Anthony Braxton - Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House, 2018) *****

By Paul Acquaro 

It's difficult for me to imagine 'Jazz' without Charlie Parker. He, along with the likes of Monk, Bud Powell, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, etc. re-fashioned jazz with the advanced harmonics, intricate melodies, and asymmetrical syncopation that is typically associated with the genre today. Inventing or discovering how extended scales could be used to traverse and re-harmonize chord progressions is the foundation of modern jazz. At the time, it was revolutionary, and it was quickly taken to the next level by the likes of Ornette Coleman and, of course, John Coltrane.

For me, Parker's music was a gift from my high school jazz band director, Paul Larson. We played a chart of 'Now's the Time' and it seemed simple to my naively adolescent mind, but I did register how Mr. Larson was not letting us slide on getting it right(er). We rehearsed the deceptively simple melody again and again - I still can feel the finger patterns on my imaginary bass clarinet. Then in my unrelated guitar lessons, I tripped over the fingerings of 'Blues for Alice' until I maybe half got it, however I started seeing the connections between the melodies and the chords. My Parker experience was an torturous gateway to deeper musical thinking. 

A bit later, I discovered Phil Schapp on WKCR, Columbia University, which I could pick up from my quaint little North Jersey hamlet nestled deep in the land of the Sopranos. Schapp drilled into the minutia and importance of Parker in mind boggling detail. Session dates, sidemen, false endings ... another world captivated my mind. Parker had been seeking something with his music, and there was something to seek in it.

In 1993, saxophonist and composer Antony Braxton, who has developed his own pioneering approaches to music, assembled a group to explore Parker's music in depth. With saxophonist Ari Brown, trumpter Paul Smoker, pianist Misha Mengelberg, bassist Joe Fonda, and drummers Pheeroan akLaff and Han Bennink, he embarked on a deep dive with a European tour and studio dates. A double Hat Hut CD was released in 1995 documenting the group, and now this 11 CD box set is a deep dive into the deep dive - all of the music this group recorded between October 18 and 24, 1993 in Cologne, Amsterdam, Zürich, and Antwerp. 

Here, I turn to Stuart Broomer's excellent liner notes accompanying the box set. I'd like to rephrase his opening question "How do you listen to the eleven CDs of Anthony Braxton’s Charlie Parker Project?" with my own simpler minded "how do you start listening to Anthony Braxton?" I explained my way in with Parker, but Braxton had always been more enigmatic. His discography is huge, his concepts beguiling, and his range breathtaking. I caught a large group show at the A 'Larm Festival in Berlin in 2014 and it was a difficult piece to take in at once, yet recent solo shows I've seen have featured moments of Monk and Miles quoted within these beautiful arcs of contemporaneous musical thought. Broomer captures this encompassing approach well:

At the outset of Braxton’s career in the closing years of the 1960s, there was plenty to set him apart, an iconoclast among iconoclasts. There were the unstated rhythms and episodic structures of the Braxton/Jenkins/Smith Trio, a group with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and violinist Leroy Jenkins later called the Creative Construction Company. There was the sheer challenge of For Alto, a two-LP set of solo saxophone music. And, too, there was the expanding collection of reed instruments: contra-bass clarinet, bass and sopranino saxophones and flute...

However, Broomer then notes that in the mid-70s elements of tradition began appearing in his work.

The first Braxton album in my collection was 'Duets 1976' with Muhal Richard Abrams. I loved the deep flatulent tone of the contra-bass clarinet and the adventurous takes on Dolphy's 'Miss Ann' and the 'Maple Leaf Rag'. Braxton's exploration of the past continued through the late 70s and beyond with his various Standards albums, the Thelonious Monk album, Six Monk's Compositions (1987), and explorations of the music of Warne Marsh and Lenny Tristano, and into the 2000's with the more contemporary Andrew Hill. However, it was still that '76 album that unlocked Braxton for me, I was less apoplectic to where to start and less apprehensive as to what I'd find. For what it's worth, the Parker work is just as perfect of an entrance. 

I think what's most important about the music, 25 years old now itself, is how it connects the avant-garde tradition (not sure if that's an oxymoron or not) with be-bop. The renditions are not 'Braxton plays Parker' but 'Braxton Re-contextualizes Parker in the late 20th Century'. At the time, the height of the neo-traditionalists, it seems like Braxton was saying 'you know, you can do more than just copy this stuff'. Of course I have no idea if that is what Braxton was thinking at all, and it would be such a trip to see what Charlie Parker would have said to hearing these versions. As Broomer writes, Parker has been seeking more, prevailing upon contemporary composers to help him push his music past its confines. Braxton also seems to not be one to rest easy with tradition. He explores, assimilates, absorbs, and transforms. 

Take 'Confirmation' the first track of the first disc, the opening is Parker's blizzard of notes over a tricky circle of 5ths chord progression. Braxton doesn't change the melody - it's as toe-tapping as it was in 1946 in all of its glorious be-boppiness - rather what the listener is treated to is a complete overhaul of the improvisational dimensions. The first saxophone solo begins immediately following the head and it starts Parkerishly with a quick descending line, but then it starts to smear, tonality gets fuzzy, Mengelberg's piano accompaniment, before dropping out all together, advances far beyond the confines of 1946. When the group re-groups on the theme at the end, we are delivered back on solid ground and one is left thinking "could this be what Parker was seeking?"

The next track is 'Quasimodo', Parker's rewrite of 'Embraceable You’. It swings, the head is pretty straight forward, but just wait for Smoker to enter. His solo begins with brief bursts of melodic phrases and lots of space between them, the bursts grow longer and the spaces shorter until he is delivering a blur of notes smeared across the changes. It's intense, it's searing, and when he ends, Mengelberg answers in a similar manner: starting spaciously and melodically, he then drops some lovely passages before going full on Monk with delicious shards of phrases, small clusters of sharp chords and jerky syncopation. It's a joy and a great set up for Braxton who then delivers his own jarring lead. Just when you've figured it's done, the three of them begin soloing in tandem, a colorful finale to the individual fireworks. 

akLaff is the star early on the tune 'Klaktoveedesteen'. A pulsating and rolling drum solo kicks off the track, soon the piano starts littering notes about, while Fonda's bass can be heard buzzing in the background. Here, Braxton has abandoned the original structure of the song, opting for pure deconstruction. The melody does eventually return, but only towards the end. It's uptempo, it's upbeat, and it's only ever a beat away from pure disintegration, which it does occur a few times. Interestingly, a later take of the same tune drops the early drum solo in favor of an extended passage of free playing by the horns. 

So, this is just three tracks off the first of 11 CDs. Like Phil Schapp, I've been obsessing over Parker - I mean Braxton - or whomever. What may seem like a straightforward take on the venerable Charlie Parker catalog is really something much more. This box set is a treasure chest whose depth of riches will take a long time to be revealed.

Finally, going back to Broomer's question in the liner notes: "How do you listen to the eleven CDs of Anthony Braxton’s Charlie Parker Project?", hell if I know. I haven't gotten past the first half of the first one yet!

I'm happy to say that this weekend, Tom Burris and Lee Rice Epstein will take us much further and competently into this stunning collection.

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Anthony Braxton - Sextet (Parker) 1993, Discs 7-11 (New Braxton House, 2018) *****

By Lee Rice Epstein

One of the first things I think about, with any archival release is, what’s the value? Not the financial value, but the cultural one. In other words, is something revealed or illuminated by this archival release? In some cases, the answer is absolutely yes. In others, it’s a bit mixed. When it comes to Anthony Braxton, whose output is nearly unmatched, a release like Sextet (Parker) 1993 inspires similar questions. Ignore them completely. This set is vital, its release long overdue, as it absolutely contains magnitudes.

Looking back on it, 1993 was in the midst of this period of just insane turnaround times, especially for Braxton releases on Leo Records. He produced a huge amount of music, already beginning the journey from collage-based system to the emergence of Ghost Trance Music. And in the midst of this evolution, arguably the most vital of his career—the space delineating pre-GTM and GTM—Braxton recorded over 11 hours of music by or recorded by Charlie Parker. In his liner notes, Stuart Broomer writes, of Eric Dolphy’s December 21, 1960, recording of both Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz and his own Far Cry, “It was as if Dolphy had just passed through something.” There is, I think, a similar passing through for Braxton in these Parker sessions. (Broomer seems to agree, as he touches on these points and more in his extended liner-notes essay “Ways of Listening to Braxton’s Bird.”)

It is an interesting time for this release. Recorded 25 years ago, the sessions came 25 years into Braxton’s recording career. And here he was, on a much larger scale than his previous Monk and Tristano projects, going deep into a single artist’s song book with true depth, verve, and skepticism. Take, for example, the sax and piano duet recording of “April In Paris,” on disc 8. The whole disc is a barn-burner, a 15-minute “Hot House,” followed by a 16-minute “Another Hair-Do,” and a half-hour closing “An Oscar for Treadwell,” with an “A Night In Tunisia” interpolation. The first two tracks feature the quintet of Braxton, Paul Smoker on trumpet, Misha Mengelberg on piano, Joe Fonda on bass, and Pheeroan akLaff on drums; saxophonist Ari Brown joins the band for the massive closing track. And in the middle of all these absolutely top-notch performances, the duet plays like a high-wire act. Braxton and Mengelberg both shine brightly in their playing throughout the whole set, but this “April In Paris” truly sparkles. It’s expressive and dissonant, both of them unpacking 60 years of jazz history and turning a standard on its head, as both had done and would continue to do throughout their careers. It takes a special kind of reverence and forward-thinking to twist and turn a classic without thumbing your nose at it. The 20 seconds of rousing applause at the end confirms what a successful take this was.

