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The first piece is somewhat of a swinger. For those of you who don’t like their free improvisation too jazzy, head for the bar. (And for those jazz writers who can’t seem to tell one instrument from another, despite the fact that you review dozens of records in public forums each year, I play tenor here, and alto on the other two tracks. They sound different. Dexter Gordon played tenor. Lee Konitz plays alto. Figure it out.) The second piece is a ballad of sorts, dedicated to my grandmother, Stamata Rempis, who passed away at the age of 102 three weeks before this recording was made. She was one of the strongest and kindest people I’ve ever known. As we stood onstage at the end of the first set, before starting this piece, thoughts of her flooded over me. I had been at Alchemia a few weeks earlier, on tour with Ingebrigt Hºaker Flaten’s Quintet, just after learning that she was about to pass. Zoni is the name of the small village in which she was born, just outside of Megalopóli, Greece.
The last piece develops through several different sections, as many of this group’s improvisations do, but perhaps most interesting to me is the juxtaposition of the two drum/saxophone duets during the first half of the piece. It highlights the different conceptions that Tim and Frank bring to the band, and perhaps why it might be worthwhile to have two drummers in the first place. We normally don’t play „tunes” with this band, opting instead for a more open approach. But one-third of the way through this improvisation, I had a strong urge to bring in „C” by Julius Hemphill, off the great record Raw Materials and Residuals. Not sure if the other band members knew what I was playing, although I’ve played it with Tim before. One last note is that I don’t play baritone saxophone on this record. The instrument has become an important part of the band’s sound, but the difficulties of touring, and particularly airline travel, make it impossible to carry to Europe. (Not that getting on a train with an alto, tenor, baritone, and a fifty-pound suitcase full of cd’s would be easy…) Just another example of how the logistical aspects of traveling can unfortunately have profound effects on the music. Finally, many thanks to Dmitriy Krasnov for the name of the record, adapted from one of his short poems.
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Line-up:
Michael Bisio - bass
Atepen Gauci - tenor sax
Avram Fefer - tenor and soprano saxes
Jay Rosen - percussion
Recorded:
live at Vision Festival, New York, NY on June 23, 2007
"For years, free improvisers have explored the tactile aspect of performance, in which the nature of the encounter between the player and the instrument becomes the subject of the music itself. Bisio is one of the few musicians that has managed to meld this high-concept sense of physicality with the soulful charge of jazz. His fiddle-high, scraped overtones create a tangled choir that is impossible to resist; his expressiveness with the bow is unmatched. Having whirled the listener into a transportive state, he gently shows the way out..." (Paul DeBarros, Signal to Noise)
"The only clear predecessor for his conception is the brilliant and largely forgotten David Izenzon...who played in Ornette Coleman's classic 1960's trio." (Stan Dick, Spectator, Raleigh)
"...a sprawling talent in the avant-jazz world." (Andrew Bartlett, Seattle Weekly)
"... Bisio turns out to be something of a force of nature on the bass..." (Richard Cochrane, Musings)
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Line-up:
Gebhard Ullmann - bass clarinet & tenor saxophone
Julian Argüelles - soprano & baritone saxophones
Steve Swell - trombone
John Hebert - bass
Gerald Cleaver - drums
Recorded:
live in concert at Alchemia, Krakow on October 22, 2007
About:
born on nov. 2, 1957 saxophonist (tenor and soprano), bass clarinetist, flutist (piccolo, concert, alto and bassflutes) and composer gebhard ullmann studied in hamburg and moved to berlin in 1983. since then he has recorded nearly 40 cds as a leader/co-leader for prestigious labels such as blacksaint/soul note, leo records, between the lines, 482 music, songlines recordings, cimp, drimala records, nottwo records and clean feed. he is considered one of the leading personalities in today's berlin and international scene and has received several awards for his work including the julius hemphill composition award ('99), the deutsche phonoakademie award ('83), one of the first swf jazz awards ('87) and the nomination "best jazz cd of the year" by