Two By Finn

James Finn Trio The Last Matador Ginko Leaf 001		James Finn Trio Into the Afterworld Ginko Leaf 002

http://www.jamesfinnmusic.com

Even with fledgling labels continuing to bloom like barnacles on a blue whale’s back, the urge for musicians to take personal responsibility for the circulation of their work is difficult to assuage. Saxophonist James Finn sought to combat the widening gap between formal release dates and his growing surplus of recorded music firsthand. The solution to the disparity- Ginko Leaf Records, his own CDR imprint with a continuing string of titles produced, recorded and packaged in-house.

Since the label’s formation, Finn has more than doubled his discography, building on a strong, critically-lauded trio of releases for Cadence Jazz, CIMP and Clean Feed. Clean Feed released Plaza de Toros, an album that drew in part on the Spanish bullfight tradition as its allegorical impetus. The initial two releases in the Ginko Leaf catalog work as companion pieces to that project to complete a trilogy of sorts. But The Last Matador and Into the Afterworld also possess important deviations from their predecessor in setting and instrumentation. Both were recorded live at a gallery space roughly four months apart and feature the dual drum contingent of Warren Smith and Klaus Kugel on stereo-parsed kits as equal interest counterpart to Finn. The discs also allow for the import of fresh (at least on record) entries in the Finn instrument arsenal, among them soprano saxophone and flute. Most importantly they feature Finn in completely extemporaneous settings, without the luxury or impediment of rehearsals, creating with his colleagues purely in the now.

Misconstrued in meaning by a number of reviewers, myself included, Plaza de Toros followed a youthful, headstrong matador into his pivotal confrontation with an archetypal noble bull and the ensuing awareness of the wrong-headedness of his vocation. These sequels trace the toreador’s silver-haired years as he’s visited by visions, atones for his sins and eventually jettisons his corporeal form for a new existence in the after world. Along the way are deferential references to both Catholic and Tibetan faiths and the same sense of vibrant drama that suffused the first volume.

Divided into four segments of varying lengths, The Last Matador revs to a roof-raising clip right from the start. Sturdy press rolls capped with cymbal patter cleave a path for Finn’s animated tenor, which bucks and blusters, quickening to a dervish-like intensity. Massive breakers crash and explode as Finn jockeys the altissimo, suddenly swooping into his tenor’s bottom register with flotilla of pealing honks, before aiming skyward again. All this over the span of a mere five minutes. Smith and Kugel may technically be sequestered into stereo channels, but their vigorous stick work more often bleeds across such boundaries creating a pliant pull and push that becomes the ideal dynamo complement to Finn’s robust exclamations and contemplations.

Even at their most aggressive the trio sustains a marvelous three-pronged coherence. Finn’s improvisations cover an alluring array textures and moods, from righteous catharsis to ruminative restraint and a spectrum of colors between. Track titles convey the depth of thought and focus unfolding in real-time without a safety catch. Also impressive are the various points where he sits out, leaving the drummers to their collusive devices. In the opening seconds of “Adagio, March, and Talking Birds” an atmospheric backdrop of gongs and bells sets the mood before the entrance of brooding tenor. Out of the sparse, processional-like prelude Finn eventually toys with a fluttering motif, the drummers responding with mallet-born accents and shimmering cymbal hues. The piece’s center section offers generous minutes for the drummers to do their thing. After the roiling drum break, rife with more rolling mallets and peripheral percussive effects comes the agile twitter of Finn’s flute. Emphatic tenor returns for the frothing denouement, sluicing through another eddying cross-current of surging drums and straining upward toward ever more ardent heights.

“Constellations in Blood” also starts out deceptively pastoral but is swiftly scored by a fulminating edge. Smoldering drum clatter and the burrish vibrato hum of Finn’s tenor soon build from the fringes to a full mistral force. Culmination comes with nearly 19-minute “Acts of Contrition and the Final Rose.” Kugel’s bowed cymbals dance with the cantering patter of Smith’s brushes to shape another solemn backdrop for Finn’s inquisitive tenor. This time the leader favors a lithe, lucent tone over the flinty serrations of before, engaging in a self-contained call and response of contrasting registers. More democratic drum space gives way to the final ensemble conclusion where Finn fixates on a beauteous Trane-like progression and the drums part and converge in rolling deference. There’s even time enough for one more surprise before the time runs out. The stage stands primed for the third and crowning installment.

With just three tracks, Into the Afterworld clocks a quarter of an hour shorter than its predecessor. A postscript by Finn explains that cd constraints necessitated the omission of the concert’s remainder. The edited end product makes for a leaner, perceptibly more concentrated listening experience in a tighter LP-sized package. “Last Rites” starts elegiac with Finn’s tenor languorous and somber, his intonation gorgeously-girthed and nuanced. Kugel and Smith respond in kind, creating a canvas of textured rhythmic color. Acceleration is inevitable and the leader is soon shedding the decorous designs of the prelude for the pleasures of more fervid blowing. Structure and stability sustain through the transition.

Another tipping point in the disc’s favor is the presence of Finn’s fish horn. Flanked by the resourceful and powerful commentary of the drummers, both of whom once again achieve a startling congruity in their contributions, Finn evinces a welcome fluency and stamina on the title piece. He brings clarity and energy comparable to that of his work on tenor, largely downplaying the famous pinched and nasalized sonorities of the soprano for a fleet and fulsomely fluid approach that is also packed with incendiary heat. “Other Realms” takes the story of the Matador about as far as it can go, moving an incantatory initial section for tandem percussion and flute into a grand forum for tsunami drums and regal oratory tenor that once again leaves the listener drenched by a deluge of exhilarating activity. A processional close for malleted drums and Bedouin-tinged soprano arrives as the ideal coda.

While Afterworld earns an ever so slight advantage thanks to its diversity and economy, both of these discs are nigh essential acquisitions. Each indicates with indelible certainty Finn’s plenary talent and resolve at working within traditions while boldly dismantling borders. The seemingly spartan set-up of tandem drums and horn has rarely, if ever, sounded so elemental and consummate. With Ginko Leaf as a steady feed source for forthcoming works, fans of focused and impassioned free jazz have much reason to rejoice.

~ Derek Taylor