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Rich Halley 4: Crossing the Passes
ByVlatkovich is back in the fold once more for the Rich Halley 4's Crossing the Passes, a thematically-based collection of eleven tunes celebrating Halley's trek across the Wallowa Mountains in northeastern Oregon with his son Carson Halleywho sits in the quartet's drum chairand his nephew Tim Binford in the summer of 2012.
Halley's music continues to evolve. The raging near-chaos of Coyotes in the City has eased into tunes that sound quite composed (though certainly improvisation plays a huge part, especially when Halley slips into a roaring solo on "Rain, Wind and Hail," followed by Vlatkovich with his thoughtful, contained, even ruminative turn on the trombone on the same song. Then the horns converse-two very passionate voices each having a say, talking over each other, blowing towards a storm force wind. Then there's bassist Clyde Reed's fast walk early on in the opening cut, "The Only Constant." Reed seems to fit into the niche of holding the sound together for a time, before shifting the momentum, prodding some of the horns' freer flights.
Drummer Carson Halley, the youngster of the group, is a responsive percussionist, following tenor saxophonist Halley's wandering, brooding melody on the title tune with a panoply of rattles and rolls, laying down a rock steady beat on "Basin and Range," and shifting into a low thunder rumble behind Vlatkovich's solo, proving himself throughout to be a catalyst and instigator in the evolving artistry of the Rich Halley 4 in the continuing series of excellent free jazz outing.
Track Listing
The Only Constant; Traversing the Maze; Looking West From West; Smooth Curve of the Bow; The Spring Rains; Duopoly; Crossing the Passes; Basin and Range; Acute Angles; Rain, Wind and Hail; Journey Across the Land.
Personnel
Rich Halley
saxophone, tenorRich Halley: tenor saxophone; Michael Vlatkovich: trombone; Clyde Reed: bass; Carson Halley: drums, percussion.
Album information
Title: Crossing the Passes | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Pine Eagle Records
Comments
About Rich Halley
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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