February 12, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged carla kihlstedt, minamo, satoko fujii
For those listeners who enjoy free, truly spontaneous improvisation and the combination of violin and piano, Minamo with violinist Carla Kihlstedt and pianist Satoko Fujii cannot be recommended highly enough. Minamo is a triumph
February 12, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged carla kihlstedt, minamo, satoko fujii
The playing is absolutely beautiful, and oddly enough it's beautiful in that classical way in which you might separate an individual's performance from the music that he or she is playing. There are moments here, as in the spontaneous melody of "One Hundred and Sixty Billion Spray," that are executed so well it wouldn't matter what the notes are (if such a distinction could be made, and it often is). But the two are actually making this up from the material of their interaction. Fujii is especially adept at elaborating form, sometimes creating a complex dialogue between left and right hands that follows, frames and amplifies Kihlstedt's lines. That expressive richness here (the Bartok/ Prokofiev lineage) springs from Kihlstedt's profound sound and attack, as rich and dynamic as any violinist who has entered the improvising community.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
Non esiste coerenza nel sound-design di Lisle Ellis. "Sucker Punch Requiem" pressa in un format varie estetiche dell'emisfero nu-contemporanea: fermezze avant-jazz, assennati sballottamenti elettro-beat, loop molestati dai fiati e da vocalizzi oltremodo destrutturati (di routine per signorine-nichiliste quali Pamela Z), …
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
La ricerca dell´espressione artistica nel contrabbassista Lisle Ellis (su questo CD anche agli effetti elettronici)) è passata di recente attraverso la pittura, ed è così che spunta fuoti un omaggio, musicale, beninteso, a Jean-Michel Basquiat, artista figurativo travolto dalle droghe …
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
Sucker punch Requiem sounds like an achievement, something important.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
Boasting fluid ensemble interplay, dramatic stylistic shifts and rich harmonic writing, Sucker Punch Requiem blends forward thinking experimentation with old school craft, resulting in one of Ellis' most accessible and rewarding albums.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
'Sucker Punch Requiem' is a most fascinating work. . . . Each piece is like a painting with attention to each detail on the canvas . . . 'Sucker Punch Requiem' is a wonderful endeavor overall and not very "out." This might come as a surprise to some who expect more outside sounds from Lisle based on his previous recordings. Forget those expectations and enjoy this special gift.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
And then, during a full listening, I realised that there were two aspects to the album. A smaller part is the constructed stream, from the opening it appears in a number of 'interludes' - shorter pieces which are titled Perishable fig. 1a to 3. These create interesting contrasts to the longer parts, and carry the themes of the opening.
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
You put it on out of curiosity, and what you get is a different musical world than the one you know . . . Ellis manages to create his own musical world here, based on the example of - and in homage to - graffitti poet and painter Jean-Michel Basquiat. . . . And the musicianship is truly great . . .
February 9, 2010 | Posted in Review | Tagged lisle ellis, sucker punch requiem
His sensitivity to the visual, as well as musical, realms makes him ideally suited to salute Basquiat's graffiti-inspired paintings. His music on this album dances between - and around - form and abstraction, tradition and confrontation, clarity and distortion.