American pianist and psychiatrist Denny Zeitlin has a body of work that is second to none, including winning several jazz awards and scoring films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but this album was hidden away at Zeitlin’s insistence, which is a shame, as it blends avant-jazz, funk, rock and some works that would feel…
Tag: Avant-Jazz
Noël Akchoté – J.(B.)B. (For Jaimie)
The avant-garde music scene lost an incredible talent in the form of Jaimie Branch, who passed away on August 22nd at the age of 39. The blog’s friend, Noël Akchoté offers a lovely tribute album by transcribing the trumpeter’s work into works for solo acoustic guitar. It’s a raw album even by improv standards.
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic – The Iridium Controversy
Cuneiform Records offered this album as a half-price release this weekend, and though I already had the album, I thought it would be good to note what an amazing album this was back in its prime. Birdsongs of the Mesozoic are a band from Boston, Massachussets who have been active for well over 40 years…
The Hauchzart Ensemble – Hauchzart Momentum Vol. I
What a remarkable work this is. The Hauchzart Ensemble includes our dear colleague Wilfried Hanrath, who plays guitar, bass, drums, beats, synth and electronics on this album, along with Matt Getchell, who also provides electronics, synthesizer and beats. This album takes quite a journey, starting off with a track that, if you can believe it,…
Anna Michaels & Yordan Kostov Quintet – Abstract Attitude
Anna Michaels is not the Toni Morrison-kind of poet I can’t get into. Rather, she has the power of a street storyteller, the sort of person who you can engage at a New York or Los Angeles coffee shop talking about her experiences across the world, her observations of American life both as a local…
Selen Gülün – TRE
I’ve been looking forward to hearing Selen Gülün’s latest release, and to say I’m not disappointed would be an understatement. I had spent the day listening to John Cage after lunching with my priest, and then this record came on. The first track, Ah, Tu Dici!, blended into Cage’s Three Easy Pieces as naturally as…
Der Finger – Le Cinque Stagioni
Russia has a pretty remarkable history with jazz. Even during the Soviet times, everything from Dixieland to hard bop was represented rather well, and free jazz is no exception. Der Finger are the trio of Anton Efimov (bass), Evgenia Sivkova (drums & saxophone) and Edward Sivkov (bass clarinet, saxophone and bass-domra). They make a racket…
Ghost Rhythms – Imaginary Mountains
The French band Ghost Rhythms live up to their name. The beats are pretty wild on this one. This release sets between avant-progressive, Canterbury, and some of the freakier excursions of late-period King Crimson. Perhaps Samla Mammas Manna and their side-projects could also make good reference points. Very engaging listening, especially if you like time…