Nick Millevoi - Streets of Philadelphia Limited Edition music book (s/p, 2019)

By David Menestres

I first met Nick Millevoi a couple of years ago when we played on the same night at Neptune’s Parlour in Raleigh, NC, me with one of Eugene Chadbourne’s projects and Nick with the Desertion Trio, an ear splittingly loud project, refracting the history of electric guitar over the throbbing bass of Johnny DeBlase and the shattered beats of Kevin Shea. Millevoi has also participated in numerous other musical projects including the Many Arms trio, the Hollenberg-Millevoi Quartet, which was part of John Zorn’s ongoing Bagatelles project, Chris Forsyth & the Solar Motel Band, and has performed with Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Mostly Other People Do the Killing, Nels Cline, and many more.

Nick’s newest solo album, Streets of Philadelphia, is being issued as a collection of sheet music dedicated to his home town. I caught up with Nick to ask a couple of questions about his new release.

DM: Prior to the advent of sound recording, all collections of songs were released as sheet music. More recently this idea has begun to pop up occasionally, perhaps most notably with Beck’s Song Reader, which were performed by groups all over the country. Why release an album like this in 2019? How does this work for you as a musician and a composer that’s different from releasing a sound recording? Does it satisfy the same itch for you or does it float your boat in an entirely different way?

NM: The biggest thing that gets me excited about releasing a book of sheet music as a record of material is how open-ended it is. I love the idea of this being music I can play with anyone who has a copy of the book and that anyone can play on their own and do whatever they want with it. At first, I wrote all of this music without being sure what I was going to do with it. I started posting some videos of myself playing some of the compositions with pictures of the charts on social media and immediately people began reaching out to me and asking to see the charts, so I started by actively sharing them with people. I'm not really sure at this point how many I've sent out, but it's a bunch, and some people have posted videos of themselves playing the music too, which is the coolest. I've written a lot of music that nobody has ever seen the charts for except the musicians playing it, so it's fun to let the blueprints out there and see what happens. It's an experiment to see who wants to play it and how I feel about it, really. Because of that, I felt like it was worthwhile to see how it feels to release this music this way, at least initially.

As soon as I decided that, I decided to make a physical book. I had the idea of how it could look from day one, with my good friend Erik Ruin designing it.

So, in that way, this music is working for me in a totally different way than a sound recording and it's a cool experiment to see who is drawn to this and, I'm learning, it does get me excited in a similar way to making a record, but it's still very different. In a lot of ways, I haven't committed to anything other than notes and rhythms, unlike a record, where you commit to those things plus the arrangement, the performance, the production, all of that stuff. In this way, I now feel really open to perform this music however I want. I already have six different kind of groups with live performances planned in Philly and New York and I'm going to keep building on that.

There's also a super pragmatic side of things which is that making records in 2019 might be cheaper than it's essentially ever been before, but it's still really expensive and now there's not only little incentive to buy recorded music at this point - since we all have basically every sound recording ever made available to listen to on our phones and there's such a glut of new music and everyone is busier than they've ever been before and nobody has time to listen to it. I just feel like this is another way to get music out there that is worth a try. It requires more time and attention than a sound recording, but it's going to reach people in a more interactive way, which is cool. And, it's also just a thing I want to see more of in the world. I wish more of my favorite artists would release books of their music.

Another thing is that I looked at these 25 pieces when they were all finished and realized I was already waiting on a record to come out that I'd spent months working on (Desertion Trio's Twilight Time) and, with one more getting ready to be made and all of this music written, it'd take me years to get the record together and I was excited about it now and wanted to strike while the iron was hot, so to speak. Knowing I didn't have to wait long and could go this alternative route felt really, really, exciting, so I went for it.

DM: You’ve positioned this album as a kind of love letter to the city of Philadelphia. For those of is that don’t live in Philly, can you take us through a few of the neighborhoods you write about? Perhaps tell us what you feel about these areas and how that translates into the pieces you wrote? And what living in Philly has meant for your development as a player?

NM : The street names here were taken from as many neighborhoods across the whole city as I could and then matched up with songs I thought they fit. So pieces like "Opal" and "Silver" have a sound that are thematically similar and very different from those of "Hazzard" and "Shunk." Hopefully, there's some description in those names.

Philadelphia is my hometown and, like anyone, I have a complicated relationship to my hometown, developed over the course of my lifetime. There are things I love and things I hate. Those things are hard to describe without rambling, but really come down to there being things this city gives me that nowhere else can give me. The vibe is different in a way that is really hard to explain, but people here know what I'm talking about.

I will say that living in Philadelphia allows artists a lot of freedom and creativity for a million reasons that have to do with there just being a lot of resources as well as an affordable way of life. That said, for me, at this point, I actually play more in New York and with New York-based musicians (in my main band, Desertion Trio, I'm the only person who lives here!) and like to travel a lot, so I'm always leaving, which gives me a nice balance and lots of perspective.

