Steve Reynolds

Saw Tyshawn Sorey, Rudolph & Liebman in 2023. Liebman’s playing was very weak. He was and is very very frail.

Last Thursday night one of the best sets I’ve ever seen. at The Stone at The New School in the Glass Box Theatre: Kochi Makigami on wood flute, vocalizing, cornet & theremin Sana Nagana on violin Ned Rothenberg on alto sax, clarinet & wood flute Tim Dahl on electric bass Ches Smith on drums explosive, dynamic 52-53 minutes. 4 pieces each unique yet connected in some odd way. wowza on a million levels. Fully improvised yet seemed like a suite. the following night was very good with Myk Friedman, Erik Frieadlander & Nava Dunkelman joining Kochi. But after Thursday it paled in comparison. Tim Dahl & Ches Smith are an unstoppable force. And the violinist was a radical voice & Kochi didn’t over do his mind blowing vocal technique which he tended to do last night. as many times as I’ve seen Ches, he continues to astound me. And I’ve probably seen him in various groups about 40-50 times over the years. In some ways like John Henry Bonham. Meant as the highest compliment. It’s also great to be 10 feet from his bass drum. After Phil Lesh, Tim Dahl is the best electric bassist I’ve ever heard. Live in a small room, it’s life changing every time. He’s insane.

Last night at Close Up in NYC two very strong sets from Ingrid Laubrock, Brandon Lopez & Tom Rainey

Same here. Glad they are playing well.

Second set last night with Billy Martin might have been even better. Fred brought out the fire the last 20 minutes. Billy matched his force & energy. Wowza. Fred Frith is a genius on multiple levels. Peaking at 75.

On another level tonight. Nava rules the world. A PLUS set. Incredible. peace and blessings

Last night: Fred Frith with Tom Malmendier on drums astounding 47-48 improvisation tonight: Frith with Nava Dunkelman

Last night Pulverize the Sound Peter Evans, Tim Dahl & Mike Reed short intense 35 minute set worth the silly traffic / they hit it intense & keep the energy up the whole time One time with Mary Halvorson & Tyshawn Sorey he became irrelevant next to those two grand masters. He must think he’s really great to not give Alex space. My god, it’s fucking Alexander von Schlippenbach. Does he not know that Evan Parker lays out? as an aside my wife hated him:) she wasn’t a learned listener but she could listen. She didn’t love saxophone, but she loved Tony Malaby, Darius Jones & Kidd Jordan:) “you got ears, you gotta listen” Don Van Vliet my Barbara had ears:)

My experience with Irabagon is he plays too much. Doesn’t lay out enough. The *great* Alexander von Schlippenbach deserves more space. The saxophonist should have deferred more. Fonda & Altschul are a great pairing. I enjoy them more with a more humble saxophonist.

First show since 4/30 Ned Rothenberg, Sylvie Courvoisier & Nasheet Waits At The Stone last night. Front row center:) 52 minute improv with a 7-8 minute coda/encore Ned does lots of circular breathing but only when he picked up the alto did he really match the incredible energy & force of the great pianist & drummer. He lacks grit & fire but he’s a very good technician on his horns. He never gets to the next level like the great ones. Sylvie as great as I’ve ever seen her & Nasheet is a force of nature. A great listener & a master of sound. He creates grooves that we didn’t know existed. His dynamics are otherworldly. Sylvie is the best improvising pianist in New York.

Don’t miss “Keep the Dream Up” with Joe McPhee, Kirk Knuffke, Michael Bisio & Jay Rosen. Amazing performance & recording. Rosen sounds especially great. one of the best jazz releases of 2023. Magical session.

