Avant Music NewsFrom Time Out Chicago, two performances this weekend.
In 1996, those in need of a free-jazz fix wouldn’t have found it at the Hungry Brain, where the Umbrella Music collective’s Sunday jams are now a mainstay. No, the seventh day belonged to the Green Mill, where cornetist Rob Mazurek hosted weekly workshops that took shape as the Chicago Underground Orchestra.
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From NY’s ISSUE Project Room:
01/08 @ 8pm – Peg Simone + Wrekmeister Harmonies + MV Carbon and Zach Layton duo
T (listen): the Sun is Leaking – Peg Simone Peg Simone, out of NYC, employs the slide to bone-chilling effect, fracturing raucous rock choruses and sepia-toned ballads into ghost images with its off-tuned eeriness & pure blues tones stuttering across hectic post-punk rhythms. Her upcoming release “Secrets From The Storm” is due in February/March 2010 & will […]01/09 @ 8pm – Concord Ballet Orchestra Players + FORMA + A.R. Plovnick
Concord Ballet Orchestra Players Avant-kraut-psych-improv collective from Somerville MA utilizing synths, guitars, keyboards, theremin, drums and more. Members of Most Bitter, Bobb Trimble’s Flying Spiders, Reports, The Lothars, The Shrinking Islands, Abunai!, and more. Originally convened to perform a one-time live tribute to (German group) Faust — but then enjoyed playing together so much that […]
From Metropolis Underground:
Tin/Bag & Words For Snow
January 15th @ 8pm
$5-$10 Donation
http://www.kristiner.com/tinbag
TIN/BAG, the bi-coastal duo of trumpeter Kris Tiner (LA) and guitarist Mike Baggetta (NYC) deals with a music that is spare, ethereal, and highly exploratory, “clearly cut from cloth that hasn’t been designed yet…” ( Improvijazzation Nation). Both are among a generation of young creative musicians contributing original new music and pushing a re-examination of the roles and possibilities of their instruments. Tiner and Baggetta have extensively toured the United States presenting their original duo compositions and improvisations. Their two previously issued CDs, “There, Just as You Look For It” – issued on pfMentum – and “And Begin Again” – issued on Evander Music – have been met with high praise by both critics and audience members alike.
From DMG:
Eri Yamamoto! Poulsen/Nilssen/Moholo! Milo Fine! Rob Paparozzi Sam Rivers! Douglas Ewart with Leo Smith! Crothers/Bisio! Muhal Richard Abrams/Roscoe Mitchell! Fred Ho! Walton/Hutcherson/Land! Schuller/Lovano/Motian! Sun Ra!..
Downtown Music Gallery FREE In-Store Performance Schedule Continues with:
Sunday, January 10th at 6pm:
JEREMIAH CYMERMAN / CHRISTOPHER HOFFMAN / HARRIS EISENSTADT!
Extraordinary New Clarinet / Cello / Percussion Trio!Sunday, January 17th at 6pm:
ANDY HAAS & DEE POP!
Two Magical/Mystical Musicians Return to DMG for a Rare Duo Set!Sunday, January 24th at 6pm:
RAS MOSHE / KYOKO KITAMURA/ REUT REGEV / ANDERS NILSSON!
Master reeds wiz Ras brings his new to DMG!Sunday, January 31st at 6pm:
JESSE ELDER & LOGAN RICHARDSON!
Excellent Piano & Alto Sax Duo & CD Release Celebration!
Spinner some of Shipp’s more controversial moments.
The flip side of this confrontational approach is that Matthew Shipp is one of the most talented players of this era. Closing in on 50, he has released a string of dazzling solo and small-group recordings that range sonically from acoustic to electronic remix. His mix of complex improvisation and melody gets easy comparisons to avant-garde pianist Cecil Taylor, but, really, the two don’t have a whole lot in common. He also participated in (for 16 years) and subsequently broke up the David S. Ware Quartet, which has been hailed many times as one of the great quartets of our time. Shipp has also mentored younger or less-known artists by releasing their albums through his Blue Series on Thirsty Ear records and provided a home for other established artists who need to put out records.
Additionally, he was also interviewed recently.
