Baltimore Sun (Free subscription) | 18/11/2008
K icker has been in the boom-chukka-chukka car stereo business for 35 years. So what happens when a company with a two-word mission statement, Livin' Loud, designs its first iPod speaker dock?
wordsandmusic (Free subscription) | 02/11/2008
Mal Waldron, playing 'Minor Pulsation.' Opening on almost parade ground drums, then some demented piano, something relentless and eery about this theme, like a rat running round a maze... The A sections based on the drums and the piano hammering out in minor key, the bridge (B) a swift swing in contrast. The exhilaration is found in the manner by which Waldron opens it up, breaking out of the box of...
mapsadaisical (Free subscription) | 30/10/2008
The moment when jazz’s self-imposed restrictions were lifted in the early to mid 1960s resulted in a thrilling explosion in all directions. Ornette Coleman brushing aside established idioms on the prophetic The Shape Of Jazz To Come. Coltrane’s 1965 epiphanies on Impulse. Sun Ra’s Arkestra shedding their suits in favour of robes [...]
WFMU's Beware of the Blog (Free subscription) | 28/10/2008
As the election approaches, I find myself being drawn to music birthed of the ol' revolutionary American spirit. Music with the intention of cleansing the world of corruption and ills with a searing blast of freedom. I'm talking about Alan...
No Good for Me (Free subscription) | 23/10/2008
(New column, new column! And: new contributor, new contributor! Conceived as a sort of "Siskel & Ebert" meets "Will & Grace," "The TOO DUDE FOR YOU Review" features Liz and her big fancy movie-reviewer dude-pal who henceforth shall be known...
Tiny Mix Tapes (Free subscription) | 09/10/2008
Each of the album’s tracks follows a similar structure, with Coltrane sounding bells while drummer Rashied Ali, the sole other performer, lets his drumsticks dance. Coltrane then introduces a melody, frequently shifting, extending, and modulating until it becomes more swirling impressionism than blues-influenced realism. "Venus," for example, is stretched to its tonal limits, with Coltrane getting...
mapsadaisical (Free subscription) | 05/10/2008
Anyone thinking that the Norwegians have the jazz/electronics crossover market cornered obviously isn’t aware of the work of Valerio Cosi, whose output on his own probably matches that of the entire country. The Italian’s discography lists him as having released or appeared on eight albums so far this year, with as many still to [...]
WFMU's Beware of the Blog (Free subscription) | 23/09/2008
Swedish musician Bengt "Frippe" Nordström intersected with many of the American free jazz artists on their travels through his country. He was blown off the trad jazz course by Ornette Coleman's music, sitting front row for the concert that was...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 22/09/2008
Matthew Shipp and the Roy Campbell/Joe McPhee Quartet Tribute to Albert Ayler deSingel International Arts Center Antwerp, Belgium September 6, 2008 Themed around the iconoclastic '60s saxophonist Albert Ayler, the evening's fare at the modern deSingel International Arts Center on the edge of Antwerp city center was an intriguing mix of the new, the old and, in terms of the heritage underpinning what...
breath of life (Free subscription) | 22/09/2008
Released, literally within the midst of a Coltrane-led revolution in jazz, Ole is a too-often overlooked masterpiece.
Amsterdam City (Free subscription) | 20/09/2008
For decades the Globe Unity Orchestra has been bringing together the most renowned musicians from the international experimental improvisation scene. Every performance is a unique ...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 18/09/2008
New York tenor saxophonist Stephen Gauci's first trip to Stockholm is documented on these hard-hitting Ayler releases in a double-disc set and an mp3 download. Between the two releases, most of the music recorded by this newly formed aggregate on Jul. 9th-10th, 2007 at the Glenn Miller Cafe is captured in vivid if slightly constricted sound...
undomondo (Free subscription) | 02/09/2008
Legendary bassist Henry Grimes has a rerelease on ESP-Disk, of the one and only disc he has been a leader on named “The Call” . For all those who need a recap about his extraordinary life story, Grimes was one of the most sought after bass players in the 50s playing with Albert Ayler, Coleman [...]
Bagatellen (Free subscription) | 02/09/2008
Soul Note 121483-2 Golden Atoms is the second release (and first for Soul Note) from Duology, a collaboration between trumpeter Ted Daniel and clarinetist Michael Marcus. It’s a rare format—clarinet and trumpet duos—though it harks back to the origins of this music. To my knowledge, the only specific instrumental precedent is a pair of albums [...]
mapsadaisical (Free subscription) | 29/08/2008
Finally it has arrived: that other great Revenant box set. I baulked at paying £100 for this on release in 2004 but found myself unable to resist when Cargo dropped the price to a mere £40 last month. The Charley Patton box arrived within a couple of days, but the ten discs and [...]
