clifford_thornton

definite hatchet job on a very nice record & cover...

Greetings! I'm pleased as punch to announce a new series starting Sunday, March 13 at Tubby's Kingston called So, What Do You Think? (named after the iconic Spontaneous Music Ensemble LP) with the James Brandon Lewis Trio. Concerts will be once a month on a Sunday evening and feature one or more groups/artists at Tubby's, a venue/bar in Midtown Kingston on Broadway that has served Hudson Valley fans of engaging, underground music since 2018. The focus will be broad, ranging from jazz and free music to modern composition, rock-adjacent sound, and beyond. I hope to see you at some of these events and thanks for your support! //Clifford Without further adieu: James Brandon Lewis Trio @ Tubby's, March 13 2022, 7pm. $15 adv (link to follow) $20 door. One lengthy set of seriously heavy music. The James Brandon Lewis Trio was established with one goal in mind … to chase energy! Drawing on the legacy of great trios of the past such as Air, JBL 3 is a power trio with a Sax .. from hip-hop to punk rock … features amazing leaders in their own right: Chris Hoffman and Max Jaffe. James Brandon Lewis (b.1983) is a critically- acclaimed composer, saxophonist, and writer. He has received accolades from NPR, ASCAP Foundation, Macdowell, and The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. He has been described as “ a saxophonist who embodies and transcends tradition” by The New York Times. “The saxophonist has balanced a deep, gospel-informed spirituality with Free-Jazz abandon and hard-hitting funk-meets-hip-hop underpinning,” says Rolling Stone Magazine. He has released several critically-acclaimed albums, most recently the highly touted Jesup Wagon, which was voted Record of the Year by Jazz Times magazine. Lewis is a member and co-founder of American Book Award winning ensemble Heroes Are Gang Leaders. James was recently voted Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist by Downbeat magazine's 2020’s International Critics poll. He attended Howard University and received his M.F.A from California Institute of the Arts. Christopher Hoffman is a cellist and composer who has performed in Henry Threadgill’s Pulitzer Prize winning ensemble Zooid for over a decade. He also currently performs with the grammy-nominated Anat Cohen Tentet, James Brandon Lewis Trio & Red Lily Quintet, Rudy Royston’s Flatbed Buggy, Kenny Warren Trio, Tony Malaby and his own Christopher Hoffman Quartet. He has worked with Martin Scorsese, Yoko Ono, Bleachers, Butch Morris, Marc Ribot, Lee Konitz, Christina Courtin, Spring Awakening, Ryan Scott, Anthony Coleman, FLH, Marianne Faithfull, Ryan Adams, Iron & Wine, Jeremiah Cymerman, Michael Pitt, Pagoda & many others. “Christopher Hoffman hardly needs to prove his bona fides as an agile improviser and ensemble player,” says Nate Chinen, “But with Asp Nimbus…Hoffman distinguishes himself further as a bandleader.” Max Jaffe expands the boundaries of possibility for composition and collaboration through the drum set. His music draws from many different genres and seeks to break down the boundaries between them. He is part of a cutting edge of drummers that have embraced SUNHOUSE and their Sensory Percussion technology that has shifted the paradigm of the instrument. His powerful solo performances exploit the physicality of the drums to create narrative through movement, defying visual expectations and logic for what a “drum solo” can express. As a collaborator, he is a longtime member of experimental rock collective JOBS and Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones, and has performed internationally with Chrome Sparks, Peter Evans, Rubblebucket, Cass McCombs, and many others. In 2021 he completed an MFA from California Institute of the Arts in Music Technology and was a Pioneer Works Music Resident.

yep. killer album too.

Fascinating artist. RIP.

yup.

I assume they were also listing Mal Waldron Plays Eric Satie on Baybridge (excellent LP).

It's good (not great). The cover is ridiculous. It's not too hard to find in the bins around NY, so it must've gotten fairly good distribution.

Excellent -- haven't dug it out in many years however!

if he sends fewer emails I will be happier.

Indeed. Sad news.

Saw him a couple of times when I lived in Chicago (early 00s) but it's been quite a while since I've listened to his music.

Life Between The Exit Signs is a really good Paul Bley LP.

Yup! And that date with Dave Pike is really strong.

had that at one point in lesser condition vinyl; excellent music, would like to have it again.

The Cedar! cover is amusing and it's a good record.

Masao Yagi -- Modern Jazz Blue Mood -- (Columbia, JP) beautifully arranged set of standards for quartet and sextet feat. Yagi (pno, arr), George Otsuka, Akira Miyazawa a.o.

Basically yes, around the corner on Thompson Street, according to a friend who figured this out.

gotcha, thanks! So it might've been shot around the corner...

Interesting. Maybe a street over? Or perhaps by the time it was issued Rudy had moved to Englewood Cliffs.

Fun album.

Ah wow, glad I got to see them a number of times over the years. I can't be in the city this weekend but I'm sure it will be a great send off. I guess at least there's the webcast (a la Phish).

I've never had the Golden Circle on CD so the extra music would certainly be worthwhile for me... probably can download it somewhere, though. As for Andrew Hill, the alternate band performing Grass Roots would make a nice LP though Tone Poet pricing I'm not so enthusiastic about.

yeah, I recall it being discussed somewhere that this was shot in front of the Hackensack house.

yep, I agree with this assessment. the same volume of Conversations also has a fascinating interview with Bill Lowe, who I didn't realize lived in London and played with the South African contingent at the end of the '60s.

Ditto, grew up on the former and went back to watch the latter. Sad news.