release date: 15.01.2021 via Traumton
“Mario Rom plays solos that are unparalleled in Europe – calm, persistent, full of ideas, virtuoso ”- ZEIT
“Rome plays the trumpet as if its life depended on it. ” – Süddeutsche Zeitung
release date: 15.01.2021 via Traumton
“Mario Rom plays solos that are unparalleled in Europe – calm, persistent, full of ideas, virtuoso ”- ZEIT
“Rome plays the trumpet as if its life depended on it. ” – Süddeutsche Zeitung
release date: 08.01.2021 via Miel Music
On September 28, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, alto saxophone icon Miguel Zenón and pianist Luis Perdomo recorded a concert at The Jazz Gallery in New York City which was livestreamed in November. When they listened to the recording of the concert, they knew it was something to share.
release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records
“Over the decades, Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii has demonstrated uncanny power and musicality as a considerable force in the avant-garde end of the jazz spectrum.”— Josef Woodard, DownBeat
“Lopez does a fine job of fusing genres and styles while dispelling those old rumors that drums are not musical instruments.” — Glenn Astarita, All About Jazz
“…Tamura’s trumpet is lyrically beautiful and commanding.” ― Andy Hamilton, Wire
On their debut release, Mantle , pianist Satoko Fujii, trumpeter Natsuki Tamura, and drummer Ramon Lopez challenged themselves. Working together for the first time as a trio, they not only developed themselves into a working ensemble, but they wrote music that explored the potential of the group, each piece pushing and inspiring them in a different way. The result is an album of unfailing surprise and invention played by a group that listens closely and responds to one another on a deep intuitive level.
release date: 6.11.2020 via NOT TWO records
They “…draw deeply from a seeming perpetual wellspring of inspiration…. The bare bones instrumentation allows full appreciation of their virtues: inventive composerly craft; prodigious improvising prowess; a taut balance between melody and mayhem; and individual excursions which confirm the parameters of the charts as stimulating rather than limiting factors.” – John Sharpe, Point of Departure
“It’s rare to sense this level of intuition between musicians…” —Kurt Gottschalk, New York City Jazz Record
“Fujii and Tamura offer unsentimental beauty, space, silence and humour… Proof that improvised music can be emotionally engaging as well as ear tickling…” ― Peter Marsh, BBC Music Magazine
Pentas marks another milestone in Fujii and Tamura’s remarkable 23-year history as one of the most celebrated duos in contemporary improvised music. The new CD is among their most lyrical and polished, without sacrificing the exploratory invention and spontaneity that marks their best playing.
release date: 06.11.2020 via Palmetto Records
“Ever since I heard Fred Hersch for the first time, he not only became a dear friend but a true idol. His piano playing, his music making, his breath, style, sound and soul are absolutely unique. He sets music free. He speaks directly to all of our hearts. A true Mensch at work. Fred Hersch is a gift to all of us and Songs From Home is another proof of this simple and yet essential truth.”
– Igor Levit, celebrated concert pianist
“When it comes to the art of solo piano in jazz, there are currently two classes of performers: Fred Hersch and everybody else.” – Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz
On Songs From Home, Hersch explores nostalgic pop songs, heartfelt originals and resonant jazz classics with his inimitable expressiveness and rich invention in the intimacy of imposed isolation
With the election so close, the division so fractious and potentially explosive, we feel a special event is needed for the public on Election Day. On November 3, Deep Tones for Change will transmit 4 performances each hour, spanning the 17 hours that US polls are open nationwide, from the East Coast to Hawaii – 68 individual performances!
release date: 06.11.2020
“This is music for mind and soul.” —Montreal Gazette
“… the JCAO seamlessly moved from composition to improvisation, chordal improvisation to free extemporization, wide-open structure to well-ordered chaos. The music was daring but incredibly disciplined. Even in their wildest abandon, every musician demonstrated self-control in the service of expression and musical goals larger than themselves.” – Aesthetic, Not Anesthetic
Since 1985, the Boston-based Jazz Composers Alliance has presented creative, cutting-edge work by member composers both in concert and on recordings. On Friday, November 6 the group releases its genre-bending eleventh album – The JCA Orchestra Live at the BPC – showcasing four master jazz composers working at the top of their game: David Harris, Darrell Katz, Bob Pilkington and Mimi Rabson.
release date: 04.11.2020 via Pine Eagle Records
“Heartland American jazz of the very highest order.” – Brian Morton, Point of Departure
“Oregon-based saxophonist Rich Halley has been turning out smart, brawny music for a couple of decades.” – James Hale, DownBeat
“Uncluttered, bold and powerful.” – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz
Halley’s second recording with these players sees the group building on their intuitive chemistry in a series of incisive and powerful improvisations recorded in August 2019 in Brooklyn.
release date: 30.10.2020 via Pyroclastic Records
“Listen to the transfixing opening cut, ‘Laser Beaming Hearts,’ and in addition to Taborn’s aesthetic kinship with Detroit techno titan Carl Craig, you’ll be reminded of how many hours these improvisers have devoted, separately and in various configurations, to shifting the balance between abstraction and groove.” – Nate Chinen, WBGO
“Collages of dark and dirty parts, musical cast-offs, so to speak, that have been artfully reattached.” — Patrick Sisson, PopMatters
“More rewards await, rich and replete.” — Phil DiPietro, All About Jazz
For more than a decade, Junk Magic has been honing a collective sound that relies on individual expressions, imagination and subversion. Appearing first as a 2004 album title under pianist-composer Craig Taborn’s name, Junk Magic has transitioned into a sonic identity comprising electronic sound design, production techniques and elements of improvised music.
release date: 30.10.2020 via Firehouse 12 Records
“Not only the most distinctive guitarist of her generation – her barbed, warped sound also has few rivals in any other.” – Michael J. West, Washington Post
“When all her influences click into place, the result is like little else, in any genre.” – Seth Colter Walls, Pitchfork
“One of the most distinctive voices in jazz … possessing a slippery tone.” – Chris Barton, LA Times
“Ever since [Halvorson] began recording in the mid-2000s, she’s projected a strikingly personal voice on the electric guitar; you only need to hear a few seconds of her fastidious fingering and extravagant pitch bends to know it’s her….her compositional style, with its intricate melodies and sudden tempo changes, is as distinctive as her playing.” – Bill Meyer, Chicago Reader
“Maybe it’s the weathered grace of Wyatt’s vocals or the astringent lyricism of O’Farrill’s trumpet, but the writing here conveys the quirky charm of Carla Bley’s collaborations with Paul Haines. Except Bley’s keyboards were never as otherworldly as Halvorson‘s guitar.“ – J.D. Considine, DownBeat