NRG Ensemble
NRG Ensemble was an American free jazz ensemble founded in the late 1970s by saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell.Margasak, PeterThe Undiminished Power of Hal Russell's NRG Ensemble''at Chicago Reader'' The group's personnel was somewhat fluid, but included a core of drummer Steve Hunt, saxophonist Mars Williams, guitarist/trumpeter Brian Sandstrom, and bassist Kent Kessler. Their music kept free jazz alive in Chicago throughout the 1980s, when it had largely disappeared from the jazz landscape. Russell was the primary composer, but the other musicians contributed songs as well. Their punning song and album titles (''Conserving NRG, Hal on Earth'') reflected the humor that permeated Russell's music. After Russell's death in 1992, the NRG Ensemble recruited saxophonist Ken Vandermark as a replacement, recording three more albums under the leadership of Williams. Discography # ''NRG Ensemble (album), NRG Ensemble'' (Nessa, 1981) # ''Generation (Hal Russell album), Generati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NRG Ensemble (album)
''NRG Ensemble'' is the debut album by American jazz multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1981 and released on Nessa. It was reissued in 2012 with new artwork and two bonus tracks previously unreleased from a demo tape the band gave to producer Chuck Nessa prior to the sessions.Original Liner Notes by Chuck NessaThe undiminished power of Hal Russell at Background By the time he made his first commercially released LP with the ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Free Jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians during this period believed that the bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz that had been played before them was too limiting. They became preoccupied with creating something new and exploring new directions. The term "free jazz" has often been combined with or substituted for the term "avant-garde jazz". Europeans tend to favor the term "free improvisation". Others have used "modern jazz", "creative music", and "art music". The ambiguity of free jazz presents problems of definition. Although it is usually played by small groups or individuals, free jazz big bands have existed. Although musicians and critics claim it is innovative and forward-looking, it draws on early styles of jazz and has been described as an attempt to return to primitive, often re ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Calling All Mothers
''Calling All Mothers'' is an album by American jazz group the NRG Ensemble, their first after the death of bandleader, and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1993 and released on the Quinnah label. Reception The AllMusic review by William York states that "the album has a nice element of diversity, yet it still coheres well... They play virtually every piece like it's an encore, but, fortunately, the material is strong enough to sustain such intensity". The ''DownBeat'' review by Bill Shoemaker states: "Though the set includes three Russell pieces utilizing everything from nimble swing pastiches to full-bore sax blasts, the compositional strengths of Williams, Hunt and newcomer multi-reedist Ken Vandermark preclude the possibility of NRG ever becoming a ghost band."Shoemaker, Bill. ''Calling All Mothers'' review. ''Down Beat'' September 95: page 46. Print. Track listing # "Punch and Judy (For Fred Anderson)" (Ken Vandermark) - 5:26 # "Chasin' My Tail" (M ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Free Jazz Ensembles
Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure political rights, as for a disenfranchised group * Free will, control exercised by rational agents over their actions and decisions * Free of charge, also known as gratis. See Gratis vs libre. Computing * Free (programming), a function that releases dynamically allocated memory for reuse * Free format, a file format which can be used without restrictions * Free software, software usable and distributable with few restrictions and no payment * Freeware, a broader class of software available at no cost Mathematics * Free object ** Free abelian group ** Free algebra ** Free group ** Free module ** Free semigroup * Free variable People * Free (surname) * Free (rapper) (born 1968), or Free Marie, American rapper and media pers ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Jazz Ensembles
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams Soccer * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nessa Records Artists
Nessa Diab, known mononymously as Nessa, is an American radio and TV personality and television host. Early life and education Nessa was born to an Egyptian father and mother. She has two brothers. She grew up in Southern California but her dad's job frequently moved her family between California and Saudi Arabia. She graduated with a degree in mass communications from the University of California, Berkeley. Career While in college, Nessa interned at San Francisco Bay Area Top 40 station Wild 94.9. Eventually, she got her own show, "The Baydestrian Report," which covered news in the Bay Area. She first rose to prominence for her artist and celebrity interviews on Wild 94.9 and YouTube, which led to MTV seeking her out to be on ''Girl Code''. She has also hosted various MTV and MTV2 shows. She currently hosts "Nessa on Air," a successful hip-hop show during the drive time shift on New York City's top rated Hot 97. Her show is the #1 hip hop show in the afternoons with 18†... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thumb Piano
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and plucking the tines with the thumbs (at minimum), the right forefinger (most mbira), and sometimes the left forefinger. Musicologists classify it as a lamellaphone, part of the plucked idiophone family of musical instruments. In Eastern and Southern Africa, there are many kinds of mbira, often accompanied by the hosho, a percussion instrument. It is often an important instrument played at religious ceremonies, weddings, and other social gatherings. The "Art of crafting and playing Mbira/Sansi, the finger-plucking traditional musical instrument in Malawi and Zimbabwe" was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. A modern interpretation of the instrument, the kalimba, was commercially pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia at least 1,000 years ago, and is now in use around the world, though still most strongly associated with Indigenous Australian music. In the YolĹ‹u languages of the indigenous people of northeast Arnhem Land the name for the instrument is the ''yiḏaki'', or more recently by some, ''mandapul''. In the Bininj Kunwok language of West Arnhem Land it is known as ''mako''. A didgeridoo is usually cylindrical or conical, and can measure anywhere from long. Most are around long. Generally, the longer the instrument, the lower its pitch or key. Flared instruments play a higher pitch than unflared instruments of the same length. History There are no reliable sources of the exact age of the didgeridoo. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Vibraphone
The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,'' or ''vibist''. The vibraphone resembles the steel marimba, which it superseded. One of the main differences between the vibraphone and other keyboard percussion instruments is that each bar suspends over a resonator tube containing a flat metal disc. These discs are attached together by a common axle and spin when the motor is turned on. This causes the instrument to produce its namesake tremolo or vibrato effect. The vibraphone also has a sustain pedal similar to a piano. When the pedal is up, the bars produce a muted sound; when the pedal is down, the bars sustain for several seconds or until again muted with the pedal. The vibraphone is commonly used in jazz music, in which it often plays a featured role, and was a defining element ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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This Is My House
''This Is My House'' is an album by American jazz group the NRG Ensemble, their second with saxophonist Ken Vandermark in place of the bandleader and multi-instrumentalist Hal Russell, which was recorded in 1995 and released on Delmark. Reception The AllMusic review by William York states "Such moments certainly make the album worthwhile for fans, but due to its somewhat inconsistent, under-edited nature (i.e., it is simply too long), ''This Is My House'' doesn't rate as the best starting point for folks interested in this group." The ''Down Beat'' review by John Ephland says "The material at times seems somewhat colorless, the structures maybe a tad rangy and undeveloped. Still, the band's emotional and stylistic range, Kessler and Sandstrom's very fine doubled-up-basses, not to mention the instrumental variety from everyone, suggest an exciting, loving caldron of free-jazz, bop, and hardcore punk-jazz."Ephland, John. ''This Is My House'' review. ''Down Beat'' June 96: page 40 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |