Nick Ashton’s drums drop dewdrops on all the players, moist with cymbals plenty. Mike Gilmore’s vibes are what make this so green…so alive…hell they even make a track called “Ethiopia” sound lush. That has a nice mystic run to it, and in the latter half bassist Mike Johnston and Ashton get one of those infinite grooves ala Parker and Drake going, magic carpet rise! Again Gilmore is the sonic photosynthesis here..listen to him wrap up that “Ethiopia” number. On the flipside we explore life on “After Death” with Mike Carey communicating via kalimba and Bey slowly stirring the song along. Again an almost Egyptian flare rises from the ashes, if anyone stumbles on this review by way or searching jazz and Gilmore, as Sun Ra built an Arkestra that took to the skies, in Detroit Faruq Z. Bey and his Northwoods are in full bloom. Pristine earth soul jazz." Thurston Hunger KFJC FM on-line review
"The music exists in a space cleared long ago by Coltrane's tireless modal searching and Sun Ra's insinuating pulse, yet it still appears fresh and purposeful - a music pleasingly at ease with it's own history". Julian Cowley; The Wire Feb. 2007 [Qbico]

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The Lincoln Street Music Company - Inner Beckoning. Live at Depot Town (1983, 2001)

The Lincoln Street Music Company - Inner Beckoning. Live at Depot Town (Self-Released, 1983, 2001)

Personnel:

Faruq Z. Bey: tenor sax
Phil Lasley: alto sax
Doug Halladay: trumpet
Keith Vreeland: piano
John Dana: Bass
Danny Spencer: drums

Tracklisting:
1. Beware Blues  (Doug Halladay)
2. Rosa Crucial  (Faruq Z. Bey)
3. Suite  (Danny Spencer)
    a. Dorian
    b. Inner Beckoning
    c. Welcome


The music on this CD was recorded on a hot summer night in August, 1983 at Ypsilanti's Heritage Festival - a precursor to today's Frog Island Festival. It is a live recording, performed by some ol Detroit's finest musicians.
The Lincoln Street Music Company were the featured artists, and closing act at the festival following a day long jazz competition sponsored by WEMU. Ypsilanti's public radio station. Recently, the original 10" reels of this concert were discovered in the WEMU archives, and we are grateful to the staff at WEMU for preserving this historical concert.
The Lincoln Street Music Company is a collective of veteran Detroit jazz musicians, whose artistry is steeped in the rich tradition of Detroit jazz music: a tradition that builds on those who went before us, while pushing the boundaries of new territory. It is a tradition that is inclusive, has no racial barriers, is diverse in its approach to music and life, and has a strong spiritual foundation.
The music you are listening to on this recording reflects the varied backgrounds and experiences of the musicians in this ensemble. Each of the six members of the band brings their own unique voice to the mix: as professional musicians, composers, bandleaders, studio musicians, educators, and community activists. It is an eclectic mix of styles and musical roots that runs the gamut of blues, gospel, R&B, classical, avant garde, bebop, and fusion. which brought us to the point that we prefer not to put labels on the music!!!!
This CD is a live recording. It is unedited. What you hear is what you get!!! I've always believed that when music is played, it is in the air gone, but this simple two track stereo recording, mixed on the stage during the performance, is as close as you can get to capturing a moment in time, and the spirit of this evenings performance. It is raw, unpolished, and sometimes raggedy around the edges. But the musical energy and conversation between the musicians is apparent throughout.

Recorded live at Ypsilanti Heritage Festival, august 1983
Released in 2001, self published?

Out of print!

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Faruq Z. Bey with Northwoods Improvisers – Primal Waters (2012)

Faruq Z. Bey with Northwoods Improvisers – Primal Waters (Sagittarius A-Star, 2012)

Personnel:
Faruq Z. Bey - Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone
Skeeter C. R. Shelton - Tenor Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone
Mike Johnston - Bass, Bells, Shaker
Mike Carey - Flute, Bass Clarinet, Kalimba
Mike Gilmore - Vibraphone [Vibes], Kalimba
Nick Ashton - Drums, Drum [Drum Log]

Tracklisting:

01 - Kins

02 - Primal Waters

03 - Cat and Mouse

04 - Talon

05 - Kahtuhlpa

06 - Mamaka II

(cd version?)

