As A Leader

The Ghostly Bee

Purchase Here

Bruce Golden (drums), Davey Williams (electric guitar), Adam Linz (acoustic bass guitar), George Cartwright (saxophone), Chris Parker (keyboards)

ONE SHEET: 

George Cartwright is a legend. Yeah, I know that’s a sword that shouldn’t be thrown around lightly , and I'm not. He was there in the 80s, starting the improv skronk scene with his band Curlew that would define the avant scene for the rest of the century. 

Working with turntablists like the Fog, and his jazz punk trio GloryLand PonyCat, his music rides a strange line between Ellington and Ornette. With melodies wrangled to their essence, structures dense, clear and unpredictable it is a music that stands on its own or topples gloriously. The Ghostly Bee sees Cartwright with a killer ensemble mixing people from all stages of his life: guitar great Davey Willams, drummer Bruce Golden, Chris Parker on keys and rising-star bass ace Adam Linz. All this in a limited edition package of 500 artfully packaged by Wes Winship of Burlesque design. The liner notes are by the incomparable Michael DeCapite. 

SELECTED REVIEW:

Sounds like a humming bird caught in the drapes - Newsweek

Black Ants Crawling

Purchase Here

George Cartwright (saxophone), Adam Linz (double bass), Alden Ikeda (percussion)

ONE SHEET: 

George Cartwright is probably one of the most important names in jazz that you have never heard of. As the leader of the group Curlew and hero of the New York's Downtown scene leading a two-decade long exploration into the bold frontiers of jazz, he became the standard by which new jazz was judged in the 80's. Now we see him in a solo outing with his own ensemble GloryLand PonyCat, a Minneapolis-based group with Alden Ikeda - drums and Adam Linz- bass. 

This record makes the Stooges look laid back. Fierce but never losing its melodic intentions, this is 23rd century jazz for your 21st century head without seeming forced or unfamiliar. Simply this is a great jazz record.


SELECTED REVIEWS:

ALL ABOUT JAZZ

"Bottom line: This is solid stuff, man. This is music that can be smelt, felt, tasted and seen. This is music that is tangible and alive and real. This is music for dancing in your head as well in your heart, lungs, liver, and spleen."

Tenor saxophonist George Cartwright of “Curlew” fame leads his rhythm section through a series of sinewy, free-form jazz oriented jaunts. Recorded at a venue in St. Paul, MN., the saxophonist reaches for the stars during this vibrant and indisputably expressive musical venture. They sort of let their hair down here. More importantly, the trio provides credence to what can happen when performing in front of a captured audience. The spontaneity and communication sometimes get lost in studio environs, which is a notion that serves as the antithesis of this fine release. - Glenn Astarita

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

"To paraphrase John Lennon, an avant-garde hero is something to be. And saxophonist George Cartwright certainly qualifies as one."
 

A Tenacious Slew:

Purchase Here

George Cartwright (saxophones), Adam Linz (double bass), Alden Ikeda (percussion), Chris Parker (piano), JT Bates (drums), Christina Baldwin (narrator), Anne Elias (video).

ONE SHEET: 

The dictionary would tell you that a tenacious slew is just a whole lot of stuff that clings and cloys. (A tenacious stew would be one that was hard to digest, perhaps made by an elderly relative.) George Cartwright’s new Cd though is neither. In fact it goes down rather easily and comes off with only a little scrubbing. 

George is still the master of blowing his sax in all directions. Here he’s back at the mouthpiece with other giants of Minnesota’s far-out jazz realm (Adam Linz, Alden Ikeda, JT Bates and Memphusian Chris Parker). They were recorded live at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the energy of that evening is captured well on tape. What didn’t come out at all was Anne Elias’s accompanying video projections (you’ll have to imagine those). She does make a haunting appearance though with some enigmatic poetry that serves to ground the fantastical music that swirls around it. 

A limited edition of hand-assembled beauty, A Tenacious Slew will grace your shelf and ears for years to come.

George Cartwright is probably one of the most important names in jazz that you have never heard of. As the leader of the group Curlew and hero of the New York's Downtown scene leading a two-decade long exploration into the bold frontiers of jazz, he became the standard by which new jazz was judged in the 80's. Now we see him in a solo outing with his own ensemble GloryLand PonyCat, a Minneapolis-based group with Alden Ikeda - drums and Adam Linz- bass. 

This record makes the Stooges look laid back. Fierce but never losing its melodic intentions, this is 23rd century jazz for your 21st century head without seeming forced or unfamiliar. Simply this is a great jazz record.

The sonic equivalent of a feverish hallucinatory snakebite. - Bill Ellis

SELECTED REVIEWS:

Sounds like a humming bird caught in the drapes.

- Newsweek

Short clip here.

Send Help:

Purchase Here

George Cartwright - saxophones and composer
Adam Linz- acoustic bass
Andrew Broder- electric guitar
Alden Ikeda- drums
with Christina Baldwin-pre-recorded voice
Anne Elias – video , text
Recorded at the Walker Art Center’s ‘Dancing In Your Head’ festival honoring Ornette Coleman and at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
 

SELECTED REVIEWS:

"Saxophonist George Cartwright's prominence in the development of New York City's downtown scene, and lengthy affiliation with the cutting-edge progressive, jazz-rock unit Curlew, spawn an imprint of musical authenticity. Cartwright surges forward with this 2008, quartet-based effort recorded at The Cedar Cultural Center and The Walker Art Center's festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the Mississippi-born artist takes up residence these days. Raw, wild and often captivating, the quartet also injects a prominent fun-factor into the program. At times, the musicians slam the door on convention via wily free-jazz/rock vamps and gobs of expressionism. Cartwright and guitarist Andrew Broder tear it up with seething choruses built on stinging licks. But they alter the overall pitch and sense of the dynamic due to angular theme-building maneuvers and melodic undertones. They generate more than a few firestorms with frenzied and semi-structured phrasings, as the soloists incorporate a touch of avant-rock amid garrulous improvisational movements. On "The March," Broder, using distortion techniques, and Cartwright terrorize the upper registers. Here, they embark upon a search and destroy mission. Then Broder vocalizes on Bob Dylan's "Oxford Town," and Cartwright's "I Want You To Promise," as the quartet occasionally surfaces as a lower decibel spinoff of Sonic Youth, complete with all the quirky deviations. The band executes high-heat to complement the free-form components while transmitting a singular group-based identity. It's an album that radiates a fluent intersection of concepts. A good time was had by all during the process, which is a persuasive quality that remains a constant throughout."-Glenn Astarita/All About Jazz