The Necessary Blues

Music Featured:
Meredith Monk
Turtle Dreams (Video)
1983, WGBH
Performers:
Robert Een
Meredith Monk
Paul Langland
Andrea Goodman

Meredith Monk
Key
(1971, Increase Records)
Meredith Monk, voice, organ, jews harp
Daniel Ira Sverdlik, Dick Higgins, Collin Walcott, Lanny Harrison, Mark Monstermaker, voices

Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble
On Behalf Of Nature
(2016, ECM)
Sidney Chen, Ellen Fisher, Katie Geissinger, Meredith Monk, Bruce Rameker, Allison Sniffin, voices
Bohdan Hilash, woodwinds
John Hollenbeck, percussion
Allison Sniffin, piano, keyboard, violin, French horn
Laura Sherman, harp

How does the audience approach art that shatters boundaries? Breaking the rules can be thrilling, but also can be disconcerting. What of the artist whose innovation is so influential that it has changed artistic expression itself, and who as a result has gone from being an outsider artist to part of the firmament? Is that artist’s work better appreciated by bracing yourself for the intense genre-busting entries, or for the more mature works which land closer to the tradition? What entrance points will inspire, intrigue or enthrall the new listener?

These considerations are at the fore if you’re new to Meredith Monk. Monk changed music forever by employing vocal sounds and techniques from outside western art – or maybe her vocal stylings are simply sui generis, it’s hard to untangle what’s from where. Like all revolutionaries, the first documents of this breakthrough are a demonstration of the new. You’ll be excused if you think that “Insect ” from Songs from the Hill, or “Low Ring” from Lady of the Late, are simply provocations. Some will be enthralled, others might want to flee! But as Monk’s music has gained a following, she has shifted from confronting the tradition to assimilating and changing it. So where should the newbie start?

Part of Monk’s genius is the interdisciplinary nature of her work – her voice, composition, keyboard work, performance and dance are all related. To get a flavor of that package you can start with the 1983 video produced by WGBH of Meredith Monk performing Turtle Dreams:

I would swear that I saw this at an some odd hour in the mid 1980’s on PBS, and just had no idea what I was watching! This video is like nothing else, and exists buried somewhere deep in my subconsciousness next to 1970’s videos on Mummenschanz. Who knew 25 minutes of four people stepping back and forth while singing could be so mesmerizing? It’s wild and fun; while Monk’s music is not a joke, you can really appreciate the whimsy here. A classic.

Where is go next? For the adventurous, try Monk’s first album Key from 1971:

Key features Monk’s solo voice with minimal accompaniment, and is the most clear demonstration of Monk’s innovative expansion of vocal technique. The first track is a type of cappella chant that seems inspired by vocals from an ancient ritual, but away from that context seems strange and new. Later tracks are propelled by spare but effective instrumental accompaniment and showcase Monk’s always arresting and unique vocals. This album will always be fresh. By the way, at the beginning of the linked video, check out Monk getting the 2014 National Medal of Arts from President Obama! You can also get Key in a recent vinyl reissue here.

If the frankly avant garde character of the Key and Turtle Dreams is too much, but you don’t want to miss out on one of the unique voices in modern music, try Monk’s more recent work. While giving up none of it’s idiosyncrasies, Monk’s recent music has incorporated traditional elements. For example, Monk recorded an opera, ATLAS, in 1993. While the largely wordless opera sounds like nothing else, it initially eschews the extreme tonalities of Monk’s earlier work and the music is largely buoyant and infectious. “Future Quest (The Call)” is one of the most purely beautiful things I’ve ever heard.

Also don’t sleep on Monk’s instrumental writing, the best documented being for keyboard. Check out the dual piano album by Ursula Oppens and Bruce Brubaker Piano Songs. The writing here is very approachable and at times quite rousing.

One of the best places to start with Monk’s recent work is her 2016 masterpiece On Behalf of Nature. Here Monk shows as much imagination with the instrumental writing as the voices, and weaves it all into a cohesive vision. Monk avoids a polemic about destruction of the environment by uses her wordless vocals to suggest or mimmic motifs from the natural world. Monk’s concept is that humans use words to categorize and control, and so she creates art that fulfills the title’s promise by depicting nature through singing wordlessly. A serendipitous meeting of subject and artist.

Most importantly have fun! At least for this listener, Monk’s music does not take itself seriously – this music is unique and entertaining, and often really, really funny. I don’t say that to imply the music’s intent and sincerity are not there (anything but!) – I mean Monk’s music is adventurous and fun if you come to it with that spirit. This is important music, but which is light and not pretentious. Whatever path you choose make sure you appreciate the humor here and have a good time.

(Photo from www.meredithmonk.org)

Summer is here! Some wonderful albums got us through May. Two of them are just one epic track long – maybe a lesson for life to just concentrate on the most impactful statement, and leave everything else out. Then if that was too intense, there was the serene and beautiful sounds of the Fuubutsushi quartet to calm us down, and the immersive world created by I, Castorpollux. These albums were all so good and so different, it was hard to pick, so we have four TNB Picks for May. May also brought us an a searing guitar/drums duo, a wonderful tenor sax trio, a remarkable solo sax album, and the first album released here by an accomplished musician/artist from Isreal. With great music at our side, we’re ready for June!

TNB Pick!
Erika Dohi – I, Castorpollux
(released May 14, 2021)

Erika Dohi- keys (all tracks except 10), percussion (1) and vocal (6)
William Brittelle- additional keys (1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10)
Andy Akiho- steel-pan and percussion (2,6,11)
Ambrose Akinmusire – trumpet (7)
Jeremy Boettcher – fretless bass (4,7,8)
Channy Leaneagh – vocal (4,8)
Emily Wells- vocal (2)
Immanuel Wilkins- alto saxophone (2,7,11)
Zach Hanson – piano (5)

A conceptually heady and fascinating album. The first track starts with narration spoken in Japanese, telling of Dohi’s experience at age 7 in the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Hiding alone under a table, she emerged to find that the world around her had disappeared. When Dohi returned to Kobe years later, a new world had sprung back, but with a lone structure surviving from before the earthquake, the Tower of the Sun built for Expo 70. The album is preoccupied with the idea of one’s self existing in the past and present at the same time and how trauma and change creates duel selves. One of the standout tracks is “Particle Of…” , which Dohi states “deals with quantum tunneling and the idea of the multiverse, and that fascinates me because it creates the possibility of a parallel universe and alternate realities. What if I did something differently in the past, are there different versions of myself, and does every choice I make create a new reality?” There’s a lot going on here! For more on this record, check out Dohi’s website. Dohi is a virtuoso, but admirably downplays her chops and concentrates on melody and atmosphere. It’s immersive and quite wonderful.

