: "The violinist Jenny Scheinman is full of playful ideas, and they're never obscure. The company she keeps in New York circles has made her a jazz musician by extension; she is a soulful, generous improviser and a quick study. But the foundation of her work generally is the strict order of folk music, from around the world and across the last century.
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Sunday, August 20, 2006
: "There's fusion everywhere in today's jazz, but it's instructive to look at some of the musicians who emerged in the '80s around downtown figurehead John Zorn. Few 'jazz' musicians have proven more expansive or more visionary in the last quarter-century, and good fortune finds them with new albums out this summer that make my thesis a living, breathing thing."
The Bad Plus' blog has a lengthy post about one of their favirite writers and an author that has simultaneously entranced and repulsed me for years: "'The Demon Dog of Crime Fiction' could only refer to James Ellroy, one of both Ethan and Dave's favorite authors. He wrote the book L.
A. Confidential. The film version is sanitized, simplified, sentimental, superficial, silly and stupid compared to the book.
Next month, another Ellroy adaptation, The Black Dahlia, will be in theaters. Dave and Ethan have agreed to see it together on tour. They have also agreed to be disappointed.
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BTW, is that a great t-shirt on Reid or what!
Sonny Simmons - Live at the Cheshire Cat (Hello World, 2006)
Hooking up with some talented local sidemen, Simmons made these bootleg-quality recordings of his live performances. This first disc comes from a club gig in Olympia, Washington where Simmons, backed by bass and drums takes off on an epic Coltrane-like 43 minute exploration of "It'?s the Talk of the Town"?
pouring molten lava out of his horn in great waves while a drummer and percussionist heap mountains of rhythm behind him. Think "?Chasin'?
the Trane"? at twice the length, and just as raw.
"Lost
where Sonny pays homage to one of his mentors, Eric Dolphy, by channeling the great mans leaping and lunging alto saxophone sound. Sonny Simmons is one of the most neglected figures of post-bop jazz and one would hope that this would cast a little attention in his direction. Unfortunately this is an extremely limited , and according to the Downtown Music Gallery, only 85 copies were pressed.
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Saxophonist and composer Donny McCaslin's profile has been rising in the jazz world with a Grammy nomination, prominent sideman appearances, and two new albums as a leader in 2006. This one is a modern-day blowing session, where McCaslin hooks up with John Swana on trumpet; Steve Cardenas on guitar; Scott Colley on bass and Gene Jackson on drums.
They take original compositions and a few covers and strip them down for some fascinating improvisational flights. McCaslin and Swana make for a very efficient front line soloing with forethought and spontaneity.
Anyone who enjoys strong mainstream jazz performance with echoes of 1960's Blue Note and Prestige blowing sessions should find a lot to enjoy here.
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Earlier this week, the great rock and soul musician Arthur Lee passed away.
WFMU has an excellent tribute to him on their . Oh yes, and if anyone has Lee's first solo album, , and would be willing to burn a copy for me, I would greatly appreciate it. It's out of print and I've been searching for it for years, to no avail.
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