In the new Philadelphia Weekly:
Michael Formanek Quartet
Thu., Oct. 28, 8pm. $12. Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th St. 215.545.4302 www.arsnovaworkshop.org
Bassist Michael Formanek, a prof at Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory, got his start with the likes of Art Pepper and Chet Baker and has since played plenty of head-spinning music as a member of Tim Berne’s quartet Bloodcount. With The Rub and Spare Change Formanek puts Berne in the sideman role, adding two more must-hear improvisers of the day: pianist Craig Taborn and drummer Gerald Cleaver. It’s Formanek’s first outing since 1998, and also his first for the prestigious ECM label (he appeared with Berne and Taborn on David Torn’s 2007 ECM disc Presenz). The six Formanek originals are full of complexity and risk but also an unabashed elegance you don’t get so much from Berne. There’s every reason to expect a killing live show. — David R. Adler
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