Radding’s prior release on Pine Ear, the solo recording “Intersections”, was fairly solidly in the jazz tradition at least as that tradition has sprung out of the more adventurous work of bassists like Dave Holland and Mark Dresser. “Fugitive Pieces”, a quartet date from September of last year, pushes things in a decidedly more purely free improv direction; one can certainly still pick up jazz-like traces but at least one foot and a couple of toes have been planted in the neighboring yard. Radding’s accompanied by Matt Bauder on tenor and clarinet, Andrew Drury on percussion and Nate Wooley on trumpet, a classic enough instrumental line-up but right from the start, the fluttering textures of the winds, the non-rhythmic scraping of the drums and the leader’s typically massive, booming arco let you know not to expect the usual avant jazz free for all.
That said, it’s a difficult leap to make. Merely utilizing extended technique in an unstructured framework is no guarantee of musical success. For this listener, it has to feel like the resultant music is what the musicians involved really want to do—the commitment has to be implicit. “Fugitive Pieces”, the works generated from graphic and text scores, hits the mark more often than not in this regard though, as the album is sequenced, it takes a little while to really hit stride. Heard on its own, a piece like “Vertical Time” works extremely well, recalling the sort of dark, brooding interplay heard on that last cut from Braxton’s “New York, Fall, 1974” (I’m forgetting the Composition No., always thinking of it as Side Two, Cut Three), perhaps with Leo Smith replacing Kenny Wheeler. As with the earlier disc, I do pick up more than a tinge of the cardigan’d one’s flavor here and there, no bad thing. Wooley at times does indeed sound like some unholy offspring of those two trumpeters, pairing Wheeler’s fluidity with Smith’s acidity and Radding, as usual, sounds like he’s using a bass about ten feet long and three deep—his sound is that large and full. All of the first six pieces, ranging from one to nine minutes in length, are pretty solid and enjoyable, varying their tack enough to easily maintain interest though, as mentioned, “Vertical Thoughts” was the one that jumped out an impressed me. But they all seem to be leading toward the final track, the 32 minutes plus of “The Gradual Instant”. I don’t know if its length was preordained but I suspect there might have been some such general understanding among group members as right from the get go, everyone seems to be listening much more, not to be so intent on immediately contributing, creating air between the instruments and imparting volume to the piece. Then again, perhaps it’s in the nature of the graphic score being consulted. Whatever the case, it expands to fill the time rather than pushing things along and results in a fine, heady chunk of music. You know things are working when you hardly even think about this or that unorthodox technique is being employed. It doesn’t, and shouldn’t matter. The essence of the music takes over--it floats, rumbles and sails along and it’s over before you know it. Strong piece.
As before, I’m curious to hear where Mr. Radding ends up heading. In the meantime, a good, solid outing.
Posted by Brian Olewnick on March 28, 2006 4:29 PMDamn you, Brian! You beat me to it.
Posted by: derek at March 28, 2006 5:05 PMObviously a ton of great players live in NYC and tons of great music comes out of there. The one weakness seems to be that there is not much music coming out of there that deals with texture and sonic detail of music rather than pitch and time since Dresser moved west.
This is the one of the first recent releases to address that.
Of course if one digs deep things are some examples here and there, early Zorn, plenty of E#'s cds, WIlliam Parker's solos, Denman Maroney, etc.
All the playing is absolutly great, Reuben is one of my favorite bass players.
Not only does sound good this and the other pine ear release both look beautiful.
Sorry, D. Feel free to append your thoughts!
nyah-nyah.
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at March 28, 2006 6:06 PMYeah, sorry for all the misspellings and mistakes in my previous post, maybe I was otherwise unclear:
I love this cd. It has not left my player since I go it.
I think it is a fresh take on the exact kind of playing that most interests me.
All four players are amazing, I highly reccomend this cd.
I was nyah-nyahing the previous D, Mr. Taylor. Sorry for the confusion!
Posted by: Brian Olewnick at March 28, 2006 7:26 PMThis is a solid release. I think it makes an interesting companion to "Intersections." Agree with Brian, it all seems to lead up to the 32- min track "Gradual Instant." Sterling attention to detail and overarching form. Bravo.
Posted by: djll at March 28, 2006 7:35 PM"The one weakness seems to be that there is not much music coming out of there that deals with texture and sonic detail of music rather than pitch and time since Dresser moved west."
not sure exactly what you mean by "texture and sonic detail", but Sean Meehan, Tim Barnes, Margarida Garcia, Barry Weisblat, Dion Workman and Bryan Eubanks are all very interesting and accomplished free improvisers currently living in NYC, just to name a handful that come to mind.
it's true that it's not a scene that has been documented especially well on disc yet, but we've had plenty of great live sets here the last few years: consecutive duo sets by Axel Dorner and Tim, a duo/duo/quartet night with Sean, Tim, John Butcher and Rhodri Davies, the three duos night a couple of weeks ago by Margarida/Barry/Bryan, the Sean/David Daniell (Brooklyn resident)/Greg Kelley trio sets at both ErstQuakes, etc, etc. I'm hoping to do an Erst by this last trio at some point, we'll see.
