Tony Williams, Mosaic Select

Tony Williams – Mosaic Select

For a few years I’ve been following up on recordings by drummer Tony Williams that I had never heard, so I finally had to break down and get a copy of this little box. Five Blue Note albums on three CDs “in the tradition” from ’85-’91 make up this box. Electronic drums and machines on Foreign Intrigue sound tastefully dated, having both Bobby Hutcherson (vibes) and Mulgrew Miller (piano) in the same band forced the composer to tightly arrange the music so they don’t get in each other’s way.

Too bad Tony wasn’t more adventurous with the instrumentation, he always uses at least a front line of trumpet and saxophone with a piano in the rhythm section. The remaining four albums…maybe later I’ll listen deeper and check to find out how good the compositions are. After all that…Tony Williams was amazing, even on his most commercial/accessible releases.

• Mosaic listing
• Two AAJ reviews: #one and #two.

Russ Lossing, Music of Paul Motian

Russ Lossing – Drum Music, Music of Paul Motian (solo piano) (Sunnyside)

Exactly what it says it is and I’m more impressed than I thought I’d be. Solo piano versions of tunes by the late Paul Motian…they’re kinda different, just like his drumming from his later years.

Wadada Leo Smith & Angelica Sanchez

Great concert by Wadada Leo Smith & Angelica Sanchez at the Greenwich House Music School, NYC last night. I was unfamiliar with Angelica’s piano playing, she took us into some very satisfying dense harmonic territory. Leo on trumpet is a legend, I’m blessed to have the opportunity to hop into town and hear him. Home by 11!

I’ve been to a few shows at Greenwich House in the last year, great location. I’ll be back for more soon.

Greenwich House, NYC.

Leo will playing in Brooklyn May 1-3, 2013.

The illustrious trumpeter-composer Wadada Leo Smith will present a complete version of the 5-hour work that stunned the jazz world last fall: The New York premiere of Ten Freedom Summers, a cycle of compositions about the American civil rights movement.

Ten Freedom Summers is the result of the research and reflection concerning the philosophical, social and political history of the United States of America. Ten Freedom Summers is programmed as three evenings of music, and is composed for Golden Quartet and the Pacifica Coral Reef Ensemble. The New York premiere will be held on May 1-3, 2013.

Performers: Golden Quartet, Pacifica Coral Reef Ensemble, Video Artist Jesse Gilbert

Roulette, Brooklyn