Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You
| Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You | ||||
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| Studio album by Mark Dresser Seven | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Clean Feed Records | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
11 |
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running time |
62:42 |
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| occupation | ||||
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David Breskin |
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Studio (s) |
los Angeles |
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Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You is a jazz album by Mark Dresser . The recordings were made in Los Angeles from September 16 to 18, 2018 and were released on March 22, 2019 on the Clean Feed Records label .
background
After Sedimental You (Clean Feed, 2016, with Michael Dessen , Marty Ehrlich , Nicole Mitchell , David Morales Boroff, Joshua White and Jim Black ), it is the second album by the Mark Dresser Seven formation that was recorded with almost the same line-up; Keir GoGwilt joined the band for violinist David Morales Boroff.
The album begins with “Black Arthur's Bounce”, a tribute to Dresser's former colleague, alto saxophonist Arthur Blythe, who died in 2017 . "Dresser's bass makes the jump," noted Dan McCLenaghan. “The rest of the septet wanders a little crooked, with interrupted moments in which incoming and outgoing flashing solos can be heard - bass, violin, flute. Then it's Marty Ehrlich's turn, plays a peppery alto saxophone and nods to Blythe. ”In“ Black Arthur ”Jim Black creates a slap groove with the band leader“ and violin and horns alternate freely before the written melody appears . Blythe fans will easily recognize the feeling of movement in the classic Lenox Avenue Breakdown recording, and Mitchell's flute combined with Dessen's deep brass is reminiscent of the mix of James Newton's flute and Bob Stewart's tuba. The ensemble is designed to sound a bit jagged and funky and the players have a lot of fun and daring playing over the strong beat, ”said Will Layman.
This approach is repeated in “Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup”, according to the author. "Embodied in Seou" also begins with more than five minutes of free exploration before the written melody kicks in. These movements are articulated by the four main instruments, but played over a restless rhythm section: “Black stumbling freely, White improvising atonally, and Dresser entertaining an angry period of time.” The beginning of the “melody” is “more careful and exploratory, as if the band were following looking for the material that she needs to put together the ensemble's upcoming interplay. "
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"Let Them Eat Paper Towels" captures the headline from Paul Krugman's column in the New York Times on President Trump's appearance in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico in October 2017; the president threw paper towel packs into the crowd. "It starts with a choppy atmosphere that melts into a groove with a beautiful interplay of flute and trombone, leading to Marty Ehrlich's supple, powerful clarinet, which gives way to a series of winding violin lines," wrote Dan McCLenaghan in All About Jazz . Its bass line abstracts the melody of "Que Bonita Bandera", the unofficial national anthem of Puerto Rico, but sets the melodic core in a completely different atmosphere.
According to Eyal Hareuveni, two pieces present Dresser's innovative compositional ideas and address purely musical themes: “Gloaming”, the fourth piece, explores the waltz form using several levels of polyrhythm that shift and contract within meters. These lyrical pieces highlight Dresser's expressive, contemplative bass solo, which corresponds with like-minded solos from Dessen and GoGwilt. "Embodied in Seoul" was originally conceived for the 2018 Interconnections for Peace concert for ensembles in New York City, San Diego and Seoul. It has been rearranged for the Seven Band and allows improvising over the fleeting melodic theme.
The six longer ensemble pieces are separated by short solo bass interludes, lasting a minute or less, improvised on a set of tiered steel rods constructed by Dresser's friend Kent McLagan. "These complement the avant-garde atmosphere of a set, which sometimes differs slightly from Dresser's usual sensibilities, with groovy melodies and cool and unusual harmonies."
