The Squid's Ear Magazine

Elliott, Moppa

Jazz Band / Rock Band / Dance Band [2 CDs]

Elliott, Moppa: Jazz Band / Rock Band / Dance Band [2 CDs] (Hot Cup Records)

An unusual conglomerate of styles across 2 CDs from bassist Moppa Elliott, featuring three bands: Advancing on a Wild Pitch, his jazz band with Danny Fox, Christian Coleman, Sam Kulik & Charles Evans; Unspeakable Garbage, his rock band with Jon Irabagon and Nick Millevoi; and the 9-piece "dance" band Acceleration Due To Gravity with Nate Wooley, Ava Mendoza, Mike Pride, &c.
 

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Personnel:



Sam Kulik-trombone

Charles Evans-baritone saxophone

Danny Fox-piano

Moppa Elliott-bass

Christian Coleman-drums

Jon Irabagon-saxophone

Nick Millevoi-guitar

Ron Stabinsky-keyboards

Nate Wooley-trumpet

Dave Taylor-trombone

Matt Nelson-alto saxophone

Bryan Murray-tenro saxophone

Kyle Saulnier-baritone saxophone

Ava Mendoza-guitar

George Burton-piano

Mike Pride-drums


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UPC: 888295840552

Label: Hot Cup Records
Catalog ID: HCMEJRD
Squidco Product Code: 31619

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2022
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded at Oktaven Studios, at Mount Vernon, New York, on March 13th, 2017; May 15th, 2018, & July 2nd, 2018, by Ryan Streber.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Bassist Moppa Elliott is best known as the leader of the surrealistic jazz group, Mostly Other People Do The Killing, but his musical universe, encompassing work with symphony orchestras and new music ensembles, stretches much farther than that band's frantic music. This is reflected in this 2 CD set of Elliott leading three different types of groups, a jazz band, a rock band and a dance band.

All three ensembles continue Elliott's off-center sensibilities, but in different ways. The jazz band, Advancing on a Wild Pitch, is more straightforward than MOPDTK but just as entertaining. It works in recognizable jazz forms and has the earthy sensibilities of Charles Mingus as a pronounced influence. The rhythm section of Elliott, pianist Danny Fox, and drummer Christian Coleman lay down a bouncing bluesy groove on "Baden," an early jazz two-step on "St. Mary's Proctor" and a swooning tango on "Herminie." Then these are invaded by trombonist Sam Kulik and baritone saxophonist Charles Evans, strutting and rolling with the sassiness of Mingus' horn players on "Fables Of Faubus" and "Jelly Roll." "Oreland"'s New Orleans funk shuffle and "Can't Tell Shipp From Shohola's" slow and easy gospel march further show how well this band can maintain a solid, swinging mood with a straight face.

Unspeakable Garbage is Elliott's rock band. They do instrumentals that mesh surf music, big beat 80s' pop, and heavy guitar. Taken one at a time, the tracks are fun and energetic but listened to as a whole, their loud, high-energy mash-ups of old Ventures, Ramones and Modern Lovers riffs with glossy 80's style production, get repetitious. Still there is the fun of hearing Jon Irabagon consistently blowing his lungs out on tenor. He sometimes sounds as much like Albert Ayler as Clarence Clemons. He also gets into a nice bit of call and response with guitarist Nick Millevoi on "Quarryville."

Things get really crazy with the nine-piece dance band, Acceleration Due To Gravity. Elliott's concept of a dance band is based on the hip hop notion of riffs that are embellished and tweaked with every repetition. The result is a shape-shifting cacophony that throws out echoes of Frank Zappa, Willem Breuker and King Crimson. "Waddle" is a crazy quilt of lurching beats, hysterical piano and deliriously moaning saxophone. "Geiger" is out of the Zappa playbook with baritone player Kyle Saulnier warbling over a group melody that shifts between a moderate cruising tempo and rock 'n' roll triplets before Dave Taylor's brash trombone and Ava Mendoza's cutting guitar supplant him. "Energy" is the closest thing to the madcap MOPDTK style, a string of whinnying solo turns by the entire band over a slap-happy approximation of a Dixieland beat. "Sparks" is a lumbering prog rock stomp that spotlights Nate Wooley's trumpet screams and Mendoza's ringing, serpentine lines.

On top of all this, they cover Kanye West. The band's version of West's "Power" embellishes the paranoiac tension of the original with hysterical alto by Matt Nelson and crazed trumpet by Woolley before switching into the middle section of King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man," which was sampled in the West recording. "Bangor" finishes the set with Saulnier, pianist George Burton and tenor player Bryan Murray all flailing happily over a mechanical and intentionally clumsy dance beat.

