by Chris Baber, Jazz Views On listing the instruments that Newsome plays, I’m not following the liner notes or press release – but just stating where this master of the avant-garde exploration of the saxophone is currently at. While he is adept at multiphonics and layering of sounds, or tapping and clicking the keys, or … Read More
By: D. Oscar Groomes, O’s Place Sam Newsome is a world-class jazz saxophonist, educator, composer and experimentalist. Chaos Theory is his latest endeavor, a solo effort that includes a variation of his soprano sax, inserting a rubber tube between the horn and mouthpiece extending the range and character of the horn. Newsome’s take on free … Read More
by Raul da Gama, Jazz da Gama The nod to John Cage – intentional or unintentional – is in the title of this disc by Sam Newsome. Chaos Theory is Mr Newsome’s challenge to the very idea of music, using randomness as a basis for composition, doctoring his instrument to produce new and yet pure … Read More
by Phil Freeman, The Wire
A Noise From The Deep, Greenleaf Music with Dave Douglas Dave talks to Sam Newsome about being a solo soprano saxophonist, how he creates his recordings, and the basic underlying decisions that guide his work. Sam also talks about smooth jazz, as well as about his more recent interest in balloon sculpting and the new areas … Read More
Brandee Younger Soul Awakening, Reviewed by Chloe McCormick, Black Grooves Jazz harpist Brandee Younger’s latest album, Soul Awakening, has finally been released nearly seven years after its inception. The album’s eight tracks were recorded in 2012 by the Brandee Younger Quartet under the direction of bassist Dezron Douglas. Showcasing the ensemble’s aptitude for improvisation, spiritual jazz, … Read More
J.D. Considine, Downbeat In the seven decades since John Cage’s “Sonatas And Interludes” instructed pianists to “prepare” their instrument by placing screws, coins, pencils and other objects on the instrumnent’s strings, prepared piano has become a common enough concept that it even has leaked into the realm of rock music. By contrast, Sam Newsome’s prepared … Read More
Nate Chinen, WBGO Listen to “Urban Location” here. The soprano saxophone is more than a primary instrument for Sam Newsome. It also suggests a pathway and a destination, a vehicle and a voice. If you’ve been following Newsome’s work, you should be aware of his extensive forays into solo soprano saxophone performance, memorably documented on … Read More
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