Curious to hear this, as M-Base has always struck me as a rhythmcentric system; hearing Steve without one of the amazing crew of drummers who've driven him on over the years (whatever became of Marvin "Smitty" Smith, btw? still alive?) should be interesting.
Still, I think I started to lose interest in Coleman after the rappers came on board in the mid 90s. There is a lot of mighty impressive freestyling going on on the 3 BMG live albums recorded in Paris, but those cats have their work cut out just getting their tongues around the words without having to negotiate the ferocious metrical complexity I like so much in earlier albums (fave SC track: "Ice Moves" - still haven't figured it out).
Do I detect from your review Derek that you're a relative newcomer to Coleman's work, or is there a huge back catalogue on your shelves you're not telling us about? If not, I can recommend just about anything from mid 80s to mid 90s without reservation!

Yeah, Dan, just a smattering of releases. A couple of Novuses (Black Science, Tao of Mad Phat) & an RCA (Curves of Life), but didn’t dig them out for this review. The idiosyncratic rhythmic elements are here, but obviously not as pronounced. It’s beautifully recorded too.

I forgot to include a link to Steve’s blog above, it’s there now.

Dan asked: "(whatever became of Marvin "Smitty" Smith, btw? still alive?)"

Some might answer 'no':
'Marvin “Smitty” Smith became a “Tonight Show” band member on January 30, 1995.'

Is that right? Well, there are worse ways to earn a living.

Always strange to read reviews about your own work, I know many musicians and others who refuse to read anything at all about what they do and I can somewhat understand why. Yea, Smitty has been on the Tonight Show for about 12 years now, and you tend to 'disappear' on once you get on that gig. The same fate with most of the others who have done it except for token appearances. However there are always excellent musicians 'on the rise' in music.

Regarding this recording, although its works for solo saxophone my mindset towards the music did not really change, except for the technical issues involved in playing solo. There are always things that a musician does that are in a sense 'hidden' from the ears of most listeners. This is a result of the many different levels that a person can hear the music. I hear Sonny Stitt play solo one time, in a Chicago hotel room just after he woke up (I showed up in the morning) and I could hear the entire band coming out of his horn. Later I heard Chicago tenor sax master Von Freeman play solo many times, and again I could hear all the things that would normally be there when he played with a band. It was these two who in part inspired me to do solo work, which I have done many times in concert, but just now on record. Its a challenging and interesting medium, but I'm sure its not for everyone (well, what is?). I hope to do more - just some reflections.

Can't resist to post fanmail: hey, Steve Coleman, while I don't always get your taste in rappers: you're one of the chief reasons jazz is still alive. There's worlds to discover starting from you. Thanks!

Hello, Steve! Thanks for dropping by with some comments. I hope the review above conveys my respect and admiration for your new album. Any qualms about the potential inscrutability of some of your theories are strictly my own. I mentioned Braxton and Ned Goold as points of comparison in this regard, but as in the cases of their work, yours (the relatively little I’ve head of it) often “clicks” with me in an aural sense. It’s just the building blocks behind it that are sometimes lost on me as a non-musician. I was looking at my shelves, and like many readers here, I have an inordinate amount of Braxton (30 odd titles) when balanced against the opening statements of the review. He may scare me a little, but I guess I like being scared. I’m usually more partial to him as an improviser than a composer, but that preference is a mutable one too.

I played Invisible Paths for my father and as predicted he dug it. He said it reminded him a little of Sonny Criss (!?!) Here’s hoping you do more in this vein as well. I just discovered the M-Base download section and have really been enjoying the access to the material there. Thanks again for the music & your words here, Steve.

Word - and welcome to Bagatellen, Steve. Thanks also for (unwittingly) providing me with one of this summer's most memorable musical moments, which came four weeks ago while driving across the windswept high volcanic plateaux of the Cezallier in Auvergne in brilliant sunshine listening to "Destination" from Sine Die.

No problem Derek, Lutz, and Dan. Yea, I think I get the review. But you know, there are a lot of things that we don't understand in this world. I don't know how the telephone works (not really) or most of the things in my crib but I still can 'use' them as tools to do things. What do we really mean when we say we 'understand' some music? I mean, people who are not musicians often say "I don't understand this or that" but actually they don't really know much about what they think they understand. I believe its more about what we are familiar with and what we are unfamiliar with. Some people are attracted to the unknown, are naturally curious. Athough everyone might say that they are I've found that most are not, because the biggest thing holding us back in most things in life is fear, humans like feeling secure (not everyone, but most). So what we see in musical tastes is the same as what we see in the rest of our lives because lets face it, music is just us, I mean its just a reflection of who we are as with every other artifact that humans create. So in the end we are really just discussing human nature, what it is to be human.

OK, this is getting long, I'll close with saying that I think its great that we don't all dig the same thing. Checking out Braxton is no doubt some unusual stuff to do, that's why its so underground. But just have even one conversation with Braxton, Threadgill, Lacy, Cecil Taylor, Wayne Shorter, and you will understand where they are coming from with their music, because the music really is just a sonic projection of who they are. My personal feeling is that for these people, its not really about 'entertainment', its about communication of ideas, and as Von Freeman once put it to me so eloquently "Whether you Dig It or Not is immaterial!", the real question is does something in that particular vibration 'resonate' with you, and you don't have to understand it for that to happen. Man!, its gettin late! Thanks for the feedback Derek.

Thanks again, Steve. This is the sort of thing I wish happened more at Bagatellen: musicians sounding off on their work in response to opinions voiced here and elsewhere. That kind of exchange of ideas happens occasionally, but not nearly often enough. I’m definitely a creature of habit it when it comes to music. If not for the pursuit of reviewing, I’m not sure I’d actively seek out even half of what comes across my desk. A large portion of it falls outside my immediate comfort zone, but that regular exposure to unfamiliar sounds is also what makes it worthwhile.

What you wrote about “taste” is an important reminder. Routinely, “taste” is seen as some sort of objective scale and by association a definitive gauge of worth, whether it be in the object of appraisal or the person doing the appraising. Couldn’t be farther from the truth, IMO.

take note, mr. abbey

"But just have even one conversation with Braxton, Threadgill, Lacy, Cecil Taylor, Wayne Shorter, and you will understand where they are coming from with their music, because the music really is just a sonic projection of who they are."

Very well put, Mr. Coleman.