Steve Reynolds

Had to cancel Village Vanguard tonight? BUT - replacing w/Turbine! on 11/17 - 7:30 @ Zurcher Gallery 33 Lafayette Street Harrison Bankhead & Benjamin Duboc on basses; Ramon Lopez & Hamid Drake on drums, percussion - Steve Swell joins for second set on trombone. YEAH BABY! Disappointment turns to joy - nothing in this world better than seeing/hearing Hamid Drake in a nice little room and little will be better than seeing Harrison Bankhead for the first time in over 15 years. Plus the 2 bass/2 drum idea is something I'm all in on. Will have to wait on seeing Zorn, Laswell etc. as sometimes life shows up a little note for next year - next August at a The Stone - Joe Morris calendar includes Drake all week plus McPhee, Maneri, Taborn and many other greats and a couple or three two drummer shows with Cleaver & Drake!! Plus one set is Malaby, Morris, Parker & Drake. plus the last night is 2 sets of Morris, Maneri, Lightcap & Cleaver wish it all was sooner than 9 months from now!

Bfrank: Sunday night @ Ibeam in Brooklyn: 8:30: Tim Daisy solo 9:30: Michael Attias on alto with Max Johnson on bass with Daisy on drums should be a great groove based trio. Max Johnson is one of the great young bassists playing today while Attias is an excellent alto saxophonist (and baritone from time to time). Tim Daisy is visiting from Chicago and is well known for his work with Ken Vandermark, Dave Rempis and others.

Get the Decoy + McPhee discs - both issues have Joe at his most emotive.

My wife won't go see him again as she thought it was "disgusting" that he made us wait an extra 30 minutes to hear the second set. To top it off, she said it should have just been a duo as she thought (and thinks) Mary Halvorsen & Nasheet Waits are beyond brilliant - thoughts which I am thoroughly in agreement with.

I'm gonna say this about Irabagon. I was initially taken by his extreme command of the horn and was initially impressed with the record on not two records called Absolute Zero where he plays alto saxophone with two very fine Portuguese dudes including the great Gabriel Ferrandini and then I saw him with Helias and Altschul and it was a fine couple of sets except there was something scratching at me or needling me that something was somehow missing. The technically daunting boppish piece they played was like wow but I realized even by the next morning that that piece was hollow at the core. Then I bought that record Foxy which after getting to about the 50 minute point, I realized it was some sort of joke or scam. Certainly the worst recording I've heard over the last 20 years that includes good musicians. Then I revisited Absolute Zero and I realized he plays the whole fucking time. last straw for now was last year - trio with Mary Halvorsen & Nasheet Waits. Awesome first set mostly because of the guitarist and drummer. Ends at typical time / about 10:10 or so. They come back at 11:05 and play 30 minutes. Again strong playing from the others and OK from Irabagon but I've lost the desire to listen to him. I admit his actions effected me but I hear a bunch of all horse and no cattle. No voice of his own but he can "play" anything from straight ahead to free jazz - but for now I can't hear a note. He's a technical marvel who doesn't know what improvising is yet. And IMO, as long he is trying to impress as a player of all jazz idioms, he'll never master or even have a clue about what improvisation is all about. give me Ingrid any day of the week but seriously give me my guy Malaby or Ullman or Dunmall or Baars or McPhee on their poor days. These guys play and play more and often go down routes they don't even know exist - and a few of them often fail or run into dead ends. Irabagon never runs into anything except a standard solution that ends with a cheer from the crowd

Great post above - nothing wrong with a great organic build of intensity. Works best with me when it seems as if it happens by accident. Happened a few times the other night with Wooley/Lytton et al. Loved your comments on Dudu I'm breaking out the blue notes box soon - initially he is very hard to hear and with some time, I can listen to him forever. For me I can listen to Evan Parker for days and days on end as it is all of a piece. I've always felt he was *the* extended tenor saxophone improviser for me along with Fred Anderson who was a very subtle builder of sound - at least 10 to 15 minutes just getting started yet invigorating the whole way through. Roscoe Mitchell for me is so intense, I'm still only able to listen to fit short bursts of time.

