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BassDrumBone
The Other Parade
Clean Feed 223
HHHH
On and off this trio has
been together for more
than three decades, and
if this recording is any
indication their best years
might still lie ahead. No
sign of fatigue is showing.
On this new recording, bass player Mark
Helias, drummer Gerry Hemingway and trombonist
Ray Anderson sound surprisingly fresh
and as excited as if this were a much anticipated
first encounter.
Their take on various styles is not gimmicky
but stems from a deep appreciation for
the trailblazing artists that have preceded them.
Their sincere respect for the tradition is epitomized
by Anderson quoting “It Don’t Mean A
Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” in “Soft
Shoe Mingle.” Whether they break into a blues
or embrace New Orleans beats, their approach
is also supported by the unique rapport they
have cultivated over the years and their own
innovations—here, their radical ideas are often
Ketil Bjørnstad/
Svante Henryson
Night Song
ECM 15236
HHH1/2
Night Song plays like a suite
of classical music. It is mannered,
with little in the way
of overt juxtaposition or
sudden turns. That’s not
to say it isn’t evocative or
expressive. It is.
The disc is pianist Ketil Bjørnstad’s first
duo recording with a cellist since his ’90s
work with David Darling. Night Song is like
chamber music, more moody, music to listen
to when grieving or maybe feeling some
doubt if not wonder. Maybe that’s why I struggle
with it, trying to get over what feels like
a sameness that gleams onto each individually
beautiful piece. The delicacy and acute attention
to execution that pervades everything here
starts with the opening title track followed by
“Visitor” with nary a sense of transition; a
seamless web of notes flows into what follows.
There is a wealth of artistry, composure and
assurance displayed by both Bjørnstad and cellist
Henryson, who, despite a full classical pedigree,
is well-versed in various musical styles.
This isn’t the first time Henryson and Bjørnstad
have worked together; their Seafarer’s Song
was released in 2003. It may make for a more
complex picture to know that Bjørnstad, who
has been equally as musically collaborative as
Henryson, is also a celebrated author.
wrapped in ear candy. The
seamless and nimble shifts
speak volumes about the telepathic
abilities of the trio.
Their wonderful interaction
is supplemented by impressive
skills and craft.
Anderson delivers articulated
solos with astonishing nuance
over Helias’ full and resonating
bass and Hemingway’s elaborated
rhythms—the drummer
even dares to provide such a backdrop on the
pastoral “Unforgiven.” And the slow-cooking
“The Masque” is a tribute to Anderson’s seemingly
endless range.
But highlights are difficult to single out in
such a consistent and enthralling collection.
The mournful yet hopeful title track is nevertheless
a wise choice to close a recording that
also benefits from great engineering, which
provides the opportunity to admire in fine
detail the exceptional art of these three musicians.
—Alain Drouot
The Other Parade: Show Tuck; The Blue Light Down The Line;
King Louisian; Rhythm Generation; Soft Shoe Mingle; Unforgiven;
The Masque; Lips And Grits; The Other Parade. (59:07)
Personnel: Ray Anderson, trombone; Mark Helias, bass; Gerry
Hemingway, drums.
Ordering info: cleanfeed-records.com
There’s also a lot
going on with Night
Song that simmers
beneath the appearances.
In other
words, we can’t take
these two at surface
value, sounding
like old chamber
guys just as likely
to put us to sleep as
wake us up with radical
notions of “art
for art’s sake.” “Reticence” comes up a third
of the way through this program of 13 tracks,
and while it still feels like an extension of the
opening “Night Song,” the gentle breezes of
Bjørnstad’s delicate chords and soft single lines
lightly bouncing off Henryson’s equally exquisite
sustains carry a hint of menace.
Not that Night Song is all doom and gloom.
Providing some form of emotional balance,
there are wispy hints of playfulness within the
floatation device “Schubert Said,” a bit of cello
plucking puckish-ness occasioning the strolling
“Serene,” not to mention the slightly sunshiny
“Adoro” (where Bjørnstad veers off on
his own momentarily, again with mysterious,
patient chords and single notes) and “Melting
Ice,” with its memorable four-note phrase perhaps
the brightest and most hopeful sign that
tomorrow is another day. —John Ephland
Night Song: Night Song (Evening Version); Visitor; Fall; Edge; Reticence;
Schubert Said; Adoro; Share; Melting Ice; Serene; The Other;
Own; Sheen; Chain; Tar; Night Song (Morning Version). (77:06)
Personnel: Ketil Bjørnstad, piano; Svante Henryson, cello.
Ordering info: ecmrecords.com
Zevious
After The Air Raid
Cuneiform 287
HHH1/2
Zevious is a guitar power trio. Mostly scabrous
in nature, After The Air Raid’s most interesting
and enjoyable music comes when Zevious
lets the air out of its tires. That contrast helps
make the more intense music sing. The atmospheric
title track, “That Ticket Exploded” and
even “The Noose” offer relative calm, hints of
swing and more nuance next to more ominous,
driving, menacing fare like “Mostly Skulls”
and “The Children And The Rats,” a tune in
which the band combines both elements.
Based out of New York, Zevious is jazz,
it’s rock, it’s the downtown punk-jazz-harmolodic
vibe. With cousins Mike Eber and Jeff
Eber on guitar and drums and bassist Johnny
DeBlase, these guys put their music degrees
to work, influenced by the likes of Ronald
Shannon Jackson, Fred Frith and James Blood
Ulmer. The five-year-old Zevious is for anyone
who loves aggressive rock-oriented improv
with grooves and some semblance of a song.
Hard to believe that its first album,
Zevious (2007), was an all-acoustic affair,
more straight-ahead and jazzy, while After
The Air Raid is not something you’d necessarily
want to play for your grandmother.
“Where’s The Captain” starts things off, letting
us know that being intense doesn’t mean
you can’t have arrangements and that following
a script doesn’t mean you can’t let your
hair down. The song is tethered by a structure
that keeps everyone close, the medium-tempo
oddly metered funk giving way to Eber’s
caustic Telecaster with barely more than a
minute left to improvise. DeBlase’s bass playing
can be heard like a second guitar, busy
and intricate at times, a good contrast to Eber,
as on slowly grinding rocker “Coma Cluster”
and the mesmerizing groove laid out with
“Inciting.”
—John Ephland
After The Air Raid: Where’s The Captain; Coma Cluster; Mostly
Skulls; That Ticket Exploded; The Noose; Inciting; Gradual Decay;
The Ditch; After The Air Raid; The Children And The Rats; Glass
Tables. (53:50)
Personnel: Mike Eber, guitars; Johnny DeBlase, electric and
acoustic basses; Jeff Eber, drums.
Ordering info: cuneiformrecords.com
58 DOWNBEAT SEPTEMBER 2011