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Taylor Ho Bynum: Navigation (Possible Abstracts XII & XIII)
ByTheNavigation recordings are the Sextet/7-tet's fourth and fifth recordings, and they follow Apparent Distance (Firehouse 12, 2011), the session that forged Bynum's vision for composition/improvisation centered on this recognizable ensemble of players.
Bynum's fusion of Braxton's cartographic symbols and modular compositions with Ellington's writing for specific players informs this music. It is quite unthinkable to listen to these six movements: "MANCH," "ZADE," "WUK," "TRIST," "ISH," and "KID" without imagining anything but Mary Halvorson's dysmorphic guitar sounds or Jim Hobbs' sailing alto saxophone figures. The music written in independent modules allows for shifts from one theme to the next at the signaling of a player. Each piece continues from one track to the next as one continual whole, transitions sometime not readily apparent, except for the overarching themes of each block.
Like Braxton's music the symbols and structures are explorations into new forms of composing. Bynum, a disciple of Braxton, has configured this music to swing à la Duke's concept of the blues. "MANCH" has Bill Lowe's bass trombone vocalizing lines from the 1940s while the leader's cornet imitates a carnival barker. The pieces draw extended technique and outward improvisations into long form structures without resorting to a "theme-solo-theme" structure. Binding the entire affair together is drummer Tomas Fujiwara a longtime collaborator and bassist Ken Filiano who maintain a pulse and structure to the music.
Bynum threads his musical vision through the Advancement of Creative Music (AACM) innovations by way of a traditional jazz orchestra's superstar collection of players.
Track Listing
CD1 Navigation (Possible Abstrac XII): MANCH; MANCH-ish; ZADE-WUK; TRIST; ZADE-WUK. CD2 Navigation (Possible Abstrac XIII): ZADE; KID-WUK; TRIST; MANCH.
Personnel
Taylor Ho Bynum
cornetTaylor Ho Bynum: cornet; Jim Hobbs: alto saxophone; Bill Lowe: bass trombone, tuba; Mary Halvorson: electric guitar; Ken Filiano: acoustic bass; Tomas Fujiwara: drums, vibraphone; Chad Taylor: drums, vibraphone.
Album information
Title: Navigation (Possible Abstracts XII & XIII) | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Firehouse 12 Records