The Sunny Four [David Torn, Aurora Nealand, Ches Smith + Tim Berne] – ‘MYSTIC’ (2023)
The the music of ‘MYSTIC’ by the expanded Sun of Goldfinger ensemble The Sunny Four lives entirely in the moment while justifying multiple moments re-hearing it.
The the music of ‘MYSTIC’ by the expanded Sun of Goldfinger ensemble The Sunny Four lives entirely in the moment while justifying multiple moments re-hearing it.
Ivo Perelman’s one-on-one improvisations with 12 distinct reedists ‘Reed Rapture In Brooklyn’ is the story of an ambitious project told through a box set of recordings now being told through a full-length documentary.
We often hear about recordings ostensibly made without regard to rules, preconceptions and guidelines in pursuit of a mode of expression that’s pure and original. Marc Ducret’s ‘Palm Sweat’ actually sounds exactly like it was made that way.
Tim Berne’s and Gregg Belisle-Chi’s ‘ZONE 1’ completes a one-two punch of sax/guitar performances which are distinct from each other but at the highest level.
As ‘One More, Please’ makes evident, Tim Berne and Matt Mitchell can keep their collaboration going for a long time because their collaboration never moves beyond the discovery phase.
Michael Formanek’s composing prowess had set a high standard for this ensemble. Sometimes, though, you just gotta let guys run off the leash. And, as we now know with ‘Other Zones,’ he did.
Tim Berne’s Decay quartet was good enough to beg the question of why hadn’t they made a record from their time together. Now, that question needn’t be asked anymore.
Sun of Goldfinger’s ‘OZMIR’ is strangely enchanting even as it challenges you, and the only thing more astonishing is that such fully developed pieces of depth, mystery and just damned fine playing can be cooked up so quickly.
The disparate artistry of Will Bernard comes into sharper focus on ‘Pond Life’ because he pulls all those threads together into one tidy package.
‘Tangled’ is a second live document of the phenomenal sax-drum telepathy between Tim Berne and Nasheet Waits.