Steve Reynolds

55-56 minute continuous improvisation. Genius level performance. Maybe the best I’ve ever heard Mary play. Stunning. Invention and true on the spot compositional improvisation. Very impressed with Henry Fraser. First time hearing him. Very strong more than holding his own in elite company. Tomas has it all and yet his typical restraint was combined with the most explosive playing I’ve ever heard from him.

Tomas Fujiwara with Henry Fraser & Mary Halvorson at The Stone at The New School tomorrow night Tim Berne with Gregg Belisle-Chi, Trevor Dunn & Tom Rainey at Lowlands Saturday night Open Loose with Mark Helias, Tony Malaby & Tom Rainey with Tim Berne guesting at Barbes

Thank you Sir SO glad you were able to experience this what a “front line”

We want to hear more!!

2 great sets tonight in NYC. My friend and I were 10 feet from Tom Rainey. Will see him again twice next week. I can never get enough of the *great* Tom Rainey. Peaking madly. Next Thursday with Tim Berne’s group then Saturday 2/17 with Open Loose (Helias & Malaby) with Berne as a guest.

Awesome! Try to find Matt Vernon & Hope. Ask around. Tell them Steve says hello. Hope was Peter’s tour manager for the US for a couple of decades.

A few of my friends are there. Are you going to any of the sets?

I’ll be seeing them tonight at Le Poisson Rouge

The new Tim Berne with Hoff, Ducret, Torn & Ches Smith is incredible

The gig this Wednesday is an improv set with Mary, Nick Jozwiak & the *great* Ches Smith. In a tiny room in Brooklyn. The small groups are the place to really “hear” Mary Halvorson. I strongly recommend Hotel Grief on Intakt by the Tom Rainey, Ingrid Laubrock & Mary Halvorson. Freely improvised MUCH different than the overly composed larger ensemble music. to my ears it’s much more exciting as well as I tend not to be moved by more academic structured music. Not just with Mary either.

Seeing Mary in more preferred settings for me 3 times this month. This week in an improvising trio with Nick Jozwiak & Ches Smith. Later this month with Tomeka Reid’s great quartet. In between a trio with Henry Fraser & Tomas Fujiwara. as an aside, this is a golden age for live left leaning music in NYC/Brooklyn. Much of it is way under the radar but “the gold is where you find it”. retirement is glorious:)

4 nights of Brandon Lopez in various improvising ensembles from last Wednesday thru Saturday night highlights were the trio with Chuck Roth & Dennis Sullivan on Friday night and then the duo with Fred Moten on Saturday night which was sublime and emotionally devastating. Brilliant. Chuck Roth is a genius level improvisor. 27 years old and beyond creative and totally unlike any guitarist I’ve ever heard. Also the quintet with T.J. Borden, Michael Foster, Webb Crawford & Joey Sullivan was great. Webb Crawford is a brilliant young guitarist. I can’t tell anyone here how great Brandon Lopez is as a bassist and creative inventive force but I will say the 4 day experience will be a lasting one. Certainly I don’t know another bassist who is improvising at this level that I’ve seen live. Plus for my ears, mind and heart he’s pursuing a muse that is in a very powerful oblique and abstract direction and more power to him. also fit in a trio set with Tony Malaby, Ben Monder & Alan Mednard @ Barbes. Tony stuck with his tenor for this set and had to overcome a slightly too loud Monder but this is a minor quibble. Monder was really bringing it with his effects and Tony mixed his long tones with some elbow flapping high energy classic Malaby playing. The dude is as great as ever. Look forward to 2/17 with Open Loose (with Helias & Rainey) plus Tim Berne. I think the first Open Loose show in 8 or 9 years.

A few great gigs last week including an amazing trio with Sandy Ewen, Tim Dahl & Brian Chase Tonight thru Saturday night Brandon Lopez at The Stone tonight with Michael Foster, Webb Crawford, T.J. Borden & Joey Sullivan fired up

Be well and welcome back, Larry

Last Sunday: Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Angelica Sanchez & Tom Rainey / second set incredible / nobody playing soprano saxophone like this. His tenor playing was great as always. Both sets fully improvised. Tom Rainey remains among the greatest drummers on the planet. As Kevin Reilly says in his low key manner, “he’s the best” Last Night: James Paul Nadian solo followed by a trio adding Tom Wall and the *great* Fred Lonberg-Holm. Amazing Tonight: Tim Berne with David Torn, Trevor Dunn & Tom Rainey Will be a nice long improvised set and as always I’ll be a few feet from the band.