Like others, I don't hear that approach with Laubrock at all. When reading all of the above, I think mostly of David Murray who has worn out my ear's welcome for a few years now. Certainly much "free jazz" can fall into the trap described so aptly above. However I would say that I rarely hear this cheap and easy approach by the musicians I see live quite often. They are very well aware that this approach is of the past, is easy and manipulative. The truly great modern current improvisers rarely if ever build for an applause. In fact, I would say a couple of the greatest improvising sets I've seen in recent years elicited nothing but continued awe whether it be during the quieter moments or during the portions where the volume happened to be louder. Listen to Dragonfly Breath and hear that the quieter sections are as intense as the louder sections. This recording is a idealization of the best that intense and dynamic free jazz improvisation has to offer. I hear this sort of varied dynamic strength often live.

Nate Wooley: Battle Pieces, Trio with Joe Morris & Evan Parker ordered: Brotzmann, McPhee, Kessler & Zerang: The Damage is Done Joe McPhee with Decoy: Spontaneous Combustion Assif Tsahar with Mat Maneri & Jim Black: Jam Vinny Golia Quartet with Bobby Bradford (on relative pitch)

there was one wooden duck that eventually rattled to the floor. Another appeared during the second set and one of the two again fell to the floor along with various sticks, plastic bottles and a very cool very old tin can. Plus a few hardware tools and of course various cymbals. Only part of the top of two drums were available for "standard" drumming but apparently Lytton can play more on those two portions of material than is possible. It should be messy and scattered but it is clean precise and incredibly powerful and even scary great. Clifford said maybe he is the Art Blakey of this sort of thing, and yes but maybe more than that. A gift from whatever heavens we may or may not believe in. priceless experience for me. Kudos to all others with my faves being Zeena Parkins in the first set and Ben Vida in the second. Modern versions of the music that Lytton helped invent. almost bought it?

I'll take a looks BFrank last night - no words yet except that seeing Paul Lytton from a few feet away was priceless. He is firing on all cylinders and the experience was way beyond my very high expectations. Great to see Clifford and the rest of the non-board regulars. More later.

A little over an hour and seat saved 5 feet from Paul Lytton's bass drum does it get better than this??

Clifford - next time Malaby's Tamarindo plays @ Cornelia Street (and it should be this Winter or early Spring, I think/hope) you are my guest on my tab:)

Very rare opportunity for us on the NYC area to see/hear the *great* Paul Lytton in a few assorted shows the next few days. As listed above, the most exciting for me is tomorrow night. He is also playing with Wooley & Company the first set on Sunday with John Zorn added. Lytton is listed as playing "percussion" with Eisenstadt listed as the drummer. If I chose that set and Eisenstadt was on the kit and Lytton was playing something else or some electronics I could not live with me missing him on a drum kit. As I've mentioned, the last and only time I've seen him play drums was in MAY 2003 @ Tonic with Alexander Von Schlippenbach and Evan Parker. That was the tour that was supposed to be Parker-Guy-Lytton but Barry Guy dropped out due to either a family or visa issue. In any event, fair warning for those locals who are skipping this

don't get me wrong. If I was single, I would think of living there:)

Not my cup of Java but I like to read Iverson despite his rampant ignorance usually of the avant-garde but his comments on the *great* Von Freeman take the whole bakery. "Perhaps he needed to be experienced live?!?!?" you never bothered? Certainly you've traveled the world but you never bothered to see the great man live?!?! I've got a few great recordings but even I, rare traveler that I am, but when I found myself in Chicago in the late 90's, I knew the two things I was doing after business hours were: 1) visit The Velvet Lounge and say hello to Fred Anderson and 2) go see and hear Von Freeman from a few feet away. With a quartet with John Young on piano (at The Apartment Lounge, I think), Freeman took about a 15 minute solo on an opening mid-tempo piece that *still* might be the most memorable tenor saxophone solo I've ever heard "Perhaps he needed to be experienced live?!?!" amazing how some smart jazz musicians think they know about stuff they don't know about because they know so much about what they do know about. And another thing / has Iverson ever heard Ricky Ford on any of the great Abdullah Ibrahim records?!?! the famous Water from an Ancient Well for starters? 80's jazz starter class 101