A recent recording from the legendary Faruq Z. Bey – working here with the highly creative Northwoods Improvisers! Bey's tenor and alto are very much at the front of the recording, but the album also really draws a lot from the other players in the group – the vibes of Mike Gilmore, bass of Mike Johnston, drums and log drum of Nick Ashton, and additional reeds of Mike Carey and Skeeter CR Shelton – who all work with Faruq in ways that almost seem more structured than before – really held together with a great sense of composition on the longer tunes, while still stretching out with some freedom on the solos. The blend – possibly because of the bold use of vibes – reminds us a lot of the Chicago work coming from artists like Mike Reed or Jason Adasiewicz – and titles include "Kins", "Primal Waters", "Talon", and "Kuthuhlpa".

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Nacka Forum - Fee Fi Fo Rum (2012)

Nacka Forum - Fee Fi Fo Rum (Moserobie, 2012)

Personnel:

Goran Kajfes: Cornet, Bass trumpet, Steiner EVI, Percussion, Tutor, Flexatone, Electric trumpet
Jonas Kullhammar: Tenor-, Baritone- & Bass saxes, Piccolo flute, Clarinet, Mini Moog, Mellotron, Percussion, Moisturizer
Johan Berthling: Double Bass
Kjell Nordesson: Drums, Vibraphone, Timpani, Tambourine

Tracklisting:

01 - Fanfarum För Forum
02 - Borkum Riff
03 - Jimmy
04 - Buss 446
05 - Dinner With Inner
06 - Yasuragi
07 - Gluck
08 - Occasions
09 - Fanfarum For Electric Forum 

The group's only a quartet, but they've got a combination of sounds and instruments to rival that of a much larger ensemble! The strength of the record really comes from the twin horn talents of Goran Kajfes and Jonas Kullhammar – the former on cornet, bass trumpet, flexatone, electric trumpet, and Steiner EVI – the latter on tenor, baritone, bass sax, flute, clarinet, minimoog, mellotron, and even moisturizer! These two stalwarts of the Swedish scene are well grounded by the rhythms of Johan Berthling on bass and Kjell Nordeston on drums (and a bit of vibes) – working with a firm guiding hand on some of the more focused tunes here, and really letting Kajfes and Kullhammar stretch out their tones at other points. Titles include "Fanfarum For Electric Forum", "Jimmy", "Dinner With Inner", "Yasuragi", "Borkum Riff", and "Gluck".[Dusty Groove America]

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Best record of the year, in my humble opinion!!!

Endangered Blood - Endangered Blood (2011)

Endangered Blood - Endangered Blood (Skirl, 2011)

Personnel:
Chris Speed - tenor saxophone
Oscar Noriega - alto saxophone, bass clarinet
Trevor Dunn - bass
Jim Black - drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Plunge
02 - Rare
03 - Epistrophy
04 - Elvin Lisbon
05 - K
06 - Tacos At Oscars
07 - Iris
08 - Uri Bird
09 - Valva
10 - Andrew's Ditty Variation One

Endangered Blood formed in 2008, to play a benefit concert to help pay for fellow musician Andrew D'Angelo's medical bills. For the performance, drummer Jim Black and bassist Trevor Dunn—two of the saxophonist's band mates—enlisted saxophonists Chris Speed and Oscar Noriega. As happens so often in modern groups, familiar players in different combination produce compelling results.

Black and Speed are both veterans of Tim Berne's vanguard band, Bloodcount, as well as Human Feel, Pachora, Yeah No and Alas No Axis. Dunn has been a member of Mr. Bungle and bands led by John Zorn, while Noriega is one of Berne's latest finds, and a longtime collaborator with Satoko Fujii.

The quartet's brief and intense tribute to D'Angelo, "Andrew's Ditty Variation One," begins with a two-horn lockstep sprint that quickly evolves into a time-shifting squawk-fest. With Black bashing out a barrage of beats, the two horns mimic D'Angelo's infamous raging sound that is often performed onstage, wriggling on his back.

But the disc is not at all about camp. The quartet draws together its many influences, from Eastern European to alt-rock, to push the boundaries of performance jazz. Speed is credited with the writing here, but he draws not only from his writing with The Clarinets and Human Feel, but his work in Black's Alas No Axis and drummer John Hollenbeck's The Claudia Quintet.

