Music Reviewed by the Staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House

 

Review: silver dawn - Zosha Warpeha
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review silver dawn, an album of improvisations and compositions performed on the hardanger d'amore by Zosha Warpeha. If, like the reviewer, you aren't initially familiar with this instrument, read on and learn something new as we do our best to provide a verbal description that does justice to the music.

Review Date: March 12, 2024
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Syyspimee - Guillaume Gargaud & Eero Savela
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Syyspimee, an album of improvised duets on guitar and trumpet, which served as a spectacular introduction to the music of Guillaume Gargaud & Eero Savela.

Review Date: January 28, 2024
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Space Cube Jazz - Matthew Shipp & Steve Swell
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Space Cube Jazz, an album of improvised duets on piano and trombone by Matthew Shipp and Steve Swell.

Review Date: January 21, 2024
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Ten Ear-Opening Records of 2023
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House high-light ten records of adventurous jazz (we use the term as inclusively as possible) released in the past year to which we have repeatedly listened.

Review Date: November 24, 2023 and updated December 23, 2023
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: pique-nique au labo 3 - Jean-Jacques Birgé
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House wander along a meandering path as they consider the musical experiments emanating from the picnics in the laboratory of Jean-Jacques Birgé.

Review Date: September 30, 2023
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Una Ofrenda A La Ausencia - Camila Nebbia
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Una Ofrenda A La Ausencia, a new saxophone album by Camila Nebbia in the Relative Pitch Records Solo Series, which offers a number of musical interpretations of absence.

Review Date: August 22, 2023
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Epli EP - Epli
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Epli, an ep featuring eighteen bite-sized slices of apple served up by the duo of Oda Dyrnes on cello and Tyge Jessen on trumpet.

Review Date: April 17, 2023
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Vands Transparens - Sidechains
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Vands Transparens, a new album featuring seven songs performed by saxophone quintet.

Review Date: March 8, 2023
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Two Mitchells, Two Books & Two Records
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House share a few remarks about two recent books and two recent recordings from Nicole Mitchell and Roscoe Mitchell. We chose to think about these four works together because they came to us at about the same time and because, together, we found an interwoven musical, artistic and literary legacy.

Review Date: February 6, 2023
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Goodbye Ground - Sakina Abdou & MUTABLE - Don Malfon
In a listening experiment not to be repeated at home, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House simultaneously review two new saxophone solo albums from thoughtful and inventive artists new to their ears. The resulting pseudo-duo yielded unexpected results.

Review Date: December 22, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Ten Splendid Records of 2022
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House high-light ten records released in the past year to which we have repeatedly listened. So much excellent music appeared in 2022, that this year it seemed harder than ever to select just ten. Suffice it to say that this is not (by far) an exhaustive list, but these ten records really jumped out at us and demanded our attention.

Review Date: December 11, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Spirit Spirit - Torben Snekkestad, Søren Kjærgaard & Tomo Jacobson
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Spirit Spirit, a trio of saxophone, piano and bass, which weaves a balancing act between deconstructive minimalism and jazz decomposition with pleasantly puzzling results.

Review Date: November 26, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Bricolage III - Biliana Voutchkova & Tomeka Reid
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Bricolage III, a meeting of violin and cello, with a splash of voice, from Biliana Voutchkova and Tomeka Reid.

Review Date: November 23, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Look Like - Kelsey Mines
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Look Like, a bass and vocals solo release from the new voice, Kelsey Mines.

Review Date: October 15, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: The Monkey In The Abstract Garden: Over Mountains - Alexandra Grimal & Benjamin Lévy
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review The Monkey In The Abstract Garden: Over Mountains, the third release from the duo of Alexandra Grimal & Benjamin Lévy and the first to take shape as a singer/songwriter album.

Review Date: September 24, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Organism - Copenhagen Clarinet Choir
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Organism, a new collection of musical explorations into the communal movements of various sorts conducted through the lens of collective improvisation.

Review Date: September 9, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Gyotaku - Tomomi Kubo & Ferrán Besalduch
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Gyotaku, a duo where Ondes Martenot meets saxophones and the combination of instruments gives rise to a music that strives to be "a force for real good".

