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"HiGH ▀ iNTELLiGeNCE tRoLLS"
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a r t i s t : Steuart Liebig
t i t l e : Pomegranate
d a t e : 2001
l a b e l : Cryptogramophone (CG109)
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : August/2004
t r a c k s : 04
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 119,1 MB
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This is what you get when you pair one fine
composer-bandleader-bassist with a rag-tag group of
improvisational malcontents who know how to stir up a set of
arrangements into a noxious brew of little big-band aesthetics
and creative anarchy. Add to this mixture to four soloists from
outside the ensemble - for whom particular pieces of music is
written - fold in, stir radically, and allow the air of freedom
to penetrate thoroughly. The end result is Pomegranate. Steuart
Liebig's all-star band of improvisers - that includes the
composer on bass, drummer Alex Cline, violinist Jeff Gauthier,
trombonist Scott Ray, John Fumo on trumpet, and Ellen Burr on
flute - back four soloists in as many compositions designed to
create spectral and textural possibilities along a chosen field
of harmonic convergences and free-form intervallic encounters,
offering a wider than intended color palette for both soloist
and ensemble, thereby stretching composition and players to
their respective limits. The soloists - saxophonist Vinny
Golia, French horn player Tom Varner, bassist Mark Dresser, and
guitar god Nels Cline - all respond with aplomb, taste, and the
fiery awareness of this unique opportunity. While each of the
four compositions here is nothing less than stellar in its
complexity and lush arrangement for both group and soloist to
take direction from, it is Dresser's "The Motionless Blue of
Fallen Skies" and Cline's "The Darkness of Each Endless Fall"
that stand out. On the Dresser tune, the bassist's bowing and
pizzicato abilities are put to use in a series of tone row
explorations that give way to extended passages of microtonal
improvisation, along the perimeter of an ensemble playing in
both 12-tone and modal sequences (alternating effectively
between sequences), and creating for Dresser a structured yet
fluid space for lyricism and harmonic assonance within a set of
parameters of his own choosing. In Cline's piece, Liebig has
given the guitarist an architectural largesse within which all
of the differing chromatic paradoxes of that instrument may
reveal themselves as harmonic or chromatic possibilities for
the ensemble to reach (a mirror image almost from the Dresser
work). For all its squealing, ripping excess, Cline's guitar
has a firm hold on the melodic considerations of his own
hearing, and the result for the listener is no less than
thrilling. Ultimately, this disc proves a pleasant, revelatory
surprise for those who thought Liebig mainly a fine bassist.
His compositional and arranging abilities as showcased on this
fine disc reveal him to be an important voice in the future of
avant-garde music.
http://www.cryptogramophone.com
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01-Widening Circles Reach Across The World [15:04]
02-The Motionless Blue Fallen Skies [21:54]
03-Flare Up Like Flame and Create Dark Shadows [17:58]
04-The Darkness of Each Endless Fall [17:23]
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72:19 min
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