31 Days Of Album Reviews #16: The Chris Kelsey 4, “Not Cool”
THE CHRIS KELSEY 4 Not Cool (as in, “The Opposite of Paul Desmond”) (Tzazz Krytyk) Chris Kelsey is a writer and saxophonist who’s recorded a half dozen or so albums for the Cadence and CIMP labels,...
View ArticleWadada Leo Smith and Ed Blackwell
The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer (Kabell) by Phil Freeman Late last year, I interviewed trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith for the February 2010 issue of The Wire. (You can read the full transcript...
View ArticleOther Dimensions In Music Featuring Fay Victor
Kaiso Stories (Silkheart) by Phil Freeman Buy it from the label Other Dimensions in Music don’t record or perform nearly as often as they should. The fully improvising quartet, composed of trumpeter...
View ArticlePeter Brötzmann: Soldier Of The Road
Soldier of the Road is a new documentary about saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, which is making the rounds of film festivals and is also available on all-region DVD. The Wire premiered an exclusive clip...
View ArticleOther Dimensions In Music
Other Dimensions in Music is one of the greatest groups in New York jazz. For decades, this fully improvising ensemble—Roy Campbell on trumpet, Daniel Carter on saxophones, William Parker on bass and...
View ArticleRodrigo Amado
Photo: Vera Marmelo Portuguese tenor saxophonist Rodrigo Amado is a restless musical traveler who, despite working firmly within the “free” idiom, prefers groups to ad hoc encounters, and genuine ideas...
View ArticleInterview: Marc Ribot
Photo: David O’Shaughnessy Guitarist Marc Ribot‘s been around. Beginning in the early ’80s, he’s balanced his own skronky, avant-garde-ish solo work with sideman and session gigs for half the rock and...
View ArticleInterview: Jemeel Moondoc
Alto saxophonist Jemeel Moondoc first came to prominence on the New York loft jazz scene of the mid-1970s, as leader of the band Muntu. But he started out in Chicago, then moved to Boston, and then to...
View ArticleBest Jazz Of 2014: 25-21
Welcome to Burning Ambulance’s annual rundown of the best jazz albums of the year. As we did last year, we’ll be listing five albums per day. Let’s get started! 25. Vinnie Sperrazza, Apocryphal (Buy...
View ArticleBest Jazz Of 2014: 5-1
Burning Ambulance’s week-long countdown of the year’s best jazz albums concludes with the top five. Here we go! 5. Mike DiRubbo, Threshold (Buy It) Alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo‘s latest album features...
View ArticleRoy Campbell
Trumpeter Roy Campbell, who died in January 2014, was a fantastic musician who bridged the gap between hard bop intensity and free jazz exploration. He could play seemingly any note on the horn,...
View ArticleBA Podcast 49: Peter Brotzmann
It’s true: After a three-month hiatus, the Burning Ambulance podcast is back, with an interview with legendary saxophonist Peter Brötzmann! Peter Brötzmann first emerged onto the global scene in the...
View ArticleNew Orbit @ 20
When pianist Matthew Shipp, who turned 60 in December 2020, released New Orbit in early 2001, he was embarking on an intriguing new phase in his career. He had signed with the Thirsty Ear label as...
View ArticleWinter & Spring
Discussed in this essay: William Parker Trio, Painter’s Spring (Thirsty Ear, 2000); William Parker Trio, Painters Winter (AUM Fidelity, 2021); Other Dimensions in Music, Live at the Sunset (Marge,...
View ArticleMatthew Shipp In 2003
I’ve been friends with Matthew Shipp for almost 25 years. I’d already been listening to his music for a year or two before we met for the first time at the Vision Festival in 1998, where I saw him...
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