Ultimately, figuring out how to live a creative life in Philadelphia means figuring out a lot of things on your own, but there can be a lot of freedom in it. It's like jazz or experimental music, once you get into the crazy stuff, there's really no turning back and I feel like that about Philadelphia - if you find something you love here, it's going to be hard to scratch that itch somewhere else.

This music is really different than my most recent releases with Desertion Trio, for example, because I decided to really think about what I feel like Philadelphia inspires in me and this is what happened. There's a lot of tight dissonance, maybe even some aggression in the melodies, but there's also a lot of space and harmony. In order to play this music, you've gotta get with all of that and figure out a way to do it and, to me, that represents my experience here.

Opal:

Do try this at home! Download the sheet music of Opal here.

• Read Eric McDowell on the first Desertion (2016) album 
• Read Paul Acquaro on the second Desertion Trio (2017) album

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Brötzmann/Leigh - South Moon Under (s/r, 2019) ****½

By Sammy Stein

Heather Leigh is an originally from West Virginia but now lives in Scotland. She is a steel guitar player with an increasing reputation for furthering the unexplored reaches of pedal steel guitar. She combines a physical presence with a playing style which is as spontaneous as it is based on solid musicianship. She is known as a player who combines strength and sensitivity. She has received great reviews from The Wire Magazine, MOJO, Uncut, The Guardian, The New York Times, Magnet, Rolling Stone, and many more and has collaborated with many musicians, including Peter Brotzmann, with whom she teamed up once more for this album. Heather Leigh has performed across the world and at many festivals.

Peter Brotzmann needs little introduction and I make no apology for saying he is far and away one of my favourite players and interviewees. He has on occasion sent me books, vinyl and CDs he has found or released and always remembers the projects I am involved in and we catch up readily when we meet. On this album, these two players have produced, again, something exceptional and different. Just two tracks - but two tracks of more joyful noise you will be pushed to find.

The CD's first track is 'South Moon Under' which opens with Peter's almost trademark ferocious attack with sweeping, rising lines and grace notes aplenty. The attack is spirited and immediate. Into this pour the echoed tones of the steel guitar of Heather Leigh and the result if that joyful noise mentioned above. The track features oft-repeated riffs from Peter and it is the guitar which sets the atmosphere for the larger part. After the energy of the introduction there is then a softer time, the sax fades and there is a space created into which the guitar allows notes to trickle and echo before Peter enters again, the sax driving its insistent message higher, fuller, with increasing dexterity and resulting texture as the track evolves. People often talk of players who make their instrument 'talk' but with Peter the effect is genuine. Screeching, squealing, responding, questioning, ramping the energy up and up, the voice is full of character and wonderful, emotive noise. The guitar works changes and provides a solid backdrop against which the fire of the sax is tempered just a little.

The intuitive alteration in tempo and key between the two musicians is a delight to hear and there are moments when the guitar drops away to leave the sax talking away , whilst at others, the guitar is allowed to implode the atmosphere and change it. Peter plays at times as if trying to empty the air of the surrounding space but the guitar remains unrelenting, unphased and solid as a rock. Towards the end there is a lovely falling section as the sax travels down in fours to the lower register and then up again before once again being persuaded by the gentler guitar to calm, slow and eventually stop , allowing Leigh to solo on the steel guitar with a beautifully atmospheric solo. When Peter enters, now on tarogato, there is a harsher, eastern- influenced feel but there is no less insistence, no less drive and the range is fully explored in a series of riffs which at times sound like Peter is just seeing exactly what the instrument can do. Buzzy, sharp at times, the solo is emotive and delivered at full pelt. The track comes to a close with both instruments fading, sounding as if they are simply wondering off out of earshot.

'These Dark Waters' starts as an atmospheric steel guitar solo in which Heather Leigh pours many differing techniques, from pulled string slurs to held resonating echoes and chords to create a sound which fills space and reverberates. At one point she introduces a theme of descending notes over a background sound sheet and it is almost half way through the track before the sax enters, plying under the chords of the guitar initially but then ascending over the top and splurging on the fast played riffs before it is suddenly left, the guitar fades and the sax sings a melody out. Each phrase begins with a forced note and many phrases include fast-fingered scale ascensions and descents , something Peter does almost automatically. Right to the end there is a swapping of roles, an interpretation of the other's next move and an uncanny knack for hitting the harmonies.

Heather Leigh continues to develop and explore the steel guitar, making huge use of the instrument's capabilities and sound possibilities. Against Peter Brotzmann's style of playing, whether on sax, tarogato or B flat clarinet, which seemingly heads towards oblivion at times, yet is always so musically clever, the harmonics hit you suddenly and from unexpected places. I saw Peter recently at cafe Oto on the last night of his residency and his warmth and character shone through as usual. There is, with Peter, always a poignancy in his demeanor and playing which seems to come through in spite of the frenetic and energetic delivery . Placed against the solidity and ,at times, gentleness of Heather Leigh's playing, it works a treat on the ears. A partnership which has seen several recordings, this is a thing of joy and celebration. A great album containing a lot of clever working of the themes and phrases and a pair of musicians who delight in each other's playing.

