Jazz Articles | Future

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW August 7, 2002

Dennis Warren's Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble: Horizon Event

Jump in to the flow of Dennis Warren’s music any place you desire. His music, the music of the Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble (FMRJE) is a continuously flowing river of sound with (seemingly) no starting or ending points.

The drummer Dennis Warren is a disciple of Milford Graves and has studied with Cecil Taylor. His FMRJE, begun in 1989 has included jazz luminaries Raphe Malik, and Glenn Spearman. The current lineup like all others features an ...

CD/LP/TRACK REVIEW May 1, 1999

Dennis Warren's Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble: 7 In One

By MARK CORROTO

Let me take you out there to a place where energy meets sound. Where the electric Miles treads. Where freedom means a discipline to music, like a Sun Ra meltdown. Where groove has no titles and John Coltrane can play a solo for two hours and you remain riveted in your seat. Dennis Warren lives here. His Full Metal Revolutionary Jazz Ensemble walks the land where Ornette Coleman’s electric Prime Time and Ronald Shannon Jackson’s bands walked. His latest self-released ...

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About Jazz Story

Story of the Day

It’s often said that good music is the music you think is good, but I don’t buy that. Sure, we all have leanings, from artists to genres, even periods, too, but good music exists as a superset, not a subset
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It’s often said that good music is the music you think is good, but I don’t buy that. Sure, we all have leanings, from artists to genres, even periods, too, but good music exists as a superset, not a subset. Otherwise, how could new genres rise to existence? Too often, people confuse “It’s not for me” for “It’s not good,” letting genre preference or peer acceptance set the bounds on their definition of “good.” Genres facilitate discussions, but classification negatively influences progress and feeds biases, thus, it imposes limitations. Listening: honestly, intently, receptively; good music can only reveal itself then. Its incorporeal, living in the now, to be heard and felt and gone, never to be touched, transferring its full value when auditory input creates new connections between brain and gut. For this, the music must communicate something primal, entirely human; this can only occur if those interfaces between musician and instrument, instruments and results (i.e. music) can successfully capture, process, and render individuality, from musician to listener, so that what is shared is honest self-expression. Technology should introduce new schemes to express one’s humanity in new musical ways—as electricity did to the guitar— not eliminate the human factor, or reduce self-expression to adept clicking on specialized software, or the order in which one pushes a button. Sad to see how much of today’s music is synthetic. Empty. Proof that too many aren’t really listening. But, then again, how many “music lovers” only listen to music in their cars or while walking to work or cleaning the house or… People who listen, really, will argue about what and who’s the best, even on what qualifies as good, but there’s one universal criterion all will give: musicianship. When it’s there and felt, good musicianship doesn't need to be defined among listeners willing to hear. Hence why, when asked what I listen to, genres are useless; I usually reply with, “I listen to good music.”
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By Pascal-Denis Lussier
Member since: 2010