ElP The Blue Series Continuum - High Water (8 tracks) +Album Reviews

The best Blue Series entry to date

E. J. Sawdey | Galesburg, IL United States | 03/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let's face it - Matthew Shipp's Blue Series has been hit or miss. While his own works (particularly "Nu-Bop") have been intriguing and well-done, the Blue Series Continuum sometimes doesn't know when to reign it all in. Take the Spring Heel Jack entrys - though the textures are interesting, the group simply meanders too much without holding true to a fine melody. The who-would've-thunk collaboration with the Anti-Pop Consortium was when the group was at their most focused - though the songs themselves simply were not interesting. "Pastoral Composure" was when the group was in their prime.Regardless, Matthew Shipp remains the best living jazz pianist, period, end of story. Yet, one wonders if the group could ever make a throughly coherent effort end-to-end.With "High Water (Mark)", they do.El-P, the man who creates the creepiest and most fascinating beats in hip-hop today (sorry, Kanye) tackles a jazz project, with surrealistic and beautiful results.Like Steve Lillywhite on Dave Matthews Band's "Under the Table and Dreaming", El-P manages to maintain the continuum's improvisational astetic while making it more concise and making it routed in simpler melodies. The opening number, "Please Stay (Yesterday)", is surprisingly controlled and mellow. Soon comes the 10-minute epic "Sunrise Over Bklyn", and even at its length, it still manages to be grounded in a melody and still be a beautiful rainy-day piece of electronijazz. "Get Modal" features an almost unrecognizable version of the Black Eyed Peas "Where Is the Love?" for the melody, and goes off in wild directions from there.What the album maintains best is a sense of continuity. The title somewhat reflects El-P's production - he's hardly in the opening track at all, but as the album progresses, his presence on the collective is gradually felt, cumulating in the dark and oddly beautiful "When the Moon Was Blue", featuring a vocal sample of his father. He still throws in samples into "Intrigue in the House of India" (the electro-drum-tap opener) and, oddly, coheres to some pop song structures (admittedly the DARKEST pop you've ever heard, but still similar structures). And, unlike previous Blue Series entries, here there are no two songs that are even relatively similar. Each has its own feel and life to it. Not only is this Shipp's best effort, but it's also one of El-P's most consistant. This is one of the unlikliest and still best pairings the Series has come up with.Interstingly, this album came out the same day as another fascinating effort - The Bad Plus' "Give", which, though more conventional, is still a sprawling and encompassing effort. With these two already out the door and Norah Jones' pop-jazz topping the charts with a vengence, it appears that 2004 just might be the year of jazz."

High water: mark is scrumptious

illybang | Montgomery, AL United States | 06/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"being a huge fan of rjd2, i often check on the rest of the def jux crew to see what they are producing
i recently heard this album spinning full force on the turntable, at a friend's studio
it struck me so hard, i thought i would cry
this album is raw, bluesy, emotional, passionate, i can't think of enough adjectives to convey what it's done to me
if you are an appreciator of fine art, this album is for you... your emotions are the medium, the music the painter creating a work imbued with vivid expression
if you are looking for yet another generic, pop tune filled, recycled music attempt... do not buy this album"

Angry, but not with El-P

Jason Harrington | www.myspace.com/mad_trucker | 06/15/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I admit, when I initially purchased this CD, I expected El-P to bust a flow or two at some point--nigh. Ironically, I also stumbled upon a used copy of Mile Davis' Birth of the Cool in the same shopping excursion. So I was forced to compare the two (as if), and to tell the truth: I wasn't even really in the mood for jazz at the time. Anyway, I shelved both of them for a few weeks and later revisited High Water once I had removed my thumb. After fully knowing what to expect now and waiting for the proper mood, I dove back in to that water and it was cool and serene. This album is brilliant in all it's shifting moods, and quite frankly: I'm sick to death of jazz and hip-hop purists emulating the closed mindedness of the R&B and contemporary Christian consumers that they so often oppose. When Miles went electric people acted like he did a Pepsi commercial or something. Dark Magus is every bit as valid as Kind of Blue, Bitches Brew, or even Birth of the Cool. Yeah, I said it!! Whatchu gonna do about it? Answer: nothing (obviously), and El-P is every bit as just in his departure from the norm as any legend has ever been. On the one side you have critics who will say he ruined Matthew Shipp's playing, but on the other side you have people like me who are going to go out and buy two or three more Matthew Shipp CDs just because of how good his piano sounds on this one. You can't complain about the industry getting stale while at the same time critisicing a groundbreaking artist for stepping further outside the box. I mean: what did you expect? This is El-P you know! In short: these arrangements represent a very unique approach to making a jazz record with a mood somewhat reminiscent of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. This is not Prefuse 73, and it is not DJ Shadow, but i'm sure both of those gentlemen rushed out to purchase this right away because it honors their deep respect of both melodic atmosphere, and the cut-and-paste technique. The difference is that this album plays out more like lost tapes from some unknown jazz session. It's obvious that there is some sampler action happening, but it should also be obvious that the majority of these instruments are not regurgitated, but instead: actual live instruments living and breathing among the paranoid production antics of the damaged robot known as El-P. No, he does not rap on this CD at all. Get over it (I did)!"

