music

The Sorcerers form the backbone of the ATA Records house band including drummer Joost Hendrickx (Kefaya, Shatner's Bassoon, Abstract Orchestra) and ATA label heads Neil Innes (Bass & Guitar) and Pete Williams (Woodwinds & Percussion). Bass clarinets, flutes, and esoteric percussion that sit alongside bass, guitar and drums are essential to The Sorcerers sound providing cinematic textures on top of a solid rhythmic foundation.

A long and meaningful relationship can blossom between people from different paths, it is only a matter of finding a spark for connection. For Alex Harding and Lucian Ban, that spark was the blues, and their work together has grown unimpeded to produce a thoughtful and gorgeous recording in Dark Blue.  Harding’s lovely bass clarinet playing highlights his “Esto,” a brief composition that combines elements of past pieces. Harding’s “H.B.” is a moving tribute to his late friend and baritone sax hero Hamiet Bluiett, and features a striking solo performance from Harding. Ban’s “Low Country Blues” is a solo aural representation of the pastoral scenes of rural Romanian life. Inspired by the work of Ralph Ellison, “The Invisible Man” is an improvised piece that frames the musicians’ impressions of the great writer. The recording concludes with Ban’s devastating gospel inflected “Hymn.”

An intriguing and experimental release, Karpov not Kasparov’s first EP on Disco Halal sees the duo bring exciting new sounds to the revered label.

Violist/improviser/composer Mat Maneri envisages his music as one of activity in stasis, or motion within stillness. His music continues from the lineage of master improvisers Paul Bley and Paul Motian with a sound that is distinctly his own and developed over years of discovery and practice. Maneri’s new recording, Dust, showcases his stirring playing alongside an ensemble of communicative and exploratory musicians.  The compositions are mostly Maneri originals with Ban adding a couple of his own. The pieces are not typical jazz pieces with A and B sections but are more open-ended, providing a jumping off point for improvisation. There is an intriguing quality to the tunes as they marry a harmonic lushness with a bluesy quality and the exotic microtonalities that Maneri has mastered.  There is an introspective stillness that predominates Mat Maneri’s music even though there is much going on. Dust is a fantastic document showing how there can be depth in seemingly placid sounds, like the minute details fomenting in slow moving clouds.  

A century later, three outstanding improvisers Mat Maneri, Lucian Ban and John Surman draw fresh inspiration from the music that fired Bartók’s imagination,looking again at carols, lamentations, love songs, dowry songs and more. Transylvanian Folk Songs was released May 15 on Sunnyside Records to critical acclaim with features on NPR, Financial Times, The Wire, Jazztrail, Jazziz , etc. Recorded live November 7, 2018

"Recorded live in the stunning Baroque Hall in #Timisoara (Romania), BLACK SALT features a series of originals & spontaneous improvisations and a tribute to the legendary Pharoah Sanders. This music is a reflection of the trust and connection that developed between us throughout the years. In many ways, the diversity of this work is a mirrored image of the friendship we share. Energy and Intensity and the quality of these two are what make #jazz music so powerful. It has less to do with loud or soft, fast or slow or even a particular style but more with the chemistry and inner drive that we share in the moment. This is BLACK SALT."

The Highlights is the second greatest hits album (and first released globally) by Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd. It was released on February 5, 2021, and follows the release of his fourth studio album After Hours (2020).

“Fusion of world music dance music are almost ubiquitous but Gotan are exceptional… It’s an irresistible mix, and if you missed the show, almost as sool, on their disc, La Revancha del tango” Evening standard

Metallica’s eponymous album, better known as The Black Album, is remastered! The Black Album is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of all time, with global sales of over 35 million, and contains a series of unrelenting singles, “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven", “Nothing Else Matters," “Wherever I May Roam,” and “Sad But True.” Remastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering and overseen by executive producer Greg Fidelman.