a modified version of this piece was published in the September 2018 issue of
"The NYC Jazz Record"
William
Hooker, Pillars…at the Portal (Mulatta, 2018)
CD review
by John Pietaro
The
storied career of William Hooker has traversed sounds, genres and ensembles,
usually under his own direction, his drumset the undeniably principal voice. Hooker’s
projects have often focused on cultural and political matters of import, conjuring
a creative expanse along the way, but on Pillars…at
the Portal, no other lure is necessary to hold you to your stereo.
Blakey-like,
he leads another youthful band, another array drawn from the most creative of
the moment, but Hooker has landed on something particularly special here. This
ensemble picks up on where Weather Report left off—early Weather Report,
that is—blended with equal parts AACM and downtown NYC. The drummer is no
stranger to any of these schools of envelope-pushing and casts rolling,
thunderous commentary throughout. Listeners will note Hooker’s trademark vocal
direction from behind the kit, shouting uproariously to his young charges as
the sounds build to a boil.
The electric
guitar of Anthony Pirog is in the front line and stands out both independent of
and orchestrally within the reeds of Jon Irabagon (soprano and tenor
saxophones) and James Brandon Lewis (tenor). Any one of these monstrous improvisers
could have carried the front alone so as a section (“Proving Ground” and
“Committed” are notable examples), the thicket is stirring. Pirog opens the
album on “Ray of Will” with a loudly growling effects-drenched soundscape that leads
to dry, close-miked Reichian group hand-claps moving in and out of phase. This
intriguing intro brings us into the piece proper with a driving quarter-note
groove that evoked nostalgic memories of Miroslav Vitous and Eric Gravatt,
constructed here by the leader and young, gifted bassist Luke Stewart. Pirog’s
effects at points sound synth-like, dropping in isolated notes, until he
unleashes a screaming, contorting solo. It calls out the saxophonists who
create an explosive double-time free jazz foray. It seems clear that most of
what we hear on this disc is wholly improvised, but far from mindless blowing,
this is creativity of a truly advanced level. This is the shit.
Throughout,
the front line is given ample space to speak and Lewis only verifies what people
have been saying for years now: he stands tall among the best of the
30-something lions. Lewis consistently produces artful, Trane-inspired work,
but in this setting seems pushed into another zone. Irabagon is already known
as a “jazz subverter”, so must have been the first-call for this gig. While
both are goaded to play harder, louder, faster, one can feel the deft touch and
tone that is Lewis’ musical voice. Irabagon too has a marked inside voice (so to speak), but revels
in the world of sub-tones. Pirog, noted for his experimental Cuneform albums,
soars as comfortably in free-flight as in playing structured melodic unisons
with horns. Hendrixian doesn’t begin to describe his ample repertoire. And so
then, the drumset of William Hooker, aggressively maintaining the unity, the
agitation and the sheer joy of free expression. Let’s call this music in spite
of the Trump era.
-------
1.
Ray
of Will
2.
Ray
of Purporse
3.
Comes
into View
4.
Initiation of Decision
5.
Livingness
6.
To
Be and Do
7.
Proving
Ground
8.
Committed
No comments:
Post a Comment