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Matt Mitchell: Fiction
ByMitchell is quite the in-demand sideman. He can be heard in Tim Berne's Snakeoil, Dave Douglas' Quintet, Darius Jones' Quartet, John Hollenbeck's Claudia Quintet, and in the bands of Michael Attias and Rudresh Mahanthappa.
This recording found its roots in Berne's Snakeoil tours when drummer Ches Smith began to play along with Mitchell's etudes. Smith is a player equally conversant in the languages of jazz and DIY rock. For him, swing and smash are confederates. He plays in the bands of Marc Ribot, and Mary Halvorson, and leads his own trio and quintet.
These etudes, presented for piano and drums, can best be described as Cecil Taylor plays Scarlatti. Mitchell employs extreme changes and twisting intervals, scraping odd rhythms against changing harmonics. The duo makes for a sympathetic pairing. Smith reads and interprets the pieces, matching Mitchell's percussive attack on "Upright," mimicking his funny walk on "Singe," and tracing (with vibraphone) the mathematical melody of "Wanton Eon."
The dense, ever-changing compositions give little respite to the ear. Mitchell's "Brain Color" is a hallucination that gives the impression of deconstructing Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight." Here, he out-angles Monk's angular music. Mitchell hints at the melody like a hip-hop DJ, sampling pieces and parts of a dream Thelonious might have had. Mitchell and Smith pummel notes into the shapebut not necessarily the languageof Monk, but instead the late pianist's spirit. These exercises exhaust, invigorate, and ultimately inspire.
Track Listing
Veins; Brain Color; Upright; Singe; Wanton Eon; Dadaist Flu; Commas; Id Balm; Ohm Nuggets; Diction; Tether; Action Field; Specialty Hug; Nightmare Tesseract; Narcotic Bases.
Personnel
Matt Mitchell
pianoMatt Mitchell: piano; Ches Smith: drums, percussion, vibraphone.
Album information
Title: Fiction | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Pi Recordings
Comments
Tags
Matt Mitchell
CD/LP/Track Review
Mark Corroto
Pi Recordings
United States
Tim Berne
Dave Douglas
Darius Jones
John Hollenbeck
Michael Attias
Rudresh Mahanthappa
Ches Smith
Marc Ribot
Mary Halvorson
Cecil Taylor
Fiction