Source: Jazz Right Now.

Clarinetist, improviser, and sound artist Jeremiah Cymerman has emerged over the past decade as a key figure on the improvised music scene in New York City. In his work, he displays an interest in improvisation, electronic manipulation and production, and a variety of compositional approaches to solo and ensemble work. He has worked closely with John Zorn, Toby Driver, Mario Diaz de Leon, Brian Chase, Christopher Hoffman, Evan Parker, Nate Wooley, Joshua Rubin, Anthony Coleman, Matthew Welch, and others. His records have been released by Tzadik as well as his own label, 5049 Records, among others. His podcast series of interviews with fellow musicians has illuminated the work of nearly one-hundred of his contemporaries and forms a major contribution to the music archive of improvised music in New York and beyond.

Source: Kreative Kontrol. This is a very detailed discussion.

New York City’s Matthew Shipp joins Vish to discuss each and every song on the 2017, Matthew Shipp Trio record, Piano Song, which is available everywhere via Thirsty Ear Recordings.

Source: The Free Jazz Collective.

Coimbra-based guitarist and improviser Marcelo dos Reis first caught our eyes and ears in 2015 when two of his records, Chamber 4 (with Luis Vicente, Theo Ceccaldi, and Valentin Ceccaldi) and Concentric Rinds (with Angélica V. Salvi), topped our annual list of best releases. Two years later, he has become one of the loudest and brightest voices of an explosive and dynamic Portuguese free improv and free jazz scene, producing album after album in tireless fashion, without sign of artistic wear. Whether on acoustic or electric guitar, as a sideman or a leader, his style is unequivocal, shaping Fail Better!, Chamber 4, Pedra Contida, In Layers, Open Field, STAUB Quartet, and others into unique, most excellent projects.

Source: Jazz Right Now.

JazzTokyo (JT): It’s been 5 Years since you first appeared in Brooklyn Improvised Music Scene. How do you think your mindset has been changed since then?

Chris Pitsiokos (CP): While my aesthetics have changed substantially, my artistic goals have remained relatively constant. I believe that artists can attain something universal through intense introspection and intuition. In this way, I believe the personal and the universal are often the same. (Given current trends in anthropology, sociology, and identity-politics-obsessed left and right wing American politics, that seem to deny the existence of any kind of universally shared sentiment, this is an unpopular stance.)

I also believe that in ensemble playing, the compositions should allow for the greatest amount of freedom possible for each of the performers to express their unique musical voices. In this way, each performer is forced to stand on his/her own and express his/her own interpretation of the personal/universal through the music. If one performer fails in this, the whole piece can fail. These have basically been my goals for the last five years, and I believe they will continue to be my goals.

Source: Coastal Jazz.

At this stage of the game it feels like I’ve known Tim Berne (as a friend and long time fan) for a huge swath of my adult life. The story began sometime around the end of the 70’s back when we were both in our 20’s. I had my record shop (Black Swan) and produced small creative music concerts while Tim had moved to Brooklyn (after college in Oregon) and was studying with the legendary saxophonist/composer Julius Hemphill.