CD

The Vandermark 5

2008

"This is probably one of Vandermark's strongest compositional strengths : to structure carefully with strong melodic lines (listen to the beauty of "Any Given Number"), while leaving freedom to act, to integrate many things while creating something new, and all this while maintaing the band's phenomenal drive. It's fierce, it's tender, it's hypnotic. A captivating, surprising, intense album."

Joe Morris Quartet

2005

"... Morris leads his quartet on an adventurous and varied set. With hauntingly atmospheric modal grooves, tender, reflective ballads and invigorating, angular free bop, Morris's singular talents as a guitarist have never been more evident. -Troy Collins, All About jazz"

Made to Break

2015

Fendika

2016

"Melaku likes to call the music ‘Addis Tradition’, which means ‘new tradition’. And that how it is. You feel the strong, traditional Ethiopian tunes, deeply rooted in the culture of many regions, but you also sense the new generation of great dancers and musicians. All five of this Fendika group are extremely talented and groundbreaking in their technique and approach. -Terp Records"

Sylvie Courvoisier Mark Feldman Quartet with Scott Colley and Billy Mintz

2014

"This music possesses a striking beauty, even when it appears to be trying for a different effect. This in itself is a remarkable achievement, but that it’s also so damn accessible and easy to connect with just makes it that much more impressive. - Bird is the Worm"

Gustafsson / Russell / Strid

2012

"The trio of Mats Gustafsson (saxophones), John Russell (guitar), and Raymond Strid (drums) play an outstanding live set of improvisation with timbrical richness at Hagen Festen 2011"

Mats Gustafsson & Alfred Vogel

2017

"the two musicians have been waiting for this since a long time. In summer 2016 they gave it a chance when Gustafsson played on Vogel´s festival BEZAU BEATZ with his power-free-jazz-trio THE THING. After a short holiday weekend Gustafsson was ready to blow and Vogel to beat. "my baritone never sounded any better" claims the reed wizard while Vogel who was also doing the mix seems to be free as a bird can be - way up in the sky and down to earth ..."

FJF

1997

"The succinctly titled Blow Horn starts with a shout from the saxes of Gustafsson and Ken Vandermark, with bass and drums (Kent Kessler and Steve Hunt) churning underneath, and thereafter the energy level seldom subsides. This is post-Ayler, Brötzmann-incited freedom, storm centers of agitation and exuberance, with only brief moments of respite (“Biomass”) between onrushing shock waves. But even at such an intense tack they’re able to suggest distinctive rhythmic designs, like the raucous r&b inflections of “Blow Horn for Service” or the slow, taut groove of “Structure a la Malle"."

Joe McPhee & Ingebrigt Håker Flaten

2010

"Though willfully abstract in comparison to conventional interpretations, McPhee and Haker Flaten's commitment to the blues is palpable. Blue Chicago Blues is grounded in the same core principles that bequeathed I-IV-V chord progressions and flatted notes, celebrating an enduring tradition in its endless capacity for emotional expression."

The Ex

1984

"It's caustic. A real burner. (...) While still retaining an all important relevant edge to their musical comment , they've introduced elements of tunesmithing, attack, decay and composition that places them head and shoulders above their contemporaries."

The Thing

2013

Frode Gjerstad Trio + Steve Swell

2018

"Frode Gjerstad’s name can be legendary in Norway and all the European continent, due to the fact that he was practically the only one to contrast himself, from the beginning, to the saxophone style which defined the Scandinavian approach to jazz for 40 years, the one defined by Jan Garbarek, but his trio with Jon Rune Strom and Paal Nilssen-Love is relatively new on the scene. It started in 2011 and there’s only another recording with trombonist Steve Swell as special guest, “At Constellation”, from 2015. Of course, there were some previous cumplicities between these musicians: Nilssen-Love was a member of Gjerstad’s Circulasione Totale Orchestra since 1992 and the alto saxophonist and clarinetist played with Swell in several occasions, mostly when visiting the United States. Musically, the quartet proposes a very particular kind of free improvised music with strong connections to the free jazz tradition, reinforced by the participation of the American who collaborated with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Bill Dixon and Anthony Braxton. The energy level is very high, but the delivery isn’t always on the red: lots of dynamics and sudden contrasts keep the group interactions interesting and unpredictable. Frode Gjerstad’s approach to improvisation is distinctive in itself: he’s a melodic player, even if asymetrical, and he prefers the “old school” jazz phrasing to «reed-fueled bric-a-brac», as a music critic once wrote, managing to present it as if it’s a novelty."