Heather Leigh / 
pedal steel guitar
Peter Brötzmann / 
tenor sax, tarogato
, b-flat clarinet

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Angel Bat Dawid - The Oracle (International Anthem, 2019) ****

By Lee Rice Epstein

Independent record company International Anthem has become an incubator for philosophical, political, and visionary creative artists like Ben LaMar Gay, Makaya McCraven, Jaimie Branch, and the Irreversible Entanglements collective of Keir Neuringer, Moor Mother, Luke Stewart, Aquiles Navarro and Tcheser Holmes. Each has approached universalism from a different perspective and tuned their thrilling music to an often biting frequency. Add to that list Angel Bat Dawid. As a fairly recent convert from 9–5 clock-puncher to full-time artist (as detailed in a fantastic Chicago Reader feature by Leor Gali l ), it hasn’t taken long for her reputation to grow: In addition to her own groups, Dawid has performed with LaMar Gay, Branch, Matthew Lux, and Roscoe Mitchell. For her debut, The Oracle, she took a Mitchell-esque approach towards performance that stretches beyond a simple solo album and presents a holistic concept of Dawid as a singular artist.

On “What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black? (Dr. Margaret Burroughs),” Dawid sings lines from Burroughs’s essential 1963 poem, "What Shall I Tell My Children Who Are Black? (Reflections of an African-American Mother)."A decade later, Burroughs revisited the poem with a look at the violence of capitalism, oppression, and faith. "What Shall We Tell Our Children? An Addenda, 1973" features something of a guiding principle for Dawid’s music (and, perhaps, International Anthem as a whole):

We shall tell them
​To keep the belief that the purpose of life
Is to continue to grow and create
And to contribute to growth and create
And to contribute to growth and
Creativity toward a better life
For people now and for generations to come

Throughout The Oracle, Dawid circles back to themes of growth and creation. Tasking herself with performing, recording, and mixing, Dawid began many of these as sketches for her main group, Tha Brotherhood. Recording at Radcliffe Hunter mansion and in London and Cape Town, Dawid’s songs communicate musical ideas, as well as states of time and place. Both “Capetown” and “London” catch her in improvisatory contexts, capturing the state of a mind in transit. On “Capetown,” Dawid is joined by drummer Asher Simiso Gamedze, and their duet is lengthy and relaxed. The shining center of the album, “We Are Starzz,” is an incredible melange of voice and clarinet, expertly intertwined and luminescent. The Oracle runs the gamut from cosmic to brittle, but it’s Dawid’s sincerity and dynamic performance that make it so memorable.

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Albert Beger & Co.

By Eyal Hareuveni

Recent release from Israeli sax hero Albert Beger and his quartet, and the debut release of one of his students’ free-improv trio GOG.

Albert Beger Quartet - The Gate (NoBusiness, 2019) ****

The Beger Quartet is Beger's most stable outfit with recording career of about 25 years, featuring a generation younger musicians - pianist Milton Michaeli, double bass player Shay Hazan and drummer Ofer Bymel (who replaced Adam Cohen and recently was replaced by Hagai Freshtman, who collaborated before with Beger). The Gate was recorded in the summer of 2017 in Afula, Israel.

Beger, asu usual, wrote all the compositions for The Gate, but now opted for more introspective-spiritual vein that represents his deep connection with the Afro-American free jazz forefathers. Beger himself is a long-time yoga practitioner and vegan and the six compositions reflect his own perspective of jazz music as a gate to better realization of the self and its virtues of compassion. Beger’s tone - on the tenor sax and Japanese Shakuhachi bamboo flute flute, identified with Zen Buddhism, is still charismatic and muscular but emphasizes more than ever his contemplative side, avoiding immediate ecstatic outbursts, and seeking a cohesive and strong quartet sound. And indeed, Michaeli, Hazan and Bymel are following his lead closely and adding rich yet modest focused, nuanced layers to Beger’s ideas.

The main pieces, “Zen” and “This Is It”, stress this patient, persistent and almost meditational-ritualistic way one seeks a deeper understanding of his art and true self in the art of the moment. This way is achieved by a generous sharing of your resources, by building together the necessary power for such an intense journey and with emphatic support until reaching the inevitable, liberating emotional climax. The silent and meditative “Shakuhachi impro”, for solo Shakuhachi, injects subtle Western playfulness to the whispering tones of the flute. The last piece, “Silence”, brings the Shakuhachi into a sparse free jazz atmosphere in a manner that offers a new ceremonial experience, suggestive and emotional.

