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

Rob Brown Ensemble - Crown Trunk Root Funk

Rob Brown Ensemble - Crown Trunk Root Funk (AUM Fidelity, 2008)

Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Craig Taborn: piano, electronics
William Parker: bass
Gerald Cleaver: drums

01-Rocking Horse
02-Clearly Speaking
03-Sonic Ecosystem
04-Ghost Dog
05-Exuberance
06-Lifeboat
07-Worlds Spinning

After its successful premier at the 2006 Vision Festival, alto saxophonist Rob Brown took his newest ensemble into the studio to record Crown Trunk Root Funk, his first recording as a leader for AUM Fidelity. A formidable blend of funky abstraction, angular post-bop and dark impressionism, it offers an expansive view of Brown's adventurous aesthetic.

A two decade plus veteran of New York City's Downtown scene, Brown employs three of today's most in-demand sidemen in this quartet. Bandleader, composer and bassist William Parker shares a performing history with Brown dating back twenty years. Drummer Gerald Cleaver has been a regular collaborator of Brown's recently, while pianist Craig Taborn is relatively new to Brown's oeuvre, playing with him for the first time in 2006.

Brown's acerbic alto takes center stage over the course of these roiling, intensely rhythmic tunes, with Taborn's jagged cadences offering reliable support. Eschewing token traditionalism, Taborn avoids conventional comping, liberally unspooling brittle linear phrases under Brown's circuitous salvos, as on the thorny "Lifeboat." Working in tandem, Brown and Taborn meander through the shadowy "Ghost Dog," weaving through labyrinthine passages driven by a percolating groove and sinewy bass ostinato.

Longstanding partners, Taborn and Cleaver unveil their intuitive rapport on "Sonic Ecosystem," the album's sole electronic piece. Glitchy hums emanate from lo-fi electronics as Taborn accents undulating sine waves with pointillist piano phrases, while Cleaver quietly responds with scintillating tones. Sporadically interrupted by a plangent unison theme from Brown's plaintive alto and Parker's bowed bass, their conversation continues unabated.

Clocking countless studio hours together, Taborn, Parker and Cleaver are frequent rhythm section companions. Whether locking into the slow burn vamp of "Rocking Horse" or navigating shifting meters on the knotty post-bop of "Clearly Speaking," they demonstrate their affable interplay with fluid invention.

Eclipsing structural traditions, Brown spars with Cleaver on the first half of "Exuberance," discharging pithy, fragmentary spirals as Cleaver throttles his kit with unfettered abandon before the entire group reconvenes.

Despite the album's overall focus on rhythm, Brown reveals a soulful, impressionistic side on "World's Spinning," closing the record with stark, yearning lyricism.

With over a dozen albums to his credit, Crown Trunk Root Funk is one of Brown's most engaging. (from AAJ)

HERE

The Rob Brown Trio - Live at Firehouse 12

Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Daniel Levin: cello
Satoshi Takeishi: percussion

Many years before I started this blog, I already had a kind of bookkeeping file of all my records, with pretty much the same evaluation system, also with a star notation. Of the seven albums that I have of alto saxophonist Rob Brown as a leader (and I know he released more than that), all of them have a four star rating, which demonstrates that, over the years, he not only managed to keep the same high quality of the performances itself, but also that he is sufficiently creative to keep things interesting and new to listeners. On this nice album, recorded live a the Firehouse in November of last year, Brown is accompanied by Daniel Levin on cello and Satoshi Takeishi on drums, the same band that released the great "Sounds" in 2007. Just like on that album, the music is very open, slow, disciplined and almost meditative at moments. The first piece "Quick Be Nimble" starts with an Ornette Coleman-like theme, and with the same stop-and-go kind of feeling, but then it shifts into a more impressionistic mode, letting go of all rhythm and melody, for some beautiful sound coloring, and a nice cello solo, then switching back to the theme, gentle and soft. The second composition is a real treat, with a plucked intro by Levin, the percussion slowly joining with nice bell-like sounds, and a beautiful melody by Brown, lightly dancing, joyful and sweet, but then the tune gets boppish in the middle, gathering tempo and volume, only to get slower again at the end. "On A Lark" is more in the free idiom, sounding totally improvised, but according to the liner notes it was composed. The last piece, "Stray(horn)", is a tribute to Billy Strayhorn (or what did you think?), played with possibly the slowest tempo possible, with alto phrasings by Brown that could fit the jazz of the fifties, but then never for long, because his true art lies of course in free expression and emotional expressivity, restrained yet intense, clear in tone yet powerful too, lamenting and singing at the same time. Brown is a great aloist, no doubt about it. He's a great composer too. And in Levin and Takeishi he found the perfect soulmates to deliver his delicate and free musical vision. The only thing lacking is the audience, where is it? (from Free Jazz)

