Eternal Rhythm is a masterpiece on several levels. It was one of the earliest major examples of the idea that it was possible for any and all musical cultures to exist simultaneously, a philosophy that rejected any innate musical hierarchy and had no trouble placing the earthiest blues alongside the most delicate gamelan. It was also a summit meeting between representatives of the American and European jazz avant-garde, black and white, dismissing as meaningless both the cautious attitude of American jazz musicians toward Europeans edging onto their turf and the tentative stance of Europeans playing a music that was not "theirs." More importantly, Eternal Rhythm exists as an utterly spectacular, movingly beautiful musical performance, one of the rare occasions where the listener has a visceral sense of borders falling and vast expanses of territory being revealed for the first time…

Roaring out of the gates is the 15th full-length album by no wave/punk jazz/brutal prog iconoclasts The Flying Luttenbachers, led by founding member and main composer Weasel Walter. There's a few special twists this time, friends. The last two albums, "Shattered Dimension" and "Imminent Death", both epic double-length affairs released in 2019, focused on open ended, improvisational approaches more so than heavily structured ones. "Negative Infinity" is a sort of return-to-form in a regard, featuring 6 tightly scripted doses of what they call "Brutal Prog" - the tag Weasel coined in the early 2000s to describe an elite breed of intense, complex bands who emphasised harshness and intensity over the typical prog-rock flutes and fairies positivity. This is prog for THE APOCALYPSE, not your uncle.

This is the third consecutive "Euro-Jazz" CD compilation produced by Jazz & Tzaz Magazine (Greece), featuring a large proportion of the groups and musicians that will participate in this year’s concerts of the 4th European Jazz Festival in Athens. Creative music and musicians from all over Europe give an integral scope of a special kind and variety, and a special feeling of contemporary jazz in Europe. This year’s festival is enriched by the participation of the new European Union members from Central and Eastern Europe. Jazz & Τζαζ Magazine would like to thank all European Embassies and Cultural Institutes (plus the Municipality of Athens) for their kind and helpful collaboration in making this CD, as well as all the musicians and record labels involved.

The Velvet Lounge was a door that Fred Anderson opened continuously for decades, an access point through which the human soul could enter and explore the organization and chaos of the cosmos. Through this door the spirits outside also came into our little system. When the exchanges happened, it made a sound of joy, like el: those of us who weren't there are lucky that recording devices were. It's a generation removed and still we can feel their presence from the record.

Braxton released a number of solo alto saxophone albums in the wake of his extraordinary For Alto recorded in 1968, all of which are both fascinating documents in their own right as well as glimpses into the mechanisms which underlie his music. This live set from Wesleyan University in 1992 is no exception. One evolutionary difference here is that around this time Braxton began incorporating into his solo concerts a strategy he had developed during the '80s for his quartet: collage procedures. This means that, while initially playing one composition, he allowed himself the option of interpolating others as he saw fit, making for an even wider array of "sound spaces" available for exploration. Indeed, the range he covers is amazing…

The adventurous playing and writing on this reissue hint at both avant-garde jazz and 20th century classical music. Pianist/composer Anthony Davis (who wrote all of the music for the set) is joined by violinist Leroy Jenkins, cellist Abdul Wadud, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff on the three-part "Suite for Another World" and "Estraven," while taking "Of Blues and Dreams" as a solo piano feature. The music is episodic and somewhat cinematic, with some intriguing interplay among the musicians.

The Art Ensemble of Chicago's first (and arguably most significant) period concluded with this high-quality studio session, Fanfare for the Warriors. The quintet (trumpeter Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman on reeds, bassist Malachi Favors and drummer Don Moye) provides concise but adventurous performances. High points include Mitchell's "Nonnaah," Bowie's humorous "Barnyard Scuffel Shuffle" and "Tnoona," but all of the selections have their own musical personality. It's a fine showcase for this important avant-garde unit.

Nuovo lavoro per il flautista di Pordenone (incisione del 2012), in trio con due fedelissimi quali Cesselli e Turchet, e nuovo centro. Persino prevedibile, verrebbe da dire (ovviamente nel senso migliore del termine), perché da Massimo De Mattia, ormai da molti anni figura nodale sulla mappa del jazz nostrano (magari non tutti se ne sono accorti, ma pazienza…), non ci aspettiamo mai di meno. Il disco, breve (39'), si sviluppa attraverso sedici brani di ammirevole concisione (a parte il primo "Trilemma," nessuno raggiunge i quattro minuti, e sette rimangono addirittura sotto i due) in cui i tre musicisti scovano abbinamenti strumentali variegati, senza che nulla venga mai dato per scontato (il che è ovviamente pregio non da poco). Dopo il citato "Trilemma" d'avvio, episodio scuro, quasi spettrale, una sorta di memento, a firma di Cesselli, si alternano guizzi e segmenti in cui tutto sembra invece stemperarsi.