Steve Reynolds

My viewpoint is even many listeners who were previously curious ones are not interested in new jazz they havn’t heard before. I’ll read the book even knowing my tastes skew a bit more to the outside but if he’s talking/writing at all about the current improvisors that are playing/gigging/recording in NYC and elesewhere, that’s much better than another rehash of historical jazz or another reissue of A Love Supreme or whatever. I wonder how many here have heard (for one example) Taylor Ho Bynum’s large ensemble recording from a couple of years back? It’s called Enter the Plustet. It’s astounding. Creative. Stunning. Over the top commentary by me?? Listen to it. It’s cheap. $10 delivered or less. Who will buy it? probably no one here. One of many and I’m not even nearly as involved with new music as I’d like to be. so yes I’m happy at least someone is writing about new jazz - I sure wish more were listening but oh well....

A great one - especially the 1991 quartet session (1 long 36:30 track) with Wolter Wierbos, Paul Rogers & an explosive Mark Sanders on drums. Gets very intense - truly great tenor playing here with an ace bass/drums tandem. Wierbos is amazing until he inexplicably disappears about 2/3rds of the way. Almost like he blew out his lip he was blowing so hard on the trombone.

Listening to disc 2 from Uncharted Territories over the last couple of days. Unlike extended long form improvised music, these somewhat patchwork selections of the various duet through quartet pieces work better in segments of 20 to 30 minutes or so. Much to take in when one goes from a 3 or 4 minute bass-tenor improvisation to a full quartet piece of 7-8 minutes back to keyboards/bass/vibes, etc. the liner notes state they selected the 2 discs worth of material from almost 6 hours of the music they recorded over the 2 days in the studio. So about a third or so of what was recorded, I suppose. regarding Ches Smith, I think he’s great yet his drums here are a bit “heavy” but I think his playing is terrific. Again I think a live concert and/or a live recording of a couple of sets with the full quartet would be much more revealing to what these great musicians are capable of achieving together. Here’s hoping it happens. as great as Taborn is, methinks a trio tour with Ches, Dave & Evan might drive Holland to really dig in deeper which I’m not sure a single studio date allowed him to do. He plays nicely but maybe just too nice. Here’s hoping that happens.

I don’t have the time & energy I once had either. Maybe a better way to describe the higher enegy Parker bands would be more jazz or free jazz based. This might be why I thought these recordings and/or ensembles might be more toward your liking. Not that you don’t like abstract or ethereal stuff but noting or hearing a connection to other saxophonists is sometimes helpful. I also think despite the wide range of types of instrumental configurations that Parker is involved in, these small groups with drummers with Parker focusing more on tenor (which he plays more the last 10-20 years than he did in past as compared to the soprano), are the core of his creative and improvisatory genius.

Another truly great recording/great band/great performance. Was blessed that Hamid sent this to me as a gift. Band is: Evan on tenor saxophone, Peter Evans on trumpet, Alexander Hawkins on piano, John Edwards on double bass & Hamid Drake on drums. Like Uli I hear little Coltrane influence any longer - maybe the Rollins approach/influence is more apparent as it was with another great tenor, David S Ware although Parker & Ware Do not sound at all alike in approach or sound.

To my ears & taste the other Evan Parker band that is a must listen is Foxes Fox which is Evan (almost always on tenor with this ensemble), Steve Beresford on piano, John Edwards on double bass & Louis Moholo-Moholo on drums. all the recordings are great but the live one at The Vortex is the strongest

That’s must have been a great experience. Certainly an amazing show to attend. Do you know much of each set might have been left off the disc or does the 78+ minutes cover the whole 2 sets?

For sure “different” but a guy like Jim, he needs to hear the impressive truly phenomenal side of Evan Parker. Prime recordings of those two trios document sets of musuc when things got aligned just right. Portions of the “Summer” sets (disc 2 of The Two Seasons) feature just about the strongest tenor playing by Parker or anyone else I’ve ever heard. The first 38 minute track from At The Vortex (most of all of the first set from that night in 1996) has the Parker-Guy-Lytton trio exploding with extreme intensity and virtuosity simultaneously. They keep peaking and subsiding yet drive the peaks higher all he way to the end. The second 40 minute piece (with Evan starting on soprano) is almost better. For going on 15 to 20 years I’ve considered both of these recordings to be at the absolute top of my list for sax-bass-drum improvisation. Must hear recordings fir anyone slightly interested in Evan Parker.

