AAJ Reviews
Drummer Mike Reed returns with a Last Year's Ghost, this time featuring his band, Loose Assembly. The quintet, in existence for three years, has made a mark on the Chicago jazz scene. This is not surprising knowing what Reed has done and what he is capable of. His recordings, The Treehouse Project (482 Music, 1999) and a series of improvised duets, In The Context Of (482 Music, 2006), testify to Reed's distinctive imagination and innovative styling.
Loose Assembly came together in 2003 with cellist Tomeka Reid, vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz and Reed. Later, altoist Greg Ward and bassist Josh Abrams joined in and the five opened the doors to free improvisation. Reed worked on the music that came out of that presence and the results have made it on to this CD. Eight of the tracks are credited to Reed, the other three are collaborative efforts.
The album impresses with its blend of the improvised and the composed. The former shows the rapport within the band as they converge on a synthesis of ideas after moving along different paths. The latter, often rich with melody, is invested with enough changes to make the experience vivid and vital.
Flowers rises in the wisp of notes that flow from the sax, the deep throb of the bass being bowed and the filigree of the cymbals. Form floats in the air before it dons a recognizable form that is earthy and blooms through the strong melodic fount that floats from Ward's alto. "Afterthoughts is another beautiful composition. Once again the tune is primed on a melody that nestles in the mind. Ward gives the melody extra depth taking it out of the mould yet caressing the contours. This is the prime cast for Reid, her cello now a rich consonance of the composition.
Collective improvisation and the thought processes of the quintet combust on "1974. It is under two minutes, yet full of trenchant inspiration. Proof that Reed writes lovely melodies comes once more on "Simone's Crumbs. This time around, Abrams works the spell with some arco as Adasiewicz adds light splashes of color. ~ Jerry D'Souza, AAJ
Drummer Mike Reed's previous album, In the Context Of (482 Music, 2006), showcased his gifts as an improviser in a series of spontaneous duets with his fellow Chicagoans. Last Year's Ghost provides more evidence of his talents, demonstrating his arranging and composing skills as well as his continuing development as a brilliant percussionist on the rise.
The debut recording of Loose Assembly, his three-year-old quintet, incorporates free-wheeling sonic explorations with nuanced harmonic structures. By reconfiguring group improvisations developed during practice sessions into traditional frameworks, Reed arrives at a perfect balance between unfettered creativity and formal aesthetics.
Colored by Jason Adasiewicz's shimmering vibes and Tomeka Reid's sinuous cello, the session exudes a dulcet, evocative mood that occasionally drifts into darker, introspective territory. Newcomer, alto saxophonist Greg Ward brings both poignant restraint and agitated exuberance to the front line, weaving abstruse lines around Reid's resonant tones and Adasiewicz's cinematic flourishes.
Supported by the leader's tasteful rhythms and Josh Abrams full-bodied bass, the quintet navigates the malleable compositions with verve and grace. Reed, perfectly attuned to the moment, veers from buoyant, swinging ride rhythms and intricate polyrhythms to pulsating backbeats or scintillating, atmospheric accents, as the mood dictates.
Knitting together diverse approaches, the quintet extrapolates a lilting melody into a roiling tempest on the unfolding drama of "Day of the Dead" while soaring with carefree jubilance on the swinging "The Entire State of Florida." From the tender, bluesy mid-tempo sway of "Afterthoughts" and the chaotic, kaleidoscopic blast of "1974" to the somber tone poem "Simone's Crumbs," Loose Assembly draws from a broad range of styles and influences.
A brilliant debut, Last Year's Ghost merges the austere reverence of chamber music with the scalding intensity of Chicago's historically ebullient free jazz, making a case for the re-evaluation of commonly held geographic prejudices. Although conventional wisdom dictates New York as the center of the jazz world, documents like this beg to differ. ~ Troy Collins, AAJ
482 Music was responsible for one of 2006's most iconoclastic releases, in the form of Intents & Purposes by Kyle Bruckmann's Wrack. This debut by drummer/composer Mike Reed and his group is not on the same level in terms of the way in which it fundamentally breaks with a lot of what has already gone down in the past. The fact remains that this is a program of music that's equally uncompromising, albeit in a more unassuming way.
Reed's compositions tread a tightrope between being loose foundations for improvisation and having a distinctive identity of their own. That they manage to reconcile these seeming opposites is to his lasting credit. Something like "Day Of The Dead exemplifies this nicely, and the work of vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz is that of a man who, if anything, shows a trace of the influence of Walt Dickerson. Alto saxophonist Greg Ward similarly offers up ample evidence of the work he's put in to getting his own identity on this one.
"Afterthoughts is an exercise in stately progress by comparison, enhanced in no short order by the group's alertness to every nuance of Reed's composition. Tomeka Reid's work on cello here is by turns in marked contrast to the work of David Eyges; where that musician often happily brings an earthy approach to his instrument. Reid's work here is a model of woozy economy.
Contrast is again the order of the day on "1974, where Reid augments his percussive range to telling effect and, again, the work of Ward is that of a man entirely at home in this rarefied atmosphere. If there is a frustrating element in this one it lies in its brevity. A piece of this nature and of less than two minutes duration literally doesn't develop, which is a shame.
"The Entire State Of Florida redresses the balance, however, and with his solo on this one bassist Josh Abrams makes his presence felt in such a way that the listener might feel guilty for taking it for granted over previous tracks.
That said, once the components that the individual musicians bring to the proceedings fall into place, the repeated listening test is passed with flying colors. Each listen seems to bring new rewards, which makes this one something of a rarity in itself. ~ Nic Jones, AAJ
