Jim Black musical universe (Alasnoaxis, Human Feel, jazz x noise rock)

I've been delving back through the work of these groups who all have the great drummer Jim Black in common - Alasnoaxis, Yeah No, Human Feel, lots of other configurations with musicians like Chris Speed, Skuli Sverrisson, Hilmar Jensson, Cuong Vu, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Andrew D'Angelo, Ben Monder, Oskar Gudjonsson, etc. Lots of records on Songlines and Winter & Winter starting in the late '90s, peaking in the '00s but still vibrant today.

All these groups are really grounded in melody and are committed to mixing improvised music and composition in ways that feel very natural and avoid cliches, and they all sound very fresh to me today. Ahead of their time but also a path not taken in terms of the wider jazz world.

I saw one of these bands in Milwaukee with Happy Apple eons ago, and they're definitely cut from the same cloth as the Bad Plus and Dave King's other bands. I loved a few of these records at the time, especially the Alasnoaxis group, but now I'm discovering so many more from then and now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43MFB7zkZ4U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHzyUWxFce0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9VeRHW7NWk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctfHhA48_s0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL4ydCLP5PY

Black is (was) in a couple of different Tim Berne projects as well, notably Bloodcount and the one-off BB&C trio (Berne, Black, and Nels Cline), which was as noisy as you might expect.

I also saw him another time with Ellery Eskelin I think, they made a ton of records but I haven't gotten into them much.

'Green' with cellist Hank Roberts and guitarist Marc Ducret is gorgeous and unique:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlYsowVjbis

He's got such an anti-jazz sound that's remained consistent over the years -- super low tight kick drum, high muffled snare (often with a splash cymbal or metal stuff on it), and low rock toms, except for that one high tom that's super cranked up. Really it's the Louis Cole sound, I wonder if JB was an influence.

Also btw the 'My Choice' record is a perfect best-of for the Alaxnoaxis material.

enjoyed that Malamute album. his drumming is like a distinct independent voice playing along with the other members, instead of just holding things together.

looking at that Winter & Winter discography, I was immediately drawn to the Uri Caine Ensemble's "Gustav Mahler in Toblach" release, of which Jim Black is also a part. I've only listened to this once, but I plan on having it fill the house this weekend. Mahler has been a favorite go-to for orchestral music since high school. Described as "a jazz deconstruction of Mahler's classical works. Recorded at the Gustav Mahler Festival in Italy, the double-disc album challenges traditional boundaries by juxtaposing avant jazz, klezmer, Middle Eastern elements, turntables and opera with Mahler's original melodies." It's not the Mahler experience, but I think it emphasizes Mahler's playfulness that sometimes might get ignored in a grand orchestral presentation.

his drumming is like a distinct independent voice playing along with the other members, instead of just holding things together.

Totally, and in some ways it's more striking because he has that rock sound and uses so much rock vocabulary.

Timely!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o8vPZxdn2E

Just noticed Jim Black's bootleg Champion/Coltrane shirt, lol