Nu Band with trumpeter Roy Campbell, saxophonist Mark Whitecage, bassist Joe Fonda, and Lou Grassi, in their 5th album after 10 years together, performing live in Paris.
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Sample The Album:
Roy Campbell Jr.-trumpet, pocket trumpet, flugelhorn, flute
Mark Whitecage-alto sax, clarinet
Joe Fonda-bass
Lou Grassi-drums, percussion
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Limited edition of 300 copies
UPC: 4771906004732
Label: NoBusiness
Catalog ID: NBLP23
Squidco Product Code: 13552
Format: LP
Condition: New
Released: 2010
Country: Lithuania
Packaging: LP
Recorded October 15th, 2007 at Atelier Tampon-Ramier, Paris, France by Adrian Riffo.
"Few bands can carry the sound of "free jazz" so well as The Nu Band, consisting of Roy Campbell on trumpets and flute, Mark Whitecage on alto and clarinet, Joe Fonda on bass, and Lou Grassi on drums, all four seasoned musicians who demonstrate again what experience can mean in a freely improvised environment.
Three tracks are fully improvised, with Lou Grassi's "Avanti Galoppi" one of the band's essentials on the playlist, starting with a composed theme and concept.
"Somewhere Over The Seine", is free jazz in its purest nature : implicit rhythms, yet great pulse and drive, with Whitecage and Campbell demonstrating their fabulous skills, soaring, flying, howling, slowing down for Fonda's solo, when he picks up his bow for some meditative and almost quiet minutes, with Campbell's muted horn joining the sad weeping, which suddenly becomes more abstract, then Whitecage starts a swinging theme on his sax, and the rest of the band follows suit, joining the mood and rhythm.
The second piece, "Bolero Francaise" (sic), is a slow and melancholy piece, not exactly the dance the title refers to, that gradually picks up tempo and volume, leading to the kind of open-ended avalanche of sound, massive and expansive, over the endless rumbling of Grassi's toms, with Campbell and Whitecage surpassing themselves.
"Avanti Galoppi" then, has a high speed bass and drum forward propulsion, as the title suggests, and a great slow theme, worthy of the best in jazz history, that both horn-players slowly start to diverge from and expand on, full of soul and blues and sadness, while the hypnotic galop continues at steady speed, without once changing for the whole thirteen minutes, until the whole thing comes to a grinding halt in the last five seconds.
"The Angle Of Repose", the last track, starts somewhat in free form, searching for its own nature, but gradually Fonda and Campbell give the piece a boppish drive, in a truly terrific duet between trumpet and bass, until the magic erupts when Grassi and Whitecage join, delving up jazz history in the process and making it shine, shine, shine, ... and the great thing about this band is that they take themselves not too seriously: fun erupts, some silly interplay, some crazy shouts, a wild drum solo and a grand finale.
Wow, I love this band and its great music."-Stef, FreeJazzStef
"The release of this, our fifth album, coincides with the tenth anniversary of our first concert together, in Philadephia in 2000. Thanks to all the friends, fans, promoters, and producers who have made it possible for us to continue playing, recording, and touring together all these years. It's a privilege and pleasure for us and we look forward to sharing the next decade with all of you."-The Nu Band
Also available as an LPLimited edition of 300 copies
Get additional information at Freejazz-Stef @ Blogspot
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Mark Whitecage "Mark Whitecage is an American jazz reedist. Whitecage played in his father's family ensemble as early as age six. In the 1980s, he played with Gunter Hampel's Galaxy Dream Band, Jeanne Lee, and Saheb Sarbib. After touring solo in Europe in 1986, he put together two bands as a leader, Liquid Time and the Glass House Ensemble. In the 1990s, and his first release with Liquid Time was chosen by Cadence Magazine as one of the year's best albums. He worked in the Improvisers Collective from 1994, and began releasing albums on CIMP in 1996 Late in the 1990s he worked with Anthony Braxton, including in performances of Braxton's opera, Trillium R. He has also played with William Parker, Perry Robinson, Joe Fonda, Dominic Duval, Joe McPhee, and Steve Swell. He is married to clarinetist Rozanne Levine; they perform together with Perry Robinson in a trio called Crystal Clarinets." ^ Hide Bio for Mark Whitecage • Show Bio for Joe Fonda "Joe Fonda is a composer, bassist, recording artist, interdisciplinary performer, producer and educator. An accomplished international Jazz artist, Fonda has performed with his own ensembles throughout the United States ,Canada , Europe and Asia. He has collaborated and performed with such artists as Anthony Braxton ,Archie Shepp, Ken McIntyre, Lou Donaldson, Bill and Kenny Barron, Leo Smith, Perry Robinson, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, , Bill Dixon, Han Bennink, Bobby Naughton, Xu Fengia, Randy