My impressions, upon hearing the original 1993 Charlie Parker Project album, seem now mostly wrong. For one thing, I didn’t realize Han Bennink appeared on only one night of the tour, and that akLaff carried the band 6 of their 7 nights. Their styles are so unique and quite different. Of course, disc 7, the Zürich night with Bennink, sounds slightly more like an ICP meeting than the rest. And Fonda seems better paired with akLaff—cue up disc 9’s “Dewey Square,” where he’s accompanied by Mengelberg and akLaff for a sense of how effortlessly they glide together (more like Dolphy’s Byard/Carter/Haynes than Parker’s Jordan/Potter/Roach).

As with any archival release, most song titles recur multiple times (although a few appear only once or twice). Some return in a more or less similar fashion, while others are incomparable recordings. Take “Klactoveedsedstene,” which was performed 6 times, including a very successful version in Zürich with Bennink on drums. After 15 seconds of melody, Smoker guides the segue into the group’s longest take on their inside-out version. Bennink is phenomenal throughout, dynamic and cracking, switching over to brushes for a double-time swing section near the end, quintessential bebop. Likewise, the second take of “Koko,” closing out disc 10, swings like mad, with akLaff a bit looser here than on the earlier take, and Braxton opening up a bit more on his alto solo. Brown sits out, and maybe because there’s more space overall, Smoker also takes a slightly more expansive solo.

In short, yes this is a highly recommended release. But more than that, it’s recommended you really listen to it. Not just once or twice, but in all the ways possible. I have a playlist that’s organized by song title, so I can hear 2 “Cardboard”s followed by 2 “Charlie’s Wig”s followed by 3 “Confirmation”s. I have another that’s just my favorite tracks under 10 minutes. Find a way in, and the set has reward after reward. In that way, it’s the best kind of archival release, one that feels sufficiently, and consistently, new.

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Free Jazz Blog's 2018 Top 10 Lists

From: It's OK to Like Free Jazz

Today we present the Collective's top 10 albums of the year and invite you to vote in the annual New Ears Awards.

The contenders for the award were drawn from the lists below and can be found here. The collective also votes on the same list, but in a separate poll. The award winner for both polls will be announced on January 1st.

As you know, it's not so easy to come up with a top 10 list. There is teeth gnashing, tears of frustration, and sleepless nights over the difficult decisions that must be made, and then there is the haunting thought that these decisions will never be perfect. This of course is stacked up against all of the albums we didn't get to even listen to throughout the year. Requests for album reviews topped 2000 this year - even more than last year. Regardless, it is exciting that music making is alive and well and to be entrusted to give our opinions on the music.

Thank you all for being a part of the Free Jazz Collective and supporting improvised music in general. The creative music community is  small and everyone plays a part, whether it is as musician, promoter, writer/critic, listener, concert-goers, consumer, or a bit of each.

List are presented in alphabetical order by reviewer's last name: 

Paul Acquaro

• Paul Rogers, Olaf Rupp, Frank Paul Schubert - Three Stories About Rain, Sunlight And The Hidden Soil (Relative Pitch)*
  It all came together for me when I saw this trio play live. With Rupp’s textural guitar, Rogers unbelievable 7 string acoustic bass, and Schubert’s wide-ranging sax work, the output is daring and completely captivating.
• Duck Baker - Plays Monk (Triple Point)
  Hot on the heel’s of his 100th birthday, there have been many Monk related releases, from the historical to the obsessive, like guitarist Miles Okazaki who covered all of Monk's compositions on  "Work (Complete, Volumes 1-6)". Here, I chose Duck Baker's wonderful interpretations, but it was not an easy choice.
• Momentum - Brüllt & Monster Roster (Audiographic)
  A milestone for Ken Vandermark as a composer. I'm still working on it as a listener.
• Cataclysmic Commentary - Audience Participation (Eschatology)*
  Pianist Eli Wallace is a dynamic player and this recording, with saxophonist Ben Cohen and drummer Dave Miller is a great album debut for the fierce, but nuanced, trio.
• Henry Threadgill -14 or 15 Kestra: Agg - Dirt... And More Dirt (Pi Recordings)
  A large big band triumph, the music on Dirt and More Dirt carries the distinction of sounding both thoroughly forward thinking with its angular and twisting themes and complex harmonies, and at the same deeply rooted in tradition.
• Angelika Niescier, Christopher Tordini & Tyshawn Sorey -The Berlin Concert (Intakt)
  This 'classic' free jazz album, recorded at the Berlin Jazzfest, as my colleague Lee writes "Balances tenderness and vibrancy with ease."
• Devin Gray - Dirigo Rataplan II (Rataplan Records)
  Drummer Gray leads a group of fantastic musicians through a series of tunes show casing his ever growing compositional prowess.
• Andrew Cyrile, Wadada Leo Smith & Bill Frisell - Lebroba (ECM)*
  Lovely lines, fragile melogies, and muscle when it's called for. I am submitting this in lieu of  Jakob Bro's Bay Of Rainbows (ECM), which I would say similar things of.
• Jon Irabagon - Dr. Quixotic's Traveling Exotics (Irrabagast)
  It's not exactly free jazz, but the saxophonist's quixotic composition sensibilities and unbelievable technique are on full display on this gem.
• Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog ‎– YRU Still Here? (Yellowbird)*
  He's pissed and he's political. This is a monster album full of hard-charging proto-punk/funk tunes and snarling lyrics.
  
  *reviews forthcoming

Stuart Broomer

These are organized not by merit or alphabet but family resemblance—music that’s jazz in the most richly traditioned sense (including musicians with laurels of resting dimension who choose not to use them); music that at once stretches musical possibilities and the scale of the public dialogue; works of pure vision that highlight the alchemical nature of all these works. The list is bracketed by two musicians appearing together 50 years apart.

• Dave Holland/ Evan Parker/ Craig Taborn/ Ches Smith: Uncharted Territories (Dare 2 Records, 2018)
  Multiple associations from the SME to Rocket Science come into play.
• Rodrigo Amado/ Joe McPhee/ Kent Kessler/ Chris Corsano: A History of Nothing (Trost: 2018)
  This band’s first recording was the 2015 reader’s choice of this site for record of the year. This one extends the dialogue.
• Anthony Braxton: Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House, 2018)
  The only thing that could make this better is if Parker, out of time, out of space, out of and into all sorts of stuff, en route with his unpawnable Grafton to Edgard Varèse’s apartment, happened by one of these sessions, thus meeting his legacy coming the other way (mea culpa, full disclosure: I wrote the liner notes).
• Matthew Shipp/ William Parker/ Daniel Carter: Seraphic Light (AUM, 2018) 
  Three musicians test the limits of continuous improvised melody.
• Veryan Weston/Element Choir: The Make Project (Barnyard Research, 2018).
  20 years in, the great English pianist/composer continues to develop his Tessellations project, in which every pentatonic scale is present, moving from one to another with one pitch change at a time—this time in Toronto with seven other musicians, Christine Duncan’s 45-voice conduction choir and sung texts from women writers ranging from 13th century mystics to 20th century anarchists, all most compatible.
• Christopher Fox: Topophony. WDR sinfonia orchester; conductor: Ilan Volkov; soloists: John Butcher; Thomas Lehn; Axel Dörner; Paul Lovens. (HatArt, 2018)
  The world needs more large-scale orchestral compositions with space for Butcher, et al.; Ilan Volkov is making a habit of expanding the territory sighted by Giuffre in Mobiles 59 years ago with a different German Radio symphony orchestra.
• Tyshawn Sorey: Pillars (Firehouse Twelve) 
  Eight musicians. 4 ½ hours of music, Pillars plumbs the depths of pitch and meaning.
• Cyril Bondi/ Pierre-Yves Martel/ Christoph Schiller: tse (another timbre, 2018)
  Three musicians from Switzerland, Canada and Germany make new music out of old instruments: improvisations on starkly limited pitches with harmonium, viola da gamba and spinet.
• Common Objects (John Butcher/Angharad Davies/ Rhodri Davies/ Lina Lapelyte/ Lee Patterson/ Pat Thomas): Skullmarks (ftarri, 2018)
  Distinctions among ear, eye, mind, object, time, space, individual and group (and everything else) either clarify or disappear.
• Spontaneous Music Ensemble: Karyōbin (are the imaginary birds said to live in paradise) (Emanem, 2018)
  Music that’s been stretching the possibilities of the contemporary for 50 years, now sounding better than ever.  

Tom Burris

We are living on this planet in a strange time. Earth is determined to be rid of us all through one catastrophe or another if one of our madmen “leaders” doesn't do the job first. I don't have any answers. But for fuck's sake, don't go out without a fight! Vote. Let your voices be heard. Take to the fucking streets. Fight the good fight, people. Don't forget this simple fact: we still outnumber the assholes. Unfortunately, when it comes to music we are painfully outnumbered. However, the albums on this list are intelligent, hopeful, soulful, optimistic, original, beautiful & crucial. All are 5-star caliber recordings. Bundle up and put some music on. Happy Holidays!

