From the River to the Ocean

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received an advance copy of the new Fred Anderson & Hamid Drake album, From the River to the Ocean, also featuring Harrison Bankhead on bass, cello and piano (!), Josh Abrams on bass and guimbri, and Jeff Parker on guitar. I've finally sunk my teeth into it enough times to feel comfortable writing about in a meaningful manner, so here it goes...

The opening track, titled Planet E, is a Fred Anderson composition that opens with guitar swells and cymbal accents. Fred's melody is very angular and beautiful, and Jeff Parker plays these beautiful, vibrato laden swells that add a fantastic atmosphere to the opening head. This segues into a latin-ish groove (both Josh Abrams and Harrison Bankhead play bass on this track, although I have a difficult time distinguishing them).

This leads into a Jeff Parker solo that is particularly reminiscent for me of the Gabor Szabo influence. I love Jeff's playing and it really shines here with a fantastic rhythm section to support him. I don't need to document my love for Hamid Drake's drumming any more than I have in the past, but needless to say he's in top form as usual, providing an impeccably tasteful balance of simple rhythmic support and stirring interjections.

At around the four minute mark, Parker's solo segues seamlessly into Fred Anderson's, opening with a distinct and recognizable Andersonian incantation. I find his tone and phrasing to be so instantly identifiable. As usual, Fred displays an uncanny balance of exploration, rhythmically, harmonically, and melodically. I think of Fred as the most "in" of the "out" players. He never falls into the kind of squonking and honking that a lot of sax players utilize (not knocking it, just making a comparison), and the result are these incredible fluid lines that present clear phrases and ideas. Some fantastic comping and rhythmic play between Jeff Parker and Hamid during Fred's solo. Jeff plays these great punchy and harmonically rich chords that really add a lot to the sound.

Fred's playing segues into a dueling bass solo by Josh and Harrison. At this point you can tell they're each panned to a channel - I'd like to find out who's where. It would have been nice info to include in the liner notes. There are some eerie sounds coming from Jeff Parker throughout the bass solos and Hamid interacts vividly with both bassists.

The tune ends with a restatement of the head, and then they're out, 14 minutes and 42 seconds later.

I'll add in a note about the recorded sound here. They did a really nice job with the mixing, especially the drums, to create a great stereo image and presence. Recording jazz of this style in a studio is certainly an art - getting the right chemistry and presence and translating it to the tape. Thrill Jockey and engineer John McEntire did a great job on this one.

Track 2, entitled Strut Time, another Fred Anderson credited tune, opens with Fred playing a capella, before dropping into a repeating motif (one I've heard Fred play before, especially around the end of a set - it has a loping, free and easy quality) that all of the instruments state along with him. This tune features Harrison Bankhead switching to the cello, adding a distinct timbral change from the first number, especially when the cello is played arco. While I've seen the bass/cello combination taken to greater heights in a live setting by Abrams and Bankhead, the playing here is excellent as Bankhead interacts with Fred freely throughout, all over Josh Abrams and Hamid Drake's deep swinging pocket.

The solo order is switched up on this tune, with Fred Anderson blowing first, followed by Jeff Parker and then an impressive display on the bass by Harrison Bankhead. During Bankhead's solo, the rhythmic feel is switched up from the swing into a straighter groove, before falling back into the deep swing of the head and previous solos for Josh Abram's solo. Josh has a very deliberate and heavy feel on the bass and I absolutely adore his tone and the way he plays behind and on top of the beat with intent.

This is followed by Hamid Drake's first solo of the album, during which he displays his usual mastery of the entire drum set and it's tonal and timbral possibilities. I've read in a Fred Anderson interview in the past that one of the things he likes about Hamid's playing is that he plays the drums first, and the cymbals are used more as highlights. I don't feel qualified to make such a statement about Hamid's entire oeuvre, but he certainly favors the drums here, before the band segues back into the head.

Harrison Bankhead's tune on the album is a tribute to the recently departed Malachi Thompson, "For Brother Thompson." He's featured on piano, an instrument I didn't know he played fluently enough to be featured on a recording, but then again, no talent of this monster of a musician could really surprise me. It opens with bells and chimes, with Hamid Drake's rich vocals coming in along with what sound like Tibetan singing bowls and Harrison Bankhead's piano. Knowing Hamid's background, I'd guess the singing is a Tibetan-Buddhist prayer, perhaps to help guide Malachi through the bardos. The chanting gives way to drum set, Fred Anderson entering, and some beautiful arco playing from Josh Abrams with Harrison Bankhead's piano, all of it abstract but cohesive. The whole song is charged with emotional energy and a sense of deep respect for Malachi Thompson, a prominent figure in the Chicago and AACM jazz scenes.

Track 4 is the title track, From the River to the Ocean, featuring Josh Abrams switching over to the Guimbri, with Harrison Bankhead back on bass, Hamid Drake switching to his trusty frame drum and doing some more singing, and Jeff Parker on guitar. I've heard some complaints about it, but personally I enjoy Hamid's singing. His voice is rich and the fact that he sings in languages that are foreign to my literal understanding allows them to remain in the realm of pure sound without denotative meaning. This tune is extremely atmospheric, utilizing a wide variety of rhythmic, tonal, and timbral qualities to create some very intriguing sounds and textures. Hamid's frame drumming is panned in a way that makes it sound as if he's playing the tablas, which creates a very interesting aspect. Jeff Parker's guitar playing is of particular note, the way he slurs his notes together to create some very un-guitaristic patterns and sound that lend themselves to the context of this song.

The final track of the album is a guimbri-saxophone duo with Josh Abrams and Fred Anderson entitled Sakti/Shiva.

In Hinduism, Shiva is is beyond (insert every and anything here). He is eternal, infinite, all pervading, all knowing and all powerful. He is both static and dynamic, creator and destroyer.

Shiva is inseparable from Shakti, also known as Parvati. There is no Shakti without Shiva, the two are one, what the Hindus posit to be the absolute state of being - consciousness and bliss, a unified underlying reality beneath the visible duality of the two gods.

This is a fascinating duo between Abrams and Anderson, a meditative closing for the album. The guimbri provides a surprising amount of rhythmic support, with some of the sounds coming out a lot like a drum, along with the string sounds.

I usually avoid this kind of song by song breakdown/overview/review, but I figured that since the album hasn't hit the shelves yet, people might be interested to know what kind of material is contained in the new release.

It comes highly recommended when it is released - April 24th, 2007 is the release date.