2008 Village Voice Jazz Poll

The results of the 2008 Village Voice Jazz Poll are in and we’re pleased to report that five of our clients’ releases made the top 30 in the Jazz Album of the Year category.

#16: William Parker Quartet, Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity)
#21: Mary Halvorson Trio, Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records) 
#24: Mario Pavone, Trio Arc (Playscape Recordings)
#27: William Parker, Double Sunrise Over Neptune (AUM Fidelity)
#29: Bill Dixon, 17 Musicians In Search Of A Sound: Darfur (AUM Fidelity)

Congratulations are also in order for the following releases included on individual voters’ top 10 lists as part of the polling.

Jason Adasiewicz, Rolldown (482 Music)
Roy Campbell, Akhenaten Suite (AUM Fidelity)
Yoon Sun Choi/Jacob Sacks, Imagination (Yeah Yeah Records)
Nicole Mitchell, Xenogenesis Suite (Firehouse 12 Records)
Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet, Ancestors (Playscape Recordings)
Eri Yamamoto, Duologue (AUM Fidelity)
Eri Yamamoto Trio, Redwoods (AUM Fidelity)

Reminder: Michael Musillami Trio + 3 To Make NYC Debut January 31st

 On Saturday, January 31st, guitarist/composer Michael Musillami’s newest ensemble, the Michael Musillami Trio + 3, will make its New York debut at Cornelia Street Cafe.  The group will be performing new original music, which it will then record the following day for its forthcoming May 2009 release on Playscape Recordings.  The Michael Musillami Trio + 3 augments Musillami’s longstanding core trio, featuring bassist Joe Fonda and drummer George Schuller, with trumpeter Ralph Alessi, multi-instrumentalist Marty Ehrlich and vibraphonist Matt Moran.

“Guitarist Musillami is really on a roll lately, documenting a number of high quality sessions on his Playscape label,” declared Cadence reviewer Jason Bivins.  Critics called his latest, 2007’s The Treatment, featuring his trio with violinist Mark Feldman, “scintillating and provocative” (Bill Milkowski, Absolute Sound), “an intensely rewarding and conceptually promising avenue for the future of jazz” (Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com) and “as convincing a statement of what’s still possible with the instrumentation as anything I’ve heard in years” (Brian Morton, PointofDeparture.org).  It was also included in best-of-the-year lists in AllAboutJazz.com, Cadence, Coda, the Hartford Courant, Jazz Review and the Village Voice.

Musillami has been called “a superior guitarist” (John McDonough, DownBeat), “an adroit and creative musician” (Michael J. West, JazzTimes), “a fine composer of notable original music” (Michael G. Nastos, All Music Guide) and “a modern-day jazz master” (Roger Levesque, Edmonton Journal).  “His compositions develop in leisurely style from quiet simplicity to intricate complexity,” explained Jack Massarik in Jazzwise, “and the ensemble playing is civilized, sophisticated and clean.”  The Boston Phoenix’s Jon Garelick adds,  “Musillami sounds familiar—this is swinging jazz guitar, after all—but not quite like anyone else.”

AAJ-NY’s Best Of 2008

We’re pleased to report that several of our clients are honored in AllAboutJazz-New York’s Best of 2008 feature in the January 2009 issue. Please find the details below.

The complete issue, also featuring a cover story on William Parker, is available free in venues and jazz-related sites all over New York and downloadable as a PDF by clicking here.

Congratulations to all the musicians, labels and organizations named among the year’s best.

Record Labels of the Year:
AUM Fidelity

Performances of the Year:
Billy Bang/Kidd Jordan/William Parker/Hamid Drake @ Vision Festival XIII
William Parker’s Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield @ Vision Festival XIII

Albums of the Year:
Mario Pavone, Trio Arc (Playscape Recordings)

Vocal Releases of the Year:
Yoon Sun Choi/Jacob Sacks, Imagination: The Music of Joe Raposo (Yeah Yeah Records) 

Tribute Recordings of the Year:
Yoon Sun Choi/Jacob Sacks, Imagination: The Music of Joe Raposo (Yeah Yeah Records) 

Debut Albums of the Year:
Mary Halvorson Trio, Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12 Records) 

Honorable Mention:
Bill Dixon, 17 Musicians In Search Of A Sound: Darfur (Arts for Art/AUM Fidelity) 
Garrison Fewell/Eric Hofbauer, The Lady of Khartoum (Creative Nation Music)
Nicole Mitchell, Xenogenesis Suite: A Tribute To Octavia Butler (Firehouse 12 Records)
William Parker, Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Arts for Art/AUM Fidelity)
William Parker Quartet, Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity)
George Schuller’s Circle Wide, Like Before, Somewhat After (Playscape Recordings)

Wall Street Journal: Petit Oiseau A 2008 Stand Out

In the December 27th issue of the Wall Street Journal, Larry Blumenfeld included the William Parker Quartet’s Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity) in his list of five standout jazz recordings of 2008.

