A superb octet including pianist and leader Kris Davis providing innovative compositions, with the powerful support of Ben Goldberg, Oscar Noriega, Joachim Badenhorst & Andrew Bishop on reeds, Nate Radley on guitar, Gary Versace on organ, and Jim Black on drums.
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Sample The Album:
Ben Goldberg-bass clarinet, contra alto clarinet, clarinet
Oscar Noriega-bass clarinet, clarinet
Joachim Badenhorst-bass clarinet, clarinet
Andrew Bishop-contrabass clarinet, clarinet
Nate Radley-guitar
Gary Versace-organ
Jim Black-drums
Kris Davis-piano, compositions
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UPC: 5609063003215
Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF322
Squidco Product Code: 20835
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: Portugal
Packaging: Cardstock Gatefold Sleeve
Recorded at SearSound in New York City, New York on January 7th and 8th, 2014 by Ron saint Germain.
"This masterpiece is a major work for Kris Davis and her definititive breakthrough as a major composer in XXI century American music. Grea line up and total dedication from all musicians involved. Soundwise this is also a top recording. If you're following Kris recordings you know that she never repeats herself rather looking for new ways of expression."-Clean Feed
"Introduced on her 2015 Clean Feed album Save Your Breath, Kris Davis' Infrasound octet is a monster of a band capable of delivering a gargantuan punch. Creative jazz pianist/composer Davis is joined here by drummer Jim Black, organist Gary Versace, and electric guitarist Nate Radley, and as if they weren't enough to rattle the windows, peerless clarinetists Ben Goldberg, Oscar Noriega, Joachim Badenhorst, and Andrew Bishop add the deep vibrations of their bass and contrabass instruments to the ensemble. Then, for added oomph, Davis enlisted rock veteran producer Ron Saint Germain (Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Living Colour) to engineer and mix the session. The album's opening moments display Davis' Infrasound conception at its most acute, as "Union Forever" (aka "Union" on the 2012 album of the same name by Paradoxical Frog) begins with a circular spiraling motif layered in counterpoint; after a brief retreat, the group's phrasing becomes more clipped and knotty, accentuated by Black's powerfully incisive drumwork in bold contrast to the rounded tones of the clarinets. As the electric instruments enter, "Union Forever" becomes downright Rock in Opposition-tinged avant-proggy, but the octet remains improvisational at heart, with dark chording beneath a moody Noriega clarinet feature as the music escalates in urgency, retreating and then ramping up into a dissonant and powerfully pounding finale with second soloist Versace abandoning all sense of restraint in his keyboard attack.
Massive pummeling chords and Badenhorst's deep roaring beast of a bass clarinet mark the conclusion of the 12-minute "Whirly Swirly" (rearranged from Davis' 2014 trio recording Waiting for You to Grow), emerging out of the tune's cavernous drifting center and an opening free vs. funk battle with Versace on bass keys, Radley increasingly unmoored, and Davis repeating an off-kilter riff like a needle stuck on Monk. "Jumping Over Your Shadow" and "Always Leave Them (Wanting More)," two of the four Davis compositions premiered here, begin in expansive spaces for timbral exploration -- including avant jazz's de rigueur bass clarinet multiphonics and reed pops in the former -- and proceed through all manner of rough and tumble into tightly focused conclusions. Black, Versace, and a deeply bluesed-up Goldberg form a choppy little trio on "Jumping" before piano, guitar, and clarinets appear, stunningly tight, in harmonically advanced angular accents to the groove; "Always Leave Them" pits Davis, Radley, and Black in skittering free jazz mode against long bass clarinet harmonies before the tune wraps as a dark processional not unlike Belgian avant-proggers Univers Zero in tone. Some listeners might hear even more avant-prog stylings in Versace's quirky, Miriodor-ish organ motif on "The Ghost of Your Previous Fuckup," but improvisation also reigns in the track's full-ensemble cacophony, Davis and Black's wildly energized duet, and Bishop's didgeridoo-like contrabass clarinet vibrations. In a somewhat curious but affecting move, Save Your Breath's 15-minute closing track shares the album's title but stands as an outlier of sorts, floating in deeply immersive ambience and gradually taking more explicit form as something quietly and mysteriously alluring."-Dave Lynch, All Music
Get additional information at All Music
