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"HiGH ▀ iNTELLiGeNCE tRoLLS"
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a r t i s t : The Joe Mcphee Quintet
t i t l e : Common Threads
d a t e : 1995
l a b e l : Deep Listening (DL-CD-4)
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Mar-2005
t r a c k s : 03
b i t r a t e : 192kbps
s i z e : 81,4 MB
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Joe McPhee - pocket trumpet, tenor and soprano saxophones),
Stuart Dempster - trombone, didjeridu and little instruments),
Loren Dempster - cello
Eyvind Kang - violin and erhu
Michael Bisio - bass
Recorded live in Seattle, 10/19/95
For an artist of his stature and years, Joe McPhee has been
hopelessly under-recorded. That said, it is also notable that
he has never issued or had issued a substandard recording.
That's quite a feat. The documentation of this unusual quintet
(with Stuart Dempster on trombone, didgeridoo, etc., his son
Loren on cello, and bassist Michael Bisio and Evynd Kang on
violin and erhu) is no exception. Recorded as part of a
weeklong jazz festival, the date took place on October 19,
1995, the day trumpeter Don Cherry passed away. While it's true
that McPhee is known primarily as a tenor player, he is also
well versed in the pocket trumpet, Cherry's chosen instrument.
"Spirit Traveler," the track that opens this disc, is dedicated
to Cherry, but it is eerie that it was chosen, with its
gorgeous pocket trumpet opening, before McPhee knew of Cherry's
passing (he found out during the gig). Musically, "Spirit
Traveler" is all one needs to know about what went down that
evening, as Kang was purposely missing his flight to join his
boss, Bill Frisell in Europe. From a long, Eastern-tinged,
modal lyric, the band, under McPhee's subtle and carefully
orchestrated direction, the quintet creates a spacious yet
wonderfully murky chamber music, utilizing timbre as its force
for forward momentum. The three-string instruments are given
free rein to cover or open spaces inside this mode and create
intervals of their own for McPhee and S. Dempster. They create
textures in space by employing timbral chromatics of timbre and
tonal extension and contraction to achieve their aims. McPhee
merely plays his part as one of the quintet. At no point would
he be singled out as the primarily solo instrumentalist. He is
the ensemble, guiding gently the soloists -- and everybody here
solos often -- to create the proper balance of tension to tonal
flexibility. Restraint is measured and executed by morphemic
devices employed by each player in the improvisational process.
The music unfolds like a dream, weaving a rich, mournful
haunting tapestry of colors, spaces, and textures, courting
balance and discord equally. The emotional quality of this
music paramount, it creates cavernous vistas within the
listener's own space for receptivity. By the time the work
reaches its apex, McPhee's soulful tone digs deep into the
listener's psyche, blows sweet and honking, and takes it out
like a gospel tune. The gig doesn't end here, but it could; the
other two pieces here are full of their own power and beauty
making for a stunning performance, but "Spirit Traveler" is
jazz on a whole different level.
URL: http://www.deeplistening.org/
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01-Spirit Traveler (For Don Cherry), Pt. 1 [47:32]
02-Michael's Cipher, Pt. 2 [04:06]
03-Red Enchantment (For Joe McPhee, Sr.), Pt. 3 [07:40]
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59:18 min
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