Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jack Wright/John M. Bennett/Ben Bennett: Rotty What

161

Jack Wright/John M. Bennett/Ben Bennett: Rotty What

By

View read count
Jack Wright/John M. Bennett/Ben Bennett: Rotty What
Note to my editor: do not attempt a spell check of this review, as much of the language presented on Rotty What won't be found in any modern language dictionaries.

That's the ticket here: full frontal nudity. Well, substitute spontaneous combustion for the naked parts, and you have an idea what you are in for when poet/mail artist/writer/publisher John Bennett collaborates with saxophonist Jack Wright. This self-produced CD-R documents a mini-tour and performance by the pair with John's son, Ben Bennett.

Poetry and jazz is not a new combination; Kenneth Patchen and Kenneth Rexroth began what Jack Kerouac and Michael Harper carried on. What is found here is not so much poetry accompanied by music, as nearly extemporaneous prose and instinctive musical improvisation. The elder Bennett's writing—sometimes a word salad of double-talk—relies more on sound than text for meaning. Likewise, Wright's playing is more about sound and instant creation than melody and tradition. It follows that this meeting of minds is an exercise in the creation of a new language.

Think of this as an improv trio of saxophone, percussion and voice. All three artists are capable of creating a new sonance at any time. Drummer Ben Bennett has an emerging style that's part Paul Lytton and part Gino Robair. He favors the swirl of energy over a measure of the beat. This works nicely with veteran Wright's tendency to eschew time. The pair work out a th-minute duo on the aptly titled "Jack 'n Benny that is worthy of anything Martin Davidson has released on his Emanem label. Wright seems to have the knack for finding playing partners that he can compliment to the advantage of both the musicians and, of course, listeners.

But the uniqueness of this outing is the vocalese of the poet. John Bennett bends words like a master blues man bends notes. His slide guitar of a voice teases and tortures a text until written flummadiddle relents and gives up meaning.

The trio is quite comfortable on the knife's edge, mining the outsides of poetry, jazz and sound. It's an adventure worth seeking out.

Track Listing

Conquista; Ah Ant Erior; Foamy Table; Trouble Sugar; Drips an Dips; Pock an Plaid; Jack

Personnel

Jack Wright
saxophone

John M. Bennett: words, voice; Jack Wright: saxophone; Ben Bennett: percussion.

Album information

Title: Rotty What | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Self Produced

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter 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.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.