Steve Reynolds

Tonight at The New School 8:30 set / decided to go and I’ll shortly be at the front of the line to experience the best of what this sort of unexplainable and without category music has to offer. But we will see. It’s so without a net and without standard form that who the hell knows until it happens!!! Ches Smith Trio plus Mary Halvorson Ches on drums, vibraphone (and compositions) Craig Taborn on piano Mat Maneri on viola The trio alone when peaking is the best and most original group/band I’ve seen over the last 12-14 years of going to live music in NYC and surrounding areas. Very excited to see them again and very intrigued as to what the addition of the wonderful Mary Halvorson will do to the music. Tomorrow still on schedule for the above quartet.

Next Thursday night Ches Smith leading a quartet with James Brandon Lewis, Nate Wooley, Shahzad Ismaily (new to me / on bass/electronics. Ches on drums plus his awesome laptop stuff that I saw him do with William Winant & Ava Mendoza in December. due to still having a job I’ll probably miss Ches with Taborn, Mat Maneri & Mary Halvorson added to the trio. That show is on Wednesday. I’ll probably also go Saturday night which is the Thursday quartet augmented by a violinist & violist I don’t know, Oscar Noriega and a woman musician I don’t know on vocals/electronics. For those who don’t know, Ches Smith is a brilliant idea person and as great as Rainey & Taylor on drums albeit a far different sort of drummer. Maybe more power. I have not seen Wooley since 2019 or maybe even 2018. Been way too long. It’s SO amazing to be back seeing the greatest improvisers playing live

See my comments if interested on the Live music forum for Tim Berne & Ingrid Laubrock on the shows I attended last night 1/14☺️

Last night 2 shows @ Barbes in Brooklyn 6:00 show Tim Berne on alto playing his compositions Oscar Noriega on b-flat clarinet Mat Maneri on viola Gregg Belisle-chi on guitar Jeff Davis on drums 50 minutes or so started tentative. Incredible shit followed. Davis is very good and powerful yet a tad loud. Young guitarist was brilliant. Noriega mostly under the radar as is his wont / but then he played a solo that teetered near the greatest clarinet improvisation I’ve ever heard. Berne sounded better than ever and Mat again stayed often in service of the music until the last 15-20 minutes when he first took a real solo within the music and for the hundredth time in my life totally destroyed my brain. By this point his riffing and comping was on a level unknown to any violinist or violist that plays improvised music. Best Berne set I’ve experienced then a drive to The Stone at The New School even though I’ve never been emotionally attached to this venue as it’s not really “The Stone” that was the hole in the wall venue off Houston street that opened in 2005 when Tonic closed. That being said pretty damn emotional being there for the first time since before the Pandemic. Ingrid Laubrock leading a quartet playing tenor & soprano saxophones James Brandon Lewis on tenor Chad Taylor & Tom Rainey on dual drum kits Yes James Brandon Lewis is the goods / great sound & facility with power to go with it but Ingrid is the better musician. They certainly loved playing with each other. First piece 30-32 minutes with 2 peaks / first 1 occurring towards maybe 15 to 20 minutes was beyond possible. Mind blown. Taylor & Rainey are 2 of the greatest drummers alive and the double tenor/double drums just exploded with massive energy and groove. The end of the piece found Taylor in an almost Uber Sunny Murray like way rat tat rat tat rat tat / think of Vibrations / OMG second 15-20 improvisation somehow was maybe better finding a somewhat South African like vibe and groove with Rainey in submission to great Taylor grooves. Here Lewis was at his best. Extraordinary performance all around. Even Tom Rainey was smiling. Killing it. Why I go to shows

Got everything I ordered, I think / except I got 2 of The Stone volume 2. No volume 1. listened to an amazing quartet disc with Centazzo, Anthony Coleman, Steve Swell & the *great* Giancarlo Schianfinni. If the other discs are anywhere near comparable,,,

Possibly seeing a quartet on January 14th at The New School with James Brandon Lewis, Ingrid Laubrock, Chad Taylor & Tom Rainey. If I don’t see them that night I’ll be seeing Tim Berne’s quartet including Mat Maneri in Brooklyn. January 19 more of a sure thing at The New School. Ches Smith’s group with JBL, Nate Wooley, Shahzad Ismaily on bass (new to me) & Ches on drums & his amazing electronics. This after the previous night the 18th which is Ches, Mat Maneri, Mary Halvorson & Craig Taborn. That core trio (sans Mary) is responsible for 3-4 of the best live shows I’ve ever seen. Their first show 2 sets on a Sunday night March 2013 @ Cornelia Street Cafe remains imbedded in my head as an easy top 5 show ever.

