Yuhan Su: OVER the MOONs

It turns out that Patricia Brennan is not the only vibraphonist exploring ambitious concepts these days. On this album, Yuhan Su brings the idea of dual consciousness into music, with the musicians in her group often playing along two separate paths simultaneously.

Su was born in Taiwan and is now based in New York. Living in both those cultures at once gave her the idea to explore that concept musically. There is constant motion and activity in this music often done in two contrasting tempos and volumes at the same time. Clashing rhythms dart everywhere creating an effect reminiscent of the choppier aspects of Steve Lehman's and Steve Coleman's music, but in a denser and more expansive form. 

"Pieces Peace" actually runs along a more unified line with saxophones, vibes and drums hammering on at a frantic speed, with harsh guitar injections, until Matt Mitchell's piano slows the tempo with a jangling solo. "Roaring Hours" has swooping saxophones battling against halting prog rock rhythms until Mitchell again unleashes another nervous solo while James Paul Nadien bashes the drums. Then Yingda Chen shows up to play a buzzing guitar solo. "Double Consciousness" is a bit more focused than other tracks with the rhythmic thrust basically staying constant. Su and Chen take prickly solos over stabbing drums and electronic swooshing before Mitchell takes a delirious excursion over the piano keys before the guitar comes back in, riding a torrent of sound from the rest of the band.

Other tracks are softer and more dreamlike. "Olfactory Memory" seeps in quietly with Su's vibes leading the quieter, hesitant blowing of Alex LoRe's alto sax and Anna Webber's tenor. Webber takes a subdued but rapturous solo before the leader adds her own glowing run, mixing in with the guitar and piano.  "Two Moons" opens with resonant, echoing vibraphone, first solo, then enhanced by flutes, shadowy guitar and busy drumming. After that Chen's gradually billowing guitar comes to the forefront before the vibes return. The flutes return on "Too Much Time Matching Clouds," wavering prettily, and Su does some of her most elegant playing with the piano trickling underneath. All the elements tumble together beautifully, making a fascinating sound collage.

This ensemble fits together very well. Mitchell, in particular, is excellent at being connective tissue for the various elements and Yingda Chen gives the music a taste of grit when it is needed. Meanwhile, leader Yuhan Su has her vibes bouncing through and over these complex compositions with a spirit similar to what Ruth Underwood and her marimba brought to Frank Zappa's bands in the Seventies. This group produces a heady mixture of the frantic and the serene throughout this album.