Plus my wife didn't come with me last night. She actually liked a similar Malaby Apparitions band we saw a few months back. That ensemble had 3 bassists and a different second drummer in place of Randy Peterson. It was less intense plus there was a good mix of men and woman in the crowd that night. The effect of the two drummers @ Cornelia Street is pretty extreme.

I may comment more but I will say a few words now.... 50 minutes into the first set, Malaby and Peterson end up in a duet and Tony is channeling Joe Maneri and it lasts maybe a minute 20 minutes or so into the second set and Billy Mintz plays some explosive shit I've never heard any drummer play ever. at least 3 times during either the continuous 65 minute first set of the over the top incendiary 40 minute continuous second set, Peterson & Mintz combined to overpower my senses to a point I could barely feel any longer. Well not quite, but nothing I've ever experienced can compare the band is not nearly for everyone - very hard to deal with at times and even I wanted to run screaming from the room a couple of times. Hardest and loudest and most difficult a jazz group that I know of. Horns rarely stop. High tension little release. Gerstein is very good but could be great with another 5 to 10 years more of what he is doing now. Needs a bit more focus but he is getting better and there is no trombonist anything like him. Randy Peterson plays cymbals better than any drummer alive. this stuff might be even more difficult on record. two woman in the crowd. even hardcore avant-garde guys get scared away from this stuff. closest analogy to this music is Acension or One Too Many Salty Swift and Not Goodbye when Jimmy Lyons gets it going. As relentless as prime Cecil Taylor Unit music but much less planned. No road map as far as I heard. Formanek was beastly blood and guts, baby

Among other wonderous aspects of this magical recording, Elvin Jones sounds as good or better sound wise than on any other recording of his I've heard. Plus I'm no Sharrock or Sanders follower so for me the record is Sui Generis

Allen: I would Love to attend the afternoon shows but whatever home life I have would be sabotaged if I think I'm seeing shows @ I Beam on a Sunday afternoon. Similar reason that I've attended none of the 3:00 Sunday matinees @ The Stone some very enticing groups. plus my wife is planning on coming with me to Cornelia Street since she loves Tony & Ben - and likes the atmosphere. She made one visit with me to I Beam and she has vowed never to go near that man cave cement music room. so very sorry for making you feel invisible. I will attend one of your rare shows one of these days - sooner rather than later, I hope peace and blessings

Deliberately or not, 2015 has been filled with some excellent shows for me, but a few less than usual compared to the last 5 or 6 years - glorious, wonderful years for me - musical or otherwise. Not that I've attained any big job or whatever / just that life's cool and I love my sports teams - but I love live shows as much as anything in life. So in the next few weeks, three real special shows followed by at least two around Thanksgiving that are "can't miss no matter what" and I'll be at all five of these plus another one or two if I can swing it. 10/18: Tony Malaby's Apparitions @ Cornelia Street Cafe 8:30 Tony on saxophones with Ben Gerstein on trombone, Michael Formanek on bass, Billy Mintz on drums PLUS RANDY PETERSON also on drums 10/24: 8:00 Nate Wooley with Joe Morris, Zeena Parkins & Paul Lytton then @10:00 - Wooley & Lytton with Ben Vida & C. Spencer Yeh - both part of Wooley's week at The Stone 11/7 @ The Village Vanguard 8:30: John Zorn, Bill Laswell & Milford Graves 10:30: Mark Ribot, Trevor Dunn & Tyshawn Sorey 11/24 @ 10:00 @ The Stone: DRAGONFLY BREATH Paul Flaherty, Steve Swell, C. Spencer Yeh & Weasel Walter 11/29: 8:00 & 10:00 @ The Stone: Frode Gjerstad Trio + Steve Swell featuring Paul Nilssen-Love would love to add a night @ Amplify 2015 or a night with Leimgruber-Demuirre-Phillips but that's a nice problem to have

