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Hand-numbered repress edition.
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Evan Parker / Matthew Wright Trance Map + Peter Evans / Mark Nauseef:
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Marie Kruttli:
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Swiss pianist, composer and producer Marie Kruttli, who splits her time between Switzerland and Berlin, steps away from her trio with bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Jonathan Barber for a sophisticated solo album of original composition and improvisations, in thirteen succinct, emotional and introspectively elegant works. ... Click to View


Joe McPhee / Mette Rasmussen / Dennis Tyfus:
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Hedvig Mollestad :
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Teaming up with Norwegian keyboard player Ståle Storløkken of Elephant9 & Supersilent and drummer Ole Mofjell, guitarist Hedvig Mollestad Thomassen introduces her new trio with this double album of live recordings from three separate concerts in Oslo and Stavanger, Norway, in dynamic performances of blistering, building prog and jazz fusion-oriented rock forms. ... Click to View


Foussat / Parrenin / Rollet:
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Emphasizing the electronic aspect of ea-improv, the trio of Jean-Marc Foussat on Synthi AKS, voice & toys, Emmanuelle Parrenin on hurdy-gurdy & voice and Quentin Rollet on alto and sopranino saxophones & small electronics, are heard in an immersive performance at Allumes du Jazz, in Le Mans, France in 2023, for a superb concert of unrestricted free improvisation. ... Click to View


Daunik Lazro / Carlos Zingaro / Sakis Papadimitriou / Jean Bolcato:
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Reissuing the 1995 In Situ album of the sublime 1993 concert at Vandoeuvre-Les-Nancy in France from the free improvising quartet of Daunik Lazro on alto & baritone saxophones, Carlos Zingaro on acoustic and electroacoustic violins, Sakis Papadimitriou on piano and Jean Bolcato on double bass & voice, in a highly focused set of concentrative collective expression. ... Click to View


Joelle Leandre / Paul Lovens :
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Bringing together two masterful and legendary players from the European Free Improv scene -- French double bassist and vocalist Joëlle Léandre and UK drummer & percussionist Paul Lovens -- heard in this live performance at Les Temps du Corps, in Paris, free playing in two parts with an incredible sense of communication, timing, humor, virtuosity and finesse. ... Click to View



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  Koby Israelite 
  Dance of the Idiots  
  (Tzadik) 

   review by Elliott Simon
  2003-06-10
Koby Israelite: Dance of the Idiots (Tzadik)

It appears that this side of the Atlantic is not the only place where Jewish music is influencing young experimental artists. Myriad musical maestro Koby Israelite has released Dance of the Idiots, a whiplash inducing CD that can catch the listener unaware as it quickly changes gears and genres. In addition to programming, Israelite plays at least four instruments on most tracks including drums, electric guitar, pocket clarinet, flute, piano, accordion, keyboard, melodica and percussion. While clearly displaying cantorial, Chasidic, and klezmer foundations, Idiots is foremost a stylized self-portrait that draws on metal, rock, psychedalia and synth pop, resulting in an unmistakably kosher ragout.

Israeli born, Koby Israelite has resided in England for over a decade and performed with many distinguished jazz musicians, several of whom he has wisely recruited for this session. Most notable is reedman and fellow Israeli ex-pat Gilad Atzmon, whose band The Orient House Ensemble and their cd Exile (Enja Justin Time, JENJ 3305) have both been nominated for 2003 BBC best band and best album Jazz Awards. Also here from the Exile session are the deliciously talented violinist Marcel Mamaliga and bassist Yaron Stavi. A first rate brass section in the persons of cross-genre session trumpeter Sid Gauld (Burt Bachrach, Blur, James Galway, The Stranglers, Ray Charles and dozens of others) and trombonist Reut Regev (seen in NYC with Assif Tsahar and Ras Moshe, among others) helps produce some of the cd's stronger cuts. With decidedly funky bassist Stefan Redtenbacher, Ofir Gal's rock guitar, virtuoso Romanian born jazz/classical accordionist, Marin Nasturcia and Howard Davies' didgeridoo occasionally added to this heady mix, Israelite has conjured up a suitable quorum to present his sweeping musical concept

Although Dance of the Idiots can veer dangerously close to cheesy Chasidic Casio Karaoke ("Saints and Dates") or resonate an inbred gondola music groove (parts of "I Used to be Cool"), these moments are saved by expert musicianship and the best cuts are close to flawless. "Battersea Blues" evinces a sensibility that flies in the face of commercialization in its simplistic but beautiful melody and raw but not happenstance folk instrumentation. "I Used to be Cool" and "Wanna Dance" take the listener on breakneck genre tours that can begin with a Gregorian chant, grind to a surprising non-cadencial ending or have a laughing klezmer clarinet eructate into a final belch. "In the Meantime" enables Sid Gauld to stand out on trumpet and is a Balkan funky concoction, as is "Truah," where brass again shines against a funky rhythm with Regev's trombone leading the way through some MidEastern synth noodling. The title piece explodes into an animated ska beat that boasts everything from crisp accordion runs to the theme from the Simpsons. "Toledo Five Four" features Israelite on 5 instruments that with Savi's bass set up a rhythm upon which Atzmon, Mamaliga and Regev provide hot solos. "Diego (Hora Miresei)" is an all-too-short traditional Romanian wedding tune that Nasturcia plays in classic fashion while Israelite free-form drums an accompaniment.

Israelite shows himself to be a seamless mixologist as "HappyLouge" and "2nd of Tamuz" are delightful melanges of various genres interspersed amongst each other until heavy metal and Chasidic nign eventually align as kindred spirits. While the individual musicians on Dance of the Idiots are standouts, the album ultimately glows as a panoramic statement of Israelite's vision.





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