The Squid's Ear Magazine


Costa's Acustica, Carlo: Strata (Neither/Nor Records)

New York composer and drummer Carlo Costa assembled this accomplished ensemble of NY improvisers for a live performance at IBeam in Brooklyn, capturing his piece "Strata" that evolves layers of sound from very sparse to densely yet accesibly stacked sound, varying recurring material to change perspectives in the aural space as the piece progresses; impressive.
 

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Personnel:



Kyungmi Lee-flute, piccolo flute

Joe Moffett-trumpet

Ben Gerstein-trombone

Dan Peck-tuba

Nathaniel Morgan-alto saxophone

Jonathan Moritz-tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone

Jean-Brice Godet-clarinet, bass clarinet

Miranda Sielaff-viola

Todd Neufeld-acoustic guitar

Jesse Stacken-piano

Sean Ali-double bass

Pascal Niggenkemper-double bass

Carlo Costa-percussion


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UPC: 700261431383

Label: Neither/Nor Records
Catalog ID: n/n 004
Squidco Product Code: 26136

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded live at IBeam, in Brooklyn, New York, on May 20th, 2014, by Jon Rosenberg.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The title of this piece refers to the layers of sedimentary rock and soil, known as strata (singular: stratum), which can be observed as horizontal stripes of different colored or differently structured material in cliffs, river banks or in excavations. In this piece the idea was to utilize layers of sound in different combinations ranging from spare single layers to densely stacked multiple layers while retaining a level of transparency throughout. The recurring material is presented in different contexts and each time takes a different place in the layers creating the effect of a change of perspective in the aural space."-Carlo Costa


Artist Biographies

"Kyungmi Lee is a Korean-American flutist, pianist and performance artist. Her current projects include the band Guajira Deer Park (w/ Gary Heidt, Cassandra Victoria Chopourian, Clete de Beat, Ashley de Vries and Richard Gross), the Red Oak Contemporary Ensemble, and the theatre collective The Perceiver of Sound League. Her past projects include Kale Elk a duo with keyboardist and mask maker Liz Kosack, and Mariel Berger's Four Flutes Ensemble with flutists Anna Webber, Martha Cargo and Roberts Michael, and Mariel Berger on piano and compositions. Lee lives in Jersey City."

-Neither/Nor (http://www.neithernorrecords.com/neithernorrecords/artists.html)
11/20/2024

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

"New York-based trumpeter, improviser, and composer Joe Moffett approaches his work with a keen interest in unconventional sounds and forms, collective composition, and the intersection of words and music. He is co-founder of a number of ensembles such as Earth Tongues, with percussionist Carlo Costa and tubist Dan Peck; the Kaplan/Merega/Moffett Trio, which released its debut, Crows and Motives, in 2014 on Underwolf Records; and Trismegistus with bassist Sean Ali, trombonist Ben Gerstein, percussionist Devin Gray. Moffett's explorations into text and music are evident in his work with the experimental art song duo Twins of El Dorado, with vocalist Kristin Slipp. The ensemble's debut, Portend the End, was released on Prom Night Records in 2013."

-Neither/Nor Records (http://www.neithernorrecords.com/neithernorrecords/artists.html)
11/20/2024

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

"Ben Gerstein is a trombonist and artist from Santa Barbara, California. Based in New York City since 1995, he collaborates with groups and individuals around the world. His music and works explore influences of nature, composition, culture and art through improvisation, performance, multi-instrumental and mixed-media practices."

See also: http://bengerstein.com/index.html

-Pi Recordings (https://pirecordings.com/artists/ben-gerstein/)
11/20/2024

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

"Dan is a tubist currently living and working in New York City. Since his move there in 2005, he has been active as a soloist, improviser, and sideman in a wide variety of settings. Dan's current interests are in experimental music and improvisation, and he has performed at many of New York City's most respected venues for creative music including The Stone, Roulette, and Issue Project Room. Dan has collaborated with many New York artists, including Tony Malaby, Nate Wooley, Michael Attias, Ben Gerstein, Tom Rainey, Peter Evans, Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock, and Matthew Welch. Recent projects include recordings with Tony Malaby's Novela (Clean Feed), Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day Octet (482 Music), and Jeff Newell's New Trad Band. Dan will also be on a forthcoming Anthony Braxton release, featuring music from the Falling River Series in small ensembles from Wesleyan University.

