Spikes77 - GTF in here! Let's get jazzy...

Krilons Resa

Jerry's married?!
Nov 7, 2002
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Inside dorian's gym bag.
I'll be making posts in this thread as I have time. I'll start off with Matts Gustafsson's lovechild Fire! Orchestra - an elaborated version of his Fire! Trio (whom I also highly recommend).

I'm lazy so I'll let Mr. Kelman do the talking for me as he can elucidate the reasons why you should (or should not) want to check this out better than I can.

Sometimes it's best not to predict. If the idea of expanding Fire!'s core trio of saxophonist/electric pianist Mats Gustafsson, bassist Johan Berthling and drummer Andreas Werlin into Fire! Orchestra's massive, 28-piece behemoth was based on the trio's extant discography -
You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago (Rune Grammofon, 2009), Unreleased (Rune Grammofon, 2011), and In the Mouth of a Hand Rune Grammofon, 2012)—then a relentless album of high energy and high volume density would be expected. Which makes Exit! a complete and utter surprise, and in the best possible way.

That's not to say there isn't plenty of cacophonous chaos amidst Exit!'s two-part, multi-episodic, continuous 44-minute suite; when there is, beyond its six reeds and five brass, a total of three keyboardists, four bassists and four drummers means plenty of potential for some seriously joyous noise, and given Fire!'s predisposition for unfettered and unrelenting improvisation, it's no surprise that, at times, the music builds to wave after wave of climactic peaks. And even when the dynamics drop, there's plenty of angularity clearly not meant for the faint-of-heart.

Still, Exit!'s biggest surprise—though, following Gustafsson's career in particular, perhaps this should not be a surprise—is that it is a more dynamic piece that, if not exactly beautiful, does break down into quieter passages of greater clarity that allow for Arnold de Boers' text to be delivered—from near-lyricism to ululating freak-outs—by three singers including Sofia Jernberg, whose 2012 Trondheim Jazz Festival performance with The New Song made her an inevitable participant here.

There's still plenty of freedom, and room for extremes like screaming, whammy bar-driven electric guitars and electronics from a number of sources including Gustafsson, whose occasional unmistakable solo—here, on tenor saxophone rather than the baritone more commonly associated with Fire! (leaving that to fellow Swede, Atomic saxophonist Fredrik Ljungkvist)—is of the visceral, cathartic nature that's become a personal signature. But with its broader dynamic range and Gustafson's conducting, Exit! is somehow more eminently accessible than Fire!'s usual work, the inevitable consequence of past large ensembles like bassist Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra and keyboardist Sun Ra's Arkesta. Still, neither of these precedents had Berthling and Weliin's joined-at-the-hip grooves, which drive most of the proceedings. Further bolstered with additional players including drummer Raymond Strid and ex-Esbjorn Svensson bassist Dan Berglund, they're even more potent as the group shuffles through a variety of meters ranging from the ¾ ostinato that drives the opening of "Exit! Part One" and the slower, greasier groove in its second half, to the fiery 5/4 rhythm that emerges from the freer opening of "Part Two."

Exit! ultimately ends with a cluttered free-for-all the builds from sparer, more defined components to an ending more in keeping with Fire!'s usual modus operandi, as more and more of the musicians enter the fray, leading to five minutes of truly joyful abandon. It's a fitting ending to this expanded version of Fire! that's unequivocally its greatest accomplishment to date. Broader instrumentation and a stronger sense of construction make Exit! both an exhilarating first experience and one to return to time and again, as its multiplicity of rewards unfold with each and every listen.

https://www.allaboutjazz.com/exit-mats-gustafsson-rune-grammofon-review-by-john-kelman.php

 
Fire! Orchestra is the kind of jazz I can get behind as it absorbs enough elements from progressive rock, noise, contemporary classical and Magma-like primordial chaos to provide adequate stimulation for my wriggle-prone neural tissue.

In other words: keep the shit flowing, but please next time something I don't already know.
 
Angles -- in all of it's iterations.

Political, often rapturous jazz - as Stef from freejazzblog says:

This is not the music for abstractions, individual artistic expressions or for esoteric elitism, this is music that resonates with immediate effect, hopefully also with lasting effect, contrasting the joy and the sadness, the laments and outcries.

It is agitating, gripping, irresistible, enchanting, enthralling, hypnotic, spellbinding, compelling, inciting you to join in, to be swept away by the collective feelings and aspirations.







 
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Poland's Waclaw Zimpel's HERA - Where My Complete Beloved Is

Spiritual, Folk-Jazz (I guess you'd call it)

The music of Hera is a combination of free jazz and folklore in the spirit of Don Cherry, in the spirit of the idea fostered by him to create World Music joining various traditions of performing music without the snobbish distinction between high and low art. Such an approach among musicians makes a qualitatively new tradition form, free from this artificial corset. Due to free jazz improvisation, the music of Hera does not move in a rut. It draws the attention with original structural and stylistic solutions, is enriched with interesting preparations of instruments, for example Ksawery Wójcicki's on a double bass. In comparison with the first Hera's album, in the project "Where My Complete Beloved Is" there is more folk element making this music merry and cheerful. What is more interesting, the passages between particular parts of the compositions diametrically differing from one another develop from one another. In the first piece, the slow part gradually turns into a fragment with a concrete rhythmical basis, and then reaches culmination that resembles the ones from the previous project "Undivided" - "Moves between Clouds. Live in Warsaw" which are a characteristic feature of the compositions of the band's leader - Wacław Zimpel.
....
This way of using folk instruments performs a very important function. It has a conceptual character because creates the sphere of meditation, the sacred sphere which makes the listener flow along with the sound, dissolve in it, move to another magic dimension where they perceive incredibly expressive and beautiful improvisations of the four musicians.