With Noriega doubling on bass clarinet, Speed is able to enlarge the sound on "Rare," and present Thelonious Monk's "Epistrophy" with a much darker tone, as if played by men in over-sized wool coats lifting heavy objects. "Tacos At Oscars" swirls some Philip Glass-style unison horns around Black's frenetic drumming. This recording's purpose becomes clear, however, on tracks like "Uri Bird," which melds funk and bebop, or "Iris," a New Orleans blues outfitted with an old-school sawed bass and parading horns.

Endangered Blood signals a sort of watershed in the evolution of creative music that was once called jazz. The dust has cleared, and what's left is an idiosyncratic and very entertaining sound. [allaboutjazz]

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Mostly Other People Do The Killing - The Coimbra Concert (Clean Feed, 2011)

Mostly Other People Do The Killing - The Coimbra Concert (Clean Feed, 2011)

Personnel:
Moppa Elliott - Double Bass
Kevin Shea - Drums, Electronics
Jon Irabagon - Tenor & Alto Saxophones
Peter Evans - Trumpet

Tracklisting:
CD1:
01 - Drainlick
02 - Evans city
03 - Round Bottom, Square Top
04 - Blue Ball

CD2:
01 - Pen Argyl
02 - Burning Well
03 - Factoryville
04 - St. Mary's Proctor
05 - Elliott Mills

Mostly Other People Do the Killing is proud to release their new live double-album on Clean Feed records. The two discs, made up of material culled from a three night stint at the Jazz ao Centro Festival in Coimbra, provide an excellent perspective on the way this quartet performs live. Unlike the previous four studio albums, all on Hot Cup Records, MOPDtK's live performances vary between short renditions of bassist Moppa Elliott's compositions, and sweeping suites encompassing many compositions. This free-association style of performing has developed over the seven years that the quartet has been performing and recording together.
The four members, Peter Evans, Jon Irabagon, Moppa Elliott, and Kevin Shea, have developed a style of performance in which each member is free to steer the group in any way they choose. The other members may or may not follow suit, creating a type of group interplay that often pits the individuals against each other. Within any given performance, an individual may try to cue a new composition, a return to the original melody, or other structural device, only to be vetoed, creating music that often features multiple chains of association simultaneously. In addition, the members of MOPDtK are not afraid to lay out and allow each other ample solo space. [clean feed]

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Ben and Frank Perowsky with Sam Yahel - Bop On Pop (2002)

Ben and Frank Perowsky with Sam Yahel - Bop On Pop (2002)

Personnel:
Ben Perowsky: drums
Frank Perowsky: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Sam Yahel: organ .

Tracklisting:
1. Vierd Blues (5:26)
2. The Jitterbug Waltz (6:56)
3. Quicksilver (5:44)
4. All of You (6:45)
5. My Foolish Heart (5:26)
6. Star Eyes (6:44)
7. Confirmation (4:59)
8. Donna Lee (3:38)
9. Four (4:52)

Bop On Pop is a trio session that explores the bebop and hard bop roots of jazz from the ‘40s and ‘50s. The disc features Ben Perowsky on drums; Frank Perowsky, his father, on tenor saxophone and clarinet; and Sam Yahel on organ. The chosen songs are mainly standards associated with a few of the "founding fathers": Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Horace Silver - as well as a grateful nod to "pre-bopper" Fats Waller. The trio performed most of these songs during a gig last month at the Cornelia Street Café, where pianist Kevin Hays was a last-minute replacement for Yahel.

The disc opens with Davis' "Vierd Blues," which begins with Frank Perowsky stating the theme alone on sax as Yahel and Ben Perowsky fall in behind him. Ben keeps a solid, steady, cymbal-dominant groove going throughout. After they run through the theme twice more, Frank launches into a languid, bluesy solo, initially spare but increasingly more inventive as he warms to the task, after which the notes and ideas come out in spurts and brief flurries. Yahel ably complements the sax solo, then takes a slick turn of his own as Ben maintains a solid, cymbal-laden groove.

Frank switches to clarinet for Fats Waller's "The Jitterbug Waltz." His swinging solo after the opening theme is exploratory and deft. Yahel shadows the clarinet during the statement of the theme, percolates beneath Frank's solo, then takes his own sparkling turn at the helm before they take the song out. The song is a patient brew, building to a quiet intensity.

