Miroslav Vitous: Mountain Call
This recording should not be confused with bassist Vitous’s debut album as leader, Mountain In The Clouds (Atlantic, 1972) which confusingly was originally issued as Infinite Search (Embryo, 1970) and later as The Bass (Horzu, 1972). Mountain Call comprises 18 tracks including two suites (Evolution and Rhapsody). The first four pieces are devoted to interplay between Vitous and Michel Portal. Tribal Dance is a brief foray by Vitous and Jack DeJohnette. Most of the pieces average just over two minutes in duration with few exceptions. The duets with clarinettist Portal reappear on Rehearsal In Theatre and Discussion, both just over one minute in duration.
The five minutes of Epilog with Vitous and DeJohnette is dramatically enhanced in its opening and closing passages by the addition of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Whether Epilog, which contains much pizzicato improvisation by Vitous, is related to Epilogue from Infinite Search is difficult to determine although there are, similarly, bass extemporisations throughout.
The Evolution suite, in three parts, opens with the orchestra, Vitous’s ponderous bass and DeJohnette’s drums on Path Begins. This is followed by Nature Opening in which the ensemble is joined by Bob Mintzer on wistful bass clarinet. The final part, Fulfillment Final, has Vitous’s pizzicato solo vying with DeJohnette’s snapping drums and Mintzer’s lyrical clarinet. The entire suite lasts little more than six minutes in total. The Rhapsody suite in five parts but under 10 minutes in length, features the spectral vocals of Esperanza Spalding singing often indeterminate lyrics, words or sounds that seem to trace the lines created by Gary Campbell’s serpentine soprano saxophone. The title track closer is a duet between Vitous variously playing pizzicato and arco bass and Portal on bass clarinet, Vitous’s soaring arco improvisation being especially masterly and inventive.
Mountain Call is released on vinyl and CD formats and it might be assumed that this is the first release of these compositions. In common with many (but not all) ECM releases, there are no accompanying sleeve notes other than the recording and personnel details. Much of the record is characterised by an echoey quality and for that reason it would have been useful to learn precisely where and under what circumstances these compositions were recorded particularly as they span a period of some seven years. All the music presented here is unlike Vitous’s earliest recordings under his own name or with Weather Report. At times it is nearer to the contemporary classical output of say, Bartok or Ligeti, but fused with much intriguing and frequently captivating improvisation.
Discography
New Energy; Second Touch; On The Way; Unexpected Solutions; Tribal Dance; Rehearsal In Theatre; Discussion; Epilog; Delusion; [Evolution]: Path Begins; Nature Opening; Fulfillment Final. [Rhapsody]: In You; Fun & Games; Africa; In Me; Lullaby; Mountain Call (37.42)
Vitous (b, sampling); Michel Portal, Bob Mintzer (cl, bcl); Gary Campbell (ts, ss); Jack DeJohnette, Gerald Cleaver (d); Esperanza Spalding (v) plus members of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Prague, 2003-2010.
ECM 2673
Harry Christelis: Preserving Fictions
The soundscapey opening to Blues Of The Birds gives way to an ostinato bass-led theme with undertones of Pink Floyd spaciness. This provides a backdrop for Christelis’s limpid guitar. The approach is a good one, allowing the listener to be immersed in a hypnotic atmosphere whilst simultaneously appreciating the virtuosity of the improvisers. A Sense Of Parrot continues this methodology but Andrew DiBiase’s sonorous acoustic bass lines take the lead here with assorted electronica providing a sensitive backdrop. Wood Dalling has Christelis’s plangent guitar played within a balladic framework concluding with a satisfying ensemble outro. A Short Fiction is indeed brief at just over a minute in length and characterised by a drone-like electronic hum. Christos Stylianides’s delicate trumpet on For JB is a positive highlight, displaying both emotional depth and virtuosity. Stylianides is again heard to powerful effect on We Whittled A Spoon, where his trumpet offers ghostly echoes of Miles Davis at his most experimental. Preserving Fictions is Londoner Christelis’s fifth album to date and would appeal to fans of Bill Frisell, imbued as it is with its inescapable elegance. Check out the exquisite A Second Song For You (and its subsequent anthemic reprise) plus the album’s solo guitar track And So We March On, for proof.
Discography
Blues Of The Birds; A Sense Of Parrot; Wood Dalling; A Short Fiction; Sotsirhc; For JB; Djembe; And So We March On; We Whittled A Spoon; A Second Song For You; How Old Are You?; A Second Song For You – Reprise (58.17)
Christelis (elg, elec); Christos Stylianides (t, elec); Andrea Di Biase (b, syn); Dave Storey (d). London, 15-17 December, 2024.
Clonmell Jazz Social CJS011CD
Don Scott & Jean Martin: Doing Science
Don Scott & Jean Martin began working together 15 years ago in Scott’s jazz group Peripheral Vision. The quartet would experiment with overdubs added to the live recordings they laid down in Martin’s studio. The downside of this experimentation was that it often went too far, to the detriment of the recording. With Doing Science they deployed the reverse method, experimenting to the max in order to create what is their own unique sound.
Canadian Martin is a drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer and has performed and recorded with David Murray, Evan Parker, Phil Minton, Veryan Weston and Craig Taborn amongst others. Martin also founded the Toronto-based Barnyard Records based in 2002, which has been utilised by the likes of Anthony Braxton and William Parker. Guitarist Don Scott, also Toronto-based, in addition to leading or co-leading several groups, has worked with renowned jazz figures such as Chris Potter, Dave Douglas and Ernest Ranglin. He studied with guitarist Ben Monder and saxophonist Donny McCaslin in New York and John Hollenbeck in Berlin. For this album the duo has recruited percussionist Michael Davidson, who’s worked with Joe Chambers and Roscoe Mitchell as well as double bassist Dan Fortin. Davidson and Fortin started the independent record label Elastic Recordings which released Doing Science. The quintet is completed by fellow Toronto resident Mackenzie Longpre on drums.
The Zappa-esque Flicker Fusion Threshold opens with Michael Davidson’s fleet-footed marimba emulating Mothers Of Invention percussionist Ruth Underwood in full flow. Farming opens with a pulsating beat but develops into a dynamic, guitar-led number reminiscent of the instrumental elements of King Crimson. A Guy On Fire Running Backwards In Slow Motion is gentler and deploys a satisfyingly wide palette of percussion and electronics. Escaped Electrons involves an earwormy repeated riff over an undercurrent of rhythmic marimba. The eerie drone opening of the title track is followed by a repeated Reichesque guitar figure with subtle percussion encased within a captivating stereophonic array. Prattle offers more pulsating electronica held together with effectively restrained drums. The closer, Bite The Garnish (For David Lynch) is altogether more considered and contemplative but illustrates how Scott and Martin have the ability and nous to cannily fuse electronics into their compositions without it overwhelming their clever and memorable tunes.
Discography
Flicker Fusion Threshold; Farming; A Guy On Fire Running Backwards In Slow Motion; Escaped Electrons; Doing Science; Prattle; Bite The Garnish (For David Lynch) (35.32)
Scott (elg, syn, kyb, hp, b, elec; Martin (d, syn, elec); Michael Davidson (vib, pc); Dan Fortin (elb, b); Mackenzie Longpre (d). Toronto, 21 February-16 November, 2024.
Elastic Recordings ER 021