The new Hera's album moves not only by the music but also by the titles of the compositions, which as a whole constitute a love poem, beautiful in its simplicity.

 
Mary Halvorson ... easily one of the greatest and most original guitarists and composition writers in the world for the past decade. Here's her latest stud-laden octet iteration.



<3 <3 <3
 
Fire! Orchestra is the kind of jazz I can get behind as it absorbs enough elements from progressive rock, noise, contemporary classical and Magma-like primordial chaos to provide adequate stimulation for my wriggle-prone neural tissue.

In other words: keep the shit flowing, but please next time something I don't already know.

yeah, their 2019 release, ARRIVAL, is phenomenal too. I’m obligated to mention them in this thread as they do have a big crossover appeal.
 
Thanks for doing this thread--this is going to be good :heh:
Already twenty minutes into the fire! orchestra--- sounding great so far. I really like how there are sections where the individuals instruments breath, but eventually transition into the 'jazzcophony'

That whole angles 8 track is :eek:quite breathtaking -

Will go through the Hera, Chris Litecap, Halvorson, and the ashcan ramblings next (I just posted some ashcan paintings, the stars are aligned! :tickled:)

BTW, when you posted the Steve Lehman, I realized I did know Tyshawn Sorey (mind blowing) --I heard one of his songs on the radio [local jazz station out of jersey] looking for a parking spot one time a few years back, me and the gf were like :yow: -- lets drive around a few more times...I'm pretty sure it was one of tracks off of 'the inner spectrum of variables' album--anything similar to that would also be welcome!
 
Tyshawn Sorey is a effin' BEAST!!!! I've seen him a couple times in person. Yeah, he has put out wildly varying albums from sparse trio format, double trio, to string quartet. That entire NYC scene is amazing. I'll reco some shit within it soon. I was gonna recommend Paradoxical Frog which has Sorey on drums but not sure if it would be too heady. It very sparse yet intricate but can build to a release....lots of modern classical influence to it. But if you liked The Inner Spectrum of Variables....!
 
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This song is heart wrenching, imo. I envision a highly tumultuous marriage with the two sides at their wits end attempting to plea with each other for resolution.



Harris Eisenstadt is one of my favorite jazz musicians and composers. His Canada Day albums are phenomenal.


I get a similar feeling tone from this piece (though not necessarily the same scene) from another one of my favorite ensembles; super-group Atomic from Sweden.



Another just absolutely gut-wrenching piece...ugh that second half...

 
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Tyshawn Sorey is a effin' BEAST!!!! I've seen him a couple times in person. Yeah, he has put out wildly varying albums from sparse trio format, double trio, to string quartet. That entire NYC scene is amazing. I'll reco some shit within it soon. I was gonna recommend Paradoxical Frog which has Sorey on drums but not sure if it would be too heady. It very sparse yet intricate but can build to a release....lots of modern classical influence to it. But if you liked The Inner Spectrum of Variables....!

Yea, the guy is definitely a true talent. Was just listening to the obsidian track that is up on bandcamp for Verisimilitude--pretty awesome and ominous stuff (that pianist also)

This song is heart wrenching, imo. I envision a highly tumultuous marriage with the two sides at their wits end attempting to plea with each other for resolution.




I get a similar feeling tone from this piece (though not necessarily the same scene) from another one of my favorite ensembles; super-group Atomic from Sweden.



Another just absolutely gut-wrenching piece...ugh that second half...



That is an exceptional track---the beginning kind of has that erik satie melody for a bit-
 
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Gymnopedies, yes!

Matt Mitchell's stuff is absolutely insane if you like really busy shit. That first track makes my brain ooze from my ear canals. He's also a huge metalhead.

 
Oh, I lied. One more...if you want some truly exceptional big ensemble stuff look no further than Michael Formanek's Ensemble Kolossus - The Distance. INSANE lineup with nearly a who's who from NYC.

I can only find it on Spotify.

ECM and Pi Recordings are pretty tight-lipped on the free media front.

 
Thanks again for posting these! :kickass:

Out of the ones you posted, these are the ones that grabbed me the most:

First tier:
Fire! track, Angles 8 (today..., Euro boogie, beyond us), Adam Lane stuff, The Back and forth track, The Fremdenzimmer track is indeed great---

Second tier
Hera
Chris Lightcap (like you said, definitely more upbeat vibes)

Couldn't really get into the mary halvorson, matt mitchell, Gustafsson, and the Paradoxical frog (like you said, super restrained, no doubt technical as fuck--probably like 'figment' the best out of those tracks) Not sure about the Michael Formanek--I think the big ensemble stuff is my bag-
 
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Fire! Orchestra is the kind of jazz I can get behind as it absorbs enough elements from progressive rock, noise, contemporary classical and Magma-like primordial chaos to provide adequate stimulation for my wriggle-prone neural tissue.

In other words: keep the shit flowing, but please next time something I don't already know.

I didnt know it, and now I wish I never met it. As a respect to my boy Kenneth my first entree in this five course thread of din was the first post. Boy, I should have read the disclaimer. While small snippets are all well and good, my head is pounding after 43 mins of a cat caught on a manifold. Is this black metal for Coltrane fans?

Before you press play, just think of the kittens.

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I'll try another album next week. (Think its all I have the intestinal fortitude for.)
 
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