Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog

Marc Ribot makes a welcome return to Creative Alliance with Ceramic Dog, a power trio of post-rock jazz geniuses featuring Shahzad Ismaily and Ches Smith with a genre-agnostic approach that harnesses traditional pop songcraft and avantgarde improvisational music and takes it to the breaking point.

Declared by Ribot to be “the best record we’ve ever done,” Connection sees Ceramic Dog furthering their long flirtation with various strains of rock ‘n’ roll while remaining fully entrenched in their signature approach to improvised music, augmented by contributions by such special guests as singer-songwriter Syd Straw, keyboardist Anthony Coleman, saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, organist Greg Lewis, clarinetist Oscar Noriega, and cellist Peter Sachon.

Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog Is:
Marc Ribot: Guitar/Vocals
Shahzad Ismaily: Bass
Ches Smith: Drums

“ Ceramic Dog, a power trio of jazz geniuses who inflect literate rock with formidable chops. The synthesis is frenetic, potent, and at odds with the zeitgeist, even if Ribot’s lyrics decry today’s political oppression: Musically, he rejects both the voguish and the virtuosic in favor of his own whims…His progressive sentiments are welcome, and unfortunately more relevant than ever.”

–Pitchfork 2023

“On Ceramic Dog’s (which also features Shahzad Ismaily and Ches Smith), Connection, the prolific guitarist and bandleader continues to showcase his versatility through noisy jazz freakouts, Jesus Lizard-like noise rock rippers, and occasionally some dirty funk…With Ribot, an album is never just one style, never simply one thing, and Connection finds him following that instinct to fantastic effect.” –Treblezine 2023