Posted by: jon abbey at March 28, 2006 8:18 PM"I love this cd. It has not left my player since I go it."
How didja manage to listen to The Moat Recordings then the day b4 yesterday? Got two CD players? ;--)
Y'all are too fast. I haven't even unwrapped my copy yet.
I was hoping you would have some insight into some of the other NYC players.
I was aware of Barnes, Meehan and Eubanks. Also Andrew Lafkas is a very interesting bass player who lives there now.
Nice review, B. I just ordered this based on the review, along with 'Intersections' (and a couple of the OgreOgress you reviewed recently)
Man, I wish I could write gooder so I could get into the Free Shit Club like a lot of you guys.
Posted by: SOZ i'd at March 28, 2006 9:25 PMYes, Andrew Lafkas is great. A Minneapolis transplant.
Posted by: jf at March 28, 2006 9:39 PM"Man, I wish I could write gooder so I could get into the Free Shit Club like a lot of you guys."
That's nearly as good as some of the stuff people send me in for prospective publication, actually ;-) Free Shit maybe, but it's a mixed blessing - my permanent guilt trip about what to play next (and how many times I ought to play it) is showing no signs of going away. But not complaining!
Just gave the first couple of tracks of the Radding a spin - and very nice they are too
"The one weakness seems to be that there is not much music coming out of there that deals with texture and sonic detail of music rather than pitch and time since Dresser moved west."
Not quite sure what this means. For me, the main thing propelling Dresser's music was a very complex and nuanced approach to rhythm. Most avant-garde or "downtown" musicians have a wide palette of sounds as part of their arsenal. Is that what you mean by "sonic detail?" Anyone in that idiom after Steve Lacy and Jimmy Giuffre surely has incorporated this notion into his playing in some way or another. And what does Dresser leaving town have to do with anything? I don't see any radical change in the scene here in New York since his departure. One player, however great, does not make or break the music scene here.
The "Free Shit Club," while somewhat exclusive, membership is a royal pain in the ass as well. I don't know about you, but it takes a couple of hours for most writers to pen a review. The CDs sent for just that are about $15-$20. Considering most writers have side gigs that pay a heck of a lot better than $10 an hour, you recognize nothing in the world is free. And CDs sent in for write ups certainly are not. I am curious if other members of the club agree.
Posted by: D Sanchez at March 30, 2006 8:36 PMI forgot to mention in the last post just how effective Reuben's new record is. It is about time he got some critical love. Long overdue. Kind of like Damon Smith on the westside.
Posted by: D Sanchez at March 30, 2006 8:41 PM"Most avant-garde or "downtown" musicians have a wide palette of sounds as part of their arsenal. Is that what you mean by "sonic detail?" Anyone in that idiom after Steve Lacy and Jimmy Giuffre surely has incorporated this notion into his playing in some way or another. And what does Dresser leaving town have to do with anything? I don't see any radical change in the scene here in New York since his departure. One player, however great, does not make or break the music scene here."
-I am talking about recordings that come out of NYC. In my world, Bill Dixon, Barry Guy, Gunter Christmann, John Butcher and Wolfgang Fuchs have wide textural palettes. If most of the "downtown" musicians do, they are not putting it on cds that I have heard.
Anyway I am not saying it does not exsit in NYC it is a just not a strong a point as it is in say london, berlin or dare I say Oakland.
Despite my list I do think it is or should be a particularly Euro-centric idea.
I think a lot of us have an American take on it.
As for MR. Dresser, he has a nuanced approach to every detail of the bass and music.
Damon, when was the last time you were actually in NYC? how many shows have you seen here in the last few years?
relying solely on recordings to judge the strength of a specific scene is pretty silly, I assume you'd agree with that.
Posted by: jon abbey at March 30, 2006 9:53 PMLast time I was there was November - I saw Brian Eubanks, Bonnie Kane and And Andrew Laffkas play trio.
Anyway, I am just talking about recordings that come out of there, not the scene itself, because obviously, I don't live there but I do keep up with recordings pretty well.
I guess I am also partially basing my feelings on who makes it out west on tour.
It would be awesome if i am off base, since I always like hearing interesting music.
think we've done this before, that was bonnie jones, not kane.
bonnie kane plays saxophones in woo revelator & stuff like that.
Posted by: jf at March 31, 2006 5:11 PMRight. Sorry!
Posted by: Damon Smith at March 31, 2006 6:17 PMI'm really digging this puppy. 'Intersections' is quite beautiful, but this one really stretches out. I love the way the musicians use the combined effect of their extended techniques to create a sort of electronicky feel to the music. I had to double check the credits to confirm there was no laptop or other electronics being used. It really shows some strong collaborative improvisation skills from all the musicians. It would have been just a nice gimmick or a technical sideshow if the resulting music wasn't good, but the music really is forketting great.
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