new york times review of 5 september LPR concert

photo Irene Haupt

It's with a heavy heart that i report the passing of tom bruno, drummer in TEST & such storied loft era enterprises as the new york city artists' collective & 501 canal collective. tom was a soulful & articulate musician, & as those who knew him will attest, a humble & inspirational dude. for me personally tom's positive vibes & generous humor were crucial to surviving the fantastic grueling dreams that were the '98 & '99 TEST tours. as i listen to his inimitable pressurized rolling sound on the kit & remember his extraordinary dedication to jazz music i am touched by a great life. to borrow one of his many memorable expressions, he was "always coming from the love side." condolences to ellen christi & to the musicians who made the journey with him. tom bruno, 1937-2012 (photo by michael wilderman, 1974). 

as a footnote, a couple months ago eremite & TEST agreed to the release of TEST's 1999 performance at the velvet lounge in chicago. ETA for that is early 2013.

04 IX philadelphia, international house, 3701 chestnut st.
double bill with chris corsano/bill orcutt duo

05 IX new york city, le poisson rouge, 158 bleeker st.
double bill with joshua abrams natural information society featuring chad taylor

06 IX amherst, bezanson recital hall, fine arts center, umass amherst

07 IX buffalo, burchfield penney art center, 1300 elmwood ave.

08 IX guelph jazz festival, guelph youth music centre

09 IX delaware, ohio wesleyan university, jemison auditorium in sanborn hall

10 IX lexington, embrace church (epworth campus), 1015 n. limestone

12 IX chicago, the hideout, 1354 w. wabansia ave.

13 IX milwaukee, the sugar maple, 441 e. lincoln ave.

14 IX de pere, luna coffee, 330 main ave.

15 IX chicago, elastic, 2830 n. milwaukee
quartet with joshua abrams & hamid drake

18 IX marfa, crowley theater

21 IX austin, venue TBA

new joshua abrams album, october 2 release date, available for pre-sale along with the few remaining copies of bonus 'promo-only' 7" of 'dubbed' AMS by abrams

The lithuania-based NO BUSINESS records has just released the six-CD boxed set Centering: William Parker Unreleased Early Recordings 1976-1987.  it's one of the finest independently-produced jazz archival sets i've seen, focused on one of the most important musicians of our time.  

in 1979 parker founded centering records to release his first record, through acceptance of the mystery peace (the CD reissue with bonus material is available here via eremite).   parker produced numerous additional sessions for centering, even printing album covers for two of them, before the scene's harsh economic conditions slowed him down.  parker: "when my father died i didn't have $1.50 to go to the bronx. I had to take these BYG records & sell them to get money for carfare to the bronx."

what would have been his first solo bass record, soliloquy, is presumed lost forever (dig that cover!) but three other sessions intended for centering plus three more discs of unreleased sessions by different parker ensembles debut here.  the set includes a 66 page book mind-blowingly illustrated with period photographs & ephemera, a lengthy & illuminating interview with parker & an essay by jazz scholar ed hazell that is as thoroughly researched & perceptive a contextualization as we have on parker's work.

eremite was involved in an earlier unconsummated effort to release some of these materials so it's especially gratifying to see this project realized so magnificently.  big kudos to danas mikailionis at no business, ed hazell, & especially to parker himself for bringing these materials to light.  fittingly, parker continues to release material on centering.  centering's new release, parker's essence of ellington, showcases what promises to be one of the more resplendent & vital jazz repertory project of the coming years. free jazz in triumph!