SATOKO FUJII 藤井郷子 — Kitsune-bi (1999) Serie New Japan | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Pianist Satoko Fujii leads a beautiful date featuring solo pieces, duets with soprano saxophonist Sachi Hayasaka, and trio numbers with eminent bassist Mark Dresser and ingenious percussionist Jim Black. Kitsune-Bi sounds great the first time through, and becomes more wildly impressive with each listen, revealing multi-layered depths. The pieces are all originals (except Jimmy Giuffre's "Moonlight"). The album opens with "Hizumi," a trio tune that begins with the musicians feeling each other out. They gel within the first minute, and Dresser soon starts performing double duty, moving around rhythmically with Black while simultaneously interacting with Fujii. The clincher is Dresser's ability to mimic all the sounds of the piano theme; it's mind-boggling that he can create these sounds with a bass. "Sound of Stone" is a solo piano piece that Fujii opens by musically chalking out the boundaries. A dark chord signals the end of the sketching, and she proceeds to fill the piece with dramatic runs and stalls, momentous build-up and thinning-out contrasts, and clusters that move up the scale followed by single notes that tinkle back down. This excellent melodic piece showcases her ability without turning into a show of empty virtuosity. "Zauzy" is a duet between piano and soprano saxophone; Fujii and Hayasaka play foil to each other, giving the impression of notes flying from a large, spinning music wheel. About 18 minutes into the trio piece "Past of Life," the group recalls the groove and interaction of Tim Berne's Bloodcount. Altogether, Kitsune-Bi is a stunning album filled with amazing interplay and stellar compositions. The astonishing skill and distinctive style on display here is somewhat surprising, considering that this is only Satoko Fujii's second U.S. release. Kitsune-Bi is an achievement of constantly flowing brilliance and creativity. Joslyn Layne
Tracklist :
1    Hizumi    6:26
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
2    Sound Of Stone    4:56
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
3    Zauzy    2:08
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
4    Past Of Life    6:34
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
5    Bal-lad    3:02 |
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
6    Drops    7:09
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
7a    Moonlight    9:00
 Composed By – Jimmy Giuffre
7b    Sola
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
8    Kitsune-bi    8:10
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
9    This Is The Thing That I Have Forgotten    4:32
 Composed By – Satoko Fujii
Credits :
Design – Ikue Mori
Double Bass – Mark Dresser
Drums – Jim Black
Executive-Producer – John Zorn
Painting [Cover] – Ichiji Tamura
Piano – Satoko Fujii
Soprano Saxophone [Soprano Sax] – Sachi Hayasaka (tracks: 3, 5, 8)

THE KALEIDOSCOPE QUINTET — Dancing On The Edge (2020) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Topsy Turvy 10:10
Composed By – Joe Lovano
2    Day And Night 15:30
Composed By – David Liebman
3    Blackwell's Message 18:02
Composed By – Joe Lovano
4    There Is No Greater Love 8:25
Composed By – Isham Jones
5    Get Me Back To The Apple 10:37
Composed By – David Liebman
Credits :
Bass – Tony Marino
Drums, Liner Notes, Producer [Produced By] – Michael Stephans
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Producer [Produced By] – Joe Lovano
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Flute, Producer [Produced By] – David Liebman
Voice, Featuring, Painting [Cover Painting] – Judi Silvano

THUMBSCREW — Never Is Enough (2021) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Camp Easy 6:41
Tomas Fujiwara
2    Sequel to Sadness 6:14
Mary Halvorson
3    Never Is Enough 6:54
Michael Formanek
4    Through an Open Window 5:33
Tomas Fujiwara
5    Heartdrop 4:47
Mary Halvorson
6    Emojis Have Consequences 5:55
Michael Formanek
7    Fractured Sanity 5:43
Mary Halvorson
8    Unsung Procession 6:25
Tomas Fujiwara
9    Scam Likely 8:36
Michael Formanek
Credits :
Double Bass, Electric Bass – Michael Formanek
Drums – Tomas Fujiwara
Guitar – Mary Halvorson

PRINCE LASHA QUINTET ft. SONNY SIMMONS – The Cry ! (1963-2001) RM | Original Jazz Classics Limited Edition Series | FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

