Jonathan Mortiz & Mike Pride: Summertime

Sumertime by the duo of Jonathan Moritz and Mike Pride highlights the distinction between paying attention and attention paid. The former deals with concentration, while the latter concerns awareness or consciousness. With this release or any free improvisation experience, immersion prevails over comprehension. In other words, dig the view instead of building a camp here.

Mortiz's saxophone has been paired with Pride's drums in several groups, with Ken Filiano and Nate Wooley, the Jonathan Moritz Trio, and the Jamie Saft / Mike Pride death metal band Kalashnikov. This duo recording is Mortiz and Pride's second and it follows The Invitation (Astral Spirits, 2020), a cassette/digital release.

The three tracks were recorded on separate days. "Mushrooms" was captured at the Infrequent Streems Festival in 2021, while "TD-2" and "By The Stream (for John Mclellan)" were recorded on consecutive days in Pride's backyard in August of the same year. The distinction between a live concert and a garden setting is significant. "Mushrooms," while it opens with a high-pitched saxophone and ringing glockenspiel, quickly launches into a classic free jazz saxophone vs. drums attack, where energy is the main dish on the menu. The remaining tracks highlight the difference between free jazz and free improvisation. Both emphasize sound generation over harmonics, relying more on atmosphere than instruments. "By the Stream" is captured as a field recording, with flowing water and eerie disjointed voices added in post-production. Mortiz's saxophone work, especially with his soprano, alternates between lunging, luscious, and lubricious. At the same time, Pride is game to accentuate the varying tones with his open palate of colors and percussive resonances. The music here suggests the listener should experience this recording rather than decipher it.