Reviews that mention Benoît Delbecq
December 26, 2016
Illegal Crowns
RogueArt ROG-0066
Taylor Ho Bynum
Enter the Plustet
Firehouse 12 FH 12-04-01-025
Quietly and without excessive fanfare, Connecticut-based cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum has become one of this century’s most accomplished composers, improvisers, orchestrators and band leaders. Like a fighter who excels in whatever weight classes he trains for, Bynum has not only been involved in the macro sense, as one assistant conductor of some of Anthony Braxton’s major creations, but also in micro situations, where he manages to convey the breath of his ideas performing solo or in ensembles as small as duos, usually with drummer Tomas Fujiwara. MORE
February 21, 2016
Ink
Clean Feed CF 340 CD
Les amants de Juliette
S’électrolysent
Quoi de neuf docteur Doc 070
Recording for more than a quarter century, French pianist Benoît Delbecq has made a point to divide his skills between conventional and unconventional sessions and various-sized ensembles. Close listening to these sets though suggests that the trio nay be his perfect formation. In the right hands and using appropriately flexible instrumentation, a sufficient number of colors are coupled with economy of form. At the same time, like the proper organization of a spread sheet, there’s enough space remaining so that each of the participants has room to amply express his participation. MORE
February 21, 2016
S’électrolysent
Quoi de neuf docteur Doc 070
Benoît Delbecq 3
Ink
Clean Feed CF 340 CD
Recording for more than a quarter century, French pianist Benoît Delbecq has made a point to divide his skills between conventional and unconventional sessions and various-sized ensembles. Close listening to these sets though suggests that the trio nay be his perfect formation. In the right hands and using appropriately flexible instrumentation, a sufficient number of colors are coupled with economy of form. At the same time, like the proper organization of a spread sheet, there’s enough space remaining so that each of the participants has room to amply express his participation. MORE
February 1, 2016
Joëlle Léandre/Benoît Delbecq/Carnage the Executioner
Tout Va Monter
Nato 4757
Léandre/Delbecq/Houle
14 rue Paul Fort, Paris
Leo Records CD LR 731
Disciplined laboratory experiments are often amended by substituting one element in the formula, leading to unforeseen results. More volatile, group improvisations can become startling heterogeneous when a single element component is altered, even though the result may be just as memorable.
Take these two live sets recording nine month apart by Paris-based tone instigators bassist Joëlle Léandre and pianist Benoît Delbecq. Like groomed trail and bushwacking skiers, they’re equally open to playing with proven partners or striking out in new directions. Thus 14 rue Paul Fort, Paris is a rough gem of near-chamber improv uniting the two with Vancouver clarinetist François Houle, who each has recorded with in the past. A leap into the unknown, Tout Va Monter is an earlier interaction among both and American beat boxer Carnage the Executioner, who usually works with rapper Desdamona as Ill Chemistry. MORE
February 1, 2016
14 rue Paul Fort, Paris
Leo Records CD LR 731
Joëlle Léandre/Benoît Delbecq/Carnage the Executioner
Tout Va Monter
Nato 4757
Disciplined laboratory experiments are often amended by substituting one element in the formula, leading to unforeseen results. More volatile, group improvisations can become startling heterogeneous when a single element component is altered, even though the result may be just as memorable.
