Trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, who turned 80 earlier this year, is seemingly at the height of his creative life—despite having already catalogued decades of accomplishments across dozens of releases, both in the company of AACM masters and as a bandleader. In May he issued a pair of three-disc sets, one focused on solo […]
Tag: trumpet
Posted inMusic
Jacob Wick’s trumpet playing proposes some queer notions
Trumpeter Jacob Wick grew up in the Chicago area and now lives in Mexico City. Like his contemporaries Birgit Ulher, Peter Evans, Axel Dörner, and Nate Wooley, he employs extended techniques that enable him to produce sounds very different from conventional brass playing. His vocabulary encompasses coarse-grained ribbons of frayed wind, rhythmic puffs that resemble […]
Posted inMusic
Jaimie Branch’s Fly or Die band celebrates a new record that nixes the sophomore jinx
Jaimie Branch’s 2017 debut LP, Fly or Die, heralded the arrival of an already mature talent. While it wasn’t a secret that she’s a superb trumpeter, it was her chops as a composer and bandleader that made the record stand out. She devised bold themes and galvanic grooves that inspired a band of elder musicians, […]
Posted inMusic
Trumpeter Russ Johnson dances along a fine line
Wisconsin trumpeter and composer Russ Johnson strikes a perfect balance between mainstream and vanguard.
Posted inMusic
Drone-song duo Mending near the halfway point of a 40-song narrative cycle
Drone-song duo Mending near the halfway point of a 40-song narrative cycle, top-notch Chicago rapper Tree decisively ends his release drought, and more.
Posted inMusic
Deacon Jones cofounded the legendary Baby Huey & the Babysitters—and that was just for starters
Trumpeter and organist Deacon Jones played for Curtis Mayfield, Freddie King, and Carlos Santana, and spent 18 years with John Lee Hooker.
Posted inMusic
Phil Cohran shaped the Black Arts Movement with his vision and discipline
Secret History pays tribute to its first subject, the late Phil Cohran, who cofounded the AACM, formed the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, and launched the Affro-Arts Theater.
Posted inMusic
Trumpeter Jaimie Branch finally spreads her wings
More than 12 years after her blazing debut on the Chicago jazz scene, trumpeter Jaimie Branch releases Fly or Die, her first album as a bandleader.
Posted inBlogs
Trumpeter Duane Eubanks sparkles on a lean, unfussy trio recording
Veteran horn man Duane Eubanks has released the kind of album that reminds me why I fell for jazz in the first place.
Posted inMusic
American Football: Accidental rock stars
American Football became heroes to the emo scene after breaking up in obscurity—and 17 years later, they’ve returned with a second album.
Posted inBest of Chicago
Best Freak Folker Who Makes Soap and Writes Books of Erotic Poetry
Even if you haven’t seen her play, you’ve probably noticed her around town, with her long dark tresses, psychedelic tattoos, and gypsy adornments.
Posted inMusic
In Rotation: Audio engineer Tim Iseler on “Darth Vader’s Cock and Balls”
Audio engineers Tim Iseler and Jeremy Lemos on “Darth Vader’s Cock and Balls” and the Dirty Projectors at the Sydney Opera
Posted inMusic
Aaron Siegel, Nate Wooley
Trumpeter Nate Wooley and percussionist Aaron Siegel are accomplished group improvisers with strong jazz backgrounds, but in a solo improv setting both tend to throw all idiomatic reference out the window and head for the frontiers of sound research. Wooley–who’s previously played in Chicago with his excellent trio Blue Collar, featuring Steve Swell and Tatsuya […]
Posted inMusic
Adam Lane Quartet with John Tchicai
Young bicoastal bassist Adam Lane has been collaborating with his mentors since he first worked with the great Danish saxophonist John Tchicai in the latter’s California-based quartet Infinitesimal Flash two years ago. With his new album, Fo(u)r Being(s) (CIMP), Lane can put two more notches in his fiddle–trumpeter Paul Smoker and drummer Barry Altschul join […]
Posted inMusic
Acid Mothers Temple/Spaceheads
The sprawling psychedelia of the Japanese collective Acid Mothers Temple–more formally known as Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.–makes the neohippie trappings of their countrymen in Ghost seem downright subtle. On their recently released second album, Pataphisical Freak Out MU!! (P.S.F.), about 15 of the 30-some “famous and unknown musicians, artists, dancers, farmers, […]