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TortoiseBeacons OfAncestorshipTHRILL JOCKEY 210AAA 1 /2I only half understandwhy the term “minimal”is used in reference to theskittish music of Tortoise.Sure, the Chicago-basedprogstrumental outfit hasa few pieces that makehay with repetition, butthe bulk of their tunesslice and dice theirrhythms in genuinelyunexpected ways, fracturing assumed trajectoriesand mocking a GPS musical culture thattells us exactly how a piece is going to get fromA to B. Maybe those writers meant minimal as“stark,” though the band’s rich textures andinspired use of dissonance kind of deep-sixesthat idea, too.One thing’s certain, there won’t be anyonepositioning Beacons Of Ancestorship as stark orminimal. Like the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs record,it’s a big bold statement that trades the ensemble’ssignature guitar/vibes/snare sound for aswan dive into the synth end of the swimmingpool. It’s also a big enough break to flummox acouple people I tried to run a “Blindfold Test” on.With an esthetic based on experimentation, it’s noshock to see John McEntire, Jeff Parker and companyamending their artistic persona, but the shiftof Beacons borders on seismic.The art of juxtaposition has been essential toTortoise’s work, and it still makes for some ofthis program’s more arresting moments; theseguys are masters at uniting oppositional fragments.But this baby has sweep. “Prepare YourCoffin” is all about liftoff and aggression. If theband once exploded Esquivel’s space-age bachelorpad music for asense of crankycool, they’re nowfiring photon torpedoesand havingTodd Rundgrenlead Return toForever throughELP’s Tarkus. Ithas a certain cheeseto it, but it’s alsorefreshing. Thegroup hinted atsuch hummablemelodies on 2001’sStandards, and thisnew disc inventively expands on them.Tunefulness also provides an element that’sbeen lacking since Tortoise’s inception: emotion.Somewhere between the boho testosterone andhummable themes, I’m getting the feeling thatthese guys are really into their performance thistime around. Previously they’ve been intriguing,but icy. “Yinxianghechengqi” is a big-bottomedrager—a Last Exit outtake sans Peter Brötzmann.The ersatz Brazilian beats of “Gigantes” conjurean algebra class taking place during Carnavale.At some points here, you wonder why it took’em so long to reveal their party side.Rolling Stone once called ’em a jam band; theVillage Voice heard them as hip-hop. Nevermind that tired “post-rock” tag. Might be best toconsider this their disco album. —Jim MacnieBeacons Of Our Ancestors: High Class Slim Came Floating In;Prepare Your Coffin; Northern Something; Gigantes; Penumbra;Yinxianghechengqi; The Fall of Seven Diamonds Plus One;Minors; Monument Six One Thousand; De Chelly; CharteroakFoundation. (43:51)Personnel: John McEntire, drums, modular synthesizer, ringmodulator guitar, electric harpsichord; Jeff Parker, guitar, bass;Dan Bitney, bass, guitar, percussion; John Herndon, drums, vibes,keyboards; Doug McCombs, bass, lap steel.»Ordering info: thrilljockey.comDarren JohnstonThe Edge Of The ForestCLEAN FEEDAAAABay Area trumpeter Darren Johnston hasmore than enough going for him as a playerto justify a recording that puts him centerstage. He’s got a smart, bracing sound,clearly knows his creative music referencepoints (Lester Bowie, especially, but alsoBaikida Carroll, Bobby Bradford, OluDara, Dave Douglas) and has great taste.Refreshing, then, that on this beautifulquintet date he shares the feature so democratically.And his bandmates do theCanadian-born musician and his thoughtful,substantive compositions proud.The tunes include attractive and usefulstructures, like the odd ostinato head on“Foggy,” but often, as on that piece, theyopen up wide, providing both space andsomething nutritious to chew on. When thebassline recedes, the role of Rob Reich’saccordion is subtly revealed—the sea movingout and leaving behind a tidepoolteeming with life. The ensemble swingsJack DeJohnette/Danilo Pérez/John PatitucciMusic We AreGOLDEN BEAMS KRM 1150AAAThis all-star trio, briefly consummatedon stage in 2005and recently revived in the studio,makes for a somewhaterratic but agreeably avant garde combination.The music is occasionally mellow and lyrical(“Soulful Ballad,” “Michael”) but more characteristicallysimmering with a quiet but pricklyintrigue of abstraction and inner tensions. Eachman moves in a roomy orbit, often independentbut always conscious of the others. The skittish,touch-and-go contacts can be playful, even whenthey sometimes contain more space than music.Other times the elements coalesce into a percussivedensity. Expect some upsand downs.Everybody doubles on“Tango African,” a relativelymellow tune with Argentineflavors in which the triobriefly becomes a sextet.DeJohnette overdubs a fragilebut warm little descendingtheme on melodica, whilePérez converses with himselfon piano and Fender, burrowing into the innerlife of the music and forms around him. Thereare also a few stray guitar-like lines fromPatitucci’s six string electric bass.Silence and sound are equal partners in“Earth Prayer,” the first of three open collectiveimprovisations, and frankly an utterly vapidstill life that seems to evoke slow-motionimages of a primordial nature stirring from along sleep. Oddly, its random quality generatesa certain level of anticipation, as if somethingmight suddenly spring from this haphazardhaze. But any sense of expectation is a red herring,since nothing ever happens. Such are theperils of chance. Similarly, “Ode To MJQ”comes to life so slowly from DeJohnette’s agonizinglystark landscape of pings and clangs,the first four or five minutes could easily bedumped. But as his rolling tom toms begin torumble, so does Pérez’s thorny imagination.We get still more open improvisation on “EarthSpeaks,” but in considerably more lively andanimated form. The piece grows in terse, percussivelittle twitches in which each player cautiouslyprobes the other. But Patitucci’s mournfulbowed string bass ultimately becomes thecontrolling voice, imposing an almost classicrigor over the music. He casts a similar authorityover the more somber “Panama Viejo.”“Corbilla” is a high-energy ensemble piecethat gives DeJohnette his best moments.48 DOWNBEAT August 2009