Benjamin Lackner Last Decade Benjamin Lackner, piano; Mathias Eick, trumpet; Jérôme Regard, bass; Manu Katche, drums ECM Records Pianist Benjamin Lackner makes his ECM debut with Last Decade. Joined by a stalwart group of collaborators, many of them ECM alumni who have appeared on many of the label’s releases, Lackner is in an ideal situation to present his compositions, as well as one by bassist Jérôme Regard. A few of the constraints the pianist placed on himself, no electronics, a staple of his previous recordings, and the addition of trumpeter Mathias Eick to his usual piano trio format, have
Read moreWhit Dickey Quartet Root Perspectives Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone; Matthew Shipp, piano; Brandon Lopez, bass; Whit Dickey, drums TAO Forms CD Drummer Whit Dickey has put together a formidable quartet for Root Perspectives, a release on his TAO Forms label. Joining Dickey are tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, pianist Matthew Shipp, and bassist Brandon Lopez, all stalwart players of ecstatic jazz. While the musicians have worked with each other in various contexts, this particular configuration is new. They find their footing fast. Malaby is versatile in his approaches to playing. Howling high notes, skronk squalls, and chromatic scalar work
Read moreA House of Call. My Imaginary Notebook. Heiner Goebbels Ensemble Modern, Vimbayi Kaziboni, conductor ECM Records Heiner Goebbels’ A House of Call is an evening length collaboration with Ensemble Modern, an group with which he has collaborated on a number of projects over a thirty-five year period; this is their fourth CD for ECM. Subtitled “My Imaginary Notebook,” a reference to John Cage’s roaratorio via Finnegans Wake by James Joyce, the piece brings together several stylistically distinct sections, notably troping pieces associated with the ensemble. Sound recordings that Goebbels has collected over the years, many of folk music-making, are a
Read moreBarre Phillips and György Kurtág Jr. Face á Face ECM Records Luminary avant-jazz bassist Barre Phillips and György Kurtág Jr., son of the well-known Hungarian composer and an electronic musician, join together on Face á Face. Kurtág uses a variety of synths, providing both pitched material and percussion to complement Phillips’ bass-playing. It might not be a pairing one would have readily thought of, even with Phillips’ long pedigree of collaborations, but Face á Face is a compelling recording. The album opener, “Beyond,” finds the two in a cat-and-mouse game, Kurtág beginning
Read moreMatthew Shipp Trio World Construct ESP Disk’ Matthew Shipp, piano; Michael Bisio, bass; Newman Taylor Baker, drums On World Construct, pianist Matthew Shipp is joined by bassist Michel Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker. Shipp has recorded with a plethora of current jazz performers. Each collaboration brings about different aspects of his playing and the ensemble vibe. A short prelude, “Tangible,” establishes the vibe here, with melodic interplay between piano and bass, and drums punctuating the action. “Sustained Contrast” demonstrates Shipp’s connection to the jazz tradition, with plaintive descending arpeggiations in a ballad context. This is counterweighted with low
Read moreFile Under Favorites 2022 Olivia de Prato I.AM. New World Records Violinist Oliva de Prato is one of the stalwarts of the New York new music community, performing premieres with a plethora of organizations and in demand as a solo artist. Her latest recording for New World, I.AM. is a celebration of “Artistry and Motherhood.” De Prato, a mother herself, commissioned composers who are navigating motherhood and their careers. The project provides a nurturing, welcome perspective. “Automatic Writing Mumbles of the Late Hours,” is by Natacha Diels, a composer and sound artist. The piece requires de Prato to trigger
Read moreJeffrey Derus From Wilderness – A Meditation on the Pacific Coast Trail Choral Arts Initiative, Brandon Elliott, conductor; Kevin Mills, cello Navona CD/DL With From Wilderness, Jeffrey Derus has written a soaring and eclectic full length work for Choral Arts Initiative, an ensemble committed to new music with nearly twenty commissions and seventy premieres under their belts. Their previous recording, music of Dale Trumbore, supplied significant exposure for her laudable choral works. One imagines that From the Wilderness will do the same for Derus. Derus has an intimate connection with the environs of the Pacific Coast Trail. He
Read moreDuo Bruno Bavota and Chantal Acda have released a teaser track from their forthcoming album, “A Closer Distance” (Temporary Residence). The recording is out on October 7th. In the meantime, one can revel in Acda’s gentle singing of short phrases and keening overdubs alongside Bavota’s post-minimal arpeggiations. They are a well-suited musical pair. A Closer Distance by Bruno Bavota & Chantal Acda
Read moreTony Williams Play or Die Tony Williams, drums, percussion, vocals; Tom Grant, keyboards, synthesizer; Patrick O’Hearn, electric bass. M.I.G. Music GMBH Recorded in Stuttgart in 1980 and limited to 500 copies that weren’t widely distributed outside Germany, Play or Die, led by late drummer Tony Williams, is a unicorn record that is finally receiving a reissue. Joined by keyboardist Tom Grant and bassist Patrick O’Hearn, Williams leans in on one his most fusion focused recordings. Sharing the composition duties with O’Hearn, Play or Die includes two originals by the drummer, one by the bassist, and a “Jam Tune” credited
Read moreGity Razaz The Strange Highway Francesca de Pasquale, violin; Katharine Kang Litton, viola; Ingbal Segev, cello; Scott Cuellar, piano All-American Cello Band; Metropolist Ensemble, Andrew Cyr, conductor BIS Records Born in Iran and now residing in New York, over the past fifteen years composer Gity Razaz has created a number of well-crafted works. The Strange Highway, her first portrait CD, includes chamber music, ensemble works, and electronics in live and studio recordings. The title piece, composed for cello octet and played by the All-American Cello Band for Dutch radio, was inspired by Chilean writer Roberto Bolaňo’s eponymous
Read more