The Squid's Ear Magazine


Bica, Carlos & Azul (w/ Frank Mobus / Jim Black): More Than This (Clean Feed)

With a 20 year history, double bassist Carlos Bica's trio Azul with Frank Mobus and Jim Black have developed a romantic, lyrical style that balances unusual textures and agressive playing with melodic style in wonderfully natural ways, here in their 6th alluring album.
 

Price: $14.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Carlos Bica-doublebass

Frank Mobus-guitar

Jim Black-drums, percussion


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5609063003987

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF398
Squidco Product Code: 23815

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2017
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Fattoria Musica Studios, Osnabruck, Austria, April 24th-26th, 2016, by Hrolfur Vagnsson.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"It has been twenty years since the release of Carlos Bica's Azul, the Portuguese double bass player's debut recording with German guitarist Frank Mobus and the American drummer Jim Black. Their brand new album "More Than This" accurately describes their status quo. This new release reflects the same music that their audiences have learned to love since the very beginning and delivers beyond those expectations. The music conjures up old memories while exploring new musical territories.

This mature group of musicians has produced an album that opens new doors, looking to discover what's on the other side. Bica's lyricist (or "romantic," as he himself describes without hesitation) approach to contemporary jazz, combined with elements deriving directly from rock ("A La e a Neve") and from the folk traditon ("Silver Dagger") offers the listener new sounds and textures to revel in.

One can say that this new album sounds almost as if it was the very first time the trio composed and recorded together, but it is rife with the veteran wisdom one earns when acquiring the right to state something, instead of merely "proposing" it. The variety of the themes displayed in "More Than This" sway from direct and good humored (check "Skeleton Dance") to complex and deep, as on "XY Ungelost" - in both cases being faithful to Azul's identity. So, it comes down to this: on their sixth album, the trio has managed to record their best work ever. And yes - it's a gem."-Clean Feed


Artist Biographies

"Double bass player and composer, Carlos Bica, is one of the most prolific and innovative sound artists of Portugal. Known for his lyrical tone on the double bass, Bica has the rare ability to write melodies that essentially are songs without words, haunting and unforgettable.

"Both a remarkable composer and musician who knows how to mix his folkloric, lyrical roots with any modern style he encounters".

Among the several musical projects he leads along with various theatre, film and dance projects, his trio AZUL with Frank Möbus and Jim Black has become his showcase as a bass player and composer.

His debut album, Azul, recorded for Polygram/ Emarcy, features guitar player Frank Möbus and drummer Jim Black, and special guests, singer, Maria João and, trombone player, Ray Anderson. It was voted "Best jazz record of the year" in Portugal in 1996 and it's widely accepted as the best portuguese jazz album ever done. Azul's next albums, Twist (1999) and Look What They've Done To My Song (2003), released by Enja Records, have received international critical acclaim. Believer (2006) is Azul's fourth album celebrating this Portuguese-German-American band's 10th anniversary. As visionary as its predecessors, the new album features the turntables of DJ Illvibe (aka Vincent von Schlippenbach). Pushed by DJ Illvibe's scratch sounds Azul's multi-urban grooves open a bright window into the future. "The magic of shaping" (Fono Forum)

Things About (2011) is Azul's fifth album celebrating this Portuguese-German-American band's 15th anniversary. "It is an achievement in itself that Carlos Bica and his trio Azul - with Frank Möbus and Jim Black - have never produced a less than extraordinary recording. In each edition the band seems to reborn, and after "Believer", here are Bica, Möbus and Black again, with fresh ideas, a renovated drive and a deeper poetic feeling. Things About is the most recent and probably the most perfect of Carlos Bica album's with his trio Azul.

In October 2005 Bor Land Records released Single, Carlos Bica's first bass solo CD. This album was recorded at the Radio Berlin-Brandenburg Studios and was nominated by the music magazine "Blitz" as one of the best albums of the year in Portugal.

Started by a commission from the Expo 1998 in Lisbon, Bica embarked upon his project "DIZ" (meaning "Speak to me") together with the extraordinary singer and actress Ana Brandão. His fruits were recorded and released in April 2001 for Enja Records. The album DIZ represents a new development in his music. Together with João Paulo (piano), Katharina Gramss (violin), Mike Rutledge (viola), DIZ leaps across the stylistics borders of chamber music, Portuguese folk, theatre, jazz and the art of song, with the entertaining ease and serious intensity of musical virtuosity. Jazz Podium termed it "Grandiose music"; Tip-Berlin "An elegy of beauty".

