Free improvisation, as a style of music, developed in the U.S. and Europe in the mid and late 1960s, largely as an outgrowth of free jazz and modern classical musics. Pioneers including saxophonists Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton and Peter Bratzmann, guitarist Derek Bailey, and the improvising group AMM. Free jazz is most strongly associated with the 1950s innovations of Ornette Coleman and Cecil Taylor and the later works of saxophonist John Coltrane. Other important pioneers included Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Joe Maneri and Sun Ra. Although today “free jazz” is the generally-used term, many other terms were used to describe the loosely-defined movement, including “avant-garde”, “energy music” and “The New Thing”.
Matthew Shipp began playing piano at six years old. He was strongly attracted to jazz, but also played in rock groups while in high school. Shipp has been very active since the early 1990s, appearing on dozens of albums as a leader, sideman or producer. He was initially most active in free jazz, but has since branched out, notably exploring music that touches on contemporary classical, hip hop and electronica. He has been a long member of saxophonist David S. Ware’s quartet, but also recorded or performed with many musicians, including William Parker, DJ Spooky, Joe Morris, Daniel Carter, Roscoe Mitchell, Mat Maneri, High Priest and Beans of Antipop Consortium, and El-P. His dense, percussive style is often compared to Cecil Taylor by some critics. Read more Matthew Shipp – Art of the Improviser (2011)
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Leszek Mozdzer – Komeda (2011)
Leszek Mozdzer is a classically-trained pianist, born in Gdansk, Poland, who discovered jazz as a teenager and now moves comfortably between the classical concert stage and jazz performance, garnering numerous awards along the way. He’s played with Stańko and has recorded with bassist Lars Danielsson, also he has worked with such artists and groups as Zbigniew Namysłowski, Tomasz Stańko, Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, Zbigniew Preisner, Anna Maria Jopek, Kazik Staszewski, Marcus Miller, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, David Gilmour, Behemoth and Lester Bowie. He is famous for his “Impressions,” subtle new interpretations of Chopin’s compositions. His recordings are the most popular jazz albums in his homeland.
His classical background strongly influences the sound of Komeda. Krzysztof Komeda, the Polish musician and composer who died suddenly and in a mysterious way at age 38, in 1969, was a key figure in the emergence of European jazz, and remains a major source of inspiration for musicians across the continent. On Komeda, his ACT solo album debut, pianist Leszek Mozdzer pays his own beautifully crafted tribute to his fellow countryman.
Fans of Keith Jarrett will be absolutely delighted. Read more Leszek Mozdzer – Komeda (2011)
Verneri Pohjola – Aurora (2011)
Finnish trumpeter/composer Verneri Pohjola seems to be a huge Miles Davis fan and the spirit of the “Dark Magus” is all over “Aurora”, more, its include also an exciting re-work of Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez”, not in the manner of Davis and Gil Evans on “Sketches of Spain”, but adding to it another – his own – perspective.
Pohjola was born in 1977, the son of bassist Pekka Pohjola, a legend of Finnish jazz and a player with an international reputation. He writes music and performs with several renowned groups in the fields of jazz, soul and rock. His main work include the jazz foursome Ilmiliekki Quartet and the indie/art rock band Silvio in which he plays Rhodes-piano and drums. Pohjola also contributes to groups such as Quintessence, Q-Continuum and Warp!, to name only a few. In 2008 he released an experimental sound collage, Michelin Star, only namely to be dubbed as jazz with drummer Joonas Riippa.
Released by Texicalli Records in February 2009, “Aurora” was re-released this year by German label Act Music. Read more Verneri Pohjola – Aurora (2011)
Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving – Deaden The Fields (2011)
This one comes from Australia and it’s a creative, breathing mixture of rock/post-rock elements with progressive and space-rock music and avant-garde jazz experiments while the space between is filled up with noises, intelligently built in electronica and cinematic soundscapes. Very fresh, unpredictable, colourful, flowing and ever changing.
“TToL emerged from the shadows of the Australian live scene with the release of their 2008 EP,Tiny Fragments and 2009 split EP with Sydney’s sleepmakeswaves. While their EPs attracted attention from
reviewers and punters alike, it’s as an intense and fiercely engaging live act that TToL have built their reputation in Australia. Through dozens of local headline shows,and supporting touring acts such as Australian prog heavywieghts Karnivool and Canadian doom lords Nadja in 2010, TToL have demanded attention and amassed a loyal following. Read more Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving – Deaden The Fields (2011)
John Zorn – Enigmata (2011)
Pour les connaisseurs. Strictly. Madness in pure essence, in small, but deadly doses. Under the moniker of John Zorn, Trevor Dunn – Electric 5-string bass (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Trevor Dunn’s Trio-Convulsant, Secret Chiefs 3, The Rob Price Quartet, Shelley Burgon, Zorn, etc) and Marc Ribot – electric guitar (impossible to enumerate… Tom Waits, John Zorn, David Sylvian, Jack McDuff, Wilson Pickett, The Lounge Lizards, Arto Lindsay, T-Bone Burnett, Medeski, Martin and Wood, Cibo Matto, Elysian Fields, Sam Phillips, Elvis Costello, David Poe, Allen Ginsberg, Foetus, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, Susana Baca, The Black Keys, Stan Ridgway, Vinicio Capossela, Alain Bashung, Lyenn, Hector Zazou, McCoy Tyner, Elton John, Madeline Peyroux, Marianne Faithfull, Leonid Fedorov, Tonio K, Andres Calamaro and many others, but also involved in a couple of projects as well) take us down on the path of compositions versus improvisations, in a tenebrous and tumultuous world of avant-garde (jazz) music. Read more John Zorn – Enigmata (2011)
BadBadNotGood – BBNG, EP (2011)
I actually thought their name is The Odd Trio, it seems I was wrong. And I admit it when I’m fucking up things. For God sake I’m not perfect. Yet. 👿 I’m willing to improve myself.
