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Refuge Trio
WINTER & WINTER 910
AAAA
The alchemy practiced by percussionist John
Hollenbeck and vocalist Theo Bleckmann has
always been extraordinary. In Hollenbeck’s
Quartet Lucy and occasional duo projects, the
pair has created a sound that flits between
Berlin’s cabarets, South America and New
York’s Lower East Side. Adding Gary
Versace’s spectral accordion and impressionistic
keyboards only deepens and broadens the sonic
landscape.
As with everything Bleckmann and
Hollenbeck do, this recording is full of tiny,
stark details, from the singer’s precise diction to
the acrid decay of some of the drummer’s metallic
instruments. These elements mix with gauzier
effects, often a blur of electronic noise: partially
obscured shouts on a chaotic version of
Thelonious Monk’s “Misterioso” or a swell of
sound on “To What Shall I Compare This Life.”
What dominates, however, is Bleckmann’s
distinctive voice. Whether unaffected, as on the
opening solo reading of Joni Mitchell’s “Refuge
Of The Roads,” or manipulated with electronics
on Versace’s explosive “Pinwheel,” it is a haunting,
memorable instrument. At times, when
vocalizing wordlessly, Bleckmann can assume
the role of a cello, filling out the texture of a
piece like Versace’s beautifully rendered
“Hymn.” On several songs he shifts between
exclamatory prose poetry and ethereal vocal
effects, most effectively on “Bright Moon,”
which includes a stunning intervallic leap.
While he dominates, this is far from a
Bleckmann-centric project. In addition to their
close interaction with the singer, Hollenbeck and
Versace have brief solo features. Hollenbeck
creates a rippling chorus of metallic sound on
crotales, tinged with electronics, while Versace’s
“Edges” is a rich accordion miniature.
—James Hale
Refuge Trio: Rufuge Of The Roads; To What Shall I Compare
This Life; Pinwheel; Rural Bliss; Edges; Bright Moon; Peace;
Misterioso; Child’s Play; Yang Peiyi; Hymn; Happiness; All Our
Yesterdays. (58:40)
Personnel: Theo Bleckmann, voice, live electronic processing;
Gary Versace, piano, accordion, keyboards; John Hollenbeck,
drums, percussion, crotales, vibraphone, glockenspiel.
Ordering info: winterandwinter.com
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Miles Okazaki
Generations
SUNNYSIDE 1214
AAA 1 /2
If brilliance was all that
was required in jazz,
Miles Okazaki would
be on this issue’s cover.
Rarely does even a
minute elapse on Generations
where the
emphatic first impression
that the composer
has a rare acuity for
form, rhythm and harmonic movement is not
reinforced. Ditto that for Okazaki’s skills as a
guitarist, the most impressive of which is his
somewhat paradoxical ability to be commanding
and understated at the same time. He’s also a
fastidiously disciplined leader, recording the
album’s nine technically exacting pieces in one
continuous take.
But, you also have to put some dirt in the
music. The risk of performing such meticulous,
exacting charts as Okazaki’s is that the requisite
virtuosity to execute them is often heard as antiseptic.
Few composers endeavoring this have
any of Henry Threadgill’s knack for the perfectly
placed scuff or Steve Coleman’s for melding
line and rhythm.
More often than not,
Okazaki’s music has
enough of both traits.
The three-alto front
line of David Binney,
Christof Knoche and
Miguel Zenón can
summon Threadgill’s
raspy bellow and
Coleman’s even simmer.
Vocalist Jen
Shyu does much more
than reinforce the
Coleman tip; when
Okazaki favors a gliding tempo and churning
chord progressions, Shyu provides an ease and
brightness comparable to that which Norma
Winstone brings to Kenny Wheeler’s charts.
Despite the album’s many fine attributes,
however, Okazaki’s music doesn’t have the
organic feel of Threadgill’s or Coleman’s, or the
aura that it is conjured instead of orchestrated.
—Bill Shoemaker
Generations: Overture; Sun; Waves; Magic; Generations;
Ghosts; Fractal; Break; Moon. (57:10)
Personnel: Miguel Zenón, David Binney, Christof Knoche, alto
saxophone; Jen Shyu, voice; Miles Okazaki, electric guitar; Dan
Weiss, drums; Jon Flaugher, acoustic bass.
Ordering info: sunnysiderecords.com
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June 2009 DOWNBEAT 67