Carlos Bica has also composed for several theatre as well as dance and film productions. He worked for many years with renowned vocalist Maria João - a cooperating that established him on the international scene. He has played at the most important festivals in Europe and Asia and has worked with Ray Anderson, Kenny Wheeler, Aki Takase, Lee Konitz, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Albert Mangelsdorf, Joey Baron, Matthias Schubert, John Ruoco, John Zorn, Paolo Fresu, Markus Stockhausen among others. In the traditional music of his native Portugal - o fado - he performed with singer Carlos do Carmo, the best known musician of this popular genre, and recorded several albums with him. Among further important and inspiring authorities of the Portuguese musical tradition with whom Carlos Bica has performed and recorded rank such names as - José Mário Branco, Camané, Pedro Caldeira Cabral and Janita Salomé. "

-Carlos Bica Website (http://www.carlosbica.com/index2.html)
3/13/2024

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

"Frank Möbus (* March 7, 1966 in Nuremberg) is a German guitarist of modern jazz .

Möbus studied in Boston , Massachusetts at the Berklee College of Music from 1985 to 1989, and during this time he also had regular jazz music lessons with Jerry Bergonzi .

With the bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall he founded the band Der Rote Bereich in 1989, with which he visited countless internationally renowned festivals and has released seven albums (for Jazz4Ever Records , ACT and Intakt). In the project Azul by Carlos Bica , he has worked with Jim Black since 1993. He has also been a member of the groups, Christoph Grab's "Raw Vision", the formation "KUU!", With Daniel Erdmann from Erdmann / Rohrer / Möbus / Courtois (since 2009). And Wiesendanger / Möbus / Hemingway. He was a member of the formations "Erdmann 3000" (formerly known as Erdmann 2000) " Yuri Honings " "Wired Paradise", Paul van Kemenade -international 5tett, Dejan Terzic "underground and the soulband" Spank You ". He toured as a soloist with musicians such as Herb Robertson , Ray Anderson , Kenny Wheeler , Mark Helias, Karl Berger , Louis Sclavis , Maria João , Chris Speed , David Moss , Till Brönner and Han Bennink . As a soloist, he worked for the RIAS Big Band , the Ars Nova Ensemble , the Ensemble für Neue Musik Zürich, and Kevin Coyne's "Paradise Band". Since 1990 he has played up to 300 concerts worldwide with different formations.

Möbus was appointed professor of jazz guitar and ensemble to the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Weimar in 2003. He has also taught as a lecturer for jazz guitar at the Lucerne University since 2007 and taught at many jazz workshops around the world.

Frank Möbus composed the film music for Hans-Günter Brodmann and Rio Vermelho of the director Raquel Freire and worked occasionally with ambitious productions of young artists as a producer .

Privately Frank Möbus chose Berlin as its foodstuff. He is the father of a son and a daughter."

-Wikipedia (translated by Google) (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Mšbus_(Gitarrist))
3/13/2024

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

Jim Black is at the forefront of a new generation of musicians bringing jazz into the 21st century. In addition to being one of the most influential drummers of our time, he is also the leader of one of the world's most forward-thinking bands, AlasNoAxis, featuring his longtime collaborators Chris Speed, Hilmar Jensson and Skúli Sverrisson. Based on the foundation of his virtuosic but highly personal approach to jazz drumming, Black's aesthetic has expanded to include Balkan rhythms, rock songcraft and laptop soundscapes. Though he is revered worldwide for his limitless technique and futuristic concepts, what many listeners treasure in most Jim Black's work is the relentless feeling of joy and invention he brings to his performances. Jim Black's smiling, kinetic, unpredictable presence has enthralled and inspired audiences worldwide for over twenty-five years.