Dan currently leads a trio comprised of himself, Tom Blancarte (bass) and Brian Osborne (percussion). The group plays a mix of freely improvised music and his compositions, some of which are influenced by music of the Doom Metal genre. Their debut LP, "Acid Soil", is out on the Heat Retention Records label. In March of 2011, the Trio completed a 9 day tour of the midwest/east coast.

Equally at home in more traditional jazz settings, Dan plays in the old-timey jazz band Grandpa Musselman and His Syncopators. The Syncopators appear frequently at high society events in and around New York City, and in 2007 took part in the Jazz at Aspen Festival, directed by bassist Christian McBride.

Dan also plays a lot of contemporary music. He has premiered solo tuba works at St. Bartholomew's Church, Merkin Hall, and The Stone. In 2009, Dan was featured as part of Kagel Nacht, a celebration of the music of composer Mauricio Kagel, in which he performed two of Kagel's solo works, Atem and Mirum. As an orchestral performer, Dan has played under great conductors such as James Levine and Herbert Blomstedt, and has worked personally with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann and Alvin Lucier. Dan is a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble, and has also worked with the American Composers Orchestra, Signal Ensemble, New York City Ballet, New World Symphony, and the Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. Dan recently recorded a DVD of Iannis Xenakis' chamber music for Mode Records, with the International Contemporary Ensemble and percussionist Steven Schick conducting.

Currently, Dan plays on the Broadway musical Chicago, and is adjunct-faculty at New Jersey City University."

-Dan Peck Website (http://danpeckmusic.com/bio.html)
11/20/2024

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

"Originally from Ventura, California saxophonist and composer Nathaniel Morgan has been an active participant to New York City's improvised music scene for almost a decade. His current projects include Darkminster (formally Buckminster) with saxophonist Peter Hanson and trumpeter Brad Henkle; Vavatican with Weston Minissali on synthesizer Owen Stewart-Robertson on guitar and Booker Startdrum on percussion, Jason Ajemian's Folklords with Owen Stewart-Robertson on guitar, Jason Ajemian on double bass and Jason Nazary on drums; Yolt with Weston Minissali on synthesizer and David Grollman on prepared snare drum; and Dybbuk a duo with percussionist David Grollman. Nathaniel is co-founder and member of the new music label Prom Night Records."

-Neither/Nor (http://www.neithernorrecords.com/neithernorrecords/artists.html)
11/20/2024

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

"Saxophonist, composer and educator Jonathan Moritz was born in Teheran, Iran in 1977. At an early age he moved to Southern California with his multicultural family of Persian, Jewish, Belgian upbringing and was surrounded by weekly family gatherings rich in dancing and dombak drumming that filled the house with the joy of improvisation. He moved to Belgium, where his paternal family lives, to study at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels ('95-'98) focusing on solidifying an academic foundation of straight ahead jazz. Drawn back to the West Coast, Moritz finished his BFA in Jazz Performance at California Institute of the Arts ('98-2000), combining his knowledge of jazz academia with the creative spirit of the family jams. Here he collaborated with dancers on projects like Noisy Clothes where he met French designer Elodie Blanchard, who became his wife. Jonathan Moritz has lived in Brooklyn with Elodie Blanchard and their son Gaspard since 2000 and has been performing and working professionally throughout New York City since. As an educator he has led workshops on improvisation at the Oakwood High School in Los Angeles, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and ISIM at UCSD, has directed an instrumental music program at the Morris H. Weiss School for the past 10 years and graduated from Brooklyn College (‘07) with a Master Degree in Music Education. Since 2005, Jonathan and Elodie have curated one of New York's most intimate and welcoming performance spaces, the Prospect Series, a house concert featuring innovative improvisers, Persian stew, a diverse audience and French hospitality.