Review Date: August 30, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Variations on No Particular Theme 2 - Mat Maneri, Tanya Kalmanovitch, Tomo Jacobson & Kresten Osgood
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Variations on No Particular Theme 2, a quartet of two violas, bass and drums, which demonstrates that any musical instrument, or combination thereof, can be employed as a tool to express the freedom and egalitarian ideals of collective improvisation.

Review Date: August 25, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Trasluz - Amidea Clotet
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review Trasluz, an album of solo electric guitar by Amidea Clotet, and eventually, through repeated listening, arrive at baseless speculation regarding the cognition embodied within the music.

Review Date: August 18, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Tactical Maybe - Tactical Maybe
Tactical Maybe is a quartet composed of two saxophonists, Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen and Nana Pi Aabo-Kim, and a rhythm section of Tom Blancarte and Halym Aabo-Kim. Our attempt to adopt their strategic allegory to describe their quixotic improvisations meets with mixed results.

Review Date: June 27, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Canto - Emanuele Maniscalco, Francesco Bigoni & Mark Solborg
This lovely collection of simple melodies performed on piano, reeds and guitar/electronics provided the opportunity for a failed attempt to write the universal review!

Review Date: June 24, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Fukiya - Masayo Koketsu
We review the first solo alto saxophone album of Masayo Koketsu by describing three rules of an imaginary game in which the music could have been created.

Review Date: June 3, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: a grain of Earth - Marta Warelis
We post a review of a brand new first solo album by Polish piano experimentalist, Marta Warelis.

Review Date: May 27, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Distant Numbers - Loris Binot, Lê Quan Ninh & Emilie Škrijelj
We post a review, a year and a half after the release, of a sublime trio featuring piano, percussion and accordion.

Review Date: May 21, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: refuge - Alexandra Grimal
We post a review of the new solo soprano saxophone album by Alexandra Grimal.

Review Date: May 13, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Mnemosyne - Orsa
We post a review of a collection of vignettes from a wide-ranging travelogue explored by the duo of Maria Dybbroe on alto saxophone and Alfred Lykke on electric guitar.

Review Date: April 17, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: le chant des pistes - system friche
We post another belated review (this one ten months after the release) of le chant des pistes, a collectively improvised composition governed, we suppose, by the same systematic laws that hold sway in wastelands.

Review Date: April 16, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Spirit of the Hive - Jacob Anderskov
We post a belated review of Spirit of the Hive, a collective improvisation featuring a star-studded cast of musicians performing four works, inspired by the natural world, of Danish composer, Jacob Anderskov.

Review Date: April 2, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Aeriform - Crush String Collective
We post a review of the forthcoming album by Crush String Collective. On this album the doubling (plus) of the violin-viola-cello trio does to the classical string trio what Ornette Coleman's double quartet did to the traditional jazz quartet!

Review Date: January 22, 2022
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Singing Daxophone - Kazuhisa Uchihashi
We post a review of the astounding new daxophone album by Kazuhisa Uchihashi. To be sure, no record remotely like this has been made before or, we speculate, will come again.

Review Date: December 28, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Prismatist - Robbie Lee
We post a review of a lively and thoughtful new solo album by Robbie Lee featuring sopranino saxophone, tuning forks and live electronics.

Review Date: December 14, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: The Monkey In The Abstract Garden: Vagabondes - Alexandra Grimal & Benjamin Lévy
We post a review of the second duet recording by Alexandra Grimal (vocals) & Benjamin Lévy (electronics), which was released earlier this year.

Review Date: November 19, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Ten Amazing Records of 2021
In this review, we point out ten records, released in 2021, that we especially and repeatedly enjoyed. We imagine that each of these records possesses strains of non-idiomatic improvisation, though to differing extents and certainly of varying flavors.

Review Date: November 1, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Live @ The Pilot Light - Duet for Theremin & Lap Steel w/ friends
We post a review of the performance at the Pilot Light in Knoxville, Tennessee on September 20, 2021.

