All new releases from Ephemeris, Science Friction, Toine Thys Orlando, Dun-Dun Band, Ellie Lee, Håkon Skogstad, Francisco Mela featuring Leo Genovese and William Parker, Dan Weiss, Sam Wilson, and, Paul Dunmall with Paul Rogers and Mark Sanders.
- Show Intro 00:00
- Ephemeris “Gnomon” from Ephemeris (Marsken Records) 00:53
- Science Friction “Deadbeat Beyoncè – SciFry” from No Tamales On Wednesday (Screwgun) 18:54
- Toine Thys Orlando “El Curandero” from Betterland (Hypnote) 44:42
- Dun-Dun Band “No. 20 (Once Raw: The Aging G)” from Pita Parka Pt. 1 : Xam Egdub (Ansible Editions) 51:35
- Ellie Lee “On The Road” from Escape (Self Released) 1:00:00
- Håkon Skogstad “A Contemplative Rhapsody” from 8 Concepts of Tango (Øra Fonogram) 1:07:27
- Francisco Mela featuring Leo Genovese and William Parker “Earth” from Music Frees Our Souls – Vol. 3 (577 Records) 1:14:34
- Dan Weiss “The Children of Uvalde” from Even Odds (Cygnus Recordings) 1:27:54
- Sam Wilson “Dance of the Fungi” from Wintertides (Self Released) 1:34:50
- Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Mark Sanders “Another Other” from Wildlife(Fundacja Słuchaj) 1:41:48
Ephemeris
Ephemeris started as a local New York quartet (two members now live in Europe) that has been playing occasionally at various venues in Brooklyn since 2010. This is their first album after nearly 14 years of existence. The album showcases four masters of free improvisation deftly exploring a myriad of sonic realms.
- Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen – alto & soprano saxophones, flute
- Carol Liebowitz – piano
- Tom Blancarte – bass
- John Bernard Wagner – drums
Releases April 6, 2024 on Marksen Records
Science Fiction
Craig Taborn Keyboards, Marc Ducret Guitar, Tom Rainey Drums, Tim Berne Alto. Released March 1, 2024 on Screwgun Records – recorded live in 2018 – unknown venue. Mastered by David Torn
Toine Thys Orlando
Saxophonist Toine Thys is accompanied by Maxime Sanchez on piano, Florent Nisse on double bass and Teun Verbruggen on drums.
Released March 15, 2024 on Hypnote Records
Dun-Dun Band
Pita Parka Pt. 1: Xam Egdub is Dun-Dun Band’s first vinyl release, comprising three extended pieces, each tracing a rambling path connecting multiple ostinato-driven sections. Tracked at Toronto’s Canterbury Music, the record refines the approach found on their debut cassette Rif Ref (2023, Dark Matter Tapes).
Jay Anderson: Roland Handsonic. Josh Cole: electric bass. Ted Crosby: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone. Craig Dunsmuir: single-line electric guitar, P___r P____r. Colin Fisher: tenor saxophone, “Hahahacksaw” Jim Duggan. Blake Howard: conga, other repercussion which continues to be quite serious. Kurt Newman: chordal and lead electric guitar. Karen Ng: alto saxophone, clarinet. Mike Smith: Rhodes 88, Hammond A105, continued keyboard transcombobulations. Brodie West: alto saxophone, clarinet.
Released May 3, 2024 on Ansible Editions
Ellie Lee
The promising young jazz pianist Ellie Lee with her first full-length album, ESCAPE, a dynamic recording featuring seven originals and one jazz standard. “ESCAPE” highlights her diverse musical talents, emphasizing groove, meticulous orchestrations, and reflects Ellie’s collaborative spirit and artistic freedom, creating a captivating listening experience.
MUSICIANS: Ellie Lee – Piano, Steve Wilson – Saxophone, Steve LaSpina – Bass, Jongkuk Kim – Drums
Self Released – May 24, 2024
Håkon Skogstad
Pianist and composer Håkon Skogstad’s new album, 8 Concepts of Tango is the sequel to Norwegian Grammy awarded Visions of Tango from 2021. The album released in the US on March 15, 2024 on Øra Fonogram and is the third instalment of Skogstad’s tango trilogy, where the aim has been to develop a new musical style in the wake of Astor Piazzolla. On 8 Concepts of Tango, Skogstad performs in the company of seven hand-picked musicians—all experts in the Argentine tango/classical music movement.