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Ben Goldberg "Ben Goldberg is an American clarinet player and composer. Born August 8, 1959 (age 58) in Denver, Colorado. He grew up in Denver, Colorado. Goldberg grew up playing clarinet, playing in school bands, and has an undergraduate music degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Master of Arts in composition from Mills College. He was a pupil of clarinetist Rosario Mazzeo, and studied with Steve Lacy and Joe Lovano. Interested in the intersection between jazz (the music) and clarinet (the instrument), Goldberg started exploring the rich clarinet traditions found in klezmer music. After a stint with the Bay Area band The Klezmorim, he branched out and created his own band, the New Klezmer Trio, named after the New Tango Quintet,[citation needed] with Dan Seamans and Kenny Wollesen. This was the first of many ensembles that Goldberg would lead and/or participate in, primarily in and around the Bay Area. The New Klezmer Trio has produced three albums and the free improvisation on "Masks and Faces" was described as having "kicked open the door for radical experiments with Ashkenazi roots music." Goldberg's musicality is inspiring, to audiences and to his fellow musicians; "Sometimes the most influential musicians are the ones who don't call much attention to themselves. Take Berkeley clarinetist Ben Goldberg, who for the past two decades has quietly inspired some of the Bay Area's most creative musicians." In addition to composing for and playing in the Ben Goldberg Quintet, he has performed in the groups Tin Hat, Plays Monk, Myra Melford's Be Bread, Nels Cline's New Monastery, Afterlife Music Radio, and Go Home. The eleven-piece Ben Goldberg's Brainchild performs his on-the-spot compositions. Goldberg has played with Bill Frisell, Don Byron, Ellery Eskelin, Jenny Scheinman, John Zorn, Mark Dresser, Mark Feldman, Miya Masaoka, Roswell Rudd, Steven Bernstein, Vijay Iyer, Wayne Horvitz, and Zeena Parkins. Goldberg is also the founder of the music label BAG Production. Recently Goldberg has branched out into songwriting. His "Orphic Machine" project, largely commissioned by Chamber Music America, premiered at the Jewish Music Festival in March 2012 and was also performed in Los Angeles, California. The song-cycle is based on the writings of Allen Grossman and, for one critic, "the piece's thoughtful, sprawling compositions course through such a variety of styles and open-ended impulses that it would be tempting to dub this a new kind of world music." Regarding songwriting and composing, in a 2010 profile piece in All About Jazz, Goldberg said, "I don't just want to give people something that they can appreciate or understand, or that makes them think, or something like that. I used to kind of feel that that's what I wanted to do, but that's not what I want anymore. I want to give people something that they can love." " ^ Hide Bio for Ben Goldberg • Show Bio for Oscar Noriega "Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Oscar lives in Brooklyn since 1992. He has worked with Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, Gerry Hemingway, Dewey Redman and Paul Motion. He is currently performing with Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Endangered Blood (Chris Speed, Jim Black, Trevor Dunn) and colead with Jacob Garchik, the Mexico-inspired Banda De Los Muertos. He plays alto saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet and drums." ^ Hide Bio for Oscar Noriega • Show Bio for Joachim Badenhorst "Joachim Badenhorst (°1981 Antwerp) has been active in the experimental and improvised music scene in Europe and abroad for the past 15 years. Following his master degree in jazz studies at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, he has since divided his time between Belgium and cities in the US and Europe, collaborating and recording with jazz and experimental music ensembles and artists, such as Han Bennink, Tony Malaby and Noël Akchoté while incessantly exploring the visceral elements of sound. His output ranges from solo improvisation to leading large formations, such as his own Carate Urio Orchestra. Badenhorst is artistically interested in integrating ideas from various different art medias into his musical compositions. He also takes deep interest in revealing the inherent relation between contemporary and traditional musics, having collaborated with traditional musicians from Turkey and Japan, and toured in China with reinterpreted traditional Chinese music. In recent years, Badenhorst is contemplating the evanescent site specificity of sound as well as the relation between space and sound. In recent years, his work has taken a deeper focus on composition, namely that of computerbased composition and processing. Through continual research and experiment, he delves into a reimagination of the boundaries between improvisation and composition, of abstract sound explorations and harmonic passage, and continues to attempt at a personal aesthetic language that interact with spaces and engage with different audiences. Badenhorst appears on over 50 cd's on over 10 record labels. In 2012, he launched his own label KLEIN, as a creative platform to initiate collaborations, experiment and play with unconventional design, and as an outlet for fringe musical projects. Since 2010 Badenhorst has been developing his solo programme consisting of improvisations and compositions for solo acoustic and electroacoustic wind instruments." ^ Hide Bio for Joachim Badenhorst • Show Bio for Gary Versace "Since basing himself in NYC in 2002, originally hailing from Cos Cob, CT, jazz pianist, organist and accordionist Gary Versace has become one of the busiest and most versatile musicians on the scene, often featured in bands led by musicians such as John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Al Foster, Regina Carter, Maria Schneider, Madeleine Peyroux, Matt Wilson, Joe Magnarelli, Andy LaVerne, Adam Nussbaum, Brad Shepik, Ingrid Jensen and many others. Recent CD releases include appearances as pianist on Ralph Alessi's 'Quiver" (ECM records) which received 4.5 stars in Downbeat, as accordionist on Maria Schneider's Grammy-winning 'The Thompson Fields,' as Hammond organist on Ellery Eskelin's 'Trio Willisau: Live' and Rich Perry's 'Organique,' and on all three instruments on Kurt Elling's 'Passion World.' Versace won the "Rising Star' category on the Hammond organ in Downbeat's Critic's Poll in 2009 and 2010, and has placed in the primary Organ category consistently for the last 5 years. He won the Jazz Jounalists' Association's "Best Organist" award in 2012, and his work has been reviewed and featured in many national and international publications. He appeared twice as a guest on Marian McPartland's acclaimed NPR show 'Piano Jazz,' and McPartland has described him as '...endlessly inventive...