Three idiosyncratic players, drummer Kate Gentile, guitarist and banjoist Brandon Seabrook, and pianist Matt Mitchell came together at Spectrum for an interesting set of music. All three musicians are composers and each contributed pieces to this collective unit. The ways that the three fit together in different ways throughout the night was the driving narrative
Anyone who frequented Cornelia Street Cafe in recent years is aware of the tradition that arose with the Tom Rainey Trio playing the second to last night of the year. For each of the last eight years, an eager crowd gathered to hear one of New York’s most cutting-edge bands. Drummer and composer Tom Rainey has
Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker’s tour through New York in December was one of the highlights of the year and was the crescendo to four performances that she did, each with a different band, over the course of ten days. Her unique approach to her instrument pairs perfectly with the equally exploratory American pianist Craig Taborn
Nate Wooley is one of the most thoughtful and interesting musicians working in New York. Battle Pieces makes daring new explorations into song structure, reinventing the relationships between members of an ensemble in a way that retains an alert sharpness during every live performance. Since the band formed for Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Music Festival in 2014,
Yarn/Wire‘s ambitious Stone residency included some experiments worthy of the designation “experimental” to be sure, and Popebama was no exception. On one of the coldest days I’ve experienced here in New York City, January 30th, I walked from Tribeca to the Stone at the New School in the Glass Box Theater. I had been there
Guitarist Sandy Ewen’s move from Houston to Brooklyn in early 2018 has no doubt had a transformative impact upon the improvised music scene here. Her unique, abrasion-focused way of playing her guitar, vertically situated in her lap, has provided her some significant and innovative musical techniques that she has employed to great purpose. Ewen is
While We Still Have Bodies is one of the most developed freely improvised ensembles to emerge in Brooklyn over the past decade. This band is comprised of Michael Foster (saxophones), Ben Gerstein (trombone), Sean Ali (bass), and Flin van Hemmen (drums). As stated, their music is entirely improvised and each time I have seen them
I have been familiar with trumpeter Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes for several years now. Their work in Irreversible Entanglements, a quintet featuring Moor Mother, Keir Neuringer, and Luke Stewart, has seen them touring internationally since 2016 and releasing one of the foremost records of 2017. Navarro and Holmes have been working on their duo
On September 5, 2018, violist Joanna Mattrey convened a quintet of superb improvisers that included trombonist Ben Gerstein, trumpeter Joe Moffett, bass clarinetist John McCowen, and vocalist Nina Dante. Their set was an exploration of the possibilities of minimalist improvisations in a collective context. The music began with small sounds, as if emerging from all
Colombian electric bassist, Carlos Quebrada, based in Buenos Aires, joined New York drummer Weasel Walter and saxophonist Sam Weinberg for an intense, visceral performance at Wonders of Nature on Wednesday, September 5. This trio presented a set of jagged-edged, high-energy improvised music that really pushed the boundaries. Saxophonic squeaks, rapid, percussive bass lines, and hard,
