Contemporary Jazz

[Music] James Hill + Santiago Fradejas – Requiem

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

The Fradejas family is no stranger to this blog. Both Santiago and A.M. have had releases featured here. This one is yet another feast for the ears.

Santiago’s guitar compositions can be explosive at times, but this more subdued, but intense performance couples beautifully with the trumpeting of James Hill, a brand new name for me to explore. ECM Records, or a label of equal quality, really ought to consider re-releasing an album like this in the future.

[Music] Verneri Pohjola – Pekka

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I’m absolutely pleased to announce an upcoming album by Finnish trumpeter Verneri Pohjola, titled Pekka. For those of you whose age hovers between 45 and 70 and were card-carrying members of the magic-hat-and-bunny-slippers brigade of prog rock aficionados, you will remember the legendary bassist Pekka Pohjola, who performed with such bands as Wigwam and collaborated with Mike Oldfield, among many others.

Verneri’s album will be a tribute to his father’s memory, and judging by the quality of the track being shared at the moment, it’s quite a lovely tribute.

[Music] The Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections – Dead Beat

/ Rudy Carrera / 1 Comment

This has to be the release of 2017, as least as far as March!

Our friends The Orchestra of Mirrored Reflections have graced our blog once before, in April of 2016 for a review of an incredible live performance in Odessa. The band return with a new, seven-track album which is as rich, dark and sumptuous as anything released by groups like the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Bohren & der Club of Gore and other such acts. In fact, I’d be willing to say that the beauty of this album surpasses these stalwarts.

The album consists of smoky jazz that sits somewhere between fusion and trip-hop. The guitar playing is minimal, gentle, but totally in keeping with the darkness of the music. The drumming, however, is what makes the release for me. It is sparse, minimal, with singular beats, serving as a wonderful linchpin to the rest of the instrumentation floating above.

After such a splendid release, we wait more magic from the band

[Music] Christian Brendel & Zomb – Odyssée

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I have a lot of friends who introduce me to music I would have never discovered on my own, and I’d like to think that I do the same for them in return. I’m indebted to my good friend Slava, who hails from Almaty, Kazakhstan, and is a fine musician himself, for learning about Christian Brendel (link is in French). Apparently, he’s an actor and poet was well as collaborator with the fusion group Zomb.

[Music] Aankondiging Pintotonics n+1 en OORSPRONG concerten

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‘Muziek bestaat niet. Het is hooguit een illusie’.
Misha Mengelberg

PINTOTONICS n+1
Huis de Pinto
St Antoniebreestraat 69
1011 Hb Amsterdam
020-3700210 > reserveren

20 :00 deuren open
20:30 start solo set
23:00 einde

Entree 10 + 7 (studenten/cjp)

PROGRAMMA 9 JANUARI

Solo set
Luis Vicente/trompet

Ensemble set
Tecla Gato Trio
Pablo Vazquez/contrabas
Caro Thierhs/altviool
Gustavo Obligado/alt sax

PROGRAMMA 27 JANUARI

extra PINTOTONICS n+1 editie
‘MICRO 2 PIANO TRIO’S FESTIVAL:’OUT of STEP’

Meesterpianist en ccomponist Guus Janssen en opkomend piano talent Matt Piet (Chicago) komen ieder met een eigen trio.

Set 1
Guus Janssen/piano
Ziv Taubenfeld/bas-klarinet
George Hadow/drums

Set 2
Matt Piet/piano
Raoul van der Weide/contrabas
Frank Rosaly/drums

PROGRAMMA 13 FEBRUARI

Solo set
Wilbert de Joode/contrabas

Ensemble set
Mary Oliver/viool+altviool
Camille Verhaak/klarinet
Nicolas Chientarolipiano

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OORSPRONG@BIMHUIS – 13 Januari 2017!
BIMhuis
Piet Heinkade 3
1019 BZ AMSTERDAM
020-7882150

Entree: 18 + discount check (www.bimhuis.nl)

19:30 deuren open
20:30 start 1e set
23:00 afterparty met DJ Superinca (Ibelisse Guardia) en DJ Strange Edge/Agrarian Dreams (Arnold de Boer)
in BIMhuis cafe

Instant light design: Petyr Veenstra
Video registratie: Alexis Kazazis
Curatoren: Julyen Hamilton/dans – Gagi Petrovic/electronica – John Dikeman/akoestische imrpovisatie

SET 1
Miri Lee/dans
Manel Sala/dans
Julyen Hamilton/dans

SET 2
Maya Fridman/cello+ stem
Djurdjica/piano+diy electronica
Angelo Custodio/stem+performance+electronica
Albert Manders/fluiten+performance

SET 3
Elsa Bergman/contrabas
Audrey Lauro/alt sax
Rogier Smal/slagwerk

Met dank aan STEIM, George Hadow, BIMhuis, Guillaume Heurtebize, Stephane Kaas, Oscar Jan Hoogland, Jochem van Tol/DokZaal, Ibelisse Guardia/DokZaal, Henk Zwerver, Kristien Sonnevijle, Alexis Kazazis en Presentsoundsamsterdam.

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OORSPRONG editie 23 Janauri 2017
DokZaal
PLantagedoklaan 8-121018 CM AMSTERDAM

www.plantagedok.nl
oorsprong.wordpress.com
www.bimhuis.nl
www.steim.nl
www.presentsoundsamsterdam.nl

19:00 deuren
19:30 start 1e set (LET OP: OORSPRONG begint vroeg!)
Entree 6

Curatoren: Joost Vrouenraets/dans – Thijs Geritz/electronica – Camille Verhaak/akoestische improvisatie

Nadere blinddate+instant composing lineups informatie volgt.
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[Music] Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Noël Akchoté – Opus (2013)

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

To review each and every release by Noël Akchoté would be impossible for this one-man blog to do, but I have the luxury of cherry-picking some real treats. This one, in particular, pairs Noël with Hans-Joachim Roedelius of Cluster fame, as well as a maestro in his own right. The album is a guitar/piano improvisation recorded in Vienna, Austria in 2013. Gentle, plucky sounds which cross into fusion territory at times.