Among other gigs I saw Tyshawn Sorey in duet with Angelika Niescier last Wednesday at Zurcher Gallery on Bleecker Street. SO great to see all the dedicated listeners, old & new. Especially seeing the wonderful people who treated my wife so great when we went to the shows. Roberta & Richard top the list:) Tyshawn on snare & bass drum w/ 2 cymbals 40 minute set. Maybe the best drumming I’ve ever witnessed. Brought EVERYTHING out of the wonderful alto saxophonist. Brilliant concise focused improvising. also saw an amazing gig with Ada Rave, Chuck Roth, Michael Vatcher, Elisabeth Coudoux, Michael Foster & Sean Ali. duo with Chuck & Elisabeth which was awe inspiring. Quartet with the others which might have been even better. Ada is one of the greatest tenor saxophonists I’ve seen over the past 2-3 years.

Genius on the house’s money for a long time glad he stayed as active as he could until the end Ray Gun Suitcase is the greatest unknown rock record of the last 50 years Final Solution indeed RIP, sir

Tyshawn beyond great. Roscoe played mostly bass sax with small percussion with a little sopranino. His last solo on the bass saxophone was a work of genius. Brought tears to my eyes. 44 minutes with 2 very short encores. A very moving experience for me.

Tyshawn Sorey & Roscoe Mitchell Solar Myth front row 8-9 feet from Roscoe:)

It’s a great room. I was there last Saturday for Nels Cline, Ingrid Laubrock, Chris Lightcap & Tom Rainey this Saturday Tyshawn with Roscoe

Look forward to seeing you at Solar Myth on July 19th excited for the great band of course

I still love Sounds of Joy & From the Soul he’s a fine player but I’m not into the ECM esthetic at all over 20 years ago I saw him with Mark Dresser & Gerry Hemingway and he was amazing. Talk about being in the right company. as an aside talking about cool nice guys, Marty Ehrlich & Mark Helias are simply the best. Last two shows I attended this past week they were there.

I’ve not seen him listed in years. Great to see him say hello to Marty Ehrlich. Seems like they had seen each other in years. my guess is with Hemingway being in town prompted the gig. Gerry hasn’t been here in almost 2 years. He lives in Switzerland. Summer 2023 he played with Marilyn Crispell & Mark Dresser on 7/1. Played with BassDrumBone a couple of days earlier with Ray Anderson & Mark Helias. Was hoping for a reprise this trip but alas, not happening.

Yes / great to see him live. Amazing.

Last night at Roulette Gerry Hemingway: drums, marimba, etc. Earl Howard: alto saxophone, saxello & electronics Anthony Davis: grand piano Kyle Motl: double bass 2 sets 45 & 50 minutes disparate, brilliant & organic improvisations. Each set 2 pieces. stunned by two of the four saxophone sections / each was maybe 7-8 minutes of each piece interspersed with the group which played from short solo through duos, trios and the full quartet. WAY beyond my high expectations.

Ballister is more rare! No improvising trio sound remotely like them. The opportunity to see them up close is very very special to those of us interested in this type of music. Grand Masters at play/work. I do understand the idea of a dude from England seeing a game at Wrigley. Maybe once in a lifetime. I love games/sports too. But I’m a music guy. Avant-garde guy. I go to over a hundred shows a year. plus I’m an objectavist (if that’s a valid term) as are most of my music friends & the few close musician friends I have. What’s great is great. When my musician friend is chatting with Mark Helias the other night we both agreed it’s not our opinion that he’s a master, it’s the truth. We both don’t “think” Randy Peterson & Nasheet Waits are genius level drummers, it’s obvious to those of us who witness it. The performance a week ago tomorrow was better than any game, save for Boston championship victories. Among the best 10–15 shows I’ve seen the last couple of years. They are great.

Ballister>>>>>>>>>>>>any game As great as Rempis is, Fred Lonberg-Holm is one of the greatest true improvisors on the planet.

Enjoy!!! If you read the above, I thought the Brooklyn show was incredible

I’ve seen them before. I like the band although it’s actually sometimes too controlled for my tastes:) I do love Ingrid, Nels & Tom I see them all many times a year in various configurations.