Poetics of Music

http://traffic.libsyn.com/podsodcast/2017-06-6_EM48.mp3

“Part Four is altogether different. As Macdonald puts it, “Henry deviates from his usual compositional system and composed an epic, deeply personal and emotive chorale in homage to Butch. It’s hauntingly beautiful and mournful, and it left a profound effect on us from the very first time we heard it in rehearsal.” According to Moran, “Every time we reach the end of this piece, I’m always crying because it is an emotional moment. Threadgill has always had an affinity for funeral bands, and this becomes a powerful moment when Double Up becomes a funeral band.” The movement starts off a slow dirge before turning into an elegy and finally building to a crescendo and abrupt end, a moving and poignant final remembrance.”  - Pi records

Just a man playing his drums......

An amazing recording of Steve Coleman & The Council of Balance Live @ festival Jazz à La Villette 2015; playing music from their recent release Synovial Joints with expanded woodwind, percussion and vocal sections. Much head nodding and time counting from the group ensues..

“...No question, he is in a league with fusion greats Dennis Chambers, Steve Smith, and Dave Weckl." - Modern drummer

Hardly unsung, one of the great tenor, alto and soprano voices of his generation, a standard bearer and composer for a contemporary “post bop” musical sound, but with the breadth and open mindedness to encompass music from classical to funk. This is his second quartet incarnation playing “In the Crease”...the joy that you can see in those playing says it all.

So this is what the recording session for Steve Coleman’s latest album looked and sounded like.....

Linley Marthe playing with the Zawinul syndicate in 2004

“Linley is just a phenomenon. I don’t know if there is anybody who can touch him in terms of overall bass playing.” - from the man that helped introduce the world to Jaco Pastorius, Joe Zawinul (via AllAboutJazz)

Excerpt of the Steve Lehman Octet performing “Codes: Brice Wassy” live at Music Meeting, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

He that has ears to hear, let him hear!

So Kendrick Lamar’s “To pimp a butterfly” has been released to quote from Slant “the R&B and hip-hop-connected jazz pianist Robert Glasper released two distinctive efforts that together with the jazz-transfiguring music by Flying Lotus and Thundercat of the Brainfeeder label essentially laid the groundwork for Lamar's opus.”  The crossover of Robert Glasper, FlyLo, Thundercat and Lamar has produced something truly special. Rolling Stone seem to have noticed as well: “Meet Thundercat, the Jazz-Fusion Genius Behind Kendrick Lamar's 'Butterfly'”

Contemporary Bass Great - Stephen Bruner, Thundercat

"Session musician Stephen Bruner has played bass in other people's bands for more than a decade. He can play metal, R&B, hip-hop, jazz. And he's been folding all that into his own music, which he puts out under the name Thundercat.......But Thundercat says he learned how to play bass when he was a little kid by listening to three musicians: "I learned by listening to Jaco and Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller". All three bassists — Jaco Pastorius, Clarke and Miller — have also played all kinds of music: jazz, funk, rock, folk, fusion, pop and R&B. Thundercat feels a responsibility to remind people — musicians and listeners alike — of how much they miss if they don't stay open to everything." NPR