Gerald Cleaver

Steph Richards: Power Vibe

by Mike Jurkovic
May 1, 2024

Fire music. Free jazz. Third stream. Fourth stream. Avant improv, noise chamber blues, and whatever the meta and hashtags say it is, this sextet of loose cannons knows better and holds all the cards. Imagine for a moment what the reaction might be if your facial muscles suddenly, involuntarily, started to freeze, leaving you without expression and, without your art. Trumpeter Steph Richards, a halcyon force on the expanding concepts of free music, responded by making Power Vibe ...

East Axis: No Subject

by Karl Ackermann
June 22, 2023

Pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray, and drummer Gerald Cleaver return for No Subject, the sophomore release from the quartet East Axis. One point on the axis has changed with the journeyman, multi-reedist Scott Robinson replacing saxophonist Allen Lowe. Robinson is a veteran of many prestigious and diverse groups including the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, Maria Schneider's orchestra, Ron Carter's Great Big Band, and the Joe Lovano Nonet. While not an obvious choice in the company of top-tier avant-gardists, Robinson ...

Samuel Blaser: As the Sea

by John Kelman
May 27, 2023

Plenty has been written about musical camaraderie--the building of long-term musical relationships and their unmistakable impact on the evolution of a group. Few, however, discuss the inevitable impact of personal relationships behind the music. Times have changed, and few jazz groups tour for more than a couple of consecutive weeks; still, hitting the road for even two weeks is sure to mean plenty of “up close and personal" time amongst band members. Samuel Blaser's Boundless (hatOLOGY, 2011) was recorded during ...

Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra: Lightning Dreamers

by Mark Corroto
March 4, 2023

The similarities between Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra and Sun Ra's Arkestra are numerous. Both leaders travel the spaceways via the technologies available in their time, applied through dynamic rhythm and pulse. For Ra, his sound began when he was an apprentice in Fletcher Henderson's band in the 1940s, and Mazurek's 1990s work revolved around Isotope 217 and the various Chicago Underground (and later São Paulo Underground) ensembles. Both bandleaders were composers of their time, nonetheless they always create music ...

East Axis: No Subject

by Mike Jurkovic
February 28, 2023

As multi-reedist Scott Robinson, (Maria Schneider, Roscoe Mitchell) takes the horn chair from Allen Lowe, all is delivered and then some on No Subject, the second, reason-defying release from chameleonic improvisers pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Turning to shorter forms and themes than the three lengthy group-thinks which determined 2021's restless narrative Cool With That (ESP), each member of East Axis integrally steers the protean charge to creation via his own curious instinct and will. ...

Jeong Lim Yang: Zodiac Suite: Reassured

by Dan McClenaghan
December 14, 2022

This is bold music. It bursts with freewheeling, chip-on-the-shoulder modernism. It is Korean-born bassist Jeong Lim Yang's take on pianist-composer Mary Lou Williams' Zodiac Suite (Asch Records, 1945). Yang tags her revisitation of the classic piece Zodiac Suite: Reassured. But a revisitation of Williams' original trio rendition—to prime the ears for the experience of hearing this new version—says there was an awful lot of boldness and a big modern lean going on back in the mid-twentieth century. Williams ...

Fred Moten, Brandon López, Gerald Cleaver: Moten/López/Cleaver

by Mark Corroto
November 28, 2022

Chuck D of Public Enemy fame once said, “rap music is the CNN of the ghetto." His words, coupled with samples and the scratching of turntables, were revelatory in their day, very much like a five-minute news update. Poet and cultural critic Fred Moten's words are more like a deep dive graduate colloquy. He presents his poetry together with the accomplished improvising musicians, bassist Brandon López and drummer Gerald Cleaver. At a first pass, listeners will certainly be ...

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Gerald Cleaver & Black Host

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
April 18, 2015

Today, let's have a look at some videos featuring drummer, composer and bandleader Gerald Cleaver, whose group Black Host will be in St. Louis next Saturday, April 25 for a New Music Circle concert at The Stage at KDHX. Cleaver is a Detroit native known for his work with a wide range of artists in jazz and improvised music, including Joe Morris, Roscoe Mitchell, Miroslav Vitous, Michael Formanek, Tomasz Stanko, Lotte Anker, Craig Taborn, and many more. Black Host, just ...
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Gerald Cleaver: Drummer by Nature

Source: Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
June 22, 2011

Great drummers tell stories: they are not only the time-keepers or the rhythmic base of the band. Great drummers make the music. Jack DeJohnette is in that category. So is Hamid Drake, so is Eddie Prévost, so is Tom Rainey. And so is Gerald Cleaver. It is extremely difficult to describe music, so I will refrain from describing why Cleaver's quality is exceptional. I can only invite you to listen. Just look at this quick overview of the past few ...
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Gerald Cleaver - Be It as I See It (2011)