Caroline Morton is a very strong young bassist. Lemuel Marc also very promising. The times I’ve seen them live were inspiring. I’m mixed on Zoh. Very little harmonic agility. Best when she is with strong players like Chris Corsano, Steve Gunn, Ryan Sawyer & gabby. Saw a great drummerless quartet with Forbes Graham, gabby & Luke Stewart. The other best set was with Gunn, gabby & Ryan Sawyer. Sawyer really pushed her even more than Corsano. Tom Weeks on alto strong as well. He’s from the Bay Area but plays in a free jazz quartet with Caroline, James McKain & Kevin Murray. HUGE energy. do NOT sleep on the *great* Chuck Roth. Just wait. The most original voice on guitar I’ve heard the last few years. Olaf Rupp type brilliance. But only 26 and has been playing seriously for a very long time. Plus the smartest funniest person I know:) The last set I saw with Michael Foster, Greg Kelley & Brandon Lopez was as great a 40 minute improvised set as I saw this past year out of many many sets. The trio set with Ghost was a close second. It’s hard to explain what Brandon Lopez means to these young musicians from a musical standpoint and otherwise. His fully in the moment creativity is off the charts.

Many of them are gratis. Most of his gigs are from suggested donation type gigs. Record shops, outdoors, small rooms, etc. James doing what it takes to build up his skills. He’s gaining traction. Just like I tell Brandon Lopez, “Brandon you are the hardest working bassist on the planet”. Now that dude plays gigs. Often 2 in one day. Plus now all over the world. Plus now he’s become to my ears the baddest motherfucker on the double bass in NYC. With great respect to heavy dudes like John Hebert, Trevor Dunn & Michael Formanek. Especially Hebert who is totally bad ass incredible. James Paul Nadian has that sort of potential on the drums but long way to go to touch the super high echelon of guys like Tom Rainey, Nasheet Waits, Tyshawn Sorey, Gerald Cleaver and the criminally undervalued Randy Peterson. Better live. Not thrilled they didn’t do full improv on the record plus too bad Brandon Lopez isn’t on the recording. While I’m at it, please listen to Matanzas

Yes but some of them have not had their recordings released yet. Michael Foster’s The Ghost is on some lists. Some of these musicians will be more well known as the next few years go by. Specifically Chuck Roth 26 year old genius guitarist, James Paul Nadian - a 23 year old drummer who estimates he played 130 shows in 2023, Webb Crawford 20 something guitarist. also gabby fluke-mogul & Nava Dunkelman. Both are incredible and starting to become better known.

I’ll work on a new list of newish recordings. The younger musicians in NYC/Brooklyn are fire James Paul Nadian Chuck Roth James McKain Joey Sullivan (from Philly) Michael Foster Brandon Lopez (not new any longer) Charmaine Lee Caleb Duvall T.J. Borden Madison Greenstone Webb Crawford and more Tomeka is peaking. Not fading out. Fwiw Darius better than ever live. Saw him in a duo a few weeks ago with Nick Fraser from 5 feet away. As great an alto saxophonist as is playing today.

Per Mark Wastell June 15, 1938 December 26, 2023 The legendary iconic drummer/composer/inventor/improvisor is gone saw him once in duo with Cecil at Tonic on Norfolk Street RIP, sir

Are you interested in my thinking? I’m getting an odd vibe here, Jim Mat Maneri writes some great sparse sketches which allow for great improvisation. Maybe that could be called “undercomposed”. With his dad in the great quartet it was all free music with no pre-written music I’m still quite a bit more interested in freely improvised music so that might be where my somewhat negative reaction to compositional approaches that hinder creative group/collective improvisation.

Too much structure in my view is “overcomposed” and “academic”. Holds the improvisers back. See Threadgill’s Zooid for a good example of great balance. The musicians in that band thrive within his brilliant writing.

For her most exciting playing it’s always been a duo, trio or quartet. Like Thumbscrew(trio), Tom Rainey trio or Tomeka’s quartet. The larger groups seem overcomposed and a bit academic or even sterile to my ears. Plus I’m spoiled as I get to see her live often in smaller groups.

I prefer Mary is smaller groups with more improvisation & less structured mannered music. She’s great live when she gets more out.

Drummer was Sofia Borges with Signe, James & Brandon add the 2 large ensemble sets from Ikue Mori from last night included Ches Smith, Sylvie, Satako Fujii, Erik Friedlander, Charmaine Lee, David Watson, Zeena Parkins and more. Composed pieces with incredibly exciting grooves & improvised madness. Brilliant genius level stuff. Top 5 show of 2023.