Mario Rechtern, Eric Zinman, Zorn

Saxophonist Mario Rechtern I have not heard that often. Eric Zinman I have. On Zorn (Improvising Beings ib07) they set sail into free territory in a series of duets dedicated to singer Linda Sharrock. Mario digs in with swirling and earthy soprano, alto and baritone; Eric responds with maelstroms of cascading piano.

This is music of the energy sort much of the time. It comes off sincerely, effectively and committedly. Rechtern has a sound and an energy level that one might describe as post-Ayler. There's a little of a vibrato and a wealth of overblown sounds and rapid passagework. Zinman has it covered with post-Taylor all-overness, an outness that is by no means easy to put forward on this high level.

Together they work some free-form magic. Will this win a Grammy any time soon? No. But of course music like this doesn't get consideration in those circles. Nonetheless there's plenty of good free blowing to be had here. Mario's baritone, especially, gets an edge that Eric responds to dynamically. But it all gets in your face in marvelous ways. Now I'd love to hear these two with a rhythm section.

Joe McPhee, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Brooklyn DNA

Windmaster Joe McPhee and contrabassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten team up once again to pay tribute to the borough of New York City that, both historically and in the present, has formed a vital center for jazz musicians, and undoubtedly showcases as much of the music as any location in the United States today. Appropriately Brooklyn DNA (Clean Feed 244) is the title of the CD.

It's a wide-ranging series of duets that have plenty of freedom, structured by the logic of the artists' approach and the melodic themes that intertwine with the improvisations in many of the segments. A freely conceived theme-and-variations approach has been an important aspect of Joe McPhee's work over the years and it continues on here at key points.

Flaten brings up the bottom with intelligent and resourceful all-over playing. He has technique and imagination. He seems to thrive on the open freedom such a duet provides. McPhee creates his vital presence on pocket trumpet, soprano and alto.

The music comes at you with energy and a depth charge or gets contemplative. There are segments that imply a free pulse and those that phrase openly without reference to time.

By now Joe McPhee is a sort of modern avant institution. He is in a classic present. Ingebrigt Haken Flaten gives the music the thrust it needs to move forward. It's a great combination and they are at their best.

Sunny Murray in Duet with Sabir Mateen: "We Are Not at the Opera," 1998

Many if not most of the readers of this blog will know that drummer Sunny Murray is the godfather of "free" drumming. He played with critically important improvisers of the new thing musical explosion in the early sixties (like Ayler, Taylor) and he developed a uniquely effective "freetime" style, one that rarely stated an overt pulse, but proffered a running commentary and complement to the solos and bass punctuations. That's textbook fact. But listen to him in an especially exposed situation of duet or trio and you realize (if you didn't before) that he gets his own sound on the drums too. The cymbals and hi-hat don't ride as much as they speak in tones. And the same applies to the bass drum, snare and toms. It's drum melody, noise/pitch composing of the spontaneous kind.

A couple of years ago I reviewed for Cadence the 2-CD Eremite set Perles Noires, which documented a series of live dates with Murray and reedist Sabir Mateen in duet and in trio with other players coming in and out of the playing situation. Now that is an excellent set. Today though we backtrack to another similar outing of Sunny and Sabir doing a single gig in Amherst, Mass, 1998. We are Not At the Opera (Eremite 014) brings you almost 70 minutes of prime Murray and Mateen, alone and unaided by the cushioning that additional voices provide.

First off, Sabir is in excellent form, jumping from alto to tenor to flute and always fruitful with free ideas and sounds. Sunny too gets his A-game going. The sound of the drums are quite beautfully Murray-esque, thundering, setting up a wave of sound, making free melody in tandem with Mr. Mateen's lucid speechifying. Something else too, as anyone who's listened to Murray through the years knows: he does fall into loose pulses as he feels the urge, and he does them swingingly but wide open in terms of feel.

Sunny has always managed to find the right players for his groups over the years. In Sabir he finds the soulful and spacey hand-in-hand. What you get is what was played on that day. It was a very good day! Highly recommended.