{"id":948,"date":"2009-03-17T09:31:50","date_gmt":"2009-03-17T14:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hightwo.com\/ht\/?p=948"},"modified":"2009-03-17T09:31:50","modified_gmt":"2009-03-17T14:31:50","slug":"reviews-hna-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-hna-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviews – HNA"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>Author: Troy Collins<\/a>
\nSource: All about Jazz
\nLink to this article<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>
\nSweet Earth Flower: a tribute to Marion Brown<\/em> is His Name Is Alive’s meditative ode to the work of the under-sung free jazz saxophonist. Veterans of the American rock underground, His Name Is Alive has been exploring various musical tangents since the early 1990s, slowly moving closer and closer to a more improvisational, jazz-oriented base.The brainchild of Michigan-based, multi-instrumentalist\/producer Warren Defever, His Name Is Alive was initially signed to the illustrious British label 4AD, a relative rarity for an American band. Ethereal and spacious, the band’s sound has grown gradually over the years, incorporating funk, soul, R&B, folk, garage rock and world music into their expansive sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collaborating with members of the Afro-beat horn ensembles Antibalas and Nomo, His Name Is Alive blends atmospheric electronic textures with reverberant horns for a sensitive tribute. Shuffling along simmering rubato grooves and psychedelic soundscapes, the assembled forces congeal in a wholly organic fashion. Electronic piano washes refract over arco bass drones and shimmering percussion, while plangent horns drift in and out of the mix.<\/p>\n

Drawing stylistic inspiration from Brown’s introspective 1970s period lends a serene and exploratory feel to the session. His Name Is Alive brings a sense of respectful admiration to these pieces, honoring Brown’s spirit while making its own subtle mark on the work. Only on Harold Budd’s “Bismillahi ‘Rrahmani ‘Rrahim” does the band break out with a cathartic electric guitar feedback and multiphonic sax duo that reaches for the heavens.<\/p>\n

An ideal introduction to jazz for the novice, Sweet Earth Flower<\/em> is less turbulent than Brown’s earlier and more readily available music, capturing the spirit of Brown’s later oeuvre with considered restraint and focused determination.
\nVisit His Name Is Alive<\/a> on the web.
\nTrack listing: Sweet Earth Flying; Juba Lee; Capricorn Moon (live); November Cotton Flower; Bismillahi ‘Rrahmani ‘Rrahim; Geechee Recollections (I); Geechee Recollections (II); Sweet Earth Flying (live).<\/p>\n

Personnel: Warren Defever: guitar, piano; Elliot Bergman: tenor saxophone, Rhodes; Jamie Saltsman: double bass; Justin Walter: trumpet; Jamie Easter: percussion; Dan Piccolo: drums, percussion; Michael Herbst: alto saxophone; Erik Hal: electric piano; Olman Piedra: congas, cajon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Troy Collins Source: All about Jazz Link to this article Sweet Earth Flower: a tribute to Marion Brown is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_eb_attr":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[47,84,85,50,60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artists","category-his-name-is-alive","category-ht014","category-releases","category-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","acf":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":940,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-hna-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":0},"title":"Reviews – HNA","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Jason Ferguson Source: Orlando Weekly Link to this article Many fans of His Name Is Alive may be struck by the oddity of their favorite dreampop act delivering an album of cosmic free-jazz. But HNIA main man Warn Defever\u2019s studio, Brown Rice, isn\u2019t named after a Don Cherry album\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":944,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-hna-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":1},"title":"Reviews – HNA","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: John DeFore Source: San Antonio Current Link to this article This month\u2019s most surprising jazz-pop blend comes from the uncategorizable (and hard-to-find-in-stores) group His Name is Alive, whose latest, Sweet Earth Flower (High Two) centers on compositions by little-known avant-garde saxophonist Marion Brown. A lovely, atmospheric disc that mixes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/great-reviews-for-his-name-is-alives-marion-brown-cd\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":2},"title":"Great reviews for His Name is Alive’s Marion Brown CD","author":"Daniel Piotrowski","date":"April 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"When we started telling people we were gonna release a jazz tribute album from a rock band, some were quite suspicious. Those who have heard, now also believe. A few months after its release, His Name Is Alive's daring and sensitive tribute to Marion Brown, Sweet Earth Flower, is already\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "His Name is Alive"","block_context":{"text":"His Name is Alive","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/his-name-is-alive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sweet Earth Flower","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/ht014-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1985,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/hnia-remembers-marion-brown\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":3},"title":"HNIA remembers Marion Brown","author":"Daniel Piotrowski","date":"October 20, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We are sad to hear last week of the passing of jazz icon Marion Brown. Our friend, Warn Defever of His Name is Alive, talks about the influence and importance of Marion in MetroTimes Detroit: http:\/\/blogs.metrotimes.com\/index.php\/2010\/10\/warn-defever-remembers-marion-brown\/","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":954,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/954-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":4},"title":"Reviews -HNA","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Trevor Tremaine Source: Glamor Profession Link to this article The occasional inspired detours aside, the venerable Detroit-area indie rock institution His Name is Alive are more commonly heralded for their playfully experimental, soulful dream pop. Taking heed, I presumed the \u201ctribute\u201d of the disc\u2019s title to be of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":932,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reivews-hna\/","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":5},"title":"Reivews – HNA","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Chris May Source: All About Jazz Link to this article Starting with a bold and beautiful idea\u2014to perform a concert tribute to an iconic musician from an earlier age while that musician is still with us\u2014His Name Is Alive have gone on to record an album of such oh-my-god\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Artists"","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}