The members of Thumbscrew are nonpareil instrumentalists. Drummer Tomas Fujiwara easily balances ornamentation and propulsion at any speed; double bassist Michael Formanek plays with a woody tone whose bulk belies his ability to invest each note with its own expressive inflection; and guitarist Mary Halvorson employs fluid phrasing and adroit manipulation of delay effects that […]
Tag: Tomas Fujiwara
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Mary Halvorson recruits singer Robert Wyatt to take her Code Girl project to the next level
You don’t get a MacArthur “genius” grant just for thinking big; you get one because your big ideas work extraordinarily well. Mary Halvorson, who was awarded the grant last year, has earned hers by moving from strength to strength. Ever since she began recording in the mid-2000s, she’s projected a strikingly personal voice on the […]
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Thumbscrew helps Anthony Braxton celebrate 75 years by recording some of his lesser-known compositions
Composer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and conceptualist Anthony Braxton was born in Chicago on June 4, 1945, and the celebration of his 75th birthday has taken a major hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. At least nine 2020 events have been cancelled so far—the only live performance that hasn’t yet been stricken from the calendar for this year […]
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Cellist and former Chicagoan Tomeka Reid celebrates the release of her quartet’s second album
Next time you think you’re busy, look at Tomeka Reid’s schedule. Even though the cellist was already committed to touring Europe with Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, she just assumed the position of Darius Milhaud Distinguished Visiting Professor at Mills College in Oakland, California (even though she’s based in […]
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Drummer Tomas Fujiwara fuels his writing by recruiting musicians in contrasting pairs
On his latest album, Triple Double, Tomas Fujiwara trusts his strong-voiced collaborators—and trusts himself to hold his own among them.
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Taylor Ho Bynum salutes his mentors on a rich, sprawling new big-band album
Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum, a longtime associate of Anthony Braxton, leads a strong improvising quartet on Sunday at the Hungry Brain.
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Guitarist Mary Halvorson personalizes her favorites on a new solo album
On Meltframe she uses the compositions of others to say plenty about herself.
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Matt Bauder’s ever-evolving sound
The onetime Chicagoan achieves his most profound and beautiful work yet with his quintet Day in Pictures.
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12 O’Clock Track: “Cheap Knock Off,” some appealingly knotty free jazz by Thumbscrew
The trio of guitarist Mary Halvorson, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tomas Fujiwara releases its debut album.
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Matana Roberts drops the stunning second chapter of her Coin Coin project
The saxophonist and composer, a Chicago native, releases Mississippi Moonchile, the second chapter of her ambitious exploration of black music and history.
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The meditative free jazz of Tomas Fujiwara
New York drummer Tomas Fujiwara, whose quintet the Hook Up releases an album tomorrow, plays at the Whistler with Tomeka Reid and Nick Butcher.