Embedded Files
White Sky Review from Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC
". . . fine pizzicato violin solo which is followed by an inspired percussion solo. . . . old school bass-led groove with layers of tightly wound spinning reeds. . . . lush, lovely, haunting sound with righteous flute, other reeds and string harmonies. . . . What I especially like about this disc is that the group often plays in a freeish way while still maintaining a constant throb or inner groove. . . . I found this entire disc to be a rich form of Spirit/Jazz which feels great and has a hopeful core pulsating throughout."
Read Gallanter's full writeup on White Sky here
Unified View Review from Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery, NYC
". . . saxists play soprano, soaring around one another with a great cello solo following. . . . infectious drunken sounding swagger and spirited bluesy sax solo by Mr. Boxey. . . . slow and winding Spirit Jazz sound, subdued yet hypnotic, with several reeds all intertwined in a dream-like haze with the strings and throbbing bass. . . . strong Trane-like tenor, eerie violin and hypnotic mallet-work by their drummer. . . . sparse yet haunting sounds. . . . its own haunting dreamworld. . . . subdued yet has an unsettling undercurrent with eerie microtonal strings fluttering together. . . . mellow out after all of the Cosmic Spirit jazz which comes before it."
Read Gallanter's full writeup on Unified View here
Excerpts from an article written by Tyler King
"Last night was my first time seeing Northwoods Improvisers live. After years of listening to their music on CDs, it was terrific to see them play finally. It was a great show at a nice venue. They performed as a septet, with the addition of former Griot Galaxy alumnus Anthony Holland. The highlight of the show for me was Fanfare for A.J., one of Faruq Z. Bey’s last compositions dedicated to AACM drummer Ajaramu Shelton. With his son Sketter Shelton in the audience, it was an awesome and fitting tribute. The Northwoods Improvisers and Griot Galaxy are part of a rich history of tremendous jazz musicians from Detroit, like Milt Jackson, Joe Henderson, Curtis Fuller, Barry Harris, Kenny Burrell, the Jones brothers (Hank, Thad, and Elvin), Tommy Flanagan, Donald Byrd, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, Betty Carter, and many others you can read about in Mark Stryker’s book Jazz From Detroit."
Read King's full writeup here
Fanfares Review from Piotr Michalowski
"With the exception of the short opening “Luna Turca” by Don Cherry and Bey’s “Fanfare for A.J.” the compositions are by Northwoods members. That latter is a swinging up-tempo boppish romp that provides a good example of the evolution of the band, as the other tracks are all quite different in structure and feeling, sparser, more laid-back groove oriented, with soprano saxes, native flute, and percussion setting the tone. The fanfares seem more like hymns, some with Native American and Middle Eastern overtones. . . . The new band uses disciplined sectional playing with a front line of two extremely impressive young saxophone players, to which is now added a string section of cello and violin, all working together with exceptional collective intuition."
Read Michalowski's full writeup on Fanfares here
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