Eyvind Kang

Eyvind Kang's prodigious recording career is surprising considering it's less than a decade old. Working since 1995, he can be heard on over 50 records, collaborating with the likes of Sun City Girls, Bill Frisell, Secret Chiefs, Blonde Redhead, Robin Holcomb, Laurie Anderson and many others. He is one of the most original and exciting violinists currently performing in the underground, a fact cemented all the more by his accomplished solo recordings.

Born in Corvallis, Oregon, Kang spent his youth moving around Canada before settling down in Seattle, where he still lives today. Taking cues from his two main musical mentors - Michael White (who performed with Sun Ra Arkestra and Pharoah Sanders) and Maestro Dr. N Rajam of India, Kang concentrated his studies on the violin. 7 NADEs, his first album, followed a theoretical concept of the NADE as a musical form. The album was soon followed by Theatre of Mineral NADEs, which continued exploring Kang's notions of the NADE.

Virginal Co-Ordinates is Kang's sixth record - an excursion into minimalist territory that nods to Terry Riley and Tony Conrad. Recorded live in Bologna, Italy in 2000 at the Angelica Festival, the compositions combine a written musical score with subtle improvisation. The glide of Kang's smooth violin presides over a 22-member orchestra (The Playground Ensemble - a loose collection of European musicians), which includes Mike Patton on vocals and electronics. The compositions work as full-bodied excursions, parsed out in minimal doses that glide towards stunning emotional grandiosity.

EYVIND KANG SOLO DISCOGRAPHY 7 NADEs (Tzadik) 1996 Sweetness Of Sickness (RGI) 1996 Theatre of Mineral NADEs (Tzadik) 1998 The Story Of Iceland (Tzadik) 2000 Live Low To The Earth, In The Iron Age (Abduction) 2002 Virginal Co-Ordinates (Ipecac Recordings / Angelica) 2004

Gordon Grdina Septet: Resist

by Mike Jurkovic
June 28, 2020

It takes a leap of unconditional faith to enter wholly the resistance. A mindset steadied for the long haul, readied for the next. On his third, integral, must-listen-to release of 2020, Canadian oudist/guitarist/composer Gordon Grdina grandly, darkly, intently, espouses all that and more. Hellbent on creating art as a political act, the sprawling, at times majestic Resist follows the raw and persuasive Nomad (Skirl, 2020), an uncompromising trio outing with pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Jim Black and the simultaneous ...

647

Album Review

Bill Frisell: Unspeakable

Read "Unspeakable" reviewed by John Kelman

by John Kelman
August 22, 2004

Some artists spend an entire lifetime within a narrow genre, honing their skill and working at stretching the boundaries of that style, while others transcend all definitions and labels, creating a music that defies categorization. Such is the case with guitarist Bill Frisell, who over a twenty-five year career has contributed to everything from the Nordic cool of Jan Garbarek's quartet to the downtown edge of John Zorn's Naked City. On his own records he has explored diverse landscapes including ...

113

Album Review

Wayne Horvitz/Tucker Martine: Mylab

by Mark Corroto
February 4, 2004

For Wayne Horvitz and Tucker Martine, the pair known as Mylab, the saying “everything old is new again” should be restated as “Everything New is Old again!”

This studio experiment by the duo (with 17 of their closest friends) samples and loops folk recordings from the turn of the century to create song structures, then replaces those samples with guest musicians. They mash (part Zony) funk, blues, trip-hop, soul, folk, and African music into a roots music played ...

178

Album Review

Wayne Horvitz: 4 + 1 Ensemble

Read "4 + 1 Ensemble" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
November 1, 1998

Seattle based keyboard whiz/composer Wayne Horvitz has been a staple of NYC’s cutting edge “Downtown Scene”. Throughout, Horvitz has released several cd’s as a leader ie; Pigpen, Zony Mash and has collaborated with the likes of Elliot Sharp, John Zorn and Bobby Previte. 4 + 1 Ensemble is his latest solo effort and represents Horvitz’ in an introspective mood yet the material here is musically stimulating.

Horvitz possesses an uncanny ability to exploit tried and true cliches’ yet has a ...

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Recording

Billy Martin of Medeski Martin and Wood Releases Socket on Amulet Records ; Live Collaboration Featuring Eyvind Kang, Min Xiao Fen, Cyro Baptista +

Source: All About Jazz
July 11, 2005

New York, NY: With raging distortion, polyphonic-cacophony and speaking in tongues, NYCs downtown luminaries lead by Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin and Wood) channel the mad spirits in front of a live audience. Two nights distilled and concentrated into one seriously potent mix of heaven and hell. May these sonic witchdoctors cure what ails, chase the dragons and cast spells on your world. Socket, produced by Billy Martin, was recorded live to 2 track at Tonic (NYC), January 14-15, 2005. Released ...
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