I hope you choose the more impressive side of Evan Parker and order “The Two Seasons” and/or “At The Vortex” as well. Both are on Emanem Records. I think the former 2 CD set is only $16.95 plus shipping @ Squidco. If you are looking for more recent strong Evan Parker, the recent “Music for David Mossman” on a Intakt is pretty great as well. Fwiw, I’ve got Uncharted Territories in the CD player for additional listening time for this week. I’ve also got another listen to the above new Intakt release as my first impressions of that might even be better than “pretty great”.

If I was single with little other obligations I could easily attend 8-10 shows per month and be thrilled with almost all the music I would see live. And I think I’m a hard marker. My overlap with Chinen’s choices would probably be minimal or marginal but at least he’s listening - even though he gets paid for it.

Not a huge fan of Chinen but at least he’s writing about new jazz which is more than I can say for......

Prepping for the 8/28 In Order to Survive shows, I’m digging into William Parker’s Wood Flute Songs these expensive Quartet recordings from the 2006 shows at Yoshi’s & the 2007 shows from DiverseWorks in Houston are quite something. These cover the first 4 discs of the 8 CD box. Barnes isn’t the greatest trumpeter but Rob Brown is fine altoist and Parker & Drake don’t get old to me - and here they are playing in the multi-groove manner and segueing from one tune to the next effortlessly allowing the long sets to percolate and burn slowly. I know some are jaded to it all but Hamid Drake was and still is the man on so many levels. I saw the quartet (and an expanded group) a month or so after this box was released in 2013. The first night at The Stone remains a top 5 or 10 night for me. Two long sets where the energy never flagged and Drake was almost inhuman. I’ll nevef forget it nor will my wife. She was pretty new to all this music live and that’s the night she found her favorite drummer.

Me 4

I’m going to dig deeper into this recording over the next few days. Often expansive recordings such as this are somewhat tough to crack. My experience is that improvised music that is broken up into smaller pieces with different sub-groupings need a strong commitment from the listener. In this case it’s more critical for me as I’m MUCH more willing to commit and love Evan’s long form energy based improvisations with Guy & Lytton or with Edwards & Sanders or with Schlippenbach & Lovens. As far as Brexit & politics I stay as far away to that as possible when it comes to music. Ruins the spirit of the whole thing for me.

Agreed except in the fact that Parker is heard in his very early form which reveals little about the grand master he would become. For better examples of earlier Parker I would choose something like the 1975 recording “Hunting the Snake” (Schlippenbach Quartet with Peter Kowald added to the classic trio) or the first or second Schlippenbach Trio recordings (“First Recordings” or “Pakistani Pomade” - both from 1972). If you want early classic European Improvisation, go directly to the 1970 seminal free improvisation recording called “Topography of the Lungs”, the hard core trio recording with Parker, Derek Bailey & Han Bennink. All all of the above 4 albums you get a good mix of tenor & soprano but it is early so it’s before any of his circular breathing on either horn. What you DO get on all them is saxophone playing with a force & intensity that is quite striking. It is also music that could be described as thoroughly angular and even grating to many ears. I was certainly taken aback when I first started listening to this music. I originally never made it through the record with Bailey & Bennink. Today it is go to stone cold classic. To my ears he always kept some of even most of that fire throughout the years but by the 90’s his technical acumen and facility, especially on the tenor - YMMV as many rightly so are astounded by and love his innovative playing on the soprano - because his tenor playing is closest to classic free jazz type playing and when it’s in a power trio or quartet format, that’s when I hear his brilliance most clearly.

“At The Vortex” from Parker-Guy-Lytton recorded in 1996 does a great job approximating the power and force of that great trio. Paul Lytton is especially well captured on this recording. The opening 38 minute piece demands full concentration and needs to be experienced at high volume. Life changing recording for me back almost 20 years ago. Seeing Parker live circa 1998 @ The Knitting Factory was also very important to my musical awareness. Seeing Evan in May 2001 with Mark Sanders (and Tim Berne & Drew Gress) solidified my love for Parker’s saxophone playing. He’s still my favorite saxophonist.

