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Sha

'Moon and its clouds always guiding me through a life of lives...' (lyrics from 012)

'He wails in on alto sax, like a banshee trying to charm a cobra.' Dan McClenaghan at allaboutjazz.com about Sha.

"R'n'B', Minimalfunk, Ambient", is Sha’s (*1983) answer to the question about influences on his music. Isa Wiss (vocals), Mik Keusen (piano), Thomas Tavano (bass) und Julian Sartorius (drums) have been working with him in his band Banryu since 2004 and with 'Chessboxing Volume One' are now presenting their first album. Sha conveys the meaning of the Japanese band name 'Banryu' as follows: "Banryu, the dragon ready for jumping, lets everything come up and roll by, while not loosing its tension and posture at any moment and ready to strike anytime..." All the pieces of music were composed by Sha during the past few years, the lyrics of the first song being made up by Isa Wiss. They are titled with numbers only, and their poetic and energetic message unfolds with their sound, form and groove. During the past years, Sha has gained a considerable amount of international experience playing bass and contrabass clarinets, especially with Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin but also with Mik Keusen’s Blau. With his own band, he shows additional facets to his art of making music and plays more frequently alto sax and the Asian khen in addition to the bass clarinets. With the description ’Volume One’, Sha announces, with that ironic seriousness typical of him, that musical chessboxing could become a future discipline.

Text: Kim Longin, Ronin Rhythm Records

Order the CD at the webshop: http://www.roninrhythmrecords.com/shop/

In the USA 'chessboxing volume one' is available via Wayside Music: http://www.waysidemusic.com/

German distributor for 'chessboxing volume one': All My Music http://www.amm.de/

Gear

Alto Sax Horn: Conn Ladyface 6M Mouthpiece: Pomarico Reeds: Vandoren Java Bass Clarinet Horn: LeBlanc Mouthpiece: Selmer Reeds: Vandoren Java Contrabass Clarinet Horn: Leblanc Mouthpiece: LeBlanc Reeds: Vandoren


Tags

8
Album Review

Sha: Monbijou

Read "Monbijou" reviewed by Mike Jacobs


Aside from an existing appreciation of the saxophonist's creativity, it would be a mistake to approach Sha's Monbijou with any preconceptions. While this is a notion that has applied to his main group, Nik Bärtsch's Ronin, the tack Sha takes on this album is well removed from even that. Considering the integrated groupthink which characterizes nearly all of his work in (and outside of) Ronin, part of that remove is to be expected-- after all, this is a ...

3
Album Review

Sha's Feckel: Greatest Hits

Read "Greatest Hits" reviewed by John Kelman


With Stoa (ECM, 2006), the world at large was introduced to Nik Bärtsch and his hypnotic, booty-shaking Zen Funk. But the Swiss pianist's rapid ascendance, thanks to the international reach and reputation of ECM Records, was only the tip of the iceberg. Not only had Bärtsch released six previous albums since 2001, on his own Ronin Rhythms Records--four with his now-longstanding Ronin, plus a solo piano record and the album that started it all, Ritual Groove Music (2001), with his ...

545
Album Review

Sha's Banryu: Chessboxing Volume One

Read "Chessboxing Volume One" reviewed by John Kelman


With a group possessing as strong and unique an identity as Swiss pianist Nik Bartsch's Ronin--heard most recently on the remarkable Holon (ECM, 2008) and in performance in Kristiansand, Norway at Punkt 08--It's not surprising that the debut album by its reedman Sha possesses many of the same characteristics. Ronin, after all, is more than just a group; it's a musical philosophy combining minimalist tendencies with deep grooves and improvisation so subtle that it's at a near subconscious level. Chessboxing ...

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7

Recording

John McLaughlin And Zakir Hussain's Groundbreaking Shakti Gets A Grammy Nomination For 'This Moment'

John McLaughlin And Zakir Hussain's Groundbreaking Shakti Gets A Grammy Nomination For 'This Moment'

Source: MAD Ink PR

Shakti, the recently reconvened global fusion trailblazers, have been nominated for the 2024 GRAMMY Award for Best Global Music Album for This Moment—the group’s first new studio album in more than 45 years, released on June 30, 2023, on the Abstract Logix label. “After our most successful tour ever of three continents, Shakti gets a GRAMMY nomination for our album This Moment…” reacted to co-founding guitarist and composer John McLaughlin. “We are thrilled and delighted beyond words.” “Our 2023 world ...

3

Recording

First Fall - A Depiction Of A New York Autumn Through Sound by Guitarist Shai Jaschek

First Fall - A Depiction Of A New York Autumn Through Sound by Guitarist Shai Jaschek

Source: Shai Jaschek

First Fall is New York City– based guitarist and composer Shai Jaschek's debut album. A combination of striking melodies and innovative arrangements of classic jazz standards, this album sets Shai apart as a promising up and coming artist on the New York jazz scene. Jaschek’s trio, consisting of Benjamin Young (bass) and Willis Edmundson (drums), plays as a strong unit and their deep musical connection is felt through the album. The trio place spontaneity and collective improvisation at the forefront ...

6

Recording

Guitar Virtuosos Daniel Reyes Llinás, Harvey Valdes, Elliott Sharp Release New Collaborative Album 'String Schemas' Now Available on 7D Media

Guitar Virtuosos Daniel Reyes Llinás, Harvey Valdes, Elliott Sharp Release New Collaborative Album 'String Schemas' Now Available on 7D Media

Source: Glass Onyon PR - William James

“In April 2022, I was about to perform in Brooklyn for the first time since the pandemic. Offering a solo set didn't excite me much, so I invited my avant-garde jazz-wizard friend, Harvey Valdes, who had just released his superb recording of Bach’s lute works on the electric guitar. To complete the trifecta, I reached out to downtown legend, experimental guitarist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Elliott Sharp, whom I have been a fan of for many years and recently reconnected with. ...

2

Recording

Sixth Street All Stars Highlight Bay Area Talent and Share Inclusive Musical Vision With 'Everybody' Set for September 16 Release on Fishwax Records

Sixth Street All Stars Highlight Bay Area Talent and Share Inclusive Musical Vision With 'Everybody' Set for September 16 Release on Fishwax Records

Source: All About Jazz

Crafted in the vibrant, cross-cultural setting of the San Francisco Bay Area, Everybody is a celebration of community and human connection. Longtime friends and collaborators Molly Skuse and Dana Hinchliffe wrote and produced this buoyant blend of jazz and salsa to express their inclusive musical vision and share complex musical ideas that simply swing. Bringing together a powerfully talented cohort of regional musicians, the Sixth Street All Stars pay homage to Fania All Stars, the seminal musical collective that pioneered ...

2

Performance / Tour

Guitar Shaman Ron Bosse Kicks Off Tour Showcasing Jeff Lorber-Produced Hit Album 'Burning Room Only'

Guitar Shaman Ron Bosse Kicks Off Tour Showcasing Jeff Lorber-Produced Hit Album 'Burning Room Only'

Source: Michael Ricci

Jazz Improvisation + Rock & Roll Abandon = Deep Thrills Ron Bosse is taking his hit album Burning Room Only on the road with a band featuring jazz fusion pioneer and Grammy Award winner Jeff Lorber, who produced and played keyboards on all tracks on the set. A high-octane instrumental album at the intersection of jazz, rock and R&B, Burning Room Only spotlights Bosse’s scorching virtuosity and uplifting melodicism along with elemental grooves, grit and soul—a winning combination delivered with ...

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Artie Shaw

Jazz Musician of the Day: Artie Shaw

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Artie Shaw's birthday today!

Artie Shaw, a brilliant jazz clarinetist, was one of the most enigmatic, daring and adventurous bandleaders of the swing-era. An intellectual, he hated public life and the music industry. Over the course of his short career he formed ten orchestras and disbanding most of them after only a few months. At the peak of his career in the years just before World War II, Shaw was matched by few other musicians ...

4

Recording

MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) To Release 'In The Rain Shadow'

MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) To Release 'In The Rain Shadow'

Source: William James

Following the release of Places in 2017 and Interconnected in 2020, composer/guitarist Mark Vickness announces the release of In The Rain Shadow with a newly expanded group, MVI (Mark Vickness Interconnected) comprising two time Grammy winning violinist, Mads Tolling, Matt Renzi on oboe/English horn and saxophone, cellist Joseph Hebert, Dan Feiszli on upright and electric bass and a percussion section featuring tabla virtuoso, Ty Burhoe and Grammy winning percussionist, MB Gordy in addition to Mark’s acoustic and electric guitars. Says ...

1

Birthday

Jazz Musician of the Day: Avishai Cohen

Jazz Musician of the Day: Avishai Cohen

Source: Michael Ricci

All About Jazz is celebrating Avishai Cohen's birthday today!

Bassist/Composer Avishai Cohen, born April 20, 1970 in Israel, a musician who has been called a “jazz visionary of global proportions” by DownBeat, and was declared one of the 100 Most Influential Bass Players of the 20th Century by Bass Player Magazine, is renowned around the world as an influential double bassist and profound composer, and has received a deluge of critical praise for his recent recorded output and live performances. ...

5

Event

Elysium Furnace Works Kicks Off 2023 Season With Elliott Sharp & Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie—Saturday, March 25 In Poughkeepsie, NY

Elysium Furnace Works Kicks Off 2023 Season With Elliott Sharp & Donald Sturge Anthony McKenzie—Saturday, March 25 In Poughkeepsie, NY

Source: James Keepnews

"One of the godfathers of the Downtown New York music scene, guitarist-composer Elliott Sharp has been conceiving experimental works for a variety of small and large ensembles over the past 40 years... he remains as restlessly creative as ever, continuing to churn out provocative new projects with remarkable regularity." —Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes “Don McKenzie is a powerhouse and a master of deep-pocket hip hop, funk, jazz and rock” —Vernon Reid, Guitarist Elysium Furnace Works is excited to announce the initial ...

2

Music Industry

Genre-Busting Pianist Michael Kaeshammer Announces 15th Studio Album 'Turn It Up' Out March 17

Genre-Busting Pianist Michael Kaeshammer Announces 15th Studio Album 'Turn It Up' Out March 17

Source: Collabo PR

Michael Kaeshammer isn’t so much a pianist as a piano whisperer, a master musician and songwriter able to coax dazzling, kaleidoscopic sounds from his instrument in a way few can rival. That gift powers Kaeshammer’s upcoming 15th album, Turn It Up, due out March 17. The new single “Never Knew What Love Was,” which showcases Kaeshammer’s pure-pop style, was released last week at all streaming services and digital retailers (Listen Here). The song follows the release of the title track, ...

“Sha takes alto saxophone solos of the most outspoken sort.“ Nils Jacobson www.popmatters.com USA

“Sha brillierte durch ein klanglich stupendes Solo auf der imposanten Kontrabass-Klarinette.“ Ueli Bernays NZZ CH

“Sha's bass clarinet haloed everything in mysterious ambient soundwashes“ Stuart Nicholson The Observer UK

"Whenever the monosyllabically named Sha steps into the spotlight, the reed player evokes the modal improvisations of musicians like John Coltrane and Jan Garbarek." Brent Burton Washington City Paper USA

"Multi-reedist Sha is essential to the Ronin experience

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Primary Instrument

Clarinet

Location

Zurich

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Monbijou

Ronin Rhythm Records
2021

buy

Greatest Hits

Ronin Rhythm Records
2012

buy

Llyrìa

ECM Records
2011

buy

Chessboxing Volume One

Ronin Rhythm Records
2008

buy

Holon

ECM Records
2008

buy

Videos

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