Since the mid-90's, Black has played a major role in the incorporation of new sounds and techniques into the jazz/creative music context. As a member of the collective group Pachora (with Speed, Sverrisson, and guitarist Brad Shepik) Black was one of the leaders in the study and adaptation of Balkan music into jazz-based music. His advanced techniques abstracted the odd time signatures of the Balkans into a new polyrhythmic language equally informed by modern jazz, drum&bass and the dumbeks of the Balkans. Black has also been an innovator in the use of electronics in improvisation, bridging the gap between electro-acoustic improv and more jazz-based traditions. Today, Black's performances are just as likely to feature his laptop-based electronic textures as his drumming.

Born in 1967, Jim Black grew up in Seattle alongside future colleagues Chris Speed, Andrew D'Angelo and Cuong Vu. After cementing their personal and artistic relationships in Seattle's various youth jazz ensembles, in 1985 they moved to Boston, where Black entered the Berklee School of Music. In Boston, Black, Speed and D'Angelo formed Human Feel with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, which rapidly attracted the attention of the jazz cognoscenti in Boston, New York and beyond.

By 1991, Black and the other members of Human Feel had moved to New York City, where they electrified the Downtown music scene then centered around the Knitting Factory and rapidly became among the city's busiest sidemen. Black's early years in New York saw him take featured roles in some of the most critically acclaimed bands of the time, like Tim Berne's Bloodcount, Ellery Eskelin's trio, and Dave Douglas's Tiny Bell Trio. Thus began fifteen years of near-constant touring and recording, with the above bands as well as artists like Uri Caine, Dave Liebman, Nels Cline, Steve Coleman, Tomasz Stanko, and Laurie Anderson.

-Jim Black Website (http://www.jimblack.com/Jim_Black_dotcom/BIO.html)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Mafalda 6:13

