By Andrew Choate I’ve written about the Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen for the last ten years in a row (including 2005 and 2007) and the temporal format I’ve come to prefer requires me to write about the previous year’s festival a just before the next incarnation. The primary reason for this choice is not procrastination, but because I want to establish for myself and my readers what I consider to be lasting impressions. Living within a culture that hyper-regurgitates itself, a culture that attempts to acknowledge and be done with every cultural manifestation as quickly as possible, I’ve decide ..read more

By Ferruccio Martinotti One of the most pleasant and unexpected moments happened across our dangerous sonic territories was the phoenix’s rebirth off her ashes represented by the Gush comeback, after a more than 25 years hiatus. A series of live recordings (Afro Blue 1998, Tampere 1996) has seen back the light of the day and what was a guessing about a real reunion of the group is now a certainty: Gush is back and a full cylinders gigs schedule proves it without any doubts.  For the ones still unaware, Gush is a trio, one of the protean incarnations of the irrepressible Swedish genius ..read more

  By William Rossi The music of trio sinonó can be approached by very different people from very different angles: be it fans of sound exploration, fans of traditional jazz songs or people looking for a deep emotional connection, everyone can find something to sink their teeth into on this release. Bassist Henry Fraser and cellist Lester St. Louis (who appears to be a staple in my reviews lately) weave a wonderful tapestry of sounds for singer and composer Isabel Crespo Pardo's vocals to float over, creating an album of intimate and sincere pieces of unique jazz-chamber music of sorts ..read more

By Eyal Hareuveni Thirty years after its release, the debut album of the free jazz supergroup Die Like A Dog - German reeds titan Peter Brötzmann (on alto and tenor saxes and the tarogato), Japanese trumpeter Toshinori Kondo (on electric trumpet) and the American rhythm section of double bass player William Parker and drummer-percussionist Hamid Drake - is rereleased as a double vinyl, and remastered for vinyl (by Martin Siewert, the guitarist of Radian). This quartet was inspired by the music of free jazz pioneer Albert Ayler (1936-1970), whose lifeless body was found in New York City's Ea ..read more

By Paul Acquaro If the ringing sound of the Fender Rhodes-like keyboard doesn't tickle your jazz bones, then you should really question the integrity of your whole skeleton. From the opening moments of Ken Vandermark's Edition Redux's Better a Rook than a Pawn, just about all of you should be tingling.    The nearly 10 minute opening-track 'Time is the Tune / Wols / Uncommon Object' begins with the unique vibrating chunky keyboard tones from Erez Dessel. Along with drummer Lily Finnegan, the ground work is being laid for the kinetic entry of Vandermarks' saxophone and the light und ..read more

Photo by Jef Vandebroek What is your greatest joy in improvised music? The mystery, surprise and freshness of the unknown, how the shape it will take starts and how it will end, the whole intriguing process. It's something that only happens in this kind of music, it never happens the same way again. What quality do you most admire in the musicians you perform with? The communion, the sharing of the same ideals, the brotherhood that makes the whole difference in the music at the moment we're playing together and trust each other and are able to go deep and reach for something speci ..read more

  By Paul Acquaro Facing the large screen behind the stage, where typically the festival logo was projected, their backs to the audience, Shazad Ishmaly, on piano, and singer Ganavya Doraiswamy, were providing music and live commentary to the European Football Championship playoff game between Germany and Spain. It was do-or-die for the teams (Just in case: this is happening in Germany) and excitement for the game was palpable.    Shazad Ishmaly and Ganavya Doraiswamy. ©Niclas Weber "Oh, is red Germany," asked Ishmaly (who at the moment had adopted the stage-name W ..read more

Tyshawn Sorey/Adam Rudolph/Sae Hashimoto/Russel Greenberg/Levy Lorenzo –Archaisms II ***** (defkaz, 2024)    By Fotis Nikolakopoulos I use the five star rating rarely, but sometimes there’s seem to be no other way to express your gratitude towards the music. As it is with Archaisms I, the duo of Tyshawn Sorey and Adam Rudolph from 2023, the second release under the same name, this is a small masterpiece on its own. Whether it is a duo or an expanded version of it… This time the original duo is surely expanded by like minded artists Sae Hashimoto and Russel Greenberg of the experiment ..read more

Photo by Peter Gannushkin By Martin Schray A man’s shirt and a pack of cigarettes - that was the prize for the 16-year-old winner of a Zurich amateur jazz festival in 1957. That a woman could win the competition was simply unthinkable for the organizers at the time. When Irène Schweizer entered the world’s jazz stages, times were still different - especially for women. Irène Schweizer was born June 2, 1941 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. She grew up in a pub owner’s family in her home town and after her first attempts on the accordion she discovered the piano and the drums and joined th ..read more

Review of Compositions 426, 427, and 428. See part 1. By Don Phipps There is nothing about Compositions 426, 427 and 428 that speak the language of jazz. As Anthony Braxton argues, his music is not jazz. He strives to go beyond idioms. This is not modern classical either. Why? There is too much free playing and improvisation, that while structured, is not so structured as to create dogmatic expression. Braxton’s compositions instead fuse these two pillars (modern jazz and classical) into something new – a language that can best be described as Braxtonian. In these unique and wildly different ..read more