The Either/Orchestra at Tishman Auditorium, NYC, November 19, 2011. Photo by Dave Kaufman
We've been in the studio...
working on the recording of The Collected Unconscious... but we'll be back in action this summer!
The Collected Unconscious is leader Russ Gershon's big new piece, which received smashing reviews for its live performances:
"Either/Orchestra At the Peak of Their Power at the New School
This band’s creativity just gets more and more amazing...one of the two or three best New York concerts of the year...[The Collected Unconscious] revealed an unexpected gravitas and lush, majestic power to rival or maybe surpass anything this band’s ever done, effortlessly and imaginatively bridging the gap between Cuba and Ethiopia...the shifting textures and voicings of these new compositions are equal to anything Gil Evans ever came up with.” Lucid Culture
"Bandleader/composer Gershon’s greatest hour (or closer to an hour and a half)...[the] long-form piece bridged the sounds of Ethiopia with Latin music as well as the diverse jazz and rock elements in the composer’s DNA. His arrangements conjured rich, sublimely wound horn cadences...the musicians hit their marks with precision and finesse.
Best of all, despite its broad stylistic sweep, “The Collected Unconscious” delivered cohesiveness, consistency and engaging energy." -Paul Robicheau, Improper Bostonian
"They wrapped up the concert with Gershon's tasty slab of New Orleans street funk, Somethin' for NOLA, proving without a doubt that a band of eclectic, esoteric jazzbos could get down and get funky, too." –Greg Haymes, Albany Times-Union
Ethiopia, May 2011: thanks to all 96 of you who donated to our Kickstarter fund, as well as the US and Spanish Embassies and the Alliance Ethio-Francaise, all in Addis Ababa.
We played five concerts and conducted a big clinic for the students of three jazz schools.
Two of the concerts featured the historic music of Nerses Nalbandian, Ethiopia's Maestro for many years,
and three of the concerts featured an assortment of E/O originals and Ethiopian favorites.
All concerts included Ethiopian guests in various combinations: Girma Negash, Bahta Hewet, Beti and Michael Belayneh, vocals; Dawit Frey, clarinet; Jorga Mesfin, tenor sax; Fasika Hailu, krar; Girum Mezmur, guitar; Henock Temesgen, bass.
Final note of EO25, Le Poisson Rouge NYC. Photo by Michael Weintrob
The Really Big 25th Anniversary Concert, NYC Edition was a sold-out smash success. Three hours of continuous music, and the audience was ready for more.
Russ Gershon and the Either/Orchestra wish to thank our alumni: John Medeski, Matt Wilson, Josh Roseman, Mike Rivard, Harvey Wirht, Dan Kaufman, Jeremy Udden, Douglas Yates, John Carlson, Bob Nieske, John Dirac, Curtis Hasselbring, Jerome Deupree, Dan Fox, Russell Jewell, Henry Cook, Godwin Louis, Jeremy Udden, Douglas Yates, Teshome Mitiku - all onstage - and a.minor (video art), Phil Davidson (sound), David Fisher and Brad Braufman (video documentation), Linda Somma, Gabrielle Agachiko and Israel Dejene (various other tasks), Terri Hinte (publicity), along with the incredible staff of Le Poisson Rouge!
The December 16 edition of the concert in Arlington MA was "an unforgettable confluence of talent" - here's a review.
Mood Music for Time Travellers
"[They] take totally serious music and make it fun... the sense of groove and joy is overpowering." –Mark Saleski, somethingelsereviews
"...a warmth and good humor that makes the music immediately accessible...fabulous musicians, performing terrific music with great creative skill." –Bruce Lindsay, allaboutjazz.com
Excellent price right now on our previous release, Ethiopiques 20: Live in Addis double CD, at Allegro Music: only $15.97 for a double CD set with a luxurious 32 page color booklet.
Ethiopiques 20: Live in Addis Buda Musique 860121
Free download of "Yezamed Yebada"
"Astonishing...monumental...the best live album of the year—in any genre" –Paul Olson, AllAboutJazz.com Read full review
"Live in Addis is a total triumph as music, once again, is shown to be able to bring together diverse peoples in mutual love."
–Budd Kopman, AllAboutJazz.com Read full review
"An amazingly great set from Either/Orchestra – easily their finest album ever...
a wicked batch of Ethiopian funk!" –dustygroove.com Read full review
"Incredible" –Tim Perlich, Now Magazine, Toronto
"[A] completely remarkable recording...I think the performance of Shellela is actually the greatest recorded example of an ecstatic
and informed audience response to supreme jazz in the history of recorded jazz...
give five stars to the audience and musicians both. This recording is the flower of their profound embrace."
–Norman Weinstein, AllAboutJazz.com Read full review
"Sends the senses into the very heart and soul
of communal human love...A force that dares to break barriers." -Lofton A. Emenari III, WHPK, Chicago
