As mass media continues to promote music as another instantly consumed product, the likelihood of new sounds — or even older ones — being ignored because they don’t fit the style of the moment intensifies. This is especially true when it comes to improvised music. But with the holiday season looming, more committed listeners may be seeking gifts for those who appreciate challenge rather than comfort in their music. Here are some CDs from 2013 that fit the bill. They include ones by established players, younger stylists plus important reissues. […]

Another reed experimenter is Montreal-based clarinetist Lori Freedman, whose seven improvisations on On No On are with percussionist John Heward. Related to the cerebral texture and timbre experiments of Butcher/Buck or Parker/Lytton, there’s no chordal instrument present to smooth the interface. The chief pleasure of these tracks is noting the substance of Freedman’s reed flurries and the strategies Heward pulls from his kit to parry her thrusts. Using his palms as often as sticks, Heward’s whacks or rolls are singular replies to the reed solos which frequently extend like run-on sentences, adding violent or narrowed projections to make a point. Marimba-like reverberations are called into play on those rare occasions when Freedman’s output turns legato. Overall while technical prowess is the point, by the final Improvisation 7, the narrative turns from squeaks and shudders to an almost jaunty melodiousness. […]

Lori Freedman s’envolera pour l’Europe à la fin du mois pour présenter une série de concerts avec Nexus, Trio Law et en solo. Elle sera de passage à Amsterdam, à La Haye (Pays-Bas), à Cologne (Allemagne) et à Paris (France). Pour tous les détails consulter son site!

Profitez des «étiquettes rouges» et obtenez 25% d’escompte sur les albums sélectionnés jusqu’au 20 juin 2010! Des albums des musiciens de DAME présents au FIMAV et FMC ainsi que des titres des nouvelles étiquettes offertes.

• Consulter la liste des «étiquettes rouges»

Parmi les nombreux invités du prochain Festival international de musique actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV), notons la présence de Érick d’Orion et de Les Filles électriques le 21 mai 2010, de Jim Denley, Philippe Lauzier Pierre-Yves Martel, Éric Normand, Kim Myhr et Malcolm Goldstein le 22 mai 2010, ainsi que René Lussier, Lori Freedman, Martin Tétreault et Nancy Tobin le 23 mai 2010.

Le 5 mai 2010, Mercredimusics mettront en vedette Lori Freedman, Pierre Labbé, Nancy Tobin, Danielle Palardy Roger et Émilie Girard-Charest à la Casa Obscura, à Montréal.