Free jazz is dark. It can be hyper-intellectual, obtuse, and pretentious. Free jazz is for bored college professors, who look for references to obscure musical forms, religious symbolism, political significance, and abstract mathematical formulations. Thankfully, free jazz isn't always like this; sometimes it's simply fun.
The Ravens Look by woodwind player, Paul Dunmall, guitarist Philip Gibbs, and flutist Neil Metcalfe is improvised music without pretention. It's not about heavy symbolism and meaning, it's about playful communication. The album cover and song titles have a bird theme, which is reflected in the music. That having been said, despite its album cover, this music is more reminiscent of sparrows swirling in the wind, playfully dive-bombing and performing acrobatic aerial summersaults, than a solitary raven stoically looking down on the world from a high branch.
The lightness of these improvised pieces begins with the instrumentation: Dunmall keeps his tenor sax at home and instead explores the soprano, clarinet, and contrabassoon. Similarly, Gibbs limits himself to the subtleties of the acoustic version of his instrument. Together with Metcalfe's flute, they maintain a soft, woodsy quality, even when the notes come at a frenetic pace.
Gibbs is not relegated to a complementary role, nor does he shred like a 80's guitar hero. Rather his instrument swings from idea to idea, occasionally bouncing off the wind instruments, while remaining musically autonomous. Both wind players approach the music in a similar way; simultaneously polite to one another, yet free to fly in any direction desired.
The album's only truly aggressive jamming takes place on the final track, "The Great Swan Awaits Us." Here Dunmall sets aside the sweeter clarinet and bassoon, electing to play the brassy soprano saxophone. The ensemble creeps into textural anarchy but even at its pinnacle, the tune sounds more like birds momentarily testing how high they can fly than the demonic screams of many free jazz albums.
The Raven's Look is a different take on free improvisation. It isn't for the church or concert hall; it's not a protest album or academic treatise. One could call it campfire jazz; this is music for the outdoors or perhaps the farmer's market. Compared to the heaviness which pervades most improvised music, this album is refreshingly soft and delicate. Above all else, The Raven's Look features three fine instrumentalists enjoying their instruments and the company of one another, and inviting us to partake in the fun as well.
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