The Squid's Ear
Recently @ Squidco:

Albert Ayler:
Summertime To Spiritual Unity - Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Remastering and reissuing two tracks--"Summertime" and "C.T"--from saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1964 Fontana album My Name Is Albert Ayler with basssist Nils-Henning Orsted Pedersen, drummer Ronnie Gardiner and pianist Nils Bronsted; and his classic and passionate 1965 ESP Disk release Spiritual Unity with double bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Sunny Murray. ... Click to View


Archie Shepp:
Four For Trane To Live At Newport - Revisited (ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)

Influenced by and working with John Coltrane, saxophonist and composer Archie Shepp paid tribute to 'Trane with his 1965 Impulse! album Four for Trane, here remastered and joined with tracks from the live album John Coltrane/Archie Shepp: New Thing At Newport, accompanied on each by acclaimed free jazz players including Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, Reggie Workman, Barre Phillips, Joe Chambers, &c. ... Click to View


Andrew Cyrille:
Music Delivery / Percussion (Intakt)

A leading statesman of free jazz drumming, Andrew Cyrille's approach is influenced by both the Blue Note era and the groundbreaking work he participated in with Cecil Taylor or Trio3, still going strong and perceptively wise as heard on these eleven succinct studio solo performances, featuring favored percussive instruments adding melodic elements to these solid rhythmic vignettes. ... Click to View


Christoph Irniger Pilgrim:
Ghost Cat (Intakt)

Zurich tenor saxophonist & composer Christoph Irniger in his fourth album on the Intakt label with his creative and cooperative band Pilgrim of Stefan Aeby on piano, Dave Gisler on guitar, Raffaele Bossard on bass and Michael Stulz on drums, performing Irninger's lyrical and thoughtful compositions, along with one from bassist Raffaele Bossard. ... Click to View


Feldman / Rempis / Daisy:
SIROCCO (Aerophonic)

Welcoming third improvisers into the long-standing duo, Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis and drummer Tim Daisy invite New York/Chicago violinist Mark Feldman to perform at Elastic Arts, in Chicago, heard in two extended improvisations, superb examples of masterful technique and profound dialog. ... Click to View


Bergman / Robinson / Swell / Sage:
Quartets/Trios/Duos (Mahakala Music)

Sheltered in place during the pandemic, trombonist Steve Swell occupied his time listening to recordings forgotten or never released, seizing on these excellent studio session from 2007 organized with drummer Ray Sage, performed in duo, trio and quartet configurations with clarinetist Perry Robinson and pianist Borah Bergman, demonstrating that in bad circumstance, good can appear. ... Click to View


Stefania Ladisa Strutture (w/ Adrian Northover / Marcello Magliocchi):
Dal'Introspezione All'Interazione (FMR)

Two live performances at Sala Castello di Sannicandro di Bari and at Sala Auditorium Accademia Cinema Ragazzi in Bari, Italy from violinist & violist Stefania Ladisa's trio Strutture with drummer Marcello Magliocchi and saxophonist Adrian Northover (LIO, Remote Viewers, Runcible), using the resonance of the performances spaces in spacious free interaction. ... Click to View


Guillaume Gargaud / Patrice Grente / Thierry Waziniak:
OMUSUE (Torf Records)

Bringing vast experience in free improv and contemporary creative settings, the French trio of Guillaume Gargaud on acoustic guitar, Patrice Grente on double bass and Thierry Waziniak on drums present seven unique collective conversations named by permutation, recorded in the studio to bring the nuance of their playing to the foreground. ... Click to View


Marianne Svasek :
Marwa (thanatosis produktion)

A beautiful and contemplative performance of "Raga Marwa", a a hexatonic Indian raga and the eponymous raga of the "Marva thaat", peformed by Dutch-Czech master vocalist Marianne Svašek, and recorded in Stockholm, with Svašek and Swedish bass player Vilhelm Bromander both performing on the tanpura, a long-necked plucked string instrument used to create a sonic canvas behind the raga. ... Click to View


J.J. Gregg:
Opening Up (IntangibleCat)

Referencing the "queen of morning ragas" Raag Bhairavi, Oregon-based sitar player and experimental musician J.J. Gregg performed these three improvisations immediately following a group meditation, each raga providing a distinct mood to take their listeners on a journey to complement their state of mind, weaving themes of inspiration and experience. ... Click to View


Steve Swell's Fire Into Music ( w/ Moondoc / Parker / Drake):
For Jemeel: Fire From The Road [3 CDs] (RogueArt)