Review Date: September 21, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Graduation - Il Sogno
We post a review of the recently released second album by Il Sogno, a trio composed of pianist Emanuele Maniscalco, bassist Tomo Jacobson and drummer Oliver Laumann.

Review Date: August 25, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: eponymous - Maraton
We post a review of the recent album by Maraton, a quartet out of Copenhagen, which includes Maria Dybbroe, a saxophonist who has previously delighted us with her playing in other ensembles including Køs and Caktus.

Review Date: June 14, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: My Illusion of Korea - Halym Kim's Bijul
We share our thoughts in a review of the recent album by Halym Kim's Bijul, a experimental and improvisational jazz quintet out of Copenhagen. The music incorporates elements of traditional Korean music and philosophy in its contemporary composition and execution.

Review Date: June 11, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Two duets featuring Alexandra Grimal
Today we share a few thoughts about two recently released recordings featuring the French saxophonist, vocalist, improviser and composer, Alexandra Grimal, in distinct duo collaborations with French percussionist, Edward Perraud, unsui, and Brussels-based vocalist, Lynn Cassiers, Hi birds.

Review Date: March 8, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: Field of Yarrow - Robert Eggplant
We share a few thoughts on the noble aubergine in this review of the recent album by Robert Eggplant.

Review Date: February 14, 2021
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Review: pique-nique au labo - Jean-Jacques Birgé
While listening to the recently released suite of collaborative improvisations by the French composer, film director and improviser, Jean-Jacques Birgé, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House were struck by several thoughts related to the embodied cognition of creative music. In this obtuse review, they share the fruits of their listening.

Review Date: December 10, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Ten Musical Sanctuaries for 2020
In 2020, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House continued to pursue an existence filled with music. In this review, they highlight ten exciting records containing various strains of non-idiomatic improvisation released in 2020.

Review Date: November 23, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Splatter - Roscoe Mitchell
An unintended review of the live album, Splatter, by Roscoe Mitchell.

Review Date: November 6, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Under Solen - Caktus
A review of the debut album by the Danish avant garde jazz quintet, Caktus, released last month. Of great appeal to the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House, for each of the twelve tracks on the record, a different poet was engaged in an act of active listening to write a poem in response to the music, which is printed on the interior of the gatefold sleeve.

Review Date: October 24, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Harbors - Ellen Fullman & Theresa Wong
A review of the duo album released in August, 2020.

Review Date: September 23, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Susan Alcorn in 2020
A review of Susan Alcorn's music released in 2020 to date.

Review Date: August 23, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Of Things Beyond Thule Volumes 1 & 2 - Joe McPhee, Dave Rempis, Tomeka Reid, Brandon Lopez and Paal Nilssen-Love
A review of both volumes from this improvisational quintet, released in 2020.

Review Date: August 16, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

An Uncaught Bird - Køs
A review of the debut album by the Danish experimental electro-acoustic improvisational trio, Køs, released last month.

Review Date: April 30, 2020
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Désordre - Joëlle Léandre & Alexandra Grimal
A review of the 2019 release, Désordre by the grand dame of non-idiomatic improvisation, Joëlle Léandre, and Alexandra Grimal.

Review Date: December 19, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Ten Excellent Records of 2019
In 2019, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House continued to pursue an existence filled with music. In this review, they highlight ten exciting records containing various strains of non-idiomatic improvisation released in 2019.

Review Date: November 16, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Notes from a Blizzard
A review of Quand Fond La Neige, Où Va Le Blanc?, a duet by Christine Abdelnour & Chris Corsano released by Relative Pitch in April, 2019.

Review Date: June 28, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Thoughts on the Sonic Architecture of Successful Multi-Unit Housing
A belated review of Tempe Jetz, a duet by Magda Mayas & Jim Denley released by Relative Pitch in 2017.

Review Date: June 26, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Stereo Apocalypse
A belated review of Stereo Trumpet, a duet by Birgit Ulher & Leonel Kaplan released by Relative Pitch in 2015.

