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Here’s a French-language review of the last date of the tour, at Flamingo, a very hip place in the center of Brussels. The writer, Michel, a very nice cat, gives us a blow-by-blow gig report: “Rue de Laeken, un dimanche de novembre, en fin d’après-midi, entre chien et loup! Mihaela: tu montes, chéri… Euh.. bonsoir, madame, sans façon, merci! T’es pédé? Je m’appelle Michel, vais au Flamingo , un concert jazz! T’es un intello, alors… De gauche, tendance NVA… Menu: Todd Bishop’s Group plays the music of Ornette Coleman!” Continued after the break:Read More →

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Dan McClenaghan at All About Jazz has included my record Little Played Little Bird on his Best Releases of 2012 list. He had this to say: “Drummer Todd Bishop is an underground treasure. He doesn’t boast the highest of profiles, but he has put out two consecutive great CDs for the Origin Records label: 2009’s 69 Annee Erotique and now, this nod to alto saxophonist/free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman.” Thanks Dan!Read More →

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Photo by Jazzques Here’s a review of our Brussels show at Café Belga in November, written in French by Jacques Prouvost, AKA Jazzques. Google Translate certainly distorts his original meaning, but is rather poetic: “This Sunday, November 4, [Todd Bishop] was Café Belga Brussels. The world, the noise, the usual deal of the place. So Todd Bishop slams the first shots on the snare. Must be heard. His game is tight, bright and dry. The pulse is strong. And it works! The quartet starts like clockwork.Very quickly, the soloists take their brands and Méreau Martin embarks on a solo feverish Check Up. Then it’s GuineaRead More →

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Another Best of 2012 list for my CD Little Played Little Bird, this time on the Bird Is The Worm blog, written by eMusic contributor Dave Sumner. We’re in the number 12 slot: So, take obscure compositions from the songbook of a challenging artist and perform renditions… the math for that equation should result in something resembling a didactic lecture of music theory and not the refreshingly listenable Little Played Little Bird. Todd Bishop tackles the music of Ornette Coleman, and without watering down the source material, has created a recording that was both tuneful and a fun listen. It’s an impressive accomplishment, and aRead More →

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Ric Bang, of the Jazz Scan jazz blog, has written a little review of Little Played Little Bird: “Little Bird” was a nickname given to Ornette Coleman, an American-born saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer who was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s. Why the “little played” in the album title? Because, as often is the case with artists ahead of their time, Coleman was a polarizing talent; the kindest descriptor would be “unorthodox.” Some listeners became immediate fans; others were outspokenly critical. That latter group included Miles Davis, who initially declared that Coleman was “all screwed up inside”;Read More →

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Here’s a nice little review of Little Played Little Bird by jazz historian and author Scotty Yanow, for LA Jazz Scene. A brief pull:  The lack of an alto and trumpet allows the quintet to get a bit of distance from Ornette Coleman’s recordings, as does the utilization of Iago’s Fender Rhodes. The music is explored on its own terms. Ranging from free bop romps to lyrical ballad statements, with the highpoints including spirited renditions of “Friends And Neighbors” and “Check Up,” these fresh and adventurous interpretations cast new light on Ornette Coleman’s songs. Little Played Little Bird is easily recommended and available from www.origin-records.com.Read More →

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Here’s a nice review from Dave Sumner’s excellent Bird is the Worm jazz blog. Dave is an editor at Allaboutjazz.com and a writer for eMusic.com as well as MusicIsGood.org. It’s a nice piece of writing, and I hate to excerpt from it, but here are some choice bits: Taking ownership of a series of obscure Ornette Coleman songs, drummer Todd Bishop shines them through a facet of his own view of the music, while leaving the beating heart of the originals intact, not a scratch upon them. Most strikingly, the album is an easy listen. Not in the sense that it’s straight-forward, but instead, BishopRead More →

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Here’s a really nice notice from Ron at the Jazz From Gallery 41 blog: “A really good drummer, a very musical drummer, and absolutely fun to listen to. The Todd Bishop Group has a terrific new release on Origin Records “Little Played Little Bird: The Music of Ornette Coleman”.  Todd’s group includes Richard Cole and Tim Willcox / reeds, Weber Iago / keyboards, Bill Athens bass.  In case you haven’t guessed from the title, it’s a collection of Ornette’s compositions, there are 9 of them on the cd, all played great!!! Todd Bishop, the drummer (in case you’ve lost track), has a very cool blogRead More →

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Another review of Little Played Little Bird at AllAboutJazz.com, this time by C. Michael Bailey, who was very positive about my previous Origin release, 69 Année Érotique. Here’s a portion of it: The music selected by Bishop covers 1959—”Lonely Woman” from The Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic)—to 1987—”Feet Music” from In All Languages (Caravan of Dreams). The band Bishop assembled to perform this rarified music is notable for the lack of an alto saxophone. Instead, Bishop heads up a quintet made up of Hristo Vitchev’s pianist Weber Iago, bass reeds player Richard Cole, tenor and soprano saxophonist Tim Willcox, and bassist Bill Athens. InRead More →

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New review on Emusic.com, written by Dave Sumner: Todd Bishop Group, Little Played Little Bird: The Music of Ornette Coleman: Concept album that performs renditions of lesser-known Ornette Coleman tunes (except “Lonely Woman,” which Bishop admits to including because he loves playing it, “concept be damned.”). Bishop on drums and leading a quintet that includes a family of saxes, bass clarinet, piano & Wurlitzer, and bass. A strong recording that brings plenty of swing, fire, and blues to the Coleman compositions. Not a requirement to actually enjoy Ornette Coleman’s music to like this album; Bishop brings his own voice and vision to this excellent album.Read More →