A triple CD of extended and magnificent performances between 2004 & 2005 from the quartet of Steve Swell on trombone, William Parker on double bass, Hamid Drake on drums and Jemeel Moondoc on alto saxophone, to whom this album is dedicated; two concerts in Texas and one at the Guelph Jazz Festival, with compositions from Swell and Moondoc plus collective improvisations. ... Click to View


Kaze with Satoko Fujii / Natsuki Tamura / Christian Pruvost / Peter Orins & Ikue Mori:
Crustal Movement (Circum-Libra)

The cooperative Japanese/French quartet Kaze of pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins are expanded for a second time with New York electronic artist Ikue Mori, embracing pandemic restrictions by creating this album through file exchange, adding complex layers of profound interaction to the virtual improvisations. ... Click to View


Ayumi Ishito:
The Spacemen Vol. 2 (577 Records)

Somewhere between Acid Mothers, 70s Miles or Sun Ra's Arkestra, NY-based Japanese saxophonist Ayumi Ishito's second Spacemen volume with Theo Woodward on synth & vocals, Nebula and the Velvet Queen on theremin, Jake Strauss on guitar & bass and Steven Bartishev on drums, lives up to it's cosmic moniker through exploratory improv blurring jazz, electronica and psych. ... Click to View


Susana Silva Santos:
All The Birds And A Telephone Ringing [VINYL] (thanatosis produktion)

Aside from her exceptional trumpet work in free improvisation settings, Portuguese trumpeter Susana Santos, currently based in Stockholm, is also an electro-acoustic composer, these six compelling compositions merging field recordings--particularly birds, waters and yes, a phone--along with her trumpet playing and Irish flute, the album title a reference to John Cage's book Silence. ... Click to View


King Ubu Orchestru 2021:
Roi (FMR)

Originally formed in 1985, this free improv ensemble continues in a new rendition of the Örchestrü, with original members Mark Charig (cornet), Paul Lytton (percussion), Alfred Zimmerlin (cello) and Phillipp Wachsmann (violin) joined by new members including Axel Dorner (trumpet), Phil Minton (voice), and Melvyn Poore (tuba), for two exceptional examples of advanced collective and cooperative improvisation. ... Click to View


Tristan Kasten-Krause / Jessica Pavone:
Images of One (Relative Pitch)

Violist Jessica Pavone and double bassist Tristan Kasten-Krause found they shared a similar aesthetic in sound and sonic structure while working together in other ensembles, their debut developed over two seasons of experimentation with string interactions of consonance and dissonance using distinct timbres and textures, heard in four patiently unfolding compositions. ... Click to View


Ivo Perelman / Matthew Shipp / Joe Morris :
Shamanism (Mahakala Music)

Adding guitarist Joe Morris to the long-standing collaboration of tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp directs the New York trio into a fascinatingly unique direction, Morris' often pointillistic style bringing out quick responses and conglomerates of ideas, balanced by hauntingly lyrical and suspended moments; an evokative album of spirited improvisation. ... Click to View


David Myers Lee:
Frontier (pulsewidth)

A live set of electronic recordings from New York sound explorer David Lee Myers, aka Arcane Device, using modular synths under masterful control to create coherent excursions into territories both terrestrial and cosmic, each piece carefully evolving without histrionics or overt noise through warmly vivid and uniquely diverse works of sound. ... Click to View


Perturbations (Peck / Simches):
Agitation (Evil Clown)

Recording as a new group in the vast network of Evil Clown organizations, label leader David Peck on reeds, winds, percussion and digital works stations collaborates with engineer and live processing artist Joel Simches, who create the "perturbations" on this extended improvised work through a vast array of delays, reverbs, audio warps and rotary ensembles. ... Click to View


EUPHORIUM_freakestra (feat Wadada Leo Smith / Barre Phillips):
Free Acoustic Supergroup (Chicago New York Berlin, Dresden Luzern Leipzig) [2 CDs] (Euphorium)

The incredibly creative EUPHORIUM_freakestra as a mid-size ensemble performing at naTo in Leipzig, Germany are joined by legendary free jazz players, Wadada Leo Smith on trumpet and Barre Phillip on double bass, extending the incredible assemblage of players including Oliver Schwerdt, Axel Dorner, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Urs Leimgruber, Christian Lillinger, Gunter Baby Sommer & Michael Haves. ... Click to View


Jim & The Schrimps (Jim Black / Asger Nissen / Julius Gawlik / Felix Henkelhausen):
Ain't No Saint (Intakt)

"Jim" is US drummer & composer Jim Black working in Berlin, and The Shrimps are the trio of bassist Felix Henkelhausen and the two-sax front line of Germans, Asger Nissen on alto and Julius Gawlik on tenor, finding a rapport and common approach to free improv, they formed to perform & record Black's assertive compositions influenced by the tradition of Black American jazz. ... Click to View


Three-Layer Cake (Mike Pride / Mike Watt / Brandon Seabrook):
Stove-Top (Rarenoise Records)

Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome. ... Click to View


Martin Archer (w/ John Jasnoch / Sarah Farmer / Lee Boyd Allatson):
Wasp Honey (Discus)

After participating in the Birmingham Improvisors Orchestra, wind improviser Martin Archer, bass guitarist John Jasnoch and violin & electronic musician Sarah Farmer were joined in the studio by drummer Lee Boyd Allatson to record this mix of compositions, graphic scores and free improv, merging AACM-style free jazz with contemporary chamber-oriented improv. ... Click to View


Duo User 52 (Udo Schindler / Etienne Rolin):
Plastic Narratives (FMR)

Confidently forceful German free improvisation with an eccentric approach, from multi-instrumentalist Udo Schindler on clarinets, cornet & tuba and artist & improviser Etienne Rolin on basset horn, Glissotar (a continuous wind instrument) & a Bansuri flute, as they improvise over Schindler's poem (jetzt/now) from his cycle frequenz schaukelt / frequency swings. ... Click to View


Eden Lonsdale:
Clear and Hazy Moons (Another Timbre)

Splitting the album between two ensembles, UK composer Eden Lonsdale's beautifully languid compositions are performed first by Apartment House, and then by the young Rothko Collective, the four pieces showing Lonsdale's development of writing for harmony, timbre and resonance into works focused on the passing of time and the integration of prominent melodic elements. ... Click to View


Marco Baldini :
Vesperi (Another Timbre)

Influenced by the seemingly contradictory sources of 16th century Italian composers and their polyphonic compositions, Eliane Radigue, and North Indian classical, Italian composer Marco Baldini's beautifully dark works employ a slow, rarefied pace and subdued dynamics with a fascination for pianissimo playing, heard in eight chamber compositions for low strings and marimba. ... Click to View


Ljug Aldrig:
Stabbings / Juiced [7'' VINYL + DOWNLOAD] (thanatosis produktion)

Ljug Aldrig, aka Roosen, a visual artist, guitarist and vocalist from Stockholm, is heard in a 2-song 7" + download release performing with Dennis Egberth on drums, Alexander Zethson on keys, Anton Toorell on bass, guitars and Isak Hedtjarn on saxophone. ... Click to View


Axioms (PEK / SpokenWord / Lomon / onBass / Simches):
Illusion and Reality (Evil Clown)

Two vocalists associated with Cecil Taylor's final trio--Albey onBass and Jane SpokenWord--join Evil Clown leader David Peck (PEK) on reeds, winds and a large collection of percussive devices, and Glynis Lomon on cello & aquasonic, for an extended work of critical poetry and spoken word, merging truth and abstraction through free improv and pointed expression. ... Click to View


Friedrich Kettlitz :
Rabolgs Bergwand [4 CDs] (Euphorium)

Having collaborated with EUPHORIUM_freakestra and Gunter Baby Sommer, narrator and actor Friedrich Kettlitz presents a 4-CD set of sound poetry using a language that pretends to be German but expands upon his native tongue, his deep voice carrying innuendo, humor, seriousness and articulate expression that fascinates regardless of the listener's own language. ... Click to View


Paul Dunmall / Liam Noble / John Edwards / Mark Sanders:
One Moment (FMR)

Some of the finest London and Birmingham improvisers, the free improvising quartet of saxophonist Paul Dunmall with pianist Liam Noble, drummer Mark Sanders and bassist John Edwards, continue their work together with this exceptional live performance at the Eastside Jazz Club, Birmingham Conservatoire in an extended, far-ranging and engaging collective concert. ... Click to View



  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales

Heard Out

Reviews of live performance


  Holland Hopson / James Keepnews with special guests Damian Catera and Tom Chess 

  (Washington Square Church) 


Friday, March 28th, 2003
   review by Phil Zampino
  2003-04-10

Under the arches and pipe organ inside the Washington Square Church, soprano saxist  Holland Hopson and guitarist James Keepnews assembled a collection of powerbooks, rack electonics and pedals, performing for two hours as a duo and in trio with Tom Chess on tenor sax and oud, and Damian Catera on guitar, powerbook and electronics.