TNB Pick!
Jusell, Prymek, Sage, Shiroishi “Fuubutsushi Quartet” – Yamawarau (山笑う)
(released May 7, 2021)

Chris Jusell: violin, voice
Chaz Prymek: guitar, bass, clarinet, synths, samples
Matthew Sage: keyboards, percussion, voice, acoustic guitar, field recordings
Patrick Shiroishi: trombone, guitar, glockenspiel, tenor and alto sax, laptop, samples, voice

Jusell, Prymek, Sage, Shiroishi “Fuubutsushi Quartet” – Setsubun (節分)
(released February 2, 2021)

Chris Jusell – violin
Chaz Prymek – bass, guitar, synthesizer, clarinet, field recordings
Matthew Sage – keyboards, percussion, radio, field recordings
Patrick Shiroishi – alto, tenor, and soprano saxophones, clarinet, glockenspiel, samples, voice

Jusell, Prymek, Sage, Shiroishi “Fuubutsushi Quartet” – Fuubutsushi (風物詩)
(released September 29, 2020)

Chris Jusell – violin
Chaz Prymek – guitars, field recordings, voice
Matthew Sage – keyboards, percussion, voice, field recordings
Patrick Shiroishi – alto & tenor saxophones, clarinet, flute, glockenspiel, samples, whistling, voice
additional vocals on “Chorus Wheel” by Matt Crook and Anna Wilson

Four musicians for four seasons. These three albums (a fourth one is forthcoming) were created out of a COVID social distancing practice – the musicians recorded the albums remotely from their homes in separate states. The music here is infused with a calm hopefulness that is the perfect antidote for, and may be inspired by, our world during lockdown. Fuubutsushi, released last September, is a Japanese word that describes the feeling that the season is about to change. Last September’s album captures the soft radiance of Autumn, and introduced the group’s spare but interactive dynamics. Setsubun, released in February to celebrate the Japanese New Year, has the peace of a country walk on a winter morning. This month brought Yamawarau, which captures the awakening of Spring. Not all ambient music rewards close listening the way these albums do – they’re truly beautiful. You’ll hear about the to-be-released summer edition here for sure!

TNB Pick!
Sō Percussion, MEDIAQUEER, Adam Tendler, Alex Sopp, Beth Meyers, Shelley Washington, Grey Mcmurray – Stay On It
(released May 14, 2021)

Sō Percussion (Eric Cha-Beach, Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting) – Percussion
Adam Tendler – Piano
MEDIAQUEER (Darian Thomas and Phong Tran) – Electronics, Keyboards, Violin and Vocals
Grey Mcmurray – Guitar and Vocals
Beth Meyers – Viola and Vocals
Alex Sopp – Flute, Piccolo and Vocals
Shelley Washington – Saxophone and Vocals

The music of Julius Eastman (1940-1990) has been getting recent attention, and if the results are like this exhilarating record, I can hardly wait for more. Stay On It, composed in 1973, starts with a joyous parade rhythm that will have you dancing around your apartment. About 10 minutes in the cacophony closes in, but that’s joyous too. Sō Percussion says on their Bandcamp page they turned to Eastman during the Pandemic because his music allows for flexibility and interpretation. Hopefully that spirit will draw other interpreters, and an audience as well.

TNB Pick!
[Ahmed] – Nights on Saturn (communication)
(released March 26, 2021)

Pat Thomas – Piano
Joel Grip – Bass
Antonin Gerbal – Drums
Seymour Wright – Alto saxophone

More Pat Thomas! Just one tune recorded live at Cafe OTO, which interprets two compositions by the groups’ namesake Ahmed Abdul-Malik. Frankly this performance takes off from the source material and achieves it’s own blistering momentum based on the strength of the musicians here. Thomas’ piano playing is outrageous and mesmerizing, and Wright’s saxophone really burns. Grip and Gerbal lay down a propulsive rhythm and the results are very much a group effort. Based on the energy on display, this group needs to be experienced live – a good reason to plan a trip to London!

Chris Corsano & Bill Orcutt – Made Out Of Sound
(released March 26, 2021)

Chris Corsano – Drums
Bill Orcutt – Guitars

Every Bill Orcutt record is an event. Here his guitar playing scales the usual radiant heights, and finds an ideal partner in Chris Corsano’s flexible drumming. This album, like the Fuubutsushi Quartet above, was recorded remotely due to COVID restrictions. Here, Corsano recorded the drums tracks alone in Ithaca NY, and then sent them to Orcutt to overdub his guitars. A duet separated by time and space is proof that artistic ingenuity overcomes and sometimes thrives on obstacles.

María Grand – Reciprocity
(released May 14, 2021)

María Grand – tenor saxophone and voice
Kanoa Mendenhall – acoustic bass and voice
Savannah Harris – drums and voice

María Grand is new revelation – her great tenor sax sound is dark and weighty but her playing is fleet and melodic. This album, her second, was inspired by her experience of carrying her first child. Grand adds some spoken word sections that meditate on creation and existence, which are certainly not to everyone’s taste. But the music is creative and alive, and Grand’s band mates Meddenhall and Harris are terrific.

Patrick Shiroishi – resting in the heart of green shade
(released March 5, 2021)

Patrick Shiroishi – alto, soprano & tenor saxophones

Shiroishi’s solo sax outing could not be more different from his stately reeds in the Fuubutsushi Quartet (see above). Here, the solo sax work summons more energy than most bands. Each track is intense and quite mesmerizing. Shiroishi is a force to be reckoned with! Also, he appears to release an album just about every month, so if you like his playing, there’s a lot more to dig into. Check out his Bandcamp page.

Maya Dunietz – Free The Dolphin
(released May 7, 2021)

Maya Dunietz – Piano
Amir Bresler – Drums
Barak Mori – Double Bass

Donitz is new to me and this album impresses. So does Dunietz’ Wikipedia page, which shows an artist equally conversant in playing several instruments, composing and the visual and sound arts. Her Bandcamp page says “Maya Dunietz is a prodigy pianist, an avant-garde sound artist, an award winning composer, a dubious character and mom of four.” Her piano is just as playful, morphing one minute from Ahmad Jamal-like structures to ragtime to modern playing that reminded me of Geri Allen at times. At 27 minutes this does leave you begging for more, and hopefully more will come.

Here’s the Spotify playlist:

Abdul Wadud – By Myself
(Bisharra Records – 1977)

Oasis

Camille

Happiness

Personnel: Abdul Wadud, cello

“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives. It is within this light that we form those ideas by which we pursue our magic and make it realized.”

Audre Lorde’s words from Poetry is Not A Luxury were published in 1977, the same year Abdul Wadud’s By Myself was released. Lorde’s argument that poetry is crucial applies equally to music like Wadud’s solo cello masterpiece. This art fills the actions and spaces of our lives with emotion, understanding and meaning. So it is our sincere hope at TNB that all will hear By Myself – those who listen will hear a record of great innovation and beauty.

But how to have access and listen to this album has been the question! Wadud released By Myself on his own Bisharra imprint with limited distribution. The album has never been re-issued or made available in any digital format. Good luck finding a copy of the LP, and if you do, you can expect to pay an eye popping sum for it. If it were not for the community of music lovers posting this on You Tube – you can find the whole album here – the vast majority would have no access to this music at all.

Who is Abdul Wadud? Wadud is unjustly obscure. Fortunately, there are two terrific interviews that you can find, one from 1980 and the other from 2014, where we can encounter Wadud speaking in his own voice. Wadud grew up in Cleveland Ohio, in a large family with diverse musical interests – one brother played jazz trombone, a sister sang opera, and a brother played rhythm and blues guitar. Wadud concentrated on cello from grade school and says that his interest in the avant garde goes back to Albert Ayler, also from Cleveland and who used a cello in his band. In 1960’s Cleveland there was a community of progressive musicians, and by age 18 Wadud was on his first recording of the new music with the legendary Black Unity Trio (recently reissued – you can get it here).

By inclination and to make a living as a musician, Wadud made a name for himself in two worlds – by day he played for classical symphonies such as The New World Symphony and The Jersey Symphony, and by night gigged with a who’s who of creative musicians on the 1970’s – Julius Hemphill, Frank Lowe, Arthur Blythe, Leroy Jenkins, James Newton, Anthony Davis and others. After a decade of playing in ensembles led by others, Wadud recorded By Myself in 1977. The interviews linked above provide an important key to understanding Wadud’s playing and to appreciating By Myself in particular. In an exchange with Tomeka Reid, she praises Wadud’s importance to creative music, and in response Wadud explains his innovation on cello:

“Tomeka: I think in my mind, I think of you as how Pablo Casals was with the Bach suites. To me it’s like Abdul Wadud is that important figure in this music. I don’t know if you know what I mean. There were other cellists before him of course but he definitely set the bar, especially in regards to Bach Suites. I feel like as far as creative music on the cello, to me you were that person.

