Peter Brotzmann (tenor/baritone sax) Ken Vandermark (tenor/baritone sax, clarinet) Mats Gustafsson (alto/bass/tenor sax, clarinet)
On the scene for over 40 years, German born, Peter Brotzmann has led groups of varying sizes. But the one constant is the sheer devotion to exploring the outer reaches of jazz. He is an aggressive player and for some (even the die hard avant garde fan) it may be hard to find the structural element in the piece. This is usually the time in which you should just sit back and enjoy the musicianship and the structure will find you.
Brotzmann is responsible for some of the most important European free jazz albums in history (Machine Gun (1966), Nipples (1969), Die Like A Dog (1993) and Octet/Tentet (1997)). While those are massive statement records of Brotzmann's intent and talent, there is one more recent group that he leads with musicians that he has influenced that appeals to me even more---Sonore.
Led by the European free jazz godfather, Sonore is an adventurous, dangerous yet wonderful collaboration from three of the most renowned saxophonists on the avant garde scene. Each with their own groups which they lead to equal success (The Vandermark 5, Gustafsson with The Thing and Brotzmann with his Tentet and Die Like A Dog among others). Slightly similar to Brotzmann's work with Bill Laswell in Last Exit but completely without a rhythm section--on the agrression of saxophones to lead the emotion and structure.
It is staggering and joyful to hear and witness live the power and influence Peter Brotzmann has had on his two disciples in Vandermark and Gustafsson. The interplay and respect each musician has for one another makes their three albums (Call Before You Dig; Only The Devil Has No Dreams, and No One Ever Works Alone)highly enjoyable. There isn't really one album that is better than the other. I would say the newest album Call Before You Dig (Okka Disk) which is a live and studio double album is good way to get the two sides of the band an idea of the strength of this amazing improvising outfit.
Trust me, this is not music for the faint at heart. This is improvising at its best. Two generations of musicians who are the best at their craft meeting for a brief and fruitful conversation through sound. Highly Recommended for those not afraid of sound.
Bold, expressive and distinctive are the best ways to describe the legendary Pharoah Sanders. For many jazz fans he is best known for his work in John Coltrane's latter groups on the Impulse label. Sanders boisterous and free flowing playing was the perfect counter to the introspective, spiritual tone Trane was exploring toward his final years. Coltrane's work during this period would directly impact Sanders own work early on.
Pharoah Sanders has recording career spans four decades and over 40 albums. It's is a daunting task even for the ardent jazz fan to venture into these recordings. If you have an understanding of John Coltrane's latter work (OM and Kulu Sa Ma) you will be able to digest Pharoah Sanders earliest work with some ease. His earliest recordings all demonstrate a great grasp of free jazz with a deep elegance and beauty that wouldn't be revisited until the late 90s and new century. His playing and career has gone up and down over the last two decades but he maintains energy and melodic structure that is highly distinctive and will continue to be part of his legacy and influence for decades and generations to follow.
I dont' there is a perfect statement album in Pharoah Sanders discography (please feel free to feedback) but I do think there are a series of compilations that really do illustrate Pharoah Sanders reach and depth. One compilation that I believe is definitely comprehensive, is Anthology: You've Got To Have Freedom (Universal UK; 2005).
Anthology covers a pretty good stretch time (1967 - 1996) and over 4 labels including his most prolific and important period with Impulse. This collection features some killer pieces including the classic "The Creator Has A Master Plan," "Thembi," "Upper Egypt And Lower Egypt" and my favourite "Summun Bukmun Umyun". These are recordings that still follow in the African and Far East spiritual transcendence that was explored in Coltrane's groups but with even more voracity and complexity.
Anthology: You've Got To Have Freedom is a perfect document for a musician that still revered but may not be a well regarded as the legend has work with and established himself with over 40 years prior but I think in due time many people will hold Pharoah Sander in the same stead. Highly Recommended.
Enrico Rava's career spans over four decades and almost ever continent. Highly influenced by Miles Davis and Chet Baker, Rava has played with a long list of luminaries including, Don Cherry, Carla Bley, Roswell Rudd, Steve Lacy, Archie Shepp among others. His thick tones are both lush and bold, allowing the listener to become fully engaged in the melody.