From NYTimes.com:
DARCY JAMES ARGUE’S SECRET SOCIETY (Saturday) “Infernal Machines” (New Amsterdam), one of the most celebrated jazz releases of 2009, was the debut of this ultramodern big band, led by Mr. Argue, an indefatigable young composer. Girded with indie-rock textures and a generous sense of drama, it still only captures part of what the group can pull off in performance. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village , (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org; $15; $10 for members. (Chinen)
COMPANY OF HEAVEN JAZZ FESTIVAL (Friday through Sunday) Organized by a booking agency, this event unfurls a succession of worthy artists in brief club sets, beginning with a group led by the trombonist Reut Regev (Friday at 8:30 p.m.) and ending with Ballin’ the Jack, led by the clarinetist Matt Darriau (Sunday at 11 p.m.). In between are more than half a dozen smart bets, including Totem, a group led by the bassist Mario Pavone (Friday at 11); the Thirteenth Assembly, a potent young improvising collective (Saturday at 8:30); and the Michael Musillami Trio + 3, led by Mr. Musillami, a guitarist (Sunday at 8:30 p.m.). Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village , (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; cover, $10 per set, $25 for the night, with a $7 minimum per set. (Chinen)
JON IRABAGON (Saturday and Monday) Mr. Irabagon, an energetic and proficient young alto saxophonist, leads two distinct groups in the coming days, each a reflection of his personality. His quintet — with the trumpeter Brandon Lee, the pianist Adam Birnbaum, the bassist Peter Brendler and the drummer Donald Edwards — plays concise, well-reasoned post-bop, as heard on “The Observer” (Concord), his most recent album. That group appears on Saturday; on Monday Mr. Irabagon, Mr. Brendler and the drummer Kevin Shea make up the Rollins Trio, invoking the precedent of Sonny Rollins and basing a full set’s outcome on the marathon explication of a single tune. Saturday at 10 p.m., Fat Cat, 75 Christopher Street, at Seventh Avenue, West Village, (212) 675-6056, fatcatmusic.org. Monday at 9 p.m., Zebulon, 258 Wythe Avenue, near Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn , (718) 218-6934, zebuloncafeconcert.com; no cover. (Chinen)
INGRID LAUBROCK QUARTET (Wednesday) Ingrid Laubrock, a German-born tenor and soprano saxophonist who is based in Britain, works here with Mary Halvorson, a shrewdly slippery guitarist; John Hébert, a stalwart bassist; and Tom Rainey, a stark, suggestive drummer. At 8:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village , (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; cover, $10, with a $7 minimum. (Chinen)
? TONY MALABY (Monday and Tuesday) Mr. Malaby, a saxophonist of broad imagination and fearless disposition, leads two groups next week, each worthy. On Monday he reunites the band from “Paloma Recio” (New World), one of the better slept-on jazz releases of 2009: the guitarist Ben Monder, the bassist Eivind Opsvik and the drummer Nasheet Waits. On Tuesday he enlists a favorite frontline partner, the trumpeter Ralph Alessi, as well as the bassist Drew Gress and the drummer Billy Drummond. Monday at 8 and 9 p.m., the Local 269, 269 East Houston Street, at Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, (212) 254-5420, rucma.org; $10 per set, or $20 for the night; $7 per set for students, or $15 for the night. Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village , (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; cover, $10, with a one-drink minimum. (Chinen)
MOSTLY OTHER PEOPLE DO THE KILLING (Friday) Rampaging through the jazz tradition is the sport of choice for this four-piece free-bop band, led by the bassist Moppa Elliott and featuring the trumpeter Peter Evans, the alto saxophonist Jon Irabagon and the drummer Kevin Shea. “Forty Fort” (Hot Cup), the group’s fourth album, is a characteristic thrill ride, prankish in its affect but gravely serious in its execution. At 9 p.m., Zebulon, 258 Wythe Avenue, near Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn , (718) 218-6934, zebuloncafeconcert.com; no cover. (Chinen)
NYC WINTER JAZZFEST (Friday and Saturday) For New York City jazz fans the Winter Jazzfest has become a perennial postholiday splurge and a righteous kick-start to the new year. Held this year in five separate clubs, all within a tight radius in Greenwich Village, it puts forth a profusion of available talent with an unspoken emphasis on cosmopolitan chic. For highlights, see the feature elsewhere in this section; for a full schedule and ticket information: winterjazzfest.com. Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village ; $25, or $30 for a two-day pass. (Chinen)
CHAD TAYLOR AND CIRCLE DOWN (Thursday) Mr. Taylor, a versatile and texture-aware drummer, functions as the first of equals in this exploratory trio, which also features the lyrical pianist Angelica Sanchez and the responsive bassist Chris Lightcap. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village , (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org; $15, and $10 for members, in the first set; $10, and $5 for members, in the second set. (Chinen)
I’ve spent the last week or so listening to a lot of music provided by mog.com. In case you haven’t heard of or used the site, for $5 a month you have access to a fairly large catalog of music for unlimited streaming to your PC. While the catalog isn’t as deep as eMusic, and the Mog search engine isn’t that great, they do feature labels such as Cuneiform Records and Tzadik.
Streaming is the present and future of music distribution. I eagerly made the transition from physical media to MP3s five years ago and never looked back. Streaming eliminates any form of collection management, and provides music on the fly anytime you have an Internet connection (which for all intents and purposes, is just about everywhere). Additionally, for only $5 a month, the service is practically free.
If anyone wants to exchange playlists or listening suggestions, my userid is “mborella”
Avant Music News