Deep Listening

“I am in the glories of winnowing,” Cecil Taylor states while reading his poem “Laryngeals, laryngeals…” as part of the 2008 opening festivities of the Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The performances surrounding the event are captured in a new DVD, Cecil Taylor/Pauline Oliveros Solo-Duo-Poetry.

And his solo and duo performances as part of that event provide aural evidence of such a winnowing process, although it is not a wholesale change in his approach. Rather, the listener gets a strong sense of the architecture of his improvisations, and the contrast between light and dark sections. There’s space to this music, the feeling of every note being well-considered, of course in the blink of an eye, given that we’re talking about Cecil Taylor.

The DVD consists of a 32 minute solo Taylor performance, a 16 minute solo Pauline Oliveros performance, a 22 minute duo performance, a 75 minute (!) poetry reading and 20 or so minutes of excerpts of other performances from the opening.

Considering poetry, let’s be clear: Taylor’s hands are poetry. The solo performance is concise, disciplined, exhilarating to watch. This was my first exposure to Oliveros’ work, and it wasn’t to my taste, although I’d like to hear from a fan, as she's obviously well-regarded. And she came through in the duo performance with Taylor; there’s a wonderful interplay between the two, deep listening going on throughout. And while I’m sure the fact that I’m on pain medication had something to do with this, the final section is so tender, so lyrical even, and so filled with mutual respect that it brought tears to my eyes. They hug at the conclusion, capping off a wonderful performance.

If you’re a fan of either artist this is a no-brainer.

Subcutaneous 

Subcutaneous arising
Origins
The root of the syntax
Of the music
Arising rippling following
The code the ancients
Demanding our genuflection
They smile they approve
The ceremony is their praise
The root of the music
Uncovered flowing
Tapping into the source
Language myth science astronomy
Currents uncovered existing
Unknowable

Snake Charmer

Tim Berne, Snakeoil
ECM

Tim Berne - Alto Sax
Oscar Noriega - Clarinet, Bass Clarinet
Matt Mitchell - Piano
Ches Smith - Drums, Percussion

As a long-time Tim Berne fan, I looked forward to hearing this new line-up. I enjoyed Oscar Noriega's Luciano's Dream from several years back, and I've also liked what Craig Taborn has brought to Berne's music, so I wanted to hear Matt Mitchell's contribution. Listening to Snakeoil is an adjustment when compared to his previous work, but it's rewarding, and can be viewed as a maturation of his approach. There's more subtlety, more shading, helped in large part by Mitchell as well as Noriega's clarinet textures. Whereas Bloodcount and Paraphrase were about building sustained tension with little release, Berne's compositions here are more varied and episodic. This is not a perfect record; there are spots where the thread gets lost and my attention wanders, but overall it's a great addition to his body of work. Between Snakeoil and his guest role on Simon Fell's wonderful large group work, Positions and Descriptions, we may be witnessing a fruitful new stage in Tim Berne's career.

Pete Cosey RIP

Guitarist Pete Cosey passed away this week at the age of 69. Althought he never achieved widespread acclaim, he’s best known as the lead guitarist in Miles Davis’s early 70’s band that recorded Agartha, Pangaea, and Dark Magus. While the jazz police disdained this unit, it was beautiful, intense, mysterious and scary, sometimes within the same piece. Miles in his autobiography said it captured the sound of deepest Africa, and while I’ve never been there, I can imagine what he meant. Listening to this band brings to mind vivid hues of red, orange and deep blue, on a field of black. The music that they produced presaged a lot of what was to come, and I think it directly or indirectly influenced drum n’bass, electronica, and the use of noise elements in rock and improvised music. If you want to dive in, I recommend starting with Agartha, recorded live in Japan. Here’s a clip of the band in Vienna in 1973:

Tastes Like Chicken

Marty Ehrlich’s Rites Quartet, Frog Leg Logic
Clean Feed

Marty Ehrlich – Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Flute
James Zollar - Trumpet
Hank Roberts - Cello
Michael Sarin – Drums

Marty Ehrlich is one of those unsung heros of modern jazz. He’s been a great player for years, but doesn’t seem to enjoy a consistently high profile. Other alto players, most notably Steve Lehman and Rudresh Mahanthappa, have gotten a lot of press in recent years. Ehrlich made a series of excellent albums for Enja in the nineties and early aughts, but I sometimes yearned for him to break loose a little more; he could be tasteful to a fault.

I’ve lost track of what he’s been up to the past few years, but he’s made a strong statement with Frog Leg Logic. The record is a perfect balance of memorable melodies, all by Ehrlich, with solos that straddle the inside and the outside. Ehrlich being Ehrlich, the blues is never far away in his sound. James Zollar is another under-recognized player who is excellent throughout, and it’s great to hear Hank Roberts' funky cello again. Michael Sarin is another name I don’t see quite as often as I did a few years ago, but he provides the drive and the nuance as needed.

If you’re a fan of mainstream-modern playing, you’ll like this. If you’re a fan of the avant-garde, you’ll like this.

New Cecil Taylor Live Recording

The Destination Out boys are making available, through FMP, a previously-unreleased concert by Cecil Taylor. From the site:

"Almeda (To Matie) features a previously unreleased concert by Cecil Taylor’s band from November 3, 1996. His large ensemble work has never been documented enough, so this is an especially welcome addition to his discography. The first three tracks feature different permutations of the group essaying musical variations of the theme. Although Cecil doesn’t play on these tracks, they offer a prime opportunity to focus on his skills as composer and bandleader.

The entire piece pulls together in the 36-minute final track, featuring Taylor at the piano, along with five horn players, Tristan Honsinger on cello, Dominic Duval on double bass, and Jackson Krall on drums. "

My week just got a little brighter...

A Fitting Tribute

Clare Fischer Orchestra, Extension
International Phonograph

Clare Fischer - Compositions, Piano, Organ
Various Musicians

This reissue of the 1963 big band date by Fischer, who died in January of this year, has been the topic of considerable conversation on the Organissimo forums. It's been lovingly remastered and released by Jonathan Horowitz of International Phonograph, the same label that has reissued Julius Hemphill's Dogon A.D. and Bill Dixon's Intents and Purposes. The debate has centered on whether this is a work of arranging and composing genius, or simply a well-crafted effort in line with other recordings of that period. I've listened to Extension about 4 times now, and I agree with the person who posted on Organissimo that it rewards patient listening. It sounded pretty "loungy" the first time through, partly because of the organ, which is probably my least favorite instrument. But repeated listenings reveals depth to the arrangements and some interesting voicings. I hear echoes of Gil Evans, but Fischer had his own style, based on this one piece of evidence. It's also interesting because the music draws me in, but I feel an emotional distance from it, some sense of remove. I think aspects of the recording, especially the closing "Canto Africano", mark it as a period piece. And I take points off for the organ. But overall, I like it and I'm glad I bought it.