Phil Haynes : "4 horns & what ?"

(Open Minds, 1991)

When I first considered forming a second band in late 1986, I was trying to reconcile an interesting set of aesthetics: I wanted a band that could play most situations without amplification, a band that would whisper one moment and raise the roof the next, an ensemble built around the intimate dialogue of a good duet, a small group with wide instrumental color, a big band inspired contrapuntal ability, and a format where I would be challenged to assume equality with the front line. The prospect of combining two brass players with two saxophonists and drums became the irresistible solution.
4 Horns & What? utilizes the African concept of direct conversational interplay between rhythm and melody. By excluding other rhythm section players, the intimacy of the drum/horn dialogue becomes the norm. In this format, harmony returns to its polyphonic roots as an extension of the collective blowing. The result is a wide-open, acoustic, improviser's band, where everyone shares equal responsibility for solos, accompaniment, and time keeping.

Phil Haynes

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Erik Friedlander : "Skin"

(Siam, 2000)

Cellist Erik Friedlander continues to explore new vistas of expression in the progressive modern jazz idiom. In alto saxophonist Andy Laster he has a partner with whom to contrast stylistically, while electric bass guitarist Stomu Takeishi and percussionist brother Satoshi create a rhythmic foundation that lives and breathes on its own. The Atlas Cello Quartet is also featured on most of this program. There are five "standards" of the 11 compositions that Friedlander interprets. Henry Mancini's "Susan" is serene and beautiful, with slight Afro-Cuban spice and melody similar to "Invitation." The title track "Skin I" is written by Julius Hemphill with Laster assimilating the writer's signature outcry over kinetic, almost industrial percussion and a 4/4 Afro-groove. "Sahel Va Danya" is a creative raga; "Eclipse" the Charles Mingus moody bell ringer, features Laster again wailing; and a solo cello version of "Golden Dawn" takes the Carlos Santana piece into very different sonic areas from the original. The rest are Friedlander's originals. Balkan measures of 7/4 and 4/4 collapse into no time. Slight snippets of cello, bass, and percussion lead to harder, then deliberate swing with harmonic bass overtones on "Split Screen," Friedlander's most involved writing. There's the urban landscape funk of "Fekunk," and the 6/8 Afro-groove "Life In-Line." The total string package is most prevalent on the pensive "Reflections" and more 20th century, contemporary-natured on "White Mountain." The ensemble is at its darkest during "Doomwatcher," replete with free emotional exchanges. Because Friedlander explores many avenues of improvisation and composition, he can't be pegged; his work doesn't fit into a definable bag. You could call it great modern music, and that would be enough. The sounds are challenging, eminently accessible, and definitely compelling, marking more progress in this marvelous musician's burgeoning career. Highly recommended, and a step beyond his previous CD, Topaz.

Michael G. Nastos (Allmusic)

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Elliott Sharp orchestra Carbon : "Radiolaria"

(Zoar)

This is E#'s fourth self-produced Orchestra Carbon release and it features an all-star downtown cast with Ned Rothenberg, Andy Laster, Evan Spritzer & Tim Smith on reeds; Steve Swell & Julie Kalu on trombones; Brian McWhorter & Eric Shanfield on trumpets; Zeena Parkins, David Weinstein & Luke Dubois on samplers, Jim Pugliese on percussion and Elliott Sharp on soprano sax, computer, composition and direction. It was recorded live at Tonic in March of 2001 by yours truly, DMG founder (and NY Downtown scene archivist) Bruce Gallanter! 'Radiolaria' begins with Elliott's snaking charming soprano sax which introduces that sly undercurrent of things to come. Elliott's highly idiosyncratic music has unique rhythmic sense, as well as some bizarre, alien harmonies which seem to push the saxes and horns in waves which both collide and connect as they slide through some strange exotic scale. Each part of this seven section work, seems to deal with different textures and combinations of difficult harmonic layers. I dig how on the third section, what sounds like the random rhythmic placement buzzing fragments, begins to evolve into a recognized pattern before it ends. There segments which I could quite get the first few times I heard this, but which are finally beginning to make more sense as I dig deeper into the undercurrent of connection. The fourth part features those morse code-like staccato horn parts that I find fascinating in the works of Xenakis or Penderecki. Part five reminds me of the Mothers when they start stretching those notes in a twisted, yet humorous way. The final section is the most startling, the shimmering, somewhat scary mass of shifting horns and saxes radiates a breath-taking wall of dense textures which create a challenging environment of refracted images like a twisted mirror or lens. If I played it too loud, my next door neighbors might freak-out, but at a more tolerable volume, it becomes a kaleidoscope or swirling colors. A must for the scientists and true explorers among us.

