Jessica Pavone’s ‘Lull’ Is a Four-Movement Composition of Emotion and Depth
Backed by an eclectic group of musicians, the latest work from violist/composer Jessica Pavone is centered on intuition and instinct.
avant-garde jazz
Trumpeter Steph Richards Finds Her Age of Aquarius on ‘Zephyr’
Steph Richards’ Zephyr is a beast that, in everyone’s interest, shouldn’t be tamed. Strange music is one thing in that it provides life with much-needed flavor.
Henry Threadgill’s Zooid Return With a Curious ‘Poof’
Henry Threadgill’s followers and fans of modern jazz will have a new milestone to celebrate with Poof. The rest of you work on not taking him for granted.
Graham Haynes vs Submerged Compelling Blend Jazz and Electronic on ‘Echolocation’
Graham Haynes vs Submerged’s Echolocation marries drum ‘n’ bass with jazz and stirs cyberpunk visions of electronic music with the work of Miles Davis.
Steph Richards’ ‘Supersense’ Is Music So Wild You Can Smell It
With her experimental jazz album Supersense, trumpeter Steph Richards may have created the first-ever album that you can smell.
The 11 Best Chick Corea Albums
Across 81 studio albums as a leader, another 25 live recordings as a leader, and then scores of albums as a sideman, Corea was an unerringly superb pianist, a thrilling soloist, a propulsive and sensitive accompanist, and a band member even though he was a superstar.
Charles Mingus @ Bremen 1964 & 1975
Two Bremen concerts by groups led by bassist and composer Charles Mingus in 1964 and 1975 remind us of the longevity and vitality of his brilliance.
Mary Halvorson Creates Cacophony to Aestheticize on ‘Artlessly Falling’
Mary Halvorson's Artlessly Falling is a challenging album with tracks comprised of improvisational fragments more than based on compositional theory. Halvorson uses the various elements to aestheticize the confusing world around her.
Masma Dream World Go Global and Trippy on “Sundown Forest” (premiere)
Dancer, healer, musician Devi Mambouka shares the trippy "Sundown Forest", which takes listeners deep into the subconscious and onto a healing path.
Webber/Morris Big Band Are Tightly Arranged and Gorgeously Free on ‘Both Are True’
The new jazz gets a treatment from a thrilling 18-piece big band playing compositions by saxophonists Angela Morris and Anna Webber on Both Are True.
Jaga Jazzist’s ‘Pyramid’ Is an Earthy, Complex, Jazz-Fusion Throwback
On their first album in five years, Norway's Jaga Jazzist create a smooth but intricate pastiche of styles with Pyramid.
Tatsuya Nakatani and Shane Parish Replace Form with Risk on ‘Interactivity’
The more any notions of preconceived musicality are flicked to the curb, the more absorbing Tatsuya Nakatani and Shane Parish's Interactivity gets.