AMN Podcast: Forgas Band Phenomenon – Axis of Madness

January 7, 2009 — Mike

Axe Du Fou

Drummer and composer Patrick Forgas has been releasing jazz-rock gems that showcase his compositional and and arranging skills for over 30 years. Axis of Madness (L’Axe du Fou) is the fourth album by his current band; a 7-piece instrumental ensemble of skillful young musicians, performing on saxes/flute, trumpet/flugelhorn, violin, guitar, keyboards, bass and drums. The group perform music that combines the most attractive aspects of jazz and rock composition with inspired solos. The quality of the music and performances is obvious from the first note and we’re pleased that it isn’t only us who noticed; press has been unbelievably enthusiastic towards this group’s music!

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Plumbing the Exquisite Psychic Depths of Robert Ashley

January 7, 2009 — Mike

Composer Ashley is profiled.

In the mid-’70s, Michigan-born composer Robert Ashley discovered a rare commodity in the art world: a niche. Lamenting that his homeland lacked the rich operatic tradition of Europe, he sought to invent a distinctly American art form, mixing dense sound environments and amorphous narration to create something he called “opera-for-television” (with the “television” part mostly referring to the works’ division into 30-minute “episodes”). He clearly wasn’t courting a mass-media audience, though: In early efforts like Music With Roots in the Aether and Perfect Lives, the black humor of the avant-garde is on full display, with chants about “geriatric love” and recipes for Pear Jello Salad flashing across the screen.

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Seth Meicht Quartet at RUCMA

January 7, 2009 — Mike

From New York’s RUCMA:

Start: 01/12/2009 – 7:30pm
End: 01/12/2009 – 10:00pm
Timezone: Etc/GMT-4

Seth Meicht Quartet
Monday, January 12 @ 7:30 pm
Yippie Café: 9 Bleecker Street, near Bowery
General Admission: $10
Students and Seniors: $7
Jam Session @ 9pm: $5

Seth Meicht, saxophone
Aaron Meicht, trumpet
Adam Lane, bass
Mike Pride, drums

Seth Meicht was born in 1976 and grew up in the Philadelphia area. He studied saxophone at the University of the Arts and studied privately with Ron Kerber, David Murray, Odean Pope, and Ben Schachter.

Seth leads his own trio as well as being a founding member of The Meicht Group and The Sepia Trio. The Meicht Group garnered critical acclaim for the recordings Dig the Sound Live (2000) and Loud Like Hemlocks (2001) which were released on Scrapple Records. The Sepia Trio’s newest release is on Utech Records and is entitled cleft. The Seth Meicht Trio has just released its debut CD on Cadence Jazz Records (CJR1196) and, adding Matt Bauder, has released Illumine on C.I.M.P. (#350).

Seth has shared the stage with such luminaries as Michael Brecker, James Carter, Ravi Coltrane, Byard Lancaster, Prince Lasha, Joe Lavano, David Murray, Odean Pope, and Bobby Zankel. Seth is a member of the Odean Pope Saxophone Choir and also the Lars Halle Jazz Orchestra.

www.sethmeicht.com

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Free Jazz Blog Reviews

January 7, 2009 — Mike

From Free Jazz:

Monday, January 5, 2009
Blaise Siwula & Carsten Radke – Projection: Zero (Konnex, 2008) ****

Sunday, January 4, 2009
Michael Marcus – Lotus Symphony (Not Two, 2008) ***½

Saturday, January 3, 2009
Zbigniew Seifert – Solo Violin (Polonia Records, 2008 re-issue) ****

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Nu Band Touring Europe

January 7, 2009 — Mike
Roy Campbell at Jazzy Spring Festival 2008 (Bu...
Image via Wikipedia

Though on on their web site yet, the Nu Band begins a European tour this week.

THE NU BAND EUROPEAN TOUR

Mark Whitecage – alto sax, clarinet
Roy Campbell, Jr. – trumpet, flugelhorn
Joe Fonda – bass
Lou Grassi – drums

Where:
Wednesday, January 7 – De Werf, Brugge, Belgium
Thursday, January 8 – Grand Theatre, Groningen, Netherlands
Friday, January 9 – Sunside , Paris, France
Saturday, January 10 – Le Moulin à Jazz , Vitrolles, France
Sunday, January 11 – open
Monday, January 12 – Aufsturz-Klub, Berlin, Germany
Tuesday, January 13 – IG JAZZ Freiberg , Freiberg, Germany
Wednesday, January 14 – open
Thursday, January 15 – Alchemia Club, Krakow, Poland
Friday, January 16 – Club Zak, Gdansk, Poland
Saturday, January 17 – Club W71 , Weikersheim, Germany
Sunday, January 18- L’Archiduc, Brussels, Belgium
Monday, January 19 – Oben Kino, Cottbus, Germany

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