For me he is one of the few trumpeters who has consistently has recorded excellent material throughout his career. I'm not saying there isn't a bad record in his over 40 album discography but you will be had pressed to be disappointed by even his weakest album (which ever one that my be). Rava toured with Steve Lacy during the late sixties which began to shape his style and performance.
Rava's earlier recordings are more in the European Free Jazz mode. But these are not necessarily "Free Jazz" in the Ornette Coleman or Don Cherry sense. Rava's style is rhythmic, emotional and leveled, that even the newest person to jazz would find it inviting. He has unique way of balance space and structure in his recordings that has always been something I've gravitated to time and time again. Rava's work in the 80s become much more structured and he gave more freedom to his follow band members which is still true today although his recent albums are also much more intimate.
Most of Enrico Rava's albums are surprisingly readily available either online or your local record store. I would say that his most recent quintet recording New York Days (ECM; 2009) is definitely the best place to start for anyone just getting into Enrico Rava. New York Days is both an adventurous impressionist journey as well as a relaxed midtempo excursion into a highly gifted set of musicians.
The quintet included seasoned and future legends; Paul Motian (drums), Mark Turner (sax) Larry Grenadier (bass) and Stefano Bollani (piano), each in their own right have become enormously respected musicians around the globe. Bollani and Motian have worked with Rava on numerous occasions and their performances here demonstrate a deep understanding the men must have as apparent on the lengthy "Certi Angoli Sergerti" which has some rich beautiful lyricism throughout.
Mark Turner and Larry Grenadier show their versatility and emotional depth on "Lulu" and "Outsider" respectfully. Both musicians develop a dialog with Rava is delicate and highly functional for this to be the first meeting in a studio setting. New York Days is a composed yet free flowing work that illustrates a whole range of talent among the musicians. It is also the lyrical piece of genius that Rava has conjured into existence that I believe in enjoyable amongst his most devoted fans like me as well anyone hearing him for the first time.
Some other essential Enrico Rava:
Il giro del giorno in 80 Mondi (Black Saint) The Pilgrim And The Stars (ECM) Rava String Band (Soul Note) Plays Miles Davis (Label Bleu) Easy Living (ECM)
Gerald Simpson (aka A Guy Called Gerald) (turntables, electronics; b. 1967)
Over the last couple of months I've been listening to a lot of different things. I think I needed a small break from jazz and decided to go re-discover one of my previous loves of the last two decades--Gerald Simpson (aka A Guy Called Gerald).
I met Gerald a couple of times in the earlier nineties in Detroit. No - we are not good friends or even friends. It was just a casual meeting and me asking a couple silly "oh my god I'm you're biggest fan" type questions. But he was incredilbly humble and generous with the time he spent with this bloke your reading right now. And for that I am eternally grateful.
In the '80s and early '90s the dance scene in both the US and Europe was dominated by a group of DJ/Musicians from Detroit named, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins and Richard Davis (the latter two were part of the influential technofunk group Cybotron). Their unique blend of futuristic beats and bombastic bass lines had a profound effect on Gerald Simpson as an up and coming DJ/Musician. Simpson would later join forces with a few members from his hometown of Manchester, England to form the early incarnation of the techno band 808 State. Simpson was responsible for the band's first big hit "Pacific State." After creative differences forced Simpson from the band, he went on to perform under the name A Guy Called Gerald.
At this point Gerald had already developed the signature sound that has made him one of the most well known and revered DJ's in the world. His sound is rough, rugged and raw. It is techno at its primitive and embryonic, but yet most inventive. He is almost single-handily responsible for creating the Acid House scene in the UK during the 80s. In 1989 Gerald produced his highly influential single "Voodoo Ray", a house track that would reverberate around the globe. It was filled with the electro-funk vibe of Chicago and Detroit but had a distinct UK/European flavour.
