Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jon Raskin: Book 'P' of Practitioners

3

Jon Raskin: Book 'P' of Practitioners

Jon Raskin: Book 'P' of Practitioners
Saxophonist Steve Lacy was famous for writing music dedicated to artists who inspired him. Some of his rarely heard etudes for solo saxophone are divided equally into three books, each named by a letter. Of these, he only recorded one set in his lifetime, Hocus Pocus—Book 'H' of "Practitioners" (Crépuscule, 1986). Equally idiosyncratic saxophonist Jon Raskin, who considers Lacy a major influence, released the two other books, P and H, in 2021 on his own Temescal label .

Raskin performs Book 'P' of Practitioners on baritone saxophone and is the first musician to improvise on the originals' motifs. He starts off "Porcupine—to Serge Diaghilev," with dissonant honks before stating the main theme. Alternating with the short crescendo/decrescendo scales, Raskin delivers the deceptively simple, mellifluous phrases with elegance and whimsy. With each repetition Raskin transforms them with subtle spontaneity. The resulting seamless fusion of the extemporized and prewritten is a delightful amalgam of both artists' styles.

Similarly, "Pterodactyl—To Cat Anderson," is made up of brief, recurrent, sonic fragments that vary in tempo and alternate from languid to buoyant. Raskin plays the increasingly complex and absorbing piece with melancholy tinged passion. At certain moments Raskin lets loose emotive wails and at others crisp reverberating notes that cluster upon one another for a shimmering crystalline melody. Longing, wistful lines form the haunting conclusion.

"Pelican—To Buck Clayton" is similarly constructed, yet it is overall more soulful and bluesier. The music simmers at times while at others it has a fiery exuberance like short leaping flames. Thanks to Raskin's eloquent rendition and open, warm sound the tune has a dramatic lyricism. Raskin, here as elsewhere on the album—and this is similar to Lacy's approach—he explores the entire range of his instrument. The yearning tones meander gracefully from one blustery chorus to another.

What Raskin has done here is remarkable. Not only has he rescued these gems from obscurity, but he has also infused them with a dynamic urgency and relevance. As such, Raskin's unique improvisational interpretations of Lacy's work has become the perfect homage to Lacy's ingenuity and brilliance.

Track Listing

Peacock—To Bud Freeman; Pelican—To Buck Clayton; Penguin—To Vladimir Horowitz; Platypus—To Elvin Jones; Porcupine—To Serge Diaghilev; Pterodactyl—To Cat Anderson.

Personnel

Jon Raskin
saxophone, baritone

Album information

Title: Book 'P' of Practitioners | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About 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 make 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.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves 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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

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

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.