Open Your Ambient World . . .

Hear.This/Ambient.Landscape

Colin Webster Large Ensemble – First Meeting

Raw Tonk Records, CD & DL. Releases 5th June 2023

This has a nice dual edge to it: soft/quiet vs. hard/LOUD!
— Ambient Landscape

__________________________________________________

There are numerous different strategies, structures, and approaches that can be applied to improvising large ensembles. However, sometimes it’s just about choosing the right people and letting them get on with it.

This was the approach applied by saxophonist Colin Webster with this new large ensemble. The musicians involved have all performed together and listened to each other countless times in multiple configurations. Not only that, but all the musicians involved are also group leaders in their own right, and with that comes the confidence to assert themselves on to
the group sound at appropriate moments, without necessarily waiting for permission. The result is a free-flowing and organic performance by accomplished improvisors, with moments of intense ferocity as well as intimate detail.

‘First Meeting’ captures the debut performance by the Colin Webster Large Ensemble, recorded at London’s Café Oto in August 2022.

Line-up:
Colin Webster – alto sax
Rachel Musson – tenor sax
Cath Roberts – baritone sax
Charlotte Keeffe – trumpet / flugelhorn
Graham Dunning – electronics
Dirk Serries – guitar
John Edwards – bass
Andrew Lisle – drums

5 minute excerpted sample

Order via Bandcamp (June 5th)
https://rawtonkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/first-meeting

elements_a l l u v i o n

elements_a l l u v i o n | Ether-Jazz/Neo-Classical/Jazz/Minimal | 82:15

Alluvion [əˈlo͞ovēən] noun:
the action of forming a new entity or composition by deposition, creative reformation . . .

. . . or deft mix work.

This is a tribute to Wolfert Brederode’s ‘Ruins and Remains‘ (ECM 2022); a Classical/Ether-Jazz composition that is absolutely gorgeous to the ears as well as the emotions! Sparse, introspective & tantalizing, Mr Brederode has succeeded in crafting his first suite; for piano, string quartet & percussion. At the first listening, our wheels were turning towards the mixological possibilities!

…..“At a number of levels, the piece has to do with grief and loss and learning …..to stand up again,”
…..Dutch pianist Brederode says

…..“It certainly is, at a number of levels, a ‘stand up’ work”
…..— Ambient Landscape

…..“A sense of lyricism that seemingly teases the melody from whichever ….context he is working in, often sparse yet always …..beautiful.“
…..–Nick Lea, Jazz Views

We re-ordered & mixed the album’s fourteen tracks, along with several other ether-jazz and avant-garde artists, to form an evocative & compelling listening/wrap-around experience. This, by far, one of the most meticulous projects I’ve immersed myself in, in a long time — reworking the track-list and adding additional tracks multiple times . . . after I thought it was “complete”.

This podcast won’t be available for download, but is available for streaming/listening, below:

Listen via Hear.This:

01 Serries, Vanderstraeten & Verhoeven – Emission (sampled excerpt)
02 Jakob Ullmann – Disappearing Musics (morphed quantum excerpt)
03 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Ruins and Remains
04 Ayumi Tanaka Trio – Ichi
05 Goncalo Almeida – Monólogos a Dois VI
06 rand – Disabled Seconds
07 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Remains
……08 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Ruins II
……09 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Ruins IV
10 Duo Gazzana – Waterfall
11 Michele Rabbia, Gianluca Petrella & Eivind Aarset – What the Water Brings
12 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Dissolve
……13 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Retrouvailles
……14 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – March
……15 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Ruins I
16 Markus Reuter & Matangi Quartet – X Has Taken a Shine to You
17 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Ruins III
18 Jakob Bro, Arve Henriksen & Jorge Rossy – To Stanko
19 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Ka
20 Ensemble Ektòs – Part 7
21 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Duhra
……22 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Swallow
……23 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Nothing for Granted
……24 Wolfert Brederode, Matangi Quartet & Joost Lijbaart – Cloudless
25 Erik K Skodvin – Shining, Burning

Coming in May . . .

Ether- Jazz & Neo-Classical | e l e m e n t s _ a l l u v i a n

The Battle Rages . . . !

We primarily mix within 2 categories: #ambient & #etherjazz.

As to which one rules a particular day/week/month . . . that depends
on the level of schizophrenia working in our mixological brains (and ears)!

u n f o c u s e d (ambient) v|s elements (ether-jazz)

;- )

i i i [3]

Coming in 2023 . . . additional Construct-tion . . .

The Construct iii

Part one | Part two

elements_cornerstone

elements cornerstone | Avant Garde/Ether Jazz/Jazz/Noise | 80:31

“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
Isaiah 28:16

Experimental excursions into heretofore uncharted, Jazz-ish territory . . .

I’ve been associated (by way of crafting podcasts) with this genre of avant-garde jazz, predominantly of out of Belgium, since 2018 (TONUS Tribute mix).
At first, I sprinkled the TONUS tracks in amongst other, avant-garde & experimental sounding artists. Slowly, however, I began to appreciate more and more the tone, texture & timbre of the work of Dirk Serries & Company’s ‘A New Wave of Jazz’.