Buy “The Two Seasons” with John Edwards & Mark Sanders 2 CD set recorded during the Summer & Winter of 1999 as great as Parker is here (playing at his absolute peak level), his bass & drum band mates are just as great. The best recording I’ve ever heard of Mark Sanders who is one of my favorite 4-5 drummers on the planet, Edwards is, IMO, the ultimate bassists for this sort of music playing today and almost 20 years ago as presented on this recording, his sound is captured in a close up-front way.

I’ve seen that trio live probably 5 times over the past 5 years. As great a group as there is in jazz/improvised music. Not convinced that the ECM effect works for the music. I saw them early this year and they played all new music and it was a spectacular 65 minute set. Only surpassed by an amped up electric set (Craig on keyboards) they played in late 2016. That was the show that my wife told Mat Maneri he reminded her of Jimi Hendrix. Too bad there is none of that type of mind bending improvisation with Ches playing as powerful drums as I can remember on The Bell. I kind of feel the same way about Uncharted Territories. Nice to hear Holland play ing with Evan again but the band and/or the recording never gets to the burning high intensity that marks the best work/playing of Ches Smith and the tenor playing of Parker (although brilliant) doesn’t get to the level that we hear on the most recent Parker-Guy-Lytton recording in Intakt - that is a live recording from The Vortex. I also wonder if Holland can be as an effective foil or partner on double bass as the *great* John Edwards or even John Hebert with Evan Parker. Seems to me one needs to be more committed to this music for the energy to show. I don’t hear it but I’ll keep listening.

I think it’s a good recording and Ches is also the one who stands out for me. It certainly needs to be listened to in portions as it’s quite a bit to take in. I’d prefer a live recording of the quartet.

I think more historical lists just further marginalize phenomenal current improvised music even if that is even possible. How about discovering Rodrigo Amado or Mat Maneri or Ches Smith or Matt Mitchell or Darius Jones or even William Parker who is over 65 years old?

Part of the reason I went was that Ches Smith was listed as the drummer and when I arrived and noticed Cleaver at a table in the back I got a bit concerned. As good as Cleaver is, I’ve seen him on certain nights or with certain bands when (to my ears) he isn’t digging deep into the music. Maybe it’s the right thing for the band or him but more than a few times I’ve left shows being a bit underwhelmed by Gerald. I was also concerned about Tim Dahl (who plays electric bass) as when I had seen/heard him previously (3 times I believe), his approach bordered on the psychotic with technique and effects seeming to take precedence over taste and the needs of the band and music. as far as Ben Monder it’s also been hit & miss in the times I’ve seen him (only with Malaby). Sometimes his playing can veer to the ethereal lacking the bite or the grit I like from an electric guitarist. then I get my typical seat right up front and the AC is uncharacteristicly weak up front so now I’m irritable to boot. A long time regular and I are both the first to order (me iced tea unsweetened) and him something to drink plus calamari. Fast forward that every other customer is served but us / but I digress. good news is that my pal Zack shows up ~ 9:15 right before the show is starting and he ends up closer to Tony than I (he could have grabbed his arm as he played). Zack had come with me to see Randy Peterson & Mary Halvorson in January & to the opening night of Vision Fest in May plus he’s now listened to a bit of “out” jazz since plus he’s into metal, noise, more straight jazz and other stuff that only a few other 23 year olds like him would like. Point is he’s open. He also brought a friend and his fiancé who maybe smartly stayed towards the back of the long narrow club. FULL packed house - not sure how many are unsuspecting tourists who were sent here by local hotels to go see some real NYC jazz but in any event as is his norm, no introductions and with this band, no charts and maybe no plans of any sort. I look down and that assortment of pedals for Monder & Dahl is overwhelming so I try to keep my head up or eyes closed. Tony starts on the soprano and I imagine more than a few must think he is just warming up and in a sense they are correct. Within a few minutes all concerns regarding Cleaver are gone - some heavy grooves are brewing and it is overall like December 2010 when I saw Gerald Cleaver’s Black Host for the first time only this past Saturday night it was almost like 1972 Jaki Liezebeit (from Can) was in the House!! And maybe 40 minutes later after the band went through a multitude of grooves and volumes and skronk and Beauty with Malaby switching off to his huge tenor and then taking his soprano playing to and beyond the edge of all possibilities, I’m astounded as is most of the crowd. They finish the set off with a 12 to 15 minute improvisation and some of await the second set with even I (me of the NEVER leave before the second set mentality as it is most often far better - and with Tony Malaby’s long form improvisational groups this is usually also true). The soundscapes this band builds is really unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Impossible to explain except to know that despite my fears it worked way better than I imagined. Monder was strong and his sounds probably utilized less looping and effects than Dahl but I just let it all sink in. All of it was dazzling and the overall result as music was exceptionally loud but crystal clear and open. Malaby's playing for some will remain controversial as despite him being a very melodically based saxophonist, the dichotomy is that he is also maybe the most abstract and aggressively discordant saxophonist I know of. Maybe as biting or moreso than John Butcher but he is his own voice. Very little if any connection to the piles of post-Coltrane tenors and his soprano playing has become as strong and as scintillating in it’s own way as his playing on his primary horn. My pal is floored, his friend’s fiancé isn’t driving so she’s staying but she promises she’ll never hear anything like this again (maybe she said this after set 2!!) so we get ready for the second set. Zack asked me what could they possibly do to outdo that and I told him not sure they could but I’ve seen & heard it happen before so who knows?? The band starts together this time again with Malaby on soprano and again he swiches back and forth maybe every 15 minuted and for brief periods of time allows the other 3 to alter the crazy/insane rubbery foundation and for him to breath - and 45-48 minutes later they are done and this round was maybe 30-50% even more intense and accomplished - a few of the sequences are right there with the best music I’ve heard in a bit and when Tony finished the last 6-8 minutes playing gorgeous more traditional tenor I’m again reminded why I see this music. peace and blessings

