Big Satan is an American jazz ensemble headed by composer and

alto saxophonist The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E, smaller tha ...

Tim Berne Tim Berne (born October 16, 1954) is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones. Biography Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said tha ...

, featuring drummer

Tom Rainey Tom Rainey (born 1957) is an American jazz drummer. Career After attending Berklee College of Music he moved to New York in 1979. He has played with Tim Berne, Nels Cline, Drew Gress, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Simon Nabatov, Tom ...

and electric guitarist

Marc Ducret Marc Ducret (born 19 August 1957) is a contemporary avant-garde jazz guitarist who frequently collaborates with saxophonist Tim Berne. Ducret's guitar style is idiosyncratic, having been called "highly original and very expressive," but also ...

. Rainey and Ducret are regular Berne collaborators, and both contribute compositions as well.

History

The group released its live

self-titled An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

debut (also called ''I Think They Liked It Honey'') in 1997, described by ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' as "a truly mesmerizing set that rings with ominous overtones and intricately constructed fabrics of sound".Astarita, Glenn " ''I Think They Liked It, Honey'' Review, ''

'', Macrovision Corporation It would be 2004 before the group's second album, ''Souls Saved Hear'', was finally released. Described as "dazzling" by ''Allmusic'', it was also praised by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

.Westergaard, Sean " ''Souls Saved Hear'' Review, ''

'', Macrovision CorporationMarsh, Peter (2004)
Big Satan - ''Souls Saved Hear''
,

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' described it as "an adventurous listen for the most discriminating, open-minded listener".Lundy, Zeth (2004)
Big Satan - ''Souls Saved Hear''
, ''

'' An interview with Berne along with a live set from The Vortex Jazz Club in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

was broadcast by

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

.Jazz on 3
,

Their style of music can be described as

avant garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

jazz. Adopting elements from the styles of many previous “out-jazz” originators (like

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

Ornette Coleman Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman (March 9, 1930 – June 11, 2015) was an American jazz saxophonist, trumpeter, violinist, and composer. He is best known as a principal founder of the free jazz genre, a term derived from his 1960 album '' Free Ja ...

, etc.), Big Satan's sound is aggressive but not without a sense of humor.

Discography

* '' Big Satan'' ( Winter & Winter, 1997) * ''Souls Saved Hear'' (

Thirsty Ear Thirsty Ear Recordings is an American independent record label. It was founded in the late 1970s as a marketing company for the then-unnamed alternative music field, and expanded to issue its own records in 1990. Thirsty Ear came to prominence ...

, 2004) * ''

Livein Cognito ''Livein Cognito'' is a double live album by saxophonist Tim Berne's Big Satan. It was released in 2006 on Berne's Screwgun label. Reception An All About Jazz review by John Kelman said "Dark and spacious in places, visceral, dense and penetr ...

'' (

Screwgun Screwgun Records is a jazz record label founded by saxophonist Tim Berne in 1996. Most releases on the label have been by Berne, though some have been by Berne's associates and bandmates. Steve Byram has designed and illustrated the artwork for ma ...

, 2006)

References

American jazz ensembles Musical groups established in 1997 Thirsty Ear Recordings artists Winter & Winter Records artists {{Jazz-band-stub