Reviews that mention Ralph Alessi
RALPH ALESSI AND MODULAR THEATRE
Hissy Fit
(Love Slave Records lvslv 102)
There's a thin line between self-confidence and self-indulgence and Ralph Alessi crosses it often on this less-than-stellar release.
Trumpeter Alessi, one of the younger "downtowners", who in the past has done excellent work on Uri Caine's live Mahler project (on Winter & Winter), seems to think that everything he and his band does is worth preserving. Thus this record of a gig at Rochester, N.Y.'s Bop Shop, which tellingly includes no audience applause.
Most of the tunes, while affable enough, are certainly not memorable and soon degenerate into aimless riffs -- when they're allowed to develop that is. Five out of seven are saddled with the banal prose/poetry of one Carl "Kokayi" Walker. Walker whose nickname may be pronounced like that of Ed "Kookie" Burns, another arbitrator of the hip (1950s beatnik version) in his 77 Sunset Strip incarnation.
MOREJune 6, 2016
Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus
The Distance
ECM 2484
The Who
Zoo
Auricle Aur 14+15
Carlberg/Morris/Niggenkemper/Gray
Cosmopolitan Greetings
Red Piano RPR 4699-4419-2
Eric Platz
Life After Life
Allos Documents 012
Florian Hoefner
Luminosity
Origin Records 82706
Something In The Air: Those Who Teach Can Also Play
By Ken Waxman
As shibboleths go, the hoary “those who can do, those who can’t teach,” must rank at the very top of the list. Besides libelling the majority of educators who devote themselves to the task of imparting knowledge to students, it negates the activities of those who teach and do. Here are some musicians who maintain a full-time teaching carer along with consistent gigging. MORE
August 11, 2014
Polarities
Songlines SGL-1607-2
By Ken Waxman
Fittingly titled, the polarities implicit on this CD are the equal magnetic pulls of inventive soloing from alto and soprano saxophonist Peter Epstein and trumpeter/cornetist Ralph Alessi. Epstein, who teaches at the University of Nevada, Reno, balances each of the nine tunes he wrote for this session between compositional expression and pure improvising. Additionally he and Alessi, who have played together since the’90s and co-founded Brooklyn’s School for Improvisational Music, function Janus-like as similarly inclined but individual soloists. Not that it’s a two-man show though. Sam Minaie’s rugged bass line sets up many themes, while Mark Ferber resolutely manages the beat through tough swingers and emotive ballads. Three-quarters of the band may be NYC residents, but it sounds as if the four play together every day. MORE
July 11, 2014
Matt Mitchell
By Ken Waxman
After a year’s unhappy experience in the late ‘90s trying to establish himself in NYC, pianist Matt Mitchell, 38, escaped, as he terms it, to his hometown of Philadelphia and got a day job at the University of the Arts’ library. “I swore I'd never again play one music gig I didn’t want to play, and I haven’t.”
He’s certainly lived up to that pledge. Mitchell, who ultimately quit the library job in 2009, is still in Philly. But he now divides his time working in such high-profile ensembles as Dave Douglas’ Quintet, Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Bird Project, Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, Darius Jones’ Quartet, John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, Rez Abbasi's Invocation, plus his own band with bassist Chris Tordini, drummer Dan Weiss and tenor saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed. Mitchell has also been widely praised for Fiction, his Pi Recordings debut, which is a series of duets with Snakeoil drummer Ches Smith. MORE
May 14, 2014
Rhapsody in Blue
Winter & Winter 910.905-2
Théo Ceccaldi Trio +1
Can You Smile?
