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Interpret It Well by Ches Smith

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"Interpret It Well" by

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Album Title: Interpret It Well
Label: Pyroclastic Records
Released: 2022

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About the Album

"Interpret It Well,” is the title track from drummer/vibraphonist/composer Ches Smith’s stellar quartet album with guitarist Bill Frisell, violist Mat Maneri and keyboardist Craig Taborn (May 6, 2022, Pyroclastic Records). Interpret It Well takes its title from artist Raymond Pettibon’s three-word prompt as both title and instruction, for bandmates and listeners alike. The album is the much-anticipated follow-up to Smith's acclaimed 2016 ECM trio release The Bell. This time the band becomes a quartet with the addition of master guitarist Bill Frisell, whose contributions bring additional depth, space and texture to a group already rich in all three qualities. The title track begins with Smith’s tentative, querying vibraphone, with the other voices gradually gathering around him like a deepening fog. The picture eventually comes into focus only to give way to Taborn’s stuttering, agitated solo, which ushers in the urgent, ferocious final section. The piece has been inspiring to artists outside of the band as well – artist/filmmaker Frank Heath, whose works have been described as “poetic interventions into systems of communication, information and understanding,” has created a new film to accompany “Interpret It Well.”

Tracks

Trapped; Interpret It Well; Mixed Metaphor; Morbid; Clear Major; I Need More; Deppart.

Personnel

Bill Frisell
guitar, electric

Additional Personnel

Ches Smith: vibraphone.

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Date featured

May 17, 2022

This song appears by permission of the contributing artist and/or record company.
It is for personal use only; no other rights are granted or implied.


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