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Joe Henderson
I saw Joe Henderson play in January 1997, at Town Hall in New York. The show was part of a package tour put together by Verve Records—his trio, which at that point featured George Mraz on bass and Al...
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Combat Astronomy
Flak Planet (self-released) by Phil Freeman Do you like a little bit (okay, a whole lot) of metal in your jazz, or jazz in your metal? You’re not alone. The sound of the world being destroyed appeals...
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Motif
Art Transplant (Clean Feed) by Phil Freeman Buy it from Amazon Motif is a Norwegian quartet (saxophonist Atle Nymo, pianist Håvard Wiik, bassist Ole Morten Vågan, drummer Håkon Mjåset Johansen) that...
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SFE
Positions & Descriptions (Clean Feed) by Phil Freeman Buy it from Amazon The free jazz orchestra has a long and raucous history. (I analyzed some notable recordings for Perfect Sound Forever in...
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Writers Who Can’t Play, Players Who Can’t Write
by Phil Freeman Recently, there’s been a lot of discussion in jazz circles about whether critics need to be able to play the music themselves in order to be credible. Like, I suspect, most people who...
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Julius Hemphill [UPDATED]
Dogon A.D. (International Phonograph) Buy it from Amazon by Phil Freeman The International Phonograph project (with only two releases, it’s hard to know whether to call it a full-fledged label just...
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The 50 Greatest Saxophonists…EVER!!! 20-11
We’re heading into the home stretch with our countdown of the 50 Greatest Saxophonists…EVER!!! Here are #s 20-11, followed by a bonus list: Rudresh Mahanthappa picks his 5 favorite saxophonists! 20....
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Grass Roots
Grass Roots (AUM Fidelity) Buy it from the label by Phil Freeman Alto saxophonist Darius Jones is back, and once again, he’s playing with a totally different set of musicians than on any previous...
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Charles Mingus Live At Montreux 1975
This concert was filmed on July 25, 1975, after Mingus had recorded the twin albums Changes One and Changes Two. The band consisted of many of the musicians featured on those records—Don Pullen on...
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Chris Potter
Saxophonist Chris Potter‘s latest album, The Sirens, came out last week on ECM. It features pianists Craig Taborn and David Virelles (who plays prepared piano, celeste, and harmonium), bassist Larry...
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David Ake
by Phil Freeman Pianist David Ake is also an author and professor, so he doesn’t record very often. But earlier this year, Posi-Tone Records reissued his 2005 solo album, In Between, and now they’ve...
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Interview And Gallery: Gaetano Pezzella
Gaetano Pezzella (on Flickr, on Tumblr) is a photographer from Rome, Italy. Pezzella’s work involves a vast amount of travel; from the places he visits, he includes fragments of children at play,...
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Mostly Other People Do The Killing
Mostly Other People Do the Killing, the smart, fun-loving, occasionally smirky jazz quartet consisting of trumpeter Peter Evans, saxophonist Jon Irabagon, bassist Moppa Elliott, and drummer Kevin...
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Ted Curson
Trumpeter Ted Curson died one year ago today—November 4, 2012. Without being a name that leaps immediately to casual jazz fans’ lips, he had an illustrious career, recording quite a bit as a leader...
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Mimi Jones, Camille Thurman & Shirazette Tinnin: The Women Of Hot Tone Music
L-R: Camille Thurman, Mimi Jones, Shirazette Tinnin Artist-run labels have a long history in jazz. They’re frequently a vehicle for artists to release their own work: Charles Mingus and Max Roach...
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Andy Biskin Ibid
New Orleans jazz is mostly horrible. Tootling cacophony, trapped at the dawn of a previous century, its fake jollity and oppressive, pedagogical subtext (Respect the history! Revere the tradition!) are...
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Two Octets
The octet is an uncommon format for a jazz group. With a standard rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums, that leaves five spots left to fill, and that can make for a cluttered bandstand....
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Anne Mette Iversen
Bassist Anne Mette Iversen (that’s her in the black, above) has been leading a quartet featuring saxophonist John Ellis, pianist Danny Grissett and drummer Otis Brown III for nearly a decade, through...
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Paal Nilssen-Love
Legendary Scandinavian out-jazz drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, probably best known for his work in The Thing and many collaborations with Peter Brötzmann (including the Chicago Tentet), has formed a new...
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Best Jazz Of 2014: 15-11
Burning Ambulance’s week-long countdown of the year’s best jazz albums continues with #s 15-11. Shall we? 15. Rudy Royston, 303 (Buy It) The players Rudy Royston’s assembled for his debut as a leader...
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