David S. Ware: Organica

If it wasn't apparent before that David S. Ware has gravity, now it is. There's always been authority in his saxophone playing, but with the passing of time the gravity of his work has become more apparent, as if every note he plays is now invested with the wealth of life's experiences.

This second volume of entirely solo recitals makes the point; Ware is clearly one of the most compelling voices in improvised music. In view of how he tailors his approach to suit his sopranino and tenor saxophones, it might be closer to the truth to suggest that he speaks in tongues. Both in terms of tone and vocabulary there's a country mile between his work on tenor and his playing of the smaller horn, but this is because he has an acute appreciation of the very different characteristics of the two.

His tenor tone on both "Organica 1" and "Organica 2" is still the thing of wonder that it's always been, but such is the depth of his musical expression that, if anything, it's taken on even greater luster. Ware has always been a remarkably unsentimental player, but this has never resulted in a lack of passion. If, in the past, such passion has been his calling card, it's now apparent that the multiple and sometimes contrary elements of his work are coalescing into a remarkable whole.

By comparison there's something otherworldly about his sopranino playing. Its pitch, if the comparison isn't disingenuous, places him at odds with soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy's work, but what really underlines the difference is the considered rush of Ware's playing, which is a polar opposite to Lacy's perennially quizzical stance. That said, Ware knows he's playing before a live audience here, and there's a garrulousness about his work which creates the impression of a passionate and enthusiastic talker.

We're thus blessed to have this example of his ever-evolving art.