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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The Empty Sound - Case Study 1 (2014) *****

By Stefan Wood

Put aside whatever you are listening to and hear this album.

The Empty Sound, hailing from Raleigh, North Carolina, are Brother "TJ" Goode (drums and percussion), Christopher "X" Thurston (double bass), and Steve Cowles (sax and flute).  "Case Study 1," is a brilliant and and creatively assured debut album.  It consists of six tracks, all called Koan, a Japanese (derived from the Chinese) word that means, in practicing the art of Zen, it is a question, statement, or conversation that is meant to challenge the student's progress by creating doubt.

The entire album is Zen like, recalling the more atmospheric and challenging west coast jazz from the 1950's (Chico Hamilton, Jimmy Giuffre), combined with modern free improvisational sensibilities.  The playing is breezy, deceptively effortless, nuanced and fun, as evidenced on the first two tracks, with Cowles out front, a Sonny Rollins like tone that is straight forward and commanding at times, others playful and effervescent.  Thurston and Goode are equally good as rhythm section and equal partners in the band's sound.  "Koan 4" features Goode with a long drum solo that plays off of the negative space of silence to create an atmospheric rumble. "Koan 5" is trance like, Thurston stringing the bass with soft, atonal notes, and Cowles responding, ballad like but more searching than dreamy, soft wails then strong, all the while Goods providing punctuation at key points during the thirteen minute track. The final track has the most Zen like feel, with Cowles switching to flute, and playing with Thurston, engage in a fourteen minute opus that fold and unfolds into different patterns and sounds, never losing interest or momentum.

Case Study 1 is rich, rewarding album that needs to be heard by a wider audience, and not just the free improv scene.


4 comments:

Ziryab said...

Is this self-released? Any info on where to purchase it? Thanks.

Richard said...

Bandcamp has it:

http://emptysound.bandcamp.com/album/case-study-1

Unknown said...

Stefan,

Thank you for your kind words. If interested, you can follow empty sound, monostery recordings and adjunct projects on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/sunyatasruta
or contact us directly emptysound0@gmail.com

palms joined in gratitude
~x (bassist)

December 9, 2014 at 5:37 PM

Chris said...

Excellent album.Thanks so much.

Xopher Thurston, will you be getting more stock of the CD in?

Or even better....a vinyl release?

Chris