M Base

Paul Bley Trio - Modern Chant (1994) {Japan Venus Records VHCD-2115 HiQualityCD rel 2009}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 389 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 121 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1994, 2009 Venus Records | VHCD-2115 | HiQualityCD
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Piano

Can it be a coincidence that this CD, subtitled "Inspiration from Gregorian Chant," was recorded right around the time that chant music was reaching its improbable peak on the album charts? In any case, this enjoyable, offbeat trio album featuring the unusual combination of Bley's piano, David Eyges' electric cello and Bruce Ditmas' drums seems to have very little to do with Gregorian chant per se. Indeed, such numbers as "Wisecracks" and "Loose Change" are definitely based on the blues, "Decompose" has an M-base funk foundation, and "Funhouse" is a nasty, down-home bit of grooving that eventually becomes engulfed in a swirling maelstrom (so this is from whom Keith Jarrett may have picked up some of his group concepts).

Steve Coleman - Lucidarium (2004) {Label Bleu LBLC6673}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 462 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 171 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 111 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2004 Label Bleu | LBLC 6673
Jazz / Post Bop / M-Base / Modern Jazz / Saxophone

The uncompromising American alto saxophonist Steve Coleman isn't the kind of artist to hire a marketing team, but if he was you could bet that track titles like the name of this album, or Plagal Transitions, or Diasporatic Transitions II would be straight in the shredder. Coleman is a serious thinker about contemporary music, and he doesn't wear the responsibility lightly. But behind the solemn, lecture-room gravitas, and woven between the sometimes mathematical investigation of rhythm and ensemble patterns he favours, can be a hot and soulful alto-sax improviser, and a surprisingly nimble and free-spirited nu-bop enthusiast.

Guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly's ensemble combines his own heavy guitar sound and R&B-tinged vocals, the passionate African chants of Abdourahmane Diop, and the percussive drive of Samba Sock on boograboo (four large African congas with bells) and Slaka on djembe. Reggie Washington (of Steve Coleman renown) plays bass on four tracks, doubling the low end with Big Royal Talamacus on "filtered boom bass," which sounds like bass through a fuzz box. Two high-profile guest saxophonists, Archie Shepp and Henry Threadgill, appear on several tracks, enlivening the session with their free jazz sensibilities.

Jack DeJohnette's first Special Edition recording in five years finds him using completely different personnel than earlier. Greg Osby (on alto and soprano) and Gary Thomas (doubling on tenor and flute) bring M-Base influences to the band (their improvisations have a fresh new logic) while guitarist Mick Goodrick, bassist Lonnie Plaxico, percussionist Nana Vasconcelos and the leader-drummer (who doubles on keyboards) all make strong contributions. Other than Osby's "Osthetics," the repertoire is comprised of DeJohnette's originals and the somewhat unique music gives all of the musicians opportunities to express themselves and inspire each other.

The group’s current album Def Trance Beat documents the groups latest efforts in this arena. Following upon the success of the Five Elements’ last release The Tao of Mad Phat, Def Trance Beat’s musical form progresses with an intuitive flow while displaying insight into an ancient science, all within definitive creative musical structures. This particular way of expressing music and musical improvisation comes from the combination of individual and collective experiences and the general way the musicians vibrate spiritually in their environment.