The results of Cadence‘s 2010 Record Poll are included in the Jan/Feb/Mar issue now reaching subscribers.

We’re proud to report the following client releases were recognized by the voters in the New Issues category (new releases reviewed in the magazine in 2010).

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society, Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records)
Bill Dixon, Tapestries for Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records)
John Hébert, Byzantine Monkey (Firehouse 12 Records)
KLANG, Tea Music (Allos Documents)
Peter Madsen Trio, The Litchfield Suite (Playscape Recordings)
Myra Melford’s Be Bread, The Whole Tree Gone (Firehouse 12 Records)
Joe Morris Quartet, Today On Earth (AUM Fidelity)
Michael Musillami Trio, Old Tea (Playscape Recordings)
The Fully Celebrated, Drunk On The Blood Of The Holy Ones (AUM Fidelity)
Fay Victor Ensemble, The FreeSong Suite (Greene Avenue Music)

The newly released Winter 2010/2011 issue of Jazziz is full of reviews and mentions of our clients’ releases.

“On her second album as a leader,” begins Ed Hazell in his review of Saturn Sings (Firehouse 12 Records), “Mary Halvorson cements her growing reputation as one of the most original and arresting jazz guitarists to emerge in the first decade of the century. This finely crafted, forward-looking disc teems with creativity.”

In his review of David S. Ware’s Onecept (AUM Fidelity), Michael Roberts writes, “Ware probes an entire world of jazz on this opus, with Parker and Smith accompanying him on a journey that keeps opening up new territory. That Onecept is extremely varied yet entirely of a piece is both a tribute to the clarity of Ware’s vision and a reminder of his unflagging artistry.”

Onecept also topped Associate Editor Bob Weinberg’s Best of 2010 list. He adds, “The indominable saxophonist rebounded from kidney-replacement surgery and recorded this astounding statement of life affirmation. Switching among tenor sax, stritch and saxello, Ware forecefully announces his intention to remain among the living, creative beings on the planet. Bassist William Parker remains Ware’s best foil, and Warren Smith rumbles and flashes eloquently on drums and typani. Free jazz at its fieriest and most meaningful, Onecept is a triumph of self-expression.”

At the top of Jeff Jackson’s list is Bill Dixon’s Tapestries For Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records), which he calls “indelibly beautiful, brimming with moments of startling lyricism and hypnotic intensity. Tapestries serves as a worthy capstone to a remarkable career that has yet to be fully appreciated.”

Also on Jackson’s Top 10 are Saturn Sings and Little Women’s Throat (AUM Fidelity).

Larry Blumenfeld included William Parker’s I Plan To Stay A Believer: The Inside Songs of Curtis Mayfield (AUM Fidelity) on his Top 10.

Thanks again to all the writers for their support and congratulations to these artists for a great year of music!

The Autumn 2010 issue of Burning Ambulance, released earlier this week, features a cover story on AUM Fidelity recording artist Darius Jones and a 12-page collection of written tributes to the late Bill Dixon.

Phil Freeman’s profile of Jones takes an in-depth look at the 32 year-old alto saxophonist/composer’s musical career that serves as a 15-page answer to the question: is Darius Jones the future of free jazz?

Jones comments freely and honestly when asked open-ended questions about his collaborators, the influence and legacy of other saxophone players, why he plays alto exclusively and the difficulties of being a younger musician on the scene, among other topics.

He also speaks intelligently about his own music, offering insights into his motivation, how he prefers to interact with other horn players, how music affects him physically and the lasting impact of hearing all manner of vocal styles (preaching and speaking in tongues as well as singing) growing up in a religious family living in rural Virginia.

“Darius Jones is the future of free jazz because he’s alive right now, making music right now, and he is making it new,” Freeman concludes. “There are plenty of free jazz records from the last ten years that could be played back-to-back with albums from the Sixties, and even an informed listener would be hard-pressed to ID the new ones blindfolded. Darius Jones does not make that kind of music.”

He adds, “He’s a fluid player who adapts to the context in which he finds himself, but through his choice of a single instrument and the way he plays, Darius Jones is always uniquely and recognizably his own man. He is aware of history (the history of his instrument, the history of his culture), even enraptured by it, willing to serve it, but not beholden to it. He wants to bridge the generations, but he’s ready to move forward. More than ready; he’s doing it, right now.”

Also in this issue is a collection of remembrances of Bill Dixon from musicians who knew him, accompanied by photos from the recent memorial service in New York. The list of those sharing anecdotes and thoughts on Dixon’s music and legacy includes Taylor Ho Bynum, Barry Guy, Stephen Haynes, Stephen Horenstein, Franz Koglmann, Rob Mazurek, Joe McPhee, William Parker, Warren Smith and Keith G. Thompson.

Burning Ambulance is for sale in both PDF and print-on-demand formats at http://burningambulance.wordpress.com