Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Dessen Trio: Between Shadow and Space

Michael Dessen Trio: Between Shadow and Space

By Greg Camphire
November 20, 2008
Sign in to view read count

Michael Dessen Trio: Between Shadow and Space

Between Shadow and Space is an aptly named release from trombonist and computer manipulator Michael Dessen’s trio, which creates oblique and evasive soundscapes that can’t be easily categorized. As Dessen writes in the album’s liner notes, “the past half century has produced a staggering array of improvisational music…my music draws energy from overlapping musical communities and histories.”

Over the course of this record’s duration, the music has points of reference such as European musique concrete as well as languages heard among the AACM and M-Base movements; not to mention the unique Warp Records brand of electronica represented by artists such as Aphex Twin and Autechre. These are just several strategies that the Dessen Trio employs as they move outside the traditional jazz lineage, while retaining a sense of rhythmic momentum that may well fit under a more expansive definition of swing.

With bassist Christopher Tordini and percussionist Tyshawn Sorey on board, the band is capable of switching it up from skittering, broken-up densities of notes (“Duo Improvisation”) to their own brand of prickly funk (“Anthesis”). Perhaps inspired by George Lewis’ pioneering interface of trombone and electronics to frame improvisation as a method of intellectual inquiry, the group utilizes synthesized textures and squiggly percussion to create moody, mysterious sound collages like “Chocolate Geometry” and “Granulorum.”

There seems to be a minimal amount of melodic content strewn across the album, but the slack is picked up by extraneous computer-generated effects and bursts of athletic, brainy virtuosity. Among the more accessible tracks is “Restless Years,” established by Tordini’s groove-heavy yet angular bass ostinato, from which Sorey extrapolates a wealth of fractured ideas.

Overall, this is gestural music, with its own obscured inner logic and drama. The closing “Water Seeks,” dedicated to the passing of Alice Coltrane, is a sort of space-age tone poem; a shimmering, insect-like swarm of cymbals, bowed bass, muted trombone and the metallic drone of electronics. It leaves a ghostly trail of question marks as the album ends.

Track Listing

Between Shadow and Space; Chocolate Geometry (for MSD); Restless Years; Duo Improvisation; Anthesis; Granulorum; Water Seeks (for AC).

Personnel

Michael Dessen

trombone

Michael Dessen: trombone, computer; Christopher Tordini: bass; Tyshawn Sorey: percussion.

Album information

Title: Between Shadow and Space | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Clean Feed Records

< Previous
KiF Express

Next >
The Creative Genius of Pat Metheny

Comments

About Michael Dessen

Instrument: Trombone

Tags

For the Love of Jazz

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.