Hip-Hop Producer Tackles, Jazz....(Listeners Responses will

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 11/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Taking one of leftfield hip-hop's most celebrated producers, and giving him the opportunity to work with the modern creative / Improvisational jazz label "Thirsty Ear", doesn't exactly inspire confidence with those accustomed to the sci-fi beats normally associated with El-P's work. But then the Thirsty Ear label is far more interested in taking disparate artists and merging their ideas and arrangements with the performers, of the up-and-coming experimental jazz label.

Largely based around the collaborations, with pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist William Parker, drummer Guillermo E. Brown, Daniel Carter on reeds and flute, Steve Swell on trombone, and trumpeter Roy Campbell. What this amounts to, is El-P not only performing (one would assume with the sampling, Beat creation, and Mixing of tracks), but he also arranges and produces all of the 8 Tracks. And what you get a series of loose ideas mixed with improvisation and the merging of EL-P's production skill (and an unrealised knack for leftfield jazz composition), feed through the performers, who interpret his ideas into fully workable tracks.

Those that are familiar with the more fractured and loosely performed end of Jazz fusion / Avant-garde Jazz, or indeed the `Thirsty Ear' label, wouldn't be surprised by the ambitious blend of shimmering soundscapes and Lush melancholic textured sound, that sits alongside synthetic beats, off-centre grooves, and droning bass. Almost like theres a tangible line between finesse and brutality. For every passage of sublime trumpet and rhythm section working in harmony, to create a mood and haunting sound, that sounds a million miles away from El-P's previous work, there's sudden changes in the direction of sound, with droning noise, mixing a complex interweaving of various sounds and tempos, that contradict each other, but under the performance of such uniformly skilled performers, feels like a mildly thrilling tug-of-war, between tension and release.

It's not entirely known as to exactly how much fans of EL-P's work, will take to a project such as this. As it has very little to do with his, "Definitive Jux" or "Company Flow" work. In fact the only similarities are an approach to thinking `outside the box' in terms of construction. That not to say that hip-hop fans won't enjoy this, but I fear that the vast majority will be repelled by the abstract instrumentation, Matthew shipp's subtle tumbling piano, improvisational rhythms, and muted hip-hop beats, which will simply have no logical path for those unaccustomed to this kind of music. With it all sounding like a group of guys messily jamming with half-formed ideas, with minimal interruption from El-P. But on the other side of the coin, there'll be those (like me), that find the loose structure and atmospheric and vibrant playing, swelling synths, lightly interspersed computer sampling, ominous trombone blowing, sparsely insistent piano, that make for, on occasion...indulgently sprawling avant-jazz pieces with a consistently adventurous tone, and a willingness to effectively engage the listener, is incredibly admirable. Especially considering how EL-P is aware of how many of his fans will undoubtedly shun a release such as this.

In fact this project reminds me of slight parallels with "Sun Ra's" work.....in so far as it's capable of moments of sheer beautifully restrained moody moments, that touch on the affecting moments of Jazz, only to be contradicted by formless improvisation grooves, that feel like musicians keen to push the envelope, with little consideration for melody or structure. And for me personally that works perfectly well...as I truly appreciate both aspects of that form of music, and like "Sun Ra's" work it can be a real `Love Em' or `Hate Em' affair with their music. And although I love what EL-P has done here, I must review this with a word of caution, as there'll be those that'll buy this album, seeing EL-P's name on the cover, and end up feeling ripped off after listening to it. ...not releasing that this is a `Jazz' album first and foremost. For those familiar with the "Thirsty Ear" label, this is one of the most accessible titles in their Catalogue, and I would seriously recommend it to those that are willing to buy this knowing what to expect. Atmospheric, vibrant, superbly played, brilliantly produced and as complex and subtle as it is accessible/inaccessible, I'll freely admit that I'm loving this album at the moment, and although I've given it four stars, I reckon subsequent listens further down the line, will push this up to a 4 ½ - 5 stars.

"

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