Jonathan has recorded with musicians among the likes of Eugene Chadbourne, Ben Gerstein, John McLellan, Sam Mickens, Eivind Opsvik, Mike Pride, Jason Stein, Nate Wooley and Jack Wright;He has toured Belgium, the West Coast, Northeast and Southern USA;Played at festivals: KMB Jazz, New Atlantis (Washington D.C.), Undead Jazz and Vision;And venues such as: Issue Project Room, Roulette and The Stone, Zebulon and Barbes.

His first trio album as a leader, Xanadu, was described as"remindful of the Sonny Rollins Village Vanguard Sessions - with just tenor saxophone, bass, and drums, but more pertinently in terms of Moritz's Rollinsesque sound and rhythmic and motivic improvisational development... even though their passionate and thoughtfully mannered music-making borders on the avant-guard, they still are well within the comfort zone of most serious-minded mainstream jazz listeners. Sure to make my top ten for the year." -Russel Arthur Roberts. L.A. Jazz Scene. His most recent release features a trio with bassist Shayna Dulberger and drummer/percussionist Mike Pride.

Jonathan Moritz's Secret Tempo concentrates on modernizing the roles with an artistic focus on harmony, indeterminate rhythms, extended technique and a deep exploration of sound. Loaded with cadenzas, fermatas, solo breaks, counter rhythms, and codas this album is often free sounding but is surprisingly, highly arranged."

-Jonathan Moritz Website (http://www.jonathanmoritz.com/index.php/info/biography/)
11/20/2024

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

"Jean-Brice Godet starts clarinet at 8 years old at Colombes conservatory, where he was born, in Paris suburbs. Albert Ayler, Sonic Youth, György Ligeti, Duke Ellington and Buddy Guy, what convince him to use the way of free improvisation, The advices of Bernard Lubat, Louis Sclavis and Joëlle Léandre. In 2004, he gets a master in Computer Music Research (ATIAM) at Pierre and Marie Curie University And at IRCAM, and complements is musical education with the highest distinction of Gennevilliers Conservatory of Music, under the aegis of Nicolas Baldeyrou (solo-clarinet of the Philharmonic Of Radio-France "). With the In Sit-U collective he meets Fred Frith and works two weeks with him On an original creation. Few times later the joins the quintet Fröhn and plays on prestigious courses Like Le Petit Faucheux (Tours) or on the famous improv'music The Improviste . He creates his first silent-movie / live-music in 2004 on Le Ra t by Christophe Ali and Nicolas Bonilauri, silent movie in black and white realesed in 2000. The second one, create in 2011, on Berlin, die sinfonie der grosstatd (Walter Ruttmann, 1927) is a joint commission of SACEM and The City of Gennevilliers prompted by Bernard Cavanna . He plays since 2009 with Pablo Cueco ( Erythropus Quartet , The Ball Of The Contemporary ...) and With Anthony Braxton and Walter Thompson in 2010 in Brooklyn for a week of soundpainting Performance. He curates and played in Amok'Improv ' nights a dedicated improvised music serie With Sylvain Cathala and Fred Maurin between 2010 and 2012. He creates the MujôQuartet in 2012 in Brooklyn with Michaà "l Attias , Pascal Niggenkemper and Carlo Costa , in which they play his compositions, working on impermanence and imperfection. They Play in Paris and New York. He is co-leading also two trios, Zaal33 with Brussels-based Richard Comte (guitar) and Jean- Philippe Feiss (cello), and Capsul with England-based Matthew Bourne (piano) and EglishFrench Tam De Villiers (guitar). He collaborates regularly with Joëlle Léandre since 2012 in a few projects: a slient-movie / live-music Concert Mélies / Leandre , her new tentet Can You Hear Me? , And a new co-leaded quartet Ground (s) W / Mike Ladd (voice) and Benjamin Sanz (Drums)."