the german schallplattenkritik for his cd "tá lam" in 1995. his cds "final answer" (2002) and "the bigband project (2004) were listed in downbeat magazine among the best cds of those years. in 2005 the downbeat critics poll listed him for the first time in the category rising star. since 1993 ullmann is a recording artist for soul note and has been living in new york and berlin since. he has toured with his music throughout europe as well as africa, canada, new zealand, the usa, south east asia and mexico and performed on most of the world's most prestigious jazz festivals. ullmann's working bands are: the new york project basement research (with steve swell, julian arguelles, john hebert, gerald cleaver), the ten-piece woodwind / accordion project tá lam zehn, the cooperative band conference call (with michael jefry stevens, joe fonda and george schuller), the clarinet trio (with juergen kupke and michael thieke) the piano trio ullmann/lande/dahlgren (with art lande and chris dahlgren), the ullmann/swell 4 (with steve swell, hill greene and barry altschul) and bassX3 (with peter herbert and chris dahlgren). he is also a member of george schuller's 'schulldogs', the 'guenter lenz springtime' the berlin eleven-piece project stereo lisa, 'hannes zerbe's heiner mueller project' and the 'scott dubois quartet'. he works with spoken word artist sadiq bey on the nu jazz project 'schwartzegeist / the sun ra project' with poems of the great sun ra and appeared in several programs with the actor 'otto sander'. ullmann recorded or performed with paul bley, andy emler, han bennink, satoko fujii, william parker, barry altschul, herb robertson, marvin 'smitty' smith, laurent cugny, ellery eskelin, bob moses, keith tippett, frank gratkowski, sergeij starostin, tiger okoshi, bobby previte, ernst ludwig petrowsky, glen moore, trilok gurtu, ab baars, andreas willers, kevin norton, lauren newton, andrew cyrille, sylvie courvoisier, steve swell, steve argueelles, frank moebus, lee konitz, alexander v. schlippenbach, benoit achiary, hans hassler, willem breuker, tom rainey, carlos bica, enrico rava, michael riessler, rita marcotulli, michael moore, bob stewart, dieter glawischnig, tony malaby, drew gress, michael rabinowitz, matt wilson, ivo papasov, the ensemble "percussion de guinee", the european radioorchestra and many musicians from the great berlin scene as well as many others.
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Featuring Matt Shipp on piano, Daniel Carter on reeds & trumpet, Joe Morris on double bass and Whit Dickey on drums. As the amazing pianist and composer, Matt Shipp, closes in
on his 100th disc as a leader or sideman, it is good thing that he didn't honor his promise to retire from recording like he said a few years back. I believe that this particular quartet has not recorded before this, although all of the members have played together in other combinations. Matt, Joe & Whit have been playing as a trio for the past few years and Daniel can be heard on a variety of previous Matt Shipp dates. Starting with "Cosmic Suite - Part One," Daniel is playing some lovely, laid-back, muted trumpet while the rest of the quartet swirls calmly around him. This has to be some of the most calm and enchanting music we've heard from Matt and his cohorts in recent memory. When Daniel switches to tenor sax, the quartet starts swirling more intensely, the waves building higher and higher. The recording and balance are especially well done, so the quartet sounds mighty fine. On each piece, Matt provides a different yet somehow connected theme, often reflective yet also quite intense. "Cosmic Suite - Part Four" reminds me of a Monk songs, it is somewhat lopsided and it is interesting to hear Daniel Carter playing in such a more inside way. On "Part Five," Matt plays these shimmering, dark chords that sound as if we are swimming at the bottom of the ocean in slow motion. As we rise closer to the surface, there is a peaceful
calm that washes over us until things get a bit bumpy once more. Each part of the "Cosmic Suite" seems to evoke a slightly different spirit or image. It sounds as if Matt has selected just the right musicians for this suite since each one fits so perfectly into the cosmic flow. This might just be Matt Shipp's finest disc, it certainly feel that way as I sit back in my chair sipping on some coconut coffee in front of my computer on a hot summer's night. (BLG, Downtown Music Gallery)
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Steve Swell Presents: Rivers of Sound Ensemble - News From The Mystic Oracle
