Much attention – rightfully so – over the last several years has been paid to the Los Angeles improvisational music scene. Shapeshifting multi-instrumentalist Atwood-Ferguson has been at the core of those developments with contributions to over six hundred recordings, including many from his home city. He is even on two of this writer’s favorite releases […]

For centuries, the letter “X” has represented the unknown. On a pirate’s map, crossed diagonals denote some undiscovered treasure. In algebra, students must determine ”X” as an unrevealed variable. In an episode of the Simpsons – a consistent bellwether of Western popular culture over the last three decades – even the imbecilic Homer knows it […]

The alula, sometimes called the bastard wing, is a small but important bone on a bird’s wing that plays an essential role in flight. It is a fitting name for Caroline Davis’ electro-acoustic outings as her use of samples lifts the ensemble from more traditional moorings. But what happens when these appendages are fractured? How […]

It is common for musicians to incorporate recent discoveries – whether the adoption of cutting-edge technology or novel compositional processes – into their works to present a new sound. Far less discussed, however, are cases where artists revisit old conceptions to see how they can forge previously uncharted paths. Anna Webber’s explorations of just intonation […]

While many organizations present contemporary classical music, the International Contemporary Ensemble has stood out since its founding twenty-two years ago. The Ensemble’s success has come largely due to its stated goal of cultivating a musical ecosystem that honors diversity while focusing on equity, belonging, and cultural responsiveness. The organization’s openness and consideration of all musical […]

Far too often, people equate avant-garde expressionism to high-volume proclamations with flurries of notes. To an uninitiated listener, this perspective is understandable when one considers John Coltrane’s sheets of sound, Cecil Taylor’s densely clustered notes, and Peter Brotzmann’s rough, bluesy cries. But an isolated focus lessens the significance of the artists who have made this […]

Often the greatest artists have an identifiable voice. This is not to say their works are identical. Instead, no matter their changed surroundings, a shared identifiable quality continues to reflect their artistic essence. Consider Miles Davis. Birth of the Cool (Columbia, 1957) and On the Corner (Columbia, 1973) could not be more different in both […]

A fifth of the way into the twenty-first century, James Brown’s question of “Ain’t It Funky Now?” Is perhaps best read as “Where’s It Funky Now?” Most funk icons are gone, retired, or mere shadows of their musical former selves. The Godfather of Soul died in 2006. George Clinton continually hosts retirement tours that do […]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to kill us all. Or, at least, that is what some theorize. Many commentators portray the emergence of AI as inevitably leading to some technological dystopia where a master computer controls everyone and everything. In the words of Neil deGrasse Tyson, now is the “Time to behave, so when Artificial […]

In Brian Kiwanuka’s excellent review of Kris Davis’ latest Diatom Ribbons album, he outlines how the music presented fits within the context of the pianist’s output to date. It’s a compelling analysis, but an equally worthy one is where to place the work within the history of the venue where recorded. Where does Diatom Ribbons […]