(see review of Blue Series Sampler here)
ALL MOST BLUE
Thirsty Ear’s Blue Series has placed Thirsty Ear among the top pioneers in free, futuristic, and expressive jazz.
Labels like Impulse!, Blue Note, and Prestige brought classic, forward-leaning jazz packaged creatively in simple, but
elegant art. Blue Series musicians get so out there, making them worthy of the legacy of those that make the
aforementioned labels so legendary. To be great and have an individual voice, the jazz musician must, in a sense,
reinvent the wheel. They must play something that at least someone recognizes as jazz, while at the same time playing
something unrecognizably fresh. It seems that if they do it really well that the community of listeners will split down the
middle in regard to whether it’s meaningful or if it is just noise. Some people wish Miles Davis never went electric. Some
people wish that Coltrane’s classic quartet would never have disbanded with him going further into the avant garde.
For those that might feel as strongly about Hip Hop stepping into jazz spaces, only some of The Blue Series will appeal
to them. Those that value an MC and a DJ as musicians and peers to those who play bass or piano will find music that
is intangibly fulfilling.
No matter where on the jazz spectrum a fan lies, there will be something for everyone in the Blue Series. For those
that treasure tradition as much as total experimentation, the Blue Series will be an oasis of sounds, a Shangri-la. The
musical director of the Blue Series, pianist Mathew Shipp, makes records that can appeal to those who like Herbie
Hancock plugged or unplugged. He and visionary bassist Matthew Parker can make music that is simply elegant or
simply mad. Parker can make a record that sounds like a modern Hitchcock film score or a space age alternate
universe version of Ellington’s classic Anatomy of a Murder soundtrack. Parker can also make a record whose anatomy
seems like something out of The X-Files.
It is easy for a lover of improvised, truly exploratory music to gush forever about what Shipp and his many
imaginative cohorts are cooking up on Thirsty Ear’s Blue Series. For a journalist who loves evolving music, the
discovery of the Blue Series is as wonderful as legendary jazz writer Ralph J. Gleason’s chance to hear and react in
print to the discovery of Coltrane or The Grateful Dead. Gleason wrote about musicians and groups that DID re-invent
the wheel every night. Dead lyricist Robert Hunter’s words for “The Wheel” tell the story of travel and re-invention:
“Small wheel turn by the fire and rod/Big wheel turn by the grace of God/Every time that wheel turn ‘round/Bound to
cover just a little more ground”
For a journalist who studied in the ‘Gleason School’ of journalism, finding the Blue Series is the greatest event
during some of the most complex and confusing times in America’s evolution. This American jazz is both a celebration
of what is great about America, but it is also an emotional elixir for jazz heads living in modern times. An addiction of
beauty. Each new album was stronger than all the duct tape and plastic sheet in the world. Jazz has long served the
role of spiritual tonic, just as all good music does. These sounds keep the good spirits in.
It began with the discovery of DJ Spooky’s Optometry. The DJ mixed sounds that the most capable jazz men mix
themselves with traditional jazz instruments. The sonic collage reflected jazz created in a time where Coltrane Street
hits the crossroads of Massive Attack and Mos Def. The modern music is a byproduct of musicians who probably
couldn’t tell you which they love more: Herbie Hancock’s Cantalope Island (the traditional), Headhunters (electric and
funky), or Future Shock (bring on the DJ!). A Blue Series musician covers a lot more ground.
While some jazz pilgrims remain puritan about change, the minds put to jazz on the Blue Series use all maps, all
compasses. Of what they hear, they are disciplined disciples. Shipp and his collaborators hear everything. They love
tradition, but are by no means bound by it. They are liberated by what they have learned. The recordings they make
are indeed a voyage through time and jazz, some of it future. This primer on the wonderful sounds of the Blue Series is
my recommendation to take ‘that left turn at Albuquerque.’ Dive in, these cats go deep.
Here is a list of ten interesting galaxies that the Blue Series has already traveled to (and a couple on the horizon, a little
further up the road):
1) DJ Spooky-Optometry: This was a great entry into this world of jazz. DJ Spooky mixes a dreamy and modern sonic
NYC landscape. These days, Jazz and Hip Hop emanate from the Bowery and from the turntable jazz of DJ Spooky. It
was a great introduction to the Blue Series and the new home of Shipp and Parker. With drum monster Guillermo E.
Brown and the sublime violin of prodigy Daniel Bernard Roumain, this is one for the ages. A mix and match. The verbal
flow of Carl Hancock Rux is perfectly at home next to the moody strings that deliver Beethoven-like passion. A
masterpiece.
