The Squid's Ear Magazine


Fowler, Chad / William Parker / Anders Griffen: Thinking Unthinking (Mahakala Music)

Focusing on lyrically inclined grooves with a relaxed pace, the details and thoughtfully "unthought" playing from the NY trio of Chad Fowler on stritch, saxello & alto flute, William Parker on bass and Anders Griffen on drums, are heard in the Park West Studios in Brooklyn for three extended collective improvisations of passionate, expressive and empathetic playing.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Chad Fowler-stritch, saxello, alto flute

William Parker-bass

Anders Griffen-drums


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UPC: 195269186722

Label: Mahakala Music
Catalog ID: MAHA 037
Squidco Product Code: 32440

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at West Park Studios, In Brookyln, New York, on august 3rd, 2021, by Jim Clouse.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Saxophonist-producer Chad Fowler has been prolific since launching his label Mahakala Music. His latest releases - Thinking Unthinking and Broken Unbroken - realize his decades-long dream of recording in a trio with bass and drums. Bassist William Parker and drummer Anders Griffen each made their debut recordings with saxophonist Frank Lowe, albeit over 20 years apart, and originally made their musical connection at the turn of the millennium. Parker works with Fowler in Mahakala's inaugural band, Dopolarians.

These two titles were both recorded on the same day in August 2021. The music is completely improvised except for a couple melodies Fowler brought to the date - heard on "Kongerei" and "Marker" - but Parker and Griffen were not privy to these. Working together for the first time, the trio finds an easy rapport and takes advantage of the unlimited space afforded to them while exploring a range of textures and dynamics and everything from serene to aggressive."-Mahakala


Artist Biographies

"I'm Chad Fowler. I write books, write and play music, write software, lead organizations (currently for Microsoft, in Berlin), invest in startups, speak at conferences, teach, learn, organize conferences, etc.

I started and co-organized a couple of Ruby-related conferences including The International Ruby Conference and RailsConf."

-Chad Fowler Website (http://chadfowler.com/)
2/5/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"William Parker is a bassist, improviser, composer, writer, and educator from New York City, heralded by The Village Voice as, "the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time."

In addition to recording over 150 albums, he has published six books and taught and mentored hundreds of young musicians and artists.

Parker's current bands include the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, In Order to Survive, Raining on the Moon, Stan's Hat Flapping in the Wind, and the Cosmic Mountain Quartet with Hamid Drake, Kidd Jordan, and Cooper-Moore. Throughout his career he has performed with Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Milford Graves, and David S. Ware, among others."

-William Parker Website (http://www.williamparker.net/)
2/5/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Anders Griffen is a musician from Brooklyn, New York, playing drums, and sometimes trumpet, blending idioms across genres with original and unique songwriters, instrumentalists, and choreographers. On some 40+ records, and numerous concerts across the States and abroad -- including Lollapalooza, Primavera Sound, and the End of the Road festivals, a Peel Session on BBC Radio 1, and on Jazz with OT with legendary radio presenter Oscar Treadwell -- Anders has performed with songwriters and bands like Jeffrey Lewis, Diane Cluck, Regina Spektor, Kimya Dawson, The Bundles, Ish Marquez and Lonesome Crew, Paleface, Seth Faergolzia and Dufus, John Ludington, The Walkmen, Winterpills, Zoë Darrow, Nathan Xander, Herman Düne, The Wave Pictures, Many Embers, Elisa Flynn, Kjersti Kveli, Linda Draper, and Barry Bliss...

As well as jazz musicians Frank Lowe, Bernard Santacruz, Christopher Parker, Roy Campbell Jr., Henry P Warner, Chad Fowler, William Parker, Bertha Hope, Joe Shepley, Eddie Bert, Don Friedman, Bill Crow, Victor Gaskin, Kenny Venezia, Michael Marcus, Loren Stillman, Tom Tallitsch, and musicians like Tommy Goodwin, John Cartwright, Dave McKelvy, Alex Tomaino, Conor Lyons, and Norm Dodge... choreographers Kathleen Cruz, David Wampach, Bopi Patterson, Stacy Grossfield, and Donna Uchizono, and just a diverse range of artists, musicians and dancers.

Anders Griffen is the son of musicians Fred Griffen (French horn) and Karen Griffen (flute and piccolo).

He studied with Michael Carvin at the Michael Carvin School of Drumming, and with Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Joe Shepley, Jon Faddis, Dary John Mizelle, and informally with Charles Moffett, Alvin Fielder, Warren Smith, Grady Tate, and Richie Dean Pratt. He holds a BFA in Music Composition from SUNY-Purchase College and a Masters in Library and Information Science from UCLA.

In addition to his work as an artist, Anders is an archivist and librarian and has worked at UCLA, New York Public Library, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. He is also a contributing writer to the 4th edition of A Basic Music Library, and The New York City Jazz Record, "the city's only homegrown jazz gazette." "

-Anders Griffen Website (https://andersgriffen.com/about)
2/5/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Kongerei 16:05

2. Earunto 14:45

3. Shall 17:15

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Collective & Free Improvsation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
New in Improvised Music

Search for other titles on the label:
Mahakala Music.


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