A wonderfully warm and innately lyrical free jazz quintet that grew organically from weekly jam sessions in Harlem starting in 2019, comprised of tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, pianist Eric Plaks, bassist Zach Swanson, and drummer Jon Panikkar, and later, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, Ishito the driving force in the project and this beautiful recording.
Label: 577 Records Catalog ID: CD-577R-5869-1 Squidco Product Code: 31246
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2021 Country: USA Packaging: Digipack Recorded at Big Orange Sheep, in Brooklyn, New york, on November 11th, 2020m by Chris Benham.
Personnel:
Daniel Carter-trumpet, flute, clarinet, soprano, alto, tenor saxophone
"Open Question Vol. 1 - soon to be followed by a second volume-is the first of two albums that rely on warm, collective, and freely improvised music. The band formed organically in 2019 from weekly jam sessions in Harlem; it is comprised of tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, pianist Eric Plaks, bassist Zach Swanson, and drummer Jon Panikkar, and later, multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter.
Recording an album with only free improvisation was Ishito's long-time dream, stalled by the pandemic, and realized only this year. Open Question's music today, while fully improvised, remains firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. This is best heard on "Synchronicity," the last recorded piece of the session, where each musician's trajectory diverges even as the piece holds together. On the track, Carter starts out with soprano sax then later switches to tenor toward the middle of the piece, as Carter and Ishito playfully spar with competing tenor melodies.
This album marks Ayumi Ishito's second album on 577 Records, following her widely-acclaimed Ayumi Ishito and the Spacemen Vol. 1 (2021)."-577 Records"