We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/
  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    gatefold sleeve

    Includes unlimited streaming of Duplexity via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 1 day
    Purchasable with gift card

      $15 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    A pianist of undeniable virtuosity and uncompromising intensity, John Blum has impressed free-jazz aficionados since the early 2000s with his uniquely potent approach to his instrument. One can easily hear the influence of Cecil Taylor in his ferocious, jaw-dropping power; but just as important are his ties to earlier pianists. There is just as much Art Tatum as Taylor in Blum's manic flights, as lightning-quick stride passages are as likely to surface as his more concussive thunderings. Fortunately, he's teamed here with a drummer eminently capable of matching his seemingly limitless energy, as Jackson Krall was Taylor's go-to drummer for fourteen years starting in the late 1990s and he brings a massive sound, with his own deep reserves of strength.
    Some freely improvised recordings begin tentatively, as the players seek to find a mutual foothold before they ratchet up the intensity. That is not Blum's approach. From the very beginning of the first piece, the aptly-titled, 21-minute "Blood and Bone," Blum charges in with mighty bass register rumblings, assaulting the piano as much as playing it, and Krall is right there with him, accentuating Blum's fusillade of chords with a mix of rolling thunder and well-timed detonations. But it's not just the explosive violence in Blum's technique that impresses; it's the sheer discipline and control that allow him in even his most tumultuous moments to hint simultaneously at the boogie-woogie and stride piano traditions, thus leavening his otherwise unrelenting onslaughts.
    While at sixteen-plus minutes "Wind and Wing" isn't as long, it still possesses just as much passion—and with a somewhat greater emphasis on the upper register, Blum's command and precision are even more noticeable. With very few moments of respite, the physicality of the music is striking, and the stamina needed to produce it is equally astonishing. Troy Dostert
    ... more
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 USD  or more

     

1.
2.

about

Relative Pitch Records celebrates its 100th release with a duo recording by Pianist John Blum and Drummer Jackson Krall. John Blum is an underground legend of the downtown music scene in New York City, known for his high voltage pianism and as a musician who strives for the very personal. His stylistic antecedents are apparent: Boogie-woogie, Stride, Bebop and Free Jazz, but John has absorbed all of these styles to craft a unique voice that defies classification. Jackson Krall has been a fixture in NYC since the 1970s, recording with many Jazz luminaries including Cecil Taylor and Marshall Allen. Blum and Krall first played together over thirty years ago and since then have performed in an array of combinations, but this is their first release as a duo. When talents like this converge, the result is nothing short of alchemy.

credits

released October 16, 2020

John Blum - piano
Jackson Krall - drums

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Relative Pitch Records New York, New York

NYC-based independent record label specializing in avant-garde, free jazz, free improvisation, experimental.

instagram.com/relativepitchrecords

Video:
youtube.com/KjReilly

contact / help

Contact Relative Pitch Records

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Duplexity, you may also like: