Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » DC Improvisers Collective: Here, We Are

102

DC Improvisers Collective: Here, We Are

DC Improvisers Collective: Here, We Are
Mysticism abounds when the DC Improvisers Collective (DCIC) holds a musical séance. The performers delve into remote realms, conjuring up inventive music with sorcerous cunning. This searching association of experimental artists affords its members the opportunity for open-ended exploration in various-sized group scenarios.

On this recording, the DCIC features four free spirits. Mike Sebastian awakens the ghosts of music present and future through his fierce woodwind flights; Jon Ozment offers weighty acoustic and electric piano brews; Mark Merella executes jarring percussive resonance; and Jonathan Matis adds bracing stimuli through his guitar. Electronics play an important role as well, with Ozment, Merella, and Matis each negotiating the amplified terrain for special effects.

The program, as could be expected from the band’s name, is fully improvised. These instant composers thrive on the spontaneity of the moment, allowing their innate sense of adventure to dictate the direction the music takes. It goes off in multiple streams of consciousness that slide into hallucinatory states, often through alternating pairings that fold into full quartet activity.

For example, Merella pumps incendiary fuel to drive Sebastian into forceful areas in two duets, and he supplies more subtle nuances in his matching of ambiance with Ozment. One trio selection without Sebastian is awash in eerie vibrations. The band rises to its creative best on the full ensemble tunes that comprise the majority of the recording. With all improvisers interacting as a unit, the music peaks in waves of otherworldliness.

Each title develops through the probing and suggestion of the players. Sebastian speaks in multiple tongues, allowing his bass clarinet to supply spirituality or his saxophones to emit eruptive energy. Merella floods the field with a plethora of exotic percussive tones, injecting rattling, clanking, and other stimuli into the concoction. Ozment sends a jarring message from his piano or keyboards, painting a voluminous soundscape in the process. Matis’s guitar efforts offer contrasting reactions; he releases smoldering juices or calming melodiousness into the group context.

While sound in its purest form plays an important role, the pieces display continuity with little need for silence and space as support. The recording flows in suite-like fashion as one collective expression.

From jarring abruptness to passive serenity, the DCIC responds to the moment at hand to create music of unique character and demanding quality. Aided by electronic supplements, it becomes especially vibrant. Each musician stays in touch with his psyche and responds to the circulating spirits of the others on this compelling example of unrestrained group meditation.

Visit Snack Records on the web.

Track Listing

Invocation (6:55) / Duo No. 1 (6:34) / Stirring (10:01) / Duo No. 2 (4:44) / Trio (8:50) / Ritual (5:46) / Duo No. 3 (4:29) / Mural (4:37) / Feldman Meets Dolphy (5:09) / And Then. (13:00).

Personnel

Mike Sebastian-tenor & soprano saxophone, bass clarinet; Jon Ozment-piano, keyboards, electronics; Mark Merella-percussion, live electronics, short wave radio; Jonathan Matis-guitar, electronics. Recorded: January 17, 2003, January 31, 2003, February 13, 2003, Takoma Park, MD; March 28, 2003, Washington, DC.

Album information

Title: Here, We Are | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Snack 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

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.