Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Right Hemisphere: Right Hemisphere

Right Hemisphere: Right Hemisphere

By Florence Wetzel
May 28, 2009
View read count

In the early '80s, saxophonist Rob Brown and pianist Matthew Shipp played as a duo, eventually forming a quartet with William Parker on bass and Whit Dickey on drums and releasing the CD Points on Silkheart in 1990. Flash-forward to the present, where Joe Morris has taken over the bass chair, and the group has released this altogether excellent, eponymous follow-up.

The eleven songs explore a wide range of moods, including the meditative "Red in Gray," urgently explosive "Lava," free-spirited "Falling In" and vaguely ominous "You Rang." And yet even when the emotions feel familiar, there's something deliciously elusive about this music; it never settles for easy answers or familiar aural territory. The CD has a disciplined energy throughout, which creates a refreshing understated quality. The musicians are firmly committed to exploring the non-linear and do so through generating judicious dissonance, crafting unexpected shapes, and allowing each other the space to breathe and question.

Poet and jazz aficionado Steve Dalachinsky wrote the liner notes for the CD, and his stream-of- consciousness musings perfectly capture the CD's quality. He defines the right hemisphere of the brain as "where much of the soul's dark abstraction lies." Right Hemisphere delves into this unknown territory, and comes out with music that's rich and rewarding.

Track Listing

Right Hemisphere; You Rang; Bubbles; Ice; Hyperspace; Dice; Incremental; Falling In; The Sweet Science; Lava; Red in Gray.

Personnel

Rob Brown

saxophone, alto

Matthew Shipp: piano; Rob Brown: alto saxophone; Joe Morris: double-bass; Whit Dickey: drums.

Album information

Title: Right Hemisphere | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Rogue Art

PREVIOUS / NEXT

A Dream I Used To Remember
< Previous

Live at the Village Vanguard, Vol. I...
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.