2009 LIVE AT FIREHOUSE 12 (Not Two Records) rapidshare/mediafire

Rob Brown Trio - Sounds

Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Daniel Levin: cello
Satoshi Takeishi: percussion

Rob Brown is one of those New York sax players who have always been able to combine free jazz blowing fests with melody, rhythm and emotion, but on this album he seems to have reached a state of mental peace and relaxation that is absent on his other albums. He is accompanied by Daniel Levin on cello and Satoshi Takeishi on percussion. His other recent albums are also worth looking for (Radiant Pools and The Big Picture), as are his collaborations with William Parker and Matthew Shipp. Admittedly, his alto does still howl and screech and wail at times, but then above a rhythmic and harmonic basis, with more often than not a recognizable melodic structure. The choice of the cello is a good one, because the instrument can play a more prominent second voice than a bass ever could, both arco and pizzicato, and on top of that Takeishi is a percussionist who manages to give depth to the music by giving the right accents rather than feeling forced to give an explicit rhythmic foundation. The opening track, "Sounds, Part 1, Archeology" immediately offers the musical vision of this band : a subdued unisono melody on a slow tempo, as an introduction to a tearing and heart-rending solo by Brown, followed by some open and equally soft improvizing by the whole band, just to end in joined harmony. This music is characterized by spaciousness and openness. The second piece "Sounds, Part 2, Antics" offers a more abstract feel, with a Mysterioso-like tonal build-up. The third piece starts with a slow cello introduction and Brown's following long solo fits like magic on this. "Stutter Step" is more in the free-bop idiom that we know from his previous albums such as "The Big Picture". "Tibetan Folk Song" starts with a long cello-percussion intro, and Brown again brings a more than credible improvization on this traditional source material. The CD ends in peaceful beauty. Who could have expected that much internal peace and musical quietness from a player like Brown? But the approach appears to be the right one, offering a strong musical unity without loosing any of the free creativity. (from FreeJazz)

2007 SOUNDS (rapidshare/mediafire)

William Parker Quartet - Sound Unity

Rob Brown: alto saxophone
Lewis Barnes: trumpet
William Parker: bass, guitar bass
Hamid Drake: drums

Review

by Thom Jurek

Recorded at two live dates in Canada in July and July of 2004, Sound Unity is the most beautifully wrought of William Parker's ensemble recordings. Certainly it doesn't break as much ground as some, and it acknowledges his debts to composers like Ornette Coleman, Don Cherry, and Eric Dolphy, and that's fine; in Parker's able hands as a leader, this band with saxophonist Rob Brown, drummer Hamid Drake (are he and Parker the best rhythm section in jazz or what?), and trumpeter Lewis Barnes understands that both listening and silence are as important as what notes to play. The interaction between the horn players feels like they've been playing together for a very long time -- check out the 18-plus-minute title track. What's also important to note here is the fluidity that the rhythm section engages the horns with, such as on "Wood Flute Song," or the crazy, funky joy on "Hawaii." The bandmembers nearly lift off; they're having so much fun. The music on this set is one of those bridges -- across tradition, subgenre, nuance, and harmony. Parker's lyricism is profound, and has never been heard quite like this before. Brown is a more subtle player than some Parker has worked with before, and Barnes is a natural singer on the trumpet. The gap that's provided in the absence of a piano allows for a less strident interaction harmonically and dialogically. The music here flows, reaches, steps back, and reaches further, with Parker's guidance allowing for the horns to push one another as they do on "Groove," not so much for what they know, but for what they bring to a tune emotionally. "Harlem"'s folk song melody and lyric are among the most beautiful Parker has yet written; it's a place where blues and the Middle Eastern musics of Morocco come together. This is a stellar offering from one of the music's greatest lights.

2005 SOUND UNITY