“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)

The Architectural Analogy: The Structure and Composition Possibilities of Inscape Tableaux “Like a Salvation Army Band, But Much Nicer” An Interview with Barry Guy (Part II)

Tampere, Finland – Nov 3, 2001

Words & Photography © Laurence Svirchev

Introduction:

In 2001, I interviewed Barry Guy about Inscape – Tableaux (Intakt CD 066), the composition he had just presented at the Tampere, Finland Jazz Happening. The interview was as long and complex as the . . . → Read More: The Architectural Analogy: The Structure and Composition Possibilities of Inscape Tableaux “Like a Salvation Army Band, But Much Nicer” An Interview with Barry Guy (Part II)

The Architectural Analogy: The Structure and Composition Possibilities of Inscape – Tableaux “A Subway Map of Connections” An Interview with Barry Guy (Part I)

Dateline: Tampere, Finland – Nov 3, 2001

Words & Photography ©Laurence Svirchev

Introduction: In 2001, I interviewed Barry Guy about Inscape – Tableaux (Intakt CD 066), the composition he had just presented at the Tampere, Finland Jazz Happening. The interview was as long and complex as the music. It . . . → Read More: The Architectural Analogy: The Structure and Composition Possibilities of Inscape – Tableaux “A Subway Map of Connections” An Interview with Barry Guy (Part I)

Daniele D’Agaro-Ernst Glerum-Han Bennink: Strandjutters

hatOLOGY 590

Words ©Laurence Svirchev

D’Agaro, Glerum, and Bennink form a kind of perfect trio. D’Agaro because he is one of the hand-full of moderns who have levitated the beautiful sound of the clarinet into contemporary jazz vocabulary (he also doubles on the tenor saxophone). Glerum because has a . . . → Read More: Daniele D’Agaro-Ernst Glerum-Han Bennink: Strandjutters