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Jim Black

Jim Black (born 1967 in Seattle, Washington) is a jazz drummer who has performed with Tim Berne and Dave Douglas, among others. He attended Berklee College of Music.

His own group, AlasNoAxis, includes Hilmar Jensson on electric guitar, Chris Speed on tenor saxophone and clarinet, and Skúli Sverrisson on electric bass. The music is in some ways closer to post-rock than jazz, concentrating on rhythmic shifts and ensemble texture rather than featured solos. Since 2000, the group has released several records on Winter & Winter.

The group Pachora, also including Black, Speed, and Sverrisson, and with Brad Shepik on tambura and electric saz, plays music that is similarly rhythmically diverse, but inspired by Balkan rhythms.

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Live Review

Jazz&Wine of Peace 2023

Read "Jazz&Wine of Peace 2023" reviewed by Neri Pollastri


Jazz&Wine of Peace 2023 Cormons e altre località del Friuli e della Brda slovena Varie sedi 26-29.10.2023 Tagliato un importante traguardo con la splendida edizione celebrativa del venticinquennale, il Jazz&Wine of Peace di Cormons ha ripreso il suo corso, che ne fa uno dei festival più interessanti della penisola, approntando un programma come sempre tanto estremamente vario, quanto ricco di personalità di spicco. Dopo un'anteprima andata in scena lunedì 23 ottobre al ...

4
Album Review

Jim & the Schrimps: Ain't No Saint

Read "Ain't No Saint" reviewed by Troy Dostert


Although the group's name (and album title) sound like something one might associate with a second-rate bar band, there is nothing oafish or pedestrian about drummer Jim Black's latest outfit, a hard-hitting ensemble which channels the distinctive energies of Black and his well-chosen compatriots. With saxophonists Asger Nissen (alto) and Julius Gawlik (tenor) and bassist Felix Henkelhausen alongside him, Black brings his characteristic manic intensity and crafty songwriting to an album filled with interesting and engaging musical interactions.

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Radio & Podcasts

Jim Black & The Schrimps, Juanma Trujillo & Pulverize The Sound

Read "Jim Black & The Schrimps, Juanma Trujillo & Pulverize The Sound" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


With Jim Black living in Berlin now, you would expect he'd get hooked into the German scene. His new quartet called The Schrimps features three very exciting young German players (Asger Nissen and Julius Gawlik saxophones and Felix Henkelhausen acoustic bass ). Black's new release Ain't No Saint presents the drummer at his quirky and unpredictable best. It's a great recording and the feature in this episode. Guitarist Juanma Trujillo's new Contour on Clean Feed is terrific too, as are ...

15
Album Review

Gordon Grdina: Boiling Point

Read "Boiling Point" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic


For all its unstinting muscularity, feverish virtuosity and concentrated interplay, Canadian guitarist/oudist Gordon Grdina's first of two simultaneous summer releases, Boiling Point, could easily have been entitled Shock and Awe or Scorched Earth or perhaps even Ground Zero. Because as densely and wirily structured as these six Grdina comps are, Lower East Side piano legend Matt Mitchell and equally lauded drummer Jim Black bash away to the heart of matter, clearing the way for Grdina to crunch, skronk, and ruminate ...

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Album Review

Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio: Boiling Point

Read "Boiling Point" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Even if Gordon Grdina does not release another album in 2022, the year should be considered as the time when it all came together for the Vancouver-based guitarist and oud-ist. Oddly Enough: The Music Of Tim Berne, Night's Quietest Hour and Pathways, all on Attaboygirl Records, were released in the first six month of 2022--a productive time. Add to that Boiling Point, the second outing by Gordon Grdina's Nomad Trio. Grdina's artistry is hard to pin down. Free ...

Album Review

Paul Jarret: Ghost Songs

Read "Ghost Songs" reviewed by Emmanuel Di Tommaso


Non deve averci pensato più di tanto Paul Jarret quando, avendo vinto nel 2019 il Talent ADAMI Jazz, ha avuto l'opportunità di invitare un grande musicista di fama mondiale a collaborare nell'ambito del suo progetto Ghost Songs: la scelta è ricaduta su Jim Black, il batterista punto di riferimento del jazz d'avanguardia di New York che, con i suoi AlasNoAxis, ha decisamente influenzato Jarret nel dare forma a quel melodismo sperimentale diventato, nel corso degli ultimi anni, il marchio di ...

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Radio & Podcasts

One Man’s Jazz’ 2020 Favourite Releases

Read "One Man’s Jazz’ 2020 Favourite Releases" reviewed by Maurice Hogue


These days, it seems we all like to pick our favourites or best-of lists. I've been doing this for several years so why stop now. Despite the pandemic and its disastrous effect on the music business, there was some excellent music released in 2020. I'll cover some of them in this show and the next. If you want to check out all of my choices visit the One Man's Jazz website. There are some new things on the bill this ...

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Performance / Tour

The 5th Season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open Continues With Briggan Krauss, featuring Jim Black!

The 5th Season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open Continues With Briggan Krauss, featuring Jim Black!

