Review by Dawoud Kringle
Roulette hosted the 19th Annual Vision Festival. At their venue in Brooklyn, the excitement in the air was quite noticeable. The line up that Arts for Art put together promised to be a great event.
As I arrived, I caught the end of CHILE / NEW YORK / AfghanIRAQ, a film by Michael Lucio Sternbach and Zak Sherzad celebrating the work of artist Jeff Schlanger.
This was followed by the poet Steve Dalachinsky, who
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Photo by Marylin Schwartz
A grainy, seemingly vintage film of a music aficionado thumbing through a stack of records, and pulling out an LP of the New York Art Quartet forms a silent, yet eloquent imagery. Putting the vinyl on a turntable, the sound of free jazz greets us. Flash forward to the present day. Older master jazz musicians set up their instruments, and begin playing a free form music over which a poetic voice declares, “Everything that you don’t understand is explained in art.”
Artist: aStridd
Title: Colliding Galaxies
Label: self released
Genre: nu jazz/nu soul
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Once in a while a really interesting CD will just fall into your lap. This is how Colliding Galaxies, the new EP by aStridd came to me. aStridd, the Brooklyn based duo of guitarist / composer Yasser Tejeda and vocalist Jill Peacock have produced a really engaging debut release.
Artist: Nils Wogram Root 70 With Strings
Title: riomar
Label: nWog Records
Genre: jazz with strings
CD Review by Matt Cole
When last we heard from German-born trombonist Nils Wogram, he was leading a lively septet consisting of six horns and a drummer. This time around, on riomar, he uses an entirely different band, with his quartet Root 70, consisting of himself, Hayden Chisholm on alto sax, Matt Penman on bass, and Jochen Rueckert on drums; joined by a string section with Gerdur Gunnarsdottir on violin, Gareth Lubbe on viola, and Adrian Brendel on cello. riomar is just as creative as Complete Soul, while covering different (though overlapping) sonic space; and while just as energetic, is a bit gentler than Wogram’s all-but-one horn septet, as might be expected.
Photo by Scott J. Foreman
Venue: Shapeshifter (NY)
Date: April 27, 2014
Review by Dawoud Kringle
Spring was in the air in New York. I ventured to Brooklyn, to the side street where Shapeshifter Lab is located to hear Marbin perform as part of their recent tour.
