upcoming 2010 |
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| All Shows are in Chicago unless notated | ||
| July 5 | The Skylark | Jason Roebke Combination |with Jason Stein, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| July 21 | The Hideout | Darren Johnston Group |with Jeb Bishop, Nate McBride, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| July 25 | Sugar Maple-Milwaukee, WI | OkkaFest II Ken Vandermark's Topology featuring Joe McPhee |with Dave Rempis, Josh Berman, Jeb Bishop, Fred Lonberg-Holn, Tim Daisy, Kent Kessler, Adasiewicz| |
| August 4 | The Hideout | ROLLDOWN!! |Adasiewicz, Josh Berman, Aram Shelton, Jason Roebke, Frank Rosaly| |
| August 5 | Sugar Maple-Milwaukee, WI | ROLLDOWN!! |
| August 8 | Hungry Brain | ROLLDOWN!! |
| August 12 @6:30 | Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion | Toumani Diabate and the Chicago Transilience Ensemble |
| August 17 @5:30 | MCA | Trio |Adasiewicz, Mike Reed, Nate McBride| |
| August 22 @4pm | Lakeside, MI | Portoluz presents Nicole Mitchell's Ice Crystal Quartet AND Josh Abrams Quartet |
| August 28 | Saalfelden, Austria | Exploding Star Orchestra |
| Sept 1 | The Whistler | The Hats |Dave McDonnell, Josh Berman, Anton Hatwich, Dylan Ryan, Adasiewicz| |
| Sept 5 @1:10 | Chicago Jazz Festival | Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble |
| Sept 24 | Boerenbond |Eric Boeren, Tobias Delius, Peter Evans, Adasiewicz| | |
| Sept 25 | Rijkevorsel, Belgian | Boerenbond |Eric Boeren, Tobias Delius, Peter Evans, Adasiewicz| |
| Oct 3 | Simon's Tavern | Steve Dawson |with Diane Christiansen, Jason Roebke, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| Nov 5 | Tenerife, Spain | Rob Mazurek, John Herndon, Adasiewicz | past 2010 |
| May 31 | The Skylark | Steve Dawson |with Diane Christiansen, Jason Roebke, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| May 20 | Elastic | Trio |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| May 16 | Old Town School of Folk Music | Steve Dawson Record Release for I Will Miss The Trumpets and Drums |
| May 12 | The Hideout | Wheelhouse |Nate McBride, Dave Rempis, Adasiewicz| |
| May 2 | Elastic | Assex |Adrienne Pierluissi, Nate McBride, Dave Rempis, Adasiewicz| |
| April 25 | Hungry Brain | Rob Mazurek's Sound Is |Mazurek, Matt Lux, Josh Abrams, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| April 24 | The Hideout | Josh Berman and His Gang |Berman, Guillermo Gregorio, Jason Stein, Keefe Jackson, Jeb Bishop, Josh Abrams, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| April 23 | Whitney Muesuem, NYC | Black Monks of Mississippi |Theaster Gates, LeRoy Bach, Josh Abrams, Matt Lux, Adasiewicz| |
| April 22 | Elastic | Klang |James Falzone, Jason Roebke, Tim Daisy, Adasiewicz| |
| April 21 | The Hideout | Frank Rosaly's Cicada Music |Rosaly, Jason Stein, James Falzone, Keefe Jackson, Jason Roebke, Adasiewicz| |
| March 7 | Warsaw, Poland | Sound Is |
| march 6 | Poznan, Poland | Sound Is |
| March 5 | Wroclaw, Poland | Sound Is |
| March 4 | Zurich, Switzerland | Sound Is |
| March 3 | Lugano, Switzerland | Sound Is |
| Feb 28 | Rome, Italy | Sound Is |
| Feb 27 | Forli, Italy | Sound Is |
| Feb 26 | Padova, Italy | Sound Is |Rob Mazurek, Matt Lux, Josh Abrams, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 21 | Hungry Brain | Set 1:Josh Abrams Group |Abrams, David Boykin, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| Set 2:Wheelhouse |Dave Rempis, Nate Mcbride, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 20 | The Velvet Lounge | Josh Abrams Group |Abrams, David Boykin, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 17 | The Hideout | OverOva |Jason Roebke, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 11 @6:30 | Chicago Cultral Center | Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble with Edmar Castaneda |Mitchell, Castaneda, David Boykin, David Young, Marcus Evans, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 5 | The Velvet Lounge | Nicole Mitchell Ice Crystal Quartet |Mitchell, Marcus Evans, Darius Savage, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 22 | International House Philadelphia, PA | Ken Vandermark's Don Cherry Project |with Dave Rempis, Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Nate Mcbride, Chad Taylor, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 21 | Elastic | Ken Vandermark's Don Cherry Project |with Dave Rempis, Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Nate Mcbride, Chad Taylor, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 20 | The Hideout | Ken Vandermark's Don Cherry Project |with Dave Rempis, Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Nate Mcbride, Chad Taylor, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 16 | The Sugar Maple Milwaukee, WI | Assex |Adrienne Pierluissi, Nate McBride, Dave Rempis, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 14 | Elastic | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| Jan 13 | The Hideout | Sound Is |Rob Mazurek, Matt Lux, Josh Abrams, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 12 | Rodan | Sound Is |Rob Mazurek, Matt Lux, Josh Abrams, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| Jan 8 &9 | The Green Mill | Exploding Star Orchestra |Rob Mazurek, Nicole Mitchell, Jeb Bishop, Matt Bauder, Matt Lux, John Herndon, Damon Locks, Adasiewicz| | past 2009 |
| Dec 18 &19 | Amsterdam, Holland | Doek Festival with Eric Boeren, Toby Delius, Peter Evans, Adasiewicz |
| Dec 13 | Hungry Brain | ROLLDOWN! RECORD! RELEASE!! |Adasiewicz, Josh Berman, Aram Shelton, Jason Roebke, Frank Rosaly| |
| Dec 5 | Philadelphia, PA | Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra featuring Bill Dixon |
| Nov 16-22 | US Eastern Tour | Klang |James Falzone, Jason Roebke, Tim Daisy, Me| |
| Nov 11 | The Hideout | Josh Abrams Group |Abrams, David Boykin, Frank Rosaly, Adasiewicz| |
| Nov 8 | The Hungry Brain | Umbrella Music Festival with Ken Vandermark Topology playing the compositions of Joe McPhee |
| Oct 29 | The Velvet Lounge | A Fox Can Be Hungry |Matt Schneider, Anton Hatwich, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| Oct 25 @2pm | The Green Mill | New Music at the Green Mill curated by Jeff Kowalkowski |
| Oct 18 @2pm | ESS | Adasiewicz Solo Set Ideas |
| Oct 16 @6:30 | DOVA Temporary 5228 S. Harper Ave | Loose Assembly |Mike Reed, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Josh Abrams, JA| |
| Oct 15 | Elastic | Wheelhouse |Dave Rempis, Nate McBride, Adasiewicz| |
| Oct 9 @6:30 | DOVA Temporary 5228 S. Harper Ave | Loose Assembly |Mike Reed, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Josh Abrams, JA| |
| Sept 30 | The Hideout | Frank Rosaly's Oxbow |Rosaly, Keefe Jackson, Jason Stein, James Falzone, Jason Roebke, Adasiewicz| |
| Sept 29 | Rodan | |Josh Abrams, Assif Tsahar, Chad Taylor, Adasiewicz| |
| Sept 25 | The Charleston | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| Sept 23 | The Hideout | Klang RECORD RELEASE!! |James Falzone, Jason Roebke, Tim Daisy, Me| |
| Sept 22 | Rodan | |Josh Abrams, John Herndon, Artur Majewski, Adasiewicz| |
| Sept 22 @5:30pm | MCA | Mikrokolektyw (Micro Collective) |Artur Majewski, Wojciech Romanowski with Josh Abrams and Adasiewicz| |
| Sept 20 | Hungry Brain | Mikrokolektyw (Micro Collective) |Artur Majewski, Wojciech Romanowski with Josh Abrams and Adasiewicz| |
| Sept 14 | The Skylark | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| Sept 6 | Hungry Brain | Lucky 7s |Jeb Bishop, Jeff Albert, Josh Berman, Keefe Jackson, Matt Golombisky, Quin Kirchner, Me| |
| Sept 6 @2:20pm | Chicago Jazz Festival | James Falzone's Klang plays tribute to Benny Goodman |
| Sept 4 @2:20pm | Chicago Jazz Festival | Rolldown! |Adasiewicz, Josh Berman, Aram Shelton, Jason Roebke, Frank Rosaly| |
| August 31 @10pm | The Skylark | James Falzone's Klang plays tribute to Benny Goodman |
| August 31 @12pm | Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion | Rolldown Trio |Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke, Frank Rosaly| |
| August 30 | Hungry Brain | Jazz Fest Preview James Falzone's Klang plays tribute to Benny Goodman |
| August 18 @5:30pm | MCA | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| August 9 | Lisbon, Portugal | Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra featuring Bill Dixon @Jazz Em Agosto |
| August 5 | Lincoln Center, NYC | Amir ElSaffar's Two Rivers |
| August 2 | Simon's Tavern | Steve Dawson |with Jason Roebke and Me rocking the drums| |
| June 30 | Columbia, SC | Josh Berman's Old Idea @Columbia Museum of Art |
| June 28 | Asheville, NC | Josh Berman's Old Idea@BoBo Gallery |
| June 26 | FONT Festival, NYC | Josh Berman's Old Idea |
| June 24 | Columbus, OH | Josh Berman's Old Idea@Cafe Le Spritz |
| June 16 @5:30pm | MCA | Josh Berman's Old Idea|Berman, Keefe Jackson, Anton Hatwich, Marc Riordan, Me| |
| June 11 | Velvet Lounge | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| June 10 | The Hideout | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| June 7 | Hungry Brain | Josh Berman's Old Idea RECORD RELEASE!! |
| June 3 | The Hideout | Josh Berman's Old Idea RECORD RELEASE!! |Berman, Keefe Jackson, Anton Hatwich, Marc Riordan, Me| |
| May 31 | Hungry Brain | Spacer |Adasiewicz, Nate McBride, Mike Reed| |
| May 20 | The Hideout | Shevitz Solo |I uploaded the set to the myspace| |
| May 18 | Belgrade, Serbia | Loose Assembly |Mike Reed, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Josh Abrams, JA| @Ring Ring |
| May 16 | Cerkno, Slovenia | Loose Assembly |Mike Reed, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Josh Abrams, JA| @Jazz Cerkno |
| May 8,9 | Sao Paulo, Brazil | Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra featuring Roscoe Mitchell |
| April 26 | Hungry Brain | A Fox Can Be Hungry |Matt Schneider, Anton Hatwich, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| April 24 | The Viaduct | A Fox Can Be Hungry |Matt Schneider, Anton Hatwich, John Herndon, Adasiewicz| |
| April 23 | Elastic | Keefe Jackson's Project Project |
| April 21 | Empty Bottle | Overova |Fred Lonberg-Holm, Jason Roebke, Adasiewicz playing drums| |
| April 18 | Palatine, IL | Nicole Mitchell Quartet |Nicole Mitchell, Josh Abrams, Marcus Evans, Adasiewicz| |
| April 18 @11am | Jazz Record Mart | Rolldown plays during National Record Store Day at Jazz Record Mart |
| April 11 | The Charleston | |Nate McBride, Mike Reed, Adasiewicz| |
| April 9 | Elastic | Taylor Ho Bynum Big Band |with Josh Berman, Jaimie Branch, Jeb Bishop, Nick Broste, Nicole Mitchell, Caroline Davis, Keefe Jackson, Dave Rempis, Jeff Parker, Nate McBride, Tim Daisy, Tomas Fujiwara, Adasiewicz| |
| April 8 | The Hideout | |Taylor Ho Bynum, Tomeka Reid, Mike Reed, Adasiewicz| |
| March 18 | The Hideout | DJ'ing "Mallets A-Plenty" in between sets from Hamid Drake and Frank Gratkowski |
| March 14 | Heaven Gallery | |Matt Schneider, Jason Stein, Matt Lux, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 28 | Heaven Gallery | Male |
| Feb 25 | The Velvet Lounge | Nicole Mitchell Quartet |Nicole Mitchell, Josh Abrams, Marcus Evans, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 21 | The Velvet Lounge | Loose Assembly |Mike Reed, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Josh Abrams, JA| |
| Feb 9 | Old Town Ale House | |Jason Roebke, Jason Stein, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 7 | Freer and Sackler Galleries, Washington DC | Amir ElSaffar Two Rivers |ElSaffar, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Nasheet Waits, Carlo DeRosa, Zaafir Tawil, Adasiewicz| |
| Feb 1 | Hungry Brain | The Hats |Dave McDonnell, Josh Berman, Anton Hatwich, Dylan Ryan, JA| |
| Jan 28 | The Skylark | !ROLLDOWN! |JA, Josh Berman, Aram Shelton, Frank Rosaly, Jason Roebke| |
| Jan 22 | Strobe Studios | Klang |James Falzone, Tim Daisy, Jason Roebke, JA| Live Video Recording for Strobe Sessions Series |
| Jan 18 | Hungry Brain | Loose Assembly |Mike Reed, Greg Ward, Tomeka Reid, Josh Abrams, JA| |
| Jan 16 | The Abbey | Steve Dawson |with Diane Christiansen, Frank Rosaly, John Abbey, JA| |
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When Jason Adasiewicz formed the Rolldown back in early 2003 he thought of the quintet as a collective. "I think a lot of us saw our projects that way, but there was always one guy writing most of the material," he says. "We would always come up with a name for the band instead of putting our own names in front of it. Over the years it's become clear that the Rolldown is about me, and now I can accept that." Indeed, with Varmint, the stunning second album by Rolldown, there's no doubt that vibraphonist Adasiewicz is running the show despite the incredible support he gets from reedist Aram Shelton, cornetist Josh Berman, bassist Jason Roebke, and drummer Frank Rosaly.
In the time since the band started what's also become clear is that Adasiewicz is one of the most exciting vibraphonists working today. He's become a fixture in Chicago, making crucial contributions to a wide array of groups: Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra, Mike Reed's Loose Assembly, Berman's Old Idea, Shelton's Arrive and the Nicole Mitchell Quartet among others. "I've gotten to the point with the side work I've been doing that people are starting to recognize who I am," he admits. Now he wants people to hear his own music. He's come a long way since he first encountered a set of vibes while taking drum lessons in high school; he'd never knowingly listened to the instrument or knew any of its key practitioners.
The instrument beguiled the Crystal Lake, Illinois native (born on October 14, 1977) enough that he saved up enough money to buy a vibraphone back then, but through his years at DePaul University, his focus remained on jazz drumming. He spent three years at the school--where his classmates included trumpeter Amir ElSaffar and saxophonist Jon Irabagon--and when he dropped out he ended up playing in arty rock bands like Bablicon, Central Falls, Pinetop Seven, and Manishevitz more than jazz combos. "That was my outlet for touring," he recalls. "The only jazz group I had was Andiamo [a late 90s unit with Berman, reedist Jon Doyle, and bassist Joel Root]." This combo allowed Adasiewicz to begin writing tunes, but after Root left town the band dissolved. When his girlfriend Valerie Keller--who's now his wife--decided to move to Madison, Wisconsin for grad school, he followed her in the spring of 2002.
"
I was super in love with Val and the idea of living with her seemed pretty cool," he says. But was also keen on getting away from the scene in Chicago. "I was getting a little burned out with what was happening in the rock scene I was involved with at the time. I was really glad to escape it.} In Madison he landed a job at an organic farm--horticulture has remained one of his passions--but he also spent hours woodshedding alone with the vibes. "I freaked out for a long time on the Bach violin sonatas and partitas which fit perfectly on the vibraphone." He also began composing with abandon.
