Bradford/Gjerstad Quartet - Silver Cornet

[CraigP]

Our own esteemed Chuck Nessa has just released Silver Cornet by the Bobby Bradford/Frode Gjerstad Quartet. Here's an excerpt from my review:

"The instrumental line-up and Bradford’s history would suggest that their music would be heavily influenced by Ornette, but at least as a listener that’s not really the case. In fact, the Quartet really reminds me of Other Dimensions In Music in the way the music rises and falls in a very natural way.

Bradford has what I call an “organic” approach to improvising; everything flows, nothing seems forced, and it’s very conversational. You really hear the history of jazz and free music in his playing.

Listening to Frode is like what I imagine watching Pollock at work was like: At first everything looks random and disconnected, but over the course of time you see an arc, a progression. He infers, rather than states, and he’s a great foil for his front-line partner.

The acoustics of the Dallas show made picking up the bass difficult, so it’s great to hear Ingebrigt’s contributions so much more clearly. He’s all over his instrument, with a lightening-quick approach that reminds me of Barry Guy at times.

And Frank Rosaly? Well, I’ve never seen anyone play like he does. His approach involves rapidly taking various cymbals off their stands, placing them on top of drumheads, and striking or swiping them. It’s mesmerizing live, and what almost got lost was how well he can drive the band when needed.

Once the Dallas performance was finished, I had a vision in my mind that the music hadn’t really stopped, that it was a river that would keep flowing. Silver Cornet is proof of that."

You can read the full review of Silver Cornet on improvisedblog.

[Justin V]

I'd like to check this out. I seem to recall reading that the cover photo was from their performance in Buffalo (that I almost went to but missed). Gjerstad rolls through these parts annually, but Bradford doesn't.

[Chuck Nessa]

The cover shot and two more in the package were from the Buffalo concert a couple of days before the issued performance in Baltimore.

Edited October 24, 2014 by Chuck Nessa

[mjzee]

I just noticed that no one has reviewed the album on Amazon. Could someone who loves the album (and there seem to be many here) post a review? http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Cornet-Bradford-Gjerstad-Quartet/dp/B00MHS5904/ref=pd_sim_15_61?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NMEFN1M96QNVTMF89N1