-http://jeanbricegodet.com/music/Bio_Contact_files/BiographyJBG2014.pdf Website (http://jeanbricegodet.com/music/Bio_Contact_files/BiographyJBG2014.pdf)
11/20/2024

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

"A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, violist Miranda Sielaff pursues a rich and varied musical career in New York City. She regularly performs and tours with several ensembles, including The Knights, the Caravel Trio, String Orchestra of New York City, and the composers' collective Wet Ink. She performed at Carnegie Hall's Making Music series with Pierre Boulez and the Lucerne Festival Academy. She has also played with Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, and appeared with The Knights and Itzhak Perlman at the 2012 Ravinia Festival. She can be heard with The Knights' albums on the labels SONY Classical and Ancalagon Records."

-Neither/Nor (http://www.neithernorrecords.com/neithernorrecords/artists.html)
11/20/2024

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

"Todd Neufeld is an electric and acoustic guitarist, born August 5th, 1981 in Huntington, NY.

Todd has performed and/or recorded as a member of the Lee Konitz Quartet,Masabumi Kikuchi's TPT Trio, Tyshawn Sorey's Koan, Oblique and other ensembles, Gerald Cleaver's NiMbNl,Dan Weiss Group, Tony Malaby Group, Samuel Blaser Quartet, Michael Adkins Quintet, Aaron Parks Quintet, Richie Barshay's RB3,Alexandra Grimal Quartet, Thomas Morgan Quartet, Rema Hasumi's UTAZATA band, Flin VanHemmen trio, Sergio Krakowski Trio, Vitor Goncavles quartet, Raphael Malfliet Trio and many others. He has performed at various venues, concert halls and festivals across New York, the United States,Canada, Europe and Japan.

In 2015 Todd co-founded, with Rema Hasumi, Ruweh Records. For the label Todd has produced four albums to date.On September 25th, 2017 Todd released his debut album as a leader, "Mu'U" on Ruweh Records. The album featuresa unique and special two-drummer band of Tyshawn Sorey, Billy Mintz, with Thomas Morgan on bass and Rema Hasumu on vocals.The band explores a set of Neufeld originals and improvisations in a highly sensitive and dynamic exploration.

Todd attended New York University in 1999, where he studied both English Literature and Music.It was at NYU that Todd began his study of classical composition and counterpoint.Throughout this and other periods Todd has benefited greatly from the private teachings ofJohn Quara, Joe Giglio, Chris Jentsch, Vanderlei Pereira, Bruce Arnold, Tony Moreno and Jeff Slatnick.

Aside from performing, Todd teaches guitar and music to students in the New York area.Todd currently resides in Brooklyn, NY."

-Todd Neufeld Website (https://www.toddneufeld.net/bio.html)
11/20/2024

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

"Jesse Stacken, "one of the most impressive pianists and composers of his generation," (NYC Jazz Record) is an artist of true integrity and imagination.

The Jesse Stacken Trio, with bassist Eivind Opsvik and drummer Jeff Davis, released three critically acclaimed recordings on the Fresh Sound New Talent label, including Bagatelles for Trio (2012) of which Peter Margasak wrote in Downbeat Magazine, "The trio brings an oblique but real heat and emotion to the performances, and as a whole the album coheres brilliantly."

The following Stacken release on Fresh Sound New Talent, Helleborus (2014) features a stellar working quartet with saxophonist Tony Malaby, bassist Sean Conly, drummer Tom Rainey, masterfully performing nine original compositions. Nate Chinen writes in the New York Times, "At every turn on "Helleborus," the ensemble plays with gusto, coherence and license, heeding the framework without ever sounding hemmed in."