Track list
- Mark Dresser Seven: Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You (Clean Feed - CF510CD)
- Black Arthur's Bounce (in Memory Of Arthur Blythe) 12:22
- Pre-Gloam 0:44
- Gloaming 9:27
- Pre-Mary 0:36
- Let Them Eat Paper Towels 12:06
- Far 1:03
- Embodied In Seoul 8:07
- Pre-Coup 0:37
- Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You 9:02
- Song Tine 0:54
- Butch's Balm (in Memory of Butch Lacy) 7:37
All compositions by Mark Dresser.
reception
According to Dan McCLenaghan, who reviewed the album on All About Jazz , the set is “imbued” with the influence of bassist, composer, and bandleader Charles Mingus , with the premise of “engaging with our current dystopian landscape of a place of hope and of the positive potential ”, in times that would be as challenging then as now, according to the author. “The septet represents the sound of a small big band in a carefree sense. Dresser's compositions and arrangements are idiosyncratic and original; Comparisons of its sound are difficult to find. The rhythmic drive of Dresser, Black and the pianist Joshua White is mostly hard, mostly on one line. "
Brad Cohan wrote on Down Beat , “The labyrinthine and free-floating dynamics formed by the Mark Dresser Seven shape the band leader's indelible handwriting for creative music. Dresser's dense and colorful layers “characterize the changeable album Ain't Nothing but a Cyber Coup & You . An excellent feeling illuminates the program, as well as the nerve-wracking, gnarled configurations and explosive dynamics that can be found in the six long pieces and five solo bass interludes of the set, according to the author. The unpredictable bar signatures as heard in the title track can confuse the senses, "but a free-running, airy and infectious feeling ensures a constant state of bliss." The expansive, utopian soundscapes in which Dresser creates swing with mingus' Sheer dedication, while the jazz titan's exuberant big band spirit can be felt on “Let Them Eat Paper Towels” and the breathtaking album opener, the 12-minute “Black Arthur's Bounce” (In Memory of Arthur Blythe ). "The otherworldly interplay - Nicole Mitchell's flute solos are particularly tingling" - is driven by Jim Black's polyrhythmic , rock-heavy beat and Dresser's strong bass playing is "thrilling and revealing".
Thomas Conrad wrote in JazzTimes , “A septet is a nice size for a band, big enough to be scaled , small enough to be flexible.” According to the author, the six new Dresser compositions that this album contains are “unusual, asymmetrical Forms and highly makeshift rhythmic infrastructures. Dresser uses the resources of his compact orchestra to create fascinating mixtures, all of which approach the garish and cacophony, but do not miss out. ”According to Conrad, the soloists are“ differently convincing ”; while Mitchell and Ehrlich acted as "voices of reason in Dresser's unstable forms", White, an exciting aspiring player, is sometimes a little cocky.
Conrad highlights two pieces in particular, the theme song and “Let Them Eat Paper Towels,” which would both be reminiscent of the protest songs by Charles Mingus, “because they combine raw anger and biting wit.” Dresser calls them answers to “our national reality -Horror show of corruption, malice, xenophobia and class struggle ”. Appropriately, they contain intense internal musical conflicts. However, the two pieces poered "in very different emotional areas," says Conrad. "In the midst of an album full of nervous energy, the pastel impressionism of 'Gloaming' suddenly emerges, with lyrical ensemble backgrounds for enthusiastic solos from everyone except Ehrlich and Black." "Butch's Balm" is a laudation for pianist Butch Lacy , Dresser's long-time friend. “It's an immersion in the colors of darkness, the portrayal of loss strong and devastating. White plays the homage to the pianist with solemn chords, and Dresser mourns the Coll'arco bass. "
Will Layman ( Pop Matters ) noted, “The result is a group willing to deal with Dresser's unusual compositions and take them in almost any direction. The band's sound is unusual - with Ehrlich's reeds, Mitchell's flute and GoGwilt's violin flying around in the upper register, and the trombone booming below. When the band is acting as a more traditional ensemble with a clear head arrangement like Arthur Blythe's ("Black Arthur's Bounce"), the combination of sounds is a bit odd, the mix of highs and lows sounds more like a circus band or a classical chamber ensemble than like a jazz band , whereby the timbres of the instruments never completely merge. "
