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Scanner with the Post Modern Jazz Quartet: Blink Of An Eye
ByScanner began producing music in the late 1980s/early 1990s by pirating cellphone calls and working them into his electronic sound, an approach that fits nicely with pianist Matthew Shipp's "nubop" concept. Rimbaud and Shipp built this recording around the tradition and lineup of the famed Modern Jazz Quartetpiano, vibes, bass, and drums. Here, Shipp is joined by vibraphonist Khan Jamal, bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Michael Thompson.
Rimbaud's contribution, unlike a turntable DJ/producer, isn't one of mucking things up or shepherding the jazz into club music. He prefers to accentuate the concepts of the quartet instead of distract from it. Shipp and company are content to advance the original Modern Jazz Quartet's approach to the traditions of jazz into the 21st century.
Rimbaud applies synth washes, barely noticeable at times. Echoey reverberations of the music-making are ghostly and wistful. Jamal's ringing vibraphone, on the standard "Blues In C," echoes back upon the players, as Scanner manipulates the reverb, and Shipp searches out notes between eerie synth jabs. The electronics never feel foreign to the quartet's progression, nor do they deflect the drive. Previous Shipp discs, including Equilibrium (Thirsty Ear, 2004) and Harmony And Abyss (Thirsty Ear, 2003), may have set the table for this collaboration, but here the fusion (bad word) of jazz and electronics is a success.
From the jazz tradition, the band moves toward an open and rapid groove on "Most With the Least," as Rimbaud whispers with electronic mice, the producer even pulling out his voice samples on "Not A Frame Earlier Or Later." The disc ends with Shipp's nubop groove on "Beyond The Edge Of The Frame," perhaps hinting at the next progression for this collaboration.
Track Listing
Shadow Splice; Blues In C; A Galaxy Of Winking Dots; Not A Frame Earlier Or Later; Involuntary Reflex; Most With the Least; Dreaming Of You At My Side; The Decisive Moment; Cuts And Shadows; Beyond The Edge Of The Frame.
Personnel
Robin Rimbaud
turntableRobin Rimbaud: producer; Khan Jamal: vibraphone; Matthew Shipp: piano; Michael Bisio: bass; Michael Thompson: drums.
Album information
Title: Blink Of An Eye | Year Released: 2010 | Record Label: Thirsty Ear Recordings
Comments
About Robin Rimbaud
Instrument: Turntable
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