Joseph Jarman: As If It Were The Seasons

Jarman formed his own group in 1966, recording two albums, the second being As If It Were The Seasons (Delmark, 1966).

On this reissue of that second release, Jarman uses the quartet setting of string player Charles Clark, percussionist Thurman Barker and vocalist Sherri Scott for the title track. Jarman comes in on the fife, soft and almost discernible. Clark augments the bells and drums with his cello, and the pace is unhurried. The quartet lets space have as much impact as its instruments, and sound veers in and out of emptiness. But the appeal is constant. When Jarman picks up the alto saxophone, he grabs the melody, lets it drift, pulls it back into focus and then turns it around as he bends it and lets it loose. Scott is dynamic, her voice casting shadows and light in song, and packing an emotional wallop.

The quartet is expanded into a nonet on "Song for Christopher." The adventure continues in a whirligig, the horns locking in, drums fluttering, the piano slipping within. The spinning rhythmic motifs testify to the understanding between the musicians. Intensity and sweetness make for companionship, but it is the former that finally holds sway. In the midst of the free-for-all Fred Anderson's burly tenor rises, drawing the band into the vortex and establishing the highpoint with its mighty sweep.

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