Abdul: I think I said that in my liner notes on By Myself. I approached the cello not in the lyrical sense that it was known for. I had a percussive approach at times, chordal approach, as well as linear approach and tried to incorporate all of that depending on the situation and the demands of the music at that time.”

Wadud expands on this idea in the 1980 interview with David Lee:

“My approach, as I outlined in the liner notes of my solo album [By Myself], is to approach the instrument in its totality. I don’t believe in boundaries, I don’t believe in the cello being necessarily limited to being an accompanying instrument, or a rhythm instrument, or a so-called “lead” instrument. The cello can be anything that I want it to be. If I want it to be a drum, it can be a drum. There are times when I use it as such. When I want it to be a horn, it can be a horn.”

This multifarious approach characterizes the music on By Myself – just play the opening tune “Oasis” to hear the expanded technique Wadud displays. The tune starts with free tempo pizzicato playing, quickly bridging into resonant strummed “blue” chords, followed by a frenzied cubist-like structure which intersperses three different thematic elements in rapid succession. The tune then settles down into a blues based vamp that rides the performance out. The quick intercutting of so much material pushes this performance to the limits of virtuosity. It’s fascinating, complex, and begs to be heard multiple times to appreciate and savor all Wadud is doing here.

The tune “Camille” has become somewhat better known for being included in the New York Times 2020 piece “5 Minutes That Will Make You Love the Cello.” Cellist Tomeka Reid (one of Wadud’s interviewers above) says of Wadud on “Camille” “He uses the whole range of the cello and moves between lyrical, free playing and groove with ease.” “Camille” starts with a slightly melancholy bowed introduction, then switches to pizzicato for the song-like theme. The melody of “Camille” is memorable and really affecting. It closes Side A of the LP and leaves the listener with a lasting impression of Wadud’s depth and ability to communicate.

The album closer “Happiness” starts with a section played on the bow which alternates between deep tonal and dissonant fragments. The tune then transitions into Wadud’s guitar-like strumming, the tempo rapidly picks up and we realize why the tune is called “Happiness.” The rush of music in the last two minutes of this song is truly joyous and life affirming.

By Myself is a brilliant demonstration of Abdul Wadud’s comprehensive technique, not to mention a perfectly programmed album. Wadud has created a work of art that draws the listener in and shares lasting beauty. It’s also an album that speaks across 43 years to the moment that we live in, art created in solitude which through it’s grace and power makes us appreciate the beauty of being alive.

Now somebody needs to get this lost gem a proper reissue!

Where to go next:

For a musician with such a slender discography, Wadud has contributed to a wealth of astounding musical moments. Most notable are his collaborations with Julius Hemphill, foremost being the legendary Dogon A.D. – the subject of this blog’s inaugural post! Wadud’s’s playing on this seminal album is notable throughout, from his fearsome vamps on the title track, to the deep bass tones he gets at the cello on the tune “Rites”, to the earthy pizzicato work on “The Hard Blues.” All essential.

There’s tons of amazing Wadud on the 2021 release of archival recordings from Hemphill, which a whole albums’ worth of duets with Wadud. All of the Wadud/Hemphill duets are terrific, and you should also check out Live in New York and Oakland Duets. These are musicians who had a special bond.

Arthur Blythe was another important collaborator and features Wadud with the unusual lineup of alto sax, cello, drums and tuba on The Grip, Metamorphoses and Illusions. There’s a couple of incredible YouTube clips of this unconventional and amazing band in Berlin in 1980 and Montreux in 1981. The only other video I know of Wadud in performance is a duet with James Newton from 1981. Check out Wadud’s solo here – it deploys the blues in such a unique and powerful way. You’ll notice the melody he plays at the end of this solo is drawn from “Camille”, and played here to stunning effect.

Unfortunately Wadud was sidelined by ill health in the 1990s and he has not recorded since. Much of his discography is out of print, but every recording he appears is something to celebrate. Spread the word!

This April TNB listened to three special albums paying tribute to masters of 20th century music – Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton. To those who think making repertory albums suggest a lack of new ideas, take a listen. These records show not only passion and a deep connection to the material, but a creative approach that makes the music current and relevant. Rounding out TNB picks, we have an excellent drummer led jazz album, the belated release of the last studio album by a legendary South African pianist, an album of political string music, and some intense noise and noise rock. Enjoy!

TNB pick!
Stephanie Nilles – I pledge allegiance to the flag – the white flag
(released March 5, 2021)

Stephanie Nilles – piano and voice

Pianist and singer Stephanie Nilles interprets the music of bassist and composer Charles Mingus. April 22nd was the 99th anniversary of Mingus’ birthday, and there’s no better place to start your Mingus centennial celebration than here. Mingus’ passion resonates with the current moment – he captures the plight of the underdog and stands up to injustice. Nilles captures the Mingus magic right out of the gate in her epic reading of the protest anthem Fabels of Faubus. The performance captures the outrage, surrealism, the simultaneous embrace of the blues and the European tradition, and the drama, that all define Mingus. Both timeless and now.

TNB pick!
Pat Thomas/The Locals – The Locals Play The Music Of Anthony Braxton
(released December 17, 2020)

Pat Thomas – piano, melodica
Alex Ward – clarinet
Evan Thomas – electric guitar
Dominic Lash – electric bass
Darren Hasson-Davis – drums

Pat Thomas and his band The Locals focus on early compositions of Anthony Braxton. This from a 2006 live performance in Austria, and it comes from Thomas’ personal archive. The arrangements are by Thomas. For those who only think of Braxton’s music as dry and academic, take a listen. Wild, angular and intense – maybe danceable too! And Pat Thomas’ piano playing is something else – he’s new to me, and I’m going to have to catch up with this great talent.

TNB pick!
Miguel Zenón – Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman
(released March 12, 2021)

Miguel Zenón – alto saxophone
Ariel Bringuez – tenor saxophone
Demian Cabaud – bass
Jordi Rossy – drums

We need more repertory albums of Ornette Coleman’s music! Zenón’s approach and sound have little in common with Coleman, and this album is better off for it. Zenón says in his liner notes: “[Coleman’s] music is everlasting, and I believe that we should all consider ourselves lucky to live during a time when we could all experience Ornette’s work, from afar and up close.” Durable and effervescent.

New Muse 4tet – Blue Lotus
(released February 26, 2021)

Gwen Laster – violin, composition
Hsinwei Chiang – violin
Melanie Dyer – viola
Alex Waterman – cello

The New Muse 4tet is the project of violinist and educator Gwen Laster, who has played with everybody – the Sun Ra Orchestra, Danny Elfman, Aretha Franklin and J Lo and Shakira at President Obama’s Inaugural Neighborhood Ball, just to name a few. This album features stirring string music, but made deeper by the themes of protest. “The Black Lives Matter Suite” is the center of the album, dedicated to Sandra Bland, Samuel Harrell, and the Newburgh Four, all victims of unlawful arrest, abuse or entrapment at the hands of police. Beautiful music with a righteous cause. Mingus would approve.

Florian Arbenz, Hermon Mehari, Nelson Veras – Conversation #1: Condensed
(released April 23, 2021)

Florian Arbenz – Drums
Hermon Mehari – Trumpet
Nelson Veras – Guitar

I’ve never heard Swiss drummer Florian Arbenz before, but he’s quite good – his ride cymbal swings, he packs in lots of detail, and it’s so well recorded too. You can tell right away the drummer is the leader, but the music is very strong. The first three tracks are especially striking, but don’t miss the cover of “Freedom Jazz Dance” that ends the album – the arrangement and playing are great. This is the first of 12 planned albums of “conversations” with different groups, and I’ll be checking in with future installments for sure.

Bheki Mseleku – Beyond The Stars
(released March 13, 2021)

Bheki Mseleku – piano, voice

A 2003 solo piano set recorded in London by South African expat Bheki Mseleku. The music was not released at the time, and is only coming out this year 13 years after Mseleku’s passing. Mseleku’s playing is spontaneous and shows a deep connection to the South African musical tradition. A welcome release.

Sana Nagano – Smashing Humans
(released March 19, 2021)

Sana Nagano – Violin/fx
Peter Apfelbaum – Tenor saxophone/megaphone
Keisuke Matsuno – Electric guitar
Ken Filiano – Acoustic bass/fx
Joe Hertenstein – Drums

These are musicians who take their noise very seriously. The first three tracks are especially focused and intense, with guitar, drums tenor sax and violin locking into an atonal parade march. Blistering! Also, I love the album cover.

¡FIASCO! – Post-Truth
(released February 16, 2021)

Nelson Dougherty – guitar
Andrew Frankhouse – saxophone
Stephen Arnold – bass guitar
Keith Butler Jr. – drums

Washington DC-based band led by the saxophonist and guitarist, who first recorded this quartet last year. What if Fugazi collaborated with Albert Ayler? You get the idea – a post rock free jazz mash up.

Here’s the Spotify playlist:

Bruford – Feels Good to Me
(EG/Polydor -1978)

Back to the Begining

Beezelbub

Seems Like a Lifetime Ago

Either End of August

Personnel:
Bill Bruford – drums, percussion
Allan Holdsworth – electric guitar
Dave Stewart – keyboards
Jeff Berlin – bass
Kenny Wheeler – flugelhorn
Annette Peacock – lead vocals

Art is often pigeonholed into categories that may enable basic understanding, but limit imagination and creativity. As musical language grows and becomes more emotionally nuanced, the use of yet more labels is an unfortunate consequence – it’s hard to keep up with all of the new terms used to describe a band, an album or a genre.

So it’s a refreshing change of pace to encounter music that embraces different worlds and refuses to be reduced to categories. The music on Bill Bruford’s Feels Good to Me combines different music genres to produce a unique sounding result. How did this genre crossing album come to be?

To 70s progressive rock fans, Bill Bruford needs no introduction. Bruford was one of the founding members of Yes, where he developed his intricate style of drumming. He left Yes in 1972 to join King Crimson, where he stayed until Robert Fripp disbanded Crimson (for the first time) in 1974. Bruford then became something of a journeyman drummer, playing with various bands which culminated in touring with Genesis for their 1976 tour.

Given Bruford’s resumé up to this point, you might not expect his first solo record to move away from rock, but Bruford went on to prove that his evolution was not a “one off” – he went on to make jazz influenced solo projects and uncategorizable music with his next group, Earthworks. Feels Good to Me sits at a hard-to-describe crossroads between prog rock and improvised jazz – the music is unusual, surprising and worth revisiting.

Bruford composed the material for this record together with multi keyboard player Dave Stewart in the first half of 1977. The tunes feature complex arrangements with intricate keyboard parts, memorable melodies and eschew sprawling prog rock-style runtimes. But the real magic is the unique blend of musicians. In addition to Stewart, Bruford hired American bassist Jeff Berlin, who does not sound like a rock bass player. (Check out his playing on “Beelzebub”, the second track posted here). Berlin plays notes that fall aggressively ahead of the beat, dominating the head of the song. Elsewhere his playing is virtuosic, drawing from funk, rhythm and blues, and Jaco Pastorious-style licks.

Even more unusual for a “rock album” is the inclusion of great trumpet player Kenny Wheeler (featured on flugelhorn here). Wheeler had at this point established himself as a leader on his classic album Gnu High (1976), so to see him here as a sideman is very unusual. Wheeler’s solo and accompaniment on “Seems Like a Lifetime Ago” and lead playing on “Either End of August” are gorgeous. Employing Wheeler here reminds me of another great album recorded in 1977, Steely Dan’s Aja, and it’s memorable use of jazz musicians including Wayne Shorter. Something must have been in the air!

And then there’s Allan Holdsworth. Holdsworth’s guitar playing was already legendary after his stint playing with drummer Tony Williams, where the world was introduced to his influential style of hyper fast “hammered” notes (later adopted by Eddie Van Halen). But that flashy technique is only part of Holdsworth’s playing – he also emphasizes melody energized by his terrific sound, and paces his solos to an emotional climax by using the tremolo bar to “bend” the timbre of his notes.

Bruford spoke extensively in interviews about the importance of Holdsworth’s playing to this project. After this album, Bruford recruited Holdswoth to join him in the prog “supergroup” U.K. The experience Holdsworth had with that group tells us a lot about what kind of player he is – Holdsworth (and Bruford) left after recording only one album because of musical differences with the rest of the band after Holdsworth’s bandmates told him to stop improvising different solos on each song. Being “in the moment” is clearly central to Holdsworth’s concept, which you can hear in this music.

On “Beelzebub,” Holdsworth plays a perfect rock guitar solo – he starts with soaring long notes, builds to a climax with terrific use of the tremolo bar, and ends with rapid “hammered” 64th notes. Elsewhere, Holdsworth plays a long adventurous solo on “Back to the Beginning”, and again shows the passion he can inject into his playing with his short but memorable solo at the close of “Either End of August.” All fantastic stuff! This record captures Allan Holdsworth in transition between his rock background and the more open improvisation of his subsequent work. Holdsworth’s solos here are succinct and exciting.

The most unusual choice that Bruford made is having Annette Peacock sing vocals at four tracks on this record (three of those posted above). Peacock’s background and contributions to music deserve their own post (deserve an entire book really!). She is one of the innovators of the Moog synthesizer (given the instrument by Bob Moog himself), she composed an entire catalog of jazz tunes (now standards), and has released decades worth of genre bending albums, some enjoying renewed interest such as 1970’s I’m the One and others waiting for rediscovery.

Unsurprisingly, Peacock’s singing here upends expectations. After the grinding rock riff that starts “Back to the Beginning”, you’d expect vocals that employ volume and vibrato typical of rock singers. Peacock’s speech like delivery, and clean vibrato, smartly placed high in the mix, are surprising and oddly perfect. On “Seems Like a Lifetime Ago”, Peacock effortlessly switches gears into jazz balladry. Peacock’s inclusion here is divisive of course, and many rock purists prefer Bruford’s 1979 One of a Kind, which has no vocals at all. To me, the inclusion of a Peacock elevates this record into something more interesting and fresh sounding, worth revisiting all these years later.

These choices all reflect the openness of Bruford taste and an interest in avoiding the staleness of composing and playing that falls in the rules of musical genre. Bruford’s title seems well chosen – not only is ‘feel’ the key attribute of a drummer’s playing, but he also creates fresh sounding music by bringing together different musicians based on this intuition. The result “Feels Good to Me” as well!

I hope you enjoy these genre-crossing tracks. If you like what you’ve heard here you can listen to the rest of this album on Spotify and Apple Music. Bill Bruford is retired from playing, but he maintains a terrific website that you should check out if you want to explore more of his music.

Enjoy!

Starting this month The Necessary Blues will be posting every other week! Mid month you can expect our deep dive into a classic performance from the history of progressive music. Check out our last post about Magma’s strange and wonderful “Last Seven Minutes”. Up next you can expect another post about a classic and overlooked progressive rock/jazz album. Quick teaser – what’s the only album that has Annette Peacock, Kenny Wheeler and a titan of mid 70s rock drumming . . . find out in two weeks!

But now our new feature at The Necessary Blue is monthly album reviews! At the end of each month we’re going to post short reviews and links to our favorite new and recent albums in progressive, experimental and jazz music. We’ll also put together a Spotify playlist of highlights from these records so that you can dive right in – (see the bottom of this post).

So without further ado, here is The Necessary Blues March 2021 record round up!

TNB Album Pick!
Patricia Brennan – Maquishti
(Valley of Search, Released 1/15/2021)

Patricia Brennan, Vibaphone and Marimba

Brennan’s album has all the qualities that make a great solo recital: an engaging program, an original and distinctive sound, and a sense of mystery that keeps the listener moving forward. Most amazing is the wonder at sound itself – a communion of listener and performer over the ringing tones hanging in the air. Brennan’s patience and rigor are singular. My favorite album of the year so far!

TNB Album Pick!
Zeena Parkins, Mette Rasmussen, Ryan Sawyer – Glass Triangle
(Relative Pitch Records, released 2/26/2021)

At almost two minutes into the fabulously named “Begiunners, begges, beattle, belt, believers”, Zeena Parkins’ electrified harp announces itself, sounding like a massive foghorn from the depths of hell. Later in the same piece, she plays repeating patterns reminiscent of laser beams from a science fiction movie. The saxophone playing and drumming here are kinetic and amazing, but what really makes this album singular are the amazing sounds that Parkins dreams app. The flow of the album is also very canny, with each composition skillfully segueing into the next so that it creates a continuous set of music. Bracing and fantastic, the best “out” release of 2021 (so far).

Tamil Rogeon – Son of Nyx
(Soul Bank, released 2/5/2021)

Tamil Rogeon, viola; Sam Keevers, keyboards; Daniel Mougerman, keyboards; Sam Anning, bass; Danny Fischer, drums; Javier Fredes, percussion.

This whole album is pretty terrific, but best in the spirited lead track, “House No Wheels.” Jazz violin (here, viola) is so great. I imagine playing this on a sunny weekend morning while drinking a cup of coffee and enjoying the cool breeze.

Alban Darche – Le Gros Cube #2
(Yolk Records, released 3/5/2021)

Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone; Loren Stillman, alto saxophone; Alban Darche, tenor saxophone; Matthieu Donarier, tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet; Rémi Sciuto, baritone saxophone, flute; Joël Chausse, trumpet; Geoffroy Tamisier, trumpet; Jean-Paul Estiévenart, trumpet; Olivier Laisney, trumpet; John Fedchock, trombone; Jean-Louis Pommier, trombone; Samuel Blaser, trombone; Matthias Quilbault, tuba; Marie Krüttli, piano; Gilles Coronado, guitar; Sébastien Boisseau, double bass; Christophe Lavergne, drums

There’s a moment on the opening tune “A la bougie” when the alto sax solo hits a crescendo while Darche’s intricate big band chart swells – at that moment the incredible potential of the big band is fully realized. Darche says he conceived this project as a meeting between American musicians (Irabagon, Stillman) and Europeans where they use his tunes to confront and modernize traditional big band music. The playing is terrific and the charts are stirring. I’ll have to listen to more of Darche’s music. Darche says he aims to go from “the familiar to the confusing, offering the disconcerting that sounds “classic.” Offer very personal colors in a familiar landscape, or build a complex landscape with colors that are nevertheless obvious.” Mission accomplished!

Thumbscrew – Never is Enough
(Cuneiform Records, release 2/26/2021)

Tomas Fujiwara, Drums; Mary Halvorson, Guitar; Michael Formanek, Double Bass and Electric Bass

The trio of Halvorson, Formanek and Fujiwara have been making records for years as Thumbscrew. I need to dig more into their back catalogue, but this one is dark, mysterious and feels like it’s own immersive sound world. A highlight is the title track, where Formanek’s electric bass allows the band to suddenly morph into a twisted new wave band. Awesome! Elsewhere, the band feels right at home exploring all types of bent harmony. It’s an accomplishment to make music thus immediately identifiable and distinctive.

Matty Stecks & Dead Cat Bounce – Lucky & Live in STL
(Matty Stacks Music, released 12/30/2020)

Matt Steckler, Jared Sims, Felipe Salles, Charlie Kohlhase – saxes, Gary Wicks – bass, Bill Carbone – drums

I fell in love with the sound of a saxophone choir with the first chord of the World Saxophone Quartet’s Live from BAM, so you know I’m a sucker for this stuff. Here the sax quartet is supplemented with bass and drums in live performances from 2003, but released at the very end of 2020. Stecks plays tenor sax, and gets the expected dense harmonies with his fellow sax players on soprano, alto and baritone. Full of energy and ear catching sax harmony.

Cortex – Legal Tender
(Clean Feed, Released 10/30/2020)

Thomas Johansson trumpet, percussion, Kristoffer Berre Alberts saxophones, percussion, Ola Høyer double bass, percussion, Gard Nilssen drums, percussion

Cortex calls itself “avant garde party music“, and this album delivers spirited and energetic music in spades. The music reminds me of Ornette Coleman’s 50’s quartet, with plenary of fire but also melody to keep you tapping along. The tunes give all the band members a chance to shine – from an intense sax solo on “Standby”, lithe drumming on “GTM” and fiery trumpet playing on “I-95.” Don’t miss the “trick ending” on the last tune “Loose Blues.” Yes, avant grade music can be FUN. Also: classic record cover!

Hedvig Mollestad Trio – Ding Dong. You´re Dead
(Rune Grammofon, released 3/19/2021)

Hedvig Mollestad, Guitar, Ellen Brekken, bass, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad, drums

Right out of the gate this sounds like an outtake from King Crimson’s Red (not a bad thing), and the tunes progress from one vein of guitar riffing to another. Also reminds me of Chris Haskell’s side project when he played guitar with Henry Rollins. I bet this would sound great live.

Binker and Moses – Escape the Flames
(Gearbox Records, released 12/12/2020)

Binker Golding – tenor saxophone, Moses Boyd – drums

Brits Golding and Boyd have been a big deal for years, but this is their first album I’ve listened to. It like Coltrane’s Interstellar Space for the people. You can hear the energy of the musicians, and also a refreshing enthusiasm from the audience. The community of listeners on display here is one way forward for this music.

Gretchen Parlato – Flor
(Edition Records, released 3/5/2021)

Gretchen Parlato, vocals; Marcel Camargo, Guitar and Musical Direction; Artyom Manukyan, Cello; Léo Costa, drums and percussion; Mark Guiliana, Drums; Gerald Clayton, Piano; Airto Moreira, Voice and Percussion

In this wildly varied program, Parlato presents songs that range from the expected Brazilian rhythms of the opener, to a cover of the Anita Baker song “Sweet Love”, and to Parlato doing a wordless vocal to 5th movement of Bach’s 1st cello suite. The album’s range may stop some listeners from digging in, but surprises abound, and it makes me look forward to the next one.

Archie Shepp & Jason Moran – Let My People Go
(Archieball, released 2/5/21)

Archie Shepp, tenor sax, soprano sax, voice Jason Moran, piano

Duets between Shepp and Moran playing a mix of gospel songs and reverential covers of Duke, Strayhorn and Monk – sounds too good to be true! The playing is sincere and the album is solemn at times but loosens up as it goes along. Don’t skip the bonus tracks! They include live performances with memorable piano and tenor sax. Moran really lets loose on this version of “Jitterbug Waltz” – excellent!

Here’s the Spotify playlist, enjoy:

The Last Seven Minutes
Attahk (1978, Eurodisc)

Personnel:
Christian Vander (Dëhrstün) – lead vocals, drums, percussion, grand piano, Rhodes piano, Chamberlin
Klaus Blasquiz (Klotz) – vocals
Rene Garber (Stundehr) – vocals
Stella Vander (Thaud) – vocals
Lisa Bois (Sïhnn) – vocals
Tony Russo – trumpet
Jacques Bolognesi – trombone
Benoit Widemann (Kahal) – grand piano, Rhodes piano, Minimoog, Oberheim polyphonic synthesizer
Guy Delacroix – “Earth” bass (Ürgon), “Air” bass (Gorgo)

The title of this post is a phrase that to most, maybe even its own creator, has no meaning – but when shortened to the phrase “Magma”, it references an iconoclastic French band who created a musical movement, their own language, and a vision of the future.

Magma was founded by Christian Vander in 1969, and birthed from the unprecedented musical discovery that year. The seminal sounds of In the Court of the Crimson King, the electrifying Led Zeppelin II, Miles Davis’ sonic expeditions on In a Silent Way, and Trout Mask Replica’s insanity, all in equal parts catalyzed the sound of Magma; an eclectic stew band founder Vander calls “Zeuhl.” Translating to “celestial” in Kobaïan, the constructed language created by the band, the genre is a cosmic soup of breakbeat rhythm, scatsinging in tenor, and choral chanting. These disparate elements are glued together in patchwork surrounding a (usually very cheesy) concept album.

Beside musical aspirations, the band was chiefly spawned of Vander’s dystopic vision of the future. Precipitated by political and ecological ruin, he predicted that Earth would come under the rule of a demagogy, with Earthlings needing to escape and found the planet Kobaïa to ensure humanity’s survival. Naturally, the only place to share this premonition with the world would be in 1970’s debut, the self-titled concept album Magma.

Meeting middling album sales and little critical acclaim, 1971’s sophomore 1001° Centigrades was a broad step from the band’s original style. Less emphasis was placed on melody, and more on the rhythmic nature of military drumming and march songs that would come to inspire the band’s next album, Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh. Commonly abbreviated to MDK, this record managed to break into international sales beyond the French avant-garde and fared very well critically. The album cover would come to be the band’s symbol. MDK, by all accounts, looked to be the Magma’s defining work. But when have creatives on the edge of their craft ever stuck to the same sound, especially one bringing breakout success? Later albums brought a sharp movement away from the genre they created, and into a separate niche centered around funk and rhythm tracks. Gospel influence was, of course, pulled as well, leading to the haphazardly named Spiritual (Negro Song). This track is one badly named blemish on Attahk, one of Magma’s lattermost albums, and a personal favorite.

Every track on Attahk fulfills its own role – the elegiac Dondai rounds out the album with its slow balladry, an interesting change of pace in Magma’s repertoire. Maanht, conversely, depicts the clash between a sorcerer and Satan as a James Brown track thrown in a blender, warped in the most enjoyable way. Klaus Blasquiz makes the track his own with demonic groaning over a fat, driving bass rhythm. Synthesizer, trumpets, and harmonizing vocals, come together over a marching drum beat occasionally. I imagine it lends the sorcerer’s demonic battle a sense of grandeur.

Of course, these tracks that form the backend of the album are gems – but none so much as the standout track of Attahk, the ironically named opener The Last Seven Minutes. The song begins in media res, immediately dropping listeners into the thick of its complexity. Two interweaving bass layers and an odd drum timing immediately leave the rest of the instrumentation to catch up. What initially sounds odd coalesces upon the introduction to Christian Vander’s tenor, just odd enough to tie together the frenzied Kraut-inspired beat that has thus far led the song.

If nothing else, the track is always changing; from one minute’s half-time harmonic explosions, to frenetic scat movements, building steam for a sudden change halfway – a funky half-time breakdown into the track’s climax. No musical idea is fully expanded upon, instead used and just as quickly discarded. It’s certainly an acquired taste. Progressive contemporaries like Led Zeppelin released similar epics, such as Kashmir, which took a simple chord and pushed it to its musical limit; Vander was never content to stay in the same place. While nothing fully matures except for the sweeping chorus towards the song’s end, nothing ever grows old either, creating an engaging listening experience.

It is easy to place the jazz influence on Vander. He foregoes classical composition for a structure that evolves as the track ticks forward; it’s a musical equivalent to the winding stream-of-consciousness paragraphs of Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway or Joyce’s Ulysses, which were written as their authors wandered the labyrinthine streets of London and Dublin. In Vander’s case, it was Paris.

A building choral coda leads us out of the track, providing a grandeur to the track that evokes previous Magma projects. It’s distinctly less dissonant, a different shade of enjoyable that’s less derived from the surprise of listening and more from the sonic pleasure of the riding on top of the chorus and instrumentation is Vander’s bizarre vocal performance, which can only be described as dolphin sounds? Hilarious, but that hilarity fits the uptempo groove of this section, exuding optimism and an infectious cheesiness. It’s hard not to be charmed – oh, it’s over?

Without finding a conclusive place to end, the track cuts to the sound of flailing percussion, stopping unceremoniously in its building momentum. Just enough for the listener to enjoy both the funky dissonance and melodic swing-timing, while not tiring of either. In this single track, Magma evokes the mortal experience; The Last Seven Minutes haplessly places its listener into the middle of a chaos and only plucks them out when that chaos finally makes sense of itself. Were this any other band, that’d be reaching, but with Magma it’s a possibility.

Jesse Koblin

Seven Storey Mountain VI
(2020, Pyroclastic Records)

Nate Wooley – trumpet, amplifier; C. Spencer Yeh – violin; Samara Lubelski – violin; Chris Corsano – drums; Ben Hall – drums; Ryan Sawyer – drums; Susan Alcorn – pedal steel guitar; Ava Mendoza – guitar; Julien Desprez – guitar; Isabelle O’Connell – keyboards; Emily Manzo – keyboards; Yoon Sun Choi – voice; Melissa Hughes – voice; Megan Schubert – voice

The arc of each performance is familiar, but each is also unique. Veiled in mystery, the music begins quietly. Prior iterations started with a shimmering cloud of sound from the ringing of a vibraphone, or crisp rattle of brushes on a snare. This time, the proceedings begin with a haunting wordless vocal, and then settle into the quiet hum of tape loops and a halo of dissonance. Suddenly, just like before, a repeated bell rings out an invocation for the music to morph and grow. Building in intensity, the players use their instruments to add ear-grabbing texture. Under layers of sound, we hear muffled voices, distorted and shaped to the point that they have shed their identify; another mystery in the mix. Yes, this is music, but it’s also more – it’s an enveloping environmental experience, a journey with a gripping and memorable arc, it’s wonder cast in sound.

Nate Wooley has taken us on this journey through his piece Seven Storey Mountain again and again, and has released the most potent update of his vision with last year’s Seven Storey Mountain VI (SSM from hereon). There is so much to say about this music, and we can only scratch the surface here. The best place to start is to look at Wooley’s inspiration and process, which he explains in a spring 2009 interview done for Paris Transatlantic magazine:

“The genesis of SSM was a longstanding interest in mystical religion, . . . as I grew older I became fascinated with the ecstatic experience, the painful ‘dark night of the soul’ stuff. Especially interesting were those that admitted to being worldly beings, like St. Augustine and Thomas Merton. Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain is basically his “confessions”. It’s an autobiography of his early life, leading up to his acceptance into the Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky and including some of his spiritual life there. There’s no real flowery language in the book, just a lot of writing about indecision, confusion, a little bit of pain, super-self-consciousness. In 2007 I was commissioned to write a piece for Dave Douglas’ FONT festival in New York and as I was mostly consumed with the idea of recreating this kind of ecstatic state with music, using a language that was specific to me at the time and not a traditional drone/repetition scenario, I started working with a long-form piece that would hopefully be a start in the right direction. The musical idea was to create a tape score (all from my air-conditioning unit at home with the exception of one singing portion and piano) that would take the place of the traditional drone, then write very loose music over the top that would give different players some kind of musical idea of how to proceed as the piece went on. Initially the idea was to keep the tape portion and use different players for each iteration, recording as I went. The next grouping, which I’m working on scheduling right now, is with C. Spencer Yeh and Chris Corsano. I’ll make a completely new tape score, as they work in a much more sustained and harsh sound world, so I have to rethink the technical aspects a little (my amp playing has become more refined as well), but the main idea is the same, to attempt to achieve a certain feeling of ecstatic release in an abstract setting. I’m not sure how successful it is, but I end up liking the music, so I keep trying anyway.”

In the 11 years since this interview Wooley has continued developing this idea and realizing new editions of SSM, each time increasing the size of the forces used and complexity of the work. SSM 3 and SSM 4 were both performed and recorded live at Brooklyn’s Issue Project Room. SSM 3 features the hypnotic drone of twin vibraphones; SSM 4 emphasizes a dynamic build to a crescendo of amplified trumpet and a brass choir. SSM 5 (2016) was performed live at Abrams Art Center and again increases the size of the players, now to 18 musicians, and ups the complexity and nuance of the pre prepared tapes and the interactions of the players with the piece.

This brings us to the current version, SSM 6. On top of the other methods Wooley has employed, he has now added an overt message. Words have always been as part of SSM, both as part of the prepared tapes and also intoned by Wooley through his trumpet, but before they were processed and buried in the layers of sound, becoming part of the sonic tapestry. As Wooley says in the liner notes to SSM 6:

“For the first time, I was angry. I was truly angry as I watched what people do to each other: how some make decisions about peoples’ lives as if they were objects . . . This anger manifested as the desire to sing loud, but not just with my voice. I didn’t trust my strength alone. Instead, I put my trust in the voices of the women around me. . . The composition of SSM 6 came into focus when I first heard Peggy Seeger’s recording of “Reclaim the Night” from her album Different Therefore Equal. I listened to it over and over again, concentrating on the power of her words and the clarity of her voice. SSM 6 uses the first few lines of “Reclaim the Night” as a kind of mantra. The hope was that those leaving the performance—or coming to the end of this recording—would not just remember the melody but also, through its repetition, be able to retain some of Peggy’s words.”

The message is made clear by printing Peggy Seeger’s words on the album cover, which is posted above. The cumulative results of this potent message, the canny planning of the album and the musicianship of the players, is exemplary. SSM 6 is the first of this series to be recorded in the studio, and it benefits from detail and fidelity it’s predecessors did not have, while pulling off the trick of retaining the spontaneity and impact of live performance. The music leaves an indelible impression, which Wooley makes explicit as his goal in the liner notes:

“Seven Storey Mountain is meant to make you feel something. The live performances of these pieces make people react. They smile, shiver, cry, run for the door to compose their angry emails. The ensemble is there, playing this music, for people to remember that feeling and to take it home with them. We seek to imprint a moment on you.”

This album and it’s music is an event. Above all, the force of the music does speak for itself – the power of it’s concept is clear from beginning to end yet the complex music is full of mystery that will keep drawing me back. Also, Wooley has said he plans seven records of this project – if that comes to pass – I can hardly wait for the next one!

Where to go next:

If you’re fascinated by SSM 6, please purchase a copy! Artists like Wooley need support for this music to survive. Going back and listening to the prior iterations is time well spent. SSM 5 is available here, and SSM 3 and SSM 4 here.

Outside of writing and performing music, Wooley oversees the Database of Recorded American Music—an incredible streaming-service specializing in American 20th century contemporary classical music, and he created and is the editor of a Sound American, a magazine that does a deep dive on experimental music. Those are worth checking out for people interested in progressive music.

Nate Wooley has been one of the top trumpet players and musicians playing new music for New York, and his discography is extensive. Some places to start are his terrific and more “inside” Nate Wooley Quintet albums, (Dance To) The early Music and (Put Your) Hands Together. Also check out his fantastic album showcasing a “double trio” led by himself and cornet player Ron Miles, and the striking mediation on awe of nature, Columbia Icefield. Keep and eye on Wooley’s website, for updates on what’s he’s doing. Above all, when this Pandemic is over go out and see him and other musicians playing vital new music – this music does not exist without you!

Equipose (1978, Galaxy Records)
Stanley Cowell, Piano; Cecil McBee, Bass; Roy Haynes, Drums

Equipoise

Musa and Maimoun

Dave’s Chant

At the end of 2020, we got the sad news that the pianist Stanley Cowell died on December 17th at the age of 79. Excellent obits by Nate Chinen and Giovanni Russonello are recommended and are very informative about Cowell’s life and his music.

An important key to Cowell’s art is apparent on his first record date, Marion Brown’s Three for Shepp. The album is a prime example of the fire of the mid sixties avant grade, full of dissonant energy. On the tune Spooks, the young Cowell takes the first solo and immediately breaks into stride piano, channeling Art Tatem amidst the maelstrom. You can listen to it here. On his only other solo from this date (the tune Delicado) he plays Cecil Taylor-like runs that were more current for 1966. Right from the beginning Cowell demonstrates that he embraces new progressive music making, but also brings the chops, knowledge and taste from the jazz tradition. Cowell is one of music’s most complete musicians.

Cowell made a number of impressive records that demonstrate this simultaneous embrace of the past and the future. Most prominent is his incredible solo record Musa – Ancestoral Streams, where he plays a fantastic range of potent original compositions. Some highlights are the earthy use of thumb piano on Travelin Man’, the searching modal composition Prayer for Peace, and the avant garde (and amazingly virtuosic) Departure. This is one of the definite solo piano records, period.

Another of Cowell’s outstanding records from the 1970’s is Equipose, released in 1978 on the Galaxy label. The name of the album is taken from Cowell’s composition of the same name. Equipoise seems a fitting title for Cowell’s best known tune – his music embraces a balance between two forces often pitted against each other – modernism and the tradition. I’ve posted the above tracks to celebrate this high water mark of Cowell’s great music.

Much of the success of Equipose is because of the amazing musicians that support Cowell – Cecil McBee on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. These are musicians who knew each other well. Cowell and McBee played together in a crucial working band of the early 70’s – Charles Tolliver’s Music, Inc. Cowell is on two Roy Haynes albums with McBee from the prior year (Thank You Thank You and Vistalite) and McBee, Haynes and Cowell serve as the rhythm section on Art Pepper’s excellent comeback album Today (1978). Cowell and Haynes had both played on Jack DeJohnette’s The DeJohnette Complex (1969), and Haynes clearly had an affection for Cowell’s music – Haynes recorded the tune Equipoise on his own records in 1971 and 2011. You can hear the empathy between these musicians in these definitive performances.

One of challenges of performing the song Equipose is to create excitement and variety when soloing over the call and response melody. Cowell neatly solves this problem by choosing a brisk tempo for this version, leaving room in the arrangement for interaction with the bass and drums, and then playing the second chorus of his solo in double time. The results are quite amazing! Cowell is able to preserve the melancholy mood of the piece, but also fill the performance with energy and texture.

This is the only recording I know of Musa and Maimoun. Not many tunes have the unexpected twists and turns this one does. The performance starts in a somber place but quickly morphs and transforms, sounding more and more urgent with each bar. The way Cowell steadily notches the intensity up as his performance progresses is something to behold. Then McBee takes a wonderful solo which shows his speech-like articulation. Cowell returns and plays forcefully, exchanging fours with Haynes. By the time the tune de-accelerates and slides back into it’s plaintive melody, you’ve been on quite a journey!

Dave’s Chant is a showcase for the excitement this trio can create. After a vamp set up by McBee’s bass, the tune quickly picks up steam. Haynes’ drumming on his snare and ride cymbal is hyperkinetic, and Cowell’s playing at this tempo is fleet and dexterous. Cowell uses blues vocabulary, bebop, and pianistic runs to striking effect. I’ve played this tune over and over – the playing is something to marvel at and the energy level is awesome!