After Ben leads in on the drums, Frank and Yahel share some spirited byplay on the head of Horace Silver's burner "Quicksilver," racing along like neck-and-neck sprinters. Frank and Yahel take solos, then trade fours before restating the theme. The intro to "All Of You" is slow almost to the point of being melancholy, but it's quickly upgraded to its standard midtempo pace. The drummer begins with brushes but then switches to sticks as the groove expands, deepens and picks up. On the ballad "My Foolish Heart" the interplay among the trio is pitch-perfect.

Standouts on the disc include the fine arrangement of "Star Eyes," a song made popular by Charlie Parker; and "Donna Lee," written by Miles Davis and recorded by Bird when Miles was part of his band. Yahel lays out on this tune while the Perowskys - with pére on the clarinet - happily race through it. The disc ends with another father-son duet on another Davis composition, "Four," where Frank goes back to tenor sax.

Frank Perowsky plays both the tenor sax and clarinet with great fluency and confidence, sometimes approaching songs from unexpected angles and perspectives. Ben Perowsky is solid on drums, and Yahel brings out all of the colors in the organ, turning his left hand into a fourth member of the band by providing a consistent bass line. Bop On Pop is a well-executed tribute to the musicians who laid the cornerstones of the foundation of jazz today.

This review originally appeared in All About Jazz-New York June 2003.

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Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson - Hannibal In Antibes (1978)

Marvin 'Hannibal' Peterson - Hannibal In Antibes (1978)

Marvin "Hannibal" Peterson - Trumpet
George Adams - Flute/Tenor Saxophone
Diedre Murray - Cello
Steve Neil - Bass
Makaya Ntshoko - Drums

Tracklisting:
01 - Ro (19:16)
02 - Swing Low Sweet Chariot (20:25)

record date: July 20th, 1977

Hannibal In Antibes starts off really very badly, so much so that you’re almost tempted to give up on the thing. The problem is it starts with about a three minute drum solo. I mean drum solos are bad enough anywhere on a record, but to start an album with one is just madness. I suppose at least they have started the album with the lowest point on there, so in theory it should only get better from that point on, unless of course you love drum solos. When the other instruments initially kick-in you’re like thank god for that, but then it all starts going a bit pear-shaped and all Tom & Jerry ish. But after about four and a half minutes the bass kicks in, then a cello reveals itself, Hannibal starts blowing the most intense horn work you could ask for, and from that point on you are blessed with a full-on aural pleasure fest for the rest of the album.

This album is two very long tunes that seem to be dominated by solos throughout. Luckily the drum solo is the only bad one here, and as I already pointed out, they got rid of it at the start. All the rest of the solos respectfully work with the rhythm section and never over reach or go too far out. The rhythm section, which also consists of a cello on here, really seems to control the main instruments of trumpet, tenor sax and flute, and make sure they behave themselves. At one point the sax goes a little over the top, but the rhythm section is like calm down will you you’re spoiling the flow, and brings it back into line. The musicians on here are Marvin “Hannibal” Peterson on trumpet, George Adams on flute and tenor sax, Diedre Murray on cello, Steve Neil on Bass and Makaya Ntshoko on drums, and man can this guy can play those drums.

The overall feel of the music is very much in that Impulse spiritual and haunting approach, but with a bit more rock element in there. Imagine the latter Pharoah Sanders recordings for Impulse, like Village Of The Pahroahs and Live At The East, but with a trumpet thrown in, and you’ll kind of get the picture. I also like the use of a string instrument, this is where the rock feel comes from; it kind of adds a slight early Velvet Underground (when John Cale was a member) feel to the thing. In addition to that there’s a kind of eastern feel, but not like Middle Eastern, more sort of eastern European feel. Basically it's a real fusion of styles that all work perfectly, so if you imagine a Russian Velvet Underground without guitars covering a Pharoah Sanders' album, you're almost there.

Both tracks are winners, but side two is a total killer, it’s a twenty plus minute version of “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” that literally abducts you for its entire duration. The drum/bass/cello combination on here is like an all consuming driving riff that just never lets up. I was so taken by this record that I spent the whole twenty minutes just not wanting it to end. I love those times when you've just got an album, but you know absolutely nothing about it and it ends up being one of the best things you've ever heard. If you love all that hypnotic stuff, and strong rhythm sections, then I cannot recommend this album to you enough. Just be warned, it is seriously addictive. The only thing that stops this getting top whack is the drum solo, and that’s just a personal thing, I hate drum solos.
>>by MH1000 from rateyourmusic.com

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