Tag Archives: Dawoud Kringle

Improvised Music

An Editorial: The Future of Improvisational Music

Text by Dawoud Kringle

Andre Benjamin (a.k.a. Andre 3000) succeeded with the Atlanta-based hip-hop duo Outkast, collaborated with Beyonce and Erykah Badu, and made his mark as an actor. In 2023, he shocked the music world by releasing New Blue Sun, an all-instrumental collaboration with Carlos Nino, where he played flute. Nothing could have prepared audiences for one of the greatest rappers in hip hop making a bold move into ambient, flute based improvisational music. And against all odds, it was a great success.

Musicians have been improvising music for thousands of years. I could (and occasionally have) write about the musical traditions of ancient and classical cultures where musicians were expected to improvise. In the last several decades, jazz, some arcane offshoots of rock music, and all variations and subgenres have established improvisation as a mainstay in its canon.

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Phillip Ellis Foster

Album Review: Philip Ellis Foster “The Cosmos Project”

Album Review by Dawoud Kringle

Philip FosterArtist: Philip Ellis Foster
Title: The Cosmos Project
Label: Infrequent Seams
Format: Digital
Genre: experimental/avant-garde music

Stream and buy here: https://philipellisfoster.bandcamp.com/album/the-cosmos-project

In the realm of experimental avant-garde music, Philip Ellis Foster has carved out his niche.

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Digital Single Review: Peterpeter’s “Heavy Traffic”

Review by Dawoud Kringle

PeterpeterArtist: Peterpeter
Title: Heavy Traffic
Format: single (digital)
Label: self-produced
Genre: experimental/electronics/improv/progressive rock

MFM members Peter Wetzler and Peter Einhorn from Kingston (NY) have teamed up to bring us some very fascinating music.

Keyboardist, composer, and writer Peter Wetzler is not sure how he became interested in music. He relates the story his mother told him of when he was five, she brought him near a beehive to hear the “music of the bees.” With a background in classical piano and an eclectic spectrum of musical influences, he has worked extensively in film, television, theater, dance, and music education. He was quoted as saying “My music merges emotion and intuition.”

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Vanessa Falabella

CD Review: Vanessa Falabella (Brazil) “Yacht Rock N’ Bossa”

Review by Dawoud Kringle

Falabella MusicArtist: Vanessa Falabella
Title: Yacht Rock N’ Bossa
Label: Falabella Music
Format: CD and digital
Genre: Yacht Rock N’ Bossa

Those of you who are close to the MFM Circle, and readers of this publication, are no strangers to Vanessa Falabella. Born in Minas Gerais, Brazil (also the hometown of Milton Nascimento), Falabella has had an impressive career. She has recorded and performed with Gato Barbieri, Philippe Saisse, Sadao Watanabe, Cyro Baptista, Jason Miles, Will Lee, Eumir Deodato, Rick Braun, Marcus Viana, The Rain Forest Band, César Camargo Mariano,  Hiram Bullock, and EMI group project Criara with film score producers Frank Ferrucci and Scott Lehrer. Earlier this year, she appeared on Nu-Bossa Elixir by Future350, featuring the head of MFM’s Hudson Valley chapter Stephen Johnson. She’s also a proud member of MFM.

Her latest release, Yacht Rock N’ Bossa, which was produced and arranged by Marcelo Lima, is a well-executed collection of twenty beautifully written and produced songs. Yacht rock is a music style and aesthetic associated with soft rock or smooth jazz. It was one of the most commercially successful genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.

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sandra izsadore

Sandra Izsadore New Digital Single: “Glass House”

A Music Review by Dawoud Kringle

Artist: Sandra Izsadore
Title: Glass House
Label: SMB Entertainment
Format: digital single
Genre: Afrobeat/Reggae

Singer, songwriter, dancer, former Fela Kuti’s band member, activist, and MFM member Sandra Izsadore has released a new single.

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