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gene Pritsker’s
Sound Liberation
Varieties Of
Religious
Experience Suite
INNOVA 235
★★★★
For fans of theology, the
title to this program might
raise some eyebrows. The
classic 1902 tome by philosopher
William James
apparently serves as inspired fodder for guitarist/
conceptualist/composer Gene Pritsker. The results
may have you seeing visions, or maybe just
scratching your head.
Billing themselves as an eclectic hip-hop/
chamber/jazz/rock ensemble committed to “ending
the segregation of sound vibration,” Pritsker’s
Sound Liberation is a quintet of cello, two electric
guitars, bass and drums. And the Varieties Of Religious
Experience Suite finds Pritsker the composer
creating a suite from his opera of the same name.
Listeners may hear strains of jazz, contemporary
classical music, minimalism and even hip-hop and
African rhythms. Woven into the music is a fair
amount of improvisation as well. (Pritsker may be
familiar because of his work with Joe Zawinul and
the Absolute Ensemble.)
Given James’ aversion to religious faith, it
should come as no surprise
that the VRE Suite is
hardly a piece of religious
music in the conventional
sense. Driven by both
Pritsker and fellow guitarist
Greg Baker, the music
has a light, playful feel to
it, by and large. There is
a fair amount of interplay
with cellist David Gotay
and bassist Mat Fieldes,
who serve as an alternate
string section behind and around the guitarists.
“William James’ Introduction” immediately sets
the stage with faint echoes of, say, some of Ornette
Coleman’s electric music with Prime Time.
“Consciousness Of A Presence” continues the
polyphonic feel, the Sound Liberation band both
earthy with electric guitar peals and lighter than
air with its implied but not really stated bottom
end. “Presence” presents more of a groove as
cello, bass and guitar all pluck away against the
backdrop of drummer Joe Abba’s peppy snare
work. The music is filled with repeated patterns,
as if loops were employed, suggesting something
more mechanical than spiritual. “Everything Else
Might Be A Dream” breaks things up a bit, offering
more for the various instrumentalists to step
forward amidst a more arranged and less grooveoriented
piece. Another tonally and harmoni-
cally ambiguous song, “Dream,” is filled with
unexpected twists and turns, both foreground and
background moving in and out.
“The Less Real Of The Two” continues to
add dimension to the music, the string-like nature
of this band becoming more readily apparent
as all four “plectrists” get into the act on various
arranged levels, with and without rhythmic
accompaniment. With arco eventually coming
from both cello and bass, “Two” starts to feel
more religious and less like fanciful avant pop
music. That’s until some edgy electric guitar
moves in only to leave, being replaced again
by what is now a jumpy series of pluckers and
bowers. Listening to this track with headphones
gives new meaning to the song’s title. “Closer To
Me Than My Own Breath” is perhaps the most
explicitly funky tune here, the form of the song
suggesting (for once) direction with its more
obvious progression, and Pritsker’s best bet for
radio play here. (If nothing else, you gotta love
the title.) Speaking of titles, “Tolstoy” may have
you imagining the famed Russian novelist at play
in the woods around his estate, spinning whirling
dervishes as he time-travels between centuries.
—John Ephland
varieties of religious Experience suite: William James’ Introduction;
Consciousness Of A Presence; Everything Else Might Be
A Dream; The Less Real Of The Two; Closer To Me Than My Own
Breath; William James’ Genuine Perceptions Of Truth; Tolstoy; William
James’ Conclusion. (64:25)
Personnel: Gene Pritsker, guitar; Greg Baker, guitar; David Gotay,
cello; Mat Fieldes, bass; Joe Abba, drums.
ordering info: innova.mu
NOVEMBER 2010 DOWNBEAT 59