| Tenor saxophonist and clarinetist Matt Bauder represents brilliantly the new type of musician existing in this
beginning of the 21st century, one that is aware of the most distinctive musical idioms, in some way synthesizing
those genres in a personal approach. Bauder is a punk rock and soul fan, an unusual combination in itself, and he
studied with three great figures of the creative music of today, one active in the domains of jazz, two in the new
music scene, respectively Anthony Braxton, Ron Kuivila and Alvin Lucier. His eclecticism explains why his activity
transcended the conventional labels, for instance playing jazz with Taylor Ho Bynum, Rob Mazurek and Harris
Eisenstadt, and rock with the bands Howling Hex and His Name is Alive. Once again, "Day in Pictures" shows
Bauder's "keen ear for timbre" and "will to abstraction", to quote the specialized press, but inside the parameters
described by Matt Bauder himself as "modern jazz". The terminology can mean anything, but when you know that
trumpeter Nate Wooley, pianist Angelica Sanchez, contrabassist Jason Ajemian and drummer Tomas Fujiwara are
involved, you can have one good idea of what this record is all about: great music, no less. |