Graz Composers Orchestra Meets Claudia Döffinger, Evil Genius, Robert J. Zimmer?, Chris Pitsiokos Unit, Sudan Archives, Christophe Monniot & Le Grand Orchestre du Tricot, Ingrina, C0mputer, and Dischordia

by Dæv Tremblay

Graz Composers Orchestra Meets Claudia Döffinger – Monochrome

The big band of the talented Graz composers ensemble plays here the wonderful album Monochrome, which is everything but. It is filled with counterpoints, battling themes, and solos to give you chills. The album was released in January, but it’s never too late to enjoy a perfectly ripe fruit. One of the highlights of jazz and big band music of 2018 already!

Evil Genius – Experiments on Human Subjects

Los Angeles’ Evil Genius trio is a guitar-tuba-drums team playing rocking jazz with a few avant-garde and experimental tendencies. There’s a bunch … Read more

Le Baron de Vincèse – Pectine & Grotonus

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

I’ve been attracted towards Le Baron de Vincèse‘s newest release, Pectine & Grotonus, because of the “math rock” tag that was attached to it. However, what I found is something much deeper and more complex than a single brief descriptor could convey. Innocently enough, I listened to the first minute or so of a song and thought to myself: “Yeah, that is some pretty good math rock alright!” However, things changed (for the better) soon after.

A more accurate, but less concise way of referring to their style of music would definitely include the … Read more

Advanced Mathematics 4: Notes inégales

by Dæv Tremblay

Whew, we’ve recently gone from a very new concept, microrhythms, to a fairly advanced discussion on polyrhythms, polymetres, and polytempo. I hope that this season of Advanced Mathematics is enriching to you! Today, we’re going to talk about notes inégales – uneven notes –, what kids today call “swing feel”. It goes much deeper than what you probably imagine, and I hope you’ll learn something today!

The Triplet Feel

Most prevalent in jazz and blues music, the swing feel usually involves altering the length of two consecutive and equal notes. The most common example of this is the … Read more

RGG, Pohjola, and Blaser, My Wrist, Armando Curiel, Ensemble, et al., Cassette Merchant, Spooky Generator, Hope from Beyond, Discomfort, and Les Pompiers

by Dæv Tremblay

RGG, Verneri Pohjola, and Samuel Blaser – City of Gardens

I’ve been introduced to the wonderful trumpet work of Finnish musician Verneri Pohjola with the soundtrack to the Animal Image documentary, and so City of Gardens is my second time meeting his music, this time on an album with RGG’s “Contemporary Sonus”, trombonist Samuel Blaser, and many other musicians. This is a fantastic jazz album recorded live during the Silesian Jazz Festival in Katowice. I highly recommend it!

My Wrist – Touch Me

Touch Me, by My Wrist, belongs in the experimental metal territory, I believe. Somewhere … Read more