Pete Robbins On WHUS 91.7 FM Tonight At 6:00 PM (EST)

Photo by Scott Friedlander

Saxophonist Pete Robbins will talk about this Friday’s concert at Firehouse 12 with bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Tyshawn Sorey tonight at 6:00 p.m. on WHUS 91.7 FM in Storrs, Connecticut.

Farmers By Nature Reviewed In April Issues Of AAJ-NY And Jazzwise

Farmers By Nature (AUM Fidelity), the debut recording by the collective trio of Gerald Cleaver, William Parker and Craig Taborn, is reviewed in the April issues of AllAboutJazz-New York and Jazzwise.

AAJ-NY’s Sean Fitzell writes, “Parker and Taborn often explore the lower registers, while Cleaver uses his hands and mallets for more resonant, warmer tones, imparting the earthiness suggested by the title. The interaction is not hyper: each idea offered is worked through to resolution before the next is suggested.”

In his review for Jazzwise, Kevin Le Gendre called the disc an “absorbing live performance from three premier improvisers.”

He adds, “Farmers By Nature has occasional passages of creative stasis but it is nonetheless marked by a sense of a constant searching for newness in expression.  It thus stays true to the risk that is a key element of improvisation in the truest sense, reaching moments of electrically charged exchanges which stand proud in a tradition of collective thinking in jazz, one where all players are created equal.”

The Thirteenth Assembly’s New CD Reviewed At AllAboutJazz.com

Photo by Hilary McHone

Troy Collins’ review of The Thirteenth Assembly‘s debut release, (un)sentimental (Important Records), was posted today at AllAboutJazz.com.  The group features cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, violist Jessica Pavone, guitarist Mary Halvorson and drummer Tomas Fujiwara.

He writes, “The unified ensemble sound of The Thirteenth Assembly is centered around empathetic communication and a willingness to subvert ego for the good of the group; there is no grandstanding here, only four longstanding friends conspiring to make adventurous yet accessible music. A stunning achievement, (un)sentimental demonstrates the endless possibilities of contemporary music by players at the top of their game.”

Firehouse 12 Featured In The New York Times

© Christopher Capozziello/The New York Times

Nate Chinen documents his recent visit to New Haven’s Firehouse 12 in a feature article in today’s New York Times entitled, “One-Stop Hub for Avant-Garde Jazz”.

He writes, “since opening four years ago, Firehouse 12, a stylishly repurposed 1905 firehouse in the Ninth Square neighborhood here, has earned a reputation as the pre-eminent spot for improvised music in the region. It has also won acclaim as a state-of-the-art recording studio and for housing a record label…On the whole the operation, which includes a separate bar downstairs, suggests a model of sustainable activity for a field as transparently noncommercial as avant-garde jazz.”

The online version of this article also includes various images and samples of tracks from Firehouse 12 Records releases by Anthony Braxton, Taylor Ho Bynum, Peter Evans, Mary Halvorson, Nicole Mitchell and Tyshawn Sorey. 

There’s also a sidebar highlighting the label’s catalog, as well as events in Firehouse 12′s 2009 Spring Jazz Series running every Friday through June 12th.

Creative Nation Music Festival This Weekend

Quartet of Happiness

On Saturday, March 28th and Sunday, March 29th, Boston’s Creative Nation Music will present the first Creative Nation Music Festival at the Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The official local celebration of the label’s fifth anniversary, and the culmination of its four-state package tour of New England, the festival will feature seven bands over the course of two nights. 

Saturday, March 28th at 7:00 p.m.
Ronald Reagan
Scurvy
Quartet of Happiness
Mostly Other People Do The Killing

Sunday, March 29th at 7:30 p.m.
Garrison Fewell/Eric Hofbauer Duo
Eric Hofbauer & The Infrared Band
The Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra with special guest George Garzone

The Cambridge Family YMCA Theatre is located at 820 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square.  Tickets will be available at the door for $15 per night ($10 with student ID) and $22 for a festival pass ($15 with student ID) that includes a free CD.

Harris Eisenstadt’s Residency At Ibeam Concludes This Saturday

Photo by Peter Gannushkin

Drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt’s March residency at Brooklyn’s Ibeam Music Studio concludes this Saturday, March 28th at 9:00 p.m.

This is the fourth in a series of Saturday night concerts by his new nonet, Woodblock Prints.

The line-up will feature:

Mike McGinnis, clarinet
Jason Mears, alto saxophone
Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon
Mark Taylor, French horn
Brian Drye, trombone
Jay Rozen, tuba
Jonathan Goldberger, electric guitar
Stuart Popejoy, acoustic bass guitar
Harris Eisenstadt, drums

Thin Air Reviewed At AllAboutJazz.com

Photo by Peter Gannushkin

“The music of guitarist Mary Halvorson and violist Jessica Pavone is immediately galvanizing but comfortable, unpredictable yet composed, powerful yet subtle, vulnerable and courageous,” writes AllAboutJazz.com contributor Farrell Lowe in his review of the duo’s third release, Thin Air (Thirsty Ear), posted today. 

“With each listen there is more depth, subtlety, complexity, and harmonic hues to ponder and enjoy. This is an eminent document by two powerful new voices of the 21st century.” 

Troy Collins was equally enthusiastic in his review, posted March 17th.

Firehouse 12 Records To Release New CDs From Carl Maguire And John Hébert

On June 16th, Firehouse 12 Records will release music from its two newest artists, keyboardist/composer Carl Maguire’s longstanding band Floriculture and bassist/composer John Hébert.  Sided Silver Solid (FH12-04-01-009) is Floriculture’s second recording and its first as a quintet featuring new members, violist Stephanie Griffin and multi-instrumentalist Oscar Noriega.  Hébert makes his recorded debut as a bandleader on Byzantine Monkey (FH12-04-01-010) after nearly a decade as one of New York’s most in-demand sidemen. 

Floriculture has performed Maguire’s sophisticated compositions around New York since 2001.  Its current line-up features Maguire (piano and Rhodes), Griffin (viola), Noriega (clarinets and alto saxophone), Hébert (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums).  The group began as a quartet, but grew to a quintet following its self-titled 2005 debut on the German label, Between the Lines.  The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, Eighth Edition gave the record four stars and called it “As exciting a debut release as any in the last few years.”

Other critics were equally enthusiastic, noting “Maguire’s amazing compositions” (Dr. Ana Isabel Ordonez, JazzReview.com), “the way he basically recontextualized a Fender Rhodes” (Time Out New York), “a kind of rigorous enthusiasm in play that was seriously exciting” (Brian Olewnick, Bagatellen) and “an overwhelming percentage of the attributes that make for stimulating listening” (Nic Jones, AllAboutJazz.com).  The New Yorker adds, “Floriculture pulls off its new-jazz improvisation and lyrical abstraction with panache.”

Based in New York since 1995, Maguire, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, has studied piano with Marilyn Crispell, Fred Hersch and Ursula Oppens, improvisation with Roscoe Mitchell and composition with Mark Dresser.  Known for his abilities on piano, Rhodes and accordion, he has led Floriculture, his main focus as a bandleader, for the past eight years, in addition to performing and recording with a wide variety of other groups, such as the Laurel Anders Orchestra, Barbez, Butch Morris’ New York Skyscraper, Brett Sroka’s Ergo, the Tyshawn Sorey Quartet and The Wau Wau Sisters.

Byzantine Monkey documents Hébert’s sextet of the same name featuring frequent collaborators Michaël Attias (alto and baritone saxophones), Tony Malaby (tenor and soprano saxophones), Adam Kolker (flutes and bass clarinet), Nasheet Waits (drums) and Satoshi Takeishi (percussion).  The band takes its name from a suggestion by Hébert’s wife, LoJen Yin, who explains, “First, imagine the type of music a Byzantine Monkey would write, and what it would sound like.  It is whimsical, mysterious, and a surreal juxtaposition of images and ideas.  It captures a mood and spirit of the composer himself.”

Hébert’s original compositions for the group take their inspiration from a variety of sources, including his interest in Cajun music, his travels to different parts of the world and his gratitude and respect for his mentor, legendary pianist/composer Andrew Hill, with whom Hébert worked from 2001 until his death in 2007.  The musicians bringing that music to life in Byzantine Monkey have all worked extensively with Hébert in other ensembles, including Attias, Kolker and Malaby’s own groups and Hill’s trio and quintet.

One of the busiest bassists in New York, the New Orleans native has garnered strong showings in the Rising Star Acoustic Bass category of DownBeat‘s annual Critics Poll for the past three years.  His discography features more than 45 recordings since 2000, including titles by Dave Ballou, Uri Caine, Steve Lehman, Andrew Rathbun, Dave Scott and Gebhard Ullmann.  Hébert first appeared on Firehouse 12 Records as a member of the Mary Halvorson Trio on that group’s critically acclaimed 2008 debut, Dragon’s Head (FH12-04-01-007).  The disc was featured on best-of-the-year lists in such publications as AllAboutJazz-New York, JazzTimes, the New York Times, The Wire and the Village Voice.

Taylor Ho Bynum/Tomas Fujiwara Duo Live on WFMU

Photo by Scott Friedlander

Last night’s episode of WFMU’s The Long Rally hosted by Scott McDowell featured a live set from the longstanding duo of cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum and drummer Tomas Fujiwara.

The pair played six tunes, including selections from its 2007 release, True Events (482 Music).

Click here to listen to the entire show.  

Their live set begins 12 minutes in.

Jimmy Greene Preview In The New Haven Advocate

Saxophonist/composer Jimmy Greene’s CD release performance at Firehouse 12 tomorrow night is previewed in this week’s issue of the New Haven Advocate.

Edward Dunn writes, “Besides his performance credentials, Greene is a respected composer, and his composer’s keen sense of structure clearly influences his playing. His lines go way beyond a simple sequence of notes, each phrase integrally related to the next. Sure, that’s what all great players aim for, but not many can balance that formal rigor with the requisite soul. Greene does.”

Please note a last minute change of personnel in Greene’s quartet for this gig, which will now feature Danny Grissett (piano), Luques Curtis (bass) and Ralph Peterson (drums).