Weston, Gebhard Ullmann, Carla Bley, Carlo Zingaro, Barry Altschul, Billy Bang. Fonda was the bassist with the renowned Anthony Braxton sextet, octet, tentet, from 1984 through 1999. Fonda also sat on the Board of Directors from 1994 to 1999, and was the President from 1997 to 1999 of the newly formed Tri-Centric Foundation. He has also performed with the 38-piece Tri-Centric orchestra under the direction of Anthony Braxton, and was the bassist for the premiere performance of Anthony Braxton's opera, Shalla Fears for the Poor, performed at the John Jay Theater in New York, New York, October 1996. As a composer, Fonda has been the recipient of numerous grants and commissions From Meet the Composer New York and the New England Foundation on the Arts . He has released twelve recordings under his own name. (Reviews and recordings available). Fonda was also a member of The Creative Musicians Improvisors Forum directed by Leo Smith, and was the bassist with the American Tap Dance Orchestra in New York City, directed by world renowned tap dancer, Brenda Bufalino. In 1989, Fonda performed with Fred Ho's Jazz and Peking opera in its world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. From 1982 to 1986 Fonda was the bassist and dancer with the Sonomama Dance Company. An independent producer since 1978, Fonda is the founding director of Kaleidoscope Arts an interdisciplinary performance ensemble and is the producer and musicial director for the Connecticut Composers and improvisors Festival from 2001 to 2011. Currently Fonda has been recording and touring extensively with the Fonda-Stevens Group, Conference Call , The Fab Trio, The Nu Band and Bottoms Out , with performances at the Bim huis in Amsterdam, Holland, Prague Jazz Festival, Czech Republic, Jazz Halo Festival, Belgium, Jazz Festival Thurinsen, Weimer, Germany, Berlin Jazz Festival Berlin Germany , Jazz Im Agusto Festival Lisbon Portugal, Natt Jazz Festival Bergen Norway, The Vision Festival New York, New York, Jazz and More Festival Sibiu Romania, Bakau Jazz Festival ,Azerbijan, Tondela Jazz Festival Tondala portugal , Vancouver Jazz Festival ,Vancouver Canada, Guelph Jazz Festival ,Guelph Canada . Two of Fonda's most recent projects are From the Source, The Off Road Quartet. From the Source is a group that incorporates the tap dancing and poetry of Brenda Bufalino and the healing arts of Vicki Dodd, and four jazz musicians. The group has released their first CD entitled, Joe Fonda and From the Source, on Konnex Records. The Off Road Quartet is comprised of four musicians from four different countries. Ux Fengia from Beijing China , Carlos Zingaro from Lisbon Portugal , Lucas Niggle from Zurich Switzerland and Joe Fonda New York USA. The Off Road Quartet blends the musics from all four of these musicians cultures into a unique musicial and visual experence." ^ Hide Bio for Joe Fonda • Show Bio for Lou Grassi "Lou Grassi is internationally known for his work in both the traditional and the avant-garde jazz worlds. He has literally played from Ragtime to No-Time - he toured with Ragtime pianist Max Morath and is the leader of the Dixie Peppers. He has performed and/or recorded with a wide range of outstanding artists including Marshall Allen, Billy Bang, Borah Bergman, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, The Copascetics, James Garrison, Charles Gayle, Burton Greene, Urbie Green, Gunter Hampel, Johnny Hartman, Fred van Hove, Joseph Jarman, Sheila Jordan, William Parker, Perry Robinson, Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai, and Mark Whitecage. Lou appears on more than 70 recordings including more than 30 as a leader or co-leader. Lou has toured extensively, performing throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Russia and Central America. He has been a featured artist at numerous international festivals including The Stork Music Festival, NYC; The Vision Festival, NYC; The Texaco New York Jazz Festival, NYC; The Rochester Jazz Festival, Rochester, NY; Summer's End Music Festival, Middletown, CT; Rive de Gier International Jazz Festival, France; Festas Lisboa, Portugal; CAMP 99, Tubingen, Germany; The Guelph Jazz Festival, Canada, Festival Frei Improvisierter Music, Dresden, Germany, the WIM Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, The Hurta Codell Festival of Improvised Music, Madrid, Spain and Egdefest, Ann Arbor, MI He has also performed at Banlieues Bleues Festival, Paris, France; Luneburg Jazz Nights, Germany; The Bell Atlantic Jazz Festival, NYC and The International Dixieland Festival of Dresden, Germany." ^ Hide Bio for Lou Grassi
10/11/2024
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10/11/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
10/11/2024
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
Side A
1. Bolero Francaise 25:31
Side B
1. Avanti Galoppi 12:50
2. The Angle of Repose 11:44
Vinyl Recordings
Improvised Music
Jazz
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Quartet Recordings
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