BadBadNotGood are back with another free EP, can grab it from their Bandcamp page or via Mediafire. Matt Tavares on piano, Alex Sowinski on drums and Chester Hansen on bass are three talented guys from Toronto and they plays smooth, but groovy modern jazz balancing between classic aromas and post-bop flavors. Experimental, still classy charming, smooth and exciting. Something absolutely nice to listening to. It’s quite an unique blending of traditional jazz and avant-garde experimentation, improvisations. Absolutely fresh and sparking. Read more BadBadNotGood – BBNG, EP (2011)
Planeta Imaginario – Optical Delusions (2011)
Combining elements of classic British progressive rock and jazz, not so popular genres nowadays, probably may seem commercial suicide, but this extremely exciting eight piece band from Barcelona, Spain, delivering an absolutely groovy and colorful mixture of jazz, jazz rock and progressive rock, their music overlapping the classic sounds of the 60s and 70s, but introducing modern, avant-garde textures, glows, experimental turns and subtle colors, creating unique, new musical fusions.
Founded in Barcelona in 1999, the band is named after a radically creative children’s TV show from the early 1980s – Imaginary Planet. Their music should appeal to listeners of such diverse artists as: Anekdoten, AKA moon, Area, John Coltrane, King Crimson, Avishai Cohen, Steve Coleman, Deus ex Machina, Gabriel Faure, Gilgamesh, Hatfield at the North, Pat Metheny, Nucleus, Soft Machine, Van der Graaf Generator, Frederic Mompou, National Health, Weather Report, Kenny Werner, Frank Zappa, and John Zorn. Read more Planeta Imaginario – Optical Delusions (2011)
Cindy Bradley – Unscripted (2011)
Cindy Bradley blows the trumpet since she was in the 4th grade of the elementary school, it was her last minute “weapon of choice” at the school’s band program while she began playing piano at the age of 6. Back than probably little she anticipate that it was a choice of a lifetime.
Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Cindy enjoyed a varied career in music starting from a very young age. At the age of 12 she began performing professionally with a Buffalo area jazz band that consisted of all promising young musicians called “Sugar and Jazz.” The group consisted of kids from ages 12-17 and stressed the importance of professionalism and emulating the big band sounds of the 1940s.
Cindy went on to earn a bachelors degree in jazz studies from Ithaca College, and a masters degree in jazz trumpet performance from the New England Conservatory. It was there that she studied with and was influenced by many jazz greats including John McNeil, Bob Brookmeyer, Jerry Bergonzi, George Russell and Steve Lacy. Read more Cindy Bradley – Unscripted (2011)
Irvin Mayfield – A Love Letter to New Orleans (2011)
“I Wish I Was in New Orleans (In the Ninth Ward)” – this Tom Waits song it just stuck in my mind since I herded it for the first time, just like some imagines from the Alan Parker’s movie “Angel Heart”. I never been in New Orleans…
Irvin Mayfield, Jr. born in New Orleans on December 23, 1977 is a jazz trumpeter and bandleader, he co-founded and has co-led the Afro-Cuban jazz group Los Hombres Calientes since 1998. while their debut album won Billboard’s 2000 Contemporary Latin Jazz Album of the Year. “A Love Letter to New Orleans” includes 14 selections from Mayfield’s 10-album recording career on Basin Street Records. Read more Irvin Mayfield – A Love Letter to New Orleans (2011)
Yuji Ohno and Lupintic Five – Let’s Dance (2011)
For more than 30 years, Ohno puts his stamp on jazz standards, classics, pop songs and contemporary hits, full of energy, up-tempo pumping and mixtures of bop, jazz rock, funk and pop, he has become a pioneer in fusion of the Japanese scene. Yuji Ohno on piano and with the support of Yoshihito Eto on drums, Masayuki Tawarayama on bass, Keiji Matsushima on trumpet, Hisatsugu Suzuki on saxophone and Satoshi Izumi on guitar, Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Five delivering a nice cocktail of fresh, pulsing, danceable jazz music. Shifting easily between genres and approaches from big band sound to jazz rock explosion, from funky tunes to smooth bar jazz sparkling, Yuji Ohno & Lupintic Five build their themes on excellent grooves and perfect performances. Read more Yuji Ohno and Lupintic Five – Let’s Dance (2011)
