AAJ-NY: Best Of 2009

AllAboutJazz-New York published its annual Best of 2009 feature in the new January issue and we’re very proud to say our clients are well-represented.

Special congratulations to those recognized as the year’s best in the following categories:

Albums of the Year
Darcy James Argue, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records)
Bill Dixon, Tapestries for Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records)
David S. Ware, Shakti (AUM Fidelity)

Debut Albums
John Hébert, Byzantine Monkey (Firehouse 12 Records)
Darius Jones Trio, Man’ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing) (AUM Fidelity)

Vocal Releases
The Fay Victor Ensemble, The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue Music)

Large Ensemble Releases
Darcy James Argue, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records)

Albums of the Year – Honorable Mention
Cleaver/Parker/Taborn, Farmers By Nature (AUM Fidelity)
Harris Eisenstadt, Canada Day (Clean Feed)
Garrison Fewell, Variable Density Sound Orchestra (Creative Nation Music)
KLANG, Tea Music (Allos Documents)
Michael Musillami Trio + 3, From Seeds (Playscape Recordings)

Destination:Out’s Fave Jazz Jamz Of 2009

It is our pleasure to report that Darcy James Argue’s Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam), Bill Dixon’s Tapestries for Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records), Darius Jones’ Man’ish Boy (AUM Fidelity) and David S. Ware’s Shakti (AUM Fidelity) account for four of the ten recordings included in Destination:Out’s Fave Jazz Jamz of 2009.

Three other AUM Fidelity releases, Cleaver/Parker/Taborn’s Farmers By Nature, Morris/Cancura/Gray’s Wildlife and the Joe Morris Quartet’s Today On Earth, were also mentioned in this post, which features an exclusive download from Jones’ Man’ish Boy.

Remembering 2009

The latest can to be kicked around the jazz blogosphere (and beyond) is what records make the cut as the best of the decade.

As much as we enjoy the opportunity to reminisce about our first seven-plus years in business, and the 135 recordings we promoted for our clients in that span, we’re not quite ready to dip a toe in that nearly bottomless pool just yet.

But, we’re more than happy to shine a light on the recordings we promoted for our clients in 2009 (in order of their release).

Hopefully at least a few of these will end up on your year’s best list or at least your list for Santa.

David S. Ware
Shakti (AUM Fidelity)

Gerald Cleaver/William Parker/Craig Taborn
Farmers By Nature (AUM Fidelity)

The Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra
Muse (Creative Nation Music)

Garrison Fewell
Variable Density Sound Orchestra (Creative Nation Music)

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records)

Michael Musillami Trio + 3
From Seeds (Playscape Recordings)

The Fully Celebrated
Drunk On The Blood Of The Holy Ones (AUM Fidelity)

John Hébert
Byzantine Monkey (Firehouse 12 Records)

Carl Maguire’s Floriculture
Sided Silver Solid (Firehouse 12 Records)

Joe Morris/Petr Cancura/Luther Gray
Wildlife (AUM Fidelity)

KLANG
Tea Music (Allos Documents)

Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
Madeleine Dreams (Firehouse 12 Records)

Fay Victor Ensemble
The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue Music)

Fonda/Stevens Group
Memphis (Playscape Recordings)

Harris Eisenstadt
Canada Day (Clean Feed)

Darius Jones Trio
Man’ish Boy (AUM Fidelity)

Joe Morris Quartet
Today On Earth (AUM Fidelity)

Jessica Pavone
Songs Of Synastry And Solitude (Tzadik)

Bill Dixon
Tapestries For Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records)

AAJ Interview: Craig Taborn

Photo by John Kelman

Ian Patterson’s new interview with pianist Craig Taborn is now available at AllAboutJazz.com.

The Q & A features discussion of Taborn’s many recent collaborations, including the collective trio with bassist William Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver that released its debut, Farmers By Nature, earlier this year on AUM Fidelity.

Patterson’s new review of the disc was also posted today.

Farmers By Nature Reviewed In DownBeat

Peter Margasak reviews Farmers By Nature (AUM Fidelity), the debut recording by the trio of Gerald Cleaver, William Parker and Craig Taborn, in the May 2009 issue of DownBeat. 

“The trio ranges freely between pulse-based lyricism, surging energy and gnomic exchnages, as though they were following an elliptical orbit that takes them far out, only to come close again,” he writes.  ”It’s a treat for the process-oriented listener and a promising introduction to a group that has a language all its own.”

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.”

Farmers By Nature Reviewed At PopMatters.com

Scott Hreha weighs in on the latest AUM Fidelity release, Farmers By Nature (AUM 053), in his review for PopMatters.com, posted March 18th.

He writes, “this 65-minute improvised set by drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist William Parker and pianist Craig Taborn is a success of the highest order.  It’s an auspicious debut to say the least…establishing the trio as a powerful entity via the formidable amount of magic that transpires throughout the performance.”

William Parker Featured In April JazzTimes

Photo by Ziga Koritnik

Bassist/composer William Parker is the subject of Nate Chinen’s column, The Gig, in the April 2009 issue of JazzTimes.

He writes, “There have been dozens of important bassists in free jazz and the related strams of avant-gardism; many are hard at work now. But when it comes to that radiant energy, you’d be hard-pressed to find one more tireless, or more significant, than William Parker.”

Chinen also references Parker’s recent recordings on AUM Fidelity, including Farmers By Nature, Double Sunrise Over Neptune and Petit Oiseau, which he calls “the William Parker record I’d recommend to neophytes and skeptics.”

Creative Loafing Reviews Farmers By Nature

Creative Loafing Music Editor Eric Snider’s four-star review of Gerald Cleaver/William Parker/Craig Taborn’s recent release, Farmers By Nature (AUM Fidelity), is now available on the publication’s Web site.

In it he writes, “The level of interactivity is at a ridiculously sophisticated ebb, each player leading and reacting equally, the trio moving organically from minimalist solo forays to manic, almost violent, crescendos…the immersed listener, with sensibilities geared to this sort of music, will find it a most invigorating ride.”

Exclaim! Reviews Farmers By Nature

A new review of Gerald Cleaver/William Parker/Craig Taborn’s Farmers By Nature (AUM Fidelity) is now posted here.  

Exclaim! contributor Nilan Perera, who recently reviewed the new David S. Ware release, Shakti, also on AUM Fidelity, writes:

“What sets this CD apart is the degree of dynamism found in the music. Each player seems to be acutely aware of the progression of the music and adheres to the methodology by which one can play well by not playing at all. This is music of diversity, thoughtfulness and commitment, and an object lesson in spontaneous composition.”