The debut album from Chicago-based band RedGreenBlue is a mixture of jazz, experimental and ambient music. The quartet is populated by Paul Giallorenzo on synthesiser, organ and electronics, Charlie Kirchen on bass, Ryan Packard on drums and electronics and Ben LaMar Gay featuring on the second side on cornet and also electronics.
The album is made up of just two tracks, titled The Beginning on the first side and The End on the second, which total just over 44 minutes. It begins with a repeated bass melody over metallic droning, as bits of sporadic percussion slowly creep in, and after several minutes, Kirchen’s bass begins to deviate into more complex phrases, and the droning intensifies.
At at around the halfway point, the surging electronic sounds fade somewhat, and the track plateaus to a more gentle, ambient soundscape, with soft electronic fizzing beneath. As the track builds once more, the final crescendo sees a more urgent atmosphere coalescing alongside more focused drums, culminating in a swift fade out.
The second track begins in a similar fashion, with bass, but immediately there is a faster energy, Ben LaMar Gay’s cornet leading with disjointed phrasing. Giallorenzo’s organ adds a dissonant chordal drone in the background as drums and bass become more frantic, and as the cornet weaves in and out of the piece, everything suddenly drops away, leaving dry acoustic percussion from Ryan Packard’s drums with a residual organ swell.
The track then builds once more over several minutes, with different textures connected by the returning cornet. It culminates in a chaotic free-jazz-esque ending before a gradual subsiding and fade out, completing two vast and complex tracks that form an interesting and captivating recording.
Discography
The Beginning; The End (44.25)
Paul Giallorenzo (syn, org, elec); Charlie Kirchen (b); Ryan Packard (d, elec); Ben LaMar Gay (c, elec). Chicago, 1 June 2018.
Astral Spirits AS190