Starting with sirens and politically charged samples, the duo- both of whom's racks included anti-war stickers- worked subtle sax riffs and passionate guitar chords in juxtaposition to the samples.  Hopson's playing was generally continuous, twisting around the samples with odd harmonic interactions generated by his computer. The umbilicus of cables trailing from his sax included an altitude sensor with which he could control various aspects of the generated sound, at times creating a chorus of saxes playing in multiple registers and tonalities.  Keepnews jumped between the powerbook, his rack and his guitar, controlling the flow of the samples and occasional sampled rhythms, even dropping in the Casey Casum quotes that caused Negativland so much legal trouble.  The results were a lovely juxtaposition of ugly sentiment and beautiful playing, as the two created a 21st century improvisation, cajoling odd signal twists from their electronics.

After performing two pieces the duo was joined by Tom Chess for two improvisations.  On the first Chess played tenor sax, opening with a powerful tone over which the three developed an abstracted interplay.  Here Chess was an excellent foil for Hopson and Keepnews as his lower register playing complemented their higher octave strategies.  The piece slowly developed into a duo between Hopson and Chess, an interesting contrast of acoustic tenor and electronic soprano.  For their second piece Chess switched to the oud, playing middle-eastern melodies over which Keepnew s' haunting samples wailed.  The communication between the three was excellent, interacting with each other as Keepnews varied the piece through samples of voices and rhythms, slowly bringing itself to a peaceful and coherent conclusion.

Hopson and Keepnews then returned to duo format with the most structured piece of the evening which they described as having a "modicum of a plan."  They described the piece as taking the audience to the "South East instead of Central Asia (along the axis of evil)." The piece began with samples of traffic noises and a slow tabla led rhythm over which Hopson played clustered figures against Keepnews' distorted guitar riffs, making a meandering journey into a dark world. After the break the two returned for two more improvisations, interactions with squiggly noises and strident distortions, whistful pieces that never completely congealed, but which wafted about the church in interesting ways.

Damian Catera then joined the duo as the final guest of the evening.  This introduced one more powerbook and another guitar to the fold, as Keepnews and Catera built sheets of drones over which Hopson looped sax lines.  A rich, thick noise tapestry was created out of which identifiable beats played forward and backward while samples appeared and dispelled themselves. The music took interesting turns with dense dynamic drops, the three interacting with bold structures and ideas.

The concert ended with a final duo improvisation using no processing.  The subtle interactions between Hopson and Keepnews showed the musicality that provided the foundation for their electronic excursions, a lovely ending to a dynamic and interesing performance.



See Harsh House at Squidco





Comments and Feedback:



The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Archie Shepp:
Four For Trane
To
Live At Newport
- Revisited
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Albert Ayler:
Summertime
To
Spiritual Unity
- Revisited
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Ayumi Ishito:
The Spacemen Vol. 2
(577 Records)



Kaze with Satoko Fujii /
Natsuki Tamura /
Christian Pruvost /
Peter Orins & Ikue Mori:
Crustal Movement
(Circum-Libra)



Susana Silva Santos:
All The Birds
And A
Telephone Ringing
[VINYL]
(thanatosis produktion)



Steve Swell's
Fire Into Music (
w/
Moondoc /
Parker /
Drake):
For Jemeel:
Fire From
The Road
[3 CDs]
(RogueArt)



EUPHORIUM_freakestra (
feat Wadada Leo Smith /
Barre Phillips):
Free Acoustic
Supergroup (
Chicago
New York
Berlin,
Dresden
Luzern
Leipzig)
[2 CDs]
(Euphorium)



Three-Layer Cake (
Mike Pride /
Mike Watt /
Brandon Seabrook):
Stove-Top
(Rarenoise Records)



Duo User 52 (
Udo Schindler /
Etienne Rolin):
Plastic Narratives
(FMR)



Marco Baldini:
Vesperi
(Another Timbre)



Eden Lonsdale:
Clear and
Hazy Moons
(Another Timbre)



Jim &
The Schrimps (
Jim Black /
Asger Nissen /
Julius Gawlik /
Felix Henkelhausen):
Ain't No Saint
(Intakt)



Christian Bucher /
Rick Countryman:
The Force
Of Gravity
(FMR)



Paul Dunmall /
Liam Noble /
John Edwards /
Mark Sanders:
One Moment
(FMR)



Pauline Oliveros :
The Well & The Gentle
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Important Records)



Joel Futterman /
Chad Fowler /
Steve Hirsh:
Ebb & Flow
[2 CDs]
(Mahakala Music)



Joelle Leandre:
Zurich Concert
(Intakt)



Ouat (
Simon Sieger /
Joel Grip /
Michael Griener):
The Strange Adventures
of Jesper Klint
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Umlaut Records)



Thanos Chrysakis:
Manifold Vista
(Auf Abwegen)



Julius Eastman:
Two Extended PiecesFor Four Pianos
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Sub Rosa)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (6205)