Tim Niland

Blues and Jazz Examiner
Tim Niland is a lifelong jazz and blues fan, who began blogging about music five years ago. In real life, he is a public librarian living in New Jersey.

  

Examiner Feeds

These websites were picked by the Blues and Jazz Examiner as useful resources.

Best of 2008: So Far

AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark - Live at the Glenn Miller Cafe (Wobbly Rail, 1999)

June 15, 3:36 PM
 
 

AALY Trio + Ken Vandermark
The Scandinavian avant garde jazz trio AALY, composed of Mats Gustafsson on saxophones, Peter Janson on bass, and Kjell Nordeson on drums invited multi-reed player Ken Vandermark for an exciting concert recorded live at the Glenn Miller Cafe in Stockholm in March of 1999. The music is very wide open and free, with the saxophonists weaving back and forth, and taking turns fronting the powerful rhythm section.

The first track, "Unit Character (for Jimmy Lyons)" leads off with high-pitched saxes that have overtones of Albert Ayler, and a gleefulness in the freedom of the improvisation. This is ferociously exciting collective improvisation. A lengthy version of Ayler's own "Ghosts" is next, building slowly from spare percussion and saxophone drones before the familiar melody emerges and gives way to full band free improvisation. Sections of solo saxophone and a strong sax and drums interlude becomes very fierce. A lengthy bass solo bridges the end of this track into Gustafsson's "Alva Jo" which starts in a rather tame manner with tandem saxophone. Things get wilder in a hurry with some rough tenor over a rampaging rhythm section, almost getting a roadhouse feel with gutbucket tenor saxophone and pummeling drums. British saxophonist Joe Harriott's "Idioms" finishes the disc with strong full group improvisation giving way to a very cool twin sax attack of light soprano and dark tenor.

This was a very good album of free jazz, with the group interacting well together and creating very exciting and fresh music.
Topics: kenvandermark , freejazz , AALY
   Subscribe   Feed

Comments

Name:  
Email Address:  
Comments:  

More from Blues and Jazz Examiner

John Coltrane - The Major Works of John Coltrane (Impulse, 1992)

July 19, 4:09 PM
This two CD set brings together some very intense and transitional music recorded by John Coltrane in 1965. This was a fascinating period in his career, as his longtime quartet with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass and Elvin Jones on drums... Read More
Topics: jazz , johncoltrane

Various Artists - Jook Joint Blues (JSP, 2007)

July 18, 8:27 PM
For blues fans, the Juke or in this case Jook Joint has taken on the mystical place of a temple, where the Word of the blues is passed down from the musician-priests to the eager supplicants, who contort and speak in tongues on the dance floor. This... Read More
Topics: blues , variousartists

John Patton – Soul Connection (Just A Memory/Justin Time 1983, 2008)

July 18, 8:25 PM
“Big” John Patton never quite achieved the fame of fellow organists Jimmy Smith or Brother Jack McDuff, but he was a potent and soulful force on the instrument in the 1960’s, cutting some well received albums for Blue Note before drifting... Read More
Topics: jazz , bigjohnpatton

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive (Vagrant, 2008)

July 15, 12:54 PM
Anthemic sounding rock 'n' roll with the "big" sound like Bruce Springsteen, Arcade Fire, et. al. The character studies are quite interesting, almost beat like in their studies of the underside of American youth. Musicians running from the... Read More
Topics: rockandroll , theholdsteady

Watermelon Slim and the Workers - No Paid Holidays (Northern Blues, 2008)

July 15, 12:50 PM
Watermelon Slim and the Workers play the straight-up workingman's blues, for people who walk the hard road every day and are trying to make ends meet. Slim has been a soldier, truck driver and everything in between, and their latest album continues their... Read More
Topics: blues , watermelonslim

Earl Hooker - Blue Guitar (Paula, 1981)

July 15, 12:41 PM
Like many of the legends of the blues, guitarist Earl Hooker moved to Chicago in the post-war years from his birthplace of Mississippi. Earning a place for himself in the pantheon with his unique slide guitar and his aversion to singing, Hooker never... Read More
Topics: blues , earlhooker

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog - Party Intellectuals (Pi Recordings, 2008)

July 10, 3:56 PM
In some recent pictures, guitarist Marc Ribot looks like that professor you had in college… complete with scruffy salt and pepper hair and a wry smile. But this belies the heart of a radical musical polymath that still beats within him. Jumping... Read More
Topics: jazz , marcribot

Interesting posts

July 10, 3:42 PM
The Allmusic blog has anice post about the music of trumpeter Woody Shaw:"Although Shaw would continue to record for various labels up until his tragic death in 1989, he never quite achieved the commercial success he deserved. Nonetheless, he is... Read More
Topics: jazz , blues , woodyshaw

Short reviews

July 7, 2:12 PM
John Zorn - Filmworks XIX (Tzadik, 2008): For this release, John Zorn puts down his saxophone and picks up his composing pen, to write eleven short sketches for the animated short film, The Rain Horse which was directed by Russian animator Dimitri Geller.... Read More
Topics: jazz , johnzorn , larryochs