Harris Eisenstadt: The Soul and Gone (2005)

Jerry D'Souza

CD/DVD Reviewer since 2001

From Bombay, India to Indianapolis, Indiana via Toronto!

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Published: December 8, 2005

Harris Eisenstadt wrote all the compositions on The Soul and Gone, and he recruited a fine band of musicians who never cease to make the music amazing. All of the players have consistently created monuments of aural splendour. This time out is no exception. There is a constant shift of emphasis and shade, subtlety and emphasis, momentum balanced with reflection.

In the midst of all this comes the blowing "Koala #2 (Reduction), which has several factors going for it. Jason Mears lopes in on the alto sax, casting a sturdy path that dazzles in its swift change of direction and the switch of pace and enunciation. Jeb Bishop's trombone is an articulate messenger in finding intriguing nooks. Jeff Parker's guitar beckons with its melodic fervour. At the bottom of it all is Jason Roebke, his bass a stimulus with its varied pulse and interplay.

The take on "And A Hard Place is free expression skittering in on Eisenstadt's drumming. Sound jiggles and dances before the horns stomp in. Which way will they band now go? Will there be meter and time? Will the beat be paced uniformly? The answer comes from Bishop, now playing a melody that has body and shape. This sparks off a looser ambit from Mears, who soon gears the shift into harder terrain. It is all conceptualized logically enough, the different strands finally forming a pulsating whole.

"Three Breaths comes with greater latitude in freedom. Mears and Bishop get involved in quirky structures, countenancing each other with short jabs and curlicues. They bring in an equilibrium but that soon dissipates as the others take their own strands of thought, seemingly in different directions before finding the apex.

The road to discovery is a constant adventure, making The Soul and Gone a stimulating record.

Track Listing: The Evidence of Absence is Not Necessarily the Absence of Evidence; Three Breaths; Portrait of �Holden Caulfield�; Posauno Y Schlagwerk > Between a Rock; Kola #2 (Reduction); Seed (for Henryk Gorecki); And a Hard Place.

Personnel: Jason Adasiewicz: vibraphone; Jeb Bishop: trombone; Harris Eisenstadt: drum set, compositions; Jason Mears: alto saxophone, b-flat clarinet; Jeff Parker: electric guitar; Jason Roebke: contrabass.

Record Label: 482 Music
Style: Modern Jazz