In the early '60s, flutist Prince Lasha's work with alto saxophonist Sonny Simmons was often compared to the trailblazing free jazz that Ornette Coleman was exploring at the time. To be sure, Coleman was a major inspiration to both of them. And yet, The Cry! demonstrates that Lasha's work with Simmons had an avant-garde energy of its own. Coleman is a strong influence on this 1962 session -- which Lasha co-led with Simmons -- but The Cry! isn't an outright imitation of Coleman's work any more than Phil Woods' recordings are outright imitations of Charlie Parker's. For one thing, The Cry! is slightly more accessible than the albums that Coleman recorded for Atlantic in the early '60s. Free jazz performances like "Bojangles," "A.Y.," and the rhythmic "Congo Call" are abstract, cerebral, and left-of-center, but they're still a bit more accessible than Coleman's harmolodic experimentation. The same thing goes for the Latin-influenced "Juanita" and the bluesy "Red's Mood," which is Coleman-minded but also has a strong Charlie Parker influence -- in fact, the tune successfully bridges the gap between Bird and Coleman and shows listeners what those altoists had in common. It should be noted that, even though The Cry! (which employs Gary Peacock or Mark Proctor on acoustic bass and Gene Stone on drums) is free jazz, it isn't the blistering, ferocious stuff that Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and late-period John Coltrane were known for in the 1960s. This album is quirky and dissonant, but it isn't harsh or confrontational. In avant-garde circles, The Cry! went down in history as one of Lasha's finest accomplishments -- and deservedly so. Alex Henderson
Tracklist :
1    Congo Call    5:02
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
2    Bojangles    7:00
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
3    Green And Gold    4:52
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
4    Ghost Of The Past    4:49
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
5    Red's Mood    5:04
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
6    Juanita    5:32
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
7    Lost Generation    5:15
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
8    A.Y.    4:46
  Written-By – Prince Lasha, Sonny Simmons
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Sonny Simmons
Bass – Gary Peacock, Mark Proctor (tracks: 1, 3 to 6)
Drums – Gene Stone
Flute – Prince Lasha

PAUL BLEY TRIO - Closer (1965) Two Version (1993, Serie ESP-Disk New Jazz 名盤 Collection) + (2013, RM | 50th Anniversary Edition) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The second ESP issue from the Paul Bley Trio is a contrast as dramatic as rain against sunshine. The earlier album, Barrage, recorded in October of 1964, was full of harsh, diffident extrapolations of sound and fury, perhaps because of its sidemen; Marshall Allen and Dewey Johnson on saxophone and trumpet, respectively, were on loan from Sun Ra and joined Eddie Gomez and Milford Graves. Indeed, the music there felt like one long struggle to survive. On this date, recorded over a year later and released in 1966, Bley's sidemen are two more like-minded experimentalists, drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Steve Swallow. The program of tunes here is also more even-handed and characteristically lush: the entire first side and two on the second were written by Carla Bley (including the gorgeous "Ida Lupino") for a total of seven, and there is one each by pianists Annette Peacock and Ornette Coleman. Bley and his trio understand that with compositions of this nature, full of space and an inherent, interior-pointing lyricism, that pace is everything. And while this set clocks in at just over 29 minutes in length, the playing is so genuine and moving that it doesn't need to be any longer. The interplay between these three (long before Swallow switched to electric bass exclusively) is startling in how tightly woven they are melodically and harmonically. There isn't a sense that one player -- other than the volume of Mr. Bley's piano in this crappy mix -- stands out from the other two; they are of a piece traveling down this opaque yet warm road together. Bley may never have been as flashy as Cecil Taylor, but he is every bit the innovator.

-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Ida    2:58
2    Start    2:07
3    Closer    3:34
4    Sideways In Mexico    2:59
5    Batterie    3:23
6    And Now The Queen    2:18
7    Figfoot    3:29
8    Crossroads    2:34
9    Violin    2:59
10    Cartoon    2:19
Credits :
Bass – Steve Swallow
Percussion – Barry Altschul
Piano – Paul Bley