The Respect Sextet
FORMED IN 2001, The Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational musics. Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding musicianship and a deep friendship, Respect pieces together free improvisations, original compositions, free jazz classics, television commercial jingles, text pieces, jazz standards, game pieces and more into a whirling collage, shouts Exclaim! Magazine, that ransacks and reshapes the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans march to Misha Mengelberg, Sun Ra to Charlie Parker. The group comprises Josh Rutner (reeds, radio, toys), Eli Asher (trumpet, toys), James Hirschfeld (trombone, jamespectronics, toys), Malcolm Kirby (bass), Red Wierenga (piano, keyboard, accordion, redspectronics) and Ted Poor (drums). After releasing three limited-edition live CDs, (respect.), (respectacle.), and a mini-CD (respookt.), Respect introduced The Full Respect, a studio melange in which all those outlandish musical gestures and experiments are distilled, as critic Chad Oliveri wrote, into a frighteningly efficient package. The Full Respect was named #3 Jazz CD of the Year by Jazz 90.1FM, and music from the album was featured in the short film Who's Your Daddy?, an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, 2004.
In January 2005, Respect released Respect In You, a free-wheeling live recording featuring guest bassist Matt Clohesy. The album received rave reviews from jazz magazines including Cadence, ParisTransatlantic, Exclaim! and Coda, and was listed in several as one of 2005's ten best records. Forget about the wan, self-conscious eclecticism that's the bane of the current jazz scene, wrote critic Nate Dorward, this is the real deal, burning hard and bright.
Read moreTags
September 15, 2011
The Jazz Session #309: The Respect Sextet
August 04, 2010
The Respect Sextet returns to Le Poisson Rouge on 8/17, celebrates new...
December 07, 2009
The Respect Sextet Returns to le Poisson Rouge in NYC on Tues, January...
June 29, 2009
This is world-class American jazz at its finest and freest. It's pure truth. Respect the truth.
...the sense of adventurousness that pervades Respect's ecstatic improvisations won't be found in standard Eastman curriculum.
...group veers from deep rhythmic workouts to open drones and hilarious vaudeville. --City Newspaper
...when the band concluded, the entire street erupted. It was a triumphant homecoming for this terrific band... --allaboutjazz.com
What starts as a quizzical maelstrom slowly takes shape like the T-1000, liquid parts dribbling in from all sides, colors being added like you're clicking around in Photoshop... --popmatters.com
It's not music that is trying to be experimental, it just goes off..