Instant Jazz Blog

A fresh start

instantjazz — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 07:13:58 +0000

From today onwards, it’s our intention to regularly offer updates that might interest fans of free/avant jazz and improvised music: news about upcoming releases, recommendations of exceptional albums, artist/label profiles, classic albums, remarkable initiatives in the scene, news from the stages where it’s happening, and who knows what else. Time will tell.

However, we will do so at the Instant Jazz website – HERE

Better late than never: My personal favourites of 2009

instantjazz — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:43:40 +0000

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

CD: Infernal Machines

Label: New Amsterdam Records

One of my discoveries in my first year of trading
Nearly in every end of the year’s list in the USA.

The Dave Rempis Percussion Quartet

Cd : The Disappointment Of Parsley
Label : Nottwo
If Ken Vandermark is the king , Dave Rempis is surely his successor. Saw an amazing gig in Moers.

Vandermark 5

Cd : Annular Gift
Label : Nottwo
An absolute landmark in this man’s discography!!

Keith & Julie Tippett

Cd : Nostalgia 77 Sessions
Label : Thru Thougts
It took me a while to have this.But now I am very happy with it . An extremely beautiful cd from two nice people.
Would like to see them perform in Belgium in 2010

Chris Potter Underground

Cd :Ultrahang
Label : Artistshare
I am very happy having Artistshare now.This Chris Potter cd is a very good example of what the label offers

Darren Johnston

Cd :The Edge Of The Forrest
Label :Clean Feed
One of the finest discoveries from the Clean Feed catalogue
this year.

Darius Jones Trio

Cd : Man’ish Boy
Label : Aum Fidelity
Probably THE discovery of the year.I’m always happy to discover new names.
That’s what makes the job useful.

Roy Campbell & Joe McPhee

Cd : Tribute To Albert Ayler- Live At Dynamo
Label : Marge
Saw this guys perform in Antwerp .Great stuff!!

Tony Malaby’s Apparitions

d : Voladores
Label : Clean Feed
Difficult choise between this and Paloma Recio .
Think that Malaby will have his great breakthrough in 2010

Han Bennink Trio

Cd : Parken
Label : Ilk
Successful combination of Dutch icon and Belgian upcoming talent. Very well done!!

Ran Blake

Cd : Driftwoods
Label : Thomkinqs Square
Extremely fine played cd by one of my favorite piano players.
Out of print!! Only a few left .

Ingebrigt Haker Flaten

Cd : Elise
Label : Compunctio
A coloboration of an underrated saxplayer and and extremely gifted bassplayer.

Tyshawn Sorey

Cd: Koan

Label :482 Music
A guy to watch and a label to watch.

Nat Birchall

Cd : Akhenaten
Label : Gondwana
The result of my hours of prospecting the net.
These discoveries make it worth

Anker-Taborn-Cleaver

Cd : Floating Islands
Label :Ilk
I have a soft spot for female sax players .!!
This is a very good one !!

Phronesis

Cd : Green Delay
Label :Loop
In the tradition of E.ST. Recommended!

Taylor Ho Bynum & The Spidermonkey Strings

Cd : Madeleine Dreams
Label: Firehouse 12
An extremely nice cd brought out by an extremely good label
co-owned by Taylor Ho Bynum

Huw Warren-Peter Hebert-Martin France

Cd : Hermeto +
Label : Basho
Very good cd .Typically easy going , after dinner music.
It doesn’t always have to be freejazz

Barry Guy Solo/Duo With Mats Gustafsson

Lp : Sinners, Rather Than Saints

Label NoBusiness Records
A colloboration between two masters of improvisation.

Their gig in Hasselt was the gig of the year!!

David S. Ware Quartet

LP : Live in Vilnius

Label NoBusiness Records
A milestone from the excellent Nobusiness label from Vilnius

All available at Instant Jazz

Inauguration Instant Jazz

instantjazz — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:07:10 +0000

Peter Jacquemyn:

Julia Kent:

Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone:

Improvisation with all the artists:

© Sandrine Verstraete

Julia Kent

instantjazz — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:24:01 +0000

Julia Kent, cellist with Antony And The Johnsons, will be in Belgium for a few days next week.

During this period there will be some concerts where she will play the music from her solo debut cd Delay.

First stop is de Singer in Rijkevorsel, where she will perform on Friday 23rd October.

Saturday 24th October there is a free concert in Ghent, as a part of the Flor de Cana Sessions, organised by El Negocito.

On Sunday there will be a more private concert near Brussels. Instantjazz blog will reserve you two seats if you can answer the following question correctly:

All the titles on Delay are names of airports. In which countries can you find Gardermoen, Malpensa and Dorval?

