Bluiett Baritone Nation – Libation For The Baritone Saxophone Nation – 1998
Avant-garde Jazz, Free Jazz
US
1. Libation for the Baritone Saxophone Nation (8:36)
2. Discussion Among Friends (8:37)
3. MPR-1 (2:35)
4. Revival (9:57)
5. Settegast Strut (10:06)
6. Underwater Birth (5:35)
7. J.B. Groove (18:58)
8. KMA/QB (8:35)
Baritone Saxophone – Alex Harding, Hamiet Bluiett, James Carter, Patience Higgins
Drums – Ronnie Burrage
Recorded by La Chaîne culturelle de Radio-Canada for "Silence on jazz" at the 1997 Montreal International Jazz Festival.
This is one for the low road — a celebration of the raucous, resonating and reinvigorating power that can only be generated by a baritone sax quartet.
Best known for his work with the World Saxophone Quartet, Hamiett Bluiett teamed with fellow reedmen James Carter, Patience Higgins and Alex Harding, plus percussionist Ronnie Burrage for this concert recording that swings, shouts and swaggers from the bottom on up. The four reedmen serve as both collaborators and catalysts, gathering to create dense harmonies, then splintering apart to engage in high-spirited improvisations that lead to new paths, strategies and themes.
The music is sometimes underpinned by roiling funk rhythms, as on "Discussion Among Friends," or is rhythmically untethered, as on "MPR-1." Yet no matter what tack the ensemble takes, the sheer sonic force of the horns is a common denominator, producing music that's intensely visceral and made all the more so by Burrage's muscular prodding. The compositions, which include pieces by Sam Rivers (the exultant "Revival"), Bluiett (the wonderfully evocative "Underwater Birth") and Carter (the Godfather of Soul-inspired "J.B. Groove"), allows the band to revel in avant garde excursions, vividly drawn soundscapes and elemental beats against a backdrop of shifting tempos and meters. Small wonder "Libation" sounds like a liberating experience for all of the musicians involved.
By Mike Joyce
о релизе :
This unusual four-sax combo honks to high heaven on this live disc. But only horn fans of the deepest hue need apply. The squonk and bratt of horn syncopations like "Discussion Among Friends" are a bit grating after a time.
This is *the* CD for people who like a LOT of baritone saxophone! 4 of them, to be exact. The playing, done by four of the instrument's top players (with drum set accompaniment), is jazzy, but also very funky, with each sax taking a different role: melody, inner parts, and bass line. Unlike a typical sax quartet which is made up of four different sizes of saxophone, this group does it with all baris, which makes it even more amazing that the lead players can hit such high notes. The playing is inspired and this CD should appeal to any adventurous listener of jazz and funk. One note: the music does get really raucous at times, so don't put this on for an evening of easy listening!
