Music Review: Fred Anderson -
21st Century Chase: 80th Birthday Bash
At The Velvet Lounge
Jazz musicians must really love what they do. How else can you
explain spending a lifetime playing music and rarely receiving the
recognition your talent deserves.
Occasionally, for one reason or another, a jazz musician's name will
somehow manage to come to the attention of more than just those who are
aficionados of the genre, but unfortunately it's not usually until
after their dead, which means that some of the most innovative and
brilliant musicians of our generation are working in relative obscurity
and creating music that the majority of us will never hear.
Unfortunately we're the ones who are the real losers, because we miss
out on some truly awe inspiring music.
Now it's true that the strain of jazz known as avant-garde can be a
little inaccessible at times to some people, but that's primarily
because they have very little exposure to it. Like any art form, to
properly appreciate it one needs to have an understanding of what's
going on, and the only way that can be achieved is by listening to it.
Out of what at first might sound like so much noise, patterns, and
motifs begin to appear and are then replayed with parts removed, added,
or changed in some manner, that gives new emphasis to the music. Much
like abstract art there is no specific object for the listener to hang
on to, rather they have to find their won way into the music via some
less concrete path like emotions.
The other thing that listeners have to be aware of is how much of
what they are listening to is being created in front of them and that
pieces will change each time they are played and depending on who is
playing them. You have to surrender any conceptions you might have held
about "songs", and start thinking of a tune as a collection of notes to
be used as inspiration, not an end in itself. So while you might hear
something akin to what you think of as a melody at some point, those
notes will be folded, bent, mutilated, and spindled in any manner of
ways over the course of a performance.
Formed in 1965 the
Association For The Advancement Of Creative Musicians
(AACM) of Chicago has been the breeding ground for some of the most
innovative and creative voices in modern African American music and
most specifically jazz. Tenor saxophone player
Fred Anderson
was one of the founding members of the AACM and has been a key figure
in the reinterpretation of classic be-bop standards from the forties in
the new style. So it's only fitting that for his eightieth birthday
bash at the club he has operated for years, the
Velvet Lounge, one set was devoted to re-workings of Dextor Gordon and Wardell Gray's "The Chase" from 1947. It's only appropriate that
Delmark Records,
one of the first labels to record members of the AACM, were there for
that gig in March 2009 and have now released it as the CD,
21st. Century Chase: 80th Birthday Bash, Live At The Velvet Lounge. On that night Anderson was joined by his long time collaborator and fellow tenor saxophone player
Kidd Jordan, plus a backing band made up of Jeff Parker on guitar, Harrison Bankhead on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums.
"The Chase" was written for two saxophones, one of many pieces from
the early days of jazz that deliberately included two tenor saxophone
parts so as to encourage competition between players. On 21st Century Chase
Anderson and Jordan have taken two cracks at the tune, with "21st
Century Chase Pt. l" checking in at thirty-five minutes long and "21st
Century Chase Pt. ll" coming in at a much brisker fourteen minutes. I
think what amazed me the most about listening to "Part l" is not once
was I aware of its length. I have to admit to being a bit daunted at
the prospect of listening to a jazz piece over a half-hour in length.
However once you become immersed in the music, time becomes irrelevant.
Anderson and Jordan don't make any concessions to their listeners
either. There's no gentle easing into the track with the playing of a
melody that will lay the foundation for improvising. Instead the song
begins with the saxophone issuing a challenge to the listeners that
they are in for anything but an easy ride. Yet, there's something
compelling about its near dissonance that grabs you attention and pulls
you into the song. From the initial opening the piece then continues on
as the two saxophone players chase each other up one side of the music
and down the other, While I guess someone more familiar with the
playing styles of each man would be able to discern who is playing
when, their playing was so seamlessly intertwined it was nearly
impossible for me to tell when one man left off and the other began.
While "Chase Parts l & ll" featured the two saxophones
predominately, the final cut on the CD, "Ode To Alvin Fielder" allows
the rest of the band to shine as well. In fact guitar player Jeff
Parker, is front and centre for a good deal of the cut and shows that
jazz guitar can be every bit as inventive and exciting as a horn any
day of the week. Not content to be merely fast and play plenty of
notes, he's also able to take the themes he is expressing and bend them
into various shapes and sizes. He manipulates the music in such a way
that you can almost see taking form in front of you.
Avant-garde, improvised, or new jazz — whatever you want to call it
— is an acquired taste. It requires patience and a willingness to
listen and learn on the part of the audience. Those who are willing to
make the effort to appreciate this music will find themselves entering
into a world where music comes to life in a way they've never
experienced before. As one of the founders of the AACM Fred Anderson
has been in forefront of this musical exploration for more then forty
years. Listening to his latest recording, 21st Century Chase: 80th Birthday Bash At The Velvet Lounge,
is an opportunity to hear him apply his years of experience and
expertise as an improviser and creative force and revel in the results.
This is music at its freest and most abandoned, and while it may not be
the most accessible genre in the world, its definitely one of the most
exciting, and this chance to hear it played by one of the masters
shouldn't be missed.
BLOGCRITICS Music
Richard
Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon
IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the
world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and
opines on the world as he sees …
The
idea of the tenor battle, two saxophonists squared off in mock combat
against each other, has had a long tradition in jazz, be it Coleman
Hawkins and Lester Young, Dexter Gordon and Wardell Grey or Sonny
Rollins and John Coltrane. Most of these “battles” are tongue in cheek
affairs, as is the case here, where old friends Kidd Jordan and Fred
Anderson take up the tenor saxophone chase, fronting a fine trio of
Jeff Parker on guitar, Harrison Bankhead on bass and Chad Taylor on
drums. This group came together to celebrate Anderson’s 80th birthday
at his famous club, The Velvet Lounge and update the grand tradition
with a fresh and free tenor duet. On the compact disc, there are three
long freely improvised tracks where the two principals bob and weave
around each other, not so much like heavyweight boxers, but lithe and
nimble dancers. The differences in tone and they way each man
approaches improvisation makes for an interesting contrast and keeps
the music fresh throughout. “21st Century Chase Part I” is an epic of
endurance at well over a half an hour. Jordan and Anderson trade ideas,
collaborate, contrast and use all manner of shading and subtlety in an
extraordinary performance. “Part II” starts off a little ragged, but
when Jordan starts quoting snippets of John Coltrane, it seems to
inspire everyone, and soon everybody is back on track. “Ode To Alvin
Fielder” honors an under-appreciated musician with a grounded
performance that allows each saxophonist to take subtle and thoughtful
solos. The compact disc ends there, but the DVD version of the album
has a special bonus track with the legendary bassist Henry Grimes
sitting in on the freewheeling “Gone But Not Forgotten.” The band gets
an excellent free groove going with rock solid foundation of Grimes on
bass and Bankhead (in a killer red and black top hat and tails getup)
moving to cello. The DVD is filmed from a few different angles, and
there are some trippy special effects thrown in at times, but the do
not cause a fuss as the focus is squarely on the music. There's also a
commentary track from Anderson on the DVD, so it is well worth
investing a few extra dollars in the video if you are so inclined. This
was an interesting and at times exhilarating album to listen to (or
watch.) Anderson and Jordan are in excellent form and they draw on the
entire history of the tenor saxophone in jazz, at times referencing
swing, bop and free in the pursuit of their music.
21st Century Chase - amazon.com
Posted by
Tim Niland
http://jazzandblues.blogspot.com/2009/10/fred-anderson-21st-century-chase-cddvd.html