“Let Them Eat Paper Towels” begins with another atmospheric free improvisation with the textures of flute and violin as a duet. “White steps in playfully to get the band into a bouncy groove that leads to one of the most attractive melodies on the recording. Violin, clarinet and flute merge splendidly here, and the latter quietly enters the ensemble from below. The sound seems to borrow just a bit from Klezmer bands and a touch of the old New Orleans collective, but the resulting flute and clarinet solos are decidedly modern. The pattern the players solo through changes for violin and then for trombone, but then the theme returns and it feels like you've almost heard a traditional jazz performance. After that the band plays even more freely than before, with Mitchell (on the piccolo ) and Black getting involved in a dashing duet that brings the whole band back to a groove - and another statement of the melody. "
Somewhat more conventional sounds of this group can be found in the title track, a real swinger. White's piano performance could be modeled on Cecil Taylor and Don Pullen , “and Jim Black enters his snare attack with that bang, yes, but the band attacks the written head arrangement as if it were a Territory Band from Kansas City. Ehrlich's clarinet solo swings fantastically and the duet between clarinet and violin is as exciting as jazz, albeit with a backbeat . Whose and White are brilliant solo too, and the piano / bass / drum action sounds like the basis for an entire album of up-to-date piano trio music. ”Layman said the album should be on some kind of jazz playlist as one of the most exciting tracks of the last decade. The album ends with the “lusciously beautiful” “Butch's Balm” and on a more organic note, with a single sad mood slowly merging into an ensemble theme. As nice as the brief introductions may be, this album resembles "more like six different approaches to how contemporary new jazz can sound, with seven consistent voices in conversation, but not a consistent group sound or a consistent ensemble identity."
Eyal Hareuveni wrote in the Free Jazz Blog , “Dresser notes that his new compositions take up the jazz tradition more directly than in the past, especially its energy and captivating melodies.” The album shows the double bass player as a “visionary discoverer of the bass” and he is "A profound but playful composer and a keen commentator of the dark, current times".
Dan Bergsagel (London Jazz News) said the first impressions of "Ain't Nothing but a Cyber Coup & You" could have come from political breakdown and technological crime. In the author's view, Dresser is not looking discouraged into a bleak future. Certainly there would be a hint of chaotic despair in music, but there would also be real affirmations that human connections take precedence: in memories of people like Arthur Blythe, Butch Lacey, and in tender moments that have passed. "Overall, the thought and the careful composition in these lively moments outshines the current Realpolitik and the war games of the others." Political comment or one-sided: "Ain't Nothing but a Cyber Coup & You" is "an excellent and powerful album by a talented ensemble without weak links, skilfully guided by a contemporary compositional force. "
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mark Dresser Seven - Sedimental You at Discogs
- ↑ a b c d e Dan McCLenaghan: Mark Dresser: Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You. All About Jazz, May 24, 2019, accessed September 17, 2019 .
- ^ A b c Will Layman: Mark Dresser Seven: Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup and You. Pop Matters, May 28, 2019, accessed September 17, 2019 .
- ^ Paul Krugman: Let Them Eat Paper Towels. In: New York Times. October 12, 2017, accessed on September 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Trump throws paper towels in Puerto Rico. CNN, October 3, 2017, accessed September 18, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d Mark Dresser Seven - Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You (Clean Feed, 2019). Free Jazz Blog, June 4, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .
- ↑ Mark Dresser Seven: Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You at Discogs
- ^ Brad Cohan: Mark Dresser Seven: Ain't Nothing But A Cyber Coup & You. Down Beat, May 6, 2019, accessed September 7, 2019 .
- ^ A b Thomas Conrad: Mark Dresser Seven: Ain't Nothing But a Cyber Coup & You (Clean Feed). JazzTimes, March 23, 2019, accessed September 17, 2019 .
- ^ Dan Bergsagel: Mark Dresser Seven - Ain't Nothing But A Cyber Coup & You (Review). London Jazz News, May 22, 2019, accessed September 17, 2019 .