Gerald would go on to record his first studio album Hot Lemonade (Rham Records; 1989) which embodied a street-wise, emotion filled love of Chicago/Detroit soul and electro. The clicks and blips and blinding speed all with a calculated rhythm made it one of the most unique and original albums of 1989 (along with fellow Manchester indie band The Stone Roses debut). Hot Lemonade would become and still is one of the benchmarks of UK/European dance music--a big shadow that even one of my other favourites The Orb can't overtake.
Filled with deep mechanical movements, rich in texture such as "Rhythm Of Life," "Radio Active" and "K9" Hot Lemonade moves up and dance scales like a massive club night out. And Hot Lemonade never really lets you go even at its closing interval of "Tranquility On Phobos." This is a landmark and must have record for definitely any fan of dance music but also a good lesson for fans of music history. It has since become extremely hard to find but it is worth every penny of what you might pay for it. Gerald does sell it on his own site for a reasonable price so check there first.
AGCG would go on to record his second album, Automanik (Sony; 1990) which had advanced his lyrical and technology scope. There were more tracks with guest vocals but it was still rich in the electronic vibe with deep bass syncopation. The title track was an updated version of an earlier demo done during his days with 808 State. Don't think because this album came out on a major label that Gerald succumbed to the pressure of becoming famous. By far the contrary. Automanik featured some soulful trance like tracks including "Electric Emotions," "FX," another haunting reminder of his influence on 808 State with "Subscape" and a funkier version of "Voodoo Ray" entitled "Voodoo Ray America".
After disagreements with the label on creative direction, Gerald left Sony and began to work on his own again. He established his own label, Juicebox, for remix material of other, as well as his own, stuff. In 1992, he released 28 Gun Bad Boy, which many now site as one of the original "jungle" (sub-genre of house music) albums. It contain a dazzling mixture of dark, dense hip hop beats and drum n' bass as evident of the title track. The album unfortunately was in limited quantity and now practically impossible to find but yet again showed how far advanced Gerald's thinking was in terms of dance music (update: Now available on iTunes). Jungle and Drum n' Bass were styles years from emerging from the underground.
Gerald returned in 1995 with an even more ambitious offering, Black Street Technology (Juicebox). Black Street Technology is built around sparse patterns and some great ethereal soundscapes and little swathes of drum n' bass. It's not as in your face as the previous albums but it stands out because of its slightly midtempo range. Don't get me wrong, there is still allot to dance to here but its much more subtle than previously mentioned albums. Tracks like "Finlay's Rainbow," "Dreaming Of You," and "So Many Dreams" make this a wonderful journey into sound.
In 2000 and 2004, Gerald released two terrific albums for Brooklyn based K7! Records, Essence and To All Things What They Need. Both albums contained Gerald's unique and quite recognizable vision. The difference here was a real emphasis on song structure and vocal accompaniment. Fans of Massive Attack might enjoy these two releases the best. They are probably the most accessible and closely related to some of the more chill out releases that most listeners would be familiar with. Tracks like "Humanity," and "Universal Spirit," with some beautiful and haunting lyrics from Louise Rhodes and Wendy Page respectively, highlight the incredibly lush and deconstructive Essence release. While To All Things... included the crystallised poetry of Philadelphia native Ursula Rucker and an almost unrecognizable Finley Quaye on "Strangest Changes". Both Essence and To All Things What They Need are also the most readily available AGCG albums but definitely the most accessible for the un-initiated.
At this point Gerald began to simultaneously work both online and offline. He began uploading unreleased material from his two decades plus recording career on his own site A Guy Called Gerald, meanwhile releasing two amazingly deep techno records for German label Laboratory Instinct, Proto Acid (2006) and Tronic Jazz (2010). These are much more underground than any of his albums to date and reflect a far reaching vision that many artists are nowhere near yet achieving. These albums and some of the material he is releasing on his site are hypnotic and turn ambient and electronica on its head. One of my favourite pieces from his site is "Relax Into Your Flight". It is exactly what it says, a 58 minute piece designed to make your flight a little more tolerable.
I've been a massive fan of Gerald Simpson for over 20 years and he is one of the few artists today that I don't hesitate to pick up an album. Now you may not be a big fan of dance music but in the history of the modern dance/electronic music almost every DJ/Musician owes everything to A Guy Called Gerald. Here's to re-discovery.
