ears&eyes Archive
Nate Lepine Quartet: Vortices – ears&eyes
Saxophonist Nate Lepine: helping put the new Chicago sound on the musical map. Nate Lepine Quartet: Vortices – ears&eyes ee:16-054, 44:48 [9/30/16] ****: (Clark Sommers – bass; Nick Mazzarella – alto saxophone; Nate Lepine – tenor saxophone; Quin Kirchner – drums) Jazz fans may not realize it, but Chicago is a city with a vibrant jazz scene with talented musicians who regularly move outside of the jazz norm. For instance, tenor saxophonist Nate Lepine often goes toward the edges where free improvisation meets composed jazz. He cultivates material which has one step in the past and one foot in the ever-changing present. A sense of shifting between straightforward and forward-thinking permeates Lepine’s 44-minute debut, titled Quartet: Vortices. Alongside Lepine are other Chicago jazz artists who appreciate Lepine’s musical vision: bassist Clark Sommers (who has performed with Brian Blade, Bennie Maupin, Jeff Parker, and others); alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella (who has participated in other Chicago-based improv/jazz groups); and drummer Quin Kirchner (who has connections to Chicago bands such as Bill MacKay’s Darts & Arrows, the Rob Clearfield Trio and Old Door Phantoms). This foursome brings sympathetic perception to Lepine’s 11 originals, which range from whirlwind tunes to wafting cuts which have […]
Charles Rumback – In the New Year – ears&eyes
Modern jazz music which seems to pull apart even as it attains continuity. Charles Rumback – In the New Year [TrackList follows] – ears&eyes ee:15-o38, 52:40 [12/4/15] ***1/2: (Charles Rumback – drums, co-producer; Caroline Davis – alto saxophone; Jeff Parker – guitar; Jason Stein – bass clarinet; John Tate – bass) Chicago drummer Charles Rumback is a musician who is comfortable in a myriad of genres, from rock to jazz, which gives his improvisations and compositions a dynamic, eclectic nature, somewhere between modern jazz and avant-garde. If a name has to fit, consider calling it alternative jazz. Rumback’s debut, Two Kinds of Art Thieves (Clean Feed, 2009) was an open-minded, free-fluctuating affair. Rumback charts a parallel, liberating direction on his latest outing, the 52-minute In the New Year (issued in late 2015 but well worth hearing at the beginning of another year). For this effort, Rumback recruited some of the finest unconventional artists associated with the Chicago and New York outsider jazz scenes, comprising alto saxophonist Caroline Davis; guitarist Jeff Parker (Chicago Underground Trio, Tortoise and Ken Vandermark); bass clarinetist Jason Stein (Exploding Star Orchestra, and others); and bassist John Tate. Rumback penned six of the eight tunes; Tate wrote […]