Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Boykin, Seigfried & Reed: Boykin, Seigfried & Reed

171

Boykin, Seigfried & Reed: Boykin, Seigfried & Reed

By

View read count
Boykin, Seigfried & Reed: Boykin, Seigfried & Reed
Even in a city known for its vibrant free jazz scene, Chicago's Boykin, Seigfried & Reed have established a strong presence. Individually, their resumes boast tenures with a who's who of AACM all-stars. Reedman David Boykin has garnered high praise on various projects, including a recent release with Active Ingredients. Bassist Dr. Karl EH Seigfried works symphonic orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, besides his jazz gigs, and earned his doctorate with a study of Wilbur Ware. Together, they host the city's only Avant-Garde Jam Session Sundays at the Empty Bottle. Their well oiled empathy takes them through unexpected changes on seven improvised performances whose titles are their times.

A gentle vibratory greeting, "1:55" has bells, bowed bass, and contemplative soprano sax spiraling into "3:10." Reed brush smacks cymbal and drums as Seigfried triggers tension bow tapping strings. Boykin whistles a high tune that grows into "8:09." Seigfried and Reed kick into serious exploratory gear, Boykin floating above the fray. His sustained arpeggios provide a continuity around which the rhythm section swarms like aural ants. Reed keeps a tight, fast rim riff going for Seigfried's solo.

While his soprano seemed ornamental to Seigfried and Reed's excursions, his a capella bass clarinet opens "8:23," soon ushering in a pacing bass line and crisp drumming. Boykin's musings stay mostly low, indulging the rich beauties of the instrument. Boykin roughs up the deep reed on "5:35." The trio rolls the sounds around before bass and drums straighten out for a sprint with Boykin peppering extended high runs with surprise low notes.

Chewy multiphonics and buzzy highs flit around Seigfried's muscular bass to open "7:40." He then takes an extended bass meditation, thoughtfully generating variations. Reed builds a rapid fire on "7:42," giving Boykin rhythmic support for his inspired extended tenor run.

What seems vaguely amphorous in the beginning quickly coalesces into focused drive. Boykin suffers slightly throughout from a weak place in the mix, but makes his point with strength of vision.

Note: this disc is available from Thrill Jockey on the web.

Track Listing

1:55, 3:09; 8:09; 8:23; 5:34; 7:39; 7:41.

Personnel

David Boykin, bass clarinet, soprano and tenor saxophone; Dr. Karl EH Seigfried, acoustic bass; Michael Reed, drums.

Album information

Title: Boykin, Seigfried & Reed | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Chinchin Records

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

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

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.