Robin Holcomb

Robin Holcomb's third album is all gray sunlight and hardwood floors. It's like spending an hour in the dusty heat of an old-fashioned radiator, beneath thin windows pressed by brisk cold and rusting leaves, listening to a gifted musician as she explores the chordal possibilities of an upright piano. One can hear Holcomb relishing the warmth and resonance of the fresh, dissonant chords she creates.

With a tremulous voice, poetic lyrics, and a fine band, Robin Holcomb put together an impressive debut album. A lot of credit for the distinctive sound of this record must be laid at the feet of organist (and Holcomb's husband) Wayne Horvitz and guitarist Bill Frisell, both alumni of John Zorn's Naked City. The playing of Horvitz and Frisell fits in beautifully with Holcomb's otherworldly voice, one that at times evokes Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins.

This recording marks a venture into composed and improvised creative music for Holcomb. Her musical ideas are for the most part solemnly focused, but there is a big difference in the approach, which is much more expansive and developmental. While her acoustic piano playing is center stage, she is surrounded by some brilliant improvisers, including multi-reedists Marty Ehrlich and Doug Wieselman, electric keyboardist Wayne Horvitz, tubist/bassist David Hofstra, and drummer Bobby Previte.

Rockabye, Robin Holcomb's second album, uses more familiar song structures (i.e., verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge) than her debut, which bore little resemblance to any other musical genre. This time, Holcomb draws on just about every American genre invented before, say, 1974 – traditional folk music, country, classic rock, jazz, carnival music, Dixie brass, soul – but the album is unified by her distinctive, earthy vocals and her staccato piano playing (her keyboard and vocal style seem to be inseparable from her personality).

Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties performed by artists representing a variety of genres, ranging from pop musicians like Sting and Bryan Ferry, to folk musicians, including Richard Thompson and Martin Carthy.

For their second and, apparently, final album, the group of downtown New York City musicians who had come together under the banner of the New York Composers Orchestra branched out a bit from performing their own compositions in the attempt to construct a kind of repertoire of large ensemble music from various contemporary composers…

Following on the enormous success of Tzadik's Burt Bacharach collection, this second installment of Tzadik's Great Jewish Music series focuses on the songs of French composer Serge Gainsbourg. A superstar since the 1950's in his native France, Gainsbourg is barely known here in the United States - a condition this special tribute to his genius hopes in some way to remedy. In addition to Tzadik regulars, Tzadik is proud to be able to include tracks by Cibo Matto, Elysian Fields, Kramer, Franz Treichler (of the Young Gods), Blonde Redhead and many, many others. 21 tracks by 21 artists - over 74 minutes of music, all on one dynamic disc. This is an unusual project that you will play again and again, discovering new delights with each listen.

The Martin Hayes Quartet expands on many of the musical ideas pursued by Martin in his longstanding partnership with Dennis Cahill. The melody still remains central but now with an added range of sonic possibilities provided by the bass clarinet and viola d'amore. The addition of these instruments creates an added aural texture and amplifies the rhythmic possibilities while also allowing a larger role for improvisation. Both Doug and Liz bring a wealth of musical experience that contributes to the spacious, rich arrangements of the Quartet.