Take these two live sets recording nine month apart by Paris-based tone instigators bassist Joëlle Léandre and pianist Benoît Delbecq. Like groomed trail and bushwacking skiers, they’re equally open to playing with proven partners or striking out in new directions. Thus 14 rue Paul Fort, Paris is a rough gem of near-chamber improv uniting the two with Vancouver clarinetist François Houle, who each has recorded with in the past. A leap into the unknown, Tout Va Monter is an earlier interaction among both and American beat boxer Carnage the Executioner, who usually works with rapper Desdamona as Ill Chemistry. MORE
June 6, 2015
Samuel Blaser
By Ken Waxman
Swiss-born trombonist Samuel Blaser maintains strong North American ties that extend far beyond the musicians on Spring Rain (Whirlwind), his newest CD. While the disc, dedicated to Jimmy Giuffre (1921-2008) feature all-American backing from keyboardist Russ Lossing, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Gerald Cleaver, one of his frequent trans-Atlantic trips bring him to NYC this month for a series of gigs with other long-time associates such as drummer Harris Eisenstadt, bassist Michael Bates and tenor saxophonist Michael Blake – all Canadians. “It’s like a big family” says Blaser, 33. “I like to draw upon the same members in many of my bands.” MORE
December 21, 2014
Floodstage
Clean Feed CF 290 CD
The Tim Daisy Trio
A Fine Day in Berlin
Relay Recordings 006
Compositional focus or pure improv, emblematic Jazz piano trios with bass and drums can be envisioned in accordance with the tendencies of the participants. These sessions, recorded about one month apart in different European countries, instructively outline these differences. Interestingly enough as well, although the piano is the main melody instrument on both, neither session is lead by a pianist. The second outing for a group consisting of French pianist Benoît Delbecq plus New Yorkers, drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist John Hébert, Floodstage mostly highlight the compositions of the New Orleans-born bassist. A true international configuration, A Fine Day in Berlin’s four extended track resulted from a day of collaboration between American drummer Tim Daisy, Norwegian pianist Håvard Wiik and Australian bassist Clayton Thomas. MORE
October 11, 2014
Grand Laps
Songlines SGL 1605-2
By Ken Waxman
Having established an international reputation, pianist Benoît Delbecq now turns up in North America as frequently as in his native France. However this session reunites him with the Paris-based Kartet quartet with which he has been playing for 25 years. Grand Laps, the band’s seventh CD, is its first in seven years. But listening to its controlled and cooperative work you’d figure the band members hadn’t been apart for a nanosecond.
There is one change. While the pianist, saxophonist Guillaume Orti, and bassist Hubert Dupont are originals, Belgian drummer Stéphane Galland is a newer recruit. Still his contributions don’t upset the group ethos any more than Joe Morello did when he joined the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Brubeck’s foursome is an apt comparison, for even dividing his skills among alto, soprano and C-melody saxophones, Orti possess an unflappable lyrical style, reminiscent of Paul Desmond. MORE
August 1, 2014
Jazzdor-Strasbourg-Berlin 2014
By Ken Waxman
The KulturBrauerei’s music space Kesselhaus in East Berlin was a fitting site for the eighth annual Jazzdor-Strasbourg-Berlin (JSB) festival June 3-6. With jazz and improvised music’s universality now a given, a festival presenting mostly French jazz taking place in what had been one of Berlin’s oldest breweries, now repurposed from industrial to artistic use, doesn’t seem that much of a stretch.
Overall its all-inclusive musical theme was confirmed by the programming of JSB’s artistic director Philippe Ochem and his team, which already host Strasbourg’s annual Jazzdor festival. Over four nights, JSB presented musician from different parts of Germany, Belgium and the US plus proudly delineated Basque and Corsican players, all of whom worked with improvisers from France’s major musical centres. MORE
June 9, 2014
Samuel Blaser Consort in Motion
A Mirror to Machaut
Songlines SGL 1604-2
Samuel Blaser/Benoît Delbecq/Gerry Hemingway
Fourth Landscape
Nuscope CD 1027
