Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Ellery Eskelin: Quiet Music

363

Ellery Eskelin: Quiet Music

By

Sign in to view read count
Ellery Eskelin: Quiet Music
Years on the road and numerous recording for Swiss-based Hatology Records have generated a distinguished musical persona for tenor sax titan Ellery Eskelin and his band. Here, drummer Jim Black and accordionist/sampler Andrea Parkins assist with moving the torch forward. But the addition of vocalist Jessica Constable and French vocalist/keyboardist Philippe Gelda rein in a new stylistic vamp on this two-CD set produced for Eskelin's Prime Source label.

Intact are Parkins' quirky accordion passages and Black's offbeat rhythmic maneuvers. With Eskelin's circuitous and power-packed tenor lines, the band maintains a rolling and tumbling gait chock full of asymmetrically-designed, free form encounters. Yet Constable's wordless vocalizing instills either a sense of harrowing urgency or a sublime sequence of musical events that augment the ensemble's intersecting components. And they inject free improvisation type meltdowns, where the band seamlessly morphs a potpourri of calming effects into a robust group sound, enamored by the artists' acutely-placed dynamics.

On "Split The Difference the musicians render a medium-tempo swing vibe, spiced with a few bump and grind motifs as Parkins' accordion comping provides a rhythmic enhancer for Eskelin's blustery solo. The scenario changes a bit during "La Berceuse d'Angela, featuring Constable and Gelda's operatic vocals that set an archetype for a solemn diversion.

In sum, this recent outing transmits Eskelin's music in a prismatic manner. Not totally unrelated or distanced from previous endeavors, but more of a foray that expounds upon many principles iterated in the recent past. It's a recording that conveys an attractively slanted musical viewpoint amid a bevy of subtle surprises.

Track Listing

Disc One: Coordinated universal time; I should have known; 48 A & B; Read my mind; Instant counterpoint; How do I know; Quiet music; Disc Two: Split the difference; Cuarenta y neueve; The curve; Let

Personnel

Ellery Eskelin
saxophone, tenor

Ellery Eskelin: tenor saxophone; Jessica Constable: voice; Andrea Parkins: piano, organ, accordion, sampler; Philippe Gelda: voice, piano, organ; Jim Black: drums, percussion.

Album information

Title: Quiet Music | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Prime Source

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.