cd review: “Conspiracy: Art Songs for Improvisers” by Kate Hammett-Vaughan KHV003

©Laurence Svirchev

Art song can stretch over a wide range but it is not usually considered a terrain for modern improvisation. Look in any standard musical reference and art song is described as poetry set to music, typically for one singer and one piano. In other words, a valid art form . . . → Read More: cd review: “Conspiracy: Art Songs for Improvisers” by Kate Hammett-Vaughan KHV003

cd/dvd review: 
Ellery Eskelin “Ten” (hatOlogy 611) 
and “On The Road With Andrea Parkins & Jim Black”
 (Prime Source)

Ten celebrates the 10th anniversary of Eskelin’s trio with Jim Black (drums) and Andrea Parkins (accordion, sampler, piano) with a variation on the theme: Eskelin re-jigged the band into a series of alter-units by inviting three guests (Marc Ribot, guitar, Melvin Gibbs, electric bass, and Jessica Constable, voice) to participate in the recording.

. . . → Read More: cd/dvd review: 
Ellery Eskelin “Ten” (hatOlogy 611) 
and “On The Road With Andrea Parkins & Jim Black”
 (Prime Source)

“Newport 1958 Duke Ellington and His Orchestra”, Mosaic MCD-1014

©Laurence Svirchev

Ellington was an artist who kept moving on. Whether in a night train, a fast motor car driven under star-lit skies by Harry Carney, or at the piano in his hotel room, he loved to compose something new and listen to the band play it at the next concert. His inspirations . . . → Read More: “Newport 1958 Duke Ellington and His Orchestra”, Mosaic MCD-1014

“Up Down Down Up”, Coat Cooke Trio Cellarlive 050605

This CD is a stellar example of a saxophones-bass-drums trio. The musicianship, the dynamic range of sound, tempo, and creativity is aesthetically satisfying. The playing has a flint-sharp edge that comes from repeated live performances. The trio’s rhythm feel has the elastic quality of jazz swing that just cannot be defined by words; . . . → Read More: “Up Down Down Up”, Coat Cooke Trio Cellarlive 050605

dvd review: Timeless Fred Anderson – Harrison Bankhead – Hamid Drake Live at the Velvet Lounge

© Laurence Svirchev

There once was a time when seeing and hearing jazz at the same time meant being in a club or concert hall. Sure, there was the occasional movie with a hokey plot line containing brief and highly stereo-typed club scenes. And there were sporadic television variety shows with . . . → Read More: dvd review: Timeless Fred Anderson – Harrison Bankhead – Hamid Drake Live at the Velvet Lounge

“Indigo Trio – Live in Montréal”, Nicole Mitchell (flutes) – Harrison Bankhead (bass, cello) – Hamid Drake (drums) Greenleaf Music Paperback Series

©Laurence Svirchev

Indigo is one of the more beautiful colors that human ingenuity has refined from nature. From ancient times the peoples of western Afrika, China, and Japan succeeded in extracting indigo dye from the plant of the same name. The Yoruba of Nigeria and the Manding of Mali were known to have . . . → Read More: “Indigo Trio – Live in Montréal”, Nicole Mitchell (flutes) – Harrison Bankhead (bass, cello) – Hamid Drake (drums) Greenleaf Music Paperback Series

Louis Moholo-Moholo Interview (2005)

words & photography ©Laurence©Svirchev.com

Moholo-Moholo Power Salute

In 2005, Louis Moholo-Moholo played the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, principally in the Dedication Orchestra. The Dedication Orchestra is a large ensemble, primarily composed of British musicians, dedicated to to the repertoire of The Brotherhood of Breath and the Blue Notes. Moholo-Moholo . . . → Read More: Louis Moholo-Moholo Interview (2005)

Jazz Continuities: Review of Exotica Domestica, Daniele D’Agaro’s Adriatics Orchestra

©Laurence©Ssvirchev.com

The creative leaps representing the discontinuities in jazz are rare, and perhaps too much ado is made of them. Popularized in bursts of enterprising media coverage, these breakpoints seemingly appear out of nowhere. In reality the discontinuities have their own underground developments, and can take years to reach a critical . . . → Read More: Jazz Continuities: Review of Exotica Domestica, Daniele D’Agaro’s Adriatics Orchestra

TWO FROM SUN RA: THE SINGLES (Evidence 22164-2) & REFLECTIONS IN BLUE (Black Saint 120101-2)

Sun Ra’s music was always filled with dance and romance, hefty shots of blues, doses of call-and-response celebration, and a load of black swing rhythm inherited from the big band era. These two CD releases prove the hypothesis.

The Singles is a double CD documenting the evolution of Sun Ra’s music. . . . → Read More: TWO FROM SUN RA: THE SINGLES (Evidence 22164-2) & REFLECTIONS IN BLUE (Black Saint 120101-2)

Jazz em Agosto, Lisbon, Portugal August 3-8, 2004: The Vancouver Presence

Texts © Stuart Broomer & Laurence Svirchev, Photography ©Laurence Svirchev

Jazz em Agosto—Jazz in August—is a festival with any number of differences, an event that in recent years has spanned a few days or two weeks, presenting both the celebrated and the little-known with the emphasis on innovative work. The festival . . . → Read More: Jazz em Agosto, Lisbon, Portugal August 3-8, 2004: The Vancouver Presence