Articles by Geno Thackara
Branciforte & Barbieri: Ghosts in the Machines
by Geno Thackara
Here we have a couple very different varieties of electronics: two deep dives into sound-sculpting that remain determinedly human, however technological or spooky things get. Joseph Branciforte & Jozef Dumoulin ITERAE Greyfade 2026 When describing the thinking behind ambient music, Brian Eno famously said that it should be “as ignorable as it is interesting." If anything, the continual challenge is to do the opposite: practically anyone can create something easy to ignore, but ...
Continue ReadingCirque du Soleil: From J to Z - A Fantasia
by Geno Thackara
It feels familiar enough at the start: a bluesy piano intro, a playful back-and-forth exchange between a pair of horns... but within a few minutes, the stage lighting has turned practically psychedelic. Figures begin weaving through the dinner tables, masked like animals but garbed in sequined dresses and hip suits. Soon they are forming small human pyramids and doing somersaults off the piano. Two teams start an unexpected game of catch by flinging the double bass across the stage. Not ...
Continue ReadingDave Stapleton: Quiet Fire
by Geno Thackara
Fourteen years on from the previous album under his own name, the music world is a different place, and indeed, Dave Stapleton is a very different musician. While his distinct ear for melody is recognizable, this affair is a world away from 2012's Flight (Edition). The pianist's breakthrough-at-the-time solo outing was an ambitious and expansive chamber-jazz affair crossing acoustic combo with string quartet. The feeling here is likewise evocative and picturesque, but on a more introspective and intimate scale.
Continue ReadingKTU: Sumu
by Geno Thackara
Of all the offshoots on the King Crimson family tree, this may probably be the weirdest. Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto make a beastly rhythm section as ever, exploring somewhere between Miles Davis electric funk and the extensive groov-a-thons of prime Can. In this one-of-a-kind outfit they are put through the sampling/processing wringer by alchemist Samuli Kosminen and driven wild by accordionist Kimmo Pohjonen, who has to be either unhinged or possessed by the devil. ...
Continue ReadingYosef Gutman Levitt: Day and Night
by Geno Thackara
You could say that Yosef Gutman Levitt makes a musical version of land art--that '60s-'70s movement that involved making images or sculptures fitted to existing landscapes, and often using the earth's own materials. The bassist likewise uses a worldly range of tones with no need to fit them into any particular roles, simply letting the sounds grow and flow until it feels like another layer of nature itself. This adjacent pair makes a yin and yang of two beautifully complementary ...
Continue ReadingTrombone Shorty: Dumaine St.
by Geno Thackara
If it might not be feasible to make it to jny: New Orleans for the authentic Mardi Gras experience, at least some of its natives are happy to bring the street parades to us. The brash Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue are always good for a party, and at their most loud and horn-heavy, they make it practically effortless to picture the flashy costumes and taste the beignets. ...
Continue ReadingJazz Sabbath: Jazz Sabbath Live
by Geno Thackara
One can almost imagine the hypothetical 2025 tour reviews: “To hear him in person, you would never imagine Milton Keanes must be pushing age 80. He zips across the keys with abandon like a man half that age, matched by his equally spry bandmates keeping up with every gallop. The trio continually whips up a storm, defying any age and fit for any time." Or so it would be fun to picture, if you enjoy playing along with ...
Continue ReadingTim Motzer & Markus Reuter: Sound of the Sun
by Geno Thackara
It stands to reason that if the sun has an actual sound, it would be a very slow and subtle one. This would be right in the wheelhouse for Tim Motzer and Markus Reuter--well, one wheelhouse among several, since their experimental ambition can also get plenty wild . This ambient meditation from their first duo album evokes an exceedingly chilly winter sun--a patient sleeper from two soundscape guitarists of striking expressiveness and exceptional patience. ...
Continue ReadingGeno Thackara's Favorites of 2025
by Geno Thackara
To look at the commentary on the year's big stars and famous releases, one would almost think 2025 had been a lackluster year in music. Lucky for us that the jazz world is constantly full of things much more interesting. Fergus McCreadie The Shieling Edition Records The breakout trio only continues breaking out in ways fresh and unexpected. While the folk-rooted bounce in their step is always there, this outing adds a more ...
Continue ReadingKonrad Ciesielski: Koniec
by Geno Thackara
Konrad Ciesielski looks like a man of contradictions: an extreme-metal drummer who also plays some Southern stoner rock on the side, loud and powerful yet fluidly graceful, finally making a solo debut and titling it Koniec (The End). In a somewhat sideways step from his past history, this is a sweeping musical panorama that feels downright vast in scale. Yet by the end of this virtual movie-for-the-ears, all those things do not even feel like contradictions. The picture is simply ...
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