Source: Something Else!
January 24, 2011

By S. Victor Aaron Gerald Cleaver, along with Nasheet Waits, seems to always be the drummer on some really outstanding jazz records of late. Michael Formanek's The Rub And Spare Change required virtuosic musicians playing at peak level to make it work, and Cleaver did his part and then some, helping to compel me to make this my Mainstream and Modern Jazz Album of 2010. You can add to that his work with other major artists like Roscoe Mitchell, David ...
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The Jazz Session #232: Gerald Cleaver

Source: AAJ Staff
January 18, 2011

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Songs Set in a Bed of Improvisation

Source: Ars Nova Workshop
November 22, 2010

Drummer Gerald Cleaver was last in Philadelphia when Ars Nova Workshop hosted the Michael Formanek Quartet in October, and he’ll be returning two more times before the New Year: on December 2 with the Gerald Cleaver Group and on December 12 with Mario Pavone’s Orange Double Tenor. Cleaver began playing drums, trumpet, and violin at an early age, and after earning a BA in music education from University of Michigan he taught in the music department at both his alma ...
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Devin Gray + Gerald Cleaver Duet at KORZO (Brooklyn) on April 13th

Source: Michael Ricci
March 21, 2010

Tuesday April 13th, 11PM Devin Gray + Gerald Cleaver DUET Two Drums + Improvised music Konceptions @ KORZO 667 5th Avenue [bet. 19th + 20th streets] Brooklyn, NYC 11215 718.285.9425 korzorestaurant.com Subway: R or M train to Prospect Avenue There is a $7 cover charge per set. Korzo features amazing Eastern European cuisine and an impressive array of wine, bourbon, scotch and beers on tap. “The long-running progressive-jazz series Konceptions ...
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Gerald Cleaver's Violet Hour (Fri-Sat) Nathan Eklund Group (Sun) & More This Weekend at Cornelia Street Cafe

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
January 25, 2008

CORNELIA STREET CAFE 29 Cornelia Street, NYC, New York 212-989-9319 between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, V, F to West 4th St.

This Weekend At Cornelia Street Cafe

Fri Jan 25, 9:00PM & 10:30PM GERALD CLEAVER'S VIOLET HOUR Duane Eubanks, trumpet & cornet; J.D. Allen, tenor saxophone; David Binney, alto saxophone; Ben Waltzer, piano; Chris Lightcap, ...
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Michael Lydon (Tue) Soul of the Blues (Wed) Gnu Vox: Maria Neckam & Sunny Kim (Thu) Gerald Cleaver's Violet Hour (Fri-Sat) This Week at Cornelia Street Cafe

Source: Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
January 21, 2008

CORNELIA STREET CAFE 29 Cornelia Street New York, NY 212-989-9319 between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, V, F to West 4th St. This Week At Cornelia Street Cafe Tue Jan 22, 8:30PM JAZZ AND LOVE SONGS - MICHAEL LYDON AND FRIENDS Michael Lydon, guitar, vocals; Claire Daly, baritone saxophone; Ellen Mandel, piano; Dave Hofstra, bass; Rudy ...
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Firehouse 12 To Present Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour December 15th

Source: Improvised Communications
November 8, 2006

Friday, December 15th at 8:30 and 10:00 p.m. Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour Firehouse 12 45 Crown Street in New Haven, CT Details available here

On Tuesday, December 15th, New Haven's Firehouse 12 will close its 2006 Fall Jazz Series with a two-set performance by Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour. Led by in-demand New York-based drummer/composer Gerald Cleaver, this acoustic sextet features trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonists Andrew Bishop and JD Allen, pianist ...
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Gerald Cleaver & Violet Hour + Brazilian Fest This Weekend at Cornelia St. Cafe

Source: All About Jazz
August 12, 2005

August 12, 2005 To: Listings/Critics/Features From: JAZZ PROMO SERVICES Press Contact: JIM EIGO, [email protected] Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street Greenwich Village, NY 10014 Tel: 212-989-9319 Fax: 212-243-4207 Web: corneliastreetcafe.com between West 4th and Bleecker Sts, Greenwich Village 1,9 Subway to Sheridan Square; A, C, E, B, D, F to West 4th St. “a culinary as well as a cultural landmark" Mayoral Proclamation, City of New York 1987 Fri Aug 12 GERALD CLEAVER: VIOLET HOUR (Jeremy Pelt, trumpet & cornet; ...
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