This is a fun excursion through Moppa Elliott's extended musical world. Advancing on a Wild Pitch's sly jazz subversions, Unspeakable Garbage's tireless big beat stomps and Acceleration Due To Gravity's prog-dance madness are all worthwhile and Elliott collaborators like Irabagon, Wooley and Mendova, are in top form. It's all a bit overwhelming heard in one sitting but there is a lot of worthwhile music to absorb here."-Jerome Wilson, All About Jazz


Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"Hi, I'm Sam. I was born and raised in Western Massachusetts, in a small town called Worthington. I left there in 2000 to attend Oberlin College, where I met many of the musicians I still collaborate with.

I moved to New York in 2004 and settled in the Astoria, Queens neighborhood, working as a nanny as I got my musical career going. I was playing a lot of improvised music at the time (still do!), and met many like-minded players through playing in the New York Soundpainting Orchestra and volunteering and generally hanging out at the Stone. Parallel to my activity as a serious improviser of music, I hooked up with several of the extremely talented rock musicians and songwriters that live in this city, and also found myself getting involved in playing music for theater and dance. I started touring a fair amount and meeting people all over the US and Europe. Don't let people tell you that being a musician isn't awesome.

I think of myself as a trombonist, though I play an increasing number of other instruments pretty decently. The trombone is the instrument that I play every day and can usually count on to best express myself with. However, as the Frank Zappa saying goes, "you can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." So sometimes I rely on the electric bass, or my voice, or the tuba, or the guitar, or the ukulele to say what I want. I've even got my sister's oboe from high school that I break out on rare occasions. I tell you, when you've been playing the trombone your whole life and dealing with the difficulty of slide technique and then you pick up an instrument like the oboe that has BUTTONS, it's liberating!

It would be silly not to list by name some of the people I've worked with in New York. These are the people who shape who I am as a player, which is very closely related to who I am as a person. You can hear some of this music elsewhere on this website, and for those of you who are able to make it to a show, I try to make it special every time. Starring, Skeletons, Nervous Cabaret, Anthony Braxton, Talibam!, Joachim Badenhorst, The Talking Band, Cynthia Hopkins, Peter Evans, Mitra Sumara, Kagel Nacht, Jim Bianco, Johnny Society, Blueberry, Capillary Action, Mary Halvorson, Kevin Shea's Lonely Goldmine of Symbiotic Subterfuge, Jeremiah Cymerman, Frantz Loriot, Moppa Elliott, Walter Thompson, TILT Brass, 5 for Marion, Levon Helm, Dubl Handi, Charlie Rauh, John Zorn, Guardian Alien, Yellowbirds, Mettawee River Theater Company, Jessy Carolina, Yasanao Tone, Langhorne Slim, Chris Ferris, Red Dive, Amanda Palmer, The National Reserve, the Dirty Water Dogs, Kabloona, Tin Pan, the Drunkard's Wife, Paranoid Larry, Yoshi Wada, Super Hi-Fi, Shahzad Ismaily, Ed Pastorini, Louise DE Jensen, James Ilgenfritz, Kamala Sankaram, Banana Bag & Bodice, Rick Burkhardt, Cesar Alvarez, Gordon Webster, David First & The Western Enisphere."

-Sam Kulik Website (https://www.samkulik.com/blog/)
3/25/2024

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

"Charles Evans is an American baritone saxophonist based in New York, who specializes in chromatic improvisation/composition and traditional jazz. Evans has been a member of the New York City creative music community since 2002, when he moved to the city after graduation from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He then went on to earn a Master's in Jazz Performance from Queens College, as well as NYS teacher certification. He has studied with David Liebman, Julian Sparacino, Jim Buckley, the late Bill Zaccagni, Chris Farr, Ron Kerber, John Swana, Tony Miceli, George Garzone, Hamiet Bluiett, and Antonio Hart.

Charles has received rave reviews with five albums as a leader, including an all-baritone multi-layered record entitled, "The King of All Instruments," which received a 5 star review in Downbeat Magazine. He has also been included in both the Critics' and Readers' polls in the aforementioned magazine, in both the Rising Star and Baritone Saxophone categories. Live at St. Stephens received "Best New Release 2010 - Honorable Mention," in All About Jazz magazine. His upcoming CD will feature an original composition written for collaboration with his mentor David Liebman.

The baritonist has worked diligently to broaden the expressive range of his instrument, with specific care towards the difficult altissimo register as well as the application of chromatic improvisation/composition on the big horn. Musical projects include a chromatic/improvisational quartet with his mentor David Liebman, Ron Stabinsky, and Tony Marino; micro-tonal bebop in The Language Of with Peter Evans, Moppa Elliott, and Jan Roth, (It Needs It, No Relation) introspective duos with Neil Shah (Live at St. Stephens,) Erik Dutko (Ballads,) and Ron Stabinsky; and straight-ahead jazz with a former prized student in The David Jimenez Quintet.

Evans has been steadfast in his commitment to non-compromising music. To solve the obvious financial burden, he started a highly successful high school band program in Queens, NY. He places his teaching on equal footing with his artistic pursuits, and has learned that sharing his passion is just as meaningful as expressing personal music."