MW797
Artist: Steve Swell
Label: NotTwo Records
Featuring Steve Swell on trombone, Roy Campbell on trumpet & flugelhorn, Sabir Mateen on tenor & alto sax, flute & clarinet, Hill Greene on bass and Klaus Kugel on drums. This disc dedicated to the great Sam Rivers after WKCR had a marathon for him in May of 2007 and played some 177 hours of Rivers' music. For the past decade ace trombonist and composer, Steve Swell, has has 2 or 3 discs released each year as a leader. Each has been a reason to rejoice as each one is great in different ways with a handful of different groups. This band was originally called Slammin' the Infinite with Matt Heyner on bass and now is called the Rivers of Sound Ensemble with Hilliard Greene taking Matt's place. This righteous disc consists of three long tracks and was well-recorded in a studio in February of 2007. "Journey to Omphalos" begins with the band playing calmly, the opening theme is most haunting. The ever-incredible Sabir Mateen
takes the first powerful solo on tenor sax with that extraordinary rhythm team swirling powerfully around him. Both Hill's acoustic bass and Klaus' drums are amazing, tight and truly spirited. As Sabir's solo reaches for the stars, Steve's trombone and Roy's trumpet spin around him marvelously. Next it is Steve's turn to take an explosive solo and that he does ever so well. When Roy steps up the plate next, the rhythm team sails back down to the earth while Roy slowly builds the excitement back up to new levels. Hill also takes a fine solo and I dig the way the quintet holds back and plays quieter cosmic sounds in the last section, especially Sabir on clarinet and Klaus' sly cymbal work. "Healix" picks up where the last piece left off with a fine, restrained freer vibe. There is strong duo with Hill on bowed bass and Klaus on drums the opens this piece. Roy takes one his righteous and lovely flugel solos, bending and twisting his notes inside out. Sabir's crafty clarinet solo seems to pick up right from where Roy left off, continuing the flow perfectly, setting up Steve for a final solo that burns bright and rides gloriously on Klaus' masterful drums and Hill's massive bass. The epic-length title track is last the quintet shines throughout, from the suspense-filled opening through some fine flute from Sabir, all stretching out and building to a grand conclusion. This is one of those magical improv sessions that works so well as each member of the quintet supplies that cosmic glue that keeps the creative flame burning from the beginning right down to the end. Right on, brothers, right on! (BLG, Downtown Music Gallery)
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Featuring Dan Warburton on violin & piano, Jean-Luc Guionnet on soprano & alto saxes, Francois Fuchs on bass and Edward Perraud on drums. Dan Warburton runs the Paris Transatlantic on-line web-zine as well as reviewing discs for the Wire. He is one of my favorite journalists and is more open and informed than most. Dan has worked with Arthur Doyle, Frederic Blondy and Frederick Goodwin. Jean-Luc Guionnet and Edward Perraud both play in the great French improv quintet, Hubbub. This is the third disc from Return of the New Thing, after CD's on Leo and Ayler. This disc was recorded at Alchemy in Poland in June of 2007 and has superb sound. This music has a magical quality, the sounds spin a sublime web around one another. While Dan plays dreamy, harp-like piano, the rest of the quartet swirl sublimely around him. Right away, we are transported into a most mesmerizing terrain. Although this sounds like free/jazz, there is a certain calm at the center of the storm. Jean-Luc starts to blast on his alto and sounds most powerful and uplifting. Dan sounds like a somewhat more reserved Keith Tippett and is nearly as amazing at times. Percussionist, Edward Perraud, who can be heard on that fantastic duo CD with Paul Rogers last year on FMR is also in splendid form. This band soon erupt and blast forth together tightly. Even when they slow down to a spacious section, they remain a tight-knit quartet. Dan's twisted violin improv works well with Edward's quick-spinning free percussion, Jean-Luc out-there sax and Francois' great bowed bass. Although this great quartet probably don't get together that often, they don't sound that way. They have an incredible, well-worn, tight-knit group sound, that remains interconnected no matter how far they go out. Once again we find another European unit that sounds as wonderful as any of their American brethren. Extra-ordinary, yes indeed! (BLG, Downtown Music Gallery)
