Dennis González Boston Project - No Photograph Available

Dennis González Boston Project - No Photograph Available (CleanFeed, 2006)

Dennis González: C & Bb trumpets
Charlie Kohlhase: alto, tenor & baritone saxophones
Nate McBride: doublebass
Joe Morris: doublebass
Croix Galipault: drums

1. Primate
2. Old Time Revival - Part I
3. The Matter At Hand
4. Hymn for Julius Hemphill
5. Constrictor (Old Time Revival - Part II)

HERE

Anthony Braxton & Joe Morris - Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007

ANTHONY BRAXTON & JOE MORRIS - Four Improvisations (Duo) 2007 (Clean Feed, 2008)

Anthony Braxton: reeds
Joe Morris: guitars

1. Improvisation 1
2. Improvisation 2
3. Improvisation 3
4. Improvisation 4

Oui c'est long 4 heures, surtout quand ce n'est divisé qu'en 4 parties, mais là ça en vaut vraiment le coup. Finies les structures abstraites propres à Braxton, et toutes ses compositions pseudo ontophénoménologiques ou je sais pas quoi. Ici, comme dans les années 70, ça vient des tripes et c'est tout, l'espace éthéré des compositions est resseré dans une voix purement corporelle et sensitive.
Et Joe Morris dans tout ça, c'est le contrepoids idéal au phrasé free jazz post-bop avec ses rythmiques parfois entêtantes (Impro IV notamment) et quelques techniques étendues sur guitare acoustique. On l'avait déjà entendu avec Nate Wooley, Morris est le collègue parfait pour les duos, son timbre fait surgir une texture homogène quoique qu'il se passe durant les improvisations. On reconnaît Braxton entre 1000 saxophonistes, tout comme Evan Parker, mais la préssence de Morris approfondit nettement le discours dont Braxton ne s'éloigne pas depuis 40 ans maintenant. Il en ressort une jeunesse, une fraicheur et une vitalité qui tendait à disparaître des enregistrements récents du chicagoan. (from ImprovSphere)

CD1 / CD2 /CD3 / CD4

Joe Morris & Nate Wooley - Tooth And Nail

JOE MORRIS & NATE WOOLEY - Tooth And Nail (Clean Feed, 2010)

Joe Morris: acoustic guitar
Nate Wooley: trumpet

1. Metronorth
2. Gigantica
3. Steelhead
4. Noble Reasoning
5. Forrest Grove
6. Barberchaired
7. Hook In Cheek
8. A Terrific Snag

For me Joe Morris is a slightly new discovery. I don't own any of his material as leader. I mainly have a couple of records he's been on with Ken Vandermark--most notably a DKV Trio recording from 1998 entitled Deep Telling (Okkadisk). Nate Wooley, I was aware of through some his work with avant garde drummer Tyshawn Sorey.

So when I found this new duo recording with Nate Wooley, Tooth And Nail (Clean Feed), I decided to give it go. Knowing that Morris is an excellent guitarist and his oblique way of playing was something that I also thought was interesting and inventive; this album is probably going to very excited. And it is.

Tooth And Nail is an improvised and technically brilliant work. There a very sparse passages throughout with Morris delicately picking in far reaching angularity. Nate Wooley's creates some interesting soundscapes that seem like combinations of Arve Henriksen and Enrico Rava. There are some very interesting exchanges on "Gigantica" and "Steelhead" where you can hear the improvised moments but they work in such a timely fashion that it becomes a beautiful melody.

"Noble Reasoning" is another moment in which Wooley and Morris really take off. There is a simpatico that occurs towards the final few minutes of the piece that the notes come rolling fast and furious but its never overbearing or distracting. And it folds perfectly into the next piece "Forest Grove" where Morris' playing feels like cello in hands of an angry child.

The closing number "A Terrific Snag" is another scale jumping moment where Wooley's work really comes to the fore. While Joe Morris sets the parameters, Wooley is exercising some lovely and ingenious phrasing.

One of things that really attracted me to this record was the pairing of guitar (especially acoustic) and trumpet. It's rare. You usually see the regular pairing of drum and sax, sax and piano or sax and sax. Tooth And Nail felt like an anomaly. But its sounds like a well woven piece of art. It's a deep bit of storytelling but I think if you are a fan of Ken Vandermark and the Chicago and New York underground scenes you will definitely find Tooth And Nail a fascinating listen. (from JazzWrap)

HERE

Whit Dickey Quartet - Coalescence

WHIT DICKEY QUARTET - Coalescence (Clean Feed, 2004)

Whit Dickey: drums
Roy Campbell: trumpet
Rob Brown: alto saxophone & flute
Joe Morris: bass

1. Mojo Rising
2. Coalescence 1
3. Steam
4. Coalescence 2

Whether journeymen or singular voices on their instrument, drummer-leaders are often afforded a unique opportunity for "stepping out." Sunny Murray was the percussionist who one thought might just disappear behind Ayler and Cecil in the '60s, yet as a leader he exemplified a relentless sonic force both instrumentally and compositionally. Ronnie Scott gave Tony Oxley his first sideman recordings, but it was not long after that his extraordinarily vanguard ensemble concepts and altered percussive technique graced his sides as a leader-something that the British jazz cognoscenti probably didn't know what to make of. Whit Dickey, heir to Murray and Rashied Ali, propulsion for David S. Ware and Matthew Shipp in the '90s, and a formidable bandleader in his own right, is one of the percussionists to fill the shoes of such heavy company.

On Coalescence, Dickey's third album as a leader (the first was recorded six years ago for AUM Fidelity), the percussionist is joined by altoist/flutist Rob Brown, who also contributed to that first session, trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr., and bassist Joe Morris (whose guitar now seems to be the moonlight gig). Dickey is not, with this ensemble, presenting a dramatic new concept in improvised music, as his compositional style runs the gamut from driving free-bop to pastoral tone poems. But following an honest course is certainly not a precursor to the doldrums: Brown and Campbell complement one another perfectly, the altoist's dry, ebullient lyricism and biting tone in concert with the trumpeter's punchy bravura. Dickey's percussive style (especially on the slower numbers) makes heavy use of cymbals, a pulse created through the combination of sonic washes and hi-hat rhythms, not unlike Murray but possibly more akin to distant cousins like Hüseyin Ertunç.

"Mojo Rising" is a driving free bop number somewhere between Ornette and Ayler that wouldn't sound out of place on Noah Howard's first record; here Dickey shows himself here to be a formidable drummer "in-time," however tenuous that metric relationship might be. Morris, too, sets an insistent pulse, and his constant thrum is perhaps what keeps the tune from becoming a maelstrom. "Coalescence," which comes in two different forms on the second and fourth tracks, is certainly more directly conversational and dissonant than the opener, a defined pulse from Dickey becoming ever more broken even as singsong phrases from Brown suggest "time," only to hack it to pieces a few measures later. Sounding uncannily as though he were playing a shakuhachi, Brown switches to flute for "Steam," as agitated a ballad as one could possibly hope for.

It is comforting to know that Whit Dickey, as low-profile as he sometimes is, steams ahead in the world of free jazz. With cohorts Brown, Campbell and Morris, the preservation of a purposeful and poetic creative music appears fundamental. In a climate where gimmick and noisy throwback vie equally for the throne of freedom, we can only hope that, whatever the aggregation, such voices as these continue to be heard. (from AAJ)

HERE