abzu recordings

nanibgal@netscape.net

Available at:
CDBaby  (with sound clips) (shopping cart at end of this page)
North Country Distribution
Verge (Canada)
Improjazz (France)
Entropy Stereo

In Ann Arbor, MI at Schoolkids (State St.) and Encore (Liberty St.)
Abzu 1, 2, and 3 are also available for download on iTunes, Emusic, Rhapsody and other music sites..
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NEWS
NEW RELEASES!

Shards
Sixteen duets for violin and soprano saxophone
Mike Khoury (v) & Piotr Michalowski (ss)
Friends and Relatives Records
2006
available from Valiant Death

Shards

For Charlotte Moorman
Mike Khoury (vio) & Piotr Michalowski (ss)
Released (May 2006) as
Atlatl 4.  Available free for download on line or limited edition floppy disc

atatl4


Three PM duets (w. Mike Khoury (v), Joe Giardullo (ss), and Hans Buetow (bass) can now be heard at:
http://myspace.com/sopranino1

The 2005 Edgefest performance by the Sublingual ensemble is now available on line at:
http://myspace.com/sublingualensemble

Piotr Michalowski (sopranino sax) with defenestra can be heard on line at:
http://myspace.com/defenestra


    

*MU7 from abzu 1 has been included in an anthology, "The Best of Polish Jazz 2005,"  put out by the Polish Jazz Network for the IAJE conference!
 

UPCOMING & RECENT PERFORMNCES:

May 8—Piotr Michalowski (soprano sax, alto clarinet)--Aurora Club, ul. Dobra 33/35, Warsaw, Poland, (22) 498 45 65, 8:00 pm.

June 2—Mike Khoury (vio)/ Hans Buetow (cello) Duet at the Bohemian National Home,  3009 Tillman St.,  Detroit, opening for Jessica Pavone/Mary Halvorson/Robert Lee, 9:00 pm.

June 6—The Sublingual Ensemble, The Ark, 316  S. Main St., Ann Arbor (opening for The Global Jazz Trio), 8:00 pm.

June 18—Piotr Michalowski (reeds) with Mike Hansen and Soressa Gardner (turntables, electronics, voice)--Sunday, June 18, Now Lounge, 189 Church St., Toronto, ON. 5:00 pm.



ABZU  RELEASES

abzu 001

close embrace of the earth
                                                                                                                    cdcover                     

Lenni Bukowski--contra-bass, contra-alto, alto & bass clarinets, alto & baritone saxophones, little instruments
,
Mike Khoury--violin, little instruments 
Piotr Michalowski--alto & bass clarinets, baritone, tenor, soprano & sopranino saxophones, little instruments


"
An extremely thoughtful, focused and well matched trio who often remind me of Braxton/AACM style of cautious, spacious improv spirits.  Except for Anthony Braxton and his collaborators, we rarely get to hear any contrabass, contra-alto or alto clarinets at length, so this is indeed a treat.  Those dry wooden tones and quiet violin abstractions sound great to me.  You can tell that these cats have been at it for a while as there is a carefully crafted thread that runs through it all and it sounds as if this is partially charted material.  Well thought out, nice use of space and no screaming."   Downtown Music Gallery newsletter January 30, 2004 (NY).

Reviews:
Improjazz n° 106, June 2004

Review in JazzReview.com (January 2004)
JazzReview.com (list of top jazz cd's of 2003)
Cadence Magazine, January 2004
SEMJA, November 2003
Paris Transatlantic, December 2003

Mike Khoury has appeared a number of cd's and runs the Entropy Stereo label.
Lenni Bukowski appears together with the Faruq Z. Bey and the  Northwoods Improvisers on
Ashirai Pattern (Entropy).
Piotr Michalowski & Lenni Bukowski also play as a duo on a limited edition duo cd SKI (Detroit Improvisation 4), which will be available in September.

abzu 002
Babardah

                                                                                                                       babardah

James Ilgenfritz--bass
Mike Khoury--violin
Piotr Michalowski-sopranino, soprano, and baritone saxophones, bass clarinet
Sarah Weaver--trombone

                                                                                                      "a desert island disk!" (Improjazz, in press)
"These four musicians have garnered the seeds of creativity from multiple cultural sources, but their amassed product celebrates all that is beautiful in the respective origins"(Cadence, March 2005)
Reviews:
Cadence, March 2005
Paris Transatlantic, December 2004
Improvijazzation Nation, 67

Touching Extremes
Foxy Digitalis
Jazz Weekly

Piotr Michalowski and James Ilgenfritz also appear on Sarah Weaver's Weave: Result One


just out
:
abzu  003
As the Cicada Breathes
   
                                                                               

The Sublingual Ensemble

James Cornish-cornet, flute, violin, percussion
Rob Crozier--acoustic bass, chromatic harmonica, steel drum, percussion

Elijah Church--ba-hu, recorder, whistles

Piotr Michalowski--soprano & sopranino saxophones, bass clarinet

Michael G. Nastos--drums & cymbals, hubkaphone, bells, wood whistles, Tiger squeak toy, voice, shakers, percussion


Review:
The Sublingual Ensemble - AS THE CICADA BREATHES:   This CD features some very interesting improvised works by a 5-piece you won't soon forget.  James Cornish on cornet, flute, violin & percussion; Rob Crozier with bass (acoustic), chromatic harmonica, steel drum & percussion; Elijah Church doing ba-hu, recorder & whistles; Piotr Michalowski playing soprano & sopranino sax & bass clarinet; & Michael G. Nastos on drums/cymbals, hubkaphone, bells, wood whistles, Tiger squeak toy, voice, shakers & percussion.  I don't usually list all the instruments out, but in this case, you need to realize the breadth & depth these guys cover with their music.  We've heard Piotr before (issue # 67), but not in this context.  The music will hold the listener intrigued from the opening bar.  & that's "saying something" for music that's as heavily improvised as this is... there's a sense of "body" on the compositions that doesn't always come through on this kind of music... that was especially true on the opener (a nearly 16 minute epic), "Bone People", my favorite piece on the CD, but (believe it or not), it also holds true for "Sparse Glide Across A Fresh Field"... obviously, with a title like that, you will anticipate the minimalist nature of it - but it still has a "fullness" that's very attractive to the ear.  This is one of the most interesting listens I've had this year, & gets a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED from our ears. 
 Rotcod Zzaj
(Improvijazzation Nation 71, in press)


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ORDER FROM CDBABY (ships internationally):

album price #
SUBLINGUAL ENSEMBLE: As the Cicada Breathes $12.97
PIOTR MICHALOWSKI, JAMES ILGENFRITZ, MIKE KHOURY, SARAH WEAVER: Babardah $12.97
PIOTR MICHALOWSKI, LENNI BUKOWSKI, MIKE KHOURY: Close Embrace Of The Earth $13.00
Choose how many, and click
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