| Compass Confusion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | Oct 30, 2020 | |||
| Genre | Electronic jazz | |||
| Label | Pyroclastic Records PR 12 | |||
| Producer | Craig Taborn | |||
| Craig Taborn chronology | ||||
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Compass Confusion is an album by the band Junk Magic, led by keyboardist Craig Taborn, and featuring saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed, violist Mat Maneri, electric bassist Erik Fratzke, and drummer David King. It was issued by Pyroclastic Records in 2020, 16 years after the group's initial release. [1] [2] [3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| All About Jazz |    [4] |
| All About Jazz | [5] |
| AllMusic | [1] |
| DownBeat | [6] |
| Financial Times | [7] |
| Jazz Journal | [8] |
| Jazzwise | [9] |
| PopMatters |   [10] |
In a review for DownBeat , John Murph wrote: "Forgoing orthodox concepts about jazz and EDM is crucial to one's enjoyment of Compass Confusion... the combo engages in spontaneous sound sculpting that places premiums on textual ingenuity, spatial awareness and vigorous interactive dialogue." [6]
John Sharpe of All About Jazz stated: "Taborn brings a raft of influences, from minimalism to musique concrète, ambient, hip hop, krautrock, fusion and improv to bear... What's striking is how the improvising sensibility at work in other areas of Taborn's oeuvre manifests here, as he keeps piling new layers of sound one atop the other." [4] AAJ's Mike Jurkovic noted that the album "pulls you along with a lush velvet hook in your mouth," while "reeling it in is a struggle but a blessing." [5]
Writing for PopMatters , Will Layman commented: "There is a refinement to Craig Taborn's vision for this band. Compass Confusion is almost conservative in its focus and discipline. After all these years, that has become clear." [10]
Jazz Journal's Andy Hamilton remarked: "The tracks are a mix of driving polyrhythm and ambient soundscape... A very thoughtful, rewarding synthesis of jazz and contemporary popular genres." [8]
Thom Jurek's review for AllMusic states: "The music... is dark and moody, but far from depressing. If anything, there is mischievous delight as Taborn and company discover one another over and again in refracted sound design, murky abstraction, and head-nodding beats. Challenging and inquisitive, Compass Confusion is, like its 2004 predecessor, the sound of 'next.'" [1]
Mike Hobart of the Financial Times wrote: "This long-delayed follow-up release finds Taborn in familiar company, blurring the boundaries between live performance and studio techniques with a confidence and depth of feeling that newcomers in the field rarely match... the band's quality of sound fully matches Taborn's clarity of vision." [7]
In an article for Jazzwise , Thomas Rees called the album "remarkable," and commented: "Each of the tracks... is as beautiful, strange and surprising as the last... You could listen to this a hundred times and still find something interesting and new." [9]
JazzWord's Ken Waxman described the album as "a varied program which pinpoints Taborn's skills as an orchestrator and sensitive composer... an enjoyable, unforced group work." [11]
A reviewer for Monarch Magazine remarked: "Taborn's textured, probing compositions, inventive use of ambient techniques and artful sound design reveal a true musical visionary at work. The album's sonic meanderings often possess a narrative quality, inviting listeners to follow pathways of diverse sound, jagged grooves and angular melody which alternately murmur and swell in satisfying arcs and swirls, making Compass Confusion one of the most imaginative, rewarding records of the year." [12]
Chris Robinson of Point of Departure stated that, in comparison with the group's first album, "Compass Confusion is more fluid, dynamic, and, despite the heavy use of electronics, more organic. The interface between the compositions, improvisations, sound design, and production is seamless, and the electronic elements sound richer and more nuanced. As a whole, the new album is highly cohesive and plot-driven, suggesting that the band's vision has become fully realized." [13]
Mat Maneri is an American composer, violin, and viola player. He is the son of the saxophonist Joe Maneri and Sonja Maneri.
AUM Fidelity is an independent record label in New York City primarily devoted to avant-garde jazz artists such as William Parker, Matthew Shipp, and David S. Ware. It has also released recordings by improvisational rock band Shrimp Boat and exclusively distributes the CaseQuarter and Riti labels. It was founded in 1997 by former Homestead Records label manager Steven Joerg.
David King is an American drummer from Minneapolis. He is known for being a founding member of the jazz groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple. King is also active in many other projects including free jazz collective Buffalo Collision with NYC "downtown" musicians Tim Berne and Hank Roberts and the electronic art/pop group Halloween, Alaska. He is also a member of the noise/prog band The Gang Font with former Hüsker Dü bassist Greg Norton. He also has a jazz quintet called Dave King Trucking Company.
Chris Speed is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.
Tony Malaby is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
Craig Marvin Taborn is an American pianist, organist, keyboardist and composer. He works solo and in bands, mostly playing various forms of jazz. He started playing piano and Moog synthesizer as an adolescent and was influenced at an early stage by a wide range of music, including by the freedom expressed in recordings of free jazz and contemporary classical music.
Gerald Cleaver is a jazz drummer from Detroit, Michigan.
Chris Lightcap is an American double bassist, bass guitarist and composer born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
Eivind Opsvik is a Norwegian jazz musician and composer, the son of the Norwegian interior and furniture designer Peter Opsvik.
Craig Taborn is a pianist, keyboard and electronics player, chiefly in jazz. By the end of 2020, he had appeared on 14 albums as a leader or co-leader and more than 100 as a sideman.
Triptych is the debut album by a free improvisation trio consisting of Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker and two American musicians: pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver. The trio had its inception in 2003, when a European tour came up and Marilyn Crispell, Anker and Cleaver's regular partner, was unable to participate. The album was released on the English Leo label.
Live at the Loft is the second album by Danish jazz saxophonist Lotte Anker with her trio with pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver, which was recorded in 2005 at the Loft in Cologne and released on the Danish ILK label.
Prism is a studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland. The record was released via the Dare2 label on September 2, 2013. This album is a milestone of Dave Holland's career as a leader—the forty year anniversary of his debut, free jazz album Conference of the Birds released in 1973. Prism contains nine original compositions written by bandmembers.
Junk Magic is an album by Craig Taborn, with Aaron Stewart, Mat Maneri (viola), and Dave King (drums). It was released in 2004 by Thirsty Ear Recordings.
Daylight Ghosts is an album by Craig Taborn, with Chris Speed, Chris Lightcap, and Dave King. It was released by ECM Records in 2017.
Uncharted Territories is a two-disc studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland together with saxophonist Evan Parker, percussionist Ches Smith, and pianist Craig Taborn. The album was released on May 11, 2018 via Holland's own Dare2 Records label.
Octopus is a live album by jazz pianists Kris Davis and Craig Taborn. The album was recorded in 2016 and released on 26 January 2018 by Pyroclastic Records.
The Transitory Poems is a live album by pianists Vijay Iyer and Craig Taborn recorded at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest on March 12, 2018 and released on ECM a year later.
Without Deception is a studio album by English jazz bassist Dave Holland, drummer Johnathan Blake, and pianist Kenny Barron. The album was released on 6 March 2020 by Dare2, Holland's own label. The album was recorded in Mount Vernon, New York, and consists of 10 compositions, including the Thelonious Monk's rarity "Worry Later".
Shadow Plays is a live solo piano album by Craig Taborn recorded at the Konzerthaus, Vienna, on March 2, 2020, and released on ECM in October the following year.