It used to be, “West Coast jazz” meant Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Shelly Manne and Chet Baker. When thinking of West Coast jazz today, my thoughts tend toward Scott Amendola, Alex Cline, Sarah Wilson, Will Bernard, Rich Halley, Jeff Gauthier You May Also Like: Rich Halley 5 – The OutlierRead More

The name changed a little bit, but not the lineup: the Rich Halley 4 is the same Rich Halley Quartet who last year gave us the stunning Requiem For A Pit Viper You May Also Like: Rich Halley 5 – The Outlier (2016) Rich Halley – ‘Boomslang’ (2021)

Johnny DeBlase plays bass for a couple of thrash-jazz bands, including one of my personal favorites, Many Arms. You May Also Like: Desertion Trio – ‘Numbers Maker’ (2021)

Henry Threadgill is an improviser of the highest order, not because he can improvise on his saxophone or flute, but because he also impovises well with the structure of the song. That creates a unique kind disruption in his music You May Also Like: Henry Threadgill Zooid – ‘Poof’ (2021)Read More

Italian electric bassist Giacomo Merega once again gets together with saxophonist Noah Kaplan and guitarist Marco Cappelli for a set of rhythm-less free form improvisations Watch the Walls Instead. You May Also Like: Noah Jack, “Neighborhood” (2017): One Track Mind Tiger Hatchery – ‘Breathing In the Walls’ (2018) Noah HaiduRead More

We tend to think of musicians who have been able to keep coming forth with creative, fresh ideas with nearly every attempt in the past tense. Mozart, Ellington, Miles, The Beatles are a few who can fit into that category but they are of long past eras. You May AlsoRead More

The Internet is chock full of “Unboxing” videos, the so-called “new geek porn.” I don’t find them particularly interesting but that’s because I’m fairly certain I’m not part of their target audience. You May Also Like: Jeff Cosgrove, with Matthew Shipp + William Parker – ‘Near Disaster’ (2018) Whit Dickey,Read More

One surefire way to know if your ears are trained to listen to European-derived music forms is to listen to microtonal music for even just a few seconds. If it strikes you as exotic and weird, then you are most attuned to Western style music You May Also Like: PhilippRead More

“Bending Bridges,” reveals Mary Halvorson, “is a title I came up with in a semi-conscious state”, the same as how most of the titles in her songs come about. You May Also Like: Mary Halvorson Octet – Away With You (2016) Mary Halvorson – ‘Cloudward’ (2024)

Anyone who has heard Mary Halvorson perform even just once has likely caught her trademark move: the sudden burst of notes quavering, akin to hitting the whammy bar but with a little more nuance. You May Also Like: Illegal Crowns [Tomas Fujiwara, Mary Halvorson, Taylor Ho Bynum + Benoît Delbecq]Read More