Ron Carter Esperanza Spalding - Downbeat

Jon Irabagon’s Outright
Unhinged
IRABBaGAST Records 002
HHHHH
Jon Irabagon/Mike Pride/
Mick Barr
I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But
The Blues Volume 2:
Appalachian Haze
IRABBaGAST Records
HHHH1/2
Unhinged indeed, Jon Irabagon is a nut, but a
prolifically talented one.
Avoid fright at over-the-top egocentric artwork,
festooned with goofy images of
Irabagon’s kingpin cane getting fondled in the
back of a limo while his tenor sups cognac. Or
for that matter, the somewhat pretentious dedication
to protean German painter Gerhard
Richter.
Though Richter’s work bespeaks a more
placid persona, his disregard for stylistic
boundaries has resonance with Irabagon’s versatility,
a hallmark of the saxophonist’s tenure
in outrageous jumpcut quartet Mostly Other
People Do The Killing. The 28 members of
his Outright Jazz Orchestra fade in on “Silent
Smile (Urban Love Song)” after a lovely bass
intro from John Hébert. The mellow vibe jars
with the hip-hop sexism of the CD art until
the fabulously tart atonal mélange gathers
intensity, conjuring the neon mosaic of Times
Square. The massed orchestra cut out to frame
not-so-mock cadenzas from the leader’s tenor.
Irabagon feigns tastelessness and disregard for
niceties, dabbling with extended techniques,
but covertly he’s a class act. The core group
of Unhinged is top drawer with Ralph Alessi,
Tom Rainey, Hébert and Jacob Sacks, not a
dissolute gangsta among them. Guest guitarist
Glenn Alexander, the “shredder” referred
to in notes, performs his rock fusion cameo
on “Kremzeek,” with Sacks on electric harpsichord,
then Rhodes. The sincere “Mourning In
America” begins with a piquant, strangulated
reveille from Alessi, tidal low notes, key pops
and rippling runs from the leader. Then it’s
programming anarchy again from Chris Cash
on “Camp Douglas 3.” “Take Five” forgoes
the cheese you expect. Entirely unrecognizable
from Paul Desmond’s groove, it conveys
the shimmering gravitas of John Coltrane’s
“Alabama.”
The saxophonist’s superhero fixation
alluded to on Unhinged is blatant on I Don’t
Hear Nothin’ But The Blues, recorded six
months earlier in December 2011. This time
Irabagon is depicted as Doc Holliday-style
Wild West vigilante, throwing back shots with
cowboys Mike Pride and Mick Barr before
they take the law into their own hands. Some
may deign to dismiss the almost 50 minutes
of unrelenting skronk that constitutes the
session as sophomoric, or at best testosterone
overload. But Herculean would be better.
Though Irabagon doesn’t cycle breath the
entire time, he hardly spares the horses, and
this may rank even by his own standards as a
monumental tour de force. Completely dominating
the mix is the monstrous killer hornet
of Barr’s guitar. Barr’s concept is flat as a
pancake; he’s more like a freight train through
a china chop than a bull, and he all but buries
Irabagon and Pride. It’s a full 23 minutes
before there is even a slight lull, then Pride
builds the energy still higher. Irabagon ultimately
latches on to the particulars of Barr’s
assault. In the meantime he screams canopies
and detonates depth charges, at 27 minutes
opting for blood vessel-perforating harmonics
that sync with Barr, with impossible intensity.
Half an hour in, Pride’s ridiculous nose flute
enters. Irabagon’s valiant efforts to find common
ground between wooden reed and metal
guitar string take listeners on an exhilarating
ride.
—Michael Jackson
Unhinged: Camp Douglas; Charles Barkley; Lola Pastillas; Camp
Douglas 2; Silent Smile (Urban Love Song); Kremzeek; Mourning In
America; Camp Douglas 3; Take Five; Parker Posey. (63:43)
Personnel: Jon Irabagon, tenor saxophone; Ralph Alessi, trumpet;
Jacob Sacks, piano, organ, electric harpsichord, clavinet, Fender
Rhodes; John Hébert, acoustic and electric bass; Tom Rainey,
drums; Glenn Alexander, guitar (6); Chris Cash, programming (1, 4,
8); Eivino Opsvik, acoustic bass (9); Mike Pride, percussion (3); The
Outright Jazz Orchestra: Jennifer Beattie, voice; Fung Chern Hwei,
violin; Leigh Stuart, cello; Kurt Knuffke, cornet; Jacob Garchik, slide
trumpet; Kevin Neal, Rick Parker, John Yao, trombone; Alejandro
Aviles, flute; Rob Wilkerson, alto saxophone; Ingrid Laubrock, Joe
Natale, Jake Saslow, Grant Steinhauer, tenor saxophone; Jean-
Brice Godet, Josh Sinton, bass clarinet; Mark Small, accordion;
Nathan Kuruna, theremin; Matt Grason, berimbau; Richie Miletic,
5-string banjo; Jesse Lewis, acoustic guitar; Terence McManus,
electric guitar; Shawn Conley, Moppa Elliott, Eivind Opsvik, Marcos
Varela, acoustic bass; Peter Brendler, electric bass; Sam Kulik, assorted
percussion and found objects (5).
I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But The Blues Volume 2: Appalachian
Haze: I Don’t Hear Nothin’ But The Blues Volume 2: Appalachian
Haze. (47:58)
Personnel: Jon Irabagon, tenor saxophone; Mike Pride, drums
and nose whistle; Mick Barr, electric guitar.
Ordering info: jonirabagon.com
DECEMBER 2012 DOWNBEAT 87