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Matt Mitchell: Forage
BySo what about a solo piano. Tim Berne's music is too busy, too frenetic. It careens down too many unexpected pathways. It would take an Art Tatumin a free-spirited state of mindto tackle that project.
Wrong again. Pianist Matt Mitchell goes solo on Forage, an in depth examination of the compositions of Tim Berne.
Mitchell has released two distinctive CDs under his name on the Pi RecordingsFiction (2013), and Vista Accumulation (2015), and he has also occupied the piano chair in Berne's Snakeoil from its beginning, appearing on all three of the group's albums. He knows the Berne sound, and with just the piano he recites his singular rendition of that turbulent energy, the fervid and idiosyncratic Berne-ian musical vision. He sounds possessed by percussive demons on "Traces," laying down a density comparable to the Snakeoil sound. But on "Aas" he probes with a deliberate introspection, allowing the tunes off-center beauty to unfold at a measured pace. "Raay" has more sharp angles than a Thelonious Monk composition, a near ballad featuring bursts of delicate flurries. Then there's the stark, prickly, dark urgency and clustered note intricacy of "Cerbs."
Mitchell sits in an immersion of the music, shaping mesmerizing takes on these robust, off-center, compositions. His Forage presents a faithful rendering of Tim Berne's artistry and vision via his superb and personal interpretations, on a distinctive and first rate solo piano recording. His finest to date. And throw in the bonus of the attractive packaging with its weirdly captivating cover art drawings by Steven Byram, the man behind dozens of the previous Screwgun Records covers, making an excellent argument for the continuation of the physical CD.
Track Listing
Paene; Traces; Aas; Ray; Cerb; Cloude; Siin.
Personnel
Matt Mitchell
pianoAlbum information
Title: Forage | Year Released: 2017 | Record Label: Screwgun Records
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Forage