Equipoise is one of many great entries in Cowell’s under appreciated discography. Throughout, he shows how big his ears and heart were, with an openness to both old and new musical language and readiness to make a distinctive statement in any setting. In an interview with Jimmy Heath in Jazz Times (Cowell played piano with the Heath Brothers band for years), Heath said about Cowell:

“His music is unique. It’s not like anyone else’s that I know. He’s not strictly a bebopper, and he’s not strictly from the Tatum school. He’s got his own voice in this world. He has things as avant-garde as Ornette Coleman and that era of music. The whole spectrum of African-American classical music. And he never forgets the history of African-American people, and he tries to do everything he can to better our position in the world.”

Let’s not let a musician of this excellence be forgotten!

Where to go next:

Equipose is on Spotify and Apple Music. Listen and enjoy! The rest of the album is wonderful. Musa Ancestral Steams is one of the most impressive solo piano sets. It’s not on the streaming services, but Acoustic Sounds is coming out with a new vinyl pressing in February 2021. Exciting! If you don’t have an LP player, you can listen to the whole album on You Tube here.

Cowell’s 1960’s and 1970’s discography with trumpet player Charles Tolliver is fantastic. Start with Max Roach’s Member’s Don’t Get Weary (1968), which features both Cowell and Tolliver. It’s on Spotify and Apple Music. Cowell and Tolliver started their own record label, Strata East, and put out the exuberant Music Inc. which features Tolliver’s intense big band, but also a lot of terrific Cowell solos. It’s not on the streaming services, but it will also be reissued in vinyl, and there’s You Tube of course.

After the heady recordings of the 1970’s, Cowell quietly recorded one great album after another for the Danish Steeplechase label, including his last release, a live date from 2019, Live at Keystone Korner Baltimore. They are all on Spotify and Apple Music, where you have access listened to them all – they sound great! The early nineties seems to have been especially strong with Departure #2 (1990), Games (1991), Bright Passion (1993), but I’m still listening and will report back.

If you have a favorite Stanley Cowell record, leave a comment – the beauty of this music should be heard by all.

Seize The Rainbow
(Enemy EMY 104)
Sonny Sharrock – Guitar; Melvin Gibbs – Bass; Pheeroan Aklaff – Drums; Abe Speller – Drums

My Song

The Past Adventures Of Zydeco Honeycup

Sheraserhead’s High-Top Sneakers

For those who think jazz is effete or needlessly intellectual, listen to Sonny Sharrock. Sharrock plays with the language of an omnivore – Blues, Jazz, Rock, Metal plus an electrifying spontaneity, all deployed within a master’s command of structure. His playing does not fall into any narrow pigeon holes. Unfortunately, the world does not have enough Sharrock to listen to – his discography is terribly small due to lack of economic opportunities that prevented him from recording. Maybe if experimental music had been more viable, Sharrock’s work in the 1960’s would have been the springboard to a higher profile in music making. His career started with a lot of exposure as a sideman – highlights are appearances on Pharoah Sanders’ Tauhid (1966), on a Wayne Shorter record (Super Nova, 1969), on a significant though uncredited appearance on Miles Davis’ Tribute to Jack Johnson, and a regular gig that paid the bills with the popular Herbie Mann. This sideman activity was followed by the opportunity to record under his own name on 1969’s Black Woman. All these recordings show Sharrock’s potential, but did not give space for Sharrock and his guitar work to take center stage. By the early 1970’s it seemed like things were set up for a definitive Sonny Sharrock record, but the floor fell out on opportunities in experimental music. By 1975 Sharrock quit music altogether, and spent the rest of the decade earning a living away from music by taking care of disabled children and driving a cab.

Sonny Sharrock may have ended up being only a footnote in music history, but fortunately the bassist and producer Bill Laswell coaxed Sharrock out of retirement to appear on a minor classic of early 80’s New York ‘No Wave’, 1981’s Memory Serves. From there Sharrock thankfully was able to record again and again in the 1980’s – Sharrock stated in a 1991 interview that “the last five years have been pretty strange for me, because I went twelve years without making a record at all, and then in the last five years, I’ve made seven records under my own name. That’s pretty strange.”

One of the best from this bumper crop is Seize the Rainbow, recorded and released in 1987. This record was released under the “Sonny Sharrock Band”, putting the emphasis on the musicians who give Sonny Sharrock’s guitar the support it deserves – Melvin Gibbs plays always supportive but quite inventive bass lines, and the rhythm is driven by two drummers in tandem – Pheeroan Aklaff and Abe Speller. The result is a powerful and convincing record and a highlight of Sharrock’s discography. Melvin Gibbs, interviewed by Hank Shtreamer, emphasizes the range of the music:

“He was exploring all of those things: He would explore a really beautiful sound and then kind of crash it. And then he could take the crash thing and show you how to bring it back. I can’t say enough good things about Sonny, as far as what he was doing musically, in terms of the emotional continuum. I mean, the whole point of heavy metal is you’re trying to get a certain emotional energy across, and you need to explore a certain set of sounds to get that emotional energy across. And because Sonny’s music covered such a wide emotional area, I was able to throw a whole bunch of stuff in there that might have seemed out of context in other circumstances, and he was very supportive of that.”

The standout song of the album is undoubtedly ‘My Song”, a showcase for a moving Sharrock guitar solo. It’s an ABACC 40 bar form. Sharrock’s emphasis on melody is an overlooked aspect of this playing, and his simple phasing of the melody in the first chorus of his solo is a prime example. It is not until the third chorus of his solo that Sharrock really lets loose, and the results are unforgettable – after playing low feedback before the bridge of the 3rd chorus, he plays a soaring pattern with deft support from Gibbs. It’s astonishing and powerful. The track fades out after Sharrock’s’ solo – there’s nothing left the other members of the band to say after this statement!

“The Past Adventures Of Zydeco Honeycup” is a tribute to Professor Longhair based on Longhair’s tune Tipitina. It emphasizes Sharrock’s connection to tradition. The song has a straightforward structure. The guitar solo builds to a climax that shows off Sharrock’s terrific note placement and uses sustained notes to great effect.

“Sheraserhead’s High-Top Sneakers” might feel like and end session throw away recorded to fill out the record. Indeed, Gibbs testifies to the expedited way the session went – he states that “We couldn’t have spent more than two hours recording.” So what’s so good about this tune that I should bring it to your attention? The audibly quick pace of the recording brings out a looseness and cohesion to the group sound that justifies the album titles moniker that this is the “Sonny Sharrock Band.” The duel drum sound is especially locked in here – this would have been great to hear live! Sharrock’s intense guitar sound is amazing, of course.

Unfortunately the excellence of this album is an unfulfilled promise. Three years later Sharrock recorded his oft cited masterpiece, Ask the Ages (check it out, please!), and after that spent time on the road. In 1994 Sharrock was taken from us from a heart attack at age 52. The tracks I’ve posted hint at what great music we may have heard had he lived.

I’ll leave you with words of wisdom from a master. Not enough is made of the intellect that comes hand in hand with the ability to create great improvised music. When you listen to interviews with Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins their depth of thought and open mindedness comes through clearly. Although there are less interviews with Sonny Sharrock, he displays those same deep qualities in the spoken word. Speaking to Guitar Player about the nature of improvisation, Sharrock gave advice to players which equally describes his playing: “Remember that your improvisation must have feeling. It must swing and it must have beauty, be it the fragile beauty of a snowflake or the terrible beauty of an erupting volcano. Beauty–no matter how disturbing or how still–is always true. Don’t be afraid to let go of the things you know. Defy your weaker, safer self. Create. Make music.”