-Charles Evans Website (https://jazzbarisax.com/baritone-saxophonists/next-generation/charles-evans/)
3/25/2024

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"Pianist Danny Fox was born in New York City where he became immersed in the jazz scene from an early age. In high school, Danny was selected as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and went on to attend Harvard University during which time he became active in the Boston music scene. He formed the Danny Fox Trio in 2008 as a vehicle for his original compositions and since then the working group has performed steadily around NYC and the US, releasing the critically acclaimed albums The One Constant (Songlines) and Wide Eyed (Hot Cup).

Called a "pianist of diverse accomplishment" (NY Times), Danny has established himself as a versatile musician active in a wide variety of settings, co-founding the New Orleans rock and roll group Tubby, playing around the fertile Brooklyn roots and bluegrass scene, performing on Broadway, and collaborating with the cutting edge video artist Meghan Allynn Johnson. He has performed with artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, Cassandra Wilson, Michael Blake, and Kermit Driscoll."

-Danny Fox Website (http://www.dannyfoxmusic.com/)
3/25/2024

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"A short biography from the artist:

I was born on September 13, 1978, the first son of David and Carolyn Elliott in Scranton, Pa. Incidentally, they named me Matthew Thomas Elliott, not Moppa. My parents are both college instructors and intense music lovers, so I was able to hear a lot of music growing up. After a brief introduction to the piano, I started to play the trombone in the sixth grade, and after deciding a few years later that I wanted to also play an instrument with strings, I was given an electric bass. When I was about 17, I fixed up my father's old acoustic bass in order to audition for a summer program. I then began to study the bass seriously with Pocono resident Tony Marino. In the fall of 1997, I enrolled in both Oberlin College and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music majoring in biology and Jazz bass performance in Oberlin's double-degree program. While there I was able to record my first CD, Pinpoint and to gain some experience playing in Cleveland OH for about 3 years. I was also fortunate enough to teach at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts for four summers. I finished school in the winter of 2001, and moved to New York City the following summer. Here in New York, I have been able to play and record with some great musicians and to continue teaching at St. Mary's High School."

-Moppa Elliott Website (http://www.moppaelliott.com/who.html)
3/25/2024

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"The winner of the 2008 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition, Irabagon has since topped both the Rising Star Alto Saxophone and the Rising Star Tenor Saxophone categories in the DownBeat Magazine Critics' Poll and been named one of Time Out New York's 25 New York City Jazz Icons. Jon was also named 2012 Musician of the Year in The New York City Jazz Record and is an integral member of such high-profile ensembles as the Mary Halvorson Quintet, the Dave Douglas Quintet and Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor, as well as an established bandleader in his own right.

For Perpetual Motion, a project of Moondog arrangements, Jon (along with French saxophonist/clarinetist/composer Sylvain Rifflet) has been awarded a French-American Cultural Exchange grant from the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, with generous funding from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Florence Gould Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Institut Français, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, and Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs de Musique ("SACEM"). In addition, Jon has received a 2012 Mabuhay Award by the National Association of Filipino-Americans and a 2014 Philippine Presidential Award.

Jon's own record label, Irabbagast Records, has currently released five of his efforts, including I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues Volume 2: Appalachian Haze (with Mike Pride and Mick Barr), Outright! Unhinged (with Ralph Alessi, Jacob Sacks, John Hebert and Tom Rainey) and It Takes All Kinds (featuring Mark Helias and Barry Altschul), and most recently, the dual release of Behind the Sky (featuring Tom Harrell, Luis Perdomo, Yasushi Nakamura and Rudy Royston) as well as Jon's first solo saxophone recording, Inaction is an Action."

-Jon Irabagon Website (http://www.jonirabagon.com/bio/)
3/25/2024

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"Nick Millevoi is a guitarist and composer whose music searches for the sonic cracks between jazz, rock and roll, noise, and modern composition. His band, Desertion Trio, featuring bassist Johnny DeBlase and drummer Kevin Shea, takes on the history of instrumental electric guitar music and throws it in a blender. Noisey describes Desertion Trio as "Supremely weird desert noir," and NPR Music said the band's debut "hits the sweet spot between Neil Young's exploratory Crazy Horse jams and a spaghetti western soundtrack."

Millevoi also makes one half of the duo Archer Spade, with trombonist Dan Blacksberg. With Archer Spade, Nick has has performed composed works by Derek Bailey, Mick Barr, Roscoe Mitchell, Dave Soldier, Gene Coleman, and many others. With guitarist Matt Hollenberg (Cleric, John Frum), Millevoi co-leads the Hollenberg-Millevoi Quartet, formed to perform John Zorn's Bagatelles. Nick was co-leader of the power trio, Many Arms, releasing five full-length records, including two for John Zorn's Tzadik label, has been a member of Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band, performing on their critically-acclaimed double LP, The Rarity of Experience, as well as a member of Hassidic doom metal band Deveykus (Tzadik). In addition to these longer standing collaborations, Nick has performed with Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Dead Neanderthals, Nels Cline, Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Fugazi's Joe Lally.

