ROSWELL RUDD/JAMIE SAFT/TREVOR
DUNN/BALAZS PANDI
Strength And Power
Rare
Noise RNR060
NEW ZION w. CYRO
Sunshine Seas
Rare Noise RNR065
Review by
Craig Nixon
"Love Is Proximity" the late Herbie Nichols once said as
the name of one of his many celebrated compositions.
Indeed, proximity and love both helped foster this
recording. Roswell Rudd and Jamie Saft live within
a few miles of one another, in the region between New
York's Hudson Valley and the Catskills, what would be
referred to as upstate by those in NYC, but laughably
downstate from Buffalo or Syracuse. Saft has built
himself a considerable home studio, logically centered
around a distinctive 1966 Steinway L piano. Rudd
has recorded at Potterville International Sound in the
past for his own projects, so it was only logical that
he and Saft team up for a date with the host actually at
the piano and not entirely in the recording/mixing
booth.
The rhythm section is a Rare Noise family affair, all
having been involved in a variety of projects for the
label in various combinations. Saft is part of The
Spanish Donkey, a downright face-melting electric trio
with guitarist Joe Morris and drummer Mike Pride that
released the scorching Raoul
on the label last year. Red
Hill found Saft, the Hungarian drummer
Balazs Pandi and Morris (on bass this time) joined by
Wadada Leo Smith for another productive date from the
pianist's studio. Bassist Trevor Dunn, in addition to
having met with Saft on various John Zorn projects, was
also involved in the band Slobber Pup, along with Saft,
Pandi and Morris, that has recorded for the label as
well.
As for the trombonist, Roswell Rudd is 80 years old this
year, but time has certainly taken nothing at all from
his playing or his considerable stamina. Nearly
mirroring the development of his close associate Steve
Lacy, Rudd began as a Dixieland-styled player in the
1950s and gradually moved on toward more progressive
forms of jazz, at various times anchoring ensembles of
Cecil Taylor, Archie Shepp and several with Lacy.
His range is immense and fairly encapsulates the history
of jazz, from extensive work on the compositions of
Monk, Nichols and Lacy to fearless free improvisation.
Fearless free improv was indeed the order of the day for
the 64 minutes that make up this disc. Nothing
mapped out ahead of time, no visual cues, “nothing but
trust, deepest intuition and mutual respect” states
Saft. The album is front loaded with its two
longest pieces, the 18 minute title track and the 16
minute “Cobalt Is A Divine”. Both are fairly grand
statements and the two could comprise a single LP of
their own, not to mention the other half hour of music
here.
The track “Strength And Power” begins quietly, the four
players feeling each other out, but things are in full
swing inside of three minutes. Rudd is at the
forefront for another nine before giving way to Saft,
who introduces a deliciously dramatic shift at 12
minutes in. It turns out that the trombonist is only
gone long enough to catch a breath and regroup,
returning to the fray and hanging in until the piece's
grand finish.
Throughout the date Dunn provides big toned support.
It's perhaps easier to hear him as an improvisor here
than in the context of Zorn's largely composed
projects. Drummer Balazs Pandi has become
comfortable in styles ranging from speed metal to free
jazz, and provides his characteristic reactive
support. Listening was the hallmark of the day for
this session, or in Rudd's words: “When you're lucky
enough to be in the company of very proficient musicians
who can not only play but can also listen deeply, this
is what I think I love more than anything else in the
performance of music.” The listening and mutual
respect paid off here, and Strength
And Power is as fine an example of group
improvisation as you'll hear this year.
One of Saft's ongoing projects is his New Zion Trio,
which makes its Rare Noise debut with Sunshine
Seas, convening a rarefied intersection of dub,
reggae, and Kabbalah Jewish mysticism with an
entire host of other sounds and influences courtesy of
their guest, Brazilian percussion wizard Cyro Baptista.
Saft and Cyro's association goes back a good 20
years. They've worked together on countless
projects, many of them under the aegis of John Zorn, and
Saft had produced two successful recordings for Cyro's Beat The Donkey
project, as well as the two having toured together
several times.
New Zion's rhythm team of Brad Jones on upright bass and
drummer Craig Santiago have been in place for a while
and have developed the deepest pocket. And it's a
deep pocket that's needed, as New Zion as a band has
grown progressively more dub influenced as Saft has
immersed himself both in the music and culture of
Jamaica. The keyboardist has found a deep co-mingling of
Rastafari and Jewish heritage, often speaking of their
similar trance like meditative states. But make no
mistake, this is no amateur cross cultural dabbling,
Saft has done his homework, both musical and spiritual,
and his dub groove is the real thing: deep, authentic
and infectious.
On this release adding the sounds, voice and spirit of
Cyro Baptista only serves to kick the flavor up yet
another notch. He weaves in and out of these
sultry grooves as if they were tailor made for him,
picking up and putting down various instruments and
objects from his huge arsenal, vocalizing and even
getting off a killer Jew's harp solo on the track
“Ranking”.
Saft employs several keyboards (listened to after the
disc with Rudd the sound of his Steinway is easily
identifiable here), acoustic guitar, and also lays down
a few electric bass parts, leaving Jones to his
upright. Vanessa Saft contributes a sweet and
breezy vocal to the title track. She had worked on
some of the Zorn projects, and also with Beat The
Donkey, and fits in beautifully here.
Much of the creation of dub is in the hands of the
producers, who use the studio and various effects in
order to give the music its distinctive sound. Sunshine Seas
reunites Saft with co-producer Christian Castagno, who
gets plenty of credit from the leader in shaping the
sound. Saft and Castagno had worked together
extensively years ago, prior to Castagno's relocating to
the jungles of Colombia, and the pair have joined
together here to lend authentic dub to these tracks,
rendering them something special and more than just an
endless groove.
Seen live recently the band is a touch different.
On gigs Brad Jones is on electric bass throughout and
incendiary master drummer Oscar Debe was in for Craig
Santiago. If anything the groove is even deeper
live, and you have the added visual benefit of watching
Cyro as he utilizes just about every object one could
think of, including frequently vocalizing through a
bullhorn. Without aid of the studio techniques Saft uses
piano, Rhodes, organ and effects to recreate an
authentic dub sound. It kept people on the dance
floor, even in a venue not exactly known for dancing,
and commanded two encores. With its infectious,
breezy grooves and deep dub breaks Sunshine Seas is
bound to be commanding encores in CD players and on many
turntables this year.
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