* En anglais uniquement
The members of
Human Feel attended music schools in Boston and independently released an eponymous debut album in 1989, before recording the album
Scatter for
Gunther Schuller's GM Recordings label. After the departure of bassist
Joe Fitzgerald, the Beantown quintet continued on as a New York-based foursome, reaching a peak of activity during the mid-'90s as the musicians all became mainstays in the city's so-called downtown jazz scene. During the '90s, saxophonists
Chris Speed and
Andrew D'Angelo, drummer
Jim Black, and guitarist
Kurt Rosenwinkel recorded two more
Human Feel albums as a collaborative quartet,
Welcome to Malpesta on New World (1994) and
Speak to It on Songlines (1996). Around the same time, their visibility was increasing through involvement in other bands, including many led by other downtowners. During the '90s and into the new century,
Speed and
Black both joined Tim Berne's Bloodcount and separate
Dave Douglas groups; they also performed together in
Pachora,
Speed's
yeah NO quartet, and
Black's
AlasNoAxis quartet.
Black played with
Ellery Eskelin's trio and with
Laurie Anderson,
D'Angelo joined
Matt Wilson's quartet, and
Rosenwinkel garnered substantial critical notice after landing his own contract with
Verve.
Human Feel's CDs provide good examples of these musicians' work in a collaborative small-group setting, and the quartet recordings are particularly noteworthy in demonstrating the band's unique approach to modern creative and avant-garde jazz. The foursome reunited to release
Galore on
Speed's Skirl label in 2007, and toured sporadically thereafter. They announced that a new album,
Human Feel's sixth, would be released in the summer of 2014. ~ Dave Lynch