As a performer in many different projects, Nick regularly tours throughout the US and Europe, and has performed at festivals such as Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK), Gaffer Fest (France), Incubate (Netherlands), Mission Creek Festival (US), the Montreal Jewish Music Festival, Nelsonville Music Festival (US), the New Atlantis Festival (DC), Suoni Per Il Popolo (Canada), and John Zorn's Masada Book Three Premiere concert at New York's Town Hall and Ultimate Bagatelles Marathon. Nick's music has been released by labels such as Tzadik, ShhPuma/Clean Feed, New Atlantis, Gaffer, The Flenser, Sick Room, and Public Eyesore."

-Nick Millevoi Website (nickmillevoi.blogspot.com/p/bio.html)
3/25/2024

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"Ron Stabinsky recently released his debut album, Free for One, the culmination of more than a decade of evolving his improvised solo language. In addition to continuing to pursue his ongoing interest in solo piano improvisation, he enjoys working on music in a stylistically diverse array of situations throughout the United States and Europe with many other musicians and ensembles, including free-improvising saxophonist Jack Wright, bass trombone virtuoso David Taylor, Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood, and NEA Jazz Master David Liebman. Recent festival appearances include Newport Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Moers Festival (Germany), Jazzfestival Saalfelden (Austria), Outreach Festival (Austria), and Jazz and More Festival Sibiu (Romania). He is currently a regular member of the band Mostly Other People Do the Killing, the new music ensemble Relâche, the Charles Evans Quartet, and the Peter Evans Quintet."

-Ron Stabinsky 3/25/2024

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"Nate Wooley was born in 1974 in Clatskanie, Oregon, a town of 2,000 people in the timber country of the Pacific Northwestern corner of the U.S. He began playing trumpet professionally with his father, a big band saxophonist, at the age of 13. His time in Oregon, a place of relative quiet and slow time reference, instilled in Nate a musical aesthetic that has informed all of his music making for the past 20 years, but in no situation more than his solo trumpet performances.

Nate moved to New York in 2001, and has since become one of the most in-demand trumpet players in the burgeoning Brooklyn jazz, improv, noise, and new music scenes. He has performed regularly with such icons as John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, Eliane Radigue, Ken Vandermark, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, and Yoshi Wada, as well as being a collaborator with some of the brightest lights of his generation like Chris Corsano, C. Spencer Yeh, Peter Evans, and Mary Halvorson.

Wooley's solo playing has often been cited as being a part of an international revolution in improvised trumpet. Along with Peter Evans and Greg Kelley, Wooley is considered one of the leading lights of the American movement to redefine the physical boundaries of the horn, as well as demolishing the way trumpet is perceived in a historical context still overshadowed by Louis Armstrong. A combination of vocalization, extreme extended technique, noise and drone aesthetics, amplification and feedback, and compositional rigor has led one reviewer to call his solo recordings "exquisitely hostile".

In the past three years, Wooley has been gathering international acclaim for his idiosyncratic trumpet language. Time Out New York has called him "an iconoclastic trumpeter", and Downbeat's Jazz Musician of the Year, Dave Douglas has said, "Nate Wooley is one of the most interesting and unusual trumpet players living today, and that is without hyperbole". His work has been featured at the SWR JazzNow stage at Donaueschingen, the WRO Media Arts Biennial in Poland, Kongsberg, North Sea, Music Unlimited, and Copenhagen Jazz Festivals, and the New York New Darmstadt Festivals. In 2011 he was an artist in residence at Issue Project Room in Brooklyn, NY and Cafe Oto in London, England. In 2013 he performed at the Walker Art Center as a featured solo artist.

Nate is the curator of the Database of Recorded American Music (www.dramonline.org) and the editor-in-chief of their online quarterly journal Sound American (www.soundamerican.org) both of which are dedicated to broadening the definition of American music through their online presence and the physical distribution of music through Sound American Records. He also runs Pleasure of the Text which releases music by composers of experimental music at the beginnings of their careers in rough and ready mediums."

-Nate Wooley Website (http://natewooley.com/about)
3/25/2024

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"Saxophonist Matt Nelson regularly performs in a far-reaching, motley assortment of musical projects. Described as "one of the more unpredictable virtuosos in New York's underground" by Pitchfork, and "genre-bending" by Tiny Mix Tapes, his output often lies in the gray corners beyond categorization.

Upon graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied with Gary Bartz and Paul Cohen, Matt moved back to his native Bay Area where he became an active member of the music community. He performed regularly with several bands, among them experimental pop outfit tUnE-yArDs, with whom he recorded and toured extensively in support of their acclaimed album w h o k i l l.

In 2010 Matt relocated to Brooklyn, New York. During his time there he has performed and toured as a member of Battle Trance, GRID, Elder Ones, Premature Burial, Skeletons, and the Weasel Walter Large Ensemble. He also performs as a solo act, where he often utilizes electronics and amplified feedback along with his saxophone, as heard on his record Lower Bottoms. "

-Matt Nelson Website (https://www.mattnelsonsax.com/bio)
3/25/2024

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"Hailed as "a composer and arranger certainly worthy of considerable attention" (Bill Donaldson, Cadence Magazine), Kyle Saulnier writes music of dramatic intensity and immediacy, fusing orchestral techniques with the modern jazz vocabulary into music that has been described as "lush and inventive" (WNYC), "fearlessly relevant" (New York Music Daily), and "a Great American Songbook of another order" (Downbeat).

In his primary voice as composer of the Awakening Orchestra, Saulnier has composed two symphonies (2010's this is not the answer. and 2016's i can see my country from here.), a violin concerto (2014's to call her to a higher plain.), as well as scores of single-movement compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations. The orchestra's 2014 debut was called "as rare an achievement as Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill" (All About Jazz), and "a unique and masterful work." (Cadence Magazine)

Not limited to the jazz and avant-garde realms, Saulnier has composed and arranged for the Metropole Orchestra, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Young the Giant, Francesca Blanchard, Alexei Murdoch, National Geographic Television, the BET Awards, and scores of other varied artists and groups. His catalog includes works for symphony orchestra, studio orchestra, big band, string quartet, brass ensemble, solo piano, and countless combinations of mixed jazz and chamber ensembles."

-All About Jazz (https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/kyle-saulnier)
3/25/2024

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"My name is Ava Mendoza. I play guitars and stompboxes and write music. Currently I'm based out of Brooklyn, NY. I have played guitar for most of my life and been active for the last decade playing my own music and in many different groups. In any context I try to bring expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music I play. I've toured throughout the U.S. and Europe and recorded or performed with a broad spectrum of musicians including singer Carla Bozulich (The Geraldine Fibbers, Evangelista), Fred Frith (Massacre, Henry Cow, Art Bears), Nels Cline, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Weasel Walter, Tune-Yards, and more. I've played on recordings released by labels Weird Forest, Tzadik, Clean Feed, NotTwo, ugEXPLODE, Resipiscent, New Atlantis, and others.

Friendly critics have called me "Oakland's avant-jazz virtuoso" (Brad Cohan, Village Voice), "a versatile and virtuosic guitarist" (The San Francisco Film Society), "a wizard on a semi-circle of effects pedals, butÉ equally adept with FX-less technique," (Lars Gotrich, A Blog Supreme/NPR Jazz). I was recently named one of Guitar WorldÔs Ò10 Female Guitarists You Should KnowÓ.

My main project these days is UNNATURAL WAYS .

PERFORMED/RECORDED WITH:

Scott Amendola (Nels Cline Singers, Charlie Hunter Quartet), Liz Allbee, Vijay Anderson, Bran(...)pos, Carla Bozulich (The Geraldine Fibbers, Evangelista), Sheldon Brown, Tony Buck (The Necks), members of Caroliner, Nels Cline (Wilco), George Cremaschi, Tim Dahl (Child Abuse, Lydia Lunch), J.A. Deane, Marco Di Gasbarro (Squartet), John Dikeman (Cactus Truck), Thomas Dimuzio, Shayna Dunkleman, Marco Eneidi, Luc Ex, Ben Goldberg, Fred Frith (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre), Vinny Golia, Phillip Greenlief, Franz Hautzinger, Jacob Felix Heule, Devin Hoff (Good for Cows), Gerri Jager (Knaalpot), Darren Johnston, Henry Kaiser (Crazy Backwards Alphabet), Annette Krebs, Thollem McDonas, Lisa Mezzacappa, Butch Morris, Matt Nelson, Hexlove aka Zac Nelson, Kanoko Nishi, Nick Podgurski (Extra Life), Porest aka Mark Gergis, Gino Robair, Aram Shelton, John Shiurba, SF Sound, Damon Smith, Moe! Staiano, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Raphael Vanoli (Knaalpot), Weasel Walter (The Flying Luttenbachers), Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE), Wobbly (Negativland), Tune-yards, William Winant (Mr. Bungle), Kenny Wollesen (Sex Mob), Theater of Yugen, dancers Leyya Mona Tawil, Yuko Kaseki, and Manuela Tessi."

-Ava Mendoza Website (http://avamendozamusic.com/bio.html)
3/25/2024

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"Since his arrival in New York, pianist, composer, and bandleader George Burton has been on the radar of everyone who follows innovations in jazz. But that's not surprising; Burton's experience is wide-ranging and deep. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he grew up playing classical violin and viola while absorbing gospel and blues at home and in high school went on to play with Philly hard-bop legend Bootsie Barnes, while learning the subtleties of the genre from some of the veteran pianists on the Philly scene, notably Sid Simmons and Shirley Scott. He had a long tenure as the pianist for Odean Pope's saxophone choir, and from there he earned a place on the world stage with some of the most significant practitioners of post-bop and the avant-garde - from Eddie Henderson to James Carter to the Sun Ra Arkestra.

Burton's own work is in a category by itself: he brings not only stunning technique, but original music that unites all the dimensions of his experience. For George, newness and wandering is a constant that is steeped in being a prodigious composer and classically trained virtuoso instrumentalist. His breathtakingly eclectic approach, channeled through the dynamic performances of his bands, puts Burton's ensembles among the most cutting edge groups on the scene, leaving listeners to wonder if the fugitive magic of his live shows could ever be captured in a recording. The answer to that question is always, a YES. [...]"

-George Burton Website (http://www.georgeburtonmusic.com/epk)
3/25/2024

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"Mike Pride: Percussionist • Composer • Vocalist • Visual Artist

Born and raised in Southern Maine, but based out of New York City since 2000, Mike Pride currently performs solo, leads modern-jazz quartet From Bacteria To Boys, the 7-drummer installation-band Drummer's Corpse, and the MDC piano trio I Hate Work. He also co-leads the ensembles Pulverize The Sound (w/ Peter Evans and Tim Dahl), and Period (w/ Charlie Looker and Chuck Bettis). Pride is renowned for his ability to excel in a wide range of genres and ensembles. He has worked with everyone from improvised music icon Anthony Braxton to punk legends Millions Of Dead Cops, toured extensively on four continents, appeared on more than 100 recordings, and is currently touring the world opening for comedian Amy Schumer with Jason Stein's Locksmith Isidore.

A short list of his collaborators includes Mick Barr, Tim Berne, Boredoms, Eugene Chadbourne, Nels Cline, Andrew D'Angelo, Trevor Dunn, Dynamite Club, Peter Evans, Charles Gayle, Milford Graves, Drew Gress, Mary Halvorson, Curtis Hasselbring, Nona Hendryx, Jon Irabagon, Brad Jones, Haino Keiji, Kirk Knuffke, George Lewis, Frank Lowe, Bill McHenry, Tony Malaby, Sam Mickens, Butch Morris, Joe Morris, William Parker, Marc Ribot, Matana Roberts, Herb Robertson, Jamie Saft, Sonny Simmons, Craig Wedren, Nate Wooley, Otomo Yoshihide and John Zorn.

Pride's versatility doesn't end with his eclectic résumé as a popular sideman and leader/co-leader of many active ensembles spanning the worlds of modern-jazz, avant-rock, noise and doom metal improv. He is also a busy educator and clinician, a soundtrack composer for TV shows, video games, podcasts, independent films, and websites, and an experienced and exhibited visual artist.

Mike proudly uses Yamaha Drums & hardware, Vic Firth striking implements, and Humes & Berg Cases."

-Mike Pride Website (http://mikepride.com/about/)
3/25/2024

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Track Listing:



CD1



1. Oreland 9:47

2. Herminie 8:37

3. St. Mary's Proctor 5:41

4. Baden 7:20

5. Can't Tell Shipp From Shohola 7:10

6. Slab 8:01

7. Rocks, Md 4:00

8. Punxsutawney 5:13

9. Stone Hill 4:26

10. Minersville 3:38

CD2



1. Drumore 3:55

2. Quarryville 5:31

3. Chrome 4:34

4. Bethlehem 5:21

5. Big Rock 5:06

6. Waddle 3:48

7. Geiger 4:12

8. Sparks 3:50

9. Energy 3:41

10. Power 4:52

11. Bangor 3:38

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Melodic and Lyrical Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Large Ensembles
Nate Wooley

Search for other titles on the label:
Hot Cup Records.