Light and Dance is the exact opposite, fwiw most of what I love is far away from “Old Smoke”. It’s just that when I first heard it I was taken aback as to the energy level. It has the classic free jazz force and power albeit with a much more modern sound and feel - and filled with mid tempo or even dirge like movement. Corsano is a master at moving the grooves around. Odd thing is when Cleaver was in place of Corsano (Live at Roulette) the sound of the trio changed to a much more sublime and measured approach. sometimes even minimalist. I’m a big fan of silence and quiet intense tension. These are the subtle qualities of the best improvisors.

Old Smoke with Basczkoski, Lopez & Corsano is incendiary lots of cool stuff on Relative Pitch but Kevin puts out lots of CD’s!!! New one coming with Paul Flaherty & Mette Rasmussen plus great bass & drums. Mette is the real deal We were 5 feet away as the mad saxophonist let loose sounds never before heard on this planet. On baritone with metal stuff in the bell. Then it went flying. Blew it out on the floor. December 2019. One of my last shows before the pandemic. Live Gerald Cleaver was like Jaki from Can. Pure focus and a fucking metronome at times. He’s a genius level musician. Keeps getting better. Today: The Actress / 2 CD set on erstwhile Vanessa Rossetto second or third time through. Love it. No idea what it even is. Have 2 previous duos with her and other sound explorers. All great stuff to my ears.

5 from this past year 1) Judson Trio: Light and Dance / my favorite of last year, I think 2) Playfield: Stepping Out - all of these are wondrous 3) Barry Guy & Friends 4) Rempis with Baker, Abrams & Ra: Scylla / not as great as the last one (Apsis) but still incredible. Jim Baker is the secret weapon and Ra is one of the greatest drummers on the planet. But see Gerald Cleaver below on 5) 5) Brandon Lopez Trio / Live at Roulette (late 2021 but I was there so I’m including it) not the best 5 as I rarely look at when these releases happened

No. Still playing great. All the regulars coming to her shows. I’ve seen her live 3 times over the past 2 months. Seeing her augment the Ches Smith trio with Mat Maneri & Craig Taborn in January. Rainey trio with her & Ingrid playing on 12/30 but I have tickets for Dark Star Orchestra @ Capital Theatre in Port Chester, NY for both 12/30 & 12/31. That trio live is incredible. Things changed even more the last couple of decades. However the NY drummers keep much of the the new music real groove based. Rainey, Ches Smith, Tyshawn, Nasheet & Cleaver can really tear it up. Much of the European collective improv is of a very different sort. The live shows I’ve seen over the past 12 plus years allowed me to hear at the ground level what was and is happening. What a blessing. as an example live set with William Winant, Ava Mendoza & Ches Smith mostly dual kits with Ava roaring on electric guitar. Stunning amazing stuff. Can’t compare it to anything really. Earlier this month Darius Jones with a standard bass, piano & drums team with tunes. Really connected with the traditional style yet Darius plays the alto like ancient to the future. Can’t think of anyone on this board outside of the mainstreamers who wouldn’t have loved it. It’s such a wide range of music being played. Saw Masada in late November. Tight blistering hot set. Earlier Tomeka Reid’s quartet with Mary, Roebke & Fujiwara. A bit academic but really really great. Thumbscrew with Mary, Formanek & Fujiwara / stunning from all angles

Not hearing it live had a large effect on me as well. Seeing some great recent live shows ignited my ears. Especially the night (12/8) with William Winant followed up with the catalytic festival night on 12/10. Plus a quartet with Darius Jones (more jazz based) with Ches Smith on drums. Stunning second set. Darius was possessed. Looks like I’ll see at least 5 to 7 exciting shows in January. 1-2 Berne groups. 2-3 nights of Ches Smith’s week at New School and 1-2 of Ingrid’s groups. Maybe Peter Evans this Thursday as well. I’ll go through recent listens/acquisitions to see if this years best might be a step down. I certainly think I can put together a list of stellar all-time free/avant- type stuff from the past 5 years of incredible mind bending music from young and old alike. labels like Astral Spirits, Aerophonic, 577, Fundacja SLUCHAJ, no business, rogue art, relative pitch, yes - the 2 great Barry Guy box sets on not two recently released - many great recordings plus erstwhile for small form stuff.

Issue for me is that the new music of the past 5-10 or even 12/15 years is often incredibly different and of a truly new vibe and structure. Whether it is compositionally based or freely improvised, much of it is stunning in its execution and creativity. Most people who are supposed learned listeners haven’t any idea of what’s been happening. Old & new, young & fresh, new voices & instrumentation, etc.

Not going mention any right now but the number of great new releases I’ve heard is overwhelming this past year. Most jazz listeners are simply missing out. Seems most here (not on this thread) simply don’t give a shit about the truly exciting new music being recorded and being performed live for the past 5-10 years.

Ordered 10 CD’s / I have none of these Ictus CD’s. Took a swipe at 10 that looked good!!

I’ve also bought most all of the catalogue. Great great saxophonist. Maybe a better curator as the quality of these releases are amazing

It was OK. Audio was great. Video from England was dicey at best. Highlights were Peter Evans, Alex Ward and the trombonist & cellist from your country. Evan played well but his soprano saxophone is best to be heard in the room he’s playing in, IMO. I had a hard time trying NOT to concern myself with who was doing what as far as the electronics. I’m not a huge fan of Ikue Mori and I didn’t particularly like whether Sam Pluta was doing. Mat Maneri had a hard time involving his playing into the ensemble. By far the most impressive musician in Brooklyn was Sylvie. Not a big fan of whatever Taborn was doing and Rothenberg leaves me a bit cold as great a technician that he is. compared to the improv shows from last week, a big eh.

Wide variety here in NYC & Brooklyn last summer young crowd for Malaby, Monder & Rainey Thursday night older crowd for Liebman, Rudolph & Sorey today older crowd for Transatlantic Trance Map last week in between for William Winant & Catalytic Festival / even more avant-garde than today. Many regulars / aged 50’s through 70’s.

It was good but not great. Not a huge fan of what Rudolph does, I guess. Liebman was 100% on soprano and his playing was fine albeit not as expressive and powerful as it once was. Plus I’m more accustomed to reed players who take things a bit more out. Tyshawn was spectacular as always. Stayed for the first set which was a 55-56 minute piece that lost some momentum the last 8 to 12 minutes.

Denis Charles Captain of the Deep with the *great* Jemeel Moondoc on alto saxophone Nathan Breedlove on trumpet with the performance of a lifetime On eremite records

Tyshawn Sorey Adam Rudolph Dave Liebman @ Jazz Gallery in NYC

This Saturday Transatlantic Trance Map / with simultaneous playing from England 3:00 EST @ Roulette in Brooklyn, NY U.S. contingent Sam Pluta Ned Rothenberg Craig Taborn Sylvie Courvoisier Mat Maneri Ikue Mori England Contingent: Evan Parker Peter Evans Matt Wright Pat Thomas Hannah Marshall Robert Jarvis Alex Ward Will be in the front row

See the live thread for my short comments on the Catalytic festival in Brooklyn last night.

Garcia said something like this “right now this is the greatest group on the planet” Jerry never had any ideas about the Dead being “big” in that sense. Plus “big” in 1967 & early 1968 wasn’t what “big” would be in the early 70’s when bands started filling large arenas and then stadiums.

This past Thursday night First set: William Winant with Nava & Shayna Dunkelman, Zeena Parkins & Ikue Mori. Nava Dunkelman rules the world!!! Second Set: Winant with Ava Mendoza & the *great* Ches Smith who added his laptop brilliance to his drumming. 2 Stunning 23-24 minute pieces. As great as improvised music gets. Extreme explosive playing by Winant & Smith. Much of it was dual drum kits. Wowza Last Night: Catalytic Festival All short small formations First Set: Ned Rothenberg & Lotte Anker David Watson, Celia Lopez & Zeena Parkins Brandon Lopez, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Sylvie Courvoisier & Chris Corsano (spectacular) Second Set: Zeena Parkins & Chris Corsano (spectacular) Brandon Lopez, Ned Rothenberg & Fred Lonberg-Holm (incredible especially the two great string players. New levels of imagination from both of them) Sylvie Courvoisier, Celia Lopez, Lotte Anker & David Watson (another wow set / Sylvie might have been the best musician on the stage last night which given that we had Zeena, Fred & Brandon is saying something) the WHOLE group finished with a 16-17 minute piece that was, again, among the greatest slices of live improvised music I’ve ever witnessed

Maybe not but they were listening. Maybe more importantly Phil took the guys to see the Coltrane Quartet in 1965 in San Francisco.