Ig Henneman, Jaimie Branch, Anne La Berge
Dropping Stuff and Other Folk Songs
Wig Records, Relative Pitch Records
“"... Three eccentric sketching women who succeeded in converting the concert hall into a spectacle with a drowned diesel engine on a race track, although it did not turn into a crazy fair. No, it was primarily an ode to the ingenious freedom, an intensely varied and colorful performance that was permeated by fun and games, but one of the kind that made your feelers and imagination run wild by its fresh originality, abrasive delicacy and unpredictable coherence." - Guy Peters, Enola Magazine ”
The Quintet
Events 1998-1999
PNL Records
“In the late 1990s, three young musicians in the Oslo jazz scene – Paal Nilssen-Love, Ketil Gutvik and Eivind Opsvik – hooked up with two legends – Carl Magnus “Calle” Neumann and Bjørnar Andresen. The project was named The Quintet and it was the meeting of two generations, with Neumann and Andresen passing the spirit of the 60s on to three musicians who would make their mark in the 2000s.”
Heart of the Ghost
Heart of the Ghost II
Dagoretti Records
“I first saw Heart of the Ghost in Ypsilanti, MI in July of 2018 having heard of them through mutual friend and percussionist Sam Lohman. Immediately, I was floored by their unapologetic, aggressive and bass heavy take on classic free jazz music.Their sound is challenging and cerebral yet contains distinct ebbs and flows of sound that is difficult to ignore. Bassist Luke Stewart is ubiquitous on the Baltimore/DC improvised music scene both as a solo artist and as a member of Trio OOO (with my buddy Sam), New Artists Orchestra, Irreversible Entanglements and others. Luke has already done more in his short time as a performing bassist than most musicians do in entire lifetimes. His thoughtful and challenging approach to stand up bass playing is at once mesmerizing and overwhelming. Multi-instrumentalist Ian McColm graduated from the Oberlin Music Conservatory and experiments with a wide variety of sounds both internationally and in and around the DC area and releases music under his IGM moniker. Ian brings a nuanced set of sounds into an otherwise hulking mountain of sonic chaos. Alto saxophone player Jarrett Gilgore, though unassuming in person, takes a blistering approach to the sax, leaving audiences feeling as if they have been hit with a pot of boiling water. In addition to Heart of the Ghost, he plays in Triage with Noah Jarrett and Kevin Ripley, Anthony Pirog's Body Puzzle, Xenga. Baltimore Afrobeat Society, Chris Pumphrey Sextet, Jaimie Branch's Bombshelter. -Pete Larson (Dagoretti Records) ”
Ken Vandermark & Terrie Ex
Scaffoldng
Terp
“SHIPPING NOW! "...Terrie was already bouncing towards Vandermark with a drumstick and too much energy that he needed to get rid of urgently. It was only a matter of seconds before the two gave their all, in that strange combination of seemingly incompatible tactics that somehow fit together. The rhythmic accents of Vandermark were razor-sharp and turbulent, and were executed with the same crackling energy that Hessels treated the strings with. The interaction was jumpy, constantly on the move, with a strong dash of humor (especially by an unleashed Hessels, who treated his guitar and the stage with a hammer (!)), but also an instinctive one; interaction that, despite enormous freedom, also led to a set that was as short as it was consistent.” (Guy Peters). ”
Sound American
Sound American No. 21: The Change Issue
Sound American
“SUBSCRIBE TO SOUND AMERICAN HERE: soundamerican.org/subscriptions.html The 127-page book was designed by Remake Design (who also created the now iconic Donald Judd: Writings book) and features words by or about Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, Ornette Coleman, Nicole Kaack, Bradford Bailey, G. Lucas Crane, Jennie Gottschalk, Ambrose Akinmusire, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Margasak, Terry Riley, Kim Brandt, John Cage, Josh Sinton, Edgard Varése, Marc Hannaford, John Zorn, Matthew Mehlan, Million Tongues Festival, Alex Mincek, Lester St. Louis, and Steve Lehman. Each book is thoughtfully designed and printed in Belgium on quality paper with a lay-flat binding. Beyond being simply a journal issue suitable for the periodicals section of your library, these are artfully designed and rigorously constructed books meant to sit aside your favorite novels.”
Catalytic Sound
Catalytic Quarterly Issues 1-4 (2018)
“In a very limited quantity of 30 hand-numbered sets, we present the first four issues of the Catalytic Quarterly collected in an envelope designed by our own Federico Peñalva. From Ken Vandermark's first article on the challenges of 21st-century sustainability to Mat's Gustafsson's collected Discaholic's Corner notes and everything in between from Ig Henneman, Andy Moor, Terrie Hessels, Paal Nilssen-Love, Joe McPhee, Joe Morris, Nate Wooley, Ab Baars, Elisabeth Harnik and Tim Daisy all of our partner artists non-musical Catalytic activity is collected in this set. Get one while the stock lasts! ”
Boneshaker
Fake Music
Soulwhat Records
“This is a very exciting and much welcome blast of old school free jazz energy from a collective group featuring Mars Williams on saxophones, Kent Kessler on bass and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums. Each has deep experience on the outer fringes of the jazz scene and they make for a very cohesive and potent unit. ”
Arashi
Jikan
PNL Records
“The trio of Scandinavian rhythm section Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Johan Berthling (double bass) hooking up with Japanese free jazz legend Akira Sakata (saxophone/clarinet) started in 2013 at the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. The trio took their name from the legendary 1977 collaborative album by Yosuke Yamashita Trio and dance group Dairakudakan – an album that Sakata was a central part of, that even 40 years later stand solid as a radical and bold musical statement. And this piece of history gives us a clue to where the trio of Nilssen-Love, Berthling and Sakata is aiming for, not by looking back and rethreading what has been done before, but adopting its attitude of kicking the often stale sax/drums/bass-format forward with such force that it feels completely fresh. After its start in 2013 Arashi has been a steady group, doing numerous tours in Europe and Japan, and PNL Records is pleased to release the trio’s third album, “Jikan”, a live recording from the Pit Inn club in Tokyo in September 2017. “Jikan” captures the trio at full force – with Sakata doing almost as much vocals as playing the reeds.”