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Smith, Ches
Laugh Ash
(Pyroclastic Records)
A stunning album that effortlessly blends styles from jazz, electronics, minimalism and contemporary forms, rendered by an eclectic group of primarily NY artists including Nate Wooley, Jennifer Choi, James Brandin Lews, Oscar Noriega, Anna Webber, Shahzad Ismaily and Smith himself, in an exhilarating and well-balanced set of Smith compositions that inform and groove spectacularly!
Wooley, Nate
Moths
(Editions Verde)
Nate Wooley's exquisite improvised composition begins with a musical gesture and four parameters of change from each player--harmonic motion, articulation, extension, & physicality--which directs their "flight" in its slowly evolving pace, creating a varying mosaic of sound, as beautifully rendered by Laura Cocks (flute), Madison Greenstone (clarinet) and Eric Wubbels (keys & voice).
Perelman, Ivo / Nate Wooley / Mat Moran / Matt Maneri / Fred Lonberg-Holm / Joe Morris
Seven Skies Orchestra [2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (Fundacja Sluchaj!))
A rare setting for tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman in a larger ensemble: an exemplary sextet with trumpeter Nate Wooley and vibraphonist Matt Moran over a string section of Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, Joe Morris on bass and Mat Maneri on viola, recording a ten-part work sans drums or piano, allowing fascinating new orchestral possibilities performed with utmost creative mastery.
Nevai, Nandor
The Walls Of Song
(Psykomanteum)
A through-composed album of "Popular Brass & Military Songcraft" from composer, drummer and vocalist Nandor Nevai, in 9 original songs of cinematic vocals to the duo of bass trombones and a tonal percussion configuration including pedal timpani; and the world premiere of a previously unrecorded Krzysztof Penderecki instrumental conducted by Ron Stabinsky.
Wooley, Nate / Mutual Aid Music
Four Experiments [4 CD BOX SET]
(Pleasure of the Text Records)
Engaging an expanded version of the ensemble from his Mutual Aid Music, trumpeter Nate Wooley provides scores for his players in various configuration that challenge concepts of group composition, instrumental sound and resonance, idealized tones and the human voice, the development of melody and harmony in compositions, &c.; performers include Wooley, Seymore Wright, John McCowen, Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Cory Smythe, Luke Stewart, Eric Wubbels, &c.
Laubrock, Ingrid (w/ Jon Irabagon / Zeena Parkins / Tom Rainey)
Monochromes
(Intakt)
Saxophonist & composer Ingrid Laubrock's quartet with Jon Irabagon on sopranino sax, Zeena Parkins on electric harp and Tom Rainey on drums, in a work of conventional and graphic notation with text instructions, accompanied by fixed media tape pieces (monochromes), from Nate Wooley, Adam Matlock, Tom Rainey, and by JD Allen, David Breskin & Ingrid Laubrock manipulating Harry Bertoia sculptures.
Nevai, Nandor (w/ Peter Evans / Tim Dahl / Matt Nelson / Ron Stabinsky)
Classified Maths
(Psykomanteum)
An unusual quintet of prominent New York improvisers--Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on bass violin, Matt Nelson on tenor saxophone, and Ron Stabinsky on bass--performing Nandor Nevai's compositions: two Quintets and the two part "Sap Gloves"--Nevai performing on tenor sax, voice and conducting, blurring modern improv, chamber jazz and bizarre spoken word moments; outstanding and unsettling.
Nevai, Nandor / Peter Evans / Steve B / Ron Stabinsky
Trigesisextet for Brass + Gospel Power Walls
(Psykomanteum)
Two large-scale compositions from "Through-Composer of Brutal Classical" Nandor Nevai, scored for 35 brass players and a vocalist, accomplished through 10 layers of Peter Evans (trumpet, piccolo trumpet), 9 of Steve B (tenor trombone), 7 of Ron Stabinsky (bass trombone) and 10 of Nevai himself on tenor trombone & voice; plus "Gospel Power Walls" for a chorus of 5 (bad) people.
Pride, Mike
I Hate Work [ORANGE VINYL 2xLP]
(Rarenoise Records)
A warmly lyrical, mostly instrumental album of modern jazz that surprisingly takes it's title from legendary punk band MDC, and its songs from their 1982 debut album Millions of Dead Cops, led by NY drummer Mike Pride and performed with Jamie Saft (keys), Brad Jones (bass), Mick Bar (guitars) and on a few songs, vocalists JG Thirlwell (Foetus), Sam Mickens (The Dead Science) and Dave Dictor from MDC itself.
Three-Layer Cake (Mike Pride / Mike Watt / Brandon Seabrook)
Stove-Top [GREEN VINYL]
(Rarenoise Records)
Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome.
Three-Layer Cake (Mike Pride / Mike Watt / Brandon Seabrook)
Stove-Top
(Rarenoise Records)
Circumventing pandemic lockdowns, the trio of Brandon Seabrook on guitar, banjo & tapes, Mike Pride on drums, marimba, glockenspiel, bells & organ and Mike Watt on bass recorded their contributions in separate studios and file-shared to create this genre-merging album of free improv, rock, experimental and inexplicable forms; an inspired and seriously unique album of challenges overcome.
Nevai, Nandor / Peter Evans / Steve B / Ron Stabinsky
Trigesisextet for Brass + Gospel Power Walls
(Psykomanteum)
Two large-scale compositions from "Through-Composer of Brutal Classical" Nandor Nevai, scored for 35 brass players and a vocalist, accomplished through 10 layers of Peter Evans (trumpet, piccolo trumpet), 9 of Steve B (tenor trombone), 7 of Ron Stabinsky (bass trombone) and 10 of Nevai himself on tenor trombone & voice; plus "Gospel Power Walls" for a chorus of 5 (bad) people.
Pulverize the Sound (Evans, Peter / Tim Dahl / Mike Pride)
Black
(Relative Pitch)
