November 2001

Open Ears
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By Laurence Donohue-Greene

Two-thirds of the Dark Woods Ensemble got together for an evening of advanced music over at the Tonic mid-week during the beginning of October. Though also known for his extensive mastery of soprano, alto, and tenor saxophones, as well as various flutes, Marty Ehrlich actually exclusively brought along with him his “other” primary reed instruments, the clarinet and bass clarinet to supplement cellist, Erik Friedlander. Though not the first cellist to play music other than classical, Friedlander is certainly in the minority of those that have taken this road less traveled. Certainly in good company, though, Friedlander has joined the small family of jazz and non-classical cellists which would include David Darling, Akua Dixon, David Eyges, Okkyung Lee, Peggy Lee (not to be confused with the vocalist of course), Diedre Murray, Ernst Reijseger, Hank Roberts, Tomas Ulrich, and Abdul Wadud, amongst very few others including the great Chico Hamilton cellists, Nathan Gershwin and Fred Katz. The extended family list might also contain bassists Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Percy Heath, Dave Holland, Sam Jones, Oscar Pettiford, Albert Stinson, and Doug Watkins, all who have at least played and recorded on the cello.

The music through the course of the evening was absolutely sublime, as they proved individually and collectively that categorizing music only deserves the two basic categories of good and bad. Certainly not the latter, the primarily original compositions contained the primary elements of contemporary classical, jazz and improvisational music. Half of the tunes performed by the duo were actually compositions found on Ehrlich’s widely acclaimed 1999 recording, Sojourn (Tzadik). The opening piece of the evening, and ironically the closer on Ehrlich’s Sojourn, is entitled “Modzitzer Nigun”, a traditional Hebrew piece translated as “song of Rabbi Modzitzer” or , simply, “Modzitzer’s Song”. As on the recording, Ehrlich introduces the beautiful melody on clarinet. The heart-wrenching theme, however, was given an interesting twist live, as Ehrlich switched over to the bass clarinet while Friedlander simultaneously bowed and plucked notes in such a fashion that a Bach cello suite momentarily rung in the air.

The most commendable aspect of Ehrlich’s bass clarinet playing is the fact that Dolphy’s overt influence can not be detected. This is actually a very rare trait for musicians who have taken up the bass clarinet as a doubling instrument or, at least, non-primary axe. Since Dolphy’s passing in ’64, most musicians in the freer jazz circles have inevitably sounded and, consequently, been compared to the great multi-instrumentalist who paved new concepts of playing not only for bass clarinetists, but alto saxophonists and flute players, alike. Ehrlich’s agile playing on the instrument reflected more of a classical approach, sweetly and easily maneuvering through complex lines and fingerings as if it actually were his alto sax.

The two other tunes on Sojourn,, which were performed live, are the title track and “The Git Go”. The former of the two, Ehrlich played bass clarinet and on the latter (during which he stood up for the very first time that evening from his comfortable seated position alongside Friedlander) he played clarinet. “Sojourn” reflects the camaraderie between these two and the association they have developed with one another over the years. Though recorded on soprano sax, the bass clarinet brought a darker element into the mix and a closer musical connection through a more similar shared range with Friedlander’s cello accompaniment. The synchronized reed and bowed playing produced, for all intents and purposes, an altogether new instrument through their unique collaborative harmonies.

The two original Friedlander compositions of the evening, “The After Hours” and “Leopard Man”, are new songs from his forthcoming recording, Grains Of Paradise (Tzadik). The first is well deserved of lyrics for its gorgeous melody. From walking-style cello parts, behind Ehrlich on clarinet, to classical guitar-like influenced lines, Friedlander has obviously absorbed a diverse music background. His very personal playing on an instrument most commonly associated with the classical repertoire is astounding. The patient bowing of Friedlander’s on “Leopard Man” ideally complimented Ehlrich’s clarinet. Busily pushing out note after note at a slowly intensifying rate in volume, Ehrlich then transitioned into a breathy impressionistic field of hitting tones before the actual notes. Their combined momentum surges, compositionally speaking as players both individually and together, was a lesson to be listened to by all, especially players aspiring to dabble in the world of composition.

Look out for Erik Friedlander’s Grains Of Paradise (Tzadik) to be released in November, featuring Satoshi Takeishi (percussion), Trevor Dunn (bass), Bryce Dessner (guitar), and count them, ten (!) violinists. Also Ehrlich’s most recent recording, Song(Enja), is out and features the amazingly strong rhythm section of Uri Caine (piano), Michael Formanek (bass), and Billy Drummond (drums). For goodness sakes, keep your ears open to the music!