It’s difficult not to see some yawning flaws in such an ambitious and bravely pretentious work as this. Russell has stretched so far in both conceptual and musical terms that he was almost bound to topple over, but luckily for him, he falls on his feet.
The concept (as in the ‘concept albums’ beloved of so many rock titans in the mid-seventies, and dangerously close to New Age thinking) hinges on some sort of ecological detente between wounded nature and her prodigal son, man. ‘Professor’ Russell is naive in the extreme when he suggests in his liner note that technological advance is against nature: given that it has happened and that it is an activity that goes on at many levels of animal life – all of them nature’s own creations, how could it be more natural? Russell’s logic is not only distorted but also smacks of short-sighted conservatism.
Russell’s next problem is to reconcile the titles (and subtitles, like The Collective Level of Being Attracts The Common Future … yes … and?) with the music. At times the two seem almost to fit, but in the main they don’t. If we can imagine that the ominous scrapings of a choir of electric pencil sharpeners at the beginning of Event I represent the stirring of organic life, and that the strutting upright funk of Event II illustrates the advent of human life, it’s hard to equate the heavy-handed rock beat of Event VIII with the sub-title of Style Over Substance, The Decline Of The Spirit (or is George suggesting that rock ‘n’ roll has corrupted the modern musical spirit?)
Finally, to the music, which is about all that matters on this record and which, good for it, can stand on its own two feet without the crutch of some specious aesthetic. Russell’s 26-piece band produce some volatile, dynamic and mostly cheerful music. The intent may be serious, but the result is largely accessible, and not just because it speaks in populist rock and funk dialects. The elements of rubato and dissonance that frequently occur are rarely overplayed, and quickly resolve into more readily digested forms. The ensemble work is excellent and among the band are some fine soloists, but miles ahead of any of them is George Garzone, whose brawny tenor solo on The Paleolithic Game is appropriately full of primal screams. The only flat spots are the lumpen, unswinging rock beats and Mark White’s nasty sub-Hendrix guitar solos. Nothing wrong with rock beats – they can swing, and nothing wrong with Hendrix – he redefined the electric guitar, but there is a problem when we’re expected to swallow milky, ersatz versions of these things.
A certain respected jazz writer once referred to the ‘sledgehammer rhythms’ of Steps Ahead. The same chap recently described George Russell as ‘the most impressive composer in that music [jazz] since Duke Ellington’. He must also be the first to render sledgehammers obsolete by employing piledrivers in his rhythm section.
Discography
Event I: Organic Life On Earth Begins; Event II: The Paleolithic Game; Event III: Consciousness; Event IV: The Survival Game; Event V: The Human Sensing Of Unity With Great Nature (22.07) – Event VI: African Empires; Event VII: Cartesian Man; Event VIII: The Mega-Minimalist Age; Event IX: The Future? (23.13)
Russell (conductor); Marc Rossi, Bruce Barth (kyb); Mark White (g); Bob Nieske (sb); Bill Urmson (elb); Keith Copeland (d); Dave Hagedorn (pc); George Garzone (ts/ss); Gary Joynes (ts/ss/f); Dave Mann (as/ss/f); Janus Steprans (as/ss/f); Brad Jones (bar/bcl/f); Mike Peipman, Chris Passin, Roy Okutani, Mark Harvey (t); Peter Cirelli, Chip Kaner (tb); Jeff Marsankas (btb); Marshall Sealy (frh); Joe Galeota, Lazaro Perez, Kuto Perez, Amaro Laria, Enrique Cardenas (Olu Bata); various musicians: electric pencil-sharpeners. Recorded live at Emmanuel Church, Boston, Mass, 18/6/ 83.
(Blue Note BT 85103)