Stacken has a long time partnership with cornetist Kirk Knuffke. Together they have released five critically acclaimed records on the Steeplechase label, the first four featuring compositions by the great jazz performer composers such as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, Carla Bley, Bill Evans, and more. Their latest release, Satie (2016) is a cornet and piano duo adaptation of the music of classical composer Erik Satie. "A collection of piano studies opened up for improvisation and approached with a combination of lyric ecstasy and intellectual rigor (the proper way to take on the most eccentric of the Big Three fin-de-siècle French impressionist composers)." -Francis Davis, Village Voice

Since 2010, Stacken has been a pioneer in the art of conceptual home-recording blogging projects, utilizing the internet as a means for sharing his creative process with the people all over the world. The first five projects, each a year in duration, consisted of 1.) a daily improvisation, 2.) 52 extended improvisations that were required to be over an hour in length completed and uploaded once a week, 3.) 52 original compositions recorded and uploaded weekly, 4.) 52 original compositions that utilized the techniques of the French composer Olivier Messiaen, and 5.) 12 self-made films with music uploaded once a month. Stacken's current project is titled 24 Standards and entails him writing solo piano arrangements of 24 Standard American Songbook tunes, and recording and sharing them.

Stacken grew up in Hopkins, MN, earned his bachelors degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire, and then earned his masters degree in Jazz Piano from the Manhattan School of Music, studying under Garry Dial. Stacken lives in Beacon, New York with his wife Akiko Sasaki, their dog Minnie, and a flock of backyard hens. He and Sasaki run Forte Piano Studio, passing on the tradition and joy of piano playing to youth and adults.

Biography "Joe Moffett" http://www.neithernorrecords.com/neithernorrecords/artists.htmlNew York-based trumpeter, improviser, and composer Joe Moffett approaches his work with a keen interest in unconventional sounds and forms, collective composition, and the intersection of words and music. He is co-founder of a number of ensembles such as Earth Tongues, with percussionist Carlo Costa and tubist Dan Peck; the Kaplan/Merega/Moffett Trio, which released its debut, Crows and Motives, in 2014 on Underwolf Records; and Trismegistus with bassist Sean Ali, trombonist Ben Gerstein, percussionist Devin Gray. Moffett's explorations into text and music are evident in his work with the experimental art song duo Twins of El Dorado, with vocalist Kristin Slipp. The ensemble's debut, Portend the End, was released on Prom Night Records in 2013."

-Jesse Stacken Website (https://www.jessestacken.com/bio/)
11/20/2024

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

"Bassist, composer, and improviser Sean Ali from Dayton, Ohio has been living in New York City since 2003, where he participates in the city's vibrant experimental music scene both as a performer and curator. His current projects include: Fester, Hag, LathanFlinAli, Mattrey.Bordreuil.Ali, Natura Morta, PascAli, Phantom Circuit, While We Still Have Bodies, and solo performances. He is co-founder and member of the new music label Prom Night Records. He is co-founder and former curator at 65Fen Music Series. Sean Ali performs regularly in New York City and has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe."

-Sean Ali Website (http://seanali.com/bio)
11/20/2024

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

"New York City-based German-French bassist, composer and improviser Pascal Niggenkemper is a performing and recording artist active on the creative music scene in the US and in Europe.

From 1999-2005 he was musicaly active in Cologne having studied jazz & classical double bass at the Hochschule für Musik. In 2005 he received the DAAD award and moved to New York.

From 2008 to 2010 Pascal led the PNTrio with Tyshawn Sorey and Robin Verheyen. (CD "pasàpas" Konnex 2008 & "urban creatures" JazzHausMusik 2010). The trio toured extensively in Europe performing at the Jazzcologne Festival, Jazzherbst Konstanz and at the Kennedy Center in Washington. Recordings for the WDR and the BR Radio.

In cooperation with Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin, Pascal formed the septet vision7 that performed at Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin, Vive le Jazz in Cologne, Jazz à la Cité in Paris and at the Pori Jazz in Finland. (CD 'Lucky Prime' clean feed records Sept 2013)

In September 2011 Pascal released with Simon Nabatov and Gerald Cleaver the CD/LP upcoming hurricane on NoBusiness Records which is listed among 'Albums of the year' 2011 in the 'The New York City Jazz Record'. The trio performed in Canada and the USA.

