June 1, 2016

Matt Lavelle 12 Houses

Solidarity
Unseen Rain UR-9945

By Ken Waxman

True believer in the latitude of free jazz, multi-instrumentalist Matt Lavelle has worked in ensembles with such advanced music figures as, William Parker and Butch Morris. Now like a post doctoral fellow ready to take his mentors’ research in new directions, Lavelle has organized a 16-piece band, whose in-the-moment unity splendidly reflects the experiences designated by the horoscope’s 12 houses.

Following the philosophy of post-doc clinicians whose experiments are multi-disciplinary, the six tracks Lavelle created for Solidarity are satisfying because he has blended additional currents into the program. Building on the large group acumen in Parker’s bands and utilizing conduction that Morris initiated, Lavelle, who plays cornet, flugelhorn and alto clarinet here, moves beyond expected jazz tropes and instrumentation. Besides the usual saxophones, piano, guitar, bass and drums, 12 Houses is inhabited by piccolo, bassoon, violin, cello, percussion, banjo and mandolin plus the wordless vocalization of Anaïs Maviel. MORE

April 16, 2012

Jason Kao Hwang/Spontaneous River

Symphony of Souls
Mulatta MUL 022

Chocolate fetishists often have such a strong attachment to the sweet that to secure their business restaurants will describe a cocoa-infused desert as Death by Chocolate. While those who love stringed instruments as much as others love chocolate will find much to savor on Symphony of Souls, one would hope that the expansive sound picture created by violinist Jason Kao Hwang’s conduction of his composition is appreciated in less thanotological terms. Maybe the most appropriate recasting of the title should be Depth of Strings. MORE

June 23, 2010

Giuseppi Logan

The Giuseppi Logan Quintet
Tompkins Square TSQ 2325

One of the lesser-known second generation New Thingers, woodwind player/pianist Giuseppi Logan made a couple of interesting LPs for ESP-Disk in 1964 and 1965 as well as sideman appearances with trombonist Roswell Rudd and singer Patty Waters. Known equally for the strength of his music and his weakness in coping with the music business, Philadelphia-born Logan faded from view shortly afterwards and was thought to have died in the early 1990s.

But after being re-discovered living in New York a member of a Christian evangelical cult, Logan, now 75, began playing gigs with trumpeter/bass clarinetist Matt Lavelle. Lavelle and a top-flight rhythm section of pianist Dave Burrell, bassist Francois Grillot and drummer Warren Smith are all present on this, his first session in 45 years. MORE