Ayler Records AYLCD 136
Samo Salamon & Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra
Free Strings Orchestrology
KGOSF VD 013
Nils Wogram & Root 70 with strings
Riomar
Wog Records 007
Vijay Iyer
Mutations
ECM CD 2372
Something In The Air: Innovative Writing for Strings and Improvisers
By Ken Waxman
As genres draw closer to one another, the idea of a musician from one area playing and composing a work in another area doesn’t seem so far-fetched. More importantly the sophistication of many contemporary performers means that these inter-genre excursions are triumphant rather than merely passable. One form that is being explored by improvised musicians for instance is composing for the bedrock of the so-called classical music tradition: string groupings. MORE
April 2, 2014
Obbligato
Intakt Records CD 227
Douglas/Doxas/Swallow/Doxas
Riverside
Greenleaf Music GLM 1036
Flex Bent Braam
Lucebert
BBBCD 16
The Whammies
Play the Music of Steve Lacy Vol. 2
Driff Records CD 1303
Braxtornette Project
Die Hochstapler
Umlaut Records ub004
Something In The Air: A New Take on Standards – Jazz and Otherwise
By Ken Waxman
Since jazz’s beginnings, the measure of a musician’s talent has not only been how well the person improvises, but also how he or she interprets standards. In the 21st century a standard song has evolved past its Tin Pan Alley origins, plus distinctive purely jazz compositions have entered the canon. But while more conservative players treat standards as immutable, the CDs here are noteworthy because their creators distinctively re-imagine standards. MORE
August 8, 2013
Andy Milne
By Ken Waxman
“Working with other people from other places and other disciplines expands your own ability to be creative,” notes pianist/composer Andy Milne, the 46-year-old Canadian who has lived stateside since 1991. Without question he has spent the past few years proving this dictum.
Best-known for his six years in the ‘90s as keyboardist with alto saxophonist Steve Coleman’s different bands, as well as leading his own Dapp Theory combo since 1998, Milne’s recent and upcoming projects include experiments with small group improvising and composed orchestral music; collaborations with a fellow pianist, two kotoists, actors and a comedian. Plus his associates hail from the US, France, Japan … and even outer space. MORE
February 5, 2012
Novela
Clean Feed CF 232
Olaf Rupp/Joe Williamson/Tony Buck
Weird Weapons 2
Creative Sources CS197 CD
Splice
LAB
Loop Records 1013
Bioni-Solberg-Brow
Hopscotch
ILK 179 CD
Something In The Air:
Expat Canadians Create High-Class Improv
By Ken Waxman
Almost from the time the professional music business was established in this country, the expected route for success has been for artists to head off to the larger market down south and set up shop there. Canadians from Percy Faith and Maynard Ferguson to Joni Mitchell and Teresa Stratas effectively followed that formula. But today, as American musical hegemony lessens and modern communications almost literally shrink the world, musicians, especially those who play improvised music, can demonstrate that a permanent home in Europe is as beneficial as becoming an American resident. MORE
January 11, 2010
Ways & Means
Songlines SGL SA 1580-2
Steve Lehman Octet
Travail, Transformation, and Flow
Pi Records P130
At least since the flexibility of a little big band was demonstrated in Miles Davis’ 1949 Birth of the Cool sessions musicians have utilized that formation when they want to expand their compositional reach without getting involved in the sometimes ponderous arrangements needed for an official big band.
Two stellar examples of the adaptable colors and rhythms available from seven- or eight-piece bands are these CDs by New York-based improvisers. Although both impressively extend sonic visions through the solos of some of Manhattan’s top players and crafty arrangements, overall alto saxophonist Steve Lehman’s Travail, Transformation, and Flow has the edge. Concerned with displaying the nuanced harmonics and overtones available from an assimilation of spectral music, the freshness of his arrangements and compositions trumps keyboardist James Carney’s scores on Ways & Means. Not that Carney’s conceptions are anyway second rate. It’s just that the compositions are shaped and performed in a contemporary jazz fashion in such a way that the results are expected and almost too familiar. You can almost see the parts clank and shudder into place. Perhaps “see” is the key word here as well, since Carney describes the Chamber Music America-commissioned Ways & Means as designed to be a movie in sound. MORE
January 11, 2010
Travail, Transformation, and Flow
Pi Records P130
James Carney Group
Ways & Means
Songlines SGL SA 1580-2
At least since the flexibility of a little big band was demonstrated in Miles Davis’ 1949 Birth of the Cool sessions musicians have utilized that formation when they want to expand their compositional reach without getting involved in the sometimes ponderous arrangements needed for an official big band.
Two stellar examples of the adaptable colors and rhythms available from seven- or eight-piece bands are these CDs by New York-based improvisers. Although both impressively extend sonic visions through the solos of some of Manhattan’s top players and crafty arrangements, overall alto saxophonist Steve Lehman’s Travail, Transformation, and Flow has the edge. Concerned with displaying the nuanced harmonics and overtones available from an assimilation of spectral music, the freshness of his arrangements and compositions trumps keyboardist James Carney’s scores on Ways & Means. Not that Carney’s conceptions are anyway second rate. It’s just that the compositions are shaped and performed in a contemporary jazz fashion in such a way that the results are expected and almost too familiar. You can almost see the parts clank and shudder into place. Perhaps “see” is the key word here as well, since Carney describes the Chamber Music America-commissioned Ways & Means as designed to be a movie in sound. MORE
December 3, 2008
Reinhold Friedl/Ensemble Zeitkratzer
Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire Cheap Imitation
Zeitkratzer Records ZKR 001
Mike Westbrook
Westbrook-Rossini
hatOLOGY 661
Uri Caine
The Othello Syndrome
Winter & Winter W&W 910 135-2
Speed/Cheek/Furic Leibovici
Jugendstil
ESP-Disk ESP 4048
Notated Music and Improvisation: Extended Play
So-called classic music and jazz have had an uneasy relationship since the beginning of the last century. Notated musicians yearned for jazz’s rhythmic and improvisational freedom, while jazzers coveted orchestral colors and financial support. MORE
December 3, 2008
Westbrook-Rossini
hatOLOGY 661
Uri Caine
The Othello Syndrome
Winter & Winter W&W 910 135-2
Reinhold Friedl/Ensemble Zeitkratzer
Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire Cheap Imitation
Zeitkratzer Records ZKR 001
Speed/Cheek/Furic Leibovici
Jugendstil
ESP-Disk ESP 4048
Notated Music and Improvisation: Extended Play
So-called classic music and jazz have had an uneasy relationship since the beginning of the last century. Notated musicians yearned for jazz’s rhythmic and improvisational freedom, while jazzers coveted orchestral colors and financial support. MORE
December 3, 2008
The Othello Syndrome
Winter & Winter W&W 910 135-2
Mike Westbrook
Westbrook-Rossini
hatOLOGY 661
Reinhold Friedl/Ensemble Zeitkratzer
Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire Cheap Imitation
Zeitkratzer Records ZKR 001
Speed/Cheek/Furic Leibovici
Jugendstil
ESP-Disk ESP 4048
Notated Music and Improvisation: Extended Play
So-called classic music and jazz have had an uneasy relationship since the beginning of the last century. Notated musicians yearned for jazz’s rhythmic and improvisational freedom, while jazzers coveted orchestral colors and financial support. MORE
December 3, 2008
Jugendstil
ESP-Disk ESP 4048
Mike Westbrook
Westbrook-Rossini
hatOLOGY 661
Uri Caine
The Othello Syndrome
Winter & Winter W&W 910 135-2
Reinhold Friedl/Ensemble Zeitkratzer
Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire Cheap Imitation
Zeitkratzer Records ZKR 001
Notated Music and Improvisation: Extended Play
So-called classic music and jazz have had an uneasy relationship since the beginning of the last century. Notated musicians yearned for jazz’s rhythmic and improvisational freedom, while jazzers coveted orchestral colors and financial support. MORE
April 1, 2008
Green-Wood
Songlines SGL SA 1566-2
Alberto Braida/Wilbert de Joode
Reg Erg
Red Toucan RT 9332
Kartet
The Bay Window
Songlines SGL SA 1560-2
Carl Ludwig Hübsch
Primordial Soup
Red Toucan RT 9331
Butcher/Muller/van der Schyff
Way Out Northwest
Drip Audio DA 00272
By Ken Waxman
Music transcends borders, and so does music distribution in the Internet age. Couple this with the maturation of the Canadian improvised music scene and a new phenomenon is visible: CDs recorded elsewhere, but released by Canadian labels for international distribution. MORE
April 1, 2008
Primordial Soup
Red Toucan RT 9331
Kartet
The Bay Window
Songlines SGL SA 1560-2
James Carney Group
Green-Wood
Songlines SGL SA 1566-2
Alberto Braida/Wilbert de Joode
Reg Erg
Red Toucan RT 9332
Butcher/Muller/van der Schyff
Way Out Northwest
Drip Audio DA 00272
By Ken Waxman
Music transcends borders, and so does music distribution in the Internet age. Couple this with the maturation of the Canadian improvised music scene and a new phenomenon is visible: CDs recorded elsewhere, but released by Canadian labels for international distribution. MORE
April 1, 2008
Alberto Braida/Wilbert de Joode
Reg Erg
Red Toucan RT 9332
Kartet
The Bay Window
Songlines SGL SA 1560-2
James Carney Group
Green-Wood
Songlines SGL SA 1566-2
Carl Ludwig Hübsch
Primordial Soup
Red Toucan RT 9331
Butcher/Muller/van der Schyff
Way Out Northwest
Drip Audio DA 00272
By Ken Waxman
Music transcends borders, and so does music distribution in the Internet age. Couple this with the maturation of the Canadian improvised music scene and a new phenomenon is visible: CDs recorded elsewhere, but released by Canadian labels for international distribution. MORE
April 1, 2008
The Bay Window
Songlines SGL SA 1560-2
James Carney Group
Green-Wood
Songlines SGL SA 1566-2
Alberto Braida/Wilbert de Joode
Reg Erg
Red Toucan RT 9332
Carl Ludwig Hübsch
Primordial Soup
Red Toucan RT 9331
Butcher/Muller/van der Schyff
Way Out Northwest
Drip Audio DA 00272
By Ken Waxman
Music transcends borders, and so does music distribution in the Internet age. Couple this with the maturation of the Canadian improvised music scene and a new phenomenon is visible: CDs recorded elsewhere, but released by Canadian labels for international distribution. MORE
March 21, 2005
Lobster Caravan
W.E.R.F.
Simone Guiducci/Gramelot Ensemble
Dancin’ Roots
Felmay/Newtone
By Ken Waxman
March 21, 2005
Matching improvisation with different sounds has been a defining factor in what we call jazz from its beginnings. As approximations of the sound stretch further afield the combinations became more unique and varied, especially when culture was taken into consideration.
Not all cultures and musics meld comfortably with jazz-inflected improvisations. Some match-ups are more noteworthy than others and often only parts of the union work. This becomes apparent when listening to the two European combos featured on these CDs. MORE
June 7, 2004
Fred Hersch Trio + 2
Palmetto Records PM 2099
Back in 1977, as a change of pace, pianist Bill Evans added saxophonists Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh to his trio of the time for CROSSCURRENTS, a Fantasy LP that amplified and enhanced his usual sounds.
Fred Hersch, who is arguably Evans’ heir in subtle inventiveness, does almost the same thing on this CD. The results are outstanding, giving an added robustness to the pianist’s compositions, which have a tendency to be overly fragile and prosaically mainstream in other situations. MORE
March 24, 2004
Gustav Mahler - Dark Flame
Winter & Winter 910-095-2
Newest chapter in pianist Uri Caine’s POMO recasting of the works of the so-called Great Composers, DARK FLAME showcases an almost total vocal program.
Based on lieder composed by Austrian Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), the musicianship and inventiveness here are at the same high standard as Caine’s earlier meditations on the work of J. S. Bach, Richard Wagner and other Mahler projects. But with 14 selections rearranged over 77 minutes, there are times the variations move from novelty to gimmickry. Mahler’s oeuvre heard in gospel, Klezmer, rock or mainstream jazz variations is engaging; but linking it to turntable tricks, Oriental sounds, overwrought poetics or cocktail jazz works less well. MORE