On paper, most improvised duets should have a natural sparseness – the fewer the instruments, the more gaunt the music. But from Haden/Jones to Blackwell/Cherry to Halvorson/Frisell, that “on paper” stuff often turns to hooey. The wisest improvisers know how to sculpt their presentations to conjure the impact of a full ensemble. This new duo exchange between soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and drummer Allison Miller pulls off such a trick. Agile, yes. But in an uncanny way, flush with gambits that bend sound towards elaboration. The 11 fully improvised performances, cut remotely in Brooklyn last spring during Covid down-time with no initial intention of being shared with an audience, glow with a unusual heft. A lot of this victory has to do with the breadth of sound that Miller’s percussion is capable of. On “Technicolor” that means a parade of kinetics. Morse code on the toms, clanging cymbals, circus press rolls, and metallic chatter – with her mate’s nimble horn lines brocading the action, the drummer turns the piece into a poetic flourish. Other tracks follow suit. The flutters that Bloom delivers in “Crayola” accumulate nicely, their feathery swoops becoming part of a rich foreground. “Upon Seeing JP” simmers and simmers, intermittently threatening to boil over. And if you do wind up yearning for a hushed passage that still has plenty of cool particulars, “Light Years Away” is right there waiting for you.
Follow My Tweets
- Summertime is #Philharmonic time. @Chandler_Travis and squad arrive in NYC tomorrow aft. bit.ly/3Q49JDq 2 days ago
- of course you missed the show. everyone's busy. so here it is for your pleasure, mispronunciations and mumbling gal… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 4 days ago
- morning music: Angelica Sanchez putting a very very very wise spin on Cecil's "With (Exit)." #piano #jazz… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 week ago
- RT @jfreemanfp: Apparently this is not criminal. It should be. https://t.co/y7skzdPKiL 1 week ago
- i'm smiling because Parker/Revis/Waits start their fetching new disc, which works well on a sunny Red Hook summer m… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 week ago
- Far Flung Folk on WRIU.org at 6 pm ET. Hailey Whitters, Anibel Velasquez, Maddox Brothers & Rose, Fu… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 week ago
- RT @RossWHammond: Made a SoundCloud page. Why not? Got some new tunes up there. soundcloud.com/ross-hammond-g… 2 weeks ago
- you can fling folk on a Sunday, too. archive, baby, archive. Chris Thile, Los Golden Boys, Billy Bragg, Laura Cantr… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 weeks ago
- TONIGHT! 9 pm ET: LAMENT FOR A STRAIGHT LINE. STREAMING on WRIU.org (best to use the radio app of yr… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 2 weeks ago
- RT @ThamesChoral: Sure this record sounds better the warmer it gets. So I guess it has never before sounded this good. https://t.co/41gMEPY… 2 weeks ago
-
Recent Posts
- Ronnie Foster Reboot (Blue Note)
- Chandler Travis Philharmonic at The Cutting Room Sunday Afternoon
- Revolver Turns 56
- Bene and Lila in a Perfect Red Hook Dream
- Lament For a Straight Line Radio, WRIU, July 27
- MPT Trio in Action: Rhythm, Rhythm, Rhythm
- New Todd Snider Album Hits Sept 23
- Far Flung Folk, WRIU, July 27
- Miles Okazaki Thisness (Pi Recordings)
- EC Feeling A Little Frozen at Property Is Theft
In The Clouds
ahmad jamal beach boys ben allison beyonce Bill Frisell bob dylan branford marsalis bruce springsteen cecil taylor country music dave douglas diana krall duke ellington ECM elvis costello flying lotus Henry Threadgill hip-hop jamie saft jason moran jay-z jazz jazz standard jd allen jeff tweedy jim hall Jim Macnie joe lovano joe morris john coltrane john hebert Joshua Redman kanye west Lady Gaga lists marc ribot mark cutler marty ehrlich mary halvorson matt wilson Miles Davis morning/night mostly other people do the killing music nels cline newport jazz festival npr nrbq ornette coleman orrin evans paul motian Peter Stampfel Prince randy newman Richard Thompson rolling stone sonny rollins soundcloud spotify steve coleman sun ra the bad plus thelonious monk tim berne tom waits tyshawn sorey VEVO video vijay iyer village vanguard village voice VMAs wilco wynton marsalis XTCBlogroll
- Ammar Kalia
- Ann Powers
- Ben Ratliff
- Beta Blog
- Brazil Beat
- Burning Ambulance
- Chris Molanphy
- Chuck Eddy
- Clean Feed
- Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
- Dark Forces Swing Blind Punches
- David Greenberger
- Destination Out
- Do The Math
- DownBeat
- Fader Music
- Greenleaf Music
- Hank Shteamer
- Jazz Beyond Jazz
- Jazz Chronicles
- Jazz Times
- Jazz.com
- JazzBlog
- JazzTruth
- Jim Macnie Tumblr
- Kevin Whitehead
- let's cool one
- Listen Good
- Martin Johnson
- New York City Jazz Record
- New York's Vulture Blog
- New Yorker Culture
- Night After Night
- NPR: A Blog Supreme
- NYC Jazz Record
- Peter Margasak
- Point Of Departure
- Pop & Hiss
- Pop Matters
- PopDose
- Post No Bills
- Rifftides
- Robert Christgau
- Running The Voodoo Down
- Slate – Music
- Soul Sides
- Sound of the City
- Spin
- Squally Showers
- Stereogum
- Ted Gioia
- The Famous Door
- The Gig
- Today Is The Question
- Tom Hull
- Tom Moon
- WBGO – Take 5
- WBGO – The Checkout
- Will Layman
- WordPress.com
- WordPress.org
- Zach Baron
Top Clicks