Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Little Women: Throat

304

Little Women: Throat

By

Sign in to view read count
Little Women: Throat
Brooklyn-based quartet, Little Women, blasts out of the starting gate with its full length debut on the Aum Fidelity imprint, following up its 2008 EP. The best known of the group's constituent parts to jazz fans is alto saxophonist Darius Jones, whose Man'ish Boy (A Raw and Beautiful Thing), also on Aum Fidelity, was one of 2009's most widely acclaimed releases. But Little Women is such a team focused group that Jones' back catalogue is not a good signpost for what to expect.

The group's singular sound comes from a strong conception whereby ideas arising from group improvisation, and band members' compositions alike, are subject to joint reappraisal: all of which are sculpted into a continuous uncredited 41-minute suite. Consequently stark juxtaposition, embracing a range of genres, including free jazz, metal, folk, noise and prog, is one of Little Women's defining characteristics. Even when particular styles are utilized, the parameters are carefully controlled to fit with the overall intent. Individual expression is almost totally subsumed within the collective ethos, although guitarist Andrew Smiley is sometimes more prominent due to the ability of his axe to cut through the dense ensembles.

In a program which emphasises contrast, the uncompromising power chords and bombast of "Throat I" segue directly into a hall of mirrors of slow drifting saxophone harmonics on "Throat II." Sometimes the contrasts even come within the same piece, as with "Throat IV" where the two horns begin in folksy Americana hinting at bagpipes sonorities, sketching a soulful hymn like melody which wouldn't have sounded out of place on Jones' album, before tracing a trajectory from consonance to the dissonance of off-key twanging guitar accents and rumbling drums. Similarly on "Throat V" a nervy, episodic opening portends a process of evolution ending with a pretty musical box tune picked out on a single guitar string. Vocal grunts and sighs meld into repetitive patterns before switching up to more rapid cycling of wordless exclamations on "Throat VII": an eccentric conclusion which sidesteps the conventional idea of a climax and, like the rest of this intriguing disc, succeeds in keeping things off balance to the end.

Track Listing

Throat I; Throat II; Throat III; Throat IV; Throat V; Throat VI; Throat VII.

Personnel

Travis Laplante: tenor saxophone; Darius Jones: alto saxophone; Andrew Smiley: guitar; Jason Nazary: drums.

Album information

Title: Throat | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: AUM Fidelity

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.