Search - Mat Maneri :: Pentagon

Plugged In

Troy Collins | Lancaster, PA United States | 10/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Violinist Mat Maneri's third album for Thirsty Ear's groundbreaking Blue Series finds him wading deeper into electronic waters. With each previous album in his discography slowly building up to this, "Pentagon" feels like a natural progression for Mat, the son of iconic microtonal improvisor Joe Maneri. From 2000's "Blue Decco," an acoustic homage to Eric Dolphy to 2002's "Sustain," an electro-acoustic groove excursion, this third installment pushes the boundaries of his previous experiments into new territory.



Maneri has assembled an impressive cast of players for this journey. Drummer Tom Rainey and bassist John Hebert join pianist Craig Taborn, this time on Fender Rhodes, for a free-wheeling rhythm section approach. Taborn himself employed Rainey and Maneri on his exquisite, recent album for Thirsty Ear - "Junk Magic," so their intuitive interaction is well documented. Trombonist Ben Gerstein acts as Maneri's front line sparring partner in addition to a number of guest musicians, including Mat's father doubling on alto sax, piano and organ.



Acoustic instruments are often run through a bank of electronic effects, sometimes so extreme in their manipulation that it can be difficult to discern what instrument is being played. Maneri's violin often sounds like a guitar overdriven to the brink of feedback and Gerstein's trombone is regularly run through a wah-wah pedal. In addition, melatron, organ, laptop and Indian percussion make appearances. While all this makes for a fascinating collection of sound it can sometimes get a bit congested in the album's denser moments.



Opening (and closing) the album with a stately, neo-classical motif, Maneri quickly dispenses with the formalities and launches headlong into the electronic miasma. The album's lyrical centerpiece, "Wound" is primarily acoustic, with Maneri's slightly distorted violin surrounded by ethereal dissonant keyboard washes and sporadic piano interjections, the tune is an exception to the album's gritty electronic rave-ups. The predominant feel here is the rhythmic pulse of free-jazz, albeit with the electronic coloration of early fusion. Hip-hop rhythms and funky break-beats make brief cameos, but stuttering Fender Rhodes, churning percussion, languid bass vamps, Milesian, wah-wah trombone and blistering, distorted violin lines dominate. Vacillating between the spectral and the mercurial, Maneri and company embark on a dynamic set that is rich in improvisational interplay and less concerned with conventional melody and harmony.



Deriving inspiration from the 1970s fusion experiments of Miles Davis, ala "Dark Magus" and "Live-Evil," the group here sounds like a 21st Century version of Herbie Hancock's short lived, but impressive Mwandishi Sextet, one of the best free-jazz-fusion ensembles ever assembled. "Pentagon" may be light on catchy melodies and memorable tunes, but it more than makes up for its impenetrable facade with inventive collective improvisation."