• Matthew Shipp – Zero (ESP-Disk)
  A solo piano masterwork. Absolutely essential in every way.
• Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt – Brace Up! (Palilalia)
  Not only the face-melter you expected, but also a fucked-up visionary work of stunning beauty & power.
• Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon – Leave No Trace: Live in St. Louis (Family Vineyard) / Kuzu – Hiljaisuus (Astral Spirits)
  Dorji and Damon released two of the finest records of the year, with new project Kuzu adding saxophonist Dave Rempis to the brotherhood. The FJC gave both of these records well-deserved 5-star ratings. Is it cheating to put them both into one entry? #sorrynotsorry
• Tyshawn Sorey – Pillars (Firehouse 12)
  Seemingly influenced by every possible form of introspective music in existence, Sorey takes his time luring you into his Tibetan Feldman cave. You'll never want to leave.
• Satoko Fujii – Solo (Libra)
  Another solo piano masterwork. Absolutely essential in every way.
• Frame Trio – Luminaria (FMR)
  Frame Trio knock out a brooding, drone-based work more reminiscent of Cale-era Velvet Underground than anything jazz-based, making it an excellent driving companion.
• Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg – Dirt & More Dirt (Pi Recordings)
  I probably could've put both of Threadgill's 2018 Pi releases on here, but didn't wanna push it after that Dorji/Damon entry. These albums push Threadgill's group compositional concepts forward yet again, this time with a larger band mostly made up of the maestro's former ensembles.
• Tim Daisy's Fulcrum Ensemble – Animation (Relay)
  Daisy renames his Celebration Sextet and throws down his latest (and greatest) compositions with the all-star group. Amazingly executed and over far too soon. More!
• Locksmith Isidore – After Caroline (Northern Spy)
  Another artist I could've doubled up entries on this year, Jason Stein also released an excellent second album by his alternate trio Hearts and Minds on the unbelievably prolific Astral Spirits label. The band gels so well on After Caroline they make impossible things sounds easy.
• Rodrigo Amado / McPhee / Kessler / Corsano – A History of Nothing (Trost)
  Can this ridiculously stellar lineup possibly deliver on its promise? Why yes son, it certainly can – and does. There is a goddamn Santa Claus.

Reissues / Unearthed recordings:

• Anthony Braxton – Sextet (Parker) (New Braxton House)
  Professor Braxton re-interprets Bird's catalog on this extended-to-boxed-set reissue that leaves no idea shelved. Like all of Braxton's best, it's both exhausting and indispensable.
• John Coltrane – Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album (Impulse!)
  As essential as anything the man ever recorded, so buy the deluxe version & thank Naima's family as you hand over your cash.   

Troy Dostert

• Steve Coleman and Five Elements - Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. 1: The Embedded Sets (Pi)
• Mary Halvorson - Code Girl (Firehouse 12)
• Sylvie Courvoisier Trio - D’Agala (Intakt)
• Angelika Niescier, Christopher Tordini and Tyshawn Sorey - The Berlin Concert (Intakt)
• Susana Santos Silva - All the Rivers: Live at Panteão Nacional (Clean Feed)
• Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi with Masahiko Satoh - Proton Pump (Family Vineyard)
• Ingrid Laubrock - Contemporary Chaos Practices (Intakt)
• Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret - The Other Side of Air (Firehouse 12)
• Marty Ehrlich - Trio Exaltation (Clean Feed)
• Here’s to Us - Animals, Wild and Tame (Hoob)

Alexander Dubovoy

• Cecil Taylor – Poschiavo (Jazzwerkstatt)
  An important reminder of whom we lost this year and of the sheer power of his solo playing.
• Evan Parker/Barry Guy/Paul Lytton - Music for David Mossman (Intakt)
  Not only is this one of my favorite Evan Parker albums, it pays homage to David Mossman. He was the founder of the Vortex Jazz Club in London and an extremely decent, kind human being, and he passed away this year.
• Daniel Carter, William Parker & Matthew Shipp - Seraphic Light (AUM)
  Of all the albums this year, this was the one I just couldn’t stop listening to. There’s something deeply addictive to it.
• Mahobin - Live at Big Apple in Kobe (Libra Record)
  This was some of the most interesting music to come out of Japan this year, and I absolutely love Ikue Mori’s work with electronics. A beautiful exploration of timbre.
• Matthew Shipp – Zero (ESP-Disk)
  A stunning solo piano album. Shipp’s approach to harmony and touch is unparalleled.
• Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, and Ches Smith - Uncharted Territories (Dare2 Records)
  The “super group” free jazz album of the year, and it lives up to its pedigree. I particularly love the references to Conference of the Birds and the amazing communication within the ensemble.
• Christian Lillingers GRUND— COR (Plaist Music)
  Lillinger has a unique voice and is an amazing contributor to the Berlin scene. I just love this album.
• Henry Threadgill - Double Up Plays Double Up Plus (Pi Recordings)
  Of the two stellar Threadgill albums released this year, this is the one I keep on listening to. It is a work of sheer compositional genius.
• Cory Smythe - Circulate Susanna (Pyroclastic)
  A radical and gorgeous rethinking of American culture—something we desperately need at this time in history.
• Miles Okazaki - Work (The complete compositions of Thelonious Monk) (2018)
  A painstaking and beautiful compilation of Monk’s compositional oeuvre.

Lee Rice Epstein

• Stephanie Richards - Fullmoon (Relative Pitch, 2018)
• Mary Halvorson - Code Girl (Firehouse 12, 2018)
• Tyshawn Sorey - Pillars (Firehouse 12, 2018)
• Fay Victor’s SoundNoiseFUNK - Wet Robots (ESP-Disk’, 2018))
• Okkyung Lee - Cheol-Kkot-Sae (Steel.Flower.Bird) (Tzadik, 2018)
• Han-earl Park, Catherine Sikora, and Nick Didkovsky - Eris 136199 (Buster and Friends, 2018)
• Kira Kira - Bright Force (Libra, 2018)
• Henry Threadgill - Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus (Pi Recordings, 2018)
• Ben LaMar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun (International Anthem, 2018)
• Kuzu - Hijaisuus (Astral Spirits, 2018)

Stef Gijssels

• Tyshawn Sorey - Pillars (Firehouse 12, 2018)
  A wonderful album with a very unique vision on music : captivating in every possible sense.
• Daniel Carter, William Parker & Matthew Shipp - Seraphic Light (AUM, 2018)
  A grand and majestic album by three musicians who trust each other blindly and dive into their musical heritage
  
• Barre Phillips - End To End (ECM, 2018)
  The inventor of the solo bass album produces his last solo album, and he surpasses himself.
• Chaos Echoes & Mats Gustafsson - Sustain (Utech, 2018)
  A wonderful collision between genres and a great unity of horrifying terror.
• Satoko Fujii’s Orchestra Berlin - Ninety-Nine Years (Libra, 2018)
  It could have been another album by Fujii, but just to show that I changed my mind about her orchestral works.
• Frame Trio - Luminaria (FMR, 2018)
  Anything these guys do is fresh, inventive,clever and moving.
• Jeremiah Cymerman - Decay of the Angel (5049 Records, 2018)
  Headstrong, visionary and deeply emotional. A personal story by one of today’s more adventurous musicians.
• Mazen Kerbaj - Walls Will Fall - The 49 Trumpets of Jericho (Bohemian Drips, 2018)
  A strong political and musical statement.
• Susana Santos Silva - All the Rivers – Live at Panteão Nacional (Clean Feed, 2018)
  A solo trumpet album, explorative, expressive, sensitive.
• Peter Jacquemyn - Fundament (El Negocito, 2018)
  One of the best concerts I ever saw bundled in an excellent album. Ambitious, unique and rewarding.

Colin Green

• Anthony Braxton ‎– Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House)
  New takes on bebop classics, freshly oxygenated.
• Ingrid Laubrock – Contemporary Chaos Practices / Two Works For Orchestra with Soloists (Intakt)
  Featuring a stellar cast, this album reinforces Laubrock’s status at the interface of composition and improvisation.
• Martin Blume, Tobias Delius, Achim Kaufmann, Dieter Manderscheid ‎– Frames & Terrains (NoBusiness)
  Nervy and buzzing with intensity, yet strangely elusive.
• Spectral – Empty Castles (Aerophonic)
  A fascinating collection of dialogues between Dave Rempis, Darren Johnston, Larry Ochs and a 12,000-square foot concrete bunker.
• Assif Tsahar, William Parker, Hamid Drake – In Between the Tumbling a Stillness (Hopscotch)
  An inventive saxophonist who deserves greater exposure, and a rhythm section that provides it.
• Cecil Taylor – Poschiavo (Black Sun)
  A reminder of what we lost, and an opportunity to digest the achievements of quite possibly the most important free jazz musician thus far.
• Rodrigo Amado, Joe McPhee, Kent Kessler, Chris Corsano ‎– A History of Nothing (Trost)
  Maintains the standard set by This Is Our Language, the previous studio album, and the good news is that a live set has been recorded.
• Kaze – Atody Man (Circum-Libra)
  So much to choose from in Satoko Fujii’s 60th anniversary year, with a quartet that displays her talent for diversity and synthesis.
• Barry Guy@70 - Blue Horizon - Live at Ad Libitum Festival 2017 (Fundacja Słuchaj!)
  Another anniversary treat celebrated in Warsaw last year – Guy with Agustí Fernández, Marilyn Crispell and Paul Lytton, and his first duo performance with Joëlle Léandre.
• Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn and Ches Smith ‎– Uncharted Territories (Dare2)
  A welcome return to improv for Holland, teaming up with his old friend and two musicians from a later generation in a delightful set of duos, trios and full quartet offerings.

Eyal Hareuveni

• Extra Large Unit - More Fun, Please (PNL)
  Just imagine a session of Nino Rota, Cecil Taylor and a Korean royal music and you may begin to understand the great fun potential of this piece.
• Chesterfield - Consuelo (Mikroton)
  Austrian experimental guitarist Burkhard Stangl and and sound artist-composer Angélica Castelló poetic meditation on the ballad “Bésame Mucho”.
• Kim Myhr / Quatuor Bozzini / Caroline Bergvall / Ingar Zach - pressing clouds passing crowds  (Hubro Music, 2018)
  The most emotional work of the Norwegian guitarist, inspired by the work of French-Norwegian poet Caroline Bergvall and the music of American composer Robert Ashley.
• Peter Brötzmann / Heather Leigh - Sparrow Nights (Trost)
  German reeds titan and American pedal steel guitar play sketch most comprehensive overview of their turbulent, chaotic and complex love relationship.
• Mahobin - Live at Big Apple in Kobe (Libra Records)
  It is almost impossible to pick only one album of the twelve, excellent one that Satoko Fujii released this year, celebrating her 60th birthday, but this free-improvised performance with Danish sax player Lotte Anker, electronics wizard Ikue Mori and partner-trumpeter Natsuki Tamura is my favorite.
• Tania Giannouli | Rob Thorne | Steve Garden - Rewa (Rattle)
  Deep listening, spontaneously improvised meeting of the Greek pianist and New Zealand, Māori exponent of the traditional ngā taonga pūoro instruments, with some subtle treatments.
• The End - Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen (Rare Noise)
  Two baritone sax heavyweights - Mats Gustafsson and Kjetil Møster, Deerhoof’s powerhouse drummer Greg Saunier, avant-noise-metal guitarist Anders Hana and great vocalist Sofia Jernberg. You don’t need more.
• Johan Lindström Septett - Music for Empty Halls (Moserobie)
  This Swedish guitarist-multi-instrumentalist finally released his debut album and it is  a beautiful lush melodies, playful jazz sensibilities, breezy blues riffs and eccentric art rock edges performed by an elite unit.
• Hilde Marie Holsen - Lazoli (Hubro Music)
  This Norwegian trumpeter-electronic player compares her work process to the one of painter, meticulously laying sonic colors and shades and painting with sounds. 
• Biliana Voutchkova / Michael Thieke - Blurred Music (Elsewhere)
  Three hours of exemplary creativity, mutual trust and intimacy by these Berlin-based violinist and clarinetist. 

