Karl Evangelista, Alexander Hawkins, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Trevor Watts, Apura

I'd contend that the more you get into jazz on a deep level the more inevitably you will listen to free-jazz. It is a journey into freedom. And the ultimate. You might, god forbid, by mistake start off listening to Dave Koz or Boney James, but …

Published: 28 Apr 2020. Updated: 3 years.

I'd contend that the more you get into jazz on a deep level the more inevitably you will listen to free-jazz. It is a journey into freedom. And the ultimate.

You might, god forbid, by mistake start off listening to Dave Koz or Boney James, but unless you are brain dead, eventally you'll be on to Ken Vandermark in a spirit of protest if nothing else, that is if you really get what you are hearing and manage to process out all the glutinous crap along the way.

Take Apura it's not the greatest free-jazz album ever, I can provide you with a list if you like, but it is fresh and it does contain active input from one of the greatest free-jazz pianists alive Alexander Hawkins who is very much on-song.

For his best work at the moment however the new Tomeka Reid should be your first stop.

Apura is a Filipino name check for a link to the Blue Notes, the great South African band, and a nod to Louis Moholo-Moholo. Trevor Watts is playing well here and Moholo is like Rashied Ali. No higher praise in my book. But this really is an introduction to guitarist Karl A.D. Evangelista, who is a little like Sonny Sharrock perhaps and acquits himself admirably. Immerse yourself immediately. Give thanks too.

Out on Astral Spirits.

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Tashi Dorji / Tyler Damon, To Catch A Bird In A Net Of Wind

The bells. The bells! Trost continue their reliably out-there run of releases with To Catch A Bird In A Net Of Wind. That's a title and a half. Just two, very long, tracks, listening to the title track with its serene start I get the feeling that it …

Published: 28 Apr 2020. Updated: 3 years.

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The bells. The bells! Trost continue their reliably out-there run of releases with To Catch A Bird In A Net Of Wind. That's a title and a half. Just two, very long, tracks, listening to the title track with its serene start I get the feeling that it is nonetheless just about to explode.

For now it's kind of zen in a way waiting for this to happen: Tashi Dorji noodling happily enough on guitar; while Tyler Damon gets jiggy with the bells. Problem is it goes on a little bit too long in the same vein and you kind of zone out after a while and start thinking about less profound things than catching a bird in a net of wind.

Maybe that explosion is not going to happen after all. There is a little bit of development when Dorji starts to pitch bend and the percussion starts to thicken out. (I think you need to be lying down flat to listen to this record.) Ah wait six and a half minutes in and that promised cacophony is about to happen, certainly the tension is rising. No, life's too short.

'Upon the Rim of the Well' begins with some multi-directional drumming and then lots of detuned guitar and extravagant thrashing about. I'm thinking Eugene Chadbourne a bit here and of course yes it's a complete racket. If you are feeling in a particularly destructive frame of mind then for sure this is the track for you. Otherwise ride it all out. SG