(Versace) really has an extraordinary talent.' He has several CD's under his own name on the SteepleChase and Criss Cross labels, and has appeared as a guest on almost 75 more. Gary Versace has a masters degree in music performance from the Eastman School of Music, and spent eight years as a tenured associate professor in the jazz studies department at the University of Oregon. He remains active as a clinician and guest soloist both nationally and around the world." ^ Hide Bio for Gary Versace • Show Bio for Jim Black 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. ^ Hide Bio for Jim Black • Show Bio for Kris Davis "Pianist-composer Kris Davis has blossomed as one of the singular talents on the New York jazz scene, a deeply thoughtful, resolutely individual artist who offers "uncommon creative adventure," according to JazzTimes. The Vancouver-born, Brooklyn-residing Davis was dubbed one of the music's top up-and-comers in a 2012 New York Times article titled "New Pilots at the Keyboard," with the newspaper saying: "Over the past couple years in New York, one method for deciding where to hear jazz on a given night has been to track down the pianist Kris Davis." Reviewing one of the series of striking albums Davis has released over the past half-decade, the Chicago Sun-Times lauded the "sense of kaleidoscopic possibilities" in her playing and compositions. Long favored by her peers and jazz fans in the know, Davis has earned high praise from no less than star pianist and MacArthur "Genius" Grant honoree Jason Moran, who included her in his Best of 2012 piece in Art Forum, writing: "A freethinking, gifted pianist on the scene, Davis lives in each note that she plays. Her range is impeccable; she tackles prepared piano, minimalism and jazz standards, all under one umbrella. I consider her an honorary descendant of Cecil Taylor and a welcome addition to the fold." The newest album from Davis as a leader is Capricorn Climber (Clean Feed, 2013), with the pianist joined by kindred spirits Ingrid Laubrock (tenor saxophone), Mat Maneri (viola), Trevor Dunn (double-bass) and Tom Rainey (drums). Davis made her debut on record as a leader with Lifespan (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2003), followed by three progressively inventive and acclaimed albums for the Fresh Sound label: the quartet discs The Slightest Shift (2006) and Rye Eclipse (2008), then the trio set Good Citizen (2010). Davis's 2011 solo piano album on Clean Feed, Aeriol Piano, appeared on Best of the Year lists in The New York Times, JazzTimes and Art Forum. Davis wrote the extraordinary arrangements for saxophonist-composer Tony Malaby's nonet project Novela, with the album Novela released by Clean Feed in 2011 and appearing on Best of the Year lists in DownBeat and JazzTimes. The pianist is also part of the collaborative Paradoxical Frog with Laubrock and drummer Tyshawn Sorey; their eponymous 2011 album on Clean Feed was included on Best of the Year lists by National Public Radio, The New York Times and All About Jazz. In addition to her work as a leader, Davis has performed with such top figures as Paul Motian, Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, John Hollenbeck, Michael Formanek and Mary Halvorson. Davis started playing piano at age 6, studying classical music through the Royal Conservatory in Canada and formulating her desire for a life in music by playing in the school jazz band at age 12. She earned a bachelor's degree in Jazz Piano from the University of Toronto and attended the Banff Centre for the Arts jazz program in 1997 and 2000. The pianist received a Canada Council grant to relocate to New York and study composition with Jim McNeely, then another to study extended piano techniques with Benoit Delbecq in Paris. She holds a master's in Classical Composition from the City College of New York, and she teaches at the School for Improvised Music. The Jazz Gallery has given Davis a commissioning residency to write for her trio with Rainey and John Hébert to take place in May 2013, and the Shifting Foundation awarded her a grant to compose and record a large-ensemble project. About her art, JazzTimes has declared: "Davis draws you in so effortlessly that the brilliance of what she's doing doesn't hit you until the piece has slipped past." " ^ Hide Bio for Kris Davis
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Track Listing:
1. Union Forever 9:24
2. Jumping over Your Shadow 10:35
3. Always Leave Them (Wanting More) 10:00
4. Whirly Swirly 11:49
5. The Gost of Your Previous Fuckup 9:37
6. Save Your Breath 14:29
Improvised Music
Jazz
Clean Feed
Octet Recordings
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
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