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File under: Free Improvisation

Oluyemi Thomas, Sirone, Michael Wimberly

Beneath Tones Floor

Label: NoBusiness Records

Format: LP

Genre: Jazz

In stock

€18.00
VAT exempt
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300 copies. Combining the beauty of art, poetry and music this beautiful package (available as compact disc or LP) makes for a fitting send off for the great bassist Sirone who passed away not long after this recording was completed. Along with Sirone’s deep and resonant bass, the musicians in this collective performance include Oluyemi Thomas on bass clarinet, flute, soprano, musette and percussion (he also composed the music) and Michael Wimberly on drums and percussion. Like the meditative poem that is included in the liner notes and the web site, the music unfolds gradually, with a sense of calm dignity that shows the musicians compassion for the performance and the Cosmos at large.

There is spaciousness amongst the trio that allows their music to develop in an organic and unhurried manner. Despite the relative quiet of the music, they cover a lot of ground, especially rhythmically, performing tracks like “Silence on the Move” where the shifting musical center creates an alluring and hypnotic sense of suspended animation. “Reflections of Silence, Painting Silence, Images Of Silence” shows the band sculpting sound and the lack of sound in an manner reminiscent of Roscoe Mitchell’s classic early recordings. The trios ability to improvise together as a collective unit and to sculpt the sound world around them makes this an impressive recording that deserves careful consideration and close listening.

Tim Niland

Details
File under: Free Improvisation
Cat. number: NBLP 29
Year: 2010
Notes:
Recorded at the Brecht Forum 2008. Edition of 300 records.
This is deep music, as its title suggests, free in the associations, but not in loudness or volume, quite on the contrary, it is about timbre, about the coloring of feeling, the expression of universal emotions that can only manifest themselves through music ... and all this in a quite intimate settingRead more

So far, I have only reviewed one CD, Nigeria, by saxophonist Oluyemi Thomas, and I praised it for its poetic power.That I have not reviewed many albums by him has more to do with his limited number of recordings than with the quality of his playing.

Thomas, wo plays bass clarinet, flute, soprano, musette and percussion on this album is joined by the late Sirone on bass and Michael Wimberly on drums. As on "Nigeria", the poetic power is still present, in the best of free jazz improvisations, with incredible openness, a total lack of structure, plenty of soloing. The album was recorded in 2008, in the year before the great bassist passed away. And for his fans - this is a must-have : there is as much soloing by Sirone as by the reedist, a real treat.

The absolute power of this album is the common language of all three musicians. Thomas' is much more an emotional player than a technical performer, and his notes are warm, sensitive, expressive, full of spiritual and human physicality at the same time, qualities that are all too present in Sirone's playing too. I did not know Michael Wimberley, and he is great in this setting, often taking a step back, letting the two other players do their thing, but he is magnificent in his rumbling duet with Thomas on "Dream Worlds".

This is deep music, as its title suggests, free in the associations, but not in loudness or volume, quite on the contrary, it is about timbre, about the coloring of feeling, the expression of universal emotions that can only manifest themselves through music ... and all this in a quite intimate setting. Expansive intimacy is the paradox that comes to mind, and possibly describes the inherent tension in the music quite well.

Beautiful!

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