Bermei.inazawa Berpop Ensembles

The Pasture & Storm Project brings together the composer Sadie Harrison, three pianists in Nicholas McCarthy, Sophia Benton and Tomáš Klement, the singer Peyee Chen, flautist Stephanie Gilbert, violinist Roger Huckle, and the Bristol Ensemble, conducted by John Pickard. The CD includes 8 new works written to celebrate the unique talents of the left-hand-only pianist.

Higher is the new studio album by composer, singer and pianist Patricia Barber. Inspired by classical works and the challenge of making jazz music more expansive, the latest project came to life. And again Barber knows how to create a more artistic side of modern jazz, without denying the traditional roots of American jazz music.

First among many ensembles in different genres that have chosen the name Air, this trio specializing in collective improvisation grew directly from the membership of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Throughout 11 albums that appeared over a span of one dozen years this group operated in modes comparable to that of the Art Ensemble of Chicago and at times some of Albert Ayler's early trio realizations. Its inception occurred in 1971, when saxophonist Henry Threadgill agreed to fulfill a request from the theater department at Chicago's Columbia College to devise modern arrangements based upon ragtime compositions of Scott Joplin (a concept borne to fruition by Anthony Braxton and Muhal Richard Abrams in 1976). Threadgill joined forces with bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall, and named the trio Reflection…

On his fourth full-length release, Preparations, Glitch-hop king Guillermo Scott Herren, better known as Prefuse 73, shows that emigrating to Barcelona has not dissociated him from his fountain of sonic inspiration. The former Atlanta, Georgia, phenom continues to blaze a trail for Prefuse that stands distinct from his other projects (Savath & Savalas, Delarosa & Asora, etc.). With contributions from Tobias Lilja, Battles drummer John Stanier, and Secret Machines offshoot School of Seven Bells, Herren crafts a multi-hued, constantly shifting prism of electronic sound that's always propulsive and visceral, but frequently gorgeous in its juxtaposition of atmosphere and angularity. The album was released both on its own and with a bonus disc, as Preparations & Interregnums.