GOG - Something on a Thin Rope (Self Produced, 2019) ***

Something on a Thin Rope is the debut recording of the Israeli, Jerusalem-based trio GOG, featuring cellist Tom Klein, a former student of Beger whose cello is connected to assorted pedals and laptop, synthesizer player Amit Biton and drummer Stav Lipitz, all former student at the local music academy. This free-improv aimed at distancing itssound from the jazz legacy, exploring raw sonic ideas but still flirting with strong melodic veins, just like walking on a thin rope. This album was recorded in Jerusalem in August 2017.

This post-jazz, electro-acoustic trio offers a postmodernist pastiche of sounds, rough noises and expressive colors that never takes itself too seriously (“Veggie Dentist”), often suggests clever and ironic criticism of the Israeli daily noisy and chaotic environment (“Wedding”) and is not shy from being openly emotional. The best realized pieces are the few coherent ones, when GOG doesn't attempt to juggle with too many elements, as the cinematic-mysterious “Last snare”, the fragmented, electronic beats of “Shame/Parade”, “Bonbonim,” (candies) that flirts with West-African rhythmic cycles, and the straight-ahead yet minimalist, spacious and much less dramatic cover of Bjork’s “All is full of love” with Palestinain vocalist Luna Abu-Nasser (drummer Lipitz plays in her band).

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Wadada Leo Smith with Pheeroan akLaff | Akira Sakata & Chikamorachi

Wadada Leo Smith

Thursday, October 3rd, 8:00 PM 

Brooklyn Music School Theater

By Eric Stern

Blank Forms has been presenting some of the most innovative and interesting programming that New York has seen this year. Thursday evening was no exception. On this night the Brooklyn Music School Theater was the site of live performances by Akira Sakata with Chikamorachi and the duo of Wadada Leo Smith and Pheeroan akLaff. The show was well attended, though it did not quite sell out the two hundred and sixty plus seats.

Akira Sakata and Chikamorachi

The rhythm section, known as Chikamorachi, is made up of bassist Darin Gray and drummer Chris Corsano. The duo has performed with Sakata since 2005, and they are as locked-in as can be. The trio in turn has worked repeatedly with guitarist Jim O’Rourke. Prior to the formation of the trio with Chikamorachi, Sakata was perhaps best known for an appearance on Last Exit’s recording titled The Noise of Trouble (Live in Tokyo) featuring Peter Brötzmann, Bill Laswell, Sonny Sharrock, Shannon Jackson, and Herbie Hancock. This might give you some idea of the power Sakata possesses on his horns.

In anticipation of this performance, I took the opportunity to go to the James Cohan gallery in Tribeca the night before to see Sakata play with Darin Gray. This show was also presented by Blank Forms. While the improvised performances were different, there are certain elements which seem to reappear in Sakata’s work. Sakata opened both performances with an extended demonstration of his saxophone work. Unlike many fire-breathing players, Sakata never loses his tone. Nearly every note is perfectly formed, bending but not cracking. On both nights he demonstrated total mastery, and it is this aspect of his playing that is most mesmerizing and compelling.

Portions of both performances were centered on Sakata's vocalisms. His complete control over the sounds he creates enables him to generate an emotional response from his audience, and the interplay of artist and audience is an organic part of the experience. Having had the opportunity to see him twice in 24 hours, I was impressed by how effective this aspect of his work is.

Pheeroan akLaff and Wadada Leo Smith

After an extended intermission, Wadada Leo Smith and Pheeroan akLaff began their performance. This was all about deep focus. As Smith noted at the end of the evening, he has worked with akLaff since he was nineteen. There is a level of telepathic communication here which drives the music. They seem to merge into one being and breathe together for the entirety of the performance.

As both musicians have worked together repeatedly over the years, including on Ten Freedom Summers (2012) and America’s National Parks (2016), this evening was exciting as it afforded a rare opportunity to see them as a duo. akLaff played with a bit more force than normally while his partner, in contrast, seemed to be in a more cerebral mode. Smith’s tone on the trumpet is simply gorgeous. His recent purple patch as a composer sometimes masks just how great a player he truly is. I highly recommend seeing this duo at every opportunity presented.

A word about the venues. The James Cohan gallery in Tribeca is a beautiful open space. Most of audience sat on the floor, but a few chairs were made available for the comfort of older guests. The sound was good, and Blank Forms is curating at this gallery an ongoing series of free live performances during the month of October.

The Brooklyn Music School is an older venue, which is located near the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) and the Barclays Center, which means it is easy to get to by mass transit. It is a Spanish-style theatre which still has the wooden seats which speak to its antiquity. Blank Forms has had a knack for finding underutilized rooms for its shows, and this is another venue promoters should keep in mind.

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Philipp Gropper’s Philm - Consequences (Why Play Jazz, 2019) ****

By Martin Schray

Philm is Philipp Gropper (saxophone/composition), Elias Stemeseder (piano/synthesizer), Robert Landfermann (bass) and Oliver Steidle (drums). The band has existed for seven years now and Consequences is their fifth album. A main characteristic of their music is that they transfer multi-layered themes into compact compositions, in which strong, individual statements pop up like geysers. On this album, Philm have made a real leap forward in quality compared to Sun Ship, their last studio release. The line up has changed, with Robert Landfermann replacing Andreas Lang (which could also be heard on the live recording Live at Bimhuis) and they have further developed their textural, colourful and tightly knit sound, which is sometimes reminiscent of the best moments of Tim Berne's Snakeoil.

