This has to be one of the first albums where the Shakuhachi plays a large role in improvised music that I’ve come across. From the duo’s Bandcamp site: “This album is the first encounter between improvisers John Garner and Hervé Perez. We came across each other’s work through the jazz Continue Reading
Improvised Music
Jeff Gburek – Madhuwanti
Madhuwanti is a collection of guitar instrumentals played sublimely by Jeff Gburek. The title name itself comes from Hindustani music and can read about further here. The playing is as honey-like as the title implies. How, you ask? Let the good man explain further at his Bandcamp site: “Madhu means Continue Reading
Barre Phillips – Ahoy!
The world of improvisational music lost one of its biggest icons a couple of days ago. Barre Phillips, a bassist known for his being adaptable to any style, passed away on December 28. He worked with legends like Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Bley, Archie Shepp, Peter Brötzmann (whom we also lost Continue Reading
Ezra Sturm & Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Live at Day of Noise
This is the second time I get to present the father-son due of Ezra Sturm and the consistently wonderful Ernesto Diaz-Infante. In this live improvisation, I get to hear more of a space rock sound. There is a sci-fi element to the music, which makes the performance that much more Continue Reading
Karolina Ossowska & Jeff Gburek – Witch-Hazel
We have another elegant experimental/electroacoustic album by violinist Karolina Ossowska and her partner in this release, Jeff Gburek. There is a Nurse With Wound-meets-György Ligeti vibe to this release, maybe even references to Krzysztof Penderecki’s earlier avant-garde works, but given a gritty, ghostly treatment. Another glorious release.
George Christian – Requiem para Minha Mãe Cigana, Margarida
Our old friend George Christian has released a two-track album for Post Orientalism Music out of Berlin, Germany. Though some will bill this as experimental, I hear more of a wild psych-influenced space rock mixed together guitar improvisations that works wonderfully well. It is best to let George tell the Continue Reading
Bryan Day+Ernesto Díaz-Infante – Untitled Currents
Ernesto Díaz-Infante is a favorite on this blog, so any release of his is welcome, but Bryan Day is a new name for me. He is an instrument maker and improvisational musician who also runs Public Eyesore Records. This collaboration is quite dark, bordering on a cacophonous take reminding me Continue Reading
Jeff Gburek – Eyeless: Microtonal Mandolin
Jeff Gburek returns to these pages presenting an album featuring himself improvising on his mandolin. The album is sparse and very well recorded. The clarity really helps one to focus on the sounds emanating from his weapon of choice. Think of a mix between experimental music, jazz, a horror soundtrack, Continue Reading
Ernesto Diaz-Infante – Amor Celestial
Amor Celestial is the latest album by Bay Area guitar improviser Ernesto Diaz-Infante, release on Rambutan Records out of New York. The album reminds me of waves gently crashing into the rock of the Pacific Coastline, ebbing and flowing as clouds of feedback surround each bend of the strings. From Continue Reading
Senyawa – Istana (Live)
Today is a workday for us in Beijing, so there is no review today, but I did want to point you to an Indonesian band called Senyawa, who is featured on Rafaelle Pezzella’s incredible Unexplained Sounds Group‘s digipak retrospective called the Far East Music Collection. It is a reissue of Continue Reading