Press

“The cascading rhythms Hirsh lays down are a progressive force.”

”This is possibly one of the best lineups you’ll ever see in modern free jazz today. The classically trained pianist Eri Yamamoto is joined by the living legend that is William Parker on bass, saxophonist extraordinaire Chad Fowler and intuitive percussionist Steve Hirsh on drums. Together, they created a series of joyous post-bop improvisations that Sonny Rollins or Charles Mingus would be proud of.”

“ Yamamoto, Fowler, Parker, and Hirsh make one hell of an ensemble and I hope they kick the tires and light it up again.”

“The nearly two hours of instant composing from Futterman's piano and Hirsh's drum kit were obviously produced by sentient beings but, just as less complex organisms such as trees (which many believe to have no consciousness) can cooperate to seek sunlight and nutrients, the duo creates and nurtures sound without the appearance of separate selves. Free improvisation requires thought, yet improvisation at the highest level requires no thought, in effect no 'me.' That can be said of the music of Cecil Taylor & Tony Oxley, Matthew Shipp & Ivo Perelman, and certainly Futterman and Hirsh.”

“With exceptionally quick spontaneity and astute anticipation, free improvising pianist Joel Futterman and drummer Steve Hirsh engage in a series of extended dialogs across two CDs of “Warp” & “Weft” in multiple parts, pushing each other in both technical and expressive interaction, weaving complex interplay with startling ease and creative intention. “

“They call what they’re doing “improvised folk music,” but, really, it’s four skilled practitioners listening hard, finding synchonicity, then careening away from that accord into a wholly new set of considerations. It’s a wild ride, sometimes pensive and beautiful, with sweet, well-considered piano chords framed by bowed and plucked bass reverberations, sometimes turbulent and quick, drums kicking up furious eddies of swirling dust, saxello blowing wildly over the top. None of these principals are averse to finding the still, beautiful center, in long haunting sax tones or vibrating throbs of bass, but nor are they afraid to catch the exhilarating edge of chaos, hammering, squealing, thumping, pounding to stay on top of the wave. How beautiful is it then, when Yamamoto’s clear liquid runs of piano tumble over the rough tumult of Hirsh’s skittering, striated layers of percussion in “Taiko” or when Fowler’s saxophone swaggers across a punch-drunk melody in “Sparks,” peeling back a pristine tone to see what’s raw and ugly underneath. Sparks fly, indeed.”

“It is rather like wine tasting. The trio Original Mind's twelve tracks deliver flavors familiar to adventurous music listeners; Brad Holden's saxophone has hints of Ornette Coleman and Evan Parker, bassist Dick Studer flavors with William Parker, and drummer Steve Hirsh adds notes of Paul Motian. Like great wines, though, those tasting notes are only for the sake of reference and the act of imbibing You Know When It's Time gets better when the music is allowed to breathe.”