HurdAudio Rotation: Bands, Ensembles and Secret Societies

Peggy Lee Band: Worlds Apart. 2004. Spool: SPL124.

Peggy Lee: cello
Brad Turner: trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn
Jeremy Berkman: trombone
Tony Wilson: electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Andre Lechance: electric bass, acoustic bass
Dylan van der Schyff: drums
with guest Ron Samworth: electric guitar, acoustic guitar

About as forceful a reminder of just how good the Vancouver improvised music scene is as these ears have heard. Peggy Lee's cello is only occasionally at the focal point of this sound. The collaborative sound of the full band along with the taut lines traced between improvised and artfully arranged textures is the substance of this music. The balance of shape and form from the long gesture of "Worlds Apart" transitioning into "Soft Scrape" to the short bursts of creative play of "Old One Knows" or "First Spin" give this disc a delicious asymmetry filled with plenty of variation within its various layers. The qualities of this music draw the ears in deeper with each additional listening.

Joe Lovano Ensemble: Streams of Expression. 2006. Blue Note Records: 0946 3 41092 2 2.

Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, aulochrome
Tim Hagans: trumpet
Barry Ries: trumpet
Larry Farrell: trombone
Steve Slagle: alto saxophone, flute
George Garzone: tenor saxophone
Ralph Lalama: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Gary Smulyan: baritone saxophone
John Hicks: piano
Dennis Irwin: bass
Lewis Nash: drums
Charles Russo: clarinet, bass clarinet
Michael Parloff: flute
James Weidman: piano

Music that covers a deceptively wide swath of jazz history, composition and performance that touches upon the innovative traditions and innovative contemporary practices with equal force. Gunther Schuller's arrangements mine the Gil Evans and Miles Davis collaborations in a manner that sounds vibrant and alive while still holding strong roots to a bygone era. And in many ways Joe Lovano's abilities make him an ideal performer for music that holds the entire history of jazz practice within every breath. The sequence of tracks interrupts the Streams of Expression suite by inserting the complete The Birth of the Cool Suite along with a pair of other pieces (one for small ensemble) between the second and third movement. This ordering actually helps attach the title work into the overall fabric. The extensive use of aulochrome (essentially a soprano saxophone with two horns) in the final movement of Streams of Expression and into the final track Big Ben highlights the innovative, forward looking direction of Lovano's playing on the heels of a convincing sonic argument for his place in the Blue Note catalogue and tradition.

Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: Infernal Machines. 2009. New Amsterdam Records: NW AM 017.

Darcy James Argue: composer, conductor
Erica von Kleist: winds
Sam Sadigursky: winds
Rob Wilkerson: winds
Mark Small: winds
Josh Sinton: winds
Seneca Black: trumpet, fluegel horn
Laurie Frink: trumpet, fluegal horn
Tom Goehring: trumpet, fluegal horn
Nadje Noordhuis: trumpet, fluegal horn
Ingrid Jensen: trumpet, fluegal horn
Mike Fahie: trombone
James Hirschfeld: trombone
Ryan Keberle: trombone
Jennifer Wharton: trombone
Sebastian Noelle: acoustic guitar, electric guitar
Mike Holober: piano, rhodes piano
Matt Clohesy: acoustic bass, electric bass
Jon Wikan: drums, percussion

Polished and always forward looking big band music from the steam punk machinations of Darcy James Argue. Electric guitars, electric piano and processed percussion are woven into a texture of brass and reeds as the Infernal Machine of this ensemble churns out lush, progressive textures. The result is an infernal beauty. It's the ensemble writing that shines here with extensive attention to details and innovative sonic beds running underneath some great solo work. This one deserves its many accolades and more importantly deserves to be heard and savored. Highly recommended.

HurdAudio Rotation: Ears on the Reeds

Joe Lovano Ensemble: Streams of Expression. 2006. Blue Note Records: 946 3 41092 2.

Joe Lovano: tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, aulochrome
Gunther Schuller: conductor, arranger
Tim Hagans: trumpet
Barry Ries: trumpet
Larry Farrell: trombone
Steve Slagle: alto saxophone, flute
George Garzone: tenor saxophone
Ralph Lalama: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Gary Smulyan: baritone saxophone
John Hicks: piano
Dennis Irwin: bass
Lewis Nash: drums
Charles Russo: clarinet, bass clarinet
Michael Parloff: flute
James Weidman: piano

Gunther Schuller is a rare talent who can directly reference the miraculous sound of the collaboration between Miles Davis and Gil Evans and produce an aural image thick with homage that still crackles with all the vitality and contemporary verve that made this body of music so electric more than a half century ago. He does more than emulate the sound of those brilliant Evans arrangements, he caresses an evolutionary sheen that reveals just how rich a large ensemble sound still is. With Joe Lovano as the focal point of these performances - and as composer for the works surrounding the Birth of the Cool Suite - Streams of Expression presents an experience not unlike encoutering Miles Ahead or Sketches of Spain for the first time. Lovano has a knack for drawing upon deep jazz roots and delivering the sound of a living history. There is no stench of conservative revivalism in this music. These are great arrangements combined with passionate performances that are more than worthy of any Blue Note recording of any era.