Håkon Skogstad – piano and compositions, Andreas Rokseth – bandoneón, Åsbjørg Ryeng – bandoneón, Sveinung Lillebjerka – violin, Anders Larsen – violin, Bergmund Waal Skaslien – viola, Marit Aspaas – cello, Ole Schøyen Sjölin – double bass
Francisco Mela featuring Leo Genovese and William Parker
Cuban-born, drum genius Francisco Mela is releasing the third chapter of his iconic tribute to his mentor and bandleader McCoy Tyner. ‘Music Frees Our Souls’ is a celebration of Tyner’s avant-garde side. Tyner was well-known for his boundless musical talent, and perhaps best-known for playing in John Coltrane’s quartet, which revolutionized the jazz world and reverberated through the music world at large. But it was his mentorship that truly touched Francisco Mela: Tyner encouraged him to explore the boundaries of both his personal expression and his musical ability, affirming the philosophical conviction that music was a gateway to liberation. That pursuit of freedom was a lifelong aspiration, and one born from community. Mela recalls performing at New York City’s Blue Note with McCoy Tyner, on a specific night when maestro Cecil Taylor came to listen to McCoy’s trio. Tyner and Taylor shared a conversation, and afterwards Tyner returned backstage, gently confiding in Mela, “I wish I were that free. We play music to free our souls.” Likewise, Tyner encouraged Mela to pursue his broadening interests, inspiring Francisco to embrace experimentation and musical freedom. The first volume in the ‘Music Frees Our Souls’ series featured Matthew Shipp on piano, the second pianist Cooper-Moore. The band that recorded the third volume is made of legendary William Parker on bass (present with Mela on all three volumes) and Leo Genovese on piano. Francisco Mela made an inspired decision in inviting the brilliant Argentinian piano player as Genovese brings in strategies that would surprise any expert music lover of the avant-garde. Attempts to guess during a blindfold listening test would fail. Genovese, delivers an extraordinary performance, playing saxophone and piano at the same time on ‘Earth’ the opening track from the album, turning the band from a piano trio into a quartet. The album, Francisco Mela’s new addition to his rich presence on the 577 Records’ catalog since 2021, will be available on limited edition black classic vinyl (200 copies), limited edition CD, and digital. Francisco Mela when asked if this is the final volume in this series dodged the question, leaving us wondering if his magnificent project will continue in the future or if these classic recordings will remain a trilogy.
Dan Weiss
On his latest album, Even Odds (due out March 29, 2024 via Cygnus Recordings), Weiss debuts a brand-new trio with an unorthodox recording process. For this captivating session, Weiss enlists alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón and pianist Matt Mitchell, both longtime collaborators, to navigate his intricate compositions and to engage with the drummer in novel ways. Even Odds features two distinct approaches to the delicate balance of composition and improvisation, both offering their own unique challenges to the trio. Six of the pieces are “traditional” compositions – traditional in the sense of providing written material that the trio played and improvised upon together, less so in their reflection of Weiss’ singular blend of influences, which draws on rhythmic concepts from jazz, Indian classical music, contemporary classical, West African music and extreme metal and a cinematically influenced sense of emotion and atmosphere. The remaining pieces were crafted as game-like provocations, gauntlets thrown down from Weiss to his bandmates. They began life as brief drum exercises or grooves that Weiss recorded solo. He then presented these fragments to Zenón and Mitchell and asked them to improvise over them. These knotty miniatures, many of them clocking in under a minute or two, force the players to think in focused, densely packed bursts to realize fully formed statements as they traverse these rhythmic dares.
Sam Wilson
Sam Wilson— guitar/ compositions; Jen Yakamovich— drums; Geordie Hart —upright bass.
Award-winning guitarist and composer from Nova Scotia Sam Wilson’s fourth full-length release. Releases April 5, 2024
Paul Dunmall, Paul Rogers, Mark Sanders
Legendary saxophonist and one of the most important musicians on the British improvised scene. Member of great bands led by Keith Tippet and Barry Guy including the London Jazz Composers Orchestra, Paul Dunmall on one hand. On the other hand double bass virtuoso, known in the past as a musical companion of legendary trombonist Paul Rutherford and a crucial on the European free improv scene band Mujician, Paul Rogers. On drums Mark Sanders, for sure a key person in the British and European free movement. Three legendary musicians together on the brand new studio album.Releases March 30, 2024
Different Noises 