Human Feel
Encyclopedia
Human Feel is a collaborative jazz
quartet that consists of clarinet
/tenor saxophone
player Chris Speed
, bass clarinet
/alto saxophone
player Andrew D'Angelo, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel
and drummer Jim Black
. The group combines elements of free jazz
, chamber music
, and alternative rock
and features extensive improvisation
in their performances.
Human Feel was formed in 1987 when Speed, D'Angelo, and Black were studying music in Boston, MA
. Rosenwinkel joined in 1990. In the early 90s, the members relocated to New York City
. They have released five recordings since 1989. The latest record Galore was released in 2007 after a longer hiatus.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
quartet that consists of clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
/tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
player Chris Speed
Chris Speed
Chris Speed is an American saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer.He studied classical piano from the age of five, and began clarinet at eleven. In high school he took up the tenor saxophone and began studying jazz...
, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
/alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
player Andrew D'Angelo, guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel
Kurt Rosenwinkel
Kurt Rosenwinkel is an American jazz guitarist and keyboardist who came to prominence in the 1990s.-Biography:He attended the Berklee School of Music for two and a half years before leaving in his junior year to tour with Gary Burton, the dean of the school at the time...
and drummer Jim Black
Jim Black
Jim Black is a jazz drummer who has performed with Tim Berne and Dave Douglas, among others. He attended Berklee College of Music....
. The group combines elements of free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, and alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
and features extensive improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
in their performances.
Human Feel was formed in 1987 when Speed, D'Angelo, and Black were studying music in Boston, MA
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Rosenwinkel joined in 1990. In the early 90s, the members relocated to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. They have released five recordings since 1989. The latest record Galore was released in 2007 after a longer hiatus.
Discography
- 1989 - Human Feel (Human Use)
- 1992 - Scatter (GM Recordings)
- 1994 - Welcome to Malpesta (New World)
- 1996 - Speak to It (Songlines)
- 2007 - Galore (Skirl)