Bruce Lee Gallanter (Downtown Music Gallery)

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Andy Laster : "Twirler"

(Sound Aspects, 1990)

Alto/baritone saxophonist and composer Andy Laster was born in 1961, grew up on Long Island, and studied jazz at Seattle's Cornish Institute before moving to New York City in 1985. His first recording, "Hippo Stomp," appeared on the Sound Aspects label in 1989. This album was followed by two more Sound Aspects releases, Twirler (1990) and the first eponymously named CD by Hydra (1994), one of Laster's key ongoing projects. During the 1990s Laster emerged as a unique and significant voice on the so-called "New York downtown music scene" that has also served as a launching pad for musicians like Dave Douglas, Tim Berne and John Zorn. In 1995 the Songlines label released Polyogue, the second Hydra recording; next came another Songlines CD by Laster's Interpretations of Lessness Band in 1997. Soft Shell followed three years later. While leading these two groups Laster also appeared in collaborative ensembles Orange Then Blue and New and Used, as well as Erik Friedlander's Topaz; the Julius Hemphill Sextet; the Pink Noise Saxophone Quartet; Bobby Previte's Weather Clear, Track Fast; and Ballin' the Jack. He has also performed with Mark Helias, Hank Roberts' Birds of Prey and Lyle Lovett. Laster has developed a unique compositional style that often draws from techniques employed in modern classical chamber music, with highly scored passages that serve as a backdrop for or intertwine with soloists. While often complex, the music is also spacious, rhythmically open and expressive, with considerable appeal to fans of well-executed contemporary jazz and creative improvisation.

Dave Lynch (Allmusic)

nb : there is a hidden (or bonus) track not mentioned on the cd : track 8 = "Lyleland" !

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Pink Noise saxophone quartet : "The jig is up"

(Pink Tomato, 1998)

Pink Noise Saxophone Quartet, often accompanied by a rhythm section, packs some good-time originals into their first release, The Jig Is Up. Many of these players finally started getting some recognition by the late '90s (Briggan Krauss' gritty, wailing horn, for example, has become an increasingly familiar sound). And though all are active players in N.Y.C.'s avant-garde jazz scene, this music is quite structured; the music is barely "out" at all. Whenever a horn takes a solo to the outside, the rest of the band keeps the rhythm flowing and the tempo up front. The tightly working horn and rhythm sections funk some heavy grooves: New Orleans brass, staggered marches, Klezmer jump, and a whiskey binge wailer. The Jig Is Up has all the drama of a good pulp novel, and all the subtlety of a big party.

Joslyn Layne (All Music)

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Andy Laster : "Hydra"

(Sound Aspects, 1994)

As a saxophonist, Andy Laster has a unique approach, spinning webs of primarily alto saxophonistic sound from the Eric Dolphy/Ornette Coleman/Gary Bartz school — just the right balance of enough tart sweetness and rambling & stark melodicism to make his personalized music quite palatable. Hydra finds him in the company of ever-fresh trumpeter/cornetist Herb Robertson, always in the blue gutbucket bassist Ed Schuller, and razor sharp drummer Tom Rainey. They collectively play these 14 Laster-penned compositions to the hilt from a thematic, spiritual, and utterly original standpoint. Laster, who also plays a little flute or baritone sax, uses a multitude of devices to his best advantage while writing concentrated, complex music that is more valued and heavy with repeated listenings. "Darshon" is perhaps the most highly developed chart, going from free to supercharged bop with hot accents, lower triple pianissimo harmonics from the leader, and intense counterpoint while reviewing and repeating several of these motifs. Mixing Dixieland-type interplay, funky R&B rhythms, and Ornette style approximate harmolodicism in 6/8 on "Hagia Sophia," or conjuring a bluesy, reggae-ish inquisition with melodic statements and drum inserts during "The Four Questions," the band proves they can do it all in short strokes. Robertson also has considerable mettle to showcase throughout the proceedings. His hymnal trumpet on "Cluniac" leads to both modernistic horns joyously bopping, his sputtering comedic repartee for "The Rocket Club" turns to tango incursions, and a mushy, muted cornet on "Parachute" follows mixed staccato and legato lines. There's a scattered, leapfrogging bounce melody with Robertson's creative wailing on "Radbaz"; Rainey's brushed intro to the lugubrious waltz "Eelpout" with soulful, staggered counterpoint and "unison"; and the free (a la Ornette) ballad "Their Last End." Sprinkled in between are alto sax-drum duets "Canto I-IV," varying from a free discourse to more edgy, beat-oriented musings; an overt swinger; a calm-to-heated discussion; and free groove in a mezzo piano dynamic. Hydra not only hits on all four cylinders, but in a high artistic and musical vein that the modern jazz world at large should pay close attention to. Recommended.

Michael G. Nastos (All Music)

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