"
I had written all of these tunes but I didn't have an outlet to play with anybody," he says. Thus, Rolldown was born, three hours from where the rest of the group lived. Towards the end of his stay in Madison he was visiting Chicago once or twice a week, setting up gigs around town, getting his bearing with Rolldown, and joining other Chicago ensembles. When moved back toward the end of 2004 he had largely put away the drums in favor of the vibes, displaying a stunning growth on the instrument since leaving for Madison. I once saw a gig with Andiamo where Adasiewicz looked like he was trying to pound the vibraphone into the ground, but when he returned he'd cooled off, displaying a newfound melodic and harmonic maturity.
Rolldown's eponymous debut, cut in 2005 and released in 2008, was a killer that generated plenty of comparisons to Eric Dolphy's Out to Lunch, and while the vibist loves that record, it was never a key inspiration for him. "We have a vibraphone, a trumpet, and an alto saxophone, we swing, we come in and out, so Out to Lunch definitely, but there's never been a time where I sat down and dissected that record. He cites pianist Andrew Hill, whose tune "The Griots" the quintet tackles here, as a bigger influence.
As strong as the band's debut recording was, Varmint captures a quantum leap in both the leader's writing and the ensemble sound. "It helps that there's so much crossover between the various bands we have," he says. "You're constantly playing with these people and I think a cohesiveness has developed with all of these projects." Adasiewicz says his new tunes are more swinging and he's also grown interested in writing tunes with changes. Only Hide and Punchbug aren't based on progressions. He's also proud of the sonic quality of the record, which, like its predecessor, was engineered by his Madison pal Mark Haines at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio. The recording vibrantly captures a live band sound, with the quintet's din filling the room organically.
"
Right now I'm really hungry to get my music out there," he says. He's been writing like mad in recent years, and with results like Varmint let's hope that energy only escalates. Adasiewicz has a way of making every group he works with sound better, but hearing him direct his own combo with his own tunes--well, that's super burnin'.
Peter Margasak
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|Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown| Varmint Released September 29th, 2009 with Josh Berman Aram Shelton Jason Roebke Frank Rosaly |
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|Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown| Varmint 180g Vinyl Version Released September 29th, 2009 with Josh Berman Aram Shelton Jason Roebke Frank Rosaly |
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|Jason Adasiewicz| Rolldown with Josh Berman Aram Shelton Jason Roebke Frank Rosaly |
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|Jason Adasiewicz| Rolldown 140g Vinyl Version! Contains tunes from the CD, one alternate take, and one 'vinyl only' track |
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|Klang| Tea Music with James Falzone Jason Roebke Tim Daisy Adasiewicz |
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|Josh Berman| Old Idea with Keefe Jackson Anton Hatwich Nori Tanaka Adasiewicz |
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|Rob Mazurek Quintet| Sound Is with Matt Lux Josh Abrams John Herndon Adasiewicz |
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|Lucky 7s| Pluto Junkyard Jeb Bishop Jeff Albert Josh Berman Keefe Jackson Matt Golombisky Quin Kirchner Adasiewicz |
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|Mike Reed's Loose Assembly| The Speed of Change with Greg Ward Tomeka Reid Josh Abrams Adasiewicz |
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|Chris Connelly| Forgiveness and Exile with Tim Kinsella Ben Vida Josh Abrams Adam Vida Nate Kinsella Ben Massarella Adasiewicz |
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|Bill Dixon with Exploding Star Orchestra| with Rob Mazurek Nicole Mitchell Matt Bauder Jeb Bishop Josh Berman Jeff Parker Jim Baker Adasiewicz Matthew Lux Jason Ajemian Mike Reed John Herndon Damon Locks |
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|Exploding Star Orchestra| We are All From Somewhere Else Rob Mazurek Nicole Mitchell Jeb Bishop Corey Wilkes Josh Berman Matt Bauder Jeff Parker Jim Baker Adasiewicz John McEntire Matthew Lux Jason Ajemian Mike Reed John Herndon |
