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Free Nelson Mandoomjazz – The Organ Grinder – RareNoise

Free Nelson Mandoomjazz – The Organ Grinder – RareNoise

by | Dec 5, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The doom metal/jazz innovators veer toward a stronger jazz vibe.. Free Nelson Mandoomjazz – The Organ Grinder – RareNoise RNR068, 70:02 [9/30/16] ****: (Rebecca Sneddon – saxophone; Colin Stewart – electric bass; Paul Archibald – drums, percussion, piano (track 5), organ (track 11); Luc Klein – trumpet (tracks 2, 5-6, 9); Patrick Darley – trombone (tracks 4, 6)) Jazz has shown an ability to combine with many other musical genres since its inception. Soul-jazz. Third stream music. Jazz-rock. One of the newer crosshatchings melds doom metal with jazz and is one of the most extreme confluences, in terms of loudness, aggressiveness and amplification. The multi-national trio Free Nelson Mandoomjazz (formed in Scotland, but only one member now resides in that area), has quickly become the vanguard for this unique and vociferous type of jazz fusion. For those unfamiliar with doom metal (which developed in the 1980s), the genre has a much thicker or heavier sound than other metal genres, and is characterized by slow tempos, low-tuned guitars and an impending perception of despair or doom. Not the kind of fare some jazz fans would be attracted to, but cuisine readymade for the RareNoise label, which promotes avant jazz and improvisatory […]

The Girshevich Trio featuring Eddie Gomez – Algorithmic Society – Tapestry

The Girshevich Trio featuring Eddie Gomez – Algorithmic Society – Tapestry

by | Oct 4, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The Girshevich Trio featuring Eddie Gomez – Algorithmic Society – Tapestry 76026-2, 59:34 ***: A release that has coherence of approach and concept. (Vlad Girshevich – piano, synthesizers/ Aleks Girshevich – drums/ Eddie Gomez – acoustic bass) Baroque music is a particular classical style that lasted for a period of 150 years from 1600 to 1750. Its principal feature, tonality, was an approach to writing music in a particular key. Vlad Girshevich writing in the liner notes to Algorithmic Society acknowledges that the underlying framework for some of this musical excursion is the Baroque period. While not necessarily a concept album, there is a central musical construct that is musically identifiable. Of particular interest on this recording is bassist Eddie Gomez. A most compelling accompanist, Gomez spent eleven years with the Bill Evans Trio, starting in 1966 where he filled the long void left by bassist Scott La Faro who died in 1961. His big tone and expressive solos are a singular feature to the compositional work of pianist Vlad Girshevich starting with the opening track: “Healing The Chaos”. Bursting with requisite vigour, the music is supplemented with a string section that adds a tonal depth that is accentuated by […]

Bryan Nichols (solo piano) – Looking North – Shifting Paradigm

Bryan Nichols (solo piano) – Looking North – Shifting Paradigm

by | Aug 8, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Pianist Bryan Nichols takes listeners northward. Bryan Nichols (solo piano) – Looking North [TrackList follows] – Shifting Paradigm SP-119 46:20 [5/27/16] ****: The American upper-Midwest is a location of placid beauty: wintery landscapes, warm summer nights, windswept countryside, and lonely rural roads; forests, lakes, towns, and families. Minnesota is the place which permeates Bryan Nichols’ first solo piano album, the aptly titled Looking North. Nichols grew up in what is known as the Star of the North, spent time in Iowa and Chicago, and then returned home. The ten tracks on Looking North (eight originals and two regional cover tunes) form a centralized narrative which surveys raising children and being married; living amid nature; and the act of musical creation. Minneapolis-St. Paul and the surrounding Minnesota area isn’t widely acknowledged by outsiders as having a thriving jazz community, but in reality Nichols is part of a first-rate jazz fellowship. The Bad Plus is probably the most recognized jazz group from Minneapolis. Nichols is friends with Bad Plus drummer Dave King, who is also active in the less-familiar Minnesota jazz trio, Happy Apple. Happy Apple’s 1997 debut had an important impact on Nichols as a teen discovering jazz, so when Nichols […]