Reviews that mention Pierre Borel
February 1, 2019
The King of Bungle Bar
Umlaut Records UMFR CD 29
Leave it to the French. At least that’s the sentiment that should be expressed when listening to this sophisticated and swinging 74-minute CD. Lead by alto saxophonist Pierre-Antoine Badaroux, the 14-piece Paris-based Umlaut Big Band has created a proper salute to American composer/arranger/alto saxophonist Don Redman (1900-1964), who more than any other individual was responsible for creating the historic big band sound of the first third of the 20th Century.
Although he also led his own band, it was Redman’s 1920s and 1930s arrangements for first Fletcher Henderson’s band then McKinney’s Cotton Pickers that he is best remembered and the Gallic aggregation runs through brief versions of his “hits”. Adding versions of arrangements Redman also did for the likes of Count Basie and Jimmy Dorsey, Badaroux expands the understanding of Redman’s artistic facility by having the band play several tunes he transcribed for it from manuscript in the arranger’s papers stored in the New York Public Library. MORE
April 7, 2016
Grund
Pirouet PIT 3086
By Ken Waxman
With angular intensity in his gaze and his hair in a quiff, German percussionist Christian Lillinger, 31, could be jazz’s James Dean. While his acting credentials are unknown, the Berlin-based drummer is a lot more than a pretty face. He’s made his name as a sideman with the likes of venerable clarinetist Rolf Kühn and with his high-octave Hyperactive Kid trio. Now like the leading man who proves his mettle as director and star of a gritty drama, Lillinger has attained another musical plateau with Grund having composed 11 interlocking pieces interpreted by a high-octane septet. Using his trenchant percussion command, the drummer underlines or puts into bolder relief the compositions’ architecture as well as the other players’ contributions. MORE
March 12, 2016
Plays the music of Alvin R. Buckley
Umlaut ub007
Christian Lillinger
Grund
Pirouet PIT 3086
Théo Ceccaldi’s Quartet
Petit Moutarde
ONJazz JP-001
Ziporyn/Zimpel/Zemler/Riley
Green Light
MultiKulti MPTO 12
Dikeman/Parker/Drake
Live at La Resistenza
El Negocito Records eNR041
Something in the Air: Young Blood Still Pumps in Jazz
By Ken Waxman
Child prodigies really don’t exist in improvised music. Occasionally there may be some youngster known for jazz playing. But unlike other musics which depend on a performer having a cute image or being able to copy what’s on the score paper, improvising demands full exposure of an inner self. Lacking maturity the majority of these tyros soon disappear. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t young improvising musicians. But to create notable works, like the skills of exceptional actors or visual artists, true musical talent is almost always refined during the player’s twenties or thirties. MORE
March 12, 2016
Grund
Pirouet PIT 3086
Die Hochstapler
Plays the music of Alvin R. Buckley
Umlaut ub007
Théo Ceccaldi’s Quartet
Petit Moutarde
ONJazz JP-001
Ziporyn/Zimpel/Zemler/Riley
Green Light
MultiKulti MPTO 12
Dikeman/Parker/Drake
Live at La Resistenza
El Negocito Records eNR041
Something in the Air: Young Blood Still Pumps in Jazz
By Ken Waxman
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
April 2, 2014
The Braxtornette Project
Umlaut Records ub004
Douglas/Doxas/Swallow/Doxas
Riverside
Greenleaf Music GLM 1036
Flex Bent Braam
Lucebert
BBBCD 16
Tom Rainey
Obbligato
Intakt Records CD 227
The Whammies
Play the Music of Steve Lacy Vol. 2
Driff Records CD 1303
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
February 7, 2013
Umlaut
By Ken Waxman
For Swedes the umlaut or two dots over common vowels in Swedish transforms one sound into another. When Swedish-born, Berlin-based bassist Joel Grip explained that to others while studying in Baltimore, the transformative concept appealed to him so much that when he founded a record label he decided to adopt Umlaut as its name. Since 2004, Umlaut, now a musical collective with members in Sweden, Germany and France, has released 25 productions. The discs feature a cross section of young improvisers, including Grip, trumpeters Axel Dörner and Niklas Barnö, saxophonist Pierre-Antoine Badaroux and pianist Alexander Zethson plus more established musicians such as drummer Sven-Åke Johansson. “The research and questioning of improvisation and composition play an important role for Umlaut. Our improvisations become composed memory when heard, and our compositions are stated improvised memories,” says Grip. MORE
February 2, 2013
Composition No. 6
Umlaut Records umfrcd-06
Yoni Kretzmer’s 2 Bass Quartet
Weight
OutNow Records ONR 008
Using the textures of two double basses to enhance the rhythmic and descriptive qualities of ensembles has its antecedents in both large group and combo music of the mid-1960s onwards. However common usage is limited by the necessity of finding sympathetic bull fiddlers, not to mention economies of scale. These CDs – one mostly French, the other mostly American – demonstrate how two basses can be utilized in different contexts. Unsurprisingly neither sounds remotely like the other. MORE