Review Date: June 25, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Variations on Ways in which a Man and a Woman Can Pass the Time
In recent years, the folks at Relative Pitch Records have included among their releases several duets featuring a man and a woman making what listeners with an open ear and a generous disposition can describe as music. In this review, we reflect on four such dialogues, admiring each for its individual virtues and implicitly comparing them with each other as a means of high-lighting their differences. These four albums include

  • untitled - Samara Lubelski & Bill Nace (2018)
  • The Mouser - Tomeka Reid & Filippo Monico (2019)
  • Lily - Isabelle Duthoit & Franz Hautzinger (2017)
  • Utter - Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey (2018)

Review Date: March 19, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Three Duets with Derek Bailey from Three Decades
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House reviews three duets with Derek Bailey (January 29, 1930 - December 25, 2005), the British non-idiomatic improvisational guitarist. The first duet hails from 1979 and pairs Bailey with Tony Coe (November 29, 1934 - ) on clarinet. The album, Time was originally issued as single lp on Bailey's Incus Records in the same year. It has been reissued with a second lp of contemporaneous unreleased recordings. The second duet hails from 1982 and pairs Bailey with Cyro Baptista (December 23, 1950 - ) on percussion. The album, Cyro was originally issued as single cd on Incus Records in 1988. The 2019 reissue also includes a second lp of contemporaneous unreleased recordings. The third duet hails from 1992 and pairs Bailey with Greg Goodman (origin unknown) on piano/objets d'intérieur. This recording did not see public release until 2017, when it was issued by The Beak Doctor on lp.

Review Date: February 9, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Two Lovely Duets Released in January, 2019
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House call attention to two extraordinary duets released this month: The Air Around Her by Ellen Fullman & Okkyung Lee and Voyage and Homecoming by George Lewis & Roscoe Mitchell.

Review Date: January 26, 2019
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Ten Excellent Records of 2018
In 2018, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House continued to pursue an existence filled with music. In this review, they highlight ten exciting records containing various strains of non-idiomatic improvisation released in 2018.

Review Date: December 8, 2018
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Three New Releases from Gotta Let it Out
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review three August releases from the Danish label, Gotta Let It Out: Høbama by Claus Højensgård, Emanuele Maniscalco & Nelide Bandello, Spirit of Gaia by Nikita Rafaelov and Split : Body by Tomo Jacobson, Maria Laurette Friis & Emanuele Maniscalco / Kārlis Auziņš.

Review Date: September 16, 2018
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Aida - Derek Bailey
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review the reissue of Aida by Derek Bailey (January 29, 1930-December 25, 2005), which includes a second lp of contemporaneous but previously unreleased solo guitar improvisations from 1980.

Review Date: July 9, 2018
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Two Releases from Gotta Let it Out
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review two albums release in the pass half year or so by the Danish label, Gotta Let It Out: Lake of Light: Compositions for AquaSonics by William Parker & Birthday by Il Sogno.

Review Date: June 30, 2018
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

The Poetry of Jazz - Benjamin Boone & Philip Levine
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House review the recently released combination of jazz and poetry from the beloved Philip Levine. Warning: Optimistic readers should avoid this review altogether.

Review Date: May 23, 2018
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

New Vinyl in Early 2018
The staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House briefly discuss five albums of non-idiomatic improvisation appearing on vinyl during the first five months of 2018.

Review Date: May 13, 2018
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Twelve Sides of Vinyl from Derek Bailey
Unexpectedly (at least to the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House) three lps originally released in the 1970's and 1980's on the Incus label have been reissued, each with an additional lp of unreleased material. We briefly discuss the reissues in this review.

Review Date: December 28, 2017
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Ten Excellent Records of 2017
In 2017, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House made a concerted effort to investigate music as it was released, as opposed to indulging in a predisposition to mine troves of music many decades old. In this review, they highlight ten exciting records containing various strains of non-idiomatic improvisation released in 2017.

Review Date: December 16, 2017
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

The Music of Keiji Haino in the Year 2017
In the calendar year of 2017, eleven recordings were released or reissued, which included some contribution from Keiji Haino. In this review, all eleven contributions to the Haino discography are examined collectively. By our own reckoning, the media on which these releases appeared included

  • lp (2)
  • lp with digital download code (3)
  • double lp (1)
  • double lp with digital download code (1)
  • compact disc (1)
  • double compact disc (1)
  • book with enclosed compact disc (1)
  • digital video disc (1)
For the curious, of the seven releases on vinyl, two were also released on compact disc.

If one's penchant for arbitrary data analysis is not yet satisfied, the geographical distribution of the labels responsible for the release of these recordings is provided below.

  • Japan (4)
  • United States (3)
  • Australia (1)
  • Belgium (1)
  • France (1)
  • Germany (1)
  • United Kingdom (1)
The countries sum to twelve because one recording was co-released by Australian and Japanese labels.

Review Date: December 9, 2017
Reviewer: Poison Pie Publishing House Staff
Link to Review: review link

 

Music of the Polygonola
Music of the Polygonola (A Polygonal Flat Musical Instrument) - Various Artists (Applied Vibro-Acoustics, Inc., NSAVA-0001, 2017, cd) discogs.com link.

Review Date: July 10, 2017
Reviewer: Hebeloma Crustuliniforme
Link to Review: review link

 

Live at nief-norf - Ellen Fullman & Theresa Wong
Live at nief-norf, June 24, 2017, Knoxville, Tennessee - Ellen Fullman & Theresa Wong

Review Date: June 25, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Watashi dake? - Keiji Haino
Watashi dake? - Keiji Haino - (Black Editions, BE000LP, June 16, 2017, lp)
discogs.com link
label link.

Review Date: June 21, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

A Woman's Work - Joëlle Léandre
A Woman's Work - Joëlle Léandre - (Not Two Records, MW 950-2, 2016, cdx8+booklet+box) discogs.com link.

Review Date: June 2, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Wichlinghauser Blues & Bonobo - Hans Reichel
Wichlinghauser Blues - Hans Reichel - (Corbett vs. Dempsey, CvsD | CD033, May, 2017 (orig. 1973), cd) discogs.com link.
Bonobo - Hans Reichel - (Corbett vs. Dempsey, CvsD | CD034, May, 2017 (orig. 1975), cd) discogs.com link.

Review Date: May 27, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds - Nicole Mitchell
Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds - Nicole Mitchell - (FPE (For Practically Everyone) Records, FPE 012, May, 2017, cd) discogs.com link.

Review Date: May 22, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

All This I Do For Glory - Colin Stetson
All This I Do For Glory - Colin Stetson - (52Hz, 52HZ002LP, April, 2017, lp+dl) discogs.com link.

Review Date: May 3, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint and Soul Note Volume 2 - Muhal Richard Abrams
The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note Volume 2 - Muhal Richard Abrams (Black Saint/Soul Note, BXS 1041, 2016, 9xcd+box)

Review Date: April 17, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Big Ears Performance/In for a Penny, In for a Pound - Henry Threadgill's Zooid
In for a Penny, In for a Pound - Henry Threadgill's Zooid (PI Recordings, PI58, May, 2015, cdx2) discogs.com link.

Review Date: April 7, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Big Ears Performance/Julius Eastman Memorial Dinner - Jace Clayton
The Julius Eastman Memory Depot - Jace Clayton (New Amsterdam Records, NWAM045, 2013, cd) discogs.com link.

Review Date: April 2, 2017
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Non-Idiomatic Improvisation of 2016
In this review, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House points out twelve musical delights released in the calendar year 2016.
Review Date: December 10, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

saxophonedaxophone - Junji Hirose and Kazuhisa Uchihashi
saxophonedaxophone - Junji Hirose and Kazuhisa Uchihashi - (doubtmusic, dmf-160, 2015, cd) discogs.com link.

