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Jason Robinson: Harmonic Constituent
ByRobinson's quartet here includes pianist Joshua White (Mark Dresser Seven), drummer Ches Smith (Tim Berne, Marc Ribot, Mary Halvorson), and bassist Drew Gress who accompanied the saxophonist on his previous release Resonant Geographies (pfMENTUM, 2018).
Like the rugged territory that inspired Robinson, the multifarious music is both wild and placid, both clement and inclement. The quartet opens with the zealous and challenging title track, composed to push and pull his band (and listeners) in varied directions. His muscular tenor attack is parried by the rumbling of White's piano and Smith and Gress' pulse. The composition mines a post-bop tension and release that cannot fail to capture your attention.
From there the music softens (for a bit). Robinson sequenced this recording with four interludes "Phase 1" and "Phase 2," "Shear 1" and "Shear 2." These shortish improvised pieces are performed in duo or trio and they act as the micro to much of the album's macro investigation of the Mendocino coast. We dive back into the undertow with "Seventh Wave," which rolls and rocks by way of Smith's drumming and the hyper piano attack of White. Robinson's tenor lifts off with his unaccompanied solo that works both upper and lower ends the horn's register to great effect. Besides the intensity, there's the beautifully simple melody "Jug Handle," a ballad that should be nominated for consideration as a new jazz standard. Gress takes a luscious solo over Smith's brushwork before giving way to White's piano and the embracing hug of Robinson's tenor saxophone. The composition is repeated as a solo piano performance as the closing piece here, and why not end on a gorgeous note?
Track Listing
Harmonic Constituent; Phase 1; Jug Handle; Shear 1; Seventh Wave; Mélange Geometry; Isobathic Sounding; Phase 2; The Interval; Apogean Tide; Shear 2; Mountain In Your Mind; Jug Handle (alt).
Personnel
Album information
Title: Harmonic Constituent | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Playscape Recordings
Comments
About Jason Robinson
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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