Well, it’s been a while since I listened to any free jazz so when this one arrived in the post I took my teeth out, sat up straight and prepared to hang on for the ride. And it is a ride, the music is, at times plaintiff and exploratory, at others declamatory and celebratory. The trio is an open, stripped down format that allows every note from all three protagonists to land clearly, especially the drums which cover the spectrum from delicate to explosive.
The opener, Long Tall Sunshine opens with Fonda’s rolling
bass for a few bars before Altschul comes out of the traps like a thoroughbred,
his work rate making Art Blakey sound like a part-timer. This is ‘free-bop’ a
hybrid of free jazz and bebop and works as a teaser/taster for what follows, in
that it conditions the palette for the something less rooted in the familiar
that follows.
The
3Dom Factor includes a solo from Irabagon tonguing and
wrestling with the alto clarinet like he’s trying to bend it round a corner, breathing
life into it and sucking the breath back out, making it cry like a baby, all in
the space of the closing three minutes.
The shorter Irina is a soulful melancholic lament
for the sax over sonorous bass and gently rolling drums, Irabagon responding to
his own plaintiff calls.
Be
Out S’Cool opens like a fractured waltz with a
heavyweight bass solo, Altschul lighter but persistent behind him, before it
opens out with Irabagon working the higher register with heavier punctuation
from the drummer’s fills and rolls.
The closer, Martin’s Stew, is a furious charge,
anchored on the bass, with wailing saxes and overwhelming drumming, Altschul
provides so much power, he’s like a jet engine in a VW Beetle. There’s a joyous
release at the end of his second drum solo, enough to make you smile. I suspect
that this music will make even more sense live.
3dom was formed in 2012,
releasing a self-titled album which was followed up by Tales of the Unforeseen in 2015 and Live in Krakow in 2017. Long
Tall Sunshine is another live album recorded during a European tour in
2019, though, it seems, nobody wrote down the details of where and when it was
recorded, which is, I suppose in keeping with the spirit of the music.
And for those of you who
were wondering, the soprillo saxophone is also known as the sopranissimo
saxophone. It’s the smallest in the sax family, coming in at about 33cm,
including the mouthpiece. You don’t see many of them around.
Long Tall Sunshine is
released today (July 30) through most of the usual channels and outlets,
though Jeff Bezos is selling it for £28+ when it is available direct from
Not Two records HERE
for €12. There doesn’t appear to be a group or Barry Altschul personal website
but there is a good Facebook page and Wikipedia has a good page showing
the extent and breadth of Altschul’s career.
Now, where did I leave my teeth? Dave Sayer
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