Stephen Riley - Once Upon a Dream

Steeplechase 31632

One of the more engrossing aspects of Stephen Riley’s last record is his intuitive interplay with bassist Neal Caine. The pair balances rarefied levels of confluence with a mutual willingness to go for broke, completely revitalizing shopworn standards along the way. That opinion is meant as no slight to Jason Marsalis, whose traps play is instrumental to the album’s artistry. It’s just a convenient segue into commentary on Riley’s third Steeplechase effort, a series of closely miked duets with bassist John Brown.

A fellow South Carolinian and former sideman of the Marsalises, Brown’s panoptic approach to his instrument contrasts beautifully with the mundanity of his name. His fingers conjure everything from stout walking lines to complex metered grooves to slow drag shuffles, all with formidable physicality sans amp. Comparisons to Wilbur Ware are elementary in his deep harmonic and rhythmic perspicacity, but an even better reference is probably Mingus. Examples of Brown’s arco technique are relatively few in the program, but the perfectly articulated accompaniment to Riley’s opening musings on Ellington’s “In My Solitude” tells doubters all they need know. No jarring string sawing, just limpidly pitched strokes that cushion and complement the tenor’s lead.

Though the program provides plenty of passages of unison play, Riley and Brown also carve copious space for solo exposition. These sections where one or the other drops out are often just as stunning. Brown’s preface to the coquettish Oscar Pettiford classic “Swinging Till the Girls Come Home” is but one example: a two-minute master recital in pizzicato technique that never compromises its vibrant musicality. Stops, slaps, suspensions and a fleshy dollop of funk all factor into the improvisation. Riley’s inevitable entrance almost feels like an intrusion, almost. On “I’m an Old Cowhand”, Brown knocks out the familiar clip clop beat first fashioned by Shelley Manne for Rollins on the body of his bass prior to Riley’s rejuvenating caress of the cornpone theme.

All this praise of Brown should in no way distract from the powers of Riley. He continues to evolve and assay. Few, if any, practicing players come to mind that delve into possibilities of tone variation to the degree he does within his chosen context. Just when it seems his command of his horn couldn’t be more complete, he pulls something new out of thin air. That point for me on this set comes with “Tea for Two” where he striates his line into two streams with the precision of a micrometer, a move hinted at on earlier pieces. One rivulet is almost pure Websterian rasp while the other traces the tune’s melody, sketching it with an aerated texture that suggests Stan Getz at his most lyrical.

The simplicity and directness of the duo’s commnication carries over to the tray card. Beside Riley’s name sits just one word “tenor”, no need to couple it with the obvious elaboration. “John Brown bass” holds a similar poetic lucidity. The eleven tunes on the disc bring the shared purposefulness splendidly to life. Based on Riley’s past work I had high expectations for this outing. Not only does the music meet those standards, it manages to surpass them.

[Steeplechase titles are available through Stateside AT prodigy DOT net]

~ Derek Taylor