Mail your answer to toverstraat@skyet.be, the first one will be invited to the concert.

Good luck!

A Raw And Beautiful Thing

instantjazz — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:45:34 +0000

Coming Tuesday, October 13th, the long awaited debut recording of saxophonist/composer Darius Jones will be released on AUM Fidelity.

Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) is made in collaboration with musicians Cooper-Moore (piano and diddley-bo) and Rakalam Bob Moses (drums).

The eight compositions that Jones wrote for this album draw on the diverse range of musical influences he grew up with in his native Virginia: his uncle playing the saxophone, the reggae music his Jamaican listened to, the vocal music of the church choir and countless hours of listening to everything from classical to rock on the radio.

Meanwhile, the specialized media are already very enthousiastic about the record. AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins calls Jones “a prodigiously talented instrumentalist whose Southern roots shine through on this vivacious debut,” and “a new voice poised to receive widespread acclaim from the jazz underground.”

It’s Han-Time

instantjazz — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:18:25 +0000

Han bennink is very in vogue these days: newspapers, radio,… every media has something to say about this flamboyant Dutch drummer. Follow The Sound Festival even has a special “Bennink-evening” planned this Friday.

Yesterday, the Flemish newspaper ‘De Morgen’ printed a very praising review of his new cd, made in collaboration with Joachim Badenhorst, a young upcoming talent and fellow-countryman.

I am therefore very proud being able to offer this cd on my website.

MAREK-THE ONLY ONE OF NOTTWO

instantjazz — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:14:44 +0000

Marek of the Polish Nottwo label has played a very significant role in the set up of my activities in the music scene.

We met accidentally in Bruges and afterwards I gave him a lift to the airport. We have kept close contact ever since.

When Anthony Braxton and his group performed in Krakow, I was there and got to know Marek’s great hospitality.

The Alchemia, where Marek programs the concert agenda, is a place where every true jazz fan should have been at least once and also one of Ken Vandermark’s favourite venues.

Now Nottwo has 2 new releases of Ken Vandermark: one with his Vandermark 5 and a box of 10 cds with an exceptional cast.

Kwadratuur

instantjazz — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 21:15:30 +0000

As you have probably already gathered from visiting my blog and website, I have a very good relationship with stef of free jazz.

Now I also want to call some attention to the wonderful work of all the people of kwadratuur. This is a terrific site with a wealth of information and a well-covered concert guide (because that is often a problem, presumably you know that feeling of “ had I only known..”)

Other nice and pretty unique qualities are the live streaming, the possibility to listen to a whole song of a cd, with some extra information.

This week’s cd is one by Ran Blake, one of my preferred pianists. I wait with impatience until he will perform again somewhere nearby.

Enjoy Listening!

http://www.kwadratuur.be/audio.php?id=920

and

http://www.instantjazz.com/instantjazz-cd.php?id=302

Peter the Great

instantjazz — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:43:56 +0000

Sometimes happiness isn’t hard to find.

Yesterday I had a few appointments in Brussels and afterwards there was still some time left to pay a visit to a record store. As you can imagine, it is difficult for me to walk past one. And luckily I didn’t, because it was there that I saw a flyer announcing that Peter Evans would perform that same night.

Wow, one of my favourite musicians in whom I believe very much. Everything he does is of very high quality: from his comical Mostly other people do the killing to his solo projects. I rearranged my day a bit and headed for St Gillis that evening.

Despite the late announcement, the turnout was very high. The concert confirmed what I had known for some time: Peter Evans is an extraordinary musician with exceptional technique. In short a sublime evening.

Image from http://www.chicagoreader.com

It really is too bad though that those things are often so late and so poorly announced.

Recommended Listening:

http://www.instantjazz.com/shop.php?artistid=80

http://www.instantjazz.com/instantjazz-cd.php?id=148

Ken Vandermark in Cologne

instantjazz — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 17:56:49 +0000

Coming sunday I will once again undertake quite a journey to see Ken Vandermark and his Frame Quartet live in action.

I already saw Ken perform several times, in different formations and it always is worth while.

I hope to meet you on:

Sunday 6^th September at 8. 30 PM Stadtgarten Cologne.

Tim Daisy (drums)

Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello/effects)

Nate McBride (electric and acoustic bass)

Ken Vandermark (tenor sax/Bb clarinet)

Recommended records:

- http://www.instantjazz.com/instantjazz-cd.php?id=126

- http://www.instantjazz.com/instantjazz-cd.php?id=772