2) Matthew Shipp-New Orbit: All of Shipp’s records are special and it is indeed easy to recommend them all. New Orbit
stands out for those who long for an ambient sound in jazz. All of Shipp’s Blue Series albums are great (Equilibrium, Nu-
bop, Pastoral Composure), but New Orbit showcases the level of creative piano exercises that Herbie Hancock was
doing in his finest Blue Note hour. (For those who want more piano: after this, check out the classic live album of duets
of Herbie Hancock and Chick Correa on Columbia/Legacy)
3) William Parker Violin Trio-Scrapbook: This record is the pinnacle of modern film score without the film. Something
intense is happening in whatever film it would be. The sounds captured here are a strong indicator that the Blue Series
may perhaps become linked up to a director or studio who might find magic like Spike Lee has with the scores Terence
Blanchard has composed for films like X and Mo’ Better Blues. If Anatomy of a Murder is ever remade with Samuel L.
Jackson starring in the Jimmy Stewart role, then William Parker and his collaborators should be the ones to set it to
music.
4) Groundtruther-Latitude: This group includes Charlie Hunter on guitar. He joins the Blue Series in 2004, in the trio
with Greg Osby on alto sax and Bobby Previte on drums and electronics. Hunter and Osby add to the great things they
are doing on other labels, showing that great musicians can serve multiple labels as long as they only serve one muse.
5) Visionfest-This CD/DVD combo is a great way to get to know the many imaginative minds and faces that bring the
Blue Series to life. The song selection is almost identical on audio and video. The live performances collected here
were recorded at the NYC’s Visionfest, a multi-day jazz series with many Blue Series musicians gathering together for a
phenomenal celebration and performance of fresh new jazz. It’s cool to have a chance to see something like this when
The Center at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (where Visionfest was recorded) or the Village Vanguard aren’t up the street.
This package is a logical purchase for those that want to see the people making all the wonderful noise.
6) Antipop Consortium-Antipop Vs. Matthew Shipp: This project is the ultimate hybrid of Hip Hop and modern Jazz. Hip
Hop is called many things in the press, but it’s basic blueprint of lyrics rolled over moving music is a sadly under
appreciated thing. Antipop Consortium flows poetry over the vibraphones of Khan Jamal and trumpet of Daniel Carter,
with Shipp, Parker, and Brown doing their thing. The words mesh with the sounds the way they do when Snoop and Dre
roll over Funkadelic bumps.
7) Spring Heel Jack-Live: For those that treasure Miles Davis explorations in electric sound on classics like Bitches
Brew and In A Silent Way, will love the sound of this live album. The Blue Series studio efforts of Spring Heel Jack may
make even the most avant garde leaning listener feel disoriented, but live they turn in a performance with some of the
best feedback this side of Sonic Youth and Jimi Hendrix. J. Spaceman, from the British group Spiritualized, plugs in his
six string to remind that Miles Davis crossed many oceans musically.
8) El-P-High Water (Mark): When a DJ who has never produced, and never produced jazz, is given the controls for a
session, who knows what might happen. A Blue Series all star lineup assembled for El-P to shape a session that
certainly holds it’s own with the growing list of modern classics. Tracks like “Sunrise Over BRKLYN” and “Intrique In The
House Of India” show that even a jazz novice has a lot of jazz in him.
9) David S. Ware-THREADS: Another album with an orchestral vibe. Daniel Bernard Roumain brings mood and
passion on violin as does Mat Maneri on viola. Ware plays like the most possessed sax men, such as Sonny Rollins or
Pharoah Sanders. Shipp, Parker, Brown again are here to join these musicians in creating a tapestry of intense string
majesty. Jazz with strings was once classified as ‘Third Stream’ but this jazz is fifth dimensional. The title track alone,
as powerful as the Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, is worth the price of admission.
10) Big Satan-Souls Saved Hear: This ranks very high among the coolest album titles for sure. Tim Berne was one of
the Blue Series artists that I discovered later in my voyage. He brings his alto sax to the uniquely titled band. It takes a
certain twisted humor to name a group Big Satan, and to call songs from the debut record things like “Hostility Suite” or
“Property Shark” or “Plantain Surgery.”
Any choice of cd in the Blue Series will open a door to a new space in jazz, but for those who are looking for some
orientation the best crash course, or Cliff’s Notes, is the excellent Blue Series sampler, The Shape of Jazz to Come.
This sampler is one of the best