2. A La E A Neve 5:00

3. I Wonder, Wonder I Do 2:25

4. Whale Rider 5:13

5. Silver Dagger 4:34

6. Skeleton Dance 3:05

7. Na Rama Do Alecrim 5:07

8. Patchwork 5:55

9. Jolly Jumper 3:09

10. Wattenmeer 7:07

11. XY Ungelost 4:39

12. Sam 5:18

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
Clean Feed

Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Nomad Trio (feat Gordon Grdina / Matt Mitchell / Jim Black)
Boiling Point
(Astral Spirits)
The second release from guitarist and oud improviser Gordon Grdina's Boiling Point Trio with Matt Mitchell on piano and Jim Black on drums, following their excellent 2020 Martian Kitties album, solidified into a tight unit from touring, Grdina's writing showcasing each player's ability to improvise around complex rhythmic, harmonic, and melodically rich compositions.
Grdina, Gordon / Jim Black
Martian Kitties
(Astral Spirits)
Thirteen succinct improvisations pitting Gordon Grdina's swinging middle-eastern flavors on the oud offset by gritty, experimental guitar work against drummer Jim Black's well-chosen and rock-solid grooves, an engaging album that shifts and explores a tremendous range of ideas and adventurous attitudes that span jazz, rock and experimental genres with ease.
Douglas, Dave Tiny Bell Trio
Constellations (2002 edition)
(Hatology)
A much-needed reissue of Dave Douglas's Tiny Bell Trio with guitarist Brad Shepik and drummer Jim Black, a remarkably telepathic group recorded mid-tour after 3 years working together.
Euphorium_freakestra
Free Electric Supergroup [2 CDs]
(Euphorium)
Since 2002 this large ensemble electric supergroup or "freakestra" has performed uncompromising free improvisation that draws on the best of modern approaches in a staggering display of style and technique.
Fujii Trio, Satoko
Trace A River
(Libra)
Satoko Fujii's excellent trio with Mark Dresser on bass and Jim Black on drums: spiritous, technically impressive, melodically and conceptually adventurous music not to miss!
Other Recommended Releases:
Bica, Carlos (Erdmann / DJ Illvibe / Barradas)
Playing with Beethoven
(Clean Feed)
Commissioned by Cineteatro Louletano to respond creatively to the musical legacy of Ludwig van Beethoven, double bassist Carlos Bica developed ten compositions that draw on Beethoven's original works, performing them with saxophonist Daniel Erdmann, accordionist João Barradas and DJ Illvibe on turntables, a truly unique take on some of the renowned composer's most famous works.
Jim & The Schrimps (Jim Black / Asger Nissen / Julius Gawlik / Felix Henkelhausen)
Ain't No Saint
(Intakt)
"Jim" is US drummer & composer Jim Black working in Berlin, and The Shrimps are the trio of bassist Felix Henkelhausen and the two-sax front line of Germans, Asger Nissen on alto and Julius Gawlik on tenor, finding a rapport and common approach to free improv, they formed to perform & record Black's assertive compositions influenced by the tradition of Black American jazz.
Grdina, Gordon / Jim Black
Martian Kitties [CASSETTE W/ DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
Thirteen succinct improvisations pitting Gordon Grdina's swinging middle-eastern flavors on the oud offset by gritty, experimental guitar work against drummer Jim Black's well-chosen and rock-solid grooves, an engaging album that shifts and explores a tremendous range of ideas and adventurous attitudes that span jazz, rock and experimental genres with ease.
Killing Popes, The (Steidle / Mobus / Nicholls / Downes / Donkin)
Ego Kills
(Shhpuma)
An incredibly inventive album of 21st century jazz incorporating a twisted wealth of rock and electronic elements, in the 2nd album from Killing Popes led by drummer Oli Steidle and keyboardist Dan Nicholls, with Frank Mobus (guitar) and Phil Donkin (bass), Philipp Gropper (saxophone), Jelena Kuljic (voice & sampler) plus Natalie Sandtorv & Liv Nicholls on voice.
Gallo, Danilo Dark Dry Tears (Gallo / Milesi / Bigoni / Black / feat: Lorenzo Corti)
A View Through a Slot
(Clean Feed)
With cinematic moments and dark, rich grooves, Italian bassist Danilo Gallo leads a quintet with fellow Italians Massimiliano Milesi on tenor & soprano saxophones, Francesco Bigoni on tenor saxophone & clarinet, American drummer Jim Black, and Lorenzo Corti on guitar, through a set of 10 Gallo compositions, melodically centered but surprising in detail and direction.
Perkin, Miles Quartet (Perkins / Arthurs / Delbecq / Black)
The Point In Question
(Clean Feed)
Berlin-based Canadian double bassist and composer Miles Perkin (Lauzier/Perkin/Kuster, Benoit Delbecq 3, Glue) writes for his own quartet with pianist Delbecq, drummer Jim Black and trumpeter Tom Arthurs, presenting seven compositions leaving room for superb free soloing from all four, in an accomplished album of an optimistic and lyrical intent.
Steidle, Oli & The Killing Popes (Steidle / Mobus / Nicholls / Downes / Donkin)
Ego Pills [VINYL]
(Shhpuma)
Rapid fire playing and a wicked humor fuels drummer Olie Steidle's album with guitarist Frank Mobus, keyboardists Kit Downes and Dan Nicholls, and bassist Phil Donkin, mashing together electro-jazz, art rock, hardcore and club music into upbeat and twisted music, building up to a narrative "Speed Junky on Funny Human Darts"; insanely embraceable and stunning.
Steidle, Oli & The Killing Popes (Steidle / Mobus / Nicholls / Downes / Donkin)
Ego Pills
(Shhpuma)
Rapid fire playing and a wicked humor fuels drummer Olie Steidle's album with guitarist Frank Mobus, keyboardists Kit Downes and Dan Nicholls, and bassist Phil Donkin, mashing together electro-jazz, art rock, hardcore and club music into upbeat and twisted music, building up to a narrative "Speed Junky on Funny Human Darts"; insanely embraceable and stunning.
Bica, Carlos / Daniel Erdmann / Dj Illvibe
I Am The Escaped One
(Clean Feed)
Portugese double bassist Carlos Bica joins forces with German saxophonist Daniel Erdmann and turntablist DJ Illvibe, the son of pianist Alexander von Schlippenbach, for a unique album of improvisation blending experimental and jazz approaches with substantive layers of genre-blending from Illvibe's record arsenal, all handled with accessible control and lyrical sophistication.
TGB (Carolino / Delgado / Frazao)
III
(Clean Feed)
The 3rd Clean Feed album from this Portuguese band of unusual orchestration and intentions that cross jazz and rock idioms, from the trio of Sergio Carolino on tuba, Mario Delgado on guitar, and Alexandre Frazao on drums, with rapid fire attacks and tight compositional moments balanced by wonderful open, sonic moments, surprising with a cover of King Crimson's "Starless".
Bica, Carlos & Azul (feat. Frank Mobus / Jim Black)
Azul In Ljubljana
(Clean Feed)
For their 7th album after 20 years of collaboration, double bassist Carlos Bica's trio Azul with Frank Mobus on guitar and Jim Black on drums presents this exemplary live album recorded at the 2015 Ljubljana Jazz Festival in Lsovenia, clearly illustrating their characteristic clean and lyrically melodic sound through beautiful textural and energetic playing.
Hasselberg, Joao / Pedro Branco
From Order To Chaos
(Clean Feed)
Primarily a bass and guitar duo between Portugese natives Joao Hasselberg, on double bass and electric, and electric guitarist Pedro Branco, here in their second album together of delicately sophisticated string improvisations, joined by a a great set of collaborators to expand the duo to trio and quartet.
Draksler, Kaja Octet (w/ Baars / Nielsdoottir / Polence / Rave / Dumitriu / Heyndels / Govaert)
Gledalec [2 CDs]
(Clean Feed)
Draksler's interest in poetry drives this 2-CD release, with a chamber octet of improvisers and orchestra players, with 2 vocalists, two reedists (inc. Ab Baars), violin, piano, double bass, drums & orchestral percussion, performing Draksler's compositions for the words of Pablo Neruda and Andriana Minou.
Dresser, Mark Seven (Mitchell / Ehrlich / Boroff / Dessen / White / Black)
Sedimental You
(Clean Feed)
Downtown NY scene pioneering bassist, currently on the West Coast, Mark Dresser presents an album of original compositions performed with an amazing septet including Marty Ehrlich, Jim Black, Joshua White, Michael Dessen, David Morales Borof, and Nicole Mitchell.
Trumpets and Drums (Wooley / Evans / Black / Lytton)
Live in Ljubljana
(Clean Feed)
Two drummers - Jim Black & Paul Lytton - and two trumpeters - Nate Wooley & Peter Evans - came together at the 53rd Ljubljana Jazz Festival to record these extended improvisations, demonstrating the phenomenal skill and compatibility of these outstanding players.
Bica, Carlos & Azul
Things About
(Clean Feed)
Double bassist and composer Carlos Bica's Azul with guitarist Frank Mobus and drummer Jim Black in their 5th album, bringing jazz and elements of rock together into a lyrical and alluring set of recordings.
Tsahar / Maneri / Black
Jam
(Hopscotch Records)
Three creative young musicians in New York Tsahar, Mat Maneri and Black in a trio of warmly orchestrated free improv with witty restraint in extended conversation.



