Prompted initially by his appearance on the Alex Sipiagin album "Destinations unknown", I've been checking out David Binney's work this month with the acquisition of two exceptional records. The first of these was "Barefooted town" which matched him with Mark Turner on tenor and Amrose Akinmusire on trumpet. This is "contemporary cool" is you like and the record certainly matched my expectations for the Criss Cross label. The album is a real grower - there is a detached coolness about it and the interaction between the two saxes which make this a compelling and rewarding listen.
However, I feel that, if anything, the more experimental "Graylen Epicentre" has a bit more bite even if it features a floating roaster of musicians such as Craig Taborn, Ambrose Akinmusire, jazz-rocker Wayne Krantz on guitar (a couple of tracks - one on acoustic) and vocalist Gretchen Parlato. The style of writing is the same but the music is allowed to stretch and unfold over a longer duration that is outside of the more "traditional" approach shown on "Barefooted town." That said, the lines totally avoid bebop and are not exactly the kind of melodies that you are ever going to find your postman whistling. I think both albums are terrific and represent a kind of meeting between the more cerebral world of Lennie Tristano and the wider-encompassing one of someone like John Hollenbeck. As a soloist, Binney recalls both Lee Konitz (in the ability to phrase in a asymetrical and fascinatingly creative manner) and Paul Desmond in the avoidance of explicit emotion. Somehow, his music creeps up on you and the conclusions which often feature riffs seem to have reached a simmering degree of excitment without you properly understanding how they have quite got there. For me, David Binney has kicked both Be-bop and the notion of Free jazz aside to present a more composed alternative where the structure of the music offers fascinating potential for the solists to explore. This is the way jazz is currently going at the moment and it is small wonder that some of the most creative jazz minds of today's scene like Craig Taborn, Mark Turner, David Virelles, John Escreet, Ambrose Akinusire, Luciana De Souza and Gretchen Parlato are frequent collaborators. One of my friends is a massive David Binney fan and reckons that he is consistantly good on record. Both of these records would be high on my recommended list just for the sake of them being so different from whatever anyone else in jazz is doing. Certainly well worth exploring if you are unfamiliar.
However, I feel that, if anything, the more experimental "Graylen Epicentre" has a bit more bite even if it features a floating roaster of musicians such as Craig Taborn, Ambrose Akinmusire, jazz-rocker Wayne Krantz on guitar (a couple of tracks - one on acoustic) and vocalist Gretchen Parlato. The style of writing is the same but the music is allowed to stretch and unfold over a longer duration that is outside of the more "traditional" approach shown on "Barefooted town." That said, the lines totally avoid bebop and are not exactly the kind of melodies that you are ever going to find your postman whistling. I think both albums are terrific and represent a kind of meeting between the more cerebral world of Lennie Tristano and the wider-encompassing one of someone like John Hollenbeck. As a soloist, Binney recalls both Lee Konitz (in the ability to phrase in a asymetrical and fascinatingly creative manner) and Paul Desmond in the avoidance of explicit emotion. Somehow, his music creeps up on you and the conclusions which often feature riffs seem to have reached a simmering degree of excitment without you properly understanding how they have quite got there. For me, David Binney has kicked both Be-bop and the notion of Free jazz aside to present a more composed alternative where the structure of the music offers fascinating potential for the solists to explore. This is the way jazz is currently going at the moment and it is small wonder that some of the most creative jazz minds of today's scene like Craig Taborn, Mark Turner, David Virelles, John Escreet, Ambrose Akinusire, Luciana De Souza and Gretchen Parlato are frequent collaborators. One of my friends is a massive David Binney fan and reckons that he is consistantly good on record. Both of these records would be high on my recommended list just for the sake of them being so different from whatever anyone else in jazz is doing. Certainly well worth exploring if you are unfamiliar.
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