Although the compositions show different musical points of reference from the long history of jazz, electronic music, hip-hop, new music, or the classical music of Africa and India can also be considered inspiration for Philm’s music. In general, natural phenomena such as the different undercurrents of waves, the tremendous power of hurricanes, and the drift of massive tectonic plates are translated into concrete musical images by means of various compositional techniques. However, as important as the rhythmic and harmonic cells that structure the compositions and improvisations, the same applies to the sounds. Sometimes they seem to be torn apart, which is especially true for Stemeseder’s synthesizer snippets. A perfect example of their approach is “Saturn“, in which an eerie electronic texture underlines a complex drum and bass rhythm, while the sax soars with minimal, even psychedelic lines that drag you in. At the 3:30 mark the composition takes a turn, changes to an uptempo modern jazz piece, just to take a balladesque break before it ends in a complex harmonic maze.


Often the compositions are structured around changing polyrhythms, but they result in delusive simple grooves, which on the one hand seem enraptured and haunting, but on the other hand they’re also enormously intense, e.g. when Gropper and Stemeseder chase up the scale in “Consequences 1“. Overall tight and methodical, the music never relaxes in long melodies or solos, it’s a rather tightening and loosening of sounds and changes that moves the music along. Unlike the jump-cuts of John Zorn or the modular repetitions of Nik Bärtsch’s groups, Philm is an ever shifting bricolage of tones and textures, forced together into unsettling but ultimately satisfying music.

You can listen to some tracks and buy the album here.

Watch the video for “Consequences“:

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Tyshawn Sorey & Marilyn Crispell - The Adornment of Time (Pi Recordings, 2019) *****

By Olle Lawson


Tyshawn Sorey – Drums & Percussion.
Marilyn Crispell – Piano.

“There is only one place, and that place is time.”
(Russell Hoban.)

Tyshawn Sorey’s latest album is a masterwork of a journey – an oceanic experience that begins its voyage with quiet, focused intent.

Recorded live at The Kitchen (NYC) in October 2018 it is – incredibly – only the third duo performance between the drummer/percussionist and pianist Marilyn Crispell. The respect between the two artists is musically palpable and Sorey has spoken of the pianist’s “mindful decision making, intense listening, and the profound clarity with which she creatively responds.”

The darkened hall, lit only by two dim lamps, became the space of “a meeting of two spirits on a path of sound” (Crispell) – with nothing predetermined or discussed in advance.

The opening of the journey begins with a single ‘Tok!’ of wood. A slow build, examining the parameters of the sound-space; percussion constructing a base kindling with precision and purpose – knowing its role in the coming fire. Single notes of plucked piano innards move into a gentle, eking radiance of keys and chimes. At six minutes – the first distant rumbles of thunder, listening across the expansive surface plane, feeling a growing depth; a dark storm approaching.

At fifteen minutes in, the free expulsion fully opens – the first intense dance; waves of motion and emotion – ominous, descending bass stabs and low thunderous rolls replete with metallic percussion. Before all becomes still: drum whale-calls echo into the dark depths – open expanse – compounded with a single echoing tom hit; drawing a two note piano response.

Corrugated, jarred note stabs – fed by Sorey’s cymbals – then roll deep into the dark-hued tones of the lowest keys. Snare after snare into rolling toms, Crispell crisply repetitious here, imperceptibly building drama, texture and space; excavating into pitch-dark angular time. Monolithic weight.

Not only an exploration of sound and silences, but more unexpectedly – sound and space; dark, hanging-open, vertiginous space – like being suspended from a single rope, miles off shore, over deep black water, in darkest night; suspended and adorned.

Percussive chimes lead us back to the journey – to what sounds like timbers being struck, constructing sound; as a sailor might – superstitiously – touch his head to the wooden vessel, the music here embodies the relationship between the actual materiality of its own creation, through action in space. Crispell responds with pizzicato piano strings that project the playing of a harp in a field of ripped corn. Then scratched strings sound as Sorey’s bass drum tries to burrow in beneath the floor.

At the fifty minute mark huge tympani-like rolls boom before shifting into a chain-rattled invitation where the piano graces back in; a melancholy slow dance of slow-motion tears, of glockenspiel and falling chords – a chiming dialogue in decaying time.

Suddenly, a spontaneously composed coda appears. Crispell, emanating beauty outward before a tidal wall of drums seduces one into an expected end – but the piano breaks free and shifts into a slanting, sideways barrel roll only to become drawn back into a horizon point of conclusion through an overwhelming tightening snare.

Thrillingly dynamic, the breathless finale shows just how much expanse and dense narrative drive can be elicited from just drums and piano, when in the right hands.
A complete experience.

At no point in its unbroken sixty-five minutes does The Adornment of Time meander or fall into ruminative discursion, there is always a progression in movement of improvised intent and structural logic – displayed through the sheer depth of musical communication.

Quite a journey.

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Whit Dickey/The Tao Quartets - Box of Light & Peace Planet (AUM Fidelity, 2019) ****1⁄2

By Lee Rice Epstein

Drummer and master improviser Whit Dickey has spent the past three decades working in various settings with Matthew Shipp, Ivo Perelman, David S. Ware, Mat Maneri, Rob Brown, Michael Bisio, Steve Swell, and William Parker. And for several years in the early 2000s, Dickey led a brilliant pianoless quartet with Brown, Joe Morris, and the late Roy Campbell, Jr. on trumpet. We’ve long been supporters and fans of Dickey’s art, covering dozens of albums and live performances . After a lengthy break from the role of bandleader and composer, Dickey returned with 2017’s Vessel In Orbit, an outstanding trio date with Maneri and Shipp . On this double album from AUM Fidelity, Dickey convenes two new quartets for some of the most ecstatic music of his long career.

Both sets are credited to what Dickey calls his Tao Quartets, a nod to the universalism at the heart of this music. There has always been a strong, spiritual center to his music. Now, nearly a decade after his previous albums, with an audible gap in the world of free improvisation left by Ware and Campbell’s ascensions, it’s clear just how vital a presence Dickey’s compositional voice is, when he takes on the role of bandleader. Much like Perelman and Shipp, with whom he’s never stopped collaborating, Dickey’s leadership is somewhat suggestive: each song has an overall shape and general destination, but the six performers collectively guide the music. The themes of lightness, darkness, inaction, growth, ascendance, and potential, all swirl around an almost mystical center, made tangible by the threads connecting the players to one another. The result is something close to a spiritual free jazz session.

A warm heartbeat in both quartets is the shared presence of Brown, one of the great free improvising alto saxophonists. Where players often adopt a particular style, Brown (much like Dickey) has developed a voice that seems more grounded in an overall aesthetic interpretation, as opposed to something signified by motifs or certain tonal ranges. Over the past couple of decades, I’ve come to think of Shipp in a similar fashion. And on the first set, Peace Planet, Brown and Shipp often play in a unified timbral space, giving the impression of composed unison lines. Dickey and Parker’s rhythms produce an esoteric space, where time floats apart and reassembles in new configurations, amoeba-like, signaling a cosmic gestation through which Brown and Shipp perform a cyclical harmonic rebirth. Four of the five songs—“Peace Planet,” “Seventh Sun,” “Ancient Monument,” and “Blossom Time”—are each about 10 minutes, with “Suite for DSW” running nearly 15. As a clear centerpiece, it highlights Brown, in particular, as he plays tribute to Ware in spectacular fashion. His performance sometimes evokes Ware himself, but Brown mostly conjures a deep longing and powerful testament to the love and respect they all share for each other.

The second Tao Quartet swaps in Swell for Shipp and Bisio for Parker. On their album, Box of Light, the group is slightly more hard-driving. This is passionate music, fire music in Archie Shepp’s parlance—just don’t expect a throwback feel. Despite the historical precedents for a pianoless quartet, as with Dickey’s early 2000s albums, this is definitely a 21st Century album. Just like Brown, Swell is among the finest improvising players. His trombone sound is fearless, and he and Brown bounce off each other excitedly. Bisio and Dickey demonstrate their empathic connection with a vibrant, buoyant feel. Dickey pushes the group into a slightly brighter sonic space, reflecting the title and themes of the set. The first three tracks, “Eye Opener,” “Ellipse : Passage Through,” and “Ethereality,” form a nice suite-like combination. “Eye Opener” appropriately leaps off the starting block, with crisp, bold playing from everyone. “Ethereality” slides into “Box of Light,” which kicks off the second half with a lengthy, excellent improvisation. Dickey’s drumming is dynamic and percussive, and the group’s coda is a high point both quartets’ sets. “Jungle Suite” teases a bit of swing at the start, but quickly gives way to a riot of ideas. There are some folkish elements on display, echoing Spontaneous Music Ensemble, and the group ends at the tonal deep end, with staccato statements from Swell’s trombone and Dickey’s toms, before Bisio puts a final punctuation mark.

In the press for Peace Planet & Box of Light, the set was described this way:

A united pair of albums created this past Winter, the two works represent the Yin and the Yang respectively. Dickey chose Tao Quartets as the name of the groups for this work as the Tao wholly incorporates an understanding of this elemental dynamic of life, and that same understanding is here to be heard.

This is most definitely audible in the music, and I, for one, celebrate Dickey’s return to band-leading and the deep and meaningful artistic creations he inspires. AUM has promised there is more to come soon. I very highly recommend this and cannot wait to hear what’s next.

The double-album is available in a limited-edition two-CD set, as well as digital formats.

Order direct from AUM Fidelity.
 
Order from Bandcamp:

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Silvia Bolognesi Young Shouts - aLive Shouts (Fonterossa, 2019) ****

By Sammy Stein

Silvia Bolognesi is a busy woman. A double bass player, composer and arranger, she graduated from the Institute of Siena before studying jazz at the Siena Jazz Academy. She has worked with William Parker, Muhal Richard Abrams, Ken Vandermark, Antony Braxton Gianni Basso, Hamid Drake, Evan Parker and many more. In 2010 Musica jazz magazine awarded her Best New Talent award and the same year, she won the In Sound trophy in the double bass category. She leads several bands: Open Combo, Almond Tree, Xilo Ensemble, Ju-Ju Sounds, Fonterossa Open Orchestra, Young Shouts, Sly Family and since 2009 has been part of the international string trio Hear In Now with Tomeka Reid on 'cello and Mazz Swift on violin and vocals. She took part in the Art Ensemble of Chicago 50th Anniversary special project and collaborates with many musicians and has also played classical music with various orchestra and ensembles.
 
In 2010 she founded her own label, Fonterossa Records, a label set up, as she says, "to guarantee freedom of... production in full creative autonomy". She also runs classes and workshops and is professor of double bass, electric bass and combo class at Siena Jazz Academy and takes part in European exchange networks - like I said, a busy woman. Silvia has just agreed to be interviewed for my next book, which is commissioned by 8th House Publishers.

The repertoire on this CD is inspired by African-American traditional folk songs.

The 'Suite for Bessie Jones', written specifically for this group, comes from the lyrics of some of the songs made famous by the singer recorded by Alan Lomax. Her collaborators are Attilio Sepe on alto sax, Emanuele Marsico on trumpet and vocals, and Sergio Bolognesi on drums.

'Chicago Summer Storm' opens with a driving bass and drums groove set up, over which the trumpet and sax come in with harmonies before Emanuele Marsico switches to vocals and works up a conversation with the sax , conveying the intensity of a city and the confusion it can bring. There is an immediate and intense energy throughout the track, the bass hardly pausing, providing a deep, sonorous line for the others to work over. The extended , glorious sax solo of Attilio Sepe is cleverly worked around the roots of the bass line and supported by the gentle, non-invasive percussive lines before the trumpet takes over, punctuating the air with short, decisive riffs which slice over the textured arrangements for the rhythm section. 'You Better Mind ( Suite for Bessie Jones 1)' opens and closes with clear, emotive vocals from Marsico, whose clarity of tone soars over the gentle sax backing. There is a wonderfully engaging section where sax and trumpet each take their lines in opposite directions, converging periodically in harmony and also parts where the trumpet flairs and blairs with an intensity which, at full volume, just about takes your head off.

'Shoo Turkey' ( Suite for Bessie Jones 11)' is a rhythmically infused call and response in country dance style before it morphs cleverly into a harmonic, chamber music-like episode before the bass line emerges in the background, solid as a rock and strong, powerful, driving the rhythms into a forward motion, over which the trumpet steals and then expands. There is gorgeous improvisation on this track with each member of the ensemble providing their own interlude - and it is a joy when the trumpet decides to break with the rest, followed by the sax which takes over and introduces a gentler mode - initially - before ascending into a creativity which astounds. Sax and bass then converse for a lovely moment apart before drums, then trumpet join them and a well worked counter rhythm section just happens and then, then, the bass emerges and takes central position with a gorgeous solo to the end of the track - a blissful segue into 'I'm A Rollin' ( suite for Bessie Jones 111) ' which opens with a constant bass rhythms over which the vocals tell the story of travel on an unfriendly road needing help. The percussion does many wondrous things and is captivating underneath the steady vocal lines. All seems calm until the sax entry around the 3 minutes mark, which the trumpet then adds to and we are away, rhythms picking up, pace quickening. Now we are running and the harmonies are lovely, sometimes harmonious, sometimes at 5th and 7ths but addictive and so listenable. A sax solo, a trumpet counter and the track is full, textured and layered, rhythms changing, a drum solo, tempo varying and the whole thing adds up to just over 11 minutes of wonder.

'Hambone ( Suite for Bessie Jones 1V)' picks up with a drum solo, spoken poetical vocals and then some harmonious trumpet-sax with bass underneath. A three note solo phrase finish from the bass introduces the sax solo, which is strong and energetic, regularly cutting to the bass in the initial stages, which responds with short 3 and 5 notes replies before the sax travels the scales and takes a musical journey of its own, delightfully cut into by the sharp trumpet and underpinned by the bass and drums. Playful yet strong this is made more interesting by the jarring trumpet over the smooth, flowing alto lines. The trumpet takes the last part of the middle section before the bass and drums take the listener towards the end - the bass is deep, sonorous and every last vibration is heard and felt. The full ensemble finish is lovely.

'Sometimes' has a spiritual feel and Silvia's vocals are velvety and luxurious. Again, there is that lovely play and switching of first the alto sax taking a tuneful line with trumpet braying sweetly across the top, then the trumpet takes the melody and the sax returns the favour of cheeky interruptions. The joyful percussion line adds a playful element to this number. The section with bass under the chorus of vocals is really well arranged and clever. 'Semplice' is great track with each member of the ensemble contributing their voice making a very intriguing finish to the album. Tremolo bass under sax and trumpet, then bowed bass under the pair, still in counterpuntal and exquisite disharmony, serves to emphasis the fun of this number, which , though slow, has the feel of a slightly drunk Mexican bandit weaving his way home after one too many in the saloon. The trumpet slides and wavers, adding to the sense of imbalance but it is deliberate and serves to emphasise the tuneful (absolutely sober) playing which then emerges. For its changes of both keys, tempo and attitudes, this is the highlight of the album but only marginally. This entire album is an absolute find and a delight to listen to - fun, great arrangements and harmonies and the right number of perfectly placed disharmonies to maintain interest and keep the ears pricked.

The instrumentation as well as the frequent moments of collective improvisation, display characteristics of a classic modern jazz quartet. The playing is superb and the overall essence of this album is four musicians, thoroughly enjoying themselves yet with a mind to what the listener is hearing. A gem in every sense.

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Oren Ambarchi - Simian Angel (Editions Mego, 2019) ****

By Kian Banihashemi

A continuation of Oren Ambarchi's work on the Editions Mego record label, Simian Angel takes a pleasant detour from the more recent path the Australian musician has traveled. Even then it's no surprise that Ambarchi would collaborate with Cyro Baptista; the Brazilian percussionist who maintains a rich and vital role within the "Downtown" scene in New York. Both musicians have a definite knack for collaboration, with a long history of Mycorrhizal network style interaction with musicians from all types of artistic and cultural backgrounds. In other words, the influence and collaborations have proven to be mutually beneficial for whoever is involved. For Ambarchi, the music in its physical form is an important aspect to consider. As a fellow lover of the record format I appreciate the reissuing of groundbreaking works on his Black Truffle label as well as the attention to detail he puts into design of each album. In a way, this music has become singular and unique through its blending of various bits and pieces. In this case it's Brazilian chants and percussion arranged with dreamy ambient atmospheres created from Ambarchi's guitar playing.

Simian Angel almost follows in the footsteps of the musical idea of the Fourth World which was pioneered by Jon Hassell. But rather than just borrowing techniques and instruments from different cultures, Ambarchi's influences render themselves into a single gripping statement that develop over the course of time. He plays around with this vital element of time, with most songs being longer than ten minutes. Ambarchi's music has thrived in this format of musical exploration, and it's clear that he works with a drive and precision that is incomparable. The album is composed of just two side-long pieces, "Palm Sugar Candy" and the self-titled "Simian Angel". Both explore using similar instrumentation, yet these pieces create two very different atmospheres within their fifteen to twenty minute run time. Not only does this release delve into new terrain, but it recalls the organic beauty of a release such as Grapes from the Estate.

"Palm Sugar Candy" immediately portrays a mood of yearning, with a spacey ambiance that is seldom heard in the Ambarchi catalog. I'm dropped back down to Earth only a few minutes later as Baptista's whispered words and shaking instrumentation make their way to the forefront. There's a pivotal change around seven minutes and forty five seconds during which the drone drops and percussive pace increases. During this latter half, I feel completely submerged in warm, tropical waters. Although intimidating at first, the track concludes with a sustained tranquility that is hard to match. The instrumentation on this album is frequently hard to pin down, leading me to feel a childlike sense of wonder. The music stands as is, even the context for instruments used is hidden. Ambarchi is credited with playing "guitars & whatnot" and Baptista is simply "percussion & voice".

I am almost certain however that the beginning segment of the song "Simian Angel" is the Brazilian berimbau played by Baptista. This single-stringed percussive instrument provides a metallic twang that roots the twenty-minute excursion. The improvisational playing of such an instrument evokes the specific atmosphere associated with musicians like Naná Vasconcelos on the ECM label. While the berimbau disappears, a new trail has been uncovered which leads to earthy, meditative keyboard playing. Baptista takes a step back but returns with shaking percussion, maintaining a steady rhythm along with a sweeping drone line. This establishes an aural environment much like a river, with the keyboard blurbs assuming the role of small pebbles splashing in the stream of sound. Much like "Palm Sugar Candy", there's an underlying peacefulness that resides deep within the fibers of the music. This is quite the unorthodox summertime album, yet the tan tennis court and aqua background invoke shallow, sandy beaches in Brazil. Ideally, I'd be listening to this with headphones on and staring out into the open ocean. For already established fans of Oren Ambarchi, Simian Angel serves as a refreshing, undiscovered side of his music. For those unfamiliar with him or this style of music, I couldn't think of a better place to start. 

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