Source: News from the Shed.

JD Allen (b. 1972) is a tenor saxophonist and composer. Raised in Detroit, Allen got his first professional break at twenty when he was hired by the legendary jazz singer Betty Carter. In 2008, Allen formed a trio with bassist Gregg August and drummer Rudy Royston which would serve as his primary creative vehicle for the next decade. The group released eight acclaimed albums, toured extensively, and was even the basis of an Atlantic Magazine think piece. In 2019, Allen formed a new trio with two musicians a generation his junior: drummer Nic Cacioppo and bassist Ian Kenselaar. That trio’s latest album is Toys / Die Dreaming (2020); Allen’s latest is Queen City, a solo recital.

Source: 15 questions.

I don’t believe in the idea of “creativity”, that’s all outside social/reflective stuff and frankly doesn’t interest me. To me, it’s about the work, and the work needed to continue the work. So, I just get up every day and work.

Source: 15 questions.

As I get older and more settled in my artistic practice, I found that it is best to create what I want to create, draw from whatever genre or style I feel like, and not really try to adjust what I want do just to fit in with certain groups. It helped me cultivated musical relationships with other musicians who also don’t really fit in any specific boxes. I feel lucky to be at a stage where I am working with these artists. It made everything worth it in the end to reach the point I am at in this moment.

Source: Contact Wave.

This week’s episode features an interview and guest mix from Powers / Rolin Duo, the amazing Columbus-based folk/drone duo consisting of Jen Powers on dulcimer and Matthew Rolin on guitar. Their latest record, Strange Fortune, is out now on Astral Editions. Their trio record with Jason Gerycz, titled Lamplighter, is also out now.

Source: News from the Shed.

Peter Evans is a trumpeter and composer living in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his virtuosity on both the standard Bb and more arcane piccolo trumpet, as well as for his astonishing energy, endurance, and mastery of styles from bebop to contemporary classical to noise.

Evans is an innovator in solo trumpet performance, utilizing circular breathing and an arsenal of extended techniques to produce swirling, uninterrupted streams sound. There is the sense that Evans not only meets the physical demands of his instrument, but comes rushing at them with such force that he is sometimes moved to augment his playing with whoops, grunts and howls.

Source: News from the Shed.

Anna Webber (b. 1984) is a flutist, saxophonist, and composer based in New York City. Her official bio positions her work between avant garde jazz and contemporary classical music, but it would also seem to draw on hip hop, rock, metal and other popular styles. That last point seems important because unlike a lot of music which might be termed “experimental,” Webber’s music is tremendously entertaining. It works in a variety of contexts: at the gym, in the car, with kids in the room.

Source: Editor 99.

Like millions of Americans, William Basinski was shattered by the events of September 11, 2001. But for Basinski, that day bears further significance. While most watched the horror unfold on television, the Texas-born musician and composer witnessed and filmed the devastation from the rooftop of his Brooklyn loft, while, in the background, his speakers blared his newest work, The Disintegration Loops, which he’d finished the month before. He didn’t know it yet, but TDL would come to be regarded as one of the most important works associated with 9/11—and would transform him from an obscure musician into one of the most revered experimental composers of the young century.