Alto saxophonist Aram Shelton doesn’t hail from Chicago, but he spent his formative years in the city of broad shoulders and hard-blowing horn players, honing an aesthetic steeped in the visceral hurly burly of free jazz. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2005 to study at Mills College, he’s become an essential part of…
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New You at Gapplegate
From out of Oakland, California comes the ensemble Arts & Sciences and their CDÂ New You(Singlespeed Music SSM-0010). It’s eclectic and electric with keys (Michael Coleman) tenor sax and effects (Matt Nelson), alto sax and flute (Jacob Zimmerman) and drums (Jordan Glenn) comprising the ensemble. This is composition-centered prog jazz. The press sheet cites Sun Ra,…
Read moreEverything for Somebody at Jazz Wrap
What I’ve always loved about Aram Shelton is his investigative ethos. He continually challenges himself and his fellow band mates within each composition. This is ever-present on his newest quartet release, Everything For Somebody. With his quartet, Shelton stays focused on a more traditional sound – a mixture of hard bop and avant garde that…
Read moreEverything for Somebody at Shanley on Music
Aram Shelton’s latest presents another strong set of material from an alto saxophonist who should be getting more recognition for his prolific output and busy schedule. While his release earlier this year of duets with drummer Kjell Nordeson might have been more of a specialized interest, Shelton’s quartet presents a full picture of his inventive…
Read moreNew You at Stef’s Free Jazz Blog
I met Michael Coleman (the leader of Arts and Science) in Brussels quite a few years ago. He was on the usual European tourist trip with a friend of his – maybe Jordan Glenn, the drummer on this album? Michael told me about another interesting project called Schumann’s Humans, a group playing the music of…
Read moreEverything for Somebody at All About Jazz
Alto saxophonist Aram Shelton cannot break his Chicago habit. We’re not talking that monkey woman Joe Williams used to sing about, back in the day. Shelton, who left Chicago a few years back for the Bay area of California, returns to the windy city often, both physically and for its sound. His second quartet recording,…
Read moreEverything for Somebody at Stef’s Free Jazz Blog
As the press release states, this is jazz music inspired by the likes of Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. I guess that looks like a tall order to fill, but Aram Shelton doesn’t fail you one second on this excellent release. It’s also – for those interested (like me)…
Read moreNew You at Shanley on Music
The members of the Oakland, CA quartet Arts & Sciences all spent time in a conservatory or two. In addition to learning their instruments on campus, nearly all having logged time in the odd pop band tUnE-yArDs. They also all have an affinity for prog-flavord free improv and composition. In particular, they seem to have…
Read moreNew You at JazzWrap
The American west coast continues to bubble with urgency, at least on the improvised front, so we turn to Oakland, CA and the dynamic talents of a new quartet, Arts & Sciences. On their second release, New You, released on Aram Shelton’s Singlespeed Music (he also plays on one track), this quartet show that they…
Read moreIncline at Gapplegate
Nordeson Shelton is Aram Shelton on alto sax and Kjell Nordeson on drums. Incline (Singlespeed Music 009) is a set of freely improvised pieces by the duo. They found themselves working together in the San Francisco Bay area around 2005, first in a quartet on the Clean Feed album Cylinder, thereafter as the duo Nordeson…
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