Fully Altered Media has dedicated themselves to sharing the work of dedicated musicians and arts organizations, with an ear towards jazz and world music. Today they are celebrating the release of not one but four new albums, all of which pair exceptionally well with a perfectly prepared cocktail or your favorite craft spirit.
Mike Sopko - Sopko, Laswell, Pridgen - Guitarist
Mike Sopko, a fixture in the Bay Area who’s just returned to his native Cleveland presents a ferocious studio document which captures his rapport with drummer Thomas Pridgen (formerly of The Mars Volta) and bassist Bill Laswell, a musical hero to many including Sopko himself. Balancing free improvisation, collective composition and inventive post-production, the trio encounter proves to be as uninhibited and rhythmically charged as it is focused and refined.
SOUNDCLOUD STREAM
Bill MacKay's Darts And Arrows - Altamira - Chicago-based guitarist Bill MacKay helms the group Darts & Arrows, one of the most promising bands on Chicago's experimental rock and new music scene. Darts & Arrows features some of Chicago's most in-demand musicians: alto-saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, AACM violist Renee Bakerand drummer Frank Rosaly. Altamira is the quartet's most fully realized effort, retaining the edgy vitality of their improvised work while painting beautifully textured sonic pictures on a series of through-composed pieces. SOUNDCLOUD STREAM
Nicole Mitchell/Tomeka Reid/Mike Reid Trio - Artifacts - After 15 years of music collaborations in a variety of ensemble contexts, the all-star trio of Nicole Mitchell, Tomeka Reid and Mike Reed have come together to celebrate their long-term relationship and their common cultural and aesthetic threads. All are members of Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and served on the organization's executive board from 2009 to 2011 (holding the positions of Chairperson, Treasurer and Vice Chairperson, respectively). It's more than appropriate that the trio would also celebrate some of the music composed by AACM members over the past 50 years: Its forthcoming record dips into the fathomless well of the AACM's musical history, and furthers the organization's motto of "Ancient to the Future." SOUNDCLOUD STREAM
Miho Hazama & m_unit - Time River – Originally from Japan, New York-based jazz composer Miho Hazama is a brilliant, award-winning bandleader, who just five years ago arrived in New York City and has since begun to establish herself as a force to be reckoned with. With her second Sunnyside Records release, she further makes her case as an important emerging voice in the large ensemble arena. Her jazz chamber orchestra "m_unit" draws on myriad musical sources, arriving at a highly distinctive and original sound. SOUNDCLOUD STREAM
