Ugly Beauty: The Month In Jazz – December 2017
– December 27, 2017
and Ches Smith on drums. The album is a single 57-minute piece in memory of the 2011 nuclear power plant disaster; throughout its five movements, she combines voices in surprising ways (baritone saxophone paired with guitar, clarinet backed by a choir-like ...The Playlist: Cardi B Isn’t Going Anywhere and 9 More New Songs
– December 25, 2017
Till then, it’s mostly toneless whispers. Eventually we find ourselves in a low-lit passage of collective improvising, the group’s all-star musicians (the percussionist Ches Smith, the saxophonist Tony Malaby and the bassist Stomu Takeishi, among ...Top albums of 2017: Alexander Varty
– December 20, 2017
With producer David Torn adding fuzzed-out guitar atmospherics to Berne’s band of avant-jazz virtuosos, the piece blends coiled-spring intensity with passages of chilly introspection that showcase drummer Ches Smith’s knack for timbral as well as ...Overrated/Underrated: One is enough for 'Baby Driver,' and Netflix's aptly named 'Dark' casts a spell
– December 8, 2017
Assisted by equally deft collaborators including Kate Gentile, Dan Weiss and Ches Smith, who contribute inventive percussion work, Mitchell delivers an engrossing, shape-shifting blend of intricate composition and improvisation with recent MacArthur fellow ...