Appropriately recorded at Seizures Palace in Brooklyn, the 3rd release from the NY trio Pulverize the Sound of Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on electric bass and Mike Pride on drums & glockenspiel, expands on this 10 year working band's assertive approach to collective free improv, doing so with innovation, breathtaking technical skill and a wide range of mood and texture.
Gut, Gudrun / Nathan Wooley / Chris Corsano
The Painter [VINYL]
(JUBG)
The soundtrack to the German film The Painter by director Oliver Hirschbiegel in collaboration with Oliver Hirschbiegel, the first side a diverse set of compositions from electronic musician Gudrun Gut, a one-time member of Einstürzende Neubauten; the second side a set of assertive acoustic improvisations from trumpeter Nate Wooley, alone or in duo with drummer Chris Corsano.
Columbia Icefield (Nate Wooley / Mary Halvorson / Ryan Sawyer)
Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes
(Pyroclastic Records)
The second outing for trumpeter and composer Nate Wooley's Columbia Icefield band with Mary Halvorson on guitar, Susan Alcorn on pedal steel guitar, Ryan Sawyer on drums, plus violist Mat Maneri and bassist Trevor Dunn joining for one track; an album of sublime and subtly complex sondscapes in beautiful abstractions that evolve to exceptional group and solo interplay.
Flying Luttenbachers, The
Imminent Death [VINYL 2 LPs]
(God Records)
The ever-shifting lineup of jazz/no-wave/avant/aberrant improvisers The Flying Luttenbachers, anchored by drummer Weasel Walters, brings multi-reedist Matt Nelson, two guitarists (Brandon Seabrook & Henry Kaiser), bassist Tim Dahl and Brad Laner on synth for an aggressively informed and excitingly unpredictable album of superb playing and possibly bad intention; recommended!
Flying Luttenbachers, The (Walter / Dahl / Battistoni / Nelson / Ospovat)
Terror Iridescence
(ugEXPLODE)
Perhaps the darkest and most experimental album from the Flying Luttenbachers, the 4th from the NYC-based version of Weasel Walter on guitars & drums+bagpipe chanter & electronics, Tim Dahl on bass, Katie Battistoni on guitar, Matt Nelson on sax & live electronics and Sam Ospovat on drums, in two extended, terrific collective improvisations.
Evans, Peter Ensemble (w/ Swift / Stabinsky / Lorenzo)
Horizons [VINYL]
(More Is More)
After a few years of working, touring and one-off performances in New York City with Mazz Swift (violin & voice), Ron Stabinsky (synthesizers) and Levy Lorenzo (percussion & electronics), trumpeter Peter Evans recorded this incredible album, a new direction in his work with small ensembles, incorporating electronics into his exceptional compositions for creative improvisation.
Mendoza, Ava
New Spells [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD]
(Astral Spirits)
A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.
Mendoza, Ava
New Spells
(Relative Pitch)
A joint release between Astral Spirts and Relative Pitch, guitarist Ava Mendoza conjures five assertive and rugged "spells" performed on solo electric guitar, passionate works of raw technical skill and bold power as she improvises over two songs composed by herself, alongside pieces written for her from Devin Hoff, Trevor Dunn and John Dikeman.
Nevai, Nandor (w/ Peter Evans / Tim Dahl / Matt Nelson / Ron Stabinsky)
Classified Maths
(Psykomanteum)
An unusual quintet of prominent New York improvisers--Peter Evans on trumpet, Tim Dahl on bass violin, Matt Nelson on tenor saxophone, and Ron Stabinsky on bass--performing Nandor Nevai's compositions: two Quintets and the two part "Sap Gloves"--Nevai performing on tenor sax, voice and conducting, blurring modern improv, chamber jazz and bizarre spoken word moments; outstanding and unsettling.
J. & F. Band, The (Fonda / Tononi / Durante / Grissom / Irabagon / Parrini / Rodgers / Sharrard)N
Me and the Devil
(Long Song Records)
A powerful and effusive jazz rocking and danceable album of instrumentals and songs from the Italian/International J & F Band of drummer Tiziano Tononi, bassist Joe Fonda, plus guitarists David Grissom, Bobby Lee Rodgers & Scott Sharrard, keyboardist Pee Wee Durante, violinist Emanuele Parrini and saxophonist Jon Irabagon, recording in New Haven, CT; get it on!
Lafkas, Andrew
Two Paths with Active Shadows Under Three Moons and Surveillance
(Sacred Realism)
Composer Andrew Lafkas' large ensemble piece with performers including C. Spencer Yah, Ron Stabinsky, Barry Weisblat, Sean Meehan, Ben Owen, &c. is a meditative work intended for live performance, this album the 2nd of 3 performances, a brooding and resonant rendering of rich and subtle detail that evolves over 70 minutes, carrying its listeners in a profound revery.
Icepick (Nate Wooley / Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten / Chris Corsano)
Hellraiser [VINYL]
(Astral Spirits)
The 3rd album from the improvising trio of Nate Wooley on trumpet, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass, and Chris Corsano on drums, is a live recording at the 2018 Experimental Sound Studio's Option Series, a smoldering session of collective improvisation that builds tension through impressive rhythmic texture and releases it in cathartic and passionate passages.
Dunmall / Owston / Jozwiak / Iragabon
Awoto
(FMR)
New York saxophonist Jon Irabagon, performing on alto and Swanee saxophone, joins alto & tenor saxophonist Paul Dunmall for a burning live performance at Sanson Studios in Birmingham in a quartet with bassist James Owston and drummer Tymek Jozwiak, the saxophones weaving and climbing over the powerful and adept rhythm section; formidable!



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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