Chris Haines

• Bill Frisell – Music IS (Okeh)
• Nels Cline 4 – Constellations (Blue Note)
• Ian Brighton / Henry Kaiser – Together Apart (Fractal)
• Santiago Quintans & Ramon Lopez – Espadas Como Labios (Creative Sources)
• Kaoru Abe / Sabu Toyozumi – Mannyoka (NoBusiness)
• Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn & Ches Smith – Uncharted Territories (Dare2)
• Louis Beaudoin-de-la-Sablonniere, Eric Normand, Louis-Vincent Hamel – Brulez Les Meubles (Tour de Bras)
• Miles Okazaki – WORK: The Complete Compositions Of Thelonious Monk (self-released)
• Samuel Blaser with Marc Ducret & Peter Brunn – Tatklos Zurich 2017 (Hatology)
• Juhani Aaltonen / Raoul Bjorkenheim – Awakening (Eclipse Music)  

Gustav Lundqvist

• Miles Okazaki - WORK: The complete compositions of Thelonious Monk (Self-released)
  I don't know if it's because it's such a monumental project or because it's Monk or both, but regardless of which, Okazaki just offered this to all of us to enjoy for years and years. Any follow-up solo guitar work of Monk's will have to stand up against this.
• Anthony Braxon - Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House)
  This release is to have, to hold and to cherish for years and years to come. I'd go so far as saying this is as essential as having Parker's releases. They will forever be side by side in my collection. Bird and Braxton.
• Ben LaMar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun (International Anthem)
  Accidental finding, shocking first listen! This got to me the same way as Fly or die (Jaimie Branch) from the same label.
• Peter Brötzmann, Heather Leigh - Sparrow Nights (Trost)
  It's almost dark became the track that I probably heard the most times this year. Peeled off, full of anxiety and darkness.
• Johan Lindström Septett - Music For Empty Halls (Moserobie)
  Run is the track in which I envision myself walking down the street in a fur coat with a cane and a top hat, feeling like a million dollars and with no more fucks to give. Back to reality I walk the streets of Barcelona smoking a H. Upmann Magnum 46, listening to Sleepless Lapsteels and I feel less of being misplaced in this world and more a part of it. This is indeed a real feather in Jonas Kullhammars hat!
• Marker - Roadwork 1 / Roadwork 2 / Homework 1 (Catalytic Sound)
  Marker. Love at first listen. Vandermark return with Marker and does it in such a creative way! He's such a giant, and I can't wait to hear what comes next.
• Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore ‎– After Caroline (Northern Spy)
  This is always what I listen to before, or after, Marker. There's a companionship between the two albums, and when I hear the passive aggressive build-up in Walden's Thing I smile and enjoy.
• Fire! - The Hands (Rune Grammofon)
  Darkness, oh lovely darkness. I keep finding new layers with every listen.
• Martin Küchen - Lieber Heiland, laß uns sterben (Sofa)
  Yes, released in 2017 - but reviewed in 2018 so I'll include it here. I had it in my list for 2017 as well, but perhaps it wasn't fair - given that my review wasn't published until 2018. Fantastic album that I wish would reach more listeners.
• Anguish - Anguish (RareNoiseRecords)
  Not reviewed on blog yet, but I'm hoping it will be before the end of the year. Chaotic, industrial, free!

David Menestres

• Ingrid Laubrock - Contemporary Chaos Practice (Intakt)
  I mostly wanted to focus on small group recordings, this is the large exception to that. My brain cracked open wide during the first listening. More fissures appear with with each spin.
• Miles Okazaki - WORK: The complete compositions of Thelonious Monk (set-released) Okazaki should add alchemist to his list of accomplishments. Turning Monk’s piano compositions into guitar compositions is no easier than turning lead into gold, but here it is. A massive accomplishment.
• Barre Phillips & Motoharu Yoshizawa - Oh My, Those Boys! (No Business)
  A live recording from 1994 finally seeing the light of day. An rare document from two uniquely different masters of the bass.
• Discovery Festival 2017 - Channel (Weekertoft)
  Over six hours of music documenting the 2017 Discovery Festival featuring a wide variety of musicians from across Ireland and the UK in all manners of combinations.
• Ensemble Grizzana - Early to Late (Another Timbre)
  This album was my introduction to the music of Magnus Granberg. Last month we gave the US premiere of his piece included on this album. I couldn’t write an EOY list that didn’t include this album.
• Biliana Voutchkova, Michael Thieke - Blurred Music (Elsewhere)
  One of a handful of excellent releases from the new label Elsewhere, this three CD-set features live violin and clarinet improvisations interacting in unexpected ways with pre-recorded material.
• Ben LaMar Gay - Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun (International Anthem)
  A white hot greatest hits set culled from seven albums that havev’t previously been released, though IA is in the process of releasing them now.
• Séverine Ballon - inconnaissable (All That Dust)
  My favorite solo cello album of the year, and there were several that were beyond excellent.
• Shanna Sordahl - Radiate Don’t Fear the Quietus (Full Spectrum)A beautifully inward-looking solo album featuring cello, voice, and electronics, that has been haunting me since early this summer.
• Charles Mingus - Jazz in Detroit / Strata Concert Gallery / 46 Selden (BBE Music)
  So many dead musicians suffer from reissues that are nothing but endless cash grabs for their estates, but this previously unavailable live set from February of 1973 is an essential addition to the Mingus catalog.

Nick Metzger

• Assif Tsahar, William Parker, Hamid Drake – In Between the Tumbling a Stillness (Hopscotch)In my opinion it's the single best album by a saxophone trio this year. The almost perfect interplay is shaded with a colorful inventiveness rarely heard as vividly since Ayler's trio with Murray and Peacock.
• Bad Luck - Four (Origin)
  Their skillful combination of atmosphere, unconventional rhythm, and blazing free jazz fire prove to be a winning combination for this reviewer.
• Dave Holland – Uncharted Territories (Dare2)
  This spent the summer in my car stereo, fantastic variety from some top notch improvisers. I especially enjoyed the multiple combinations of players.
• Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg – Dirt . . . And More Dirt (Pi)
  I had a lot of trouble choosing between this and Double Up, Plays Double Up Plus, both should really be on here, but my device shows that I listened to this album more so I’ll go with it. You can’t go wrong with either, brilliant stuff from a living legend.
• Makaya McCraven – Universal Beings (International Anthem)
  McCraven takes his ‘organic beat music’ to new heights with four different bands in four different cities across two continents. A truly ambitious album executed to perfection by one of Chicago’s (via France and the NE US) finest. Pick up McCraven’s Where We Come From while you’re at it, you won’t be disappointed.
• Marker - Roadwork 1&2/Homework 1 Boxset (Audiographic)
  There is so much music in here and it’s all so satisfying. This is an amazing collection from one of Vandermark’s most exciting ensembles, not to be missed!
• Matthew Shipp - Zero (ESP-Disk)
  Again, this is a close one. Sonic Fiction is a special record, but I feel that Shipp is at his most remarkable when he plays solo. Removed from distractions and left to do his own thing he astounds with his inventiveness. Pair this with hatOLOGY’s reissue of his solo debut Symbol Systems.
• Szilárd Mezei Vocal Ensemble - Hotel America (Not Two)
  Mezei's brilliant tribute to the victims of post-WWII atrocities committed in Vojvodina is one of his most moving, demanding, and exciting works yet. Szilárd is making some of the most important music out there and is quickly amassing a vast back catalogue.
• Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon – Leave No Trace (Family Vineyard)
  Two words: Hot Fire. We’ve come to expect the incredible from this duo and they don’t let us down here. The telepathy and ability to push boundaries that these two display is really special.
• Tyshawn Sorey - Pillars (Firehouse 12)
  When I first got this I had it on repeat for a week just trying to absorb everything. Sorey’s brilliant epic is unlike anything I've heard, he’s making his own myth right now.

