Dave Rempis / Joshua Abrams / Avreeayl Ra + Jim Baker
Scylla
Aerophonic Records
“This fourth record by the long-standing improvising ensemble Rempis/Abrams/Ra, and the third featuring now-regular band member Jim Baker, was recorded in a watershed moment for these musicians during a pandemic that had gutted lives across the planet. After 15 months of being closed to the public, the band’s home base Elastic Arts had re-opened for live events. And Rempis decided to relaunch his weekly Thursday-night concert series, a hub of the Chicago scene since 2002, with a performance by this working quartet.”
Columbia Icefield
Ancient Songs of Burlap Heroes
Pyroclastic Records
“"This album is dedicated to those who recognize living as a heroic act: the occupiers of sunup barstools; the cubicle-planted; the ghosts of Greyhounds; the reasonably sketchy. A burlap hero is one who marches—consciously or not—back to the sea in hopes of making no splash, who understands and embraces the imperfection of being, and in that way, stretches the definition of sainthood to fit." - Nate Wooley, February 2022”
Sound American
Sound American No. 28 : The Mapping Issue
Sound American
“Sound American Publications announces its twenty-eighth installment: THE MAPPING ISSUE. Guest curated by musician and artist Kyla-Rose Smith of Found Sound Nation, the issue elevates the urgent voices and vital ideas of far-flung musicians and composers, often little known outside of their own native countries. This issue opens our eyes and ears to discovering new possibilities once unchained from our immediate surroundings.”
Tomeka Reid / Kyoko Kitamura / Taylor Ho Bynum / Joe Morris
Geometry of Trees
Relative Pitch Records
“This foursome is resolute in its acceptance of communal responsibility and creation. Vocalist Kyoko Kitamura sings and speaks in wordless flurries matching Taylor Ho Bynum’s brassy exhortations on cornet. Cellist Tomeka Reid and guitarist Joe Morris worry and pluck their respective strings, applying speed and torque in the loosing of spidery cascades of crinkled and crenelated tones. Pitch and timbre differentials are a big part of the interplay with instruments juxtaposed in bursts of activity.”
Mark Cisneros / Nik Francis / Luke Stewart
We Were Here Before
Catalytic Artists Albums
“Catalytic Sound continues its Catalytic Artist Album fundraising program by releasing CAA-032 to the public, a recording by the trio of Mark Cisneros, Nik Francis, Luke Stewart, called We Were Here Before, Parts I and II. They have suggested that all donations received from the sale of this digital album should go to Empower DC (www.empowerdc.org), which since 2003 "has advanced racial, economic and environmental justice by investing in the leadership and organized political power of DC’s lowest income residents and communities."”
Luke Stewart
Works for Upright Bass and Amplifier Vol. 1 & 2
Astral Spirits
“A new 2xCD that is a summation of the current solo "Works" catalog from Luke Stewart. Definitely not a "complete" set as there will be much more to come! The double CD compiles the entire Works For Upright Bass Vols 1 & 2 as well as "Works For Pioneer Works" (from his recent split Cassette with Patrick Shiroishi on Profane Illuminations, 2021).”
