Between the Lines [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Between the Lines [Original recording remastered] [Import]

Track Listings

1. When the Party's Over

2. At Seventeen

3. From Me to You

4. Bright Lights and Promises

5. In the Winter

6. Watercolors

7. Between the Lines

8. Come On

9. Light a Light

10. Tea and Sympathy

11. Lover's Lullaby

12. Between the Lines [Live][*]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Remastered reissue of the singer/songwriter's 1975 album. Festival. 2004.

Tracks:

When The Party's Over
At Seventeen
From Me to You
Bright Lights and Promises
In The Winter
Water Colors
Between the Lines
The Come On
Light A Light
Tea & Sympathy
Lover's Lullaby

Customer Reviews:

Everybody knows.......2007-04-12

1975's finest. Perhaps one up- or mid-tempo tune short of an all-the-way (explosion, fireworks) masterpiece (that closing track is a touch maudlin), Between The Lines nevertheless blows out Ian's nearest "rivals" (Carole King, Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks and, dare I say, Paul Simon) and makes a serious claim for one of the 70's preeminent essential LP artifacts.

The success here, I believe, is that Ian (already a songwriting master by '69) keeps the chords simple enough to let her mesmerizing blasts of lyrical wisdom run their course. And there is sagacity, however embittered, on every track. The arrangements are smart, providing properly discreet shading to Ian's soul-inflected folk (and, occasionally)cabaret musings.

Ian sings a mean, low-key revelation. Even when her lyrical and sonic milieu is the tawdry dancehall ("Bright Lights and Promises"), she never showboats. Ian has the inspired ice of Peggy Lee. "The Come On," a deeply dire meditation on cheap love and low esteem, never lapses into sobbing gymnastics. Ian just delivers the bad news like an X-ray. Perfect every time.

There is a fiber-optic perfection to Ian's poetic observations. Male radio programmers and DJs were compelled by burning telephone lines, not market imperatives, to air "At Seventeen" - a startling runaway hit (prefiguring the later, bolder success of Suzanne Vega's "Luka"). It was simply heavy lasers set to kill. Ian didn't hit the mark, she expunged it.

What an artist.

A great memory!.......2007-01-15

Listening to this CD brings back memories of my "younger" years. It still is as pertinent now in its wording as it was back then...just in a different way. A great rememberance.

Between the Lines.......2007-01-10

One of the best voices God ever created. A mix of rock and easy listening to words and music you can understand. Every line connects with the very core of every human being that listens to her. Janis Ian is a true voice in the music industry.

THE LAST OF THE '70's SONGWRITERS.......2006-02-26

Some of Janis Ian's wordplay could make a bad poet blush. Take this line from her adolescent hell signature song, "At Seventeen", a tune betrayed by this bizarre description of teenage alienation, "Their small town eyes will gape at you, (gaping eyes?), in dull surprise when payment due, succeeds accounts received at seventeen". How's that, a teenage accountant? Or this from, "Tea and Sympathy", "Pass the tea and sympathy, for the good old days are long gone, we'll drink a toast to those, who most believe in what they've won." Never have I wanted to drink a toast to those, who most believe in what they've won. But just when you want to file these feminist minded, man-eating compositions under aimless testements, Ian slam bangs the finish with two monumental orchestrated numbers questioning the choice between laying down to the death of a lifetime with your lover, or the freedom artistic pursuit and single-hood can offer, making all her previous meandering diatribes sound meaningful. Here the album stands up and says hello, and the crescendoing climax calls you back for another listen. Some nice touches here and there as well, including a brooding cello solo at the end of, "Water Colors".

Awesome walk back in time........2005-07-13

I owned this album (vinyl) in the 70s and it's as great today as it was then. Was very glad to find it in CD, and can now share this incredible music with my kids. Thanks!

