The September 2010 offBeat has a nice article by Zachary Young on the New Orleans “out” scene
“People tend to have a certain character in mind when they think of the avant-garde musician: the conceited eccentric, blowing silly noises out of his horn in an ostentatious attempt to distance himself—it’s a predominantly male community—from the mainstream musical world that shuns him. Whatever the picture, it certainly doesn’t look much like trombonist Jeff Albert.
The music of Albert’s own quartet lives between the worlds of the composed and free-improvised. But he can often be found playing a variety of more straight-ahead styles, with groups like George Porter, Jr.’s Runnin’ Pardners or the John Mahoney Big Band. He thinks of the idioms not as opposed to one another, but rather as different points in a continuum. ‘In my conceptualization, it’s not that it’s all that different,’ he says. ‘It’s just that in my band, it’s my version of how I organize this music.’”
Jeff Albert Quintet at Open Ears Music Series. Photo by Caitlyn Ridenour.
Glad you enjoyed the Conduction – yah, extremely controlled! But a unique improvisatory experience from stage. It was absolutely amazing to be sandwiched between Jean Paul Bourelly and David Murray!! Loads of fun. And Butch had this SMILE on his face – like a kid! Beautiful.
Meg, thanks for reading. I’d love to have the experience of working with Butch. I couldn’t see the smile on his face, but I could on yours.