Recording: Fisher/Zurawinski/DeiCont/Furlong

Artist: Colin Fisher/Mark Zurawinski/Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong

Songs: [three excerpts from an improvisation]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Jazz and Otherwise Improvised Musics), January 14, 2020.

Colin Fisher/Mark Zurawinski/Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong - [first piece, excerpt 1]

Colin Fisher/Mark Zurawinski/Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong - [first piece, excerpt 2]

Colin Fisher/Mark Zurawinski/Mike DeiCont/Andrew Furlong - [first piece, excerpt 3]

Wrapping up his Jazz and Otherwise Improvised Musics series after a year of presenting shows in Wenona's basement, bassist Andrew Furlong put together this farewell set that saw him joined by Colin Fisher (guitar, saxophone), Mark Zurawinski (percussion) and Mike DeiCont (double bass). Besides presenting the somewhat-unusual sight of seeing two double basses playing side-by-side, the latter's presence also represented a hand-off of sorts, as DeiCont will be taking over booking the second-Tuesday-of-the-month slot from here on in.

[Remember to check out Mike DeCont's curated selections on the second Tuesday of the month — the first passed by this week, but the next one up will be here on March 10th.]

Recording: Nerve Gas

Artist: Nerve Gas

Song: Machine Gun [composer: Peter Brötzmann]

Recorded at Wenona Lodge (Jazz and Otherwise Improvised Musics), March 12, 2019.

Nerve Gas - Machine Gun

This ambitious evening in Andrew Furlong's JAOIM series saw saxophonist Patrick Smith assembling a band with the same lineup deployed by Peter Brötzmann for his Machine Gun session. After a first set of tunes from Furlong and Smith (as well as some Ornette), the group was ready to really take off, tackling the Machine Gun album in full.

This was a full-on blast fest with plenty of collective caterwauling clatter and the group was certainly up to the material. (And given the notoriously muddled fidelity of the album, even this field recording may be a bit cleaner to the listener's ears.) A special nod should be given to pianist Max Donaldson — one of the next wave of players emerging from U of T — for really standing out in this esteemed group.

The full Nerve Gas complement consisted of:

• Patrick Smith, Alex Manoukas, Karen Ng - saxophones
• Colin Fisher, Mike Gennaro - drums
• Max Donaldson - piano
• Andrew Furlong, Mike DeiCont - double bass

[JAOIM returns to Wenona on Tuesday (May 14th) with a solo set of microtonal guitar from Brian Abbott plus a trio of Julian Anderson-Bowes, Kayla Milmine and Luan Phung.]

Recording: DeiCont/Driver/Meeks/Ng/Pencer

Artist: Mike DeiCont/Ryan Driver/D. Alex Meeks/Karen Ng/Daniel Pencer

Songs: [two excerpts]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 27, 2018.

Mike DeiCont/Ryan Driver/D. Alex Meeks/Karen Ng/Daniel Pencer - [set 1, 1st piece edited excerpt]

Mike DeiCont/Ryan Driver/D. Alex Meeks/Karen Ng/Daniel Pencer - [set 2 excerpt]

Filling up some time in the post-xmas/pre-New Years' holiday gap, this ad hoc quintet brought some wobble/clonk/glide to the Southern Cross, mixing the talents of Dan Pencer (clarinet), Ryan Driver (piano), Mike DeiCont (electric bass), D. Alex Meeks (percussion) and Karen Ng (alto/clarinet).