Sometimes it can be difficult to stand out from the flood of new music, let alone reissues. To bring a strong vibe to the table and offer seamless reflections within the past and present, it can be hard. The New York-based quintet Black Host is led nominally by Gerald Cleaver. It’s an improvising group that is ready to make it happen. Cleaver is joined by pianist Cooper-Moore and alto saxophonist Darius Jones. They also play bassist Pascal Niggenkemper, guitarist Brandon Seabrook, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. The program features eight original compositions that combine modern jazz, free music and electrified sound with meticulous detail and a lot of abandon. Some may be nostalgic and name-check Albert Ayler, especially the group with pianist Bobby Few, and guitarist Henry Vestine, as well as the early ’70s music by Terje Rypdal and Jan Garbarek, and Gary Windo with Carla Bley. But Black Host presents dynamic, contemporary, and incisive music. The group’s debut record, Life in the Sugar Candle Mines, is a reverb-drenched, incisive stew consisting of rhapsodic keyboard, searing alto, and fractured guitar. These rhythms are alternately chunky or airy, and are delivered with an “live” energy that cuts through your speakers. from http://northernspy.11spot.com