Gregg Miller

• Anouar Brahem - Blue Maqams (ECM)
  With Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette and Django Bates. In 2018, I have been listening over and over to this one record, both when I want to listen to it, and also when I want to do other things but have something on in the background. I've probably listened to it 200 times. So good, I sent it to my mother-in-law. Try it!
• Lori Goldston - The Passion of Joan of Arc (Substrata)
  Slow-moving cello silent film score. I challenge you to concentrate on it the entire time -- can't be done! It puts you in a dream state.
• Jack Wright - You Haven't Heard This (Spring Garden Music)
  The first group improvisation (30 minutes) manages to be completely inventive every single second, an astonishing feat. This disk accompanies Jack Wright's incisive theoretical treatise, The Free Musics, well worth your time.
• Dave Holland -  Uncharted Territories (Dare 2 Records)
  Easy listening, Evan Parker is especially good here, of course.
• Tyshawn Sorey - Pillars (Firehouse 12)
  So much patience, so many sounds!
• Andrew Cyrille, Wadada Leo Smith, Bill Frisell - Lebroba (ECM) 
  Trumpet, guitar, drums, just doin' it the way it should be done (on the mellow side of free).
• Bad Luck - Four (Origin Records) 
  An energetic sax/drums duo with electronic washes. Uplift meets downdraft.
• Matthew Shipp Quartet - Sonic Fiction (ESP)
  With Mat Walerian, Michael Bisio and Whit Dickey. Walerian's bass clarinet is noteworthy. The disk is a close mate to Shipp's outing from 2017 on ESP with Walerian and William Parker (under the band name, Toxic). If you liked that one, this one is cake.
• Triptet - Slowly, Away (Engine)
  Tom Baker on fretless guitar can do no wrong. Greg Campbell finds melody in percussiveness wherever it is. Ambient, but frothing with arresting sonic textures.
• Burrows/Campbell/Goila/Reed - Tales from the Zoo (Third Rail)
  I am delighted by this record-- a superior outing of clarinets, cornet, guitar, bass and percussion. Clarinet's in the lead mostly. They play the range: soft as whispers to energetic runs over bass throbs, to noisy guitar to searching cornet/clarinet interleaving. 

Fotis Nikolakopoulos

This year started with the loss of Mark E. Smith so it was supposed to be weird. And it was. While our societies continue to consume products and keep destroying the planet, I try to find solace in music. I say music and not jazz because 2018 was a year i tried to listen more to new musics

and less to jazz related sounds. So, only seven new albumss that go along with three blasts from the past that came out in 2018.

I hope you enjoy them, until then let's all keep supporting non-corporate free thinking music.

• John Coltrane Quartet - Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album
  1963 was an important year in John Coltrane's evolution just before his music took off on to another spiritual level. This album is another document of this transition made by the best jazz quartet of all times.
• Kaoru Abe / Sabu Toyozumi ‎– Banka
  Kaoru Abe's presence on this planet was short, but his music is eternal. Here, along with master percussionist Sabu Toyozumi in a never heard before live reording. A big praise to all those involved to make this happen and especially to NoBusiness records, maybe the best label in jazz right now.
• Catherine Sikora /Christopher Culpo – The spectral life of things
  A constant flow of notes, melodies and collective improvisational ethos. Check the small feature of Catherine Sikora's recordings, one of the most important jazz voices of this year.
• Birchall / Cheetham / Webster / Willberg - Plastic Kneecap
  Raw Tonk is building a catalog of very fresh and strong free jazz recordings while these four musicians never stop exploring their music. First release on vinyl from the label.
• Paul Flaherty / Chris Corsano ‎– The Hated Music
  Some 18 years after it came out, this release, first time on vinyl from the ever weird Feeding Tube Records, reminds us why this duo is maybe the most important in free jazz for the last two decades.
• Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi featuring Masahiko Satoh - Proton Pump
  Like the legend of King Midas, whenever Akira Sakata is involved, gold comes out.
• Jack Wright, Dylan van der Schyff ‎– ... Two In The Bush
  Jack Wright is a true maverick of free thinking-no borders music. Here in a more conventional drums-sax duo both musicians achieve a balance that makes the cd a must to buy.
• Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt - Brace Up!
  Not exactly the typical jazz (or even free) album but their need for exploring and taking risks is on the spot.
• Marco Colonna, Agustí Fernandez, Zlatko Kaučič - Agrakal
  Maybe it's Fernandez's magic, maybe the interplay between the three is the most crucial factor. Not sure why i really enjoy and cherish this album. Maybe because it is just a masterpiece.
• Dave Rempis, Tomeka Reid, Joshua Abrams ‎– Ithra
  The warmness of their playing goes along with high energy and pathos.

Nick Ostrum

• Assif Tsahar, William Parker, Hamid Drake – In Between the Tumbling a Stillness (Hopscotch Records)
  Spirited, Ayler-inspired free jazz at its best.
• Peter Brötzmann and Heather Leigh – Sparrow Nights (Trost)
  I love Brötz, but this still came as a very welcome surprise.  Wow!
• Chaos Echoes and Mats Gustafsson – Sustain (Utech)
  Wild, cacophonous stuff.
• Salim Washington – Dogon Revisited (Passin’ Thru Records)
  At once looking back to the 1970s and addressing its legacies a half-century later.
• Jürg Frey and Magnus Granberg/Ensemble Grizzana – Early to Late (Another Timbre)
  Two incredible contemporary composers.  Eminently entrancing.
• Satoko Fujii and Joe Fonda – Mizo (Long Song Records)
  I have not kept up with Fujii as much as I should especially during her sexagenarian celebration.  This release, however, gripped me.  It is slow, winding, intimate, and endlessly creative.
• Anthony Braxton-Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House)
  This is a lot to digest at once (and I am still digesting a couple of the later discs).  That said, this collection is absolutely superb.
• Gabriela Friedli Trio – Areas (Leo)
  I still cannot put my finger on exactly why this release impressed me as it did, but I keep coming back to it.  Captivating.
• Canadian Composers Series Part II (Another Timbre)
  This series/boxed set of contemporary Canadian composers is absolutely incredible! It includes discs dedicated to the work of Linda Caitlin Smith, Alex Jang, Cassandra Miller, and Lance Austin Olsen. Formal review to follow at the beginning of the new year.

And, a noisy outlier that merits greater attention:

• MoE and Marhaug – Capsaicin (Utech)
  Electronics, guitar, bass, percussion.  Largely improvised (I think), deeply textured, abrasive droning noise.  Pays increasing dividends with each additional listen.

Antonio Poscic

• Peter Brötzmann / Heather Leigh - Sparrow Nights (Trost Records)
• Tyshawn Sorey - Pillars (Firehouse 12)
• Ingrid Laubrock - Contemporary Chaos Practices (Intakt Records)
• Joëlle Léandre / Elisabeth Harnik - Tender Music (Trost Records)
• Nicole Mitchell - Maroon Cloud (Firehouse 12)
• Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg - Dirt... And More Dirt (Pi Recordings)
• Rodrigo Amado / Joe McPhee / Kent Kessler / Chris Corsano - A History of Nothing (Trost Records)
• Dave Holland - Uncharted Territories (Dare2 Records)
• Anthony Braxton - Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House)
• Biliana Voutchkova / Michael Thieke - Blurred Music (Elsewhere)

Keith Prosk

• Marker - Roadwork 1/Roadwork 2/Homework 1 (Audiographic Records)
  From one of the most exciting composers and improvisers right now, this one expertly showcases his developing modular compositional technique and I can't get enough of it.
• Henry Threadgill 14 or 15 Kestra: Agg - Dirt... And More Dirt (Pi Recordings)
  I typically shy away from larger ensembles because I feel they're overcrowded (and often bogged down by tradition), but this one gains the timbral diversity without losing the space (and is subject to no tradition but Threadgill’s own).
• Anthony Braxton - Sextet (Parker) 1993 (New Braxton House)
  Braxton's upcoming GTM (Syntax) 2017 boxset and impending ZIM recordings are what I'm really excited about and would be a shoe-in for this type of list, but more presently I've consistently returned to this great archival boxset with an ear to how one of my favorite musicians treats and transforms the influence and compositions of Parker.
• Okkyung Lee - Cheol-Kkot-Sae (Tzadik)
  I have a soft spot for both strings and free music that incorporates folk music, so I've really enjoyed this release from one of my favorite cellists around, on which she embraces her ethnic roots and incorporates traditional Korean percussion and singing (not to mention the other stellar improvisers present).
• Barre Phillips/Motoharu Yoshizawa - Oh My, Those Boys! (NoBusiness Records)
  Phillip's melancholy, ominous environments are perfectly complimented by Yoshizawa's electric counterpoint.
• Denman Maroney/Leroy Jenkins/Rich O'Donnell - Unknown Unknowns (self-released)
  Leroy Jenkins' Driftwood's The Art of Improvisation is among my five most-listened-to recordings from the violinist, so it's been a real treat to hear a couple of long sets further documenting the language of the core trio from that recording.
• Peter Jaquemyn - Fundament (El Negocito Records)
  An awe-inspiring inquisition into the effects of the low end on the mind, body, and soul as well as vibrations, not just from the strings on an instrument's neck but in the throat too.
• Biliana Voutchkova/Michael Thieke - Blurred Music (Elsewhere)
  Process-based music that's not just interesting but addictively listenable, playing with time and identity.
• Brandon Lopez - quoniam facta sum vilis (Astral Spirits)
  A powerful, physical solo statement. Conjures up the darker side of emotions - anger, sadness, fear - with diverse and masterful technique.
• Elisabeth Harnik/Joëlle Léandre - Tender Music (Trost Records)
  A contested spot, but I have been too frequently drawn back to the magic of this intimate recording.

Martin Schray

• Christian Lillingers GRUND— COR (Plaist Music)
  Lillinger was my favourite musician last year, and he has released even more exciting stuff this year. Complex, yet intriguing music at the interface of jazz, improv and new classical.
• Kuzu - Hiljaisuus (Astral Spirits)
  Energy, tightness, blind understanding. The way they catapult their improvisations from staccato patterns is breathtaking.
• Kammerflimmer Kollektief - There Are Actions Which We Have Neglected And Which Never Cease To Call Us (Bureau B)
  A band who has created their own planet - free ambient. Their darkest album so far.
• Kaja Draksler/Petter Eldh/Christian Lillinger - Punkt.Vrt.Plastik (Intakt)
  What I said about GRUND goes for this spectacular trio as well. Here Lillinger shows how precisely he can use musical quotes. And Draksler is someone we should always have on the screen.
• Dave Holland, Evan Parker, Craig Taborn, and Ches Smith - Uncharted Territories (Dare2 Records)
  The reunion of Dave Holland and Evan Parker plus two of the best musicians of the next generation. A band that has raised high expectations …. and fulfils them all.
• Spring Heel Jack and Wadada Leo Smith with Pat Thomas and Steve Noble - Hackney Road (Treader)
  The return of one of my favourite projects. John Coxon’s and Ashley Wales’ drum’n’bass past shines through and collides with Smith’s lyrical trumpet and Thomas’s clusters.
• Cecil Taylor – Poschiavo (Jazzwerkstatt)
  The saddest news in 2018 was the one about Taylor’s death. This recording reminds us what we have lost. There will never be one like him again.
• David S. Ware Trio - The Balance (Vision Festival XV +)  (AUM Fidelity, 2018)
  Ware’s Onecept trio plays a set moves you to tears, his death is still a horrible loss for the free jazz community.
• Rodrigo Amado/ Joe McPhee/ Kent Kessler/ Chris Corsano - A History of Nothing (Trost)
  Traditional free jazz, existential, soulful, spiritual, straight to the point, played by an all-star band.
• The End - Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen (Rare Noise)
  Sofia Jernberg vs. a free rock monster. She’s trying not to get crushed …. and actually makes it.

Sammy Stein

• Thibault Gomez - La Grande Reveuse ( Parallel Records)
• Peter Brotzmann/Heather Leigh - Sparrows Nights
• Paul Jolly and Mike Adcock -  Risky Furnitue (33xtreme records)
• Han Bennink, Steve Noble, Alexander Hawkins - 11-8-17 (Otoruko)
• Ivo Perelman - The Art of Perelman-Shipp (Leo)
• Fire! - The Hands (Otoroku)
• John Edwards, Mark Sanders, John Wall - FGBH (Entr'Acte)
• Sam Leak and Paula Rae Gibson - Permission (33xtreme)
• Lars Fill - Frit Falt 11 (Fiil Records)
• Binker and Moses - Alive in The East (Gearbox) 

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Anthony Braxton – Sextet (Parker) 1993, Discs 2 - 6 (New Braxton House, 2018)

By Tom Burris

Disc 2   ****

Standout Tracks:  Scrapple From The Apple, Bebop, Klactoveedsedstene

So right outta the gate, here appears to be a track never recorded by Charlie Parker – at least to my knowledge.  But this sort of works as a description of what's going on with this set.  You already know – especially since this is Braxton – that these are definitely not going to be standard covers of Bird material.  You're not getting Parker covers.  You're getting the heads – but that's it.  The rest of the tracks are made of improvisations which contain the forward movement and spirit of a vintage Charlie Parker date.  In the case of “Darn That Dream,” you're getting a standard that Bird probably covered at some point – with pianist Misha Mengelberg and Braxton floating like butterflies and stinging like bees all over the place.  It's not a great starting place to be honest, but it sets you up for things to come.

It's a slow build up to the first dazzling moment, which occurs when Mengelberg becomes the first member of the band to successfully modernize a dance with Bird's hologram on “Hot House.”  Then it's onto a beautiful small group version of Bird's string-section strangled “Laura,” where Braxton proves (again) that he isn't overly intellectual about music at all – he's just brilliant, OK? - and that he has as much intuitive musical passion as anyone who ever picked up an alto.  Drummer Pheeroan akLaff and bassist Joe Fonda lock in with Misha for a spatial trio spot, featuring very hard piano key pokes that eventually run to the end of the track.  Mesmerizing and highly successful.

Originally a harmonic riff on the chords to Fats Waller's “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Scrapple from the Apple” became a bebop standard in Parker's hands.  Subbing out the piano intro, bassist Fonda & Braxton (on contrabass clarinet) go for a warm rumbling attack.  Braxton has documented this concept many times before, of course: take a standard and stretch the melody out on this ridiculously oversized horn that is the definition of lower-register.  But it works well and is definitely pliable, so why not?  When Misha enters, making it a trio, the juxtaposition between his chords and the melody are so jarring that the idea of “starting with Parker's music as a vehicle to fly into new worlds” immediately becomes fully realized.

Dizzy Gillespie's “Bebop” opens with a very faithful take on the head.  Fonda plays the melody at breakneck speed on his bass while Misha and akLaff jab accents all over the map, propelling the music upward.  Ari Brown's deep and soulful tenor is not only beautiful, but dynamic and inventive as well.  He plays “inside” the music, but with a thinking man's “outside” approach to it.  (Think vintage Sonny Rollins...)  Paul Smoker plays super-fast runs on his trumpet, but that's where the comparisons to Dizzy end.  Smoker is very much his own man and his playing can either be melodious or a smear of blurry color – often in close succession, but sometimes simultaneously.  Misha is a genius as usual, pounding out exactly the right colors, clusters, and notes nobody else would've considered.  Then enter Braxton on alto, wrapping the music with lines that surprise and amaze before the band jumps in to repeat the head with even more fervor than before.  17 minutes of bliss!

“Charlie's Wig” is kind of a generic bebop composition (written out of the chord changes for “When I Grow Too Old To Dream”), and the group scratch and plod their way through the first few minutes of it as though they aren't too excited about it either.  The melody jumps out of the muck about halfway through, collapsing into a collage of different parts of the song played over one another.  A not entirely successful experiment, but one that is certainly interesting & not without merit.  The second of several takes of “Klactoveedsedstene” in this box closes out Disc 2, opening with a blast of the theme, then careening into a drum solo by akLaff.  Smoker and Braxton wind around each other in downward tumbles toward the end; but the highlight for me is when Mengelberg bangs out clusters that wildly interpret the song's head.  God, I miss this guy.

Disc 3   ****

Standout Tracks:  Ari/Misha Duo, Klactoveedsedstene

The disc opens with a duet interpretation of “Autumn in New York,” with Fonda on bass and Braxton on piano.  Braxton's playing fluctuates between lovely arpeggios and tone clusters with lots of accidentals, except for when Fonda takes the lead.  Then Braxton plays softer and more conventionally.  “Parker Melodies” follows as a 35-minute long workout based on the song's title and is, at least for me, more of an outtake than a central piece.  A fascinating listen, but probably not one that you'll play repeatedly.

The percussion-less group takes “Yardbird Suite” at a slightly slower clip than the original version, again featuring Braxton on piano.  Fonda holds the group together admirably without akLaff, while Ari takes a beautifully soulful shot at the melody.  Braxton does his best to approximate Misha's approach, and while he doesn't exactly hit the mark (who could?), Braxton's rhythmic jabs upstage Smoker during his own trumpet solo.  This is followed by a duo between Ari and Misha, on which Ari does an absolutely fantastic set of Parker-ish runs as Misha interjects perfect commentary throughout.  Smoker appears as if by magic at the tail end with some punctuation, over which Misha can't help but throw in one last punch line.

Disc three's take of “Charlie's Wig” is almost identical to the one on the previous disc.  No better, no worse.  “Klactoveedsedstene” also takes the same approach as the previous version, but actually improves over the already great take on Disc 2.  This is largely due to the bit following the drum break, where the band leans into storm, throwing out snippets of the theme that break through the chaos.  This take pushes every aspect of the music – and akLaff is a total maniac!  Brilliant.

Disc 4   ****1/2

Standout Tracks:  An Oscar For Treadwell, Blues For Alice

Y'know that saxophone riff that plays in the background of “A Night in Tunisia”?  The one that plays under Dizzy's melody?  Well, what happens when you push that to the foreground?  Annoyance, that's what!  Turn that shit down!  Who mixed this?  OK, it's not that bad, but Brown and Braxton sure do pound this thing home bloody and limping.  Braxton's solo also approaches something grating, so I'm guessing this is at least partially intentional.

“Another Hair-Do” follows, once again taken at a slower clip than Bird's original.  Smoker blasts a very sweet solo on flugelhorn (and plunger) while akLaff throws in perfect accents underneath.  Fonda and Misha each threaten to take the next solo, but Fonda relents to the elder gentleman.  Braxton gets in some maniacal lightning runs before things wind down.  “Sippin' at Bells” was originally recorded by the Miles Davis All-Stars, of which Parker was a member.  Here Braxton plays the melody on contrabass in unison with Smoker at a snail's pace – so slow that I would never even have guessed the song without knowing what it was beforehand.  Again, an interesting experiment – and one that works on its own terms.

A faithful opening on “An Oscar for Treadwell” brings a joyful earful with every band member soloing at peak form.  Misha tears up some playful cluster jabs with angular weirdness.  Braxton flips out into the stratosphere.  Ali plays the soulful inside solo.  Fonda, melodically and rhythmically brilliant, shines here.  And akLaff's accents again propel everything forward in ways that define perfection.  “Blues for Alice” is the other perfect track on this disc, again opening with a very by-the-book (but never stodgy) reading of the theme that is followed by collective and individual intuitive genius.  Smoker's solo is a standout featuring melodic winding with occasional outbursts of blurry sound figures.  Extra credit to Misha as his accompaniment is exceptional in every way to each soloist.

“Bongo Bop” opens with a very free duet between Brown and Braxton, playing the theme slowly and tentatively, while Misha pecks wildly at the piano keys.  It takes almost four minutes before the tune is recognizable – but it is playful and enjoyable in its own right.  I think Bird himself would've gotten a kick out of this one.

Disc 5   *****

Standout Tracks:  Repetition, Quasimodo, Cardboard, Dewey Square, An Oscar For Treadwell

Braxton's soprano sax on “Dewey Square” is light and warm as akLaff's accents goad Braxton into some intense flights.  Smoker's runs during his solo are sweet and melodic, but become ultra brassy and blurry as he moves along.  Fonda's break is tasteful and precise; and he and akLaff are rock solid throughout.  “Mohawk” follows without akLaff, prompting the band to take a much slower tempo than would be expected.  Everyone plays up to his normal expectations and nothing gets broken.

