Chris Kelsey & Dom Minasi, Duets NYC/Woodstock

There are recordings that are very good but perhaps do not stand out as breakthrough examples of improvisational brilliance, and there those that have that quality. Today's recording is one of those breakthroughs. I speak of Chris Kelsey and Dom Minasi's latest, Duets NYC/Woodstock (Tzazz Krytyk CD). As the title suggests it is a series of duets between Chris Kelsey on soprano sax and Dom Minasi on electric guitar, recorded last year in New York and Woodstock.

The two have perhaps never sounded so inspired. Chris on soprano burns through motives and structures his playing so that fire and sensibility are seemingly always conjoined. Dom's playing too has fire and a complementary free logic so that the two engage in a free counterplay that is exhilarating to hear and extraordinary in impact.

There are nine free segments, some brief, others slightly less so, but always focused and filled with virtuoso flourishes. There is almost a telepathic togetherness in where they set out to go in each segment. Chris is dry and brittle, terse yet ever expanding on the initial motivic cells he brings in. Dom has a more liquid tone, a fiercely cascading series of chords and note phrases that show much schooling yet an ever-more original use of the possibilities his guitar makes available to him.

They both stand out here as reaching a pivotal point in their free-open stance. It is a breakthrough moment, in short, a tall hurdle surmounted and an entry into the new ground that opens up after the long climb.

It is most definitely music that needs to be heard! Chris Kelsey and Dom Minasi are at the top of their game and the inspiration shown leaves you very impressed but also very stimulated, elated even. Hear this without fail if you can!

Joe Morris Quartet, Balance

Guitarist Joe Morris has over the years virtually single-handedly carved out his own free-form avant jazz idiom on his instrument. By now he is at a classic stage where it all flows together with inventive grace. You can hear him at a high artistic altitude these days virtually in whatever he does. But it is especially true of the recent quartet album he made, Balance (Clean Feed 306).

Part of that has to do with having Mat Maneri on viola in the front line. He too has honed his art so that phrasings fall naturally from his instrument that manage to be both very idiomatic to the open tonality that Joe favors, yet also completely original in note choice and with a genuine feel for getting a darkly burnished tone from his viola. There is never a question of him sounding like a violinist. And this tone blends wonderfully well, especially when Joe emphasizes his middle-range.

With Chris Lightcap on contrabass the quartet has moments where there is a sort of string trio feel born of the three together. Chris can bow and pizz with real artistry and makes for an excellent addition to the sound. Then Gerald Cleaver on drums has that immediacy (especially it seems of late) of an unforced natural freedom that listens to what is going on and creates a fourth voice that is not the obvious but works extremely well in the four-way conversation.

This is a six-segment set that brings in various moods and subtleties with a togetherness that has as much a group dynamic as it does inventive soloing. If for any reason you don't know Joe Morris' work this is a great place to start. And if you already do this one gives you some of his very best. Either way, it is one to hear!

Yuganaut and "This Musicship"

Originally posted on May 27, 2008

A recently released CD by Yuganaut, This Musicship (ESP), gives a contemporary look at the free jazz scene. It’s a trio of Stephen Rush, mostly Moog, Tom Abbs, bass, tuba, etc., and Geoff Mann, drums, etc.

The recording scores with the variety of sound textures produced and the shifting instrumentation. Abstract musical events, rock with free solos, jazz forays, you name it. Almost anything can seemingly happen with these players and the sense of exploration gives the listener an exciting lift.