While the one-horn-and-rhythm model of a jazz band has pretty much ingrained itself in the consciousness of the canon, what happens when this instrumentation goes beyond the stratosphere and opens itself up to other, perhaps non-jazz areas? Surely, there are some prime European models of what a saxophone, piano, bass and drums can do – say, Keith Tippett’s Mujician or the Schlippenbach Quartett – but there seem to be far fewer un-beholden to the jazz/free jazz tradition in American improvisation. Four musicians from the Pacific Northwest convened in Seattle in 2003 to make a stamp of activity and humanity beyond semantic limiters: altoist Wally Shoup, pianist Gust Burns, drummer Greg Campbell and bassist Reuben Radding (now based in New York). Though divided into seven tracks, The Levitation Shuffle is essentially a suite, with its first three segments of a whole unto themselves and the latter four nicely-contained vignettes of openness.
As with the best examples of non-idiomatic free improvisation (even as that calls to mind certain aesthetics, but we’ll try to leave something of a blank slate here), this quartet breathes in a unified fashion, if continually subdivided and hydra-headed. The rhythm section is of particular empathetic note, Burns creating and destroying his own etudes at a moment’s notice as Radding and Campbell dissect their own thrashing into minutiae. Burns is a melodic player at heart – like Gary Peacock, he creates a constant field of melody as support for Shoup’s bittersweet flights. Despite erring on the side of filigree, in terms of motion there is something in common here with the Schlippenbach-Niebergall-Lovens trio. Radding is pure muscular weight, applied in definitive crags, while Campbell strings a web of glassy little-instrument percussion around the openings. Shoup is a lemony-toned improviser, salvos of puckered notes emitted in bright ingots. He has a tendency to ride atop the rhythm section’s activity, sometimes sticking out like a bent thumb over the trio’s delicate intricacy, and often being hurled forth by their mass.
Shoup, Burns, Radding and Campbell are in good company. Along with Mujician, the famed 1974 Schlippenbach Moers concert (part of which was issued on FMP as Three Nails Left), or Cecil Taylor’s more “composerly” Nailed and Student Studies, they’re vying for the crème-de-la-crème of saxophone-plus-rhythm improvisation outfits. Considering for a moment such heavy peers, The Levitation Shuffle comes with very high recommendations.
Posted by clifford on May 8, 2007 6:42 PMThis is a really, really great cd, I had my ipod on random and I actually thought it was one of the groups Clifford lists above, except the good recording quality made me realize otherwise.
Gust is a fantastic player we all need to hear more of and
I can't get enough of Reuben's burly sound lately.
You can get this at emusic:
http://www.emusic.com/album/10998/10998275.html
Good heavens. The Quartet - CT's "composerly" Nailed??? You'll be very hard-pressed to find a more totally uncomposed piece of live improvisation on the planet.
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at May 13, 2007 3:17 AMHence the quotes... I find it operates a bit more measurably as a structured work, esp. the way Cecil feeds chords additively. What is "free improvisation" in this sense still carries on in the tradition of CT's "unit structures."
Posted by: clifford at May 13, 2007 5:56 PMHence the quotes... I find it operates a bit more measurably as a structured work, esp. the way Cecil feeds chords additively. What is "free improvisation" in this sense still carries on in the tradition of CT's "unit structures."
Really? I'll have to listen to it again (any excuse - that's a great record).
With CT's music, it's hard not to see his work in terms of his compositions. Even when he's not handing out notes to the other players, his own playing is so ingrained in his own compositions that it's hard not to play a CT composition when one play's with him. That being said, I don't see Nailed as any more composerly than other of his works.
On a side note, it's also nice when you can here him in a setting that "stretches his bag" (ex: w/Dixon, Oxley, and the duo with Bailey).
Posted by: Jacob Lindsay at May 14, 2007 10:32 AMi find much of cecil's work "composerly" though i ahven't listened to nailed recently to compare.
did the schlipp/ lovens/ neibergall group make any records?
Posted by: ilzabadini at May 14, 2007 2:17 PMI guess you could count half the band hating each other as compositional material....
I think only Barry was on good terms with everyone.
No, not more composerly than other works, but a lineup similar to the disc reviewed here.
I have recordings of the Schlippenbach group with Niebergall, but none of it was commercially released. I'd also add that Radding has the muscularity of Niebergall; I'm not sure Kowald would've been an appropriate comparison. I have a soft spot for Buschi, too...
Posted by: clifford at May 15, 2007 12:07 AM"No, not more composerly than other works, but a lineup similar to the disc reviewed here."
Cecil's music is very clear. He was here to work on a large ensemble at Mills and he invited Marco Eneidi, Myself and a few others to play. After the large group rehearsals he would invite a few of us to stay and just play with him for a few hours afterward.
The first time I was a little nervous but as soon as we started I realized "Oh, I know this song!" and it was very easy and relaxed to play with him, the opposite of what I thought it would be.
The concert we ended up doing could have been better, but playing with him after the large group rehearsals were some of the best musical experices I have had.
"I'd also add that Radding has the muscularity of Niebergall; I'm not sure Kowald would've been an appropriate comparison. I have a soft spot for Buschi, too..."
I can go with that, esp. the way Niebergall plays on "Nipples" and "More Nipples".
He was a fantastic player, I try to get everything with him on it I can. There are two great Michel Pliz LPs that have been back and forth between Jacob Lindsay's and my collection. I have them now at the moment.
so there are no recordings of lovens with neibergall?
Posted by: ilzabadini at May 15, 2007 11:09 AM"so there are no recordings of lovens with neibergall?"
Not sure about small group recordings, but they played together in Globe Unity.
Posted by: Jacob Lindsay at May 15, 2007 12:39 PM"No, not more composerly than other works, but a lineup similar to the disc reviewed here."
Should've said "than other Cecil works" but I hope my point is understood. That Nailed is more obviously structured than the disc reviewed here!
Cecil's dangerous to bring up, I should've thought of that before... thanks for the stories, though, Damon.
Posted by: clifford at May 16, 2007 8:33 AMAnother nice story is how I met Gust. He was here for the summer studying and UC Berkeley and he applied for a job at my mom's music teaching business. I interviewed him on the phone, he said, " I play improvised music, I studied with Paul Plimley"
I said, " I do too, I studied with Lisle Ellis, you're hired".
Clifford: If I haven't said it clearly enough, perhaps I should say it more simply. "Nailed" was utterly unstructured.
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at May 16, 2007 1:17 PM"Clifford: If I haven't said it clearly enough, perhaps I should say it more simply. "Nailed" was utterly unstructured."
- Yes but great improvisors like that make clear, composerly structures in the moment. He said "Composerly" not "Composed"
Posted by: Damon Smith at May 16, 2007 8:01 PMI remain rather in the dark as to the true meaning of "composerly" as used here. I suspect it may well be a concept more resident in the listener's head than in that of the performers.
Posted by: Graham L. Rogers at May 17, 2007 3:54 AMSometimes improvisation feels Like you are playing "parts". This has happened to me with Cecil, Gratkowski, Marco Eneidi, Biggi Vinkeloe and Gianni Gebbia (just yesterday in a trio recording with Weasel).
Especially with Gratkowski it sometimes feels like a complete bass part is in front of me, with fingerings, bowings, dynamics and all.
Other times it has a whole other feeling and things connect at other places, more like you are assembling it bit by bit.
I don't think it is not something you can make happen but it is interesting when it does.
It is interesting that my list is all alto players and Cecil, and that Wally is an alto player.
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