Dave Rempis

 Dave Rempis is a mid-career artist whose deep roots in the Chicago improvised music scene have by now stretched themselves out across the world through his multiple ongoing collaborations. But he waited a long time to put out this first solo recording. Highly aware of the singular statements in this context put forth by artists such as Coleman Hawkins, Eric Dolphy, Anthony Braxton, Steve Lacy, Joe McPhee, Evan Parker, Ab Baars, and Mats Gustafsson to name just a few, left him wary of taking this challenge on too soon. But in the fall of 2016, the time felt right. So he decided to combine the development of a unique solo vocabulary on his instrument into the larger goal of exploring and expanding the crucial network of artists, presenters, and fans that support improvised music in the United States. In the spring of 2017, he brought the idea to fruition by undertaking a massive journey across the country, performing thirty-one solo concerts in twenty-seven different cities, while also collaborating with local artists at each stop. This singular odyssey gave him the opportunity to delve methodically, night after night, into his own process towards solo improvisation. It also gave him a new understanding of the multiplicity of perspectives playing themselves out in the improvised music scene across the country. These lessons had a great effect on the music presented on this recording, culled from several live performances along the way. And the record and overall project were titled with this informal but essential artistic network in mind – Lattice.

The music on Lattice is expansive, incorporating Rempis’ interest in his own Greek musical heritage, his longstanding interest in the many varied musical traditions of Africa, his love for American jazz, and his enthusiasm for the seemingly endless sonic possibilities of the saxophone itself. The sheer physicality of his approach – sometimes achingly gentle, and sometimes a full blown fervor that feels as though it may burst the horn open at its seams, is palpable on all of these pieces. But that raw, human, almost vocal quality combines with a studied control of spontaneous form and structure in each piece to produce explorations of remarkable depth and focus.