Sarah Peebles. Delicate Paths. The thin, luminous sound of the shô, a Japanese mouth organ, is very particular and very beautiful—presenting a pleasant and impossibly clear glassy tonal surface. Sarah Peebles’ new shô-centred disc Delicate Paths demonstrates a thorough, painterly understanding of[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 120

Jaap Blonk Ever since his performances of classic Dada sound poetry in the late ’70s, Dutch performer–composer Jaap Blonk has been a prolific explorer of the limits of oral sound. He has developed an extensive body of work centred around his own vocal invention and innovation, frequently[...] Read more

Recordings Gary Barwin Issue 120

30th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) celebrated a milestone this year, presenting its 30th festival of musique actuelle—that unique French descriptor covering improvised music, chance, electronica, the avant edges of jazz, rock, folk, and world, and[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 120

Tilting. Holy Seven. One of the linchpins of Montreal’s Musique Actuelle potpourri, bassist Nicolas Caloia is, underneath it all, a jazz musician, and this session shows off his mastery of the idiom. With the group Tilting, he elaborates his take on jazz by utilizing the talents of fellow travellers[...] Read more

Review Spotlight Ken Waxman

Gorilla Mask. Bite My Blues. With a program built around his rugged compositions, Canadian expatriate alto saxophonist Peter Van Huffel and his Gorilla Mask trio mine the seam of improvised music with implements forged equally from effervescent melodies reminiscent of Ornette Coleman’s electric bands and the[...] Read more

Review Spotlight Ken Waxman

Adrian Verdejo. Modern Hearts. Recordings of new music for electric guitar are rare. Solo efforts in that field are rarer still. And albums that fully exploit the sonic capabilities of the instrument are practically unheard of, thus making Adrian Verdejo’s Modern Hearts almost a public service—at least for[...] Read more

Recordings Alexander Varty Issue 119

Jocelyn Morlock. Cobalt. Cobalt, Jocelyn Morlock tells us, is one of the most poisonous elements, but it’s hard to imagine anyone dying of exposure to this Vancouver-based composer’s music—unless it was from a surfeit of beauty. Her strongest pieces can be described in a single word: numinous;[...] Read more

Recordings Alexander Varty Issue 119

Digital Primitives. Lipsomuch & Soul Searchin’… This two-disc release features a trio of free-jazz stalwarts who do not engage in your standard squawk session. Instead, they slice ninety-four minutes into nineteen funky cuts, as much influenced by country blues, rock, and various world musics as by modern strains of jazz.[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 119

Hecker. Articulação. Much of Florian Hecker’s downright preposterous music could easily be regarded as the absurdist vanishing point of technological vanguardism in computer music. Both boisterously noisy and eerily austere, with its hyperactive bursts of sound, his music often feels as though it’s[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 119

Jean Derome, Malcolm Goldstein, Rainer Weins. 6 improvisations. Saxophonist Jean Derome, violinist Malcolm Goldstein, and guitarist Rainer Wiens are pillars of Montreal’s improvised music community who retain their sense of whimsy and their willingness to test the limits. Frequent associates in varied contexts, they meet for the first time as a[...] Read more

Recordings Stuart Broomer Issue 119

David Grubbs. Records Ruin the Landscape: John Cage, the Sixties and Sound Recording. An endless stream of recordings flows through the Internet. Listeners rejoice in having easy access to over a century of music, their mood dampened only in contemplation of the terabytes of sound they will never find time to hear. Few, however, have stopped to study how this increased[...] Read more

Books Lawrence Joseph Issue 119