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Ayler, Albert Quintet 1966
Berlin, Lorrach, Paris & Stockholm. Revisited [2 CDs]
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
Tenor saxophonist Albert Ayler's 1966 quintet brought a unique orchestration to his music, heard in these live performances in Berlin, Lörrach, Paris & Stockholm in November of 1966, four concerts presented chronologically as performed with the exemplary playing of brother Donald Ayler on trumpet, Michel Samson on violin, William Folwell on bass, and Beaver Harris on drums.
Carter, Daniel / Matthew Shipp / William Parker / Gerald Cleaver
Welcome Adventure! Vol. 1
(577 Records)
After decades playing together, the quartet of Daniel Carter on tenor sax, trumpet & flute, Matthew Shipp on piano, William Parker on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums, release the first of two planned studio albums, with two extended and remarkably warm collective excursions bookending a shorter "Scintillate", in an exceptionally solid album of masterful modern jazz.
Coltrane, John Quartet
My Favorite Things Graz 1962
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
The 2nd volume from tenor & soprano saxophonist John Coltrane 1962 tour of Europe and Scandinavia, heard here in late November at Stefaniensaal, Graz with his quartet of pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison, and drummer Elvin Jones, the band playing classic numbers under the influence of Coltrane's expanding drive to transform his music toward greater freedom.
Ayler, Albert Trio
1964 Prophecy Revisted
(ezz-thetics by Hat Hut Records Ltd)
With the essential sidemen to express his unique voice and approach to free jazz, saxophonist Albert Ayler, double bassist Gary Peacock, and drummer Sunny Murray, recorded these sessions in 1964 for the ESP label as "Prophecy", this excellent reissue & remaster also adding the live "Albert Smiles with Sunny" (inRespect) from the same concert; essential.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC