MArker
New Industries
Audiographic Records
“AUDIOGRAPHIC RECORDS ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF MARKER'S THIRD ALBUM, NEW INDUSTRIES, PRE-ORDERS TAKEN NOW FOR MARCH 1ST RELEASE. Marker includes Andrew Clinkman and Steve Marquette on guitar, Macie Stewart on violin & keyboard, Phil Sudderberg on drums, along with Ken Vandermark on tenor, baritone, and Bb clarinet. The band has received critical acclaim for their first two recordings, Wired For Sound (***** from The Free Jazz Collective, February 21, 2018), and Roadwork 1/Roadwork 2/Homework 1 (Number Three on the Free Jazz Blog, New Ears Album of the Year per the People 2018; three top ten 2018 critics picks from The Free Jazz Collective). Their third album, New Industries, is a double CD comprised of studio and live versions of a dozen new compositions by Vandermark. The studio album was recorded in Chicago at Experimental Sound Studio on July 15th, 2018, directly after Marker's tour of the Midwest; the live album is a document made of their July 12th performance at Milwaukee's Sugar Maple. The combination of both recordings provides listeners an opportunity to hear the compositional strategies of the music truly come into play. Not only is the music improvised within individual pieces, the spontaneous narrative between each is altered by the way that these compositions are sequenced and layered. ”
Mahobin
Live at Big Apple in Kobe
Libra Records
“"And the music does stay hot for long stretches during the two improvisations that comprise the CD. “Rainbow Elephant” slowly wends its way through passage after passage of astonishing sounds, following a slowly evolving path. There’s a continuous weave of sound—sparkling electronics; saxophone clicks and cries; textured, breathy drones on the trumpet; and subtle prepared piano timbres. The sound expands and contracts, dense one moment, open and airy the next. Fujii plays a long melodic arc with scintillating sounds dancing underneath. Later, Anker starts her own extended melody, supported and embellished by the others. “Yellow Sky” grows more directly from soft electronic flutters and breathy tones on saxophone and trumpet to become progressively darker and more agitated with hot raspy trumpet, rumbling piano, clattering electronics, and wailing saxophone. The album is one of the most sustained abstract performances in the Fujii discography. "”
Rempis/Lopez/Packard
Early Bird Gets
Aerophonic Records
“The Early Bird Gets is the debut album by this working trio, comprised of journeyman Chicago saxophonist Dave Rempis alongside two of the brightest talents in a younger generation of improvising musicians. Bassist Brandon Lopez is a musician whose virtuosity knows no bounds, currently one of the most in-demand bassists on the New York jazz and improvised music scene. Percussionist Ryan Packard counters that depth with his own breadth of interests, working in contemporary classical ensembles, indie rock bands, and jazz groups alike around Chicago, not to mention his doubling abilities on electronics. These two together provide a formidable rhythm section that can veer from hard-driving grooves to luscious soundscapes with total ease. As a trio, these three have put forth a work that may be the “jazziest” project any of them are involved with; a result that even the band members found surprising. But after honing their sound through live gigs in 2017 and early 2018, it became apparent that their free-improvised conversation kept returning to a similar destination: a three-way exploration of rhythm and tempo that left them working solidly within the jazz tradition. Not the one fixed into predictable sylistic corners, but the one defined by a spirit of boundless curiosity and exploration. A tradition they stretched back and forth like so much taffy. ”
Kuzu
Hiljaisuus
Aerophonic Records
“KUZU is a hard-charging but patient trio that came together in the fall of 2017, after saxophonist Dave Rempis a stalwart of the Chicago improvised music scene, worked with both Tashi Dorji (guitar) and Tyler Damon (drums) individually as part of a lengthy solo tour of the U.S. that he undertook in the spring of that year. Dorji and Damon’s work as a guitar/percussion duo has become well-known, a highly refined and specific language developed through relentless touring and recording over the last few years, with a sound that straddles improvised music, rock, and any number of as-yet-undefined territories. These two provide an incredibly fresh take on the possibilities inherent to spontaneous composition. Superimposing Rempis into this mix was a logical next step after the relationships they’d forged individually. ”
Tim Daisy
October Music (Volume 3) 7 Compositions For Duet
Relay Recordings
“Relay Records is proud to present the third volume in it’s October Music catalog: "Tim Daisy October Music (vol 3) 7 Compositions For Duet" (relay 024) documents a set of new compositions written by Chicago based percussionist and composer Tim Daisy; each work performed in a duo format and written specifically for these seven Chicago based musicians. ”
Luft
Inhale
Omlott
“The debut record of LUFT – is a two volume album of exceptional explorations within the bagpipe and reed universe —— unknown music of poetic beauty and high energy cascades. Fast moving changes in texture and layers vs static repetitions and alternatives densities and melody treatments! Vol 1 – is focusing on the interaction between the two persons/ instruments – with a huge variety in extended techniques and various ways of treating the instruments – leading to an improvised music never heard of.”
GUSH
The March
Konvoj Records
“Two years ago, Gush celebrated 25 year as a group. One of the concerts on the anniversary tour was organized by FRIM/SYD at Inter Arts Center in Malmoe. Konvoj Records were there! Very few things need to be said about Gush. With their abstract compositions, dissonances and free improvisations, they have already found their way into the ears of most of the daring listeners. Gush was a central force in establishing the scene for free improvised music and free jazz in Sweden in the late 80's. The group and its musicians have since continued to strongly affect, mold, deform, develop, embroil and transform both the sound of their music as well as its audience. Konvoj Records are very proud to present a recording of this amazing event in May, 2013! ”