3081 Reasons to Dig Free Improvised Music in Baltimore

3081 @ The Red Room, Baltimore, MD
Saturday, May 17, 2008

Dave Ballou: trumpet, cornet
John Dierker: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
Michael Formanek: 5-string electric bass
Will Redman: drums

Reason # 3079 - Michael Formanek's irresistible double-bass technique translates well to the electric. He strums, plucks, taps and coaxes an amazing sound with all that amplification. The tight confines of the Red Room added an element of danger as the neck of the instrument swayed within range of Dave Ballou's head.

3081 played two short sets at the Red Room with a focus on deep listening and intensity. This quartet of Baltimore-based musicians with deep jazz roots bring an aggressive, edgy approach to free improvisation that succeeds on the responsiveness between players and a confidence that allows for collaborative, well-formed pieces of variable texture and relatively short durations. These are musicians with serious chops making music without flashy displays of empty showmanship.

Reason #3080 - The percussive brilliance (and whimsy behind the graphic scores of Book) of Will Redman. Dynamic range, extended technique and even an electric toothbrush in the service of spontaneous ideas.

Reason #3081 - These are four of the most consistent voices of Baltimore's growing improvised music scene. Individuals worth seeking out in Micro Kingdom, Quartet Offensive, New Volcanoes, Open Music Ensemble, Science Friction and any number of other projects that have enormous pull for these ears. Knitting these compelling individuals into a single quartet is an enriched human mathematics of sound.

Denmanic Polyrhythms

Denman Maroney Quintet @ An Die Musik, Baltimore, MD
Saturday, November 3, 2007

Denman Maroney: hyperpiano
Dave Ballou: trumpet
Reuben Radding: bass
Ned Rothenberg: reeds
Michael Sarin: drums

Denman Maroney's music mines a beautiful rhythmic angularity as layers of polyrhythms test the musicianship and concentration of his quintet for a sound that is both tight and deliriously off kilter. The individual parts are kept simple, yet animated, with Maroney's left hand lending a stride piano pattern of a 2-against-1 pattern that occasionally anchors the texture. Maroney's right hand was often literally "single handedly" executing cross-rhythmic patterns or lending some well-placed, spare voicings (I was particularly fond of the way he used major seconds). The individual players of the quartet animated their own independent parts so that the overall sound was far more than cyclical rhythmic patterns unfolding as temporal manifestations of whole-numbers. The extreme levels of concentration never overwhelmed the musicality of the performance as they managed to cling to a tenuously obscured pulse.

The first set consisted of shorter works - many of which Maroney has recorded with Mark Dresser - that were a pleasure to finally hear live. Pieces like "Double You" and "MC" are already in frequent rotation at HurdAudio and it was a pleasant surprise to watch how those textures are put together in performance. The second set featured a world premiere performance of Udentity - a substantial long-form composition that dives deep into Maroney's polyrhythmic sensibilities. Maroney's use of empty CD "jewel boxes" inside the piano was particularly interesting as he dragged them lengthwise along the strings at alternating intervals to create an acoustic version of a Shepard Tone. Udentity was occasionally unpolished in this performance, but intensely captivating throughout.