He recently recorded a new solo program called: 'look with thine ears' music for bass & preparations was premiered at the Jazzdor Festival in Strasbourg in November 2013. The CD was released in March 2015 on clean feed records. He performed for the France Musique radio broadcast by Anne Montaron called 'a l'improviste'.

In 2014 he presented the double trio 'le 7eme continent' with the program 'talking trash' at the Vive le Jazz festival in Cologne, Germany and the concert was broadcast by WDR3 radio. Their CD was released in May 2016 on clean feed records and the group performed in France, Belgium and Germany.

Pascal is co-leading the groups baloni with Frantz Loriot viola and Joachim Badenhorst clarinets (CD 'fremdenzimmer' 2011, 'Belleke' 2014 & 'Ripples' 2015 clean feed records) PascAli a duo for two prepared basses with Sean Ali (CD 'suspicious activity' creative sources 2012) and Miner's Pick with Thomas Heberer. (CD 'miner's pick' FMR records 2014)

With friends, he curates in NY the house concert series ze couch, where every month artists meet to present their work.

Festival presence includes: Jazzdor Strasbourg-Berlin, Vision Festival New York, Umbrella Festival Chicago, Banlieues Bleues Paris, Strade del Cinema Aosta, météo Mulhouse, Jazzcologne, JIGG Lisbon, Taktlos Zurich, Jazz à la Cité in Paris, ESCUCHA Madrid, Washington DC Jazz Festival, Pori Jazz Festival, Middelheim Antwerp, Grenzenlos Köln, undead Jazzfest NYC, D'Jazz Nevers, NewAdits Klagenfurt, Font New York, Music Unlimited Wels, Vive le Jazz Cologne, GONG Aarau, Konfrontationen Nickelsdorf, Ljubljana Jazz Festival etc...

He received the following scholarships/grants: DAAD, Henry Mancini Institute, North Rhine-Westphalia composition stipend."

-Pascal Niggenkemper Website (http://www.pascalniggenkemper.com/bio_english.html)
11/20/2024

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

"Percussionist and composer Carlo Costa was born in Rome, Italy. In 2001 he moved to Boston to study music. Since 2005 he has been living in New York City where he regularly performs as a leader and co-leader of various projects, as well as a sideman. Carlo is currently primarily involved with experimental and improvised music and is an active composer for his ensembles and ad hoc projects. He has performed throughout Europe and the US in a wide variety of contexts.

Carlo currently leads or co-leads Natura Morta (a trio with violist Frantz Loriot and bassist Sean Ali), the Carlo Costa Quartet (with trombonist Steve Swell, saxophonist Jonathan Moritz and bassist Sean Ali), Earth Tongues (with trumpeter Joe Moffett and tubist Dan Peck), the large ensemble Acustica, the trio Ancient Enemies (with alto saxophonist Nathaniel Morgan and violist Joanna Mattrey), and a solo percussion project. In November 2014 Carlo launched the record label Neither/Nor Records which is dedicated to experimental and improvised music."

-Carlo Costa Website (http://www.carlocostamusic.com/carlocostamusic/biography.html)
11/20/2024

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Track Listing:



1. Strata 44:20

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Jazz
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Large Ensembles

Search for other titles on the label:
Neither/Nor Records.