Wheelhouse

2013

"The ten pieces presented here float in ruminating glances. The drummer-less trio invites stillness as its fourth member. Rempis delivers with a stoicism, eschewing volume for eloquence. -Mark Corroto, All About Jazz"

Lacerda / Manso / Nilssen-Love / Zenicola

2014

"A live recording of two extended improvisations at Audio Rebel's Quintavant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from the quartet of Arthur Lacerda on guitar and electronics, electric bassist Felipe Zenicola, guitarist Eduardo Manso, and drummer/percussionist Paal Nilssen-Love. "Bota" is a groove-oriented jam, Zenicola and Nilssen-Love carrying the pulse while the guitarists work above, ending with a degenerating electronic display. "Fogo" is the freer of the two, staring quietly and building into a wonderfully driving piece, with Nilssen-Love pulling out the stops with unpredictable and solid rhythmic intensity while Zenicola churns below. A powerful performance from Rio!"

Joe McPhee & Mats Gustafsson

2018

"Some recordings, the world is just not ready for them when they're made. In 2008, Swedish born, Austrian resident saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and Poughkeepsie, New York multi-instrumentalist Joe McPhee made a suite of studio recordings that they loved so much they immediately culled, mixed, and mastered them. A decade later, when the original label for which they were planned had not yet issued them, Gustafsson and McPhee offered them to Corbett vs. Dempsey, and when we heard them we couldn't believe the music. As searching and searing as anything either of them has made, the duets lived up to their explosive title. Gustafsson is known for his energy, and it's here in droves, but there are other nuances brought out by McPhee, a supple sense of melodicism (hey now, Gustafsson is a Swede, so by birthright he's melodic) and the love of experimental sound-making that McPhee displayed on his sound-on-sound recordings in the late '60s. Although the two wind-players have worked together very extensively – in Peter Brötzmann's large groups, with McPhee as a guest in Gustafsson's band the Thing, and in all manner of large and small group improvisations – but they have never issued a record of duets before. This duo debut, now a decade in the can, is insanely powerful. We recommend that you prepare yourself for the impact. Cover image by Charline von Heyl, interior photo of McPhee and Gustafsson bracing themselves back in 2002, by John Corbett. The package is completed by a haunting cover image by artist Cauleen Smith credits "

Agustí Fernández, Mats Gustafsson, Ramon Prats

2013

"In April of 2013, Agustí Fernández gave a series of concerts at what could be considered the most vital jazz venue in Barcelona, the Jamboree Jazz Club. During a residence that lasted over a month, he invited some of the best improvisers from near and far to participate in the Agustí Fernández Lab Sessions; documented herein we have the session with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson guesting (performing for the first time in Jamboree, curiously enough) alongside Catalan drummer Ramon Prats for what is both an insightful chronicle of the city's improvisational milieu and a keen recording of a kinetic and compelling performance."

Peter Brotzmann Chicago Tentet Plus Two

2002

""Certainly when, among other things, the double bass line-up with Kent Kessler and William Parker also presents, the drum tandem Hamid Drake-Michael Zerang or the trio brass with Joe McPhee, Jeb Bishop and Roy Campbell. Where the road is so open for focusing on a crushing group sound, the Chicago Tentet opts for a more modest approach. Especially Brötzmann's more than forty-minute 'Stonewater' leaves a lot of room for 'smaller' passages. The Arabic beginning is a striking example of this. With the tumbling hand drum and the eastern singing style of Hamid Drake, on which Brötzmann releases his elaborate, clarinet-like tarogato.""

Fire Room

2008

"Relying on their shared history and intuitive rapport, Vandermark, Marhaug and Nilssen-Love provide concise thematic continuity to their volatile free excursions with empathetic listening skills and clear communication."

Gold Sparkle Trio with Ken Vandermark

2004

"Operating in similar but different spheres for quite some time, the collaboration between Ken Vandermark and the Gold Sparkle Trio is a true meeting of the minds."

The Vandermark 5

2000

"Straight up funk grooves erupt into shrieking noisefests, only to subside into gentle ballad swing. The members of the V5 cooperate under his leadership on Burn the Incline to produce these amazing effects: the twin sax lead of Vandermark and Rempis powers forward under the propulsion of the versatile rhythm section of Kessler and Mulvenna. Bassist Kent Kessler gets his own time in the lead, and he uses it to advantage shaping the flow of the music. "