As I know a bit of what you love in music, giving up after Three Men Walking might be doing yourself a great disservice. Dahabenzapple is calling your name. Plus there are so many great off the beaten path recordings of Mat with others over the past years since Joe passed (or before) that are among the finest that modern improvised music has to offer. 51 Sorrows with Ed Schuller & Randy Peterson on Leo Records is a great one. Might be as old as 2002 or so. The one recording of Mat with Randy is stunning / called Light Trigger and it’s easily available I think. Fierce and if you call anything either of them play solos, they are all essential. Certainly Mat has improvised some incredibly creative tension and release passages. To my ears and experience of seeing live music, he’s left me speechless over the years more than anyone else.

Good post, Jim maybe why I’m not ruminating on this old great stuff so much any longer. I kind of always liked post Riverside Monk in small quantities as it was much of more of the same (outside of the aforementioned brilliant Big Band performances) but there is brilliance in there, it’s just hidden within hours of extended loping tales of the same tunes played for a decade straight. Rather ruminate on the recent and I’d also these days much rather listen to the recent and now. Eyes and Ears WIDE open.

Shocked you don’t have “Coming Down the Mountain” do you have “Dahabenzapple”???

Just sticking to saxophone for now: Michael Moore’s alto solo from “Toombow” from Gerry Hemingway’s “The Marmalade King” on Hat ART records Fred Anderson’s tenor solo from Disc 2 of “2 Days in April” on Eremite Records listen to the whole 2 CD set and if you don’t hear it you didn’t listen (recorded live 4/1 & 4/2/99) with Kidd Jordan, William Parker & Hamid Drake Jemeel Moondoc’s alto solo on “Mota” from Denis Charles’ “Captain of the Deep” - also on Eremite records David S Ware’s tenor solo on “Aquarian Sound” from Live in the World on AUM Fidelity. With his quartet with Matthew Shipp, William Parker & Susie Ibarra. Records in 1998, I think. Maybe 11 or 12 minutes or more and gets to places not possible. Paul Dunmall’s tenor solo on the opening title track of “Birdman” by Mujician on Cunieform Records. With Keith Tippett, Paul Rogers & Tony Levin. Recorded 1994 or so. Long piece but listen closely 10 through maybe 18 minutes in. Absolutely burning all-time tenor saxophone playing Tony Malaby’s tenor solo on the last track “Many Knows” from the Open Loose recording “Atomic Clock” - recorded 2006. Open Loose is Mark Helias, Malaby & Tom Rainey. Steve Potts’ alto on Steve Lacy’s “Wickets” from Morning Joy from 1986 - on Hat ART records Joe Maneri’s very short alto solo called “Joe’s Alto” from “Coming Down the Mountain” on hatology - recorded in 1993. As one person noted that in under 2:00, Joe Maneri played more saxophone than some played in a lifetime. I certainly agree. Get Ready to Receive Yourself