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|Mike Reed's Loose Assembly| Last Year's Ghost with Greg Ward Tomeka Reid Josh Abrams Adasieiwcz |
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|Chris Connelly| The Episodes with Tim Kinsella Ben Vida Josh Abrams Adam Vida Nate Kinsella Ben Massarella Adasiewicz |
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|Overova| Cockroaches Are 100% Virgin Fred Lonberg-Holm Jason Roebke Adasiewicz |
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|Lucky 7s| Farragut Jeb Bishop Jeff Albert Josh Berman Keefe Jackson Matt Golombisky Quin Kirchner Adasiewicz |
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|Harris Eisenstadt| The Soul and Gone with Jeb Bishop Jason Mears Jeff Parker Jason Roebke Adasiewicz |
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|Steve Dawson| Sweet is The Anchor |
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|Aram Shelton| Arrive with Tim Daisy Jason Roebke Adasiewicz |
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|Central Falls| Love and Easy Living Adam Vida Ben Vida Ryan Hembrey Andy Uhrich Adasiewicz |
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|Document Chicago| New Jazz and Improvisation |
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|Simon Joyner| Blue Melody:Live From the South with Michael Krassner Fred Lonberg-Holm Jessica Billey Adasiewicz |
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|Central Falls| Latitude Adam Vida Ben Vida Steve Dorocke Noel Kupersmith Adasiewicz |
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|Manishevitz| Private Lines EP Adam Busch Via Nuon Ryan Hembrey Fred Lonberg-Holm Nate Lepine Jim Baker Adasiewicz |
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|Manishevitz| Rollover |
| |Bablicon| In A Different City |
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|Andiamo| |
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|Through an Open Window| -Order Through Me- Adasiewicz John Dolye |
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|Josh Berman Group| with Keefe Jackson Anton Hatwich Nori Tanaka Adasiewicz |
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The Austinist - January 2010
Vibraphonist-composer Jason Adasiewicz has recently been very active, both as a sideman and a leader. Varmint (Cuneiform) is the second date under his own name, and he's joined by cornetist Josh Berman, saxophonist/clarinetist Aram Shelton (now in Oakland, CA), bassist Jason Roebke and drummer Frank Rosaly for six originals and a cover of pianist Andrew Hill's "The Griots." The statements that have come down the pike about this band are accurate: in a sense, it's an updating of a particulaly fractured brand of post-bop that, in the mid-Sixties, centered on Blue Note artists like Hill, Grachan Moncur III, Bobby Hutcherson, and Joe Chambers. But unlike, say, the SF Jazz Collective, this is an update with a hell of a lot of bite. Yes, Varmint is "straighter" than its predecessor (Rolldown; 482 Music) - delicate pulling walk from bass and drums, tidal metric upticks providing a mutable rug for Shelton's sputtering saccharine exhortations and Berman's chunky, Old Style punch. Adasiewicz also has a tone and sense of phrasing that is unlike anyone on the instrument currently active, his sense of melody wistful and attack pelting with equal parts Milt Jackson and Khan Jamal. Rather than a blow-by-blow, I'll just say this much: I haven't heard a modern jazz record this good in years.
--Clifford Allen
TimeOut Chicago - December 2009
If you listen closely, you can hear Jason Adasiewicz’s faint mumble mimicking the melody of his vibraphone solo on the title track of the new Varmint. It’s a time-honored technique—revealing that the best improvisers know exactly what they’re doing—and evidence of his rising stature as one of the foremost players on the instrument today. On his second album leading the quintet Rolldown, the local standby’s mallet work glows over radiant postbop originals like “Green Grass” and “Punchbug,” illuminating a remarkable chemistry with drummer Frank Rosaly. Both percussionists lock in effortlessly with bassist Jason Roebke, and together their fierce swing anchors the flawless front line of cornetist Josh Berman and reedist Aram Shelton. The 32-year-old Adasiewicz is fond of writing phrases that are catchy, yet rhythmically ambitious. As the combo faithfully carries out his clever compositions, it’s grown into one of the best working groups today.
--Areif Sless-Kitain































