Alex Lucini

Jon Irabagon and Mike Pride: I Don't Hear Nothin' but the Blues

by Kurt Gottschalk
August 31, 2009

I Don't Hear Nothin' But The Blues is a hilariously apt title for the new CD by saxophonist Jon Irabagon and drummer Mike Pride. The phrase--and the cover art, featuring both as well-dressed train-hoppers--would suggest a certain something to most listeners, maybe a tribute to Louisiana Red or Memphis Slim or Mississippi John Hurt. And while the one long, extended jam that makes up the disc is not quite any such thing, it still stands as an appropriate answer for ...

Jon Irabagon with Mike Pride: I Don't Hear Nothin' But The Blues

by Mark Corroto
June 5, 2009

Without playing “name that tune," it is easy to mistake Jon Irabagon and Mike Pride's one song, 48-minute recording for one by Bill Laswell's Massacre. Same energy, same intensity, and volume, lots of volume.

Funny, because this is an acoustic duo between saxophone and drums, while Massacre is a trio of drummer Charles Hayward, Laswell (electric bass) and Fred Frith on electric guitar.

Unplugged, saxophonist Irabagon and drummer Pride bring that much ferocity.

Irabagon ...

Jon Irabagon with Mike Pride: I Don't Hear Nothin' But The Blues

by Troy Collins
May 28, 2009

The saxophone and drum duo has long been an established jazz tradition, with Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1965), John Coltrane's legendary duet album with Rashied Ali, widely considered the format's archetype. Containing a single 47-and-a-half minute improvisation, I Don't Hear Nothin' But The Blues is tenor saxophonist Jon Irabagon and drummer Mike Pride's bold contribution to the tradition. Released in an era dominated by shortened attention spans and internet downloads, Irabagon and Pride make their intentions clear; this is not music ...