Anthony Braxton Sextet: (Victoriaville) 2005. 2005. Victo: cd098.

Anthony Braxton: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, sopranino saxophone
Taylor Ho Bynum: trumpet
Jay Rozen: tuba, electronics
Jessica Pavone: violin
Chris Dahlgren: bass
Aaron Siegel: drums, percussion, vibraphone

Musicologists will have an abundance of riches to sort through when studying the music of Anthony Braxton. The overwhelming substance of his theoretical underpinnings is backed up by an expansive recorded catalogue that could take several lifetimes to fully absorb. Somewhere in that ocean of Braxtonian bliss is this sampling of "second species ghost trance music" as performed by this sextet of brilliant improvisers. The near-meditative quality of this long-form composition ripples with the intense layering and sensitive contributions from the members of this group.

Ellery Eskelin: Vanishing Point. 2000. Hat Hut: hatOLOGY 577.

Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone
Mat Maneri: viola
Erik Friedlander: cello
Mark Dresser: bass
Matt Moran: vibraphone

This could almost be thought of as Eskelin's "Tenor and strings (with vibraphone)" with the way this sound contrasts against the aural image of a lone reeds man soaring against a "lush" bed of strings. The reality of this recording is that this is a quintet of equals where no one plays "second fiddle." The sonic interaction between players and the complete spontaneity of these free improvisations is a showcase of real-time composition from five of New York's finest creative talents. The low to mid-range territory of this instrumentation is never clouded as the ears applied to these performances keeps the thickness of this sound well in check with startling contrasts and an intuitive grasp of form.

HurdAudio Rotation: Japanese and American Voices

Shonen Knife: Brand New Knife. 1997. MCA Victor/Big Deal: 9035-2.

Naoko Yamano: vocals, guitar, melotron
Michie Nakatani: vocals, bass
Atsuko Yamano: vocals, drums, percussion

It's not all heady jazz and dusty classical in the HurdAudio rotation. And there are times when the ears need some candy.

There's something undeniably pleasant about this strange mix of an all-grrl punk trio filtered through the cultural lens of Japanese-to-English translation. The quirky song subject material (roller coasters, fear of frogs, boredom, eating healthy, etc.) combined with the non-native English language with it's "off" tenses and rhythms makes for several amusing moments. The draining of the concrete baggage of language that results is a positive byproduct. The seven "bonus" tracks of the original Japanese versions of these songs allows one to hear the startling difference in vocal delivery between the two languages.

Brian Sacawa: American Voices. 2007. Innova: 675.

Brian Sacawa: saxophones

Piece in the Shape of a Square by Philip Glass
Pre-Amnesia by Lee Hyla
Pastlife Laptops and Attic Instruments by Erik Spangler
Netherlandi by Chris Theofanidis
Bacchanalia Skiapodorum by Derek Hurst
Voice Within Voice by Keeril Makan
The Low Quartet by Michael Gordon

Yo, Brian! Wassup! When's that Hybrid Groove Project disc gonna drop? I'm diggin' that Pastlife Laptops and Attic Instruments and all and looking forward to some fresh beats from the Dubble8... Actually, after hearing Pastlife live a few times and spinning American Voices in the rotation the integration of groove and turntable technique with Sacawa's tone and sensibility draws the ears deeper into promising territory yet to be fully explored.

I'm also struck by Derek Hurst's Bacchanalia Skipodorum this time through American Voices. The timbral similarity between the electronic sounds and the saxophone is explored to great effect. The placement of live saxophone (with light reverberation) within the electronic soundscape helps accentuate the rhythmic qualities of this piece's construction as Sacawa threads his way through the electronic jungle.

Joe Lovano Ensemble: Streams of Expression. 2006. Blue Note Records: 946 3 41092 2.

Joe Lovano: composer, arranger, tenor saxophone, alto clarinet, aulochrome
Gunther Schuller: composer, conductor, arranger
Tim Hagans: trumpet
Barry Ries: trumpet
Larry Farrell: trombone
Steve Slagle: alto saxophone, flute, soprano saxophone
George Garzone: tenor saxophone
Ralph Lalama: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Gary Smulyan: baritone saxophone
John Hicks: piano
Dennis Irwin: bass
Lewis Nash: drums
Charles Russo: clarinet, bass clarinet
Michael Parloff: flute
James Weidman: piano

This disc succeeds on so many different levels it's scary. A focused listening is enough to come away smitten by this music. The brilliantly arranged and composed "The Birth of the Cool Suite" by Gunther Schuller is centerpiece of this listening experience. This gem is surrounded by movements from Lovano's own "Streams of Expression" composition along with three smaller ensemble pieces mixed in to fill out the outstanding sequence of music that unfolds over this disc. The range of small and large ensembles gives this one a nice range of density. And its the use of density that makes the Gunther Schuller's writing so deeply engaging. Beyond the compositional riches there is also a wealth of great improvisation from Lovano (and the rest of his ensemble too, but Lovano's playing is on a whole other plane here). I'd give this one an A+, four stars and a 10 out of 10 or whatever metric one uses to measure quality.