Making a big noise for himself – literally – is Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser, who in the past half-decade has moved from regularly working with local players to solidifying an international profile. These two fine discs, recorded within a month of one another and both featuring expatriate American drummer Gerry Hemingway, go a long way towards explaining Blaser’s appeal. 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
November 6, 2012
Genera
Songlines SGL 1595-2
François Houle/Benoît Delbecq
Because She Hoped
Songlines SGL 1592-2
Benoît Delbecq
Crescendo in Duke
Nato 4375
By Ken Waxman
Paris-based, but as likely to turn up on North American as European sessions, pianist Benoît Delbecq is the very model of a cosmopolitan improviser. Often working with prepared piano and/or electronics, Delbecq specializes in cutting-edge interpretations, but his limpid playing also relates to a tradition that takes in Steve Lacy and through him Duke Ellington. MORE
November 6, 2012
Because She Hoped
Songlines SGL 1592-2
François Houle
Genera
Songlines SGL 1595-2
Benoît Delbecq
Crescendo in Duke
Nato 4375
By Ken Waxman
Paris-based, but as likely to turn up on North American as European sessions, pianist Benoît Delbecq is the very model of a cosmopolitan improviser. Often working with prepared piano and/or electronics, Delbecq specializes in cutting-edge interpretations, but his limpid playing also relates to a tradition that takes in Steve Lacy and through him Duke Ellington. MORE
November 6, 2012
Crescendo in Duke
Nato 4375
François Houle
Genera
Songlines SGL 1595-2
François Houle/Benoît Delbecq
Because She Hoped
Songlines SGL 1592-2
By Ken Waxman
Paris-based, but as likely to turn up on North American as European sessions, pianist Benoît Delbecq is the very model of a cosmopolitan improviser. Often working with prepared piano and/or electronics, Delbecq specializes in cutting-edge interpretations, but his limpid playing also relates to a tradition that takes in Steve Lacy and through him Duke Ellington. MORE
April 11, 2012
Because She Hoped
Songlines SGL 1592-2
Dazzlingly interactive, this third duo disc by Vancouver clarinetist François Houle and Parisian pianist Benoît Delbecq exposes rugged as well as impressionistic textures. Delbecq, who often prepares his strings with implements, and Houle whose extended techniques include circular breathing and split tones are modest as well. They allow the improvisations to evolve organically rather than calling attention to their skills.
Yet two versions of the clarinetist’s Pour Pee Wee end up being completely distinct. Houle smears intense vibrations atop Delbecq’s uninterrupted wooden key clicks in 120 seconds during the first variant; the second, three times as long, finds the pianist’s sour and percussive motifs enlivened by passing chords and staccato asides, as circling glissandi and tremolo flattement presage a final swinging pulse from Delbecq. This unforced jauntiness is also expressed on the un-clichéd Clichés, composed by saxophonist Steve Lacy who influenced them both. Delbecq’s marimba-like string pops are perfect down-to-earth accompaniment to the concentric and jaunty melody elaborated by Houle. When reed squeaks and syncopated lines unite for the finale the textural release illuminates the note-perfect, yet moderated playing of both. MORE
April 18, 2011
Circles and Calligrams
Songlines SGK 1583-2
Albert Van Veenendaal
Minimal Damage
Evil Rabbit ERR 13
Park Chang Soo
Infinite Finitude
Audioguy Records AGHSCD0001
More than four centuries after the invention of the piano-forte, new possibilities for its role as a solo instrument continue to exist. This trio of discs demonstrates that with a caveat: As the 21st Century deepens, it’s evident that the most popular innovation involves preparing the strings and treating the box so that the piano becomes as much a percussion instrument as a stringed one. MORE
November 2, 2009
Guewel
Clean Feed CF 123 CD
RIDD Quartet
Fiction Avalanche
Clean Feed CF 121 CD
Andy Milne-Benoît Delbecq
Where is Pannonica?
Songlines SGL SA-1579-2
Michael Bates’ Outside Sources
Live in New York
Greenleaf Paperback Series Vol 4
EXTENDED PLAY: Canadians at Home and Aboard
By Ken Waxman
Ancient but apt, the saying “you can take a boy out of the country, but can’t take the country out of the boy” is more accurate if the country is Canada and the “boys” are male and female musicians in the United States. No matter how busy they are, improvisers are always ready to play north of the border. Last month, for instance, Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based drummer Harris Eisenstadt played two Toronto shows in one day before continuing an American tour. MORE
November 2, 2009
Where is Pannonica?
Songlines SGL SA-1579-2
Harris Eisenstdat
Guewel
Clean Feed CF 123 CD
RIDD Quartet
Fiction Avalanche
Clean Feed CF 121 CD
Michael Bates’ Outside Sources
Live in New York
Greenleaf Paperback Series Vol 4
EXTENDED PLAY: Canadians at Home and Aboard
By Ken Waxman
Ancient but apt, the saying “you can take a boy out of the country, but can’t take the country out of the boy” is more accurate if the country is Canada and the “boys” are male and female musicians in the United States. No matter how busy they are, improvisers are always ready to play north of the border. Last month, for instance, Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based drummer Harris Eisenstadt played two Toronto shows in one day before continuing an American tour. MORE
November 2, 2009
Fiction Avalanche
Clean Feed CF 121 CD
Harris Eisenstdat
Guewel
Clean Feed CF 123 CD
Andy Milne-Benoît Delbecq
Where is Pannonica?
Songlines SGL SA-1579-2
Michael Bates’ Outside Sources
Live in New York
Greenleaf Paperback Series Vol 4
EXTENDED PLAY: Canadians at Home and Aboard
By Ken Waxman
Ancient but apt, the saying “you can take a boy out of the country, but can’t take the country out of the boy” is more accurate if the country is Canada and the “boys” are male and female musicians in the United States. No matter how busy they are, improvisers are always ready to play north of the border. Last month, for instance, Toronto-born, Brooklyn-based drummer Harris Eisenstadt played two Toronto shows in one day before continuing an American tour. 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
Way Out Northwest
Drip Audio DA 00272
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
Carl Ludwig Hübsch
Primordial Soup
Red Toucan RT 9331
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
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
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
November 15, 2005
Challenging Sounds from Canada’s West Coast
for CODA
“I love the challenge of producing records well, and I try to keep up with technology,” states Tony Reif, owner of Vancouver, B.C.’s Songlines Recordings.
Now in its 13th year, the West Coast-based label has 56 CDs in its catalogue, many of which mix jazz with World and so-called classical music. Besides recording projects from Canadian, American and European musicians – sometimes in international groups – every Songlines CD since 2002 has been released as a hybrid SACD. MORE
February 14, 2005
Phonetics
Songlines
Defoort/Turner/Thys/Black
Sound Plaza
W.E.R.F.
By Ken Waxman
February 14, 2005
Jazz’s universality now means that having Americans record with a European leader is no novelty. In the 21st Century, the match-up isn’t like those LPs of the 1950s and 1960s that featured Bud Powell playing with no name sidemen or Zoot Sims “visiting Paris”.
Today if “foreigners” are on a date, it’s because the leader figures they’ll add something unique to his vision. Which is what happens on these two discs by pianists, that serendipitously both feature tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, putting him in unexpected situations for a California-raised so-called young lion. MORE
January 26, 2004
The sublime and. Sciencefrictionlive
Thirsty Ear RHI 57139.2
MARC DUCRET
Qui parle?
Sketch SKE 333038
Leaving well enough alone has never had particular appeal to those involved in creating electrified jazz/rock fusion music. Why keep the volume control knob turned to nine when it can reach 10? And why play for a few minutes when a half-hour or so is available?
Alto saxophonist/composer Tim Berne -- who has proven his talents in many situations ranging from working in standard-size jazz combos to writing for a classical sax quartet -- flirts with excess on this two-CD set, recorded live in Switzerland. While he and drummer Tom Rainey stick to acoustic instruments, the allure of showing off the textures available from Marc Ducret’s guitar(s) and effects and Craig Taborn’s electric piano, laptop computer and virtual organ evidentially prove too seductive. Although in total the Science Friction band session clocks in at 109 minutes, it includes three tunes in the 20-minute range and one that rocks on for more than 30. MORE
November 10, 2003
Nu-Turn
Songlines SA 1543-2
HANS FJELLESTAD
33
Accretions ALP 032
Preparing or doctoring the strings of the piano with different objects, then playing them using uncommon techniques has been part of contemporary music since composer John Cage came up with the idea in the 1940s.
Free improvisers of every stripe have also adapted the technique to a greater or lesser extent without making too much of a fuss about it; the originality of their creation is usually apparent without artificial means. Here are two completely different approaches to the method. MORE