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 Philly’s Ars Nova Workshop:
Friday, January 8, 8pm
BEN PEROWSKY QUARTET
Chris Speed, tenor saxophone + clarinet; Ted Reichman, accordion; Trevor Dunn, double-bass; and Ben Perowsky, drumsPhiladelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street
$10 General AdmissionSunday, January 17, 7pm
FESTIVAL OF NEW TRUMPET | PHILADELPHIAOPEN CIRCUIT INTERNATIONAL TRUMPET ENSEMBLE
Taylor Ho Bynum (USA), cornet; Jean-Luc Cappozzo (France), trumpet; Franz Hautzinger (Austria), trumpet; Joe McPhee (USA), trumpet; Itaru Oki (Japan/France), trumpet; Herb Robertson (USA), trumpet; William Parker (USA), bass; and John Betsch (USA/France), drumsMERIDIAN ARTS ENSEMBLE WITH DAVE BALLOU
John Ferrari, drums; Daniel Grabois, horn; Benjamin Herrington, trombone; Brian McWhorter, trumpet; Jon Nelson, trumpet; Raymond Stewart, tuba; and Dave Ballou, trumpetCHICAGO UNDERGROUND DUO
Rob Mazurek, cornet + electronics; and Chad Taylor, percussionInternational House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street $12 General Admission
Friday, January 22, 8pm
KEN VANDERMARK SEPTET performs the music of DON CHERRY
Ken Vandermark, reeds; Dave Rempis, saxophones; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Jason Adasciewicz, vibraphone; Pandelis Karayorgis, Fender Rhodes + piano; Nate McBride, el. bass + double-bass; and Chad Taylor, drumsInternational House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street $12 General Admission
Thursday, January 28, 8pm
JASON AJEMIAN’S DAYDREAM FULL LIFESTYLES
Rob Mazurek, cornet; Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone; Jason Ajemian, bass; and Chad Taylor, drumsInternational House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street $12 General Admission
From Philly’s Ars Nova Workshop:
Sunday, November 29, 2009 – 8:00pm
Ellery Eskelin-Erik Deutsch-Allison Miller TrioVenue:
International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 Map
Price: $12 General Admission Buy TicketsEllery Eskelin (born 1959) was raised in Baltimore and began playing the tenor saxophone at age ten, inspired by his mother “Bobbie Lee” who played Hammond B3 organ professionally in the early sixties. In 1983 Eskelin moved to New York City and in 1987 began recording with the cooperative group Joint Venture which also began his exposure on the European international touring circuit.
Saturday, December 5, 2009 – 8:00pm
Bill Dixon with Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra
Anti-Jazz: The New Thing RevisitedVenue:
International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 Map
Price: $20 Buy TicketsA crucial figure in the development of Free Jazz, trumpeter Bill Dixon (b. 1925) was first associated with the ensembles of Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp, and was one of the main architects of the Jazz Composers Guild. In 1964, he organized the October Revolution in Jazz – The New Thing’s equivalent to the Armory Show – introducing Free Jazz to a broader audience. In the late 60s he devoted himself to teaching, creating the Black Music Division at Bennington College, VT in 1973.
Sunday, December 6, 2009 – 8:00pm
Claudia Quintet 1Venue:
International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 Map
Price: $12 General Admission Buy Tickets“This is a true ensemble from top to bottom, a sonic equivalent to a hand-woven tapestry…Impressive.” -DownBeat
Monday, December 7, 2009 – 8:00pm
Wooley-Yeh-Corsano Trio Rempis-Rosaly DuoVenue:
International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 Map
Price: $10 General Admission Buy TicketsPlease join us for what is sure to be a night of incendiary music. Two very unique improvising groups together for a special one-night extravaganza.
Wooley-Yeh-Corsano Trio
Rempis-Rosaly Duo
From Bagatellen:
Alongside Peter Evans, Taylor Ho Bynum and Rob Mazurek, Wooley is one of several post-Bill Dixon trumpeters turning brass improvisation on its head. But that’s only part of the story here. Born in Oregon in 1974 and schooled in postbop, Wooley’s search has been as much about individual expression and finding out what jazz and music mean to him, as it is about carving an alternative path for the instrument.
Chicago’s Tortoise is interviewed.
More than any other band, the veteran Chicago group has most singularly been associated with the largely instrumental, ’90s-born genre that incorporates all kinds of non-rock sounds yet most appealed to an indie-rock audience. The band’s latest album, “Beacons of Ancestorship,” is one of the most vigorous of its career, but still has some of the jazzy and ambient touches that made albums such as “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” and “TNT” enduring favorites. Herndon also plays in a large handful of avant-garde bands — Exploding Star Orchestra with Rob Mazurek, Powerhouse Sound with Ken Vandermark and A Fox Can Be Hungry with fellow Chicagoans — and explains why foreigners are more open to out-there sounds than Americans. Tortoise plays at the Black Cat on Sunday.
From KFJC:
Mazurek, Rob Quintet – “Sound Is” – [Delmark]
The album “Sound Is” is aptly named because the tracks are not so much tunes but more a wash of sound. Cornet player, keyboardist, and composer Rob Mazurek now lives in Brazil, but was in his native Chicago to record with these excellent musician friends. I was especially impressed by Jason Adasiewicz’s vibraphone – he strikes me as a most interesting contemporary player of this instrument.
Wilkes, Corey & Abstrakt Pulse – “Cries From Tha Ghetto” – [Pi Recordings]
Wide variety of sounds from the exceptional young jazz trumpeter Corey Wilkes. This CD features new and original takes for everything from hard bop to straight ahead. Four very short tracks called Abstrakt feature members of the ensemble in free improvisation. Particularly fine work from guitarist Scott Hesse and Kevin Nabors on tenor sax.
Akritas – “First Drop of My Life, The/Pan” – [Anazitisi Records]
Bundled with the “Akritas” 12? comes this one and only 7? 1973 single of “The First Drop of My Life’ and “Pan” from Greek band Akritas. Stavros Logarides does vocals, guitar, and bass, Giorgos Tsoupakis is on drums, and Aris Tasoulis is on organ for “First Drop” and piano for “Pan.” After a mellow and somewhat mournful beginning, “First Drop” picks up with a chorus and jazzy outro. “Pan” is my preferred track, with its quick-tempo piano and chorus at the beginning, and Logarides’ distinctive voice and guitar closing out the song. The lyrics may be in Greek, but the progressive rock on this offering has a universal appeal.
From Dusted:
Artist: Rob Mazurek Quintet
Album: Sound Is
Label: Delmark
Review date: Mar. 25, 2009Artist: Peter Brötzmann & Paal Nilssen-Love
Album: Sweet Sweat
Label: Smalltown Superjazz
Review date: Mar. 25, 2009Artist: Jim McAuley
Album: The Ultimate Frog
Label: Drip Audio
Review date: Mar. 25, 2009Artist: Peter Kowald
Album: Open Secrets
Label: FMP
Review date: Mar. 24, 2009
From Free Jazz:
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Angelica Sanchez – Life Between (Clean Feed, 2008) ****Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ingrid Laubrock – Sleepthief (Intakt, 2008) ****½
Rob Mazurek – Abstractions on Robert d’Arbrissel (Adluna Records, 2008) ****½
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