The October Revolution of Jazz & Contemporary Music

The freewheeling trio Ballister is the convergence of three of the leading members of the longstanding Chicago-Norway avant-jazz nexus: saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm, and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love. Over the course of six releases in seven years, the unabashed energy of Rempis and Nilssen-Love, coupled with the electrified cello antics of Lonberg-Holm, make for a powerful listening experience that combines driving grooves with noisy textures and occasional melodic interjections. These sliding and overlapping rhythms often give the music a feeling as if a rug is slowly being pulled out from underneath the listener while the music still maintains a strong forward momentum. Reference points include the Julius Hemphill groups of the 70′s and 80′s featuring Abdul Wadud, Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time, and the early 70′s explorations of Miles Davis’ electric bands.