New July Releases From OutNow Recordings

Gordon Beeferman Trio, 
Out In Here

This collection of improvised music places us into Beeferman's new piano trio outing. At times Out In Here possesses a physical dominance that's pulled from Cecil Taylor's early 60s work, and at other moments evolves into textural and fluid bits much like a Paul Bley piece. These strong structural landscapes are carried through the entire recording. Production-wise this CD is a dream. With a wide stereo image Out In Here comes off clear with tight pacing. 

• Gordon Beeferman - Piano
• James Ilgenfritz - Double Bass
• Michael Evans - Drums

Yoni Kretzmer / Pascal Niggenkemper / Weasel Walter, ProtestMusic

Right out of the gate, from the album title to the very first note, ProtestMusic elicits emotional, reactionary movements. If these two CDs were Abstract Expressionists, ProtestMusic would be Jackson Pollock while Out In Here would be Barnett Newman. 

ProtestMusic is raw and organic. Pulling from the stylings of Frank Lowe, Charles Gayle, and Pharaoh Sanders, Yoni Kretzmer's dense tenor playing appears front and center in this piano-less trio. With Kretzmer as the nervous system, Pascal Niggenkemper and Weasel Walter form a strong (and deformed) skeleton to complete this disjointed body.  

• Yoni Kretzmer - Tenor Saxophone
• Pascal Niggenkemper - Double Bass
• Weasel Walter - Drums

"Weight" - Yoni Kretzmer 2Bass Quartet

This is another ambitious record from the Brooklyn based label, OutNow Recordings; which is their second that features Yoni Kretzmer as a leader.  In OutNows' eighth release, Weight provides a solid example of how the Avant-Garde remains fresh in today's music scene.

Weight contains a double bass quartet.  OutNow states that "this quartet's sound is obvious yet unfamiliar simultaneously."  I couldn't agree more with that testament.  While Kretzmer is drawing on the similar platform to his standard trio, these eight cuts were composed with the double bass quartet specifically in mind.  With extended amounts of double bass (quadruple bass? jk) we're left with warm, low tones that interact well with one another.  Sort of like a mega bass player in the personnel, everything is anchored but there is still a significant unbalance that lends to a unique listening experience.

The jagged percussion by Mike Pride, and the accompaniment of bassists Sean Conly and Reuben Redding provide the perfect atmosphere for Kretzmer to display his craft.  In my humble opinion, Kretzmer is one of the finest contemporary saxophonists of the genre.  He knows how to create wonderful melodies and licks that are surrounded by, what seems to be, a controlled chaos.  Which allows breathing room for each player to have their moment under the sun.  

2012 - OutNow Recordings

Yoni Kretzmer - tenor saxophone; Sean Conly - bass; Reuben Redding - bass; Mike Pride - drums.