Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/ Jay Rosen: Trio X: Rapture
Joe McPhee/Dominic Duval/ Jay Rosen: Trio X: Rapture
That being said, those looking for evidence of McPhee’s multi-instrumental prowess will be surprised by this disc. McPhee eschews his usual satchel of reeds and brass and concentrates only on saxophone. “Elegy” is an opening summons for solo bass, brief in duration, but long on ideas. Duval carries his improvisation into the lengthy and radical reading of the old spiritual “Lift Every Voice and Sing” blending together with Herlein’s piercing violin in a mutual display of high string harmonics. Similar harmonic artifices are employed during a duet between McPhee’s horn and Herlein’s wailing voice. Later violin and amplified bass sheathed in electronic overtones engage in still another conversation, elaborated by cascading cymbals and sulfurous sax. Rosen’s innumerable percussive inventions provide the propulsive undercurrent that prevents the music from flagging in its own intricacies. Herlien is definitely the wild card here and her contributions take Trio X in directions previously unexplored by these three masters of the unexpected. The piece expands and contracts with glorious uncertainty for nearly fifty minutes and the three find a staggering variety of ways to interact across its duration. The far shorter “Rapture” is an extended exercise in whistling microtones.
Though the session was recorded live at the Knitting Factory, the audience in attendance is strangely absent for most of the piece only choosing to erupt boisterously at the close. This disc is easily recommended to both long time McPhee fans and neophytes interested in learning what all the excitement surrounding the man is really about. It could also serve as a final nail in the coffin for those fusty critics mentioned earlier who argued so adamantly against the merits of mulit-instrumentalism.
Track Listing
Elegy: Upon Mourning, Lift Every Voice and Sing, Rapture.
Recorded: December 28, 1998, The Knitting Factory, New York City, NY.
Available through Cadence/NorthCountry Distributors (www.cadencebuilding.com)
Personnel
Joe McPhee
woodwindsJoe McPhee- saxophone, Jay Rosen- drums, Dominic Duval- double bass, live electronics, Rosi Hertlein- violin, voice.
Album information
Title: Rapture | Year Released: 1999 | Record Label: Cadence Jazz Records
About Joe McPhee
Tags
PREVIOUS / NEXT
Joe McPhee Concerts
Become a Sustaining Member
Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.
Help Build the Future of All About Jazz
Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.
Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.
Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.
