Steve Reynolds

Missed it on the 36 minute disc 6. KV in a trio with both Prevost & Drake sounds like it might be very good. fwiw I’m in between on KV’s playing. I find his clarinet playing sub-par and he’s hit or miss on tenor. I’ve always liked his riff-based playing. As far as intricate dynamics within his free playing it pales in comparison to someone like John Butcher. I’m interested to hear how he holds up in a duo with the amazing Nate Wooley and I’m especially curious (maybe in a viewing of a car crash) to hear him alone with the aforementioned Butcher. Butcher in my view is one of the best 3 or 4 improvising saxophonists on the planet - especially in small formations improvs. I like his riffing on baritone saxophone. I’m hoping he brought his baritone sax to Kraków.

Hamid Drake listed as one of the musicians but NOT listed as a musician on any of the individual discs.

Assif Tsahar: Hopscotch Records Gerry Hemingway: Auricle Records

Code Read with Dresser & Hemingway is on the streaming services. It is spectacular IMO.

Dave Rempis: Aerophonic Records

I listened through once on Tidal and it is soft and almost all of that slow tempo that sometimes can be very powerful. I’m not sure they captured the dynamics that Mat & Randy exhibit in a live performance. The set they played included most of this music but some of it seemed to explode in volume and in tempo. Lucien’s pristine sound and touch is captured very well on the recording. I do wish they put some freely improvised intense passages/pieces on the recording. For me that is what elevated the set/show to the typical high level of performance that I expect from any ensemble with Mat. I also recently saw Mat Maneri with a Matt Mitchell Ensemble where he played parts of very challenging intricately composed music as well as some mind-bending improvised sections. The band also included Ben Gerstein & Brandon Seabrook along with Mitchell & Kate Gentile. It was a fine but not transcendent set. It almost hit the perfect balance between composed & improvised but the structures were unique & creative but did not give the musicians enough room to truly explode the music. Then I saw Mat in a trio with Assif Tsahar & Ches Smith. An hour of totally improvised music with Mat playing at his highest level. Using a bass pedal, regular pedal, and no pedal, his mprovising was jaw-dropping. Stunning. As good as this music gets, IMO. Hopefully if this was recorded well, Assif will get this released somehow. After Randy, Ches is the best drummer with Mat for this sort of thing.

Saw the quartet live this past fall and they were wonderful. More subdued than some of Mat’s bands but this one is a unique special group. Randy Peterson remains just about my favorite drummer and his interplay with Mat is priceless. Fwiw Mat has played only viola for over 10 years now. He varies the pedals he uses and sometimes plays without a pick-up when he plays duets with Evan Parker, Joelle Leandre, Matt Shipp, Lucien Ban or others.

If you think Shipp & Parker are boring, I’ve been of that mindset off and on for 20+ years as well. I’ve also seen/heard Parker more recently where he has played better than I’ve ever heard him before. He was fantastic at the concert @ Shapeshifter Labs in 2017 with Rob Brown, Cooper-Moore & Hamid Drake. Same goes for Shipp. He was great with Evan Parker & Paul Lytton this spring @ Roulette and in a short duet with Mat Maneri a few weeks back his playing was transcendent. I’ve ALSO heard Shipp (most egregiously for me in 2012 with a quartet with Paul Dunmall on tenor saxophone, Joe Morris on double bass & Gerald Cleaver on drums) when he never relents and never gives the music any space rendering most of all of his notes/playing superfluous. At that concert it stifled Dunmall until the last 10 or 15 minutes when he finally gave the music the space it needed for the great tenor saxophonist to express himself successfully. Also it might be noted that these days (and for at least 10 or 15 years now), this sort of modern day “Fire Music” is far from my musical core interest and to my ears there are many more attractive and more creative improvising musicians doing/playing more exciting brands of free jazz/freely improvised music of all sorts than this “wing” or “strain” of the modern forms of improvised music.

That’s a great band.

I’ve had a love/like/hate/ambivalent relationship with David S Ware over the past 20+ years. I saw him with the “famous” quartet with Susie Ibarra in the drummer's chair - with Shipp & Parker filling out the quartet. I also saw him with an “extended” band after Susie left with Guillermo Brown as the drummer with a trombonist that I’ve never been able to figure out a name for. I think that second show was probably 2000 or so. First show was at one of the poorer venues for Vision Fest and the sound was awful. For whatever reason while Ware was blowing like a MF’er, I could hear mostly Shipp, Parker & Ibarra. The next show was hindered by sub-optimal drumming. Both shows and many recordings lessened in impact by too much Shipp. Dude always played WAY too much. He’s become a bit more restrained in recent years but not back 15-20 years ago. Ware also plays too long and too much. BUT he had a huge sound, big heart and nobody has ever played the upper register like the Big Man did. So sad that he wasn’t able to take the stage for Vision Fest in June 2012 due to his declining health. It was a huge downer that night that we didn’t get to hear his group with Cooper-Moore.

I’m about the same age as Kevin and from Quincy and then moved south shore Abington when I was 12. Class of 78, “everyone” was into rock with Aerosmith, Kiss, The Who, Sabbath, Floyd & especially Zeppelin being the biggest names. Then the Cars & Foreigner started happening and things got awful. I was only into Zeppelin & Floyd from the above and then I went more progressive with Yes, Genesis, then Gong, Crimson, Eno, Roxy, etc. only liked some Punk, post-punk 15 or 20 years later. Despised Ramones & Pistols, etc. ALL of us hated it. Bullshit musicians playing messy sloppy garbage. I still think that about most of them. Only Wire & The Clash eventually meant something to me.

Congratulations, Clifford

I’m still trying to figure out what new music he’s listening to. 1,000 albums a year but not one example of what music it is. To me Ted’s still listening via many cliches. Too much narrative and not enough individual voice. Not sure he’s been very open to the truly new & creative within improvising circles. Again if he mentioned some actual recordings or musicians that are creating the new and non-repeated that would have given the interview some worth. I do like what he says about Audio Vs Video. He’s very accurate about that.

Where and with who else or is it a duo. I never even tried any of the Braxton “standards” recordings except the Monk, Marsh & Charlie Parker projects. I always thought that stuff was hit or miss. Usually the best things/aspects would be the other musicians (Paul Smoker, Joe Fonda Misha Mengelberg & Han Bennink on the Parker music for example). This quartet music/improvised music has little to do with any of the above. I sure wish to get a chance to see the quartet live if they ever choose to set up some concerts.

I’ll cue up the Bailey/Holland album soon. I’ll look for the other Music Improvisation Company album. When I’m in the right listening mode, the early 1st generation improvisation recordings hit multiple buttons for me.

Just listened to this via Tidal. Not sure I can imagine what this would have been like to have heard this with 1972 ears. Even today it is thoroughly radical and extreme. I’m just now (over the past 5-7 years maybe) opening up my ears to be able to listen to Derek Bailey. This one was an incredibly exciting listen for me yesterday. Too bad the ECM of the past 25 years has little or no interest in this rough esthetic. I know there are many sources for small form yet aggressive yet restrained improvisation but it would be nice if today’s ECM had a bit more bite & bark.

The Glass Box Theatre (aka The Stone) is at The New School which is in large part a music school as far as I know. The Stone regularly features some of the greatest musicians in the world and the vast majority of the Students just walk on by. Hopefully with Mary Halvorson being in Trevor Dunn’s trio tonight, there will be a nice crowd. Last week with Assif Tsahar making a rare visit from Israel I went to night 2 on Wednesday when Assif was joined by Mat Maneri & Ches Smith, the crowd was also an embarrassing maybe 25. The set was as strong as any set I’ve seen in the past year or two and I’ve seen a few. Mat played as well or better than I’ve heard him in the past 3-4 years. I’m biased but his level of improvising and true spontaneous composition is on levels that are ultra rare. Ches Smith is in the Tyshawn Sorey category of drummers and Assif Tsahar has developed into a truly outstanding voice on the tenor. He was always terrific but he’s honed his sound to a more subtle and sophisticated place. and yet the guys & girls carrying violin/viola cases saxophone cases just walk on by......

Nice to read your comments. I’ve never seen a 2 hour continuous performance by any jazz/improv ensemble. I’ve also never heard any of the young group of musicians within this group. I’m sure at least one or more of them with effort will develop some sort of distinctive individuality which is often the last thing to come for many of these very talented young improvising musicians - if it comes at all. I like that Tyshawn is working with young guys/girls. As you know he also records and plays with many dudes/dudettes that have acquired those individual qualities. I’ve seen him with Mary Halvorson & Jon Irabagon as one example and his interplay especially with Mary was mind-blowing. I’m also becoming more interested in modern jazz based composition. As far as the NYC people I’m most familiar with we have Matt Mitchell, Ingrid Laubrock, Mary Halvorson, Kris Davis, Taylor Ho Bynum and others have created some extraordinary composed works with massive amounts of improvised music incorporated into those structures - music that I’ve heard live and on record that are brandy new, exciting and groove and move like jazz is supposed to. An artist I’m not that familiar with, Harris Eisenstaedt, is another who is creating new structures - I saw a Nonet of his a few years back that included Nate Wooley, Jeb Bishop & Sara Schoenbeck (to name 3 incredibly talented and distinctive improvising musicians) - that played a continuous suite that was less than an hour - probably not more than 45 minutes. It was subtly spectacular and thoroughly unique. If I was able to see more live performances I’d experience even more of what is happening. I probably still prefer freely improvised live music but even that strain of music has and is undergoing shifts and changes that might seem minor but in retrospect are not. Plus their was a generation before them including Gerry Hemingway, Ellery Eskelin, Tim Berne, Tony Malaby, Etc. all of whom created (some of who are still creating vibrant works - especially Berne). So glad you went. Plus beyond everything else, Sorey is simply one of the greatest drummers on the planet and maybe the most powerful sounding one at that.

Same here. Without Emanem some of the most challenging and exciting first generation European improvisation would still be unheard and even more under-appreciated. Plus Martin continued with some terrific 1990’s and 2000’s stuff that is even more under the radar.

Now on my calendar - doing everything I can to get there:)

Ready for round 2 from Anthony Braxton Quartet (2014) New Haven on Firehouse 12 Records 4 CD set - 4 continuous improvisations - each between 57 & 64 minutes Braxton plays only saxophones (no clarinets and for whatever reasons I’ve never been attracted to the sounds Braxton creates on any of the clarinets he plays) - from the beastly contrabass saxophone up through the sopranino Sax. His riffing and wailing and skronking on both the bass saxophone & contrabass saxophone throughout this recording along would make this the best improv release I’ve heard this year but add in Taylor Ho Bynum who plays in his very attractive virtuosic very jazz like manner on 5 different brass instruments ranging from his trumphone to a piccolo trumpet IIRC, then this mega-session is elevated beyond that. They asked the duo of Nels Cline on electric guitar and Greg Saunier on drums to join them to complete the quartet. Story goes that Braxton and Bynum was the others play a duet show and Anthony was excited enough to plan this session. I’ve seen Nels live in different groups maybe 4 or 5 times and he’s always good but here he is spectacular in his voicing and is totally immersed in the group improv esthetic. Saunier takes some getting used to but he builds up the sound of the group to great walls of beautiful rocked out glory. Wow. for me among the most exciting new recordings I’ve heard in the past couple of years. Once I adapted to the switching horns approach, I’ve enjoyed each subsequent disc more than the last but I have zero idea if that amazing 4th Disc is any better than the 1st Disc!!!

Often it’s the same thing here. For the late shows - especially now that I’ve been going to Dead related things - (Phil Lesh’s Groups, Dark Star Orchestra & JRAD), those shows start ~ 8:30 or even 9:00 and the 2 full sets can go to 12:30 or so. My wife and I saw JRAD (Joe Russo’s Almost Dead) @ Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia on Friday September 27th. 3 hour drive from Wayne, NJ with traffic. We got there by 7:45 or so. Show started at 9:05 and with the encore ended close to 1:15. At least no traffic going home. Home @ 3:30 A.M. YES - I took that Friday off and had a nice 2 hour nap to prepare for the drive and the show. And yes for that night I chose wisely. Second set was incredible for what they were doing. Russo is just about the best rock drummer I’ve ever seen. But NO he is not quite Tyshawn Sorey and he is NOT Randy Peterson.

Plus if you go they better be great:) The band of it's the same one are all young musicians - two saxophones, piano & bass.

My trip to NYC is short mileage wise but it’s usually 75 minutes minimum. Brooklyn can be 90 minutes easy on a rainy day/night. Last night I left work early at 4:30 and was parked by 5:45. Then I relaxed until the set. Free parking when you get there early in Manhattan. Only 1 set at The Stone for I think about 3 years but I choose wisely as the music needs to be worth the drive/time, etc. It’s also a good time to listen to more music. Last night was a very good decision. Jazz Gallery has 2 sets but most of the venues that host the music I prefer are 1 set events these days so again I try to choose wisely. Word has it that when Tyshawn player the Jazz Gallery, with what I believe is the band he’s touring with, they played a 2 hour continuous set. Big buzz about that show. I sure wish I chose that night. Plus it was sold out and packed solid.

I would STRONGLY recommend you go - especially if you’ve not seen Tyshawn live. Word is that the quintet is playing more burning jazz based stuff than one might hear from the Pillars group or his small groups with Cory Smythe. When the man is focused on drums in a jazz based or freeish ensemble he is just about the most powerful drummer on the planet today. This is coming from someone who sees dudes like Ches Smith (last night), Randy Peterson (2 weeks ago), Nasheet Waits (too long now), Gerald Cleaver, etc. Tyshawn Sorey might be the most unique and explosively innovative of all of them. Well he isn’t Randy Peterson but nobody is:)