Drums

[Music] Virgil Donati – “Ruination” — Progressive Music Planet

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

As a drummer and composer, Virgil Donati is one of the best on the planet. [Insert a Planet X joke in here.] Yes I first learned about Donati from his collaboration with Derek Sherinian in Planet X. To be honest, the two of them really make their best music together. I like Sherinian’s solo albums […]

via Virgil Donati – “Ruination” — Progressive Music Planet

[Music] Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi with Masahiko Satoh – Proton Pump

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment

Avant-garde bebop seems to be the most fitting way to describe this release featuring saxophonist Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi (drummer Chris Corsano and bassist Darrin Grey) along with pianist Masahiko Satoh.  No less than Jim O’Rourke gushes over the the musicianship of this improvisers, but this isn’t a racket-filled noise blast.  The musicianship is astounding, free, and engaging, something a lot of improvisers can’t seem to make happen unless they’re truly something special.  It seems that Sakata has been making music since the 1960s, so I have a bit of exploring to do on his previous work.

[Music] Rosen Zahariev-Roko | Dimitar Bodurov | Dimitar Semov – Mixing Vanity Trio

/ Rudy Carrera / Leave a comment


I have to admit to being thunderstruck by the work of Dimitar Bodurov, a Bulgarian pianist, composer and producer based in Amsterdam.  Doing a quick run last evening over at Bandcamp in their jazz improvisation tag, I came across Bodurov’s work, both solo and in this magnificent ECM-feeling trio setup, and it hooked me in from the first blare of the trumpet.  Rosen Zahariev-Roko steals the show in this release, playing magnificently, and both he and Bodurov are ably underpinned by the percussion work of  Dimitar Semov.

Opto Music is going to be a label to watch for in the future.