Author:
Source: Point of Departure
Philadelphia’s Sonic Liberation Front is well on its way to becoming one of the more important American ensembles of the decade. Their mix of post-Coleman jazz, Afro-Cuban folkloric music and electronica manages to be immediately accessible without diluting any of its constituent parts. As was the case on their two previous albums, the writing of percussionist Kevin Diehl, alto saxophonist Dan Scofield and bassist Matt Engle on Change Over Time conveys not simply a smart distillation of composers spanning Joe Henderson and Roscoe Mitchell, but a keen ear for how jagged phrases and unusual structural devices will be buoyed by their drum corps. The drummers also have the right touch in supporting soloists like Engle, Scofield and trumpeter Bart Miltenberger; individual rhythms are well-defined, and the resulting polyrhythms have plenty of heat, but they keep the soloist front and center. One benefit of this restraint, if it can be characterized as such, is that when the percussionists (a contingent rounded out by Ira Bond, Rich Robinson and Chuckie Joseph, whose singing and guitar supply a tranquil mid-album aside) really let loose, there is a discernable spike. There is a similar modesty to Diehl’s use of electronics, which is particularly effective when resembling throat-sung drones. All of these elements fit together so easily that their on-paper disparity is inaudible, which goes a long way to explaining how Sonic Liberation Front gets you moving before you understand why.