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“Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision” Boxed Set Review

 

In the 56 years since it was built, New York’s Electric Lady Studios has hosted such iconic musicians as Led Zeppelin (who recorded parts of Houses Of The Holy there), David Bowie (Young Americans), Taylor Swift (the Taylor’s Version editions of Fearless, Folklore, and Red); Patti Smith (Horses), Stevie Wonder (Talking Book), Kiss (Destroyer and Asylum), Frank Ocean (Blond), Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga (Love For Sale), and on and on and on.

Even Prince, who had his own studio at the time, Paisley Park Studios, used it when recording his album Graffiti Bridge.

But now and forever it shall be known as the place that Jimi built.

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Music Reviews

Ivo Perelman, Matthew Shipp: “Magical Incantation” Review

 

You’ll have to forgive me, but free jazz adjacent sax master Ivo Perelman and his frequent partner in crime, pianist Matthew Shipp, have recorded so many albums together that I’ve lost track.

But while I may not know all their names, I can tell you that their newest collaboration, Magical Incantation (CD, digital) is impressive, even in their rather extensive collaborative career.

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Music Reviews

Sonny Rollins: “A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters” Review

 

It’s weird; while the popularity of vinyl has resulted in a lot of classic albums being reissued, most of those reissues are not the improved kind. They’re typically just the album as it was when it last got released on CD or digitally, except now on big pieces of grooved plastic.

But the good people at Blue Note Records are bucking this trend with Sonny Rollins’ A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters, which is not only bringing this album to record players for the first time in years, but with improved sound quality that’s present on the new CD and digital editions as well.

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Music Reviews

Sonny Rollins: “Freedom Weaver” Review

 

Like a lot of jazz musicians from the 1950s and ’60s, iconic saxophonist Sonny Rollins had more success in Europe at that time than he did in his native America.

So much so, in fact, that he, like them, often had European concerts broadcast on the radio, while also visiting the radio and TV stations for in-studio performances. Performances that, thanks to different (read: lax) copyright laws, were later released on LP and CD despite not being sanctioned by Mr. Rollins.

Well, now fans of Rollins can enjoy them, and guilt free, thanks to Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings (CD, digital, vinyl), which presents twenty-five songs, and one short interview, from February 21st through March 11th of 1959, which were originally recorded by European radio and television stations.

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Music Reviews

Matthew Shipp Trio: “New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz” Review

 

When it comes to the configurations of jazz groups, trios with a piano player, a bassist, and a drummer are as common as, well, quartets with a saxophonist, and quintets fronted by saxophonists and trumpet players.

It’s why the last thing I need is another common jazz trio.

An uncommon one, however…

This brings me to New Concepts In Piano Trio Jazz (CD, digital), the new and promissory album by the Matthew Shipp Trio. Which, for the record, is comprised of Shipp on piano, Michael Bisio on bass, and Newman Taylor Baker on drums.

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Music Reviews

Ivo Perelman, Mark Helias, Tom Rainey: “Truth Seeker” Review

 

When it comes to music, we don’t always know what we’re going to get, even when we know the players.

But occasionally, you can get a good idea.

Case in point: On April 5th, 2024, jazz saxophonist Ivo Perelman and pianist Matthew Shipp will release their latest in a long line of collaborations, Water Music, a quartet recording that also features bassist Mark Helias and drummer Tom Rainey.

But right now, you can get a sense of how well Perelman, Helias, and Rainey work together courtesy of their new trio album, Truth Seeker (digital). And given that Shipp has collaborated with Perelman frequently, and with Helias a couple times (Pathways, The New Syntax), well…

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Music

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: “Hollywood Bowl, August 18, 1967” Review

 

In their three years together, The Jimi Hendrix Experience played more than 300 shows together. And in the 54 years since they broke up, it feels like they’ve released nearly as many live albums.

But the new Hollywood Bowl, August 18, 1967 (CD, vinyl, digital) is somewhat unique in being that it comes from a show where most of the attendees, if not all, were unfamiliar with the band, let alone the music they were about to, well, experience.

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Music Reviews

Ivo Perelman, Nate Wooley: “Polarity 2” Review

 

It’s funny, while sequels are common in movies and video games, it’s not something musicians usually do, especially jazz ones. Sure, Meatloaf made Bat Out Of Hell II Back Into Hell, and Metallica followed “The Unforgiven” with “The Unforgiven II” and “The Unforgiven III,” but Miles Davis never made Bitches Brew II or Miles Smiles 2 or Round About Noon.

But that’s exactly what free jazz adjacent tenor saxophonist Ivo Perelman and trumpet player Nate Wooley have done with Polarity 2 (CD, digital), their sequel to 2021’s Polarity. Well, sort of. Polarity 2 doesn’t answer all of the unanswered questions from Polarity. Nor does it continue the story or build upon the gameplay from the first one. Or give us another adventure for the superhero named Polarity. But it does do a good job of giving us some rather horn-y jazz instrumentals.

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Music Reviews

Mark Reboul, Roberta Piket, Billy Mintz’s “Seven pieces / about an hour / saxophone, piano, drums” Review

 

A good jazz trio is a thing of beauty. But it can also be a thing of redundancy, given how so many of them are just piano, bass, and drums, and how, for every Red Garland Trio or Keith Jarrett / Gary Peacock, Jack DeJohnette team-up, you have sixty-seven others who add nothing new.

Which is why I got excited by Seven pieces / about an hour / saxophone, piano, drums (CD, digital), the first album by the trio of saxophonist Mark Reboul, piano player Roberta Piket, and drummer Billy Mintz. Yes, a bass-less trio. Color me intrigued.

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