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Ches Smith and These Arches: Hammered
By Track review of "Animal Collection"Smith's cunning musicality is radiantly disseminated on "Animal Collection." Here, the ensemble delves into odd-metered cadences, accelerated by a few pithy detours and unforeseen shifts in direction. But as the piece develops the band morph a succint melody and contrapuntal mechanisms into a howling incursion, sparked by the dual sax attack of Tony Malaby and Tim Berne.
Guitarist Mary Halvorson's humbly crafted notes and Parkins' understated voicings help define a parallel that contrasts simplicity with knotty digressions and an oddball melody, as Smith leads the charge via his solid rock beats and rumbling polyrhythmic flurries. Moving forward, the musicians intersperse a bit of social chaos with a total breakdown during the bridge and settle into a straightforward groove, leading to the garrulous closeout. On the basis of this outing and session work for others, Smith reveals a fertile imagination that complements his proficient technical faculties. No telling where he'll go from here.
Track Listing
Frisner; Wilson Phillip; Dead Battery; Hammered; Limitations; Learned From Jamie Stewart; Animal Collection; This Might Be A Fade Out.
Personnel
Ches Smith
drumsChes Smith: drums, percussion; Tony Malaby: tenor saxophone; Tim Berne: alto saxophone; Mary Halvorson: guitar; Andrea Parkins: accordion, organ, electronics.
Album information
Title: Hammered | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Clean Feed Records
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