“Repetition” comes from that awful Verve album Bird did with strings and is much improved by the small combo setting in which Braxton lovingly places it.  Braxton floats beautifully above the band in an odd – but PERFECT – combination of Parker's style and his own playing during the 1974-75 Arista period.  Nothing less than charming – and absolutely stunning in spots.  After this track is another take of “An Oscar for Treadwell,” of which there are nothing but stellar versions from this group.  “A Night in Tunisia” fares a bit better this time than it did before, building to an incredible intensity before the theme plays out.

“Quasimodo” actually runs a little bit faster than Bird's version.  Misha, as always, is an absolute joy to listen to during his solo; and Braxton has a thing about meandering for a few seconds, realizing it, and quickly pulling himself back into line that really works for me.  Listening to his thought process is half the fun!  Then Braxton brings out the flute for “Cardboard,” a bop tune played as a salsa in this configuration.  And it really works – especially for Misha.

The first time I ever heard a Charlie Parker track that stopped me cold was when I heard “Koko” on the Savoy Sessions Master Takes album.  It's still my go-to track whenever I want to introduce someone to Parker's music.  Needless to say, this was the one I was waiting for.  For Braxton's version, he's in a pretty rambunctious mood – which is faithful to Bird's spirit.  Smoker does admirably in the Dizzy role here as well, pulling all the stops.  As a bonus, akLaff's workout near the end is probably the most affecting drum break on this set!  Overall, nobody could ever hope to top the original version; but these guys have managed to make a spirited attack of it that works incredibly well.

Disc 6   ****

Standout Tracks:  Hot House, Repetition, Klactoveedsedstene

The original version of “Milestones” (Miles Davis All-Stars) features Parker on tenor.  Ari Brown steps into this role for the Braxton version, while Braxton himself is seated at the piano.  Brown's playing here is reminiscent of Dexter Gordon's version of the song – bluesy, soulful, tuneful.  Big and round.  Smoker does a purely “blur” solo here, which doesn't fit the setting – but kudos for giving it something different, I guess.

Arista Braxton is at it again on “Hot House,” busy-but-tuneful post-bop free playing that makes you feel good to be alive.  Misha drops some incredible chords under Braxton, who occasionally summons Pharaoh Sanders in moments of ecstasy.  Smoker brings clean bright tones to his solo, completely making up for “Milestones,” while the interplay between the rhythm section remains endlessly fascinating.  Misha plays another brilliant solo here, of course.  “Klactoveedsedstene” begins as it has before, but after the drums drop out at the1.5 minute mark it becomes a somber exploratory exercise in experimentation.  The music remains tentative and largely spatial before the sharp segue around the five minute mark brings it back alive and kicking.

Again, they take “Yardbird Suite” at a slower clip and nobody plays the melody until the second time through the chord sequence.  Braxton is at the piano and Ari Brown is the star player here, along with Paul Smoker, whose touch is much lighter than normal here – and very fitting.  “Passport” is a trio recording of Braxton, Fonda and Mengelberg.  It's a respectable take, as Fonda holds things down like a boss while Braxton and Misha do their brilliant flighty thing.

Following this is another hyper-tight version of “Repetition,” which may or may not be the superior take.  It's too close to call.  Both versions are indispensable.  Closing out the disc is another take of “A Night in Tunisia,” which finally doesn't send me running for the volume knob to turn down those two saxophones.  They finally figured out where to put those reed instruments in the mix!  Add to this an insanely free middle section and we have reached success!  Well done.

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Carl Testa - Sway Prototypes Volumes 1 & 2 (self-released, 2019) ****½

By Keith Prosk

Carl Testa (contrabass, electronics) assembles Erica Dicker (violin), Junko Fujiwara (cello), Louis Guarino Jr. (trumpet), Andria Nicodemou (vibraphone), and Anne Rhodes (voice) to play for two hours and twenty minutes across four tracks on two CD-length releases in the electroacoustic environments of Sway Prototypes. Testa, Dicker, and Rhodes have recorded together before on Anthony Braxton’s Trillium E and the Tri-Centric Orchestra’s Agora, Questions of Transfiguration, Vogelfrei, and Testa and Dicker also appear together on Braxton’s Echo Echo Mirror House (NYC) 2011; the other combinations of these musicians have not released recordings together yet.

Beyond half the ensemble being prominent personas in the sphere of Braxton - not only as players, but Testa is the Tri-Centric Foundation’s Director of Publishing, Dicker is Braxton’s Concertmaster, and Rhodes is, along with Kyoko Kitamura, an ambassador for Braxton’s syntactical musics - there appear to be some other broad allusions to Braxton as well. The cover art is designed by Yesim Tosuner, who also designed the cover art for GTM (Syntax) 2017, Sextet (Parker) 1993, Quintet (Tristano) 2014, and 3 Compositions (EEMHM) 2011. The Sway electroacoustic environment utilizes SuperCollider software, which Braxton uses in Diamond Curtain Wall Music. I’m already beginning to reach but it’s hard not to think of Braxton’s syntactical music with Rhodes present, . There’s a generative color/visual component to some live performances from the Sway ensemble (utilizing Hydra software), perhaps recalling the color-dependent graphics of Braxton’s Falling River Music and pulse tracks. And though you won’t hear those characteristic eighth notes of Ghost Trance Music, the longer pieces here certainly sound like a journey with tangents, perhaps queued by recurring dynamics that the ensemble falls back to. Lastly, listening to these recordings just feels like listening to Braxton’s (or some of his other students’) medium to large ensembles, with about an hour of mind-melting density that can be revisited repeatedly to realize something new each time. However, Testa is in no way mimicking Braxton. All this is to say that Testa appears to have synthesized pieces of Braxton’s various musical systems into a distinctive new vision with Sway.

The heart of that vision is the electroacoustic environment. Testa compares Sway to George Lewis’ Voyager or Pauline Oliveros’ Expanded Instrument System except in that it is an autonomous program interacting with musicians in real time. The Sway program: (1) receives inputs from each microphone; (2) determines each musician’s amplitude, density, and pitch clarity; (3) translates those parameters to plot each musician on a grid in which each quadrant is associated with effects processing (e.g. delay, distortion); and (4) applies that effect to the individual musician, or not. Sway can be programmed to not process in certain situations. It can be programmed to combine all inputs. It can be programmed to trigger mass effects across all musicians if certain thresholds are met. It can be programmed to jumble the effects in each quadrant if musicians are plotted in the same quadrant for too long. And so on. It’s a malleable system that appears to handle the work that one or two musicians would do while live-processing in an electroacoustic environment.

Despite the prevalence of effects processing, it rarely obfuscates the acoustic mastery from each of these musicians (at least not in an uninteresting way). Dicker and Fujiwara often weave with each other, displaying a dizzying array of bowing techniques both mellifluous and grating; Testa plucks grooves and beats but can yield a deep, tension-building arco; and Rhodes occasionally mixes in groans, ululations, and almost-words among simple syllables like “eee,” “ooo,” “aaa.” But I was most awe-stricken by the contributions of Nicodemou and Guarino Jr., whose agile, twinkling vibraphone transforms into a piano, wood blocks, alarm clocks, and something much more industrial in turns, and whose trumpet instantly communicates to both the group and the system with tinny mutes, slobbering embouchures, peppy fanfares, and moody musings. The contributions of Nicodemou, Guarino Jr, and Rhodes also seemed most ostensibly affected by processing, perhaps because they were playing the system, perhaps because their contributions are more discrete than bowed strings. The overall effect of everyone using a wide swath of technique, with this grouping of musicians, in this processing environment is one of tricksterish mimesis, where instruments can sound like other instruments acoustically but also, perhaps involuntarily, electronically. Processed voicings blend with trumpet, processed violin pizzicato blends with muted vibraphone, and processed trumpet blends with bass arco on top of high-register bass mixing with low-register cello, raspy groans sounding like violin sawing, and staccato trumpet melting with a vibraphone attack. It can seem like a dreamlike state, furthered by the sense that processing most often creeps in, as if you heard it before you were listening to it.

Structurally, much of the music appears to ebb and flow dynamically, between a kind of relaxed, inquisitive counterpoint at lower volume to quicker, denser communications. Rhodes is not present for “Three Sections,” but musicians seem to drop out for a few minutes at a time anyways, so a thirteen minute absence doesn’t seem too obtrusive to the flow. The final track, “Bloom,” is a solo bass piece in which Testa’s errant emotivity reminds me of Barre Phillip’s ability to always evoke a kind of hopeful poignancy among his wanderings, but with some eerie processing.

With Sway, Testa has created a musical system with rare depth. Add an array of absurdly talented musicians, and you have one of the most interesting recordings of 2019. And if these pieces are only the “prototypes,” I cannot imagine the sublimity of the next iteration.

Sway Prototypes Volumes 1 & 2 are available on CD and digitally.

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50 Years of AACM: 1985-1994

The AACM retrospective week continues with our highly subjective, entirely personal, and completely non-representative list of albums plucked from our own collections to represent what the recordings of the AACM and it's musicians have meant to us as enthusiasts of the music. Today, the years between 1985 and 1994.

