by S. Victor Aaron Even if you’re into experimental music you might not have heard of Richard Pinhas, but he’s kind of a big deal in his native France. This guitarist led the art-rock band Hedron in the mid 70s, during which time they made seven albums. Pinhas went onRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Recently, Wilco lead guitarist Nels Cline reconvened his scary good Nels Cline Singers and last spring the group released Initiate, an ambitious, 2-CD affair. So what does Cline do next? Why, he follows up today with another 2 CD release that’s pushing the boundaries even furtherRead More

by Mark Saleski You’ll often find writing about music and art that separates the two things: music – art. We can all agree that music is an art form and that musicians are (or at least can be) artists. But what about the relationship between music and art? There hasRead More

by Pico This past July the Axis Trio released Anthem, and it’s one of those defining records for this young and fledgling jazz threesome. The Axis Trio is comprised of pianist Amino Belyamani, bassist Sam Miniae and drummer and percussionist Qasim Naqvi. Belyamani is from Morocco, while Miniae is Iranian-AmericanRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cornet player Rob Mazurek has got to be one of the busiest guys on the robust Chicago fringe jazz scene. We loved Sound Is when it came out last year, which introduced his new quintet, but Mazurek has by then helmed or co-helmed so many otherRead More

by Mark Saleski Over at A Blog Supreme, they’re tossing around an interesting question: What’s The First Coltrane Album You Fell In Love With? That’s an easy one for me: it was Interstellar Space. It sort of confused me (OK, it confused the heck out of me!) but I totallyRead More

by Pico Within the realm of improvised music saxophone players, Anthony Braxton has few peers, but David S. Ware has to be considered a lifetime member of that exclusive club. A free jazz saxophonist who is also a technician of the highest order, Ware has that rare ability to blurRead More

by S. Victor Aaron Cello virtuoso Erik Friedlander must have found a second wind at 50 years old because yesterday he released his second album of all new material as many months. The album, incidentally, is called Fifty: 50 Miniatures For Improvising Quintet and in Friedlander’s typically atypical fashion, itRead More

by Mark Saleski In our society, it seems like there’s a constant battle between idealism and cynicism. A person will take a stand on a particular issue, and no matter how quietly they do it, there is always an opposing force with the can of hot tar at the ready.Read More

When we last visited the music of the brilliant bassist and composer William Parker three years ago, he was putting his poetry to his music on Corn Meal Dance. Yesterday, he introduced a new album that again revolves around poetry but this time it’s based on the poetic music ofRead More