He writes, “Petit Oiseau is the strongest offering yet from Mr. Parker’s quartet.  This music celebrates free improvisation at its highest level, yet in accessible form; that’s due to the succinct beauty of Mr. Parker’s themes and the force of his bass grooves, most of which would work just as well grounding rhythm-and-blues songs.”

Variety: Petit Oiseau Deserves A Second Listen As One Of The Year’s Best

The William Parker Quartet’s Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity) has made its way onto a list of nine 2008 releases (from various genres) deserving wider recognition written by Variety’s Phil Gallo.

He writes, “It’s unlikely anyone owns all of bassist William Parker’s albums as leader — it appears he has released 30 in the past 13 years — but few of his titles possess the start-to-finish cohesion and brawn of Petit Oiseau. Trumpeter Lewis Barnes, drummer Hamid Drake and saxophonist Rob Brown excel at Parker’s request: Engage in a four-way conversation that sounds like one voice without one speaking over the other ‘except when greatly inspired.’”

Mario Pavone And William Parker On Jazz On 3’s Best Jazz CDs Of 2008 Program

 

 

 

 

 

 

BBC 3’s Jazz on 3 dedicated last night’s episode to rounding up its choices for the best CDs of 2008, which included the Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet’s Ancestors (Playscape Recordings) and the William Parker Quartet’s Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity).

The entire episode can be heard via streaming audio from the show’s Web site for six more days.

Eri Yamamoto And The William Parker Quartet Among Soundcheck’s Top 15 Jazz CDs Of 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will Layman, jazz critic for WNYC’s Soundcheck, has named two AUM Fidelity releases to his Top 15 Jazz CDs of 2008 list, Eri Yamamoto’s Duologue and the William Parker Quartet’s Petit Oiseau.

Avant Music News Ranks Mary Halvorson and William Parker Among 2008’s Ten Best

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Avant Music News has named the Mary Halvorson Trio’s Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12), William Parker’s Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Arts for Art/AUM Fidelity) and the William Parker Quartet’s Petit Oiseau (AUM Fidelity) to its Top 10 list for 2008.

Reminder: Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet At Iridium January 7th

 On Wednesday, January 7th, acclaimed bassist/composer Mario Pavone and his newest working ensemble, the Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet, will celebrate the release of their November debut, Ancestors (Playscape Recordings), with a two-set performance at New York’s Iridium Jazz Club. Pavone will also perform in New York a few days earlier on Friday, January 2nd at Cornelia Street Cafe with the sextet featured on his 2006 release, Deez To Blues (Playscape Recordings).

“The towering twin tenor approach is the focal point for Ancestors,” explains the All Music Guide’s Michael G. Nastos, “utilizing two of the finest young, experienced, and individualistic saxophone players in modern jazz music—Tony Malaby and Jimmy Greene. Add the under-appreciated but awesome pianist Peter Madsen and the reliable juggernaut of a drummer, Gerald Cleaver, and you have the makings for a truly superior combo, one of the best Pavone has ever fronted. While Pavone’s recordings are generally reliable and pointedly original, this effort is close to his very best, and deserves consideration for best jazz CD of 2008.” 

“On his day,” declared veteran jazz reviewer Brian Morton in Point of Departure, “Mario Pavone is one of the very best – and when on his game, by far the best – small-group composer/leaders working on the East Coast.” 

Critics have called him “a smart composer” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “a protean bassist” (Paul Blair, Hot House) who “never fails to implant an effective hook” (Bill Shoemaker, DownBeat) and “continues to move the tradition forward with every record” (John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com). 

His music has been described as “exciting and stimulating” (Jay Collins, Cadence), “sensitive and probing” (Owen McNally, Hartford Courant) and “full of smart angular swagger” (Michael Rosenstein, Signal to Noise).

The Mario Pavone Double Tenor Quintet will perform at Iridium Jazz Club on Wednesday January 7th at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets, $25, are available for sale at (212) 582-2121. Tickets, directions and further venue details are also available at http://iridiumjazzclub.com/info.php. 

The Mario Pavone Deez to Blues Sextet will perform at Cornelia Street Cafe on Friday, January 2nd at 9:00 and 10:30 p.m. Admission is $10 per set with a one-drink minimum. Reservations can be made at (212) 989-9319 and further venue info is available at http://corneliastreetcafe.com. The band will feature Mario Pavone (bass), Charles Burnham (violin), Steven Bernstein (trumpet and slide trumpet), Lauren Sevian (baritone saxophone), Peter Madsen (piano) and Michael Sarin (drums). 

New York Times Jazz Critics Name The Mary Halvorson Trio’s Dragon’s Head One Of The Year’s Best

The New York Times‘ Nate Chinen and Ben Ratliff both included the Mary Halvorson Trio’s Dragon’s Head (Firehouse 12) on their lists of the year’s ten best recordings in the paper’s annual year-end round-up issue on Sunday.

In his feature article on Ms. Halvorson earlier in the year, Chinen called the disc “one of the more original recent statements by any jazz guitarist, let alone a female jazz guitarist.”

Ratliff adds, Dragon’s Head ”has the power of a manifesto and the self-assurance that comes with smart composition and arrangement. Best of all: this is a group with its own compound personality.”