At first blush, the listener may hear only discordant, improvised ‘noise’ – but I would encourage you to re-listen to the intricate nuances & balance contained within the scope of their work.
Improvised? Yes, indeed! But, in sync with one another’s sense of musical timing and “erratic harmony”, the flow can be utterly captivating. It goes without saying that I have acquired a distinct taste for this New Wave of Jazz!

This edition is both a retrospective as well as an embracing of some of the group’s newer offerings (tracks 4, 6, 10, 12, 13 & 16). Track 14, courtesy of ECM.

Previous New Wave of Jazz elements editions include:
Obstreperous, Quiet Monster, Graphic, u n f o c u s e d [jolt!], Arid Desert Flower & Brick by Brick.

Enjoy!

Listen/stream via Hear.This

01 Dirk Serries & Asmus Tietchens – Air Concertina (edit)
02 TONUS – Ear Duration 03, Set 1 (edit)
03 Benedict Taylor & Anton Mobin – Slicing Ups
04 Guilherme Rodrigues & Dirk Serries – A Palm
05 Dirk Serries & Tom Malmendier – Coded Ideal
06 Asmus Tietchens & Dirk Serries – Höfner Akte 3
07 Goncalo Almeida – Monólogos a Dois III
08 Daniel Thompson & Colin Webster – BOSKAGE 02/II
09 Serries, Vanderstraeten & Verhoeven – Tangent
10 Colin Webster, Emilie Škrijelj, Dirk Serries, Martina Verhoeven & Tom
……Malmendier – Oud Klooster (excerpt)
11 Vanderstraeten, Russell & Keune – On Sunday 2 (edit_2)
12 Jackson, Serries & Vanderstraeten – Dandelion
13 Philipp Ernsting & Hugo Costa – Oase
14 Stefano Battaglia & Michele Rabbia – Spirits of Myths
15 Rubicon Quartet – Caught a Flying Ghost
16 Hugo Costa & Philipp Ernsting – Blind Spot

Other proposed iterations of the podcast’s artwork:

Moving our Podcast location

As #Mixcloud has just announced it will limit Tier 1 accounts to 10 published shows as of December 2022 (no new uploads allowed unless previous podcasts are deleted – to a maximum total of 10), we will be making shows available via #HearThis. This is a promotion of Mixcloud’s “Pro” business model ($180/year, U.S.) — which I’m sure works for radio stations and professional D.J.’s . . but not for those of us uploading for the sheer love of the mix.

You may stream or download the podcasts on Hear.This for a total charge of
. . . ZERO!

Our three November shows will be the last new releases on Mixcloud.
Beginning in December, we’ll post on ello, HearThis & Twitter (as well as right here).

Happy listening!

https://hearthis.at/ambient-landscape/

1st podcast w/ Hear.This as the flagship content provider:
‘elements_cornerstone’ – https://hearthis.at/ambient-landscape/elementscornerstone/

Best ECM Albums

The best ECM albums reveal why the label’s unique style and sound has made it one of the most forward-thinking jazz record labels of all time.

Published on March 15, 2021 | By Charles Waring

It wouldn’t be totally inaccurate to describe the German jazz label ECM as “the house that Keith Jarrett built.” After all, the American pianist’s 1975 album The Köln Concert has sold a staggering three and a half million copies and undoubtedly helped to establish – both financially and aesthetically – Manfred Eicher’s Munich-based imprint. More than that, Jarrett’s success transformed ECM into major contender in the jazz world, and the best ECM albums reveal an astonishing commitment to quality control that has more than ensured its place in the jazz pantheon.

But while Jarrett, who first recorded for the company in late 1971 and, 48 years later, still records for it, had a big part to play in the label’s success, it was producer Manfred Eicher whose vision made ECM a reality. Launching the company in November 1969 (with American pianist Mal Waldron’s album Free At Last), he steadily built ECM into one of the most unique labels in jazz, with its own distinctive sound, style, and look.

In 2019, ECM is still at the cutting edge of contemporary jazz, as our pick of the label’s 50 best albums prove. Think we’ve missed any? Let us know in the comments section, below.

Listen to the best of ECM Records on Apple Music and Spotify, and scroll down for our 50 best ECM albums.

Best ECM Albums: 50 Must-Hear Classics From The Legendary Jazz Label

50: Mal Waldron: Free At Last (1970)

On November 24, 1969, this well-regarded 44-year-old New York pianist/composer, who was then living in Europe, made history by leading ECM’s first-ever recording session. The resulting trio album, Free At Last, with its bold experimentation, encapsulated some of the musical virtues that later became synonymous with ECM’s unique philosophy.
Key track: “Balladina”

49: Julian Priester And Marine Intrusion: Polarization (1977)

An in-demand trombonist from Chicago, Priester has played with everyone from Dinah Washington to Sun Ra and Herbie Hancock, but only made a handful of solo albums. This was his second – and final – ECM album, recorded with a sextet in Germany. The music is by turns contemplative and energetic, but is sufficiently probing and cerebral to fit the archetypal ECM template.
Key track: “Wind Dolphin”

Full article

Vórtice, by Rafael Martini

Released November 29, 2020

Rafael Martini: Piano, Voz, Rhodes, Synths
Pedro Santana: Baixo
Yuri Vellasco: Bateria

Produzido por Rafael Martini