Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Return of the New Thing: Return of the New Thing

Return of the New Thing: Return of the New Thing

By Robert Spencer
April 1, 2000
View read count

Return of the New Thing: Return of the New Thing

Has it really been away? The New Thing, that is. There are quite a few practitioners of the now almost forty-year-old New Thing who have by now illustrious careers behind them: Mr. Braxton, Mr. McPhee, Mr. Parker, and many many more. But those men - and many others - have moved far beyond where they were in the Sixties, and so maybe it's a different facet of the New Thing that's returning. The cover of this disc, after all, pictures a baby sitting among some of the great albums of the early days of the New Thing: works by Paul Bley, Frank Lowe, Keshavan Maslak, Sam Rivers, and others. And there is something of a Sixties freak-out atmosphere to some of this, especially at high-energy points of "Somehow, anyhow" and elsewhere.

But in fact, pianist Dan Warburton and co. show that they very well know that the New Thing has been going on since the albums on the cover were recorded. Alto saxophonist Jean-Luc Guionnet, in particular, plays atmospheric saxophone with some debt to the devices developed by Evan Parker and others in the Seventies, Eighties, and Nineties. This is dramatic music, with all four of the players highly and quickly reactive. Tempos shift, one player speaks, and the others are right there to comment. It ranges from the barely audible (as on the long beginning of "Hic et nunc, in limine") to the furious, and has as much depth of emotion as it does of dynamic.

So wherever the New Thing has been or not been, it's in fine form here. The final track, "Truth and Reconciliation (to Archie Shepp)," even sets up something of a steady rhythm, over which Guionnet pops pads and plays percussively along with Warburton. The gradual building here is a dramatic indication of the imagination, energy, and flair of this fine quartet.

Dan Warburton, p, vln; François Fuchs, b; Jean-Luc Gionnet, as; Edward Perraud, perc.

Track listing: Somehow, anyhow / Hic et nunc, in limine / Y2K / Truth and Reconciliation (to Archie Shepp).

Personnel

Return of the New Thing

Album information

Title: Return of the New Thing | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Leo Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Dave Douglas: Moving the Music Forwa...
< Previous

Seasoned
Next >

Support All About Jazz

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.