James O’Callaghan & Ensemble Paramirabo. Alone & Unalone. Montreal’s James O’Callaghan exemplifies a wave of younger composers whose unique remedies have successfully healed some of the major ideological rifts that characterized twentieth-century music. This new disc, immaculately performed by the brilliant and agile Ensemble Paramirabo[...] Read more

Recordings Nick Storring Issue 135

NakedEye Ensemble. Toy. The electroacoustic chamber group NakedEye Ensemble, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvannia, includes electric guitar, saxophone, flute, cello, electric bass, percussion, piano, and often toy piano. The ensemble walks a line between experimental classical music, avant jazz, and classic rock. On[...] Read more

Recordings Monica Pearce Issue 135

Kathryn Ladano. Masked. Kathryn Ladano studied with Montreal free-improv VIP Lori Freedman, is based in Kitchener, Ontario, and focuses her practice on improvisation. She explores the multiple identities of the bass clarinet on her latest album Masked, which is framed by the idea of how an instrument serves as a[...] Read more

Recordings Monica Pearce Issue 135

heArt Ensemble. From the Basement The historical importance of the Quatuor de jazz libre du Québec has been well recognized. Recent book (Eric Filion’s Jazz libre et la revolution québécoise, M Éditeur) and archival CD (Jazz libre du Québec: musique-politique—1971-74, Tour de[...] Read more

Recordings Lawrence Joseph Issue 135

Plumes. Oh Orwell. Veronica Charnley and Geof Holbrook have often walked a tightrope between pop and classical music in their work, incorporating classical elements into their indie pop or vice versa. But sometimes they prefer to keep the two streams separate, which is probably why the couple has sometimes[...] Read more

Recordings Mary Dickie Issue 135

Pursuit Grooves. Bess. For some, the name Bessie Coleman will not ring a bell. She was the first African American–Indigenous female to receive an international pilots’ licence in 1921. Famous in her time, Coleman died at age thirty-four, nearly 100 years ago. Although her life is rarely discussed today[...] Read more

Recordings Chaka V. Grier Issue 135

Land of Kush. Sand Enigma. Sand Enigma is a vision. Not in the sense of a future or even a past, but of a roiling, tempestuous, and contradictory present. Composer and bandleader Sam Shalabi has created a movie—and without trotting out the cinematic tropes, this release has a comprehensive narrative, one that[...] Read more

Recordings Nilan Perera Issue 135

Nick Fraser, Kris Davis, Tony Malaby. Zoning. On half of Zoning’s six tracks, Toronto drummer Nick Fraser, Canadian-in-Brooklyn pianist Kris Davis, and New York saxophonist Tony Malaby are joined by German saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and Toronto-Berlin trumpeter Lina Allemano. This Toronto-recorded session is effective with both[...] Read more

Recordings Ken Waxman Issue 135

Fourth Calgary New Music Festival. You may imagine Calgary as a repository of rednecks, oil executives, and a rabidly vocal reactionary element. You wouldn’t be totally wrong. You might imagine a city that splits the difference between Dallas and Anchorage. Who could blame you? The thing is: you live long enough, you[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Jason Philip Wierzba Issue 135

MUTEK Montreal, Twentieth Edition. Montreal, Quebec. August 20–25, 2019. MUTEK Montreal has long served as the high-water mark around the world for a festival presenting leading artists in the fields of electronic music and digital art. The twentieth edition of the five-day festival confirmed MUTEK’s enduring relevance and commitment to promoting fresh[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Michael Rancic

Eric Lewis. Intents & Purposes. Are John Coltrane’s out versions of “My Favorite Things” valid representations of the original Rodgers and Hammerstein song from The Sound of Music? What are the similarities and differences between fully scored and freely improvised music? More generally, how best conceive[...] Read more

Books Lawrence Joseph Issue 134