Based in Lithuania, NoBusiness Records specializes in free and intuitive jazz. Here are a handful of samples:
Recorded in 2012, this concert brings together The Nu Band which featured Roy Campbell, Jr. who played trumpet, flugelhorn, pocket trumpet and flute. He’s joined with Mark Whitecage/as-cl, Joe Fonda/b and Lou Grassi/dr for for songs that are long on intuition and freedom while still retaining cohesion. Whitecage’s alto mixes with Campbell’s warm horn for loose grooves that have hints of bop on “Like a Spring Day” while the pocket trumpet and clarinet sigh together on ”In The Whitecake.” Rich South American percussion mingles with flute and atonal alto sax moments on “Lament for Billy Bang” and squawking valves flutter on the closing “Free Piece.” Like a shirt found in a thrift store, tight in some pl aces, loose in others.
The Joy of Being has Francois Carrier/as-ob, Rafal Mazur/b, and Michel Lambert/dr freethinking through 6 improvised compositions. Lots of squawking and cackling reeds on the title track, as bass and drums rumble and flit about on the pitter pattering “Disappearance” and “True Nature.” Soft tones and up severe on “Mystery of Creation” and the reeds huff and puff before blowing down “Omnipresent Beauty.” Why does freedom always end up cacophonic?
Pianist Dave Burrell and tuba player Bob Stewart are found in a 1994 live recording in Cologne, Germany celebrating the music of Jelly Roll Morton. Morton’s own “The Crave” is stately delivered with rich tuba support while “New Orleans Blues” has a rich and plaintive lilt. Burrell tells a musical story on Morton’s “Spanish Sway” while his own “Popolo Paniolo” and” I Am His Brother” strut with dignity, building up to logical and dramatic conclusions. Quite impressive interpretations and inspirations.
Bass, tenor sax, piano and drums are brought together by Hernani Faustino, Albert Cirera Agusti Fernandez and Gabriel Ferrandini, respectively for these four free flying pieces. A mix of Edgy cymbal scratching on a couple of songs team up with scowling tenor sax, chaotic percussion and eerie percussion that almost every times ends up with screaming angst like a jazz version of a Wagnerian opera. Gentle chaos closes this food fight, with few remaining survivors.
NoBusiness Records