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"HiGH ▀ iNTELLiGeNCE tRoLLS"
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a r t i s t : The Nels Cline Singers
t i t l e : The Giant Pin
d a t e : 2004
l a b e l : Cryptogramophone #120
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : July/2004
t r a c k s : 11
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 129,6 MB
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Pushing jazz into territory usually reserved for hardcore,
ambient, and dark wave electronica, the Nels Cline Singers'
latest release, The Giant Pin, employs a wide array of
electronics, musical technique, and compositional audacity to
produce a sonically varied, deadly experimental amalgam of
genres and styles. Incorporating undulating waves of pure
texture, metal-loud drum beats, and distortion-laden guitar--as
well as minimalist, floating soundscapes--with traditional jazz
vernacular and improvisational structures, the Nels Cline
Singers have done what all of jazz's pantheon are honored for
trying: they've stepped forward into the future of sound.
Without a single word.
Heirs to the John Zorn-Mick Harris-fueled Painkiller legacy,
the Nels Cline Singers display more than just the courage,
vision, and sheer audacity to attempt such a project--and
release it on a jazz label. They also possess the requisite
musical skills necessary to make their experiment an unbridled
success. More than a series of establishment challenging forays
into the joy of rule-breaking, The Giant Pin accomplishes the
rarest of all feats, irrespective of genre. It presents a
spectrum of material that despite both its diversity and
explorative nature remains thematically consistent and of
unerring quality. Key to the album's beauty is group's
willingness to expand the jazz vernacular by delving into
musical--and thereby emotional--realms usually overlooked.
Selections like "He Still Carries A Torch For Her", an album
highlight, prove how savvy the Nels Cline Singers are in their
approach. Beginning with traditional improvisatory exchanges
between guitar, bass, and drums, the piece slowly moves into
increasingly electric and dissonant territory. As the
dissonance thickens, the improvisations grow wilder and wilder,
the textures denser, the tempo faster, until finally the piece
crescendos into a thoroughly electronic series of sound blasts
and bent noise, replete with the inhumanly frenetic beats of a
drum machine. The tune then closes with a return to its opening
classic jazz beginning in the form of a brief coda.
As a whole, The Giant Pin progresses in a similar fashion.
Alternately offering beautifully performed acoustic jazz
pieces, mixed-genre experiments, and straight, all out
electronica-based orchestrations, The Giant Pin succeeds in
expanding the conceptual boundaries of both electronica and
jazz composition, while simultaneously acknowledging their
common ground.
This is a phenomenal album of exceptional depth, successful in
both conception and execution.
http://nelscline.com/
http://www.cryptogramophone.com
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01-Blues, Too [03:14]
02-Fly Fly [07:04]
03-He Still Carries A Torch For Her [06:44]
04-The Ballad Of Devin Hoff [07:49]
05-The Friar [01:15]
06-Something About Devin H. [10:12]
07-Bright Moon [11:03]
08-A Boy Needs A Door [04:35]
09-Square King [05:26]
10-Spell [09:23]
11-Watch Over Us [06:24]
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73:09 min
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