Search - Ellery Eskelin :: Jazz Trash

Wonderfully Creative!

B. Hamrick | Portland, OR | 02/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I decided on this album because I'm a big fan of Andrea Parkins, who plays the accordion and sampler on this album. Andrea Parkins has done various other albums with Ellery Eskelin, as well as a few solo albums which are all fantastic. The drummer on this album is Jim Black, who began his career in Human Feel along with the now famous (well... jazz-famous, at least) Kurt Rosenwinkel.



The first thing you notice when you put this album on is its command of your attention. This is most definitely not an album you can put on in the background and go do something else. It has its mellow moments, but the overall energy of the album is very high. Although there isn't a bass player, the pieces that are meant to drive are effectively done so, whether it's by a strong beat from the drummer or a harsh bass line from the sampler. At the other end of the spectrum, the soft, still, imaginative moments are also incredibly well put together. The musicianship of the contributors is absolutely stunning. Although very free and, generally speaking, unstructured, every noise, every volume, and every blending of instruments sounds entirely intentional. Oddly, the album seemingly gets more "normal" as it progresses, with more defined melodies and rhythms in the later tracks.



This album has become one of my new favorites. Although it is very free and creative, it's also very listenable. It's a great blend of avant-garde spontaneity and more contemporary rhythm and melody. At times it is very similar to recordings by Ornette Coleman, but at other times it has repetitiveness reminiscent of early Steve Reich minimalist compositions. I know it's an earful, and it's definitely not easy listening, but I really enjoyed this album."