Lawrence Peryer

Matt Wilson: Have Drums, Will Travel

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 10:58:00 -0500

Drummer Matt Wilson must surely be in the running for the title of hardest-working man in jazz. Wilson is a composer, bandleader, producer and teacher. As a leader, his projects include the Matt Wilson Quartet, Arts & Crafts, Christmas Tree-O and the Carl Sandburg Project. He has been in bands with luminaries such as Joe Lovano, John Scofield, Charlie Haden, Lee Konitz, Ted Nash and many, many others. As for legends, he’s played with Herbie Hancock, Dewey Redman, Andrew Hill, Bobby Hutcherson, Elvis Costello, Cedar Walton, Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell and Hank Jones. With appearances on over 250 albums as a leader, co-leader or sideman, this list barely scratches the surface.

While all of these credits illustrate what life can be like for a working jazz musician in the 21st Century, a striking aspect of Wilson’s resume is his ability to move between scenes. He is comfortable (and, more importantly, welcome) with cats like Wynton Marsalis, often gracing the stage for Jazz at Lincoln Center, and more often than not he can be found downtown in a small club with the likes of Myra Melford, Joan Stiles or Noah Preminger. Regardless of the venue or situation, Wilson brings his knowledge, sensitivity and enthusiasm to the proceedings.

Read my full interview at All About Jazz.

Lawrence Peryer named CEO of Artist Arena - Entertainment News, Music News, Media - Variety

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:29:00 -0500

Lawrence Peryer named CEO of Artist Arena - Entertainment News, Music News, Media - Variety

New episode of my podcast at burningdervish.com. January 2012...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:35:07 -0500

New episode of my podcast at burningdervish.com.

January 2012 was a good month for jazz shows in New York City, with more shows than I could sneak out for. Of the four I did catch, I was lucky to score recordings of each.

The sound quality might not be up to the standard you’re used to here, but the performances are well worth it.

For more about this episode, including a list of the artists and tracks appearing, visit www.burningdervish.com, click on “Podcast” and look for the episode, “Tales from the Concert Crypt”

If you like what you hear, support the artists; buy their music and go see them live. Until next time, peace.

The Majesty of King Tubby

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 17:54:34 -0500

New episode of my podcast at burningdervish.com.

If King Tubby did not invent dub, it hardly matters who did. With hundreds, or even thousands, of sides standing witness to his wizardry, he elevated the form to an exalted level.

Jamaican dub of the roots reggae era is the direct antecedent of modern remix culture, which spans music, the visual arts, and even high technology. For the purposes here, it is dub’s immediate effect on the brain that is most impressive…

For a setlist and details about the music in this episode, visit www.burningdervish.com. Click on “Podcast” and look for the episode, “The Majesty of King Tubby”.

As always, if you dig the music in this podcast, please support the artists by buying their music and where possible, going to see them live. Thanks.

Enjoy. And let me know what you think. And until next time…Peace.

McCoy Tyner Trio - Inception

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:08:00 -0500

Though two tracks from October 1960 were previously issued under McCoy Tyner’s name, they were outtakes from John Coltrane dates where the saxophonist sat out. Inception marks the pianist’s first proper release as bandleader, with the sessions for Impulse! taking place at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio on January 10 and 11, 1962. Of the set’s six tracks, four are Tyner compositions, with “Effendi” becoming something of a modern jazz standard and embraced, most notably, by pianist Ahmad Jamal.

Read my full review on All About Jazz.

2011 - A Year in Music

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:28:00 -0500

2011 - A Year in Music:

Latest episode of my music podcast.

“Episode Eight - 2011 - A Year in Music: I want to share a bunch of songs that I enjoyed discovering throughout 2011, all from records released during the calendar year. I have no idea if this was the “best” music issued or even what that means but I hope your ears are tickled and your curiosity is piqued enough to dig in further. Episode Options: View the playlist | Download (right click and save) | Stream”

Rez Abbasi: Thoroughly Modern Marvel

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 10:17:26 -0500

Guitarist Rez Abbasi is part of a generation of jazz musicians who came of age after the conservative backlash of the 1980s. He and his peers are making their mark on America’s art form by contributing their rich and varied cultural backgrounds and with an embrace of popular culture that was heresy in some quarters for far too long.

Rez Abbasi personifies several of the attributes on display in his music. He puts forth a quiet confidence, with a clear point of view on a variety of topics. He is capable of and open to ideas, surprises, and wonder. Though he has a singular vision for his various musical projects and approaches his art with a sense of purpose and seriousness, he is quick to laugh and clearly comfortable in his own skin. In the most striking parallel between the music and the man, conversation with him visits many themes while veering off for varied explorations.

Rez Abbasi is living, breathing proof that jazz music can be as vital and boundary-pushing as ever.

Read my full in-depth interview with Rez at All About Jazz.

Nheap: Clouds Under The Table

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:58:00 -0500

“Nheap is the nom de guerre of Italian drummer/composer Massimo Discepoli. The projects he puts out as Nheap are ethereal, mostly mellow electronic excursions accompanied by his own live acoustic drum work. Clouds Under The Table marks his third collection as Nheap.

“Ambient” might begin to describe this music, but the presence of Discepoli’s relatively straightforward drumming gives the compositions more of a rootedness and energy than that to which most typical electronic ambient music lays claim. Certainly “atmospheric” goes a long way as a descriptor. This does not fall into the dance music realm, either. Though slightly beefier, most cuts from this album would not be out of place on a Windham Hill sampler…”

Read my full review on All About Jazz.

Alejandro Florez & Tibagui: Malandanza

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 09:41:47 -0500

Alejandro Florez’s Tibagui exists to explore and expand upon the Andean music of the guitarist’s native Columbia. Neither cumbia nor chichi, Florez’s quartet use traditional folk melodies as starting points for very modern, sophisticated and engaging improvisations.

The musical tradition Tibagui springs from is primarily string-based, typically a trio including the Latin bandola and tiple, as well as guitar. Here, Florez has expanded the instrumentation to include wind instruments and percussion, each of which has long had its own place in Andean music and is, therefore, not at all out of context here.

Read my full review on All About Jazz.

Animation: Agemo

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:36:00 -0500

“One of the more intriguing albums issued in the first half of 2011, Animation’s Asiento (RareNoise, 2011), has now begotten one of the best sets of the latter part of the year. Asiento was a live reimagining of trumpeter Miles Davis’ seminal Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1970), recorded live in December 2006 as part of the Reissue: Classic Recordings Live series, at Merkin Hall in Manhattan. Agemo is itself a reimaging. This two-CD set is made up of the same six tracks that appeared on its predecessor, but only as a jumping off point…”

Check out my full review on All About Jazz.

McCoy Tyner: Vol. Three 1961

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:42:00 -0500

“This music was recorded over a six month span but illustrates the breakneck speed with which the bleeding edge of jazz was transforming. In late May and early June 1961, McCoy Tyner was part of the John Coltrane group that recorded the ground-breaking Impulse! album Africa/Brass. By early November, the month that record was released, the core group of Coltrane, Tyner, Elvin Jones, Reggie Workman and notably, Eric Dolphy, were turning the jazz world upside down with the aggressive music they made across four nights at New York’s Village Vanguard. Track the evolution here.”

Get the playlist at All About Jazz.

Miho Wada: Para Ti

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:45:00 -0500

“Good things can indeed come in small packages. Flutist Miho Wada’s Para Ti, for example, clocks in at just a hair over 20 minutes, with five melodic and catchy songs that manage to combine sharp musicianship with a sense of whimsy and fun…”

Read my full review on All About Jazz.

Tarana: After The Disquiet

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:49:00 -0500

“After the Disquiet is a beguiling EP from Tarana, a duo consisting of drummer Ravish Momin and violinist Trina Basu. Recorded live in March 2011, After the Disquiet finds Momin laying down a variety of acoustic drum beats while adding his own real-time electronic manipulations. Over this, Basu adds Eastern-themed improvisations. The sound quality is not perfect here; there is a fair amount of room ambiance in the recording, but the absorbing music is worth diving into all the same…”

Read my full review at All About Jazz.

McCoy Tyner: Vol. Two, 1960-61

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:57:00 -0500

“The jazz world ushered in the 1960s with a fury of innovative change. A bold avant-garde stretched the form while also making accessible and engaging records. Across just nine months in one corner of that world,pianist McCoy Tyner played on a variety of sessions that together serve as a concise illustration of the ground bop was ceding to modality, melody and more. He began his tenure and apprenticeship with saxophonist John Coltrane, led his own first sessions and participated in the creation of music whose excitement and ingenuity has yet to be surpassed.”

Check out my playlist on All About Jazz.

Wingless Angels: Limited Edition Vinyl

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 10:53:00 -0500

Project Summary:

Medium: LP/Vinyl Box Set
Date: November 2011
Role: Producer and Project Manager

Details:
Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set of Jamaican roots music side project, executive produced by and featuring Keith Richards.

Wingless Angels: Limited Edition Vinyl, is a 4-LP set on red, green, black and gold vinyl. Side eight features an etching of the Lion Of Judah used on the album’s cover. This book-bound collection also includes essays and photos previously available only in the Wingless Angels Limited Edition Box Set.

Contents Include

WIngless Angels - Original 1997 recordings
Wingless Angles Volume II
Writings and photos exploring the music and cultural context of Wingless Angels

Taeko Kunishima: Late Autumn

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 17:00:00 -0500

“Pianist Taeko Kunishima’s third record, Late Autumn, is an exciting work full of intriguing compositions, diverse instrumentation and top-notch performances. Any one or two of these attributes, as manifested on this album, would be enough to carry the day, but the presence of all three makes for a must-hear release.”

Read my full review on All About Jazz.

Yotam: Brasil

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:03:00 -0500

“Brazilian music is tricky. It must be approached carefully as its mellow understatement can be vulnerable to sterility in production and blandness in execution. Brasil, by Israeli guitarist Yotam Silberstein (now known solely as “Yotam”) is plagued by both attributes…”

Read my full review at All About Jazz.

Yo-Yo Ma / Stuart Duncan / Edgar Meyer / Chris Thile: The Goat Rodeo Sessions

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 17:07:00 -0500

“The Goat Rodeo Sessions is the perhaps not-so-unlikely collaboration between mandolinist Chris Thile, bassist Edgar Meyer, fiddle player Stuart Duncan and ubiquitous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. These four master musicians have together made some of the most lyrical and captivating music of 2011.

As expected, the playing is superlative. The compositions were born of group improvisations but, while each musician is given ample room to shine, it is when they are truly playing together that the real drama unfolds. These are world-class musicians in a novel setting recorded in a pristine fashion. The resulting record is lush and warm, a perfect accompaniment for the twilight of autumn….”

Read my full review at All About Jazz.

Jacob 2-2: Fantasiarexia

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:10:00 -0500

“After lighting up the indie blogosphere at the beginning of 2011 with his six-song EP, Cabazon (Moodgadget Records), DJ and producer Jacob 2-2 is back with Fantasiarexia, featuring more of his 1980s-derived electro funk. Drawing from a well of inspiration that includes not only Herbie Hancock, Jean Michel Jarre and Windham Hill but also film, TV and commercial incidental music. The veil of nostalgia hangs heavily over this music…”

Read my full review at All About Jazz.

Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, McCoy Tyner

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 17:14:00 -0500

Atlantic Records issued this collection 1976. It is made up of two tracks each from four of the most important pianists in the post-bop era. Excepting one piece, each pianist is represented here in trio format…

Read my full review at All About Jazz.