The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Kidd Jordan / Joel Futterman / Alvin Fielder 
  Spirits
  (Silkheart) 


  
   review by Ken Waxman
  2020-08-24
Kidd Jordan / Joel Futterman / Alvin Fielder: Spirits (Silkheart)

All good things must come to an end and so they did in 2018 when drummer Alvin Fielder died at 83. A founding member of Chicago's ACCM, he relocated back to his native Mississippi in 1969 and continued playing and agitating for advanced jazz in the South from that point on. In 1975 he began collaborating with New Orleans tenor saxophonist Kidd Jordan, another rare experimental player from the epicenter of traditional jazz, and in 1994, Virginia-based pianist Joel Futterman made the duo a trio. Although the three had years of interaction ahead of them, this 1997 studio date shows how well the partnership had already jelled.

Interestingly enough, while Jordan's command of reed-busting multiphonics and Futterman's skill in interpolating kinetic progressions into the arrangements are quickly highlighted, except for some jolting tom-tom patterns Fielder doesn't really assert himself until "Double Strike", the third and longest track and the subsequent "Short-Stop", its continuation. With rim taps and press rolls he accents the exposition created by the others, as they work their way up the scale. Prime demonstration of triple counterpoint, the drummer uses pronounced bass drum clunks to shift pressures as saxophone lines move from lowing drones to altissimo split tones, while the pianist splinters the time sense. Later both Jordan and Futterman spew out theme variation after variation. In the penultimate minutes Futterman's peeping Indian flute duet with the saxophonist's multiphonics mark an intense turn to the performance, which is further confirmed on ""Short-Stop", a mostly unaccompanied piano recital of contrasting dynamics, where key pressure leads to sound board echoes from the highest pitches.

A further unexpected dual between Futterman's strident soprano saxophone and Jordan's deeper and darker tenor saxophone characterizes the final "Start-Continue". But while that track reaches the zenith of reed screams, drumstick chops and wriggling pulsations from the piano, even as the narrative is jostled from every angle, an undercurrent of lyricism is also present. Slowed down with concentric and cumulative textures, the piece judders to an ending marked by a final boom from Fielder's drum. Sadly, this configuration can never convene again. Fortunately, it has left behind high-quality documents like this one.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Derek Bailey/
John Stevens:
The Duke of
Wellington
(Confront)



Paul Dunmall:
Away With
Troubles And Anxieties!
(Discus)



Shifa (
Musson/
Thomas/
Sanders):
Ecliptic
(Discus)



Natsuki Tamura/
Satoko Fujii:
Ki
(Libra)



Borah Bergman/
Anthony Braxton/
Peter Brotzmann:
Eight By Three
(Mixtery)



Hedvig Mollestad Trio:
Bees In
The Bonnet
(Rune Grammofon)



Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso
UFO:
Black Mountain
ide
(Rolling Heads)



Evan Parker/
Bill Nace:
Branches (
Live at Cafe OTO)[VINYL]
(Open Mouth)



Alexander Hawkins/
Taylor Ho Bynum:
A Near Permanent State
Of Wonder
(RogueArt)



Joseph Holbrooke (
w/ Derek Bailey/
Gavin Bryars/
Tony Oxley):
Last Live 2001 -
In Memoriam
Derek Bailey
And
Tony Oxley
[2 CDs]
(Tzadik)



Zeena Parkins:
Modesty Of
The Magic Thing
(Tzadik)



Dave Douglas (
Douglas/
Ridout/
Adewumi/
Brennan/
Pass/
Royston):
Alloy
(Greenleaf Music)



Ivo Pereleman/
Nate Wooley/
Matt Moran/
Mark Helias/
Tom Rainey:
A Modicum
Of the Blues
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Angles 11:
Tell Them
It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Sifter (
w/ Lisa Mezzacappa):
Flake/
Fracture
(Queen Bee Records)



Jean-Marc Foussat:
Abbatage
(Fou Records)



Chester Hawkins:
Apsis
(Intangible Arts)



Karl Evangelista's Apura +
Andrew Cyrille:
Bukas
(577 Records)



Frode Gjerstad/
Alexander von Schlippenbach/
Dag Magnus Narvesen:
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)



Kaze (
Fujii/
Tamura/
Orins/
Pruvost) with/ Koichi Makigami:
Shishiodoshi
(Circum-Libra)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (8534)