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

CONNECTION WORKS PRESENTS The 5th SEASON OF BROOKLYN JAZZ WIDE OPEN @ The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Concert Hall The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music is located at 58 Seventh Ave (at Lincoln Place), Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY, Tel 718 622 3300, reduced admission! Now $10 NEXT Concert of the 2011-2012 season Saturday, January 14, 2012, 8:00 PM The Briggan Krauss Quartet Featuring: Briggan Krauss—alto saxophone Teddy Lausner—piano John Hebert—bass

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Performance / Tour

The 5th Season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open Continues With Briggan Krauss featuring Jim Black!

The 5th Season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open Continues With Briggan Krauss featuring Jim Black!

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

CONNECTION WORKS PRESENTS The 5th Season of Brooklyn Jazz Wide Open @ The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music Concert Hall The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 58 Seventh Ave (at Lincoln Place) Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY, Tel 718 622 3300, reduced admission! Concert of the 2011-2012 season Saturday, January 14, 2012, 8:00 PM The Briggan Krauss Quartet Featuring: Briggan Krauss—alto saxophone Teddy Klausner—piano John Hebert—bass + Jim Black—drums ...

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Recording

Ellery Eskelin, Andrea Parkins & Jim Black: One Great Day... on Hatology

Ellery Eskelin, Andrea Parkins & Jim Black: One Great Day... on Hatology

Source: Werner Uehlinger

In some ways I think that a recording is the best medium for this music. I can think of a lot of music that speaks better on a recording than it does in a club where the environment and the audience's expectations exert an effect on the music. With this recording we've found a mix between the two. Writing music for this band has been a real break through for me. Andrea and Jim have ears for anything I put ...

226

Recording

Tim Berne, Jim Black, Nels Cline - The Veil (2011)

Tim Berne, Jim Black, Nels Cline - The Veil (2011)

Source: Something Else!

Three of the larger figures in the downtown New York avant jazz scene, Jim Black, Nels Cline and Tim Berne, joined forces a couple of years ago to form a trio that find the intersection where the three thrive in. That area of overlap falls in the hinterland where jazz dares not tread because it's too brutal, and rock won't go there either because it's too unpredictable and tortuous. This is one of those aberrant trios where the odd combination ...

242

Music Industry

David Liebman, Ellery Eskelin, Tony Marino, Jim Black - Renewal (Hat Hut, 2008) ****

David Liebman, Ellery Eskelin, Tony Marino, Jim Black - Renewal (Hat Hut, 2008) ****

Source: All About Jazz

As Ellery Eskelin writes on the liner notes, this is a real quartet album, with contributions coming from all four musicians, and all equally contributing to the overall sound. Ellery Eskelin and David Liebman play tenor sax, Tony Marino bass and Jim Black drums. The music is excellent, composed, yet open and free, not really boppish, rather post-bop, but then a tad more free. So how can I describe this : lots of references to the jazz tradition, lots of ...

133

Performance / Tour

Hilmar Jensson/Jim Black/Andrew D'Angelo CD release at Tonic

Hilmar Jensson/Jim Black/Andrew D'Angelo CD release at Tonic

Source: All About Jazz

Saturday November 9, 8:00 pm, Tonic (107 Norfolk St., Manhattan)

Music from Hilmar Jensson's new CD Tyft (released October 2002)

Hilmar Jensson, guitars and electronics Jim Black, drums, melodica, electronics & virtual instruments Andrew D'Angelo, alto sax, bass clarinet & electronics

Hilmar is the guitarist in Jim's AlasNoAxis band, and these three musicians have been friends and musical associates since meeting in Boston in 1990 (the early days of Jim, Andrew and Chris Speed's band Human ...

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Music Industry

Philadelphia Concerts - High Zero Prep Festival, Jim Black, Vandermark 5, Fonda/Stevens, Khan Jamal/Matthew Shipp/Odean Pope - from Sweetnighter Productions

Philadelphia Concerts - High Zero Prep Festival, Jim Black,  Vandermark 5, Fonda/Stevens, Khan Jamal/Matthew Shipp/Odean Pope - from Sweetnighter Productions

Source: All About Jazz

Sweetnighter Productions - Upcoming Concerts Sweetnighter Productions dedicated to bringing cutting edge jazz to Philadelphia High Zero Preparation Festival featuring two unique quartets with some of the country's most exciting improvisers Wednesday, September 20th, 2000 - 9:30 pm - $12 Carol Genetti (vocals/Chicago) Eric Leonardson (tuned percussion/Chicago) Toshi Makihara (percussion/Philadelphia)

Baggiani
drums
Huw V Williams
bass, acoustic
Stephen M Kerr
bass, acoustic

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Ain't No Saint

Intakt Records
2023

buy

Boiling Point

Astral Spirits
2022

buy

Ghost Songs

Neuklang Records
2021

buy

Reckon

Intakt Records
2020

buy

Hide Show Yourself!

Edizioni Parco Della Musica
2020

buy

Boiling Point

From: Boiling Point
By Jim Black

Nomad

From: Nomad (Gordon Grdina)
By Jim Black

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