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Vinyl edition with a unique 4-part, 4th "Pillar": Tyshawn Sorey in an amazing and ambitious work "Pillars", assembling an ensemble of virtuosic NY performers (Joe Morris, Todd Neufeld, Ben Gerstein, Stephen Hayes, Zach Rowden, Carl Test, Mark Helias) as he references Tibetan rituals, Stockhausen, and Anthony Braxton, and much more.
Sorey, Tyshawn
Pillars [3 CDs]
(Firehouse 12 Records)
Drummer/percussionist, trombonist, pianist and importantly here, composer, Tyshawn Sorey in an amazing and ambitious work "Pillars", assembling an ensemble of virtuosic NY performers (Joe Morris, Todd Neufeld, Ben Gerstein, Stephen Hayes, Zach Rowden, Carl Test, Mark Helias) as he references Tibetan rituals, Stockhausen, and Anthony Braxton, and much more.
Godet, Jean-Brice
Epiphanies
(Gigantonium)
French experimental improviser Jean-Brice Godet, a frequent collaborator with Joelle Leandre and a member of Cuir, in a solo album of 8 etudes for dictaphone, radio, and clarinet, a unique album of extreme and eccentric technique on reeds punctuated by unearthly voice and radio transmissions, a curious album that rewards detailed listening.
Imaginary Numbers (McPhee / Niggenkemper / Solberg)
Imaginary Numbers
(Clean Feed)
Playing both pocket trumpet and tenor sax, Joe McPhee joins German/French/NY bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, and Norwegian drummer Stale Liavik Solberg, for an authoritative and bold album of collective free improv, three extended conversations that center on "A Supreme Love (For John Coltrane)", pointing to the history and sympathies of these impressive musicians.
Trio Caveat (Ligenfritz / McLellan / Moritz)
Compliments Of The Season
(KMB Jazz)
The debut album of the New York Trio Caveat of Jonathan Moritz on tenor and soprano saxophones, John McLellan on drums, and James Ilgenfritz on bass, in an unusual Christmas album taking understated and obscure approaches to tunes like "Blue Christmas" and "Dreidel", where only the attentive listener discovers the melodic and harmonic basis for each tune.
Braxton, Anthony
Trillium J [4 CDs + Blu Ray]
(Braxton House/Firehouse 12 Records)
A multimedia box set of Anthony Braxton's opera work "Trillium J", containing live performance video on Blu-ray disc of a 2014 performance at Roulette in NY, and studio recording on 4-CD set, with 12 vocalists, 12 instrumental soloists and a full orchestra.
Eisenstadt, Harris Canada Day (w/ Wooley / Bauder / Niggenkemper)
On Parade in Parede
(Clean Feed)
A live recording of drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt's Canada Day band performing as a quartet with trumpeter Nate Wooley, saxophonist Matt Bauder, and bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, recorded at SUMP during their 2016 European tour, an exemplary set of free playing over a great set of original compositions, including a large work in 3 sections and 5 parts.
Cuir
Chez Ackenbush
(Fou Records)
This French free improv group performs both quick-twisting post-bop compositions and modern extended technique work, comprised of John Cuny (piano), Jerome Fouquet (trumpet), Jean-Brice Godet (clarinet), Yoram Rosillio (bass) and Nicolas Souchal (trumpet).
Godet, Jean-Brice (Godet / Niggenkemper / Darrifourcq)
Lignes de Cretes
(Clean Feed)
French clarinetist Jean-Brice Godet leads the trio of bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and drummer Sylvain Darrifourcq in a live album of abstract free improvisation using tools like radios, dictaphones, object, and zithers, creating powerfully unique sound worlds.
Wooley, Nate
Seven Storey Mountain V
(Pleasure of the Text Records)
The 5th of 7 large and inspiring works that began with a Festival of New Trumpet commission in 2007, here in an ensemble of 19 players including C. Spencer Yeh, Ben Vida, Ben Hall, Matt Moran, Chris Dingman, Dan Peck, Josh Sinton, Colin Stetson, the TILT brass octet, &c.
Niggenkemper, Pascal: 7eme Continent
Talking Trash
(Clean Feed)
With 2 clarinetists--Joris Ruhl and Joachim Badenhorst--and 2 prepared pianists--Eve Risser and Philip Zoubek--plus flutist Julian Elvira, leader/bassist Pascal Niggenkemper explores his "different twins" concept in 9 uniquely orchestrated and impressive improvisations.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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