November 2001

Open Ears
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By Laurence Donohue-Greene

In front of the pews above the instrument-filled stage, a suspended sign read, “The place where people meet to seek the highest in holy ground”. A re-affirmation that this was indeed the right place, the audience awaited the service to begin with the grand entrance of honorary guest and music legend, Muhal Richard Abrams. At the root of a whole generation of improvisers, from Threadgill, Braxton, and Fred Anderson, and all of the original Art Ensemble of Chicago members—Abrams, the literal father figure of a movement, which itself began in ‘65 with his co-founded Chicago-based organization the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (otherwise known as the AACM), remains a central and key player, composer, and leader today as he did forty years ago. Certainly beyond any such labels as jazz, avant-garde, improvisational, experimental, free, new, modern, and/or 20th Century art music—Abrams’ music concept fuses at least all of the above and aforementioned descriptions or so-called “types” of music, creating something altogether new each and every time he sits at, or stands over, the piano. His AACM, likewise, continues to play a vital role in the supporting and producing of ear (and eye) opening experiences today as it has done since the mid-‘60s. The latest evidence of this inspiring feat occurred on October 13th in Manhattan, at the New York Cultural Society, convincingly proving that Abrams and the AACM are as alive as ever, both continuing to evolve and extend any pre-conceived music boundaries.

The evening’s program featured two sets of trios with Abrams at the helm of each. I should mention that other than the noise from an initial cell phone ringing (we’re in New York not L.A. for goodness sakes! Is it that difficult to remember to turn off your cell phones people?), as well as the creaking of the weary wood pews—there was not a single noise throughout the room other than the sounds from each of the respective trios. Not a single clap or sign of applause was given in fear of disturbing the momentum of the music as well as the concentration between the musicians. It was truly a sign of a genuinely appreciative audience who collectively didn’t dare blink or breathe, other than because of necessity, in fear of missing a single moment or sound as it flew through the air.

The first of Abram’s two trios featured the traditional Chinese instrument known as the pipa, played by Min Xiao-Fen, complemented by violin, performed by longtime AACM member Leroy Jenkins. Xiao-Fen’s improvisational experience with the likes of Derek Bailey, Ned Rothenberg, Randy Weston, and John Zorn made her more than a suitable partner in this one of a kind pipa-piano-violin string trio, as the audience closed their collective eye in preparation and anticipation of an altogether new music experience.

The first sounds were deceivingly produced by Abrams, plucking away from inside the piano in a pipa-like tone. Leave it up to a true innovator, such as Abrams, not only to realize the potential such an exotic instrument as the pipa might have to offer in regards to his music—but also to have the capability to uncompromisingly adjust his own playing in such a way that the trio literally becomes a single instrument unto itself. And in this case, with the introductory notes to his first piece, Abrams immediately made it clear that integrating what many would think to be an “odd” instrument choice, with the pipa, actually was a very sensible and natural decision that would even prove to be musically successful in conjunction with his style of piano playing, in particular. And Xiao-Fen hadn’t even struck a note at this point!

One and two at a time, the notes from the piano strings’ vibrations subsided into silence before Abrams delicately struck from within again. Finding a high string in the treble range, Abrams repetitively hit the key’s string in a meditative-like manner upon Jenkins’ subtle entry on violin. His long and dark bows matched the aura of mystery created by Abrams, who every so often alternated between the piano’s keys while sitting and the inner strings while standing. He even moved over to a synthesizer keyboard and created some otherworldly sounds through a sequencer and computer on tape. At times it seemed a bit extraneous, especially due to the fact that the three veteran musicians on stage could honestly have created practically any sound imaginable as individuals, let alone as a collective—the three instrumentalists combined had the distinct advantage of producing sounds that far outreached their respective instruments. Though the overall sound may have been more natural without the noodling electricity of Abrams, he did manage to effectively and successfully incorporate the “plugged in” sounds ever so subtly, an experiment that originally goes back to his very first recording as a leader, Levels and Degrees of Light (1967), on which he plays a synthesizer.

As Abrams, in his understated manner, supplied these extraordinary sounds on the synthesizer, Xiao-Fen entered with her spider-like right hand finger movements on pipa. She intensely crawled into the mix of things at which point Jenkins put his bow down. The trio had opened with sets of duos, first with Abrams and Jenkins, then with Abrams and Xiao-Fen, and completing the triangle, Xiao-Fen and Jenkins. Jenkins’ plucking of the violin shared an obvious common range and characteristic with Xiao-Fen’s pipa playing before offering up a high-pitched duet while bowing. Xiao-Fen, at times, even doubled as the string trio’s percussionist, rhythmically driving runs in an intense fashion from her pear-shaped upright lute-like instrument.

Moving over to the acoustic piano, Abrams’ hands hovered directly over the keys, versus the strings from within, as he lightly created waves of notes in the middle to upper range. Jenkins then moved into a solo spotlight, running his bow patiently and intently across the strings of his violin. One could hear the friction of each and every hair from his bow, which produced somewhat of a slo-mo vocal fry effect. Truly one of the most innovative and pioneering of violinists in all of improvisational music, Jenkins has dared and continues to dare in going where no other violinist has gone before, not even in their wildest of dreams, as he gradually ended his unaccompanied section of the improvisational composition.

It must be mentioned, however, that though there was indeed sheet music in front of each of the three musicians, they only occasionally referred to Abrams’ written down notes for guidance. Abrams, forcefully re-entering with more of a weight to his fingers atop the keys and with not even a glance over at his sheet music, impulsively encouraged an ensuing piano-violin duet with Jenkins. While repeating a right-hand figure, Abrams’ left side hypnotically jumped about from low bass notes to the range of keys around mid-C and above. Then, in a brief solo, he turned the fascinating figures into a dazzling display of technique from one end of the piano to the other, from left to right, back to the bottom, then again to the top, all the while unaccompanied. Jenkins and Xiao-Fen collectively re-entered, with Xiao-Fen lending her pipa’s native sounds to naturally compliment Abrams’ modern music. The subtlety eventually gave way to a run of powerful coda notes led and centered by leader, Abrams, as the 45-minute set of the single Abrams composition, which he called “Trio Reflections I”, came to a close.

After about a 15-minute break, Abrams regrouped with the second of his trios for the evening, featuring longtime AACM members, trombonist George Lewis and percussionist Thurman Barker. As a matter of fact, these three musicians—in addition to Leroy Jenkins from Abrams’ earlier trio—have such an overwhelming amount of shared recording connections through their AACM association, it would be impossible to count them all. For starters, Thurman Barker is featured on at least half a dozen of Abrams’ recordings, from Young at Heart/Wise in Time (1969) to Blu Blu Blu (1990); Barker also contributed to Jenkins’ Themes and Improvisations of the Blues (1992). Both Jenkins and Lewis can be heard on Abrams’ debut recording as a leader, Levels and Degrees of Light (1967). Lewis and Abrams contributed to Roscoe Mitchell’s (from the Art Ensemble of Chicago) mid-‘70s Nonaah session. The great early-‘70s group known as the Creative Construction Company featured Abrams and Jenkins, both of whom also collaborated on Lewis’ Shadowgraph (1977). Lewis, likewise, can be found on Abrams’ Spihumonesty (1979). And Jenkins’ Space Minds/New Worlds/Survival America (1978) serves as a platform for one of the trombonist’s first recorded forays into electronics, a field he has seriously been involved in since the late-‘70s. The foursome of Abrams, Barker, Lewis, and Jenkins even got together on Abrams large group session, Mama and Daddy (1980). So new acquaintances they certainly were, and are, not!

Abrams’ opening synth sounds were complemented by Barker, who contributed light xylophone and wind chime-like sounds alternating with the occasional striking of his deep dark frying pan resembling gong set. As Barker unnoticeably moved from his gongs and percussion to behind his drum kit, where he busily contributed intense snare rolls, Lewis went from plunger mute to gargling-like sounds through his trombone. After exclusive snare runs, the moment Barker splashed onto his cymbals and high hat, Lewis appropriately halted playing altogether—perhaps written, perhaps through instinct, and possibly both. After a Barker solo, de-plungered Lewis and Abrams (at the acoustic piano) took Barker’s pause as a cue to enter duet territory once again. Both trios’ sets, as a matter of fact, proved to be an intriguing interchanging duet showcase between two of the three musicians involved at any given time.

Barker’s flexibility, however, suggested that the ensemble was anything less than a trio. A man of many hats, Barker has been credited as being a player of marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, glockenspiel, bells, orchestra bells, triangle, and cowbell in addition to the fact that he is a drummer nonpareil and, as it goes without saying, a percussionist in the truest sense of the title. Moving over to the vibraphone, Barker relentlessly added on dimension after dimension from one instrument to the next, giving off the impression with eyes closed and ears opened that you could easily be listening to textures created by a larger ensemble of at least four if not six or seven musicians.

As Barker unrelentingly worked his way up and then down the vibes, Abrams likewise frenetically moved up and down the keyboard. Both then suddenly relented, fading out of the sound collage and into Lewis’ boisterousness of highs, lows, squeals, and flatulent sounding effects. Diving, soaring, taking off, losing then regaining power while in flight, and landing, Lewis’ excursion of sounds was eventually then joined by Abrams and Barker, as the three worked together through some amazing terrain in the most uncompetitive of manners.

The center of the music kept changing hands, shifting through evolving colors and accruing textures. Barker, seemingly settled on drums (at least for that moment), gave a lesson through his solo on percussive momentum sans riffs or runs. Far from mere drummer status, Thurman Barker is a genuine percussionist and should be credited as such in the esteemed company of legends and soon to be legends like Roy Brooks, Andrew Cyrille, Hamid Drake, Milford Graves, Gerry Hemingway, Susie Ibarra, Airto Moreira, (Famoudou) Don Moye, Max Roach, Warren Smith, and the like. Shortly rejoined by Lewis, Barker slid back over to his vibes, though double-malleted this time around. As with Abrams’ piano innard pipa-like plucking, Barker’s sound on vibes harked back, as well, to Xiao-Fen’s instrument, thus bringing the entire evening of music full circle. Though each half was unique unto itself, the first and second set actually could have been heard, for all intents and purposes, as an actual two-movement piece, as the second half’s worth of composition was simply and appropriately as a companion piece, entitled “Trio Reflections II”. It also almost seemed as if a third encore-type set was in order, featuring Abrams with his full quartet of special guests.

The service had come to a close, though, and the sounds were still being digested and continued to reverberate even on the way out onto Central Park West after the performance. The fact that there was actually order to all of these sounds, this music, which some may otherwise perceive as “chaos”—simply was the genius of Muhal Richard Abrams at work utilizing his very complex composing abilities down to a science with like-minded and abled players who all improvise as they would breathe. His fellow doctors, if you will, have together been working on this very advanced music system for some time—alone, together, and with others, as this formula, simply defined, hints at the fact that anything is indeed possible. All the musicians involved have proven this on record—whether on their own, with each other, and certainly with others—and they definitely gave listeners that night a live taste.

The AACM series continues, again at the New York Cultural Society, with the Saturday, November 10th event featuring a first set of dual percussionists, Andrew Cyrille and Michael Carvin, and a second set with Joseph Jarman’s quintet which includes Myra Melford on piano and harmonium.

Certainly, keep your ears open to the music!