File under: Free jazz, post-bop, improvisation
Flagship acts: Ken Vandermark, Marty Ehrlich, Nate Wooley, Gerry Hemingway, Evan Parker, Paal Nilssen-Love
Based in: Lisbon, Portugal
Like most record labels, the Lisbon jazz imprint Clean Feed Records began modestly when it opened in 2001. The label was, and remains, part of a larger operation founded by Pedro Costa and his brother Carlos, both veterans of Portugal's record business. They started Trem Azul (Portuguese for Blue Train, like the famous John… more »
A few years ago, Italian saxophonist Daniele D'Agaro was visiting Chicago, and a critic friend put on a fairly obscure record to stump him. D'Agaro listened for about three seconds, said: "Lucky."
Good ears. He knows the distinctive sound of Lucky Thompson after he started hanging out in Paris and playing sumptuous tenor saxophone ballads recalling old idol Don Byas's Parisian sides. On "Solitude" and "We'll Be Together Again," from Lucky in Paris 1959, his tenor's… more »
It wasn't easy, being the interracial Blue Notes in 1963 apartheid South Africa: a black horns-and-rhythm combo with a white pianist/music director, Chris McGregor. They skipped out of Cape Town the following year: went to a French festival and didn't return. In London by '65, the quintet's members were welcomed by forward-looking jazz musicians: Steve Lacy drafted bassist Johnny Dyani and drummer Louis Moholo for the album The Forest and the Zoo, and an ill-fated… more »
Parker is joined by the outstanding Danish group Ghost in the Machine, and Master of Little Sounds, Martin Klapper for an exquisite set recorded live at the Copenhagen International Experimental Festival. While this is not Parker’s first recording with the group, it is distinguished by excellent sound quality and a synergy that comes from familiar interaction. A remarkable quality in Parker is his ability to perform naturally in varied contexts. Here, he comfortably immerses himself in the noise element and alters his technique accordingly. The results are totally compelling, as Peter Friis Nielsen’s electric bass guitar and Klapper’s “toys, tapes, and amplified objects” provide enough diversity to keep the listener consistently on edge. Ghost in the Machine are likely a blast to watch in person, and the concept somehow translates incredibly well to disc. – Steve Loewy