By Colin Green, Martin Schray, Matthew Grigg, Paul Acquaro, Stef Gijssels

Lester Bowie Brass Fantasy: I Only Have Eyes for You (ECM, 1985)

Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy’s debut album is a deliberate provocation. The band, a nonet consisting of four trumpets, two trombones, a French horn, tuba and drums, displays Bowie’s love for pop music while clearly being in the jazz tradition. And on top of it all the album is released on ECM, a label that is famous for its clean, glacial, some even say soulless sound. The result could have been a disaster – but it is just the opposite. The band is extremely cool and tight (especially Bob Stewart on tuba, Steve Turre on trombone and Philip Wilson on drums), the sound is full of emotional depth and the selection of the tracks – from The Flamingo’s doo wop classic “I Only Have Eyes For You” to Bob Stewart’s majestic and uplifting “Nonet” – take the concept of Ancient to the Future to the next level because in spite of the pop approach the music breathes the spirit of gospel and blues. If you need just one example listen to Lester Bowie’s “Coming Back, Jamaica”, one of the best reggae tracks ever, which is dominated by the mother of all tuba solos. One of my all-time-favorite albums! (MS)

Kahil El' Zabar - The Ritual (Sound Aspects, 1986)

This is actually the first CD by Kahil El'Zabar's Ritual Trio, although not yet named as such. In essence this trio consists for two thirds of members of the Art Ensemble of Chicago : Lester Bowie (trumpet) and Malachi Favors (bass), who play one of their own songs, Magg Zelma (from Full Force, 1980) on this album. This is just one song, but still close to 42 minutes long. This music has deep SOUL, sensitive, solemn, intense, open, authentic, respectful. One of the most beautiful and compelling trumpet-bass-drums trios ever.

The artwork of this album should not be confused with the album "Sacred Love", released two years later and with Raphael Garrett on clarinet.  (SG)

 Anthony Braxton - Six Monk's Compositions (1987)

Thelonious Monk's unique compositions have been the inspiration for many composers and players and so while it is little surprise that Braxton would be drawn to his music, it was a surprise to me how irreverently (but respectfully) interpreted they are on this album. Though Braxton speeds them up, fleshes them out, and deepens them harmonically - you still hear all the those wonderfully Monkish melodies. However, where you heard the puzzling juxtapositions in Monk's versions, laid out like bare bold puzzles, here they seem like the blueprints for what Braxton builds on top of them. Monk's stride playing is still present in pianist Mal Waldron's solo on 'Four in One' and one can only marvel at Braxton's inspiring playing on the opening 'Brilliant Corners' and, really, throughout the recording. Rounding out the group here is bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Bill Osborne.  (PA)

Henry Threadgill - Easily Slip Into Another World (1987)

On Easily Slip into Another World, saxophonist and composer Henry Threadgill arranges a sextet recording that is a mix of styles both mainstream and avant-garde. It was one of his three albums on the Novus label - a late 1980’s production, which you can tell simply from the fonts on the album cover. Threadgill is joined here by trumpeter Rasul Saddik, trombonist Frank Lacy, cellist Diedre Murray, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummers Pheeroan Aklaff and Reggie Nicholson. The vocals on the track 'My Rock', which is well sung, but not my cup of tea, is by Ahsa Puthli. The album opens with 'I Can't Wait Till I Get Home' a blues by former bandmate Olu Dara. On the surface, it seems straight ahead at first, but closer listening reveals subversions of the expected. Even the seemingly mainstream calypso ‘Black Hands Bejewelled’ has unexpected harmonies and slippery rhythmic patterns. It’s this mixing of the expected with the surprises that keeps things really rewarding. Even on the aforementioned 'The Rock', Threadgill introduces some rather unexpected passages behind the vocals that work so well. 'Hall' features a quirky beginning with the bass and cello agitating until the horns kick in the door. It's my favorite track on this album, and the one that really showcases how well Threadgill intertwines the composed, the improvised, and the unusual. (PA)

Ethnic Heritage Ensemble - Ancestral Song - Live In Stockholm (Silkheart, 1988)

Like with all other Kahil El'Zabar bands and music, rhythm is the basis for lengthy improvisations which are less focused on the solos themselves than on the overall hypnotic, almost trance-inducing sound which is deeply rooted in African soil. The great thing about this album is its simplicity. Kahil El'Zabar plays his trap drum, thumb piano and other small percussion, Edward Wilkerson plays sax and Joseph Bowie trombone and marimba. The album starts with "Papa's Bounce", a classic in the El'Zabar repertoire, followed by "Loose Pocket", a piece that starts slowly, full of blues influences and with El'Zabar singing, but then the pace picks up, the theme sets in and we're back in uptempo free music. The title song is the trio at its best, with great rhythms, a nice theme, and sparse free soloing, all very intimate as if you're in the room with them, but then also very expansive, narrating about free movement and ancient sentiments and universal dances and common feelings and about what is more than just words and sounds. Simple and majestic. (SG)

Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra - Blu Blu Blu (Black Saint/Soul Note, 1989)

From the magnificent depths of the Black Saint/Soul-Note back catalog, Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra's recording 'Blu Blu Blu' is a real stand out. On this big band recording, the pianist is joined by four saxophonists, a five-piece rhythm section, trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba, and whistle. In fact there is track called 'Song For the Whistler', which in a sense, harkens back to the AACM's embrace of the small instruments. The opening 'Plus Equals Minus Balance' is an uptempo chart, prominently featuring the brass and some tasty harmonies from the saxophones. The follow up 'Cycles5' is an abstract tune that makes space for the slide whistle, as well as the vibraphone - it's a beautiful piece that incorporates an AACM aesthetic. The title track is a straight ahead blues homage to Chicagoan Muddy Waters featuring the fretless guitar work of David Fiuczynski. Quite a bit of fun is 'Bloodline', which employs a recognizable descending bass line and seems to indicate, through both the title and the arrangement, a connection with the big bands and arrangements of Duke Ellington.  See the full line up here. (PA)

Art Ensemble of Chicago: Dreaming of the Masters Vol. 2 (feat. Cecil Taylor) (DIW, 1991)

Colin called this album the Art Ensemble’s swan song – and although the band has released several albums after that, he is right: It is their last relevant recording. Joseph Jarman was about to leave the band in 1993 and in 1999 and 2004 Lester Bowie and Malachi Favors died. But this one is also a summary of their philosophy. Dreaming of the Masters Vol. 2 reflects on the works of Thelonious Monk and features free jazz titan Cecil Taylor on piano, voice, and percussion – a musician who is also a master to the AEoC. However, it seems hard to imagine how Taylor’s unique notion of music and the AEoC’s idea of a homage to Monk come together. But Taylor does simply not take part in the two Monk covers (“Round Midnight” and “Nutty”). Instead he joins the ensemble to recite his encrypted poetry (which matches perfectly with AEoC’s love for absurd theatrical elements) and contributes his musical sense of language to the improvisations (“Intro to Fifteen”).  Or he throws in his typical clusters, polyharmonic entities and volcanic sound waves very precisely to the Art Ensemble’s spontaneous compositions.  The result is a real convergence of sound wizards. (MS)

Anthony Braxton Quartet – (Victoriaville) 1992 (Les Disques Victo, 1993)

One of the truly great quartets of jazz, in a recording that catches them at their peak: Braxton (reeds), Marilyn Crispell (piano), Mark Dresser (bass) and Gerry Hemingway (drums, percussion).

The quartet had toured extensively since the previous year, and were familiar with Braxton’s unique notation and building of layers, individually and in tandem, to exploit his fascination with simultaneities. They knew what worked, but were confident enough to take risks.

From the outset, there’s a glittering mosaic of motifs and cross-references tossed around the quartet like a high-class juggling act – music of wit and élan in the face of which the often-made criticism that Braxton’s music is overly formalistic, simply evaporates. As a reviewer said of their performance on Quartet (Santa Cruz) 1993 (hat ART, 1997): “To listen and think this quickly is not mere communication – it is telepathy.”

There’s no doubt that Crispell was the catalyst, a virtuosic and compelling musical personality who ignited some of Braxton’s most creative playing, much as Evan Parker did at the London Jazz Festival the following year: Duo (London) 1993 (Leo Records, 1993) and Trio (London) 1993 (Leo Records, 1994).

The performance is intelligently paced, balancing ensemble complexity with equally effective solos and duos, such as the ravishing dialogue between Braxton’s bass clarinet and Hemingway’s tuned percussion. And to top it all, the encore’s a hell-for-leather rendition of Coltrane’s Impressions. The performance as a whole can stand the inevitable comparison. (CG)

Eight Bold Souls - Sideshow (Arabesque, 1992)

8 Bold Souls is the band lead by Ed Wilkerson, and which is characterized by the deep sound of the horn section and the fascinating mix between heavily orchestrated and structured pieces, combined with very free improvizations. The emotional and musical power of this 8-strong ensemble is relatively unique and very recognizable. The band consists of Ed Wilkerson Jr on tenor, alto and bass saxophone, clarinet and alto clarinet, Mwata Bowden on clarinet, baritone, and tenor,  Robert Griffin on trumpet and flugelhorn,  Isaiah Jackson on trombone, Aaron Dodd on tuba, Naomi Millender on cello; Harrison Bankhead on bass, and Dushun Mosley on drums and percussion. Some snapshots : "Black Herman" presents the dark, deep-toned menace of the horn section, supported initially by a very sparse bass-line and ditto drums, changing the tempo after about five minutes, and then the band starts in full swing, with great solo pieces from all the musicians, including cello and bass. This album brings us also one of the best versions of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman", starting with a long, heart-breaking and piercing duet between arco bass and cello, wonderfully emphasizing the absolute sadness of a crushing loneliness, even more fully accentuated when the horns start with the well-known theme. This track by itself justifies the purchase of this album. This music is not changing music history, but it brings a great synthesis of orchestra music, free jazz and bop. Creative and very expressive. A true AACM album! (SG)

Wadada Leo Smith Kulture Jazz (ECM, 1993) *****

This album is a little solo gem by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, who also plays flugelhorn, koto, mbira, harmonica, bamboo notch flute, percussion, as well as sings on some tracks. The music is intimate, going back into the roots of music, from Africa, blues, folk, jazz and then taking this tradition up in his own 'creative music' approach. At the same time, it is a tribute album to all his influences : Albert Ayler, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, John Coltrane, to his mother, family and friends (names mentioned for each track), and on top a tribute to life and humanity. The music is gentle, intimate, personal, deeply emotional, expansive, uplifting and spiritual. It has roots deep in the soil of the Mississippi Delta yet with eyes and a heart reaching as far out across the sky as possible. (SG)

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