{"id":950,"date":"2009-03-17T09:33:58","date_gmt":"2009-03-17T14:33:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hightwo.com\/ht\/?p=950"},"modified":"2009-03-17T09:33:58","modified_gmt":"2009-03-17T14:33:58","slug":"950-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/950-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviews – HNA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: mpardaiolo<\/span>
\nSource: Audiversity<\/p>\n

Link to this article<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOrnette Coleman is the same as Charlie Parker, but he did it a different, the opposite way. Charlie Parker did everything that he did based on knowing harmony and chords. Ornette Coleman did everything he did based on knowing how to reach inside of himself and create music intuitively.\u201d
\n—Marion Brown<\/a>, 2003 in an interview with Fred Jung on allaboutjazz.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Though John Coltrane is the well-established hero in Brown\u2019s descriptive pairing of the quintessential bop saxophonist and the original avant-garde innovator, Brown himself, along with other sax players like Archie Shepp or Dewey Redman, have also brought vital blends of chordal improvisation and borderless imagination to jazz. Almost unanimously described as over-looked or under-sung, Marion Brown was an inside member of the mid-60s NYC vanguard jazz movement recording alongside and inspiring\/drawing inspiration from Coltrane, Coleman and Shepp. In fact, after relocating from Atlanta to New York in 1965, his very first recording session was for Coltrane\u2019s now legendary Ascension<\/span>, which is often pinpointed as the moment the celebrated saxophonist emerged as the avant-garde spiritual leader. The other two saxophonists Coltrane brought in to help inspire his own sound in new, fresh directions, Shepp and Pharoah Sanders, went on to well-revered careers, but Brown, though he recorded a number of respected albums over the last forty years (nonetheless for the likes of Impulse!, ESP, ECM, Fontana, Freedom and Black Lion), has remained thoroughly under the radar. Would I have ever imagined Warn Defever\u2019s genre-defying indie-pop outfit His Name is Alive to be the group to pay proper respects to Brown? No, but Defever is an underappreciated musician and composer in his own right, so perhaps it is only proper.<\/p>\n

For the last seventeen years, Defever has been experimenting with His Name is Alive\u2019s dream-pop sound, from the found sound and tape loop obsessed 1990-debut Livonia<\/span> to last September\u2019s Xmmer<\/span>, in which the band explores a myriad of styles from Afro-pop to folk that shimmer with pristine production. No matter his stylistic interest of the moment, Defever\u2019s music in any of its concoctions is underpinned by the experimental and spiritual aesthetic established by Brown\u2019s mid-60s jazz scene. Music should never be paint-by-numbers or intently confined to a specific genre\u2019s framework to express an idea; it should be the artist\u2019s expression of feeling regardless of predetermined principles, melodic, atonal or otherwise. Maybe Defever is inspired by Brown\u2019s particular idiom in the same way Coltrane was back in \u201965 and set out to use this vernacular to push his own musical expression in new directions. Or perhaps he is just a fan who wanted to bring attention to the overlooked saxophonist. Either way, Sweet Earth Flower<\/span> is one of the most inspired and interesting albums I have heard all year.<\/p>\n

Originally intended as a one-off concert at the University of Michigan Art Museum to pay tribute to Brown, the success of the evening sparked follow-up recording sessions from the talented ensemble. Including members of NOMO and Antibalas, this concoction of His Name is Alive pulls songs from both Brown\u2019s initial mid-60s period including cuts from 1965\u2019s Marion Brown Quartet<\/span> on ESP and 1966\u2019s Juba-Lee<\/span> on Fontana along with his mid-70s reemergence on Impulse! after relocating to Europe, including \u201873\u2019s Geechee Recollections<\/span>, \u201874\u2019s Sweet Earth Flying<\/span> and \u201875\u2019s Vista<\/span>. Three of the eight tracks are from the original concert, while the other five tracks include two studio renditions of the live tracks and three other interpretations from the nine-piece band.<\/p>\n

I would go into the particular approach for each song, but Thom Jurek\u2019s review on the All Music Guide<\/a> is more knowledgeable and on point than I would ever be able to do, so I respectfully nod in you in that direction. The music is that of delicately toned, almost ambient-leaning non-linear jazz. The players mesh seamlessly: Defever\u2019s guitar work rarely takes spotlight (nor does any instrument really), restraining instead to a barrage of differently approached ostinatos or hypnotic chords; Defever, Elliot Bergman and Erik Hall\u2019s electric and acoustic keys paint lush, detailed and poignant images with their sensual melodic improvisations; tenor saxophonist Bergman, trumpeter Justin Walter and alto saxophonist Michael Herbst accentuate and solo with subtlety, driving each track with modality akin to the more reflective and melodic momen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: mpardaiolo Source: Audiversity Link to this article \u201cOrnette Coleman is the same as Charlie Parker, but he did it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","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-950","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":907,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-slf\/","url_meta":{"origin":950,"position":0},"title":"Reviews – SLF","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Source: Jazzwise (UK) \"Excellent Philadelphia octet centering on the Yoruba drums of Kevin Diehl, with Ornette\/Cherrylike horns, chant and hints of electronics in a hypnotic set played with both intensity and a sense of abandon.\"","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":950,"position":1},"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":4349,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-sxs-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":950,"position":2},"title":"Reviews – SXS","author":"admin","date":"March 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Shaun Brady Source: Philadelphia City Paper May 6, 2008 Link to this article \"Annie, are you OK?\" The sudden appearance of Michael Jackson's \"Smooth Criminal\" over the formerly silent speakers of the Rittenhouse Square coffee shop where the four members of Shot x Shot had spent 45 minutes discussing\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":880,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/reviews-shot-x-shot-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":950,"position":3},"title":"Reviews – Shot X Shot","author":"admin","date":"March 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Shaun Brady Source: Philadelphia City Paper May 2008 link to this article \"Annie, are you OK?\" The sudden appearance of Michael Jackson's \"Smooth Criminal\" over the formerly silent speakers of the Rittenhouse Square coffee shop where the four members of Shot x Shot had spent 45 minutes discussing their\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":900,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/900-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":950,"position":4},"title":"Reviews – Dave Burrell","author":"admin","date":"March 11, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Nate Dorward Source: Exclaim Link to this article Dave Burrell\u2019s first disc for High Two was Expansion, featuring the Full Blown Trio, his group with William Parker and Andrew Cyrille; the music ran the gamut from sonic abstraction to Irving Berlin nostalgia. His new disc, Momentum, is credited to\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":912,"url":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/912-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":950,"position":5},"title":"Reviews – SLF","author":"admin","date":"March 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Jeff Stockton Source: All About Jazz Link to this article Twelve musicians play in the Sonic Liberation Front on Change Over Time, but only three appeared on the group's previous release, 2004\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s critically acclaimed Ashe a Go- Go, including musical directors Kevin Diehl and Chuckie Joseph. As you would\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\/950","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=950"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/950\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=950"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=950"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hightwo.net\/two\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=950"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}