Review Date: July 28, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

One Dozen Sides of Vinyl


  • Sides 1-2: Never Were the Way She Was - Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld (Constellation Records, CST113-1, 2015, lp) discogs.com link.
  • Sides 3-6: Break Stuff - Vijay Iyer Trio (ECM Records, ECM 2420 472-4304, 2015, lpx2) discogs.com link
  • Sides 7-8: Ears Are Filled With Wonder - Heather Leigh & Peter Brötzmann (Trost Records, TR 147, 2016, lp) discogs.com link
  • Sides 9-12: Sorrow (A Reimagining Of Górecki's 3rd Symphony) - Colin Stetson (52Hz Records, 52HZ001LP, 2016, lpx2) discogs.com link

Review Date: July 26, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Mary Halvorson vs. Régis Faller: A Juxtaposition of Four-fold Reviews

  • The Dragon's Head - Mary Halvorson Trio (Firehouse 12 Records, FH12-04-01-007, 2008, cd) discogs.com link
  • Saturn Sings - Mary Halvorson Quintet (Firehouse 12 Records, FH12-04-01-013, 2010, cd) discogs.com link
  • Bending Bridges - Mary Halvorson Quintet (Firehouse 12 Records, FH12-04-01-016, 2012, cd) discogs.com link
  • Illusionary Sea - Mary Halvorson Septet (Firehouse 12 Records, FH12-04-01-017, 2013, cd) discogs.com link

Review Date: June 24, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Born into the Waves - And Also The Trees

Born into the Waves - And Also The Trees (No label, AATTLP09, March 18, 2016, lp) discogs.com link.

Review Date: April 16, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Big Ears Performance/Trillium J - Anthony Braxton

Trillium J Composition No. 380 "The Non-Unconfessionables" - Anthony Braxton (New Braxton House, NBH-906, April 1, 2016, 4xcd+dvd+book+box) discogs.com link.

Review Date: April 12, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Big Ears Performance/A Cosmic Rhythm with Each Stroke - Wadada Leo Smith & Vijay Iyer

A Cosmic Rhythm with each Stroke - Wadada Leo Smith & Vijay Iyer (ECM Records, ECM 2486, March 11, 2016, cd) discogs.com link.

Review Date: April 3, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Complete Sonambient Collection - Harry Bertoia

Complete Sonambient Collection - Harry Bertoia - (Important Records, Imprec 419, March, 2016, cdx11+book+box) label link.

Review Date: March 20, 2016
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note - Roscoe Mitchell

The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint & Soul Note - Roscoe Mitchell - (Black Saint/Soul Note, BXS 1036, 2015, cdx9+box) label link.

Review Date: December 20, 2015
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Last Live - Seijaku

Last Live - Seijaku - (doubtmusic, dmf-156/157, August 14, 2015, cdx2) label link.

Review Date: December 19, 2015
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Sands - Steve Lacy

Sands - Steve Lacy - (Tzadik Records, USA, TZ 7124, 1998, cd/mp3) label link.

Review Date: April 9, 2015
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

Three Reviews in One

Two City Blues 1 & 2 - Keiji Haino , Peter Brötzmann & Jim O'Rourke - (Trost Records, Austria, TR 126 & 128, recorded November 23, 2010, released 2015, lp & cd respectively for 1 & 2) label link.


28 Rue Dunois juillet 1982 - Derek Bailey, Joëlle Léandre, George Lewis and Evan Parker - (Fou Records, FR - CD 06, recorded 1982, released 2014, cd) label link.


Maison de la Radio France, Studio 104, Paris, France from Oct 17, 1976 - Steve Lacy Quartet (Steve Lacy, Irene Aebi, Kent Carter, Noel McGhee) + Derek Bailey - (live recording only, no commercial release) label link.

Review Date: March 12, 2015
Reviewer: David Keffer
Link to Review: review link

 

 

Disclaimer:  
Lest readers be misled, the staff of the Poison Pie Publishing House do not place any great weight on the words in any of the reviews on the PPPH blog. The music exists outside these reviews and is neither magnified nor diminished by it. Because we have nothing essential to add, we sometimes find ourselves asking, "Why do we continue to write music reviews?"

The answer we suppose is identified by analogy. When you walk alone along a path and come upon a flower in full bloom you might take a picture and share the photograph with someone, who will find the same pleasure in the folds and color of the petals. Or, if the flowers grow in a wild place, you might even cut some and place them in a vase on the kitchen table, where their fragrance permeates the house. As we write it, the answer seems obvious and this explanation unnecessary; still we are moved to include the disclaimer as a way of expressing the intention behind this collection of inconsequential reviews.