Dave Rempis & Tim Daisy - Back to the Circle

ODL 1008

Rempis and Daisy probably need no preface to Bags readers. As two-fifths of the Vandermark 5 and two-thirds of Triage they’ve cut quite a visible swathe across the contemporary free jazz scene. One of the unforseen pleasures of the 2004 ACME Festival in Athens, Georgia was the chance to hear the two of them as an impromptu duo. Their laconic twenty-odd minute encounter served as the crux of a seminar tag team-taught by John Corbett and Kevin Whitehead on the celebrated discipline of music criticism. The syllabus was simple. Rempis on alto and Daisy on a drum kit compact enough to fit comfortably in a corner of the lecture hall would improvise for short set and then we, the students, would comment critically on the music. As Corbett and Whitehead probably expected, the exercise fell a bit flat with most of the undergrads reticent to raise their hands in response to what transpired. But I found the music freewheeling and thrilling, well worth the strained and stunted Q&A format that followed. Rempis and Daisy invested an inveigling amount of variety and creativity into their episodic exchange and I recall leaving the classroom wishing I had a CDR of the set in hand for future reference.

That wish goes partially fulfilled with this new limited edition Okkadisk offering, though the more predictable results here don’t live up to my memory of the Athens event. Taped two months earlier in a Chicago performance space, the disc presents seven tracks that gallop by in just over forty minutes. Four from Rempis, two from Daisy, and “Huff” a terse improvisation shared by both surnames. Rempis uncaps both tenor and alto, demonstrating an abiding mastery over both reeds. Daisy shifts between structured rhythms and more porous pulse-resistant play, sometimes slipping a shade during the latter situations. Even with a fair share of freer leanings the program is fast-paced and fairly clear cut. No ear-upending surprises or sudden trapdoors, but the pair sustains solid focus and stamina from start to finish.

Two traits readily apparent about Rempis are his dexterity and clarity. His superior chops over Vandermark are a matter of public record on the part of the latter reedist. The same self-deprecating skill at schooling comes to bear in this setting, though it’s now Daisy who occupies the pupil chair. Rempis works off a soaring anthemic riff on the opener “Welcome” as Daisy shapes a vaguely Latin cross-rhythm beneath him. The title track and “Fast Cars,” both emotive free-boppish numbers that feel borrowed from the V5 songbook, exhibit some of the most fortuitous interplay. On the former track the two zoom along on sagacious, swinging rhythm, Rempis stoking excitement via a velocious interval-hurdling alto solo. Daisy’s “Alexandria” bookends bouts of legato tenor blowing, with a spacious, textured foray from the composer on brushes and mallets. Rempis’ Brötzmann-flavored finale swiftly shifts from ferocious roar to a dissipating whisper and rasp. Other pieces exhibit similar rapport and earnestness. But none cement indelibly in the memory, the barcode imagery of the cover reflected in the music. Regardless, it’s an enjoyable encounter between two friends who obviously glean a great deal of pleasure from playing together. With a pressing limited to 800, interested parties shouldn’t dally in their securing copies.

~ Derek Taylor