Average customer rating:

Two tracks I really like
Quantity Over Quality
Mediocre
One Hundred Greatest TV Themes
Pretty close to original recordings

One Hundred Greatest TV Themes

Manufacturer: Silva America
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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Television Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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All-Time Top 100 TV Themes
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ASIN: B00005Y49F
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Tracks:

The A-Team - Nic Raine
The Addams Family - Nic Raine
The Adventures Of Robinson Crusoe - Nic Raine
Airwolf - Derek Wadsworth
The Avengers - Mike Townend
Barnaby Jones - Jerry Goldsmith
Batman - Nic Raine
Battlestar Galactica - Nic Raine
Baywatch - Derek Wadsworth
Beverly Hills 90210 - Derek Wadsworth
Bewitched - Nic Raine
Between The Lines - Mark Ayres
The Bill - Nic Raine
Bonanza - The Philharmonia Orchestra
Brideshead Revisited - Derek Wadsworth
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century - Nic Raine
Burke's Law - Derek Wadsworth
Cagney And Lacey - Derek Wadsworth
Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons - Mark Ayres
Casualty - Mark Ayres
Cheers - Mark Ayres
Dallas - Nic Raine
Dangerman (Secret Agent) - Mike Townend
Doctor Who - Mark Ayres
Doctor Kildare - Jerry Goldsmith

Tracks:

Doogie Howser, M.D. - Derek Wadsworth
Dynasty - Nic Raine
The Equalizer - Derek Wadsworth
Falcon Crest - Derek Wadsworth
Fireball XL-5 - Derek Wadsworth
The Fugitive - Nic Raine
Hawaii 5-0 - Mike Townend
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys - Nic Raine
The High Chaparral - Nic Raine
Highway To Heaven - Derek Wadsworth
Hill Street Blues - Derek Wadsworth
The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy - Mark Ayres
The Incredible Hulk - Derek Wadsworth
Jason King - Mike Townend
Jesus Of Nazareth - Paul Bateman
Joe 90 - Derek Wadsworth
Johnny Staccato - Derek Wadsworth
Knight Rider - Derek Wadsworth
Kojak - Mike Townend
L.A. Law - Derek Wadsworth
Land Of The Giants - Nic Raine
Little House On The Prairie - Derek Wadsworth
Lonesome Dove - Nic Raine
Lost In Space - Nic Raine
Lou Grant - Derek Wadsworth

Tracks:

Magnum, P.I. - Derek Wadsworth
A Man Called Ironside - Mike Townend
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - Derek Wadsworth
M*A*S*H - Nic Raine
Miami Vice - Mark Ayres
Mike Hammer - Derek Wadsworth
Mission Impossible - Mike Townend
Monty Python's Flying Circus - Nic Raine
The Munsters - Derek Wadsworth
Murder She Wrote - Derek Wadsworth
Newhart - Derek Wadsworth
North And South - Derek Wadsworth
Northern Exposure - Derek Wadsworth
NYPD Blue - Mark Ayres
The Outer Limits - Nic Raine
Perry Mason - Mike Townend
The Persuaders - Mark Ayres
Peter Gunn - Mike Townend
Police Squad - Nic Raine
The Prisoner - Mike Townend
Quantum Leap - Derek Wadsworth
Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased) - Mike Townend
Red Dwarf - Mark Lambert
The Rockford Files - Mike Post
Roseanne - Dan Foliart

Tracks:

The Saint - Mike Townend
Seaquest DSV - Nic Raine
Space 1999 - Derek Wadsworth
Star Trek - Mike Townend
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Derek Wadsworth
Star Trek: Voyager - Nic Raine
St. Elsewhere - Derek Wadsworth
The Streets Of San Francisco - Nic Raine
Stingray - Barry Gray
Taxi - Derek Wadsworth
Thunderbirds - Derek Wadsworth
Thirty Something - Derek Wadsworth
The Time Tunnel - Nic Raine
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - The Philharmonia Orchestra
The Twighlight Zone - Nic Raine
Twin Peaks - Derek Wadsworth
U.F.O. - Derek Wadsworth
The Virginian - Nic Raine
Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea - Nic Raine
Wagon Train - Paul Bateman
The Waltons - Jerry Goldsmith
The Wild Wild West - Derek Wadsworth
Young Riders - John Debney
Xena: The Warrior Princess - Paul Bateman
The X-Files - Mark Ayres

Customer Reviews:

Two tracks I really like.......2007-07-21

The Mission Impossible theme is performed well.
The Fireball theme is actually much improved on this version. I prefer the orchestra and the vocals over the original.

Quantity Over Quality.......2007-01-15

As a musician myself, I know too well that one of the most important ingredients in ANY performance (live or recorded) is passion. The recordings here generally lack the same passion and sheer drama of the originals. Much of the instrumentation has been reduced to a cheezy, thin, plastic synthesized replica. The performances are simply a watered-down lackluster version of the classic originals. If it were not for the sheer volume of tracks compiled here, I would have rated the comp only "one star".

Mediocre.......2006-05-17

The sound quality for this collection isn't much better than the samples offered by Amazon.

One Hundred Greatest TV Themes.......2005-08-06

I have watched almost all the shows that are on these 4 cd's. Many were made before I started watching TV. Most I've seen once or twice before.

Pretty close to original recordings.......2005-07-24

Definitely not as good as the originals. You'll probably notice the slight differences since it's stuff you saw and listened to every week or everyday in reruns growing up, but it's still an amazing collection.

Average customer rating:

a review that uses musical terms pretentiously and with probable inaccuracy
With Look, his second outing featuring his band This Against That . . .

Look
Ralph Alessi
Manufacturer: Between the Lines
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000JRYMUI
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Tracks:

Near Cry
It's Just A Toy
At The Seams
Hands
The Tooth Fairy And Pistol Pete
Lap Nap
Brown Hat (For Joe Sr.)
Look
Words, Actions
Platform Velvet
Old Beady Eyes
Sir

Album Description

"As clean and airy and sophisticated and disciplined as post-modern progressive jazz gets." - JAZZTIMES

Ralph Alessi has received a lot of praise over the past fifteen years--as a sideman for Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Don Byron, and more--but his career as a leader is just beginning! Through Ravi Coltrane is the son of Alice and John Coltrane, his successful career is based not on his name but on his fully rounded sound and individual way of playing.

Customer Reviews:

a review that uses musical terms pretentiously and with probable inaccuracy.......2007-04-03

For a trumpet-led quartet with a lyrical sound and traces of classical influence, try Ralph Alessi and his group This Against That.
While Alessi has played as a sideman for Steve Coleman (alto sax), Uri Caine (piano) and Don Byron (clarinet), among others, *Look* is his fourth album as a leader. In several compositions here, Alessi demonstrates a preference for ostinato and diminuendo; for example, in "Hands," two repeated measures gradually decelerate at the finish to a slow fade.
On four of the 12 tracks, Ravi Coltrane (tenor sax) joins Alessi; in the title tune, their two horns interplay sinuously over Andy Milne's insistent piano. On "Lap Nap," Milne contributes staccato piano notes that transform into a funky solo. Drew Gress uses his bow to coax eerie mourning sounds out of his bass on "Platform Velvet."
On this Between the Lines release, though, Alessi's creative oscillations with Coltrane are what to *Look* for. (If you download just one track, make it "Old Beady Eyes.")

With Look, his second outing featuring his band This Against That . . ........2007-03-11

Ralph Alessi has found his métier. Alessi has always displayed huge chops and an interesting concept. The problem has been that he has struggled to find the right approach to solving the basic jazz enigma: how to make a genuine contribution to the music without being either too weird (Hissy Fit) or too esoteric (Vice & Virtue, Phfew). With his new quartet, This Against That, he's landed on just the right format to optimally display his considerable talents, and his new disc, Look, has all the earmarks of an instant classic.

His band is certainly a formidable one. Let's start with pianist Andy Milne, a player of whom I have only slight knowledge. The Canadian-born, Brooklyn-based pianist and keysman not only leads the Nu Jazz band, Dapp Theory, but has played extensively with Steve Coleman and other M-Bass Collective members, Ravi Coltrane, and Carla Cook. I really love his piano concept: very mysterioso/minimalist, but capable of stunning solo statements. Check out his work on "The Tooth Fairy and Pistol Pete" to see what I mean.

Bassist Drew Gress certainly needs no introduction to anyone at all familiar with cutting edge jazz. A member of the brilliantly quirky Claudia Quintet, lead artist on the widely praised outings 7 Black Butterflies and Spin and Drift, as well as five other discs, contributor to the music of artists as diverse and renowned as Tim Berne, Don Byron, Uri Caine, Bill Carrothers, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Mat Maneri, Ben Perowski, and others, Gress is among the foremost practitioners of his instrument alive today. One of the things he brings to this music is a thorough knowledge of both classic and "out" jazz, plus the ability to move with perfect naturalness in each. His solos are masterpieces of economy and imagination.

This is certainly Mark Ferber's greatest outing. Given room to stretch out, he's all over his kit, now driving, now providing coloration, now percussively shaping everything around him. I also like how up-front he's recorded. Really, he sounds like about 10 great Downtown drummers all wrapped up into one, but still maintaining his own distinct approach and personality.

Leader Alessi has matured greatly since I last heard him (on Hissy Fit, I think), especially in the areas of band leadership and composition. He's always had a wonderfully warm yet dry trumpet sound, thoroughly modern, but steeped in the history of the instrument. For me the high point of his playing on this disc come in the four pieces that include Ravi Coltrane on tenor sax. Their quirky, edgy, harmonically daring interaction always intrigues even as their incredibly precise intonation astounds. Yet there's nothing either aridly academic or out-for-out's-sake unapproachable about their playing: just joyously eccentric conversation unfailingly listenable.

But it's the compositions (all by Alessi) that make the strongest impression. Far removed from both the hackneyed approach of wallowing in past jazz glories (especially, God forbid, hard bop) and superficially appropriating hare-today-goon-tomorrow pop-music ephemera (hip-hop, lounge, house), this music rings with hugely original and completely diverse compositional strategies, as if Tin Hat met the Claudia Quintet.

Certainly the finest music ever purveyed by that generally avant-garde label, Between the Lines, and some of the most provocative, listenable, and endearing music of the new century. This is what jazz is all about: forward-looking, but rooted in the past; edgy, but accessible; brilliant, but friendly. Absolutely not to be missed.

Average customer rating:

Between the Lines
Joan Hickey
Manufacturer: Oa2
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000HEWFV6
Release Date: 2006-10-17

Tracks:

Herbris
With A Song In My Heart
Francesca
The Man I Love
My Funny Valentine
Midnight Mood
Black Magic Woman
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Comptemporaneous
The Fruit

Average customer rating:

Lucked into this album
"Better Be Good To Me" NOT THE FULL ALBUM VERSION
Old Memories!
Uneven
A great secret of the era...

Spider/Between the Lines
Spider
Manufacturer: Renaissance
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000005NNZ
Release Date: 1997-02-18

Tracks:

New Romance (It's A Mystery)
Burning Love
Shady Lady
Everything Is Alright
Crossfire
Little Darlin'
Brotherly Love
What's Going On
Don't Waste Your Time
Zero
Change
I Think I Like It
Between The Lines
It Didn't Take Long
Going By
Better Be Good To Me
Can't Live This Way Anymore
Faces Are Changing
Go And Run
I Love

Customer Reviews:

Lucked into this album.......2007-06-06

I lucked into this at one of my local department stores. I was favorably impressed with the band. Some of the songs I consider favorites.

like anything else its' hit and miss, but there some nice pop rock going on here.

"Better Be Good To Me" NOT THE FULL ALBUM VERSION.......2007-03-11

I have to rate the "Spider LP" a "5" but I rate this CD release 1. This terrific original version of "Better Be Good To Me" is butchered for this release. Come on guys.

"BETTER BE GOOD TO ME" This is the ORIGINAL VERSION much ....I was going to say different but I really meant better than Tina's version sorry Tina nothing personal. Get the LP it's a nice press. A great early morning dance song. Thank you Lance Wise for turning me on to it.

Old Memories!.......2007-03-10

This is such a great collection...It also made me go out and get Hollys solo stuff!!! Lots of great songs that are fun to rock out to...Worth every penny!

Uneven.......2006-11-05

This is a reissue of Spider's first two albums. The first 10 songs (their first album) are brilliant! There's heaps of energy, good songwriting, and the *amazing* voice of Amanda Blue. The band includes Anton Fig (now the drummer in David Letterman's band) and Holly Knight (one of the top songwriters of the 1980s.) This was one of my favorite albums on vinyl and it holds up extremely well today.

The last 10 songs are less than spectacular - probably the result of a band returning to the studio before they were ready, with second-string songs. While the musicianship is good, the recording lacks energy - and the songs just aren't as good.

There is a slight technical problem with songs 5 & 10 - about a 30 second silence at the end of each song (these were at the end of each side of the vinyl album. Hmmm...) I used an mp3 editor to remove the silences & return the tracks to their original lengths for iTunes - most people aren't going to be able to do this.

Buy this CD for the first 10 songs - you won't be disappointed. Just ignore that stuff at the end.

A great secret of the era..........2006-02-12

Spider were not unkowns, they had a radio hit or two. But over time, the quality of these two albums has been emphasized by the effect the band had later on: Covers of these songs became definitive singles for other artists - particularly John Waite's on "Change" and Tina Turner's "Better Be Good to Me". Drummer Anton Fig became legendary for his nightly appearances with David Letterman. And keyboardist/writer Holly Knight had scores of Top Ten singles written for other artists: Animotion, Pat Benatar, etc.

These two albums on CD are a long-realized dream for the many avid fans of Spider. They may not have been "cutting edge" of anything, but they were a SOLID rock band with pop-accessible songs. Sounding somewhat like a cross between Cheap Trick, the Producers, and Fleetwood Mac, they mixed some neat new-wave aspects with 70's hard rock. Ballads were also a strong suit, and there are certainly #1 hits hidden in here for other artists looking for that perfect "cover" to do...

Average customer rating:

A Mike Stern Fave
Mike is constantly playing "on fire" wheter on cd or live!
the best rhytm-section I have ever heard

Between the Lines
Mike Stern
Manufacturer: Wea International
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002J74
Release Date: 2006-04-17

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Sunnyside
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Wing And A Prayer
Lose The Suit
You Never Know
Tell Me
With A Twist
True Enough
Pages
Bait Tone Blues

Customer Reviews:

A Mike Stern Fave.......2001-02-01

I'm a drummer and follow David Weckl where'r he goes. So I knew this album would be good from the start. I also find this album to be one of Mike Stern's best ('Is what it is' is another excellent one) - it blends the best of his melodic (mostly minor tendencies) with the occasional leadfoot on the distortion pedal to tread a very interesting jazz/rock line.

My only reservation is Mike's solos can get to be a little in sameness - even live at the Continental I was almost otherwise distracted at times wishing he'd get on with it and make a point.

Nevertheless excellent jazz/fusion. Highly recommended.

Mike is constantly playing "on fire" wheter on cd or live!.......1999-04-29

I own every album Mike did on his own and hopoefully most of the stuff he played on. His commitment to Music is always a priority. This Album features some great tunes and playing/A less busy Weckl creates a perfect cushion for Mike to explode. My favorite tune was "on the Sunnyside". I just got back from a burning show in Boston...Mike along with the band set things on fire. Few words about "Spajazzy" a band he played with on their first cd: the album is great and Mike sound even a little different...Check it out!

the best rhytm-section I have ever heard.......1998-12-23

Mike`s playing the guitar is very exciting for me. I am a drummer and 1 am very fascinated by Dave Weckl`s drumming. The grooves are very good and they combine it with a lot of jazz-elements. I like this record!!! Yours Bernie(15 Years)

Average customer rating:

Sublime

Winter Birds
John Lindberg
Manufacturer: Between-the-Lines
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0007RA79A
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Tracks:

Bam! Quatre
Bam! Cinq
Bam! Neuf
Bam! Onze
Bam! Sept
Winter Birds
Resurrection Of A Dormant Soul
Ether
Siladette Awakening
The Chicken Fix

Customer Reviews:

Sublime.......2005-07-14

From his auspicious beginnings in the late 1970's loft jazz scene; co-founding the String Trio of New York and on to leading a number of small ensembles, bassist John Lindberg is more than just a reliable sideman. A writer of engaging and enjoyable melodies, it is a shame that wider exposure has eluded him for so long. This second recording from his quartet will help make amends.

A continuation of sorts to 2003's "Ruminations Upon Ives and Gottschalk," Lindberg's new quartet album consists of material honed on the road, then perfected and expanded in the studio.

Lindberg leads a quartet with international flavor. The leader's bass playing veers from exploratory percussive manipulations and resonant bowing to in the pocket grooves, while Susie Ibarra's incomparable percussion excursions embody tonalities found the world over. Steve Gorn spends equal time not only on the more traditional soprano saxophone and clarinet, but bansuri flute as well. Baikida Carroll doubles on trumpet and flugelhorn for alternately brash and lyrical playing.

The tunes themselves are marvels of restrained exuberance. The five thematically connected miniatures that open the album display the quartet's ability to swing in different time signatures and genres. Vivid riffing and buoyant rhythm section work lead into the more meditative title track, a gentle excursion in mellifluous, relaxed swing. "Resurrection of a Dormant Soul" begins with adroit call and response between vigorously plucked bass and manic hand drumming before a bluesy line emerges with the bass gently walking into a funky vamp for Carroll's pliant trumpet and Gorn's exotic bansuri flute. Otherworldly tonalities introduce the ghostly, Asiatic meditation, "Ether." Lindberg's neo-classical bowing can be heard to best effect on the "The Siladette Awakening," a stately chamber-esque opus. Closing out the record on a high note, "The Chicken Fix" is down home gritty free bop with soul, replete with Carroll's gutbucket smears and growls.

Lindberg is well respected in the closed but fertile scene he inhabits, but this album should find him the sort of expanded audience his talent deserves.

Average customer rating:

Reconfigurations
Rajesh Mehta
Manufacturer: Between the Lines
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

India | India & Pakistan | International | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B000051XS5
Release Date: 2000-12-12

Tracks:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Average customer rating:

The Quintet Returns

Double Blues Crossing
Gerry Hemingway Quintet
Manufacturer: Between-the-Lines
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Release Date: 2005-09-13

Tracks:

A. Buddy Luckett's Dream By The Dry Grass Pt.1/B. Where The Once Never Blues
Buddy Luckett's Dream By The Dry Grass Pt.2
Don't Melt Away Pt. 1 & 2
It Ain't Slippery But Its Wet
Joe Cracklin Left This Before The River Got Him
Rallier
Night Town/Tent
Slowly Rising

Album Description

Gerry Hemingway's quintet presents its new, promising Double Blues Crossing, a one-hour trip through the spheres of Hemingway's compositions that promises a great listening experience!

Customer Reviews:

The Quintet Returns.......2005-09-15

Drummer, composer and bandleader Gerry Hemingway reformed his classic European Quintet for this session. Perhaps best known to casual jazz fans as Anthony Braxton's drummer in his 1980s quartet, Hemingway has a bountiful discography which his old European Quintet takes up a hefty chunk of. While now spending more time with his American quartet and other, smaller ensembles, Hemingway decided it was time to reform this classic group to tackle some new material with some new techniques. Although Hemingway has integrated sampling technology into his acoustic units in the past, perhaps most successfully on his "Perfect World" suite from 1996, (which also featured a similar quintet line-up) here he uses it with a newfound subtlety and nuance that borders on the sublime.

The album's self-titled centerpiece, a seven part suite, launches the album utilizing this technology. Beginning with the scratchy rhythm of an old vinyl record playing folksy fiddle tunes, this sample is embellished by loops and delays until Kermit Driscoll enters on electric bass with a line that complements the sampled phrase. The rest of the ensemble chimes in with a buoyant riff eventually leading into quiet improvisation, call and response sections and solo cadenzas. The suite features bluesy smeared trombone lines, frenzied cello work-outs, stately clarinet improvisations and the sort of written ensemble counterpoint that is typically reserved for advanced chamber music. The sampling makes a reprise at the close of the suite to conceptually bring it full circle.

"Night Town/Tent" is the most "classical" sounding piece on the record, its pointillistic classicism featuring delicate marimba playing and metered string responses. Frank Gratkowski's jaunty Dolphy-esque bass clarinet solo opens "Rallier" until the rest of the band gradually enters to build from soaring lines to a monstrous swinging riff. It is reminiscent of Hemingway's old quintet writing and a joy to hear again. Featuring an elastically modulated rhythm that veers from casual swing to manic flight, the piece is a tour de force for the ensemble including a phenomenal drum solo from the leader.

"Slowly Rising," closes the album on a pleasantly familiar note. A folksy African Highlife of sorts with a pleasantly laconic beat, poppy bass, simple cello ostinato counterpoint and gentle theme and variations soloing between the horns, it is becoming something of a tradition in Hemingway's discography. Both 1996s "Perfect World" and 2003s "Devil's Paradise" closed with similar pieces.

Hemingway's music is complex, but at its core, it is also heartfelt and truly beautiful. A welcome return and immediately enjoyable in a way that some advanced avant garde music is not, here's hoping that "Double Blues Crossing" finds the audience a talented artist like Hemingway deserves.