Me wants reports on Brotz et al and Osby post haste!!

had two fun nights! I especcially liked the Almeida/Klein/van Duijnhoven trio. I never heard Tobias Klein before, but I was quite impressed, esspecially his playing on the bass clarinet and barriton clarinet was very beautifull. Yesterdays concert of Ingrid Laubrocks Ubatuba, was enjoyable because of Tom Rainey for me. He had some really strong and impressive moments on the drumkit. Ingrid's sound I also really liked, but I would like to hear her go all out much more. I constantly had the feeling she was holding back, maybe to give the other players more room. Problem for me was though, I didn't really find the other players THAT interesting. On the whole, the concept/line up of a drummer, an alto and a tenor saxophone, a trombone and a tuba didn't really do it for me. To my feeling this band lacked some coherent vission, and I think I would much rather see Laubrock and Rainey play as a duo or in a trio format. Tonight Almeida/Klein/van Duijnhoven at Brebl Nijmegen. They just released quite an intersting album on Clean Feed so looking forward to this one. And than tommorrow also Brebl with Ingrid Laubrocks Ubatuba (with Rainey and Tim Berne amongst others) had two fun nights! I especcially liked the Almeida/Klein/van Duijnhoven trio. I never heard Tobias Klein before, but I was quite impressed, esspecially his playing on the bass clarinet and barriton clarinet was very beautifull. Yesterdays concert of Ingrid Laubrocks Ubatuba, was enjoyable because of Tom Rainey for me. He had some really strong and impressive moments on the drumkit. Ingrid's sound I also really liked, but I would like to hear her go all out much more. I constantly had the feeling she was holding back, maybe to give the other players more room. Problem for me was though, I didn't really find the other players THAT interesting. On the whole, the concept/line up of a drummer, an alto and a tenor saxophone, a trombone and a tuba didn't really do it for me. To my feeling this band lacked some coherent vission, and I think I would much rather see Laubrock and Rainey play as a duo or in a trio format. Laubrock, Rainey and Liam Noble worked well as a group when I saw them at Birmingham Conservatoire some years ago. for sure the trio for me is Rainey-Halvorsen-Laubrock Tonight at Elastic Arts in Chicago: THURSDAY OCTOBER 8 | 9:00 PMBallrogg & Branch/Jackson/Kessler/Hunt $10 A double bill featuring a first time grouping of Chicago regulars, and the Scandinavian powerhouse trio Ballrogg. 9 PM : BALLROGG Klaus Ellerhusen Holm – reeds David Stäckenas – guitar Roger Arntzen – bass 10 PM : BRANCH/JACKSON/KESSLER/HUNT Jaimie Branch – trumpet Keefe Jackson – reeds Kent Kessler – bass Steve Hunt – drums Excellent set from Jaimie Branch – trumpet Keefe Jackson – reeds Kent Kessler – bass Steve Hunt – drums It should not be forgotten (and/or it should be shouted from the hills) that Steve Hunt is one terrific drummer. The way he got inside what Branch and Jackson were playing/thinking was hard to believe. Kessler was in fine form, too. f Crazy quotes - see above - Rainey-Laubrock-Halvorsen is the group where they all let loose. No restraints which is Ingrid's weakness. No contraining detailed compositions which limit the improvising and power. They usually play 12/30 @ Cornelia Street which is a very hard date for me and my wife to make - but this year I'm promising myself to make it.

Thanks for posting this. I'm gonna get the Ducret large group 2 CD set and a couple of others that look interesting to me.

From "Way Out Northwest" John Butcher, Torsten Muller & Dylan Van der Schyff second track "Magic Clock Machine" Butcher on tenor here is from another alternate universe

Thanks for this fine review I would love to see that quartet.