Max Johnson - The Prisoner

[CraigP]

The very busy bassist Max Johnson has released The Prisoner, inspired by the 1967 British TV series that starred Patrick McGoohan as a secret agent help captive by a mysterious organization. The CD features Ingrid Laubrock, Mat Maneri and Tomas Fujiwara. Here’s an excerpt from my review:

“…even in the freer passages there’s always something anchoring the music - a rhythm, a bass line, a repeating figure - that provides some structure but doesn’t sacrifice the feeling that the musicians generate. There are some exciting passages where free-form explorations suddenly transition into theme statements with a swinging pulse, and then take a right turn in another direction. You never know what’s coming next, which from what little I know of the plot of the show is probably what is intended.”

You can read the full review of The Prisoner on my blog improvised.

[jlhoots]

On my "short list".

[colinmce]

The best source is the artist himself.

[relyles]

I recently listened to his Invisible Trio disc on Fresh Sound New Talent. Enjoyed it a lot. I was not very familiar with him before, but as a result of that disc and the personnel on this one, I am sure I will seek this one out at some point.

[CraigP]

I liked The Invisible Trio as well, and reviewed it back in January:

http://improvisedblog.blogspot.com/2014/01/max-johnson-trio-invisible-trio.html

[jlhoots]

Knuffke!!

[colinmce]

The Quartet record with Swell, Whitecage & Sorey is well done, too. He's off to an impressive start.

[Leeway]

I had trouble placing Max when I first saw this thread, as he is not someone I have seen often. But I realized I was at a Frank Gratkowski concert at Spectrum, NYC, last August, where Max was the bassist. There's a clip on YT of that show. I'm sitting in the chair at the lower right corner of the frame, right before Chris Pitsiokis on sax; you can see my left arm. Max was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjKwCJ3LuZw

[Rooster_Ties]

I can't be the only one who saw this thread, and was hoping this would be something that revisited the material from Herbie Hancock's last Blue Note leader-date. (Not to thread-crap.)

[mjazzg]

I had trouble placing Max when I first saw this thread, as he is not someone I have seen often. But I realized I was at a Frank Gratkowski concert at Spectrum, NYC, last August, where Max was the bassist. There's a clip on YT of that show. I'm sitting in the chair at the lower right corner of the frame, right before Chris Pitsiokis on sax; you can see my left arm. Max was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjKwCJ3LuZw

Looks like you get to sit in comfy armchairs - nice. Nothing as plush over here .....dangerous after a heavy day at work though zzzzzzz

[CraigP]

I can't be the only one who saw this thread, and was hoping this would be something that revisited the material from Herbie Hancock's last Blue Note leader-date. (Not to thread-crap.)

I didn't think of that! Makes sense, though. And Leeway, you certainly get around!

[Leeway]

I had trouble placing Max when I first saw this thread, as he is not someone I have seen often. But I realized I was at a Frank Gratkowski concert at Spectrum, NYC, last August, where Max was the bassist. There's a clip on YT of that show. I'm sitting in the chair at the lower right corner of the frame, right before Chris Pitsiokis on sax; you can see my left arm. Max was good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjKwCJ3LuZw

Looks like you get to sit in comfy armchairs - nice. Nothing as plush over here .....dangerous after a heavy day at work though zzzzzzz

I wish they were all like that! Most places have horrid seating. The place in the clip, Spectrum, serves as someone's loft & living space, and also an occasional performance space. Besides the big leather chair (not typical of all the seats there) I was sitting right next to a bookcase with a lot of interesting books, so I was able to check them out during breaks. Best seats for a concert in the local area (aside from the big venues like Kennedy Center) are, I think, at An Die Musik, which has old Queen Anne wingback chairs for seating. Love those. And you know, I have found plenty of people nodding off during these shows. Soothing noise.

And Leeway, you certainly get around!

I have been interested in Gratkowski, so when he came hre on a short tour, I went up to NYC to attend all of his appearances there (maybe 6). That's how I ended up at Spectrum. But I guess I have been gadding about a bit.