Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Rudresh Mahanthappa: Codebook

670

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Codebook

By

View read count
Rudresh Mahanthappa: Codebook
Rudresh Mahanthappa's previous quartet album, Mother Tongue (Pi, 2004), explored the transposition of Indian dialects into the structural frameworks of acoustic jazz. Codebook builds on the alto saxophonist's previous work by incorporating aspects of cryptography into his new compositions. He's joined by his regular foil, pianist Vijay Iyer, as well as his usual quartet bassist, François Moutin. Mahanthappa also invites new drummer Dan Weiss into the fold.

Opening with the blistering assault of "The Decider," Mahanthappa demonstrates potent virtuosity and a mischievous streak courtesy of his topical titling choices. But the thematic source behind the music is far more esoteric than armchair politics. The tune's intricate structure is based on the Fibonacci sequence, an infinite series of integers used by classical composers ranging from Bach to Bartok. Such potentially restrictive compositional models are rarely used by jazz musicians. But Mahanthappa, like his innovative peer, Vijay Iyer, is no typical jazz musician.

Mahanthappa composed the entire album around such cyclic processes, using Simon Singh's history of cryptography, The Code Book, for inspiration. "Play It Again Sam" features the entire quartet using Morse code to spell out their names with a sequence of musical dots and dashes. Even more intricate is Mahanthappa's "Frontburner," a visceral re-interpretation of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Using the tune's title and scales drawn from the piece's chord changes as ciphers to encrypt the song's base melody, Mahanthappa arrived at a knotty, turbulent variation on the classic. "Enhanced Performance" is representative of the album's versatility, modulating from one cell-like section to another. Varying tempos, rhythms and dynamic inflection, the quartet switches gears between spacious, casual swing, pneumatic M-Base funk and frenetic bop.

The majority of the tunes flirt with abruptly surging, propulsive energy. Even the album's introspective moments periodically veer off into vociferous excursions. Navigating a labyrinthine maze of interlocking cyclic structures, Mahanthappa's tart alto spews forth turgid coils of sound while the rhythm section alters tempos with metric modulation. A sincere collaborator, Mahanthappa provides ample solo room for his talented comrades, and Iyer matches the leader's caustic wit in equal measure.

Despite the high-minded concept underscoring the album's intricate compositions, Mahanthappa's quartet fulfills its primary goal: to swing creatively, with passion and conviction. Codebook is a wonderful addition to its ever growing body of work.

Track Listing

The Decider; Refresh; Enhanced Performance; Further and in Between; Play It Again Sam; Frontburner; D (Dee Dee); Wait It Through; My Sweetest.

Personnel

Rudresh Mahanthappa
saxophone, alto

Rudresh Mahanthappa: alto saxophone; Vijay Iyer: piano; Francois Moutin: bass; Dan Weiss: drums.

Album information

Title: Codebook | Year Released: 2006 | Record Label: Pi Recordings

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.