John Hilderbrand
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Harmony & Abyss by Matthew Shipp
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While listening to Harmony and Abyss, the latest release by Matthew Shipp, the word futuristic keeps coming to mind. So if it’s “future” music, then when do we reach that future? I’m thinking we’re there now. Shipp takes a step beyond his last release, the excellent Equilibrium, and incorporates industrial sounds and free jazz. No…
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Incognito – Adventures In Black Sunshine
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Incognito comes full circle with Adventures in Black Sunshine, the new recording out now on Rice/Narada. In the mid to late 90s, leader Bluey steered the band away from the jazzier sounds that were its trademark into dance/pop/funk tunes. The group’s sound lost its distinctiveness, its identity. Perhaps due to the difficulty in marketing this…
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ECM’s Rarum Series
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Today marks the release of new CDs in the ECM :rarum (or “Selected Recordings”) series. The series allows the artists that have been on the famed label select what they think are their best efforts, then explain why in the liner notes. Volumes IX (Pat Metheny), XII (Jack DeJohnette), XIII (John Surman), XIV (John Abercrombie),…
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Goodbye To 2003
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Happy New Year! I wish you the best in 2004. Looking back on 2003 in modern jazz, one phrase sums is up: Trumpeters Gone Wild! It’s the year that Nicholas Payton went fusion with Sonic Trance Roy Hargrove presents Hard Groove Dave Douglas had a Freak In Russell Gunn continued his challenging of the definition…
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New Yellowjackets CD
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Though they’ve recorded holiday music for a compilation and with Take 6, the Yellowjackets have never released an album of Christmas music. Get into the spirit early with Peace Round: A Christmas Celebration which will only be available from the Yellowjackets web site. The title track is an old English canon that may not be…