Kirk Knuffke (cornet) and Mike Pride (drums) played a set of duets in a rare outing at Cornelia Street Cafe Sunday night. I found this project intriguing from the first time I heard their album–Exterminating Angel (Nottwo, 2012)–originally because I would not have thought to pair the two eclectic musicians together. They each bring a
Ideal Bread is an innovative band with all sorts of new ideas. The group plays the music of Steve Lacy, but has none of the characteristics of a cover band–as leader Josh Sinton (baritone saxophone) stated, “this music came out of Lacy’s brain, went into my brain, and then back out again.” Sinton has a
Tomas Fujiwara and the Hook Up played two sets of new songs for a packed house on Saturday night. This group seems to keep gaining momentum, led by the masterful drummer/composer, and has been exploring exciting new territory since its most recent release, The Air Is Different (482 Music, 2012). Fujiwara seems to possess limitless
The group Aych, composed of alto saxophonist Jim Hobbs, cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, and guitarist Mary Halvorson, appeared in a rare performance last night at JACK Arts. Halvorson is well known on the New York scene as a daring player possessing rare talent and incredible musical vision. Ho Bynum, who formerly resided in Brooklyn, has
Secret Keeper (Mary Halvorson – guitar, Stephan Crump – bass) Wow. For some reason, I overlooked this band among guitarist Mary Halvorson‘s many projects until very recently. Earlier this year, Secret Keeper released its first album–Super Eight–a collection of fourteen fully improvised pieces. As the story goes, after meeting with a desire to try out
Jonathan Moritz’ Secret Tempo is officially releasing their debut album at Barbes on September 17. It promises to be one of the most exciting performances of the month. Here is a review of their last live performance that I posted in July: https://www.jazzrightnow.com/2013/07/03/jonathan-moritz-trio-secret-tempo-album-release-live-performance/
In the 1990s, bassist William Parker, with saxophonist David S. Ware and many other collaborators, pioneered a fresh wave of creative, improvised music often referred to as “energy music.” Its hallmarks were (and are, since it is indeed, still alive) intense interactions between musicians in an ensemble often in freely improvised or largely improvised settings.
The second house concert I have attended in the past two weeks, this show had a more intimate feel, taking place in a small living room in Bushwick. Mara Mayer, who has hosted the series since November 2011, was again responsible for organizing an interesting evening of music. The second set featured a trio of
Ingrid Laubrock–one of the most unique and talented saxophonists of her generation–led a riveting performance at Cornelia Street Cafe last night. Her band Anti-House includes a number of outstanding musicians: Mary Halvorson (guitar), Kris Davis (piano), Sean Conly (bass–replacing the usual John Hebert), and Tom Rainey (drums). The band itself is interesting with just one
At an eclectic house concert on the upper west side last night, a trio composed of drummer Flin van Hemmen, trombonist Ben Gerstein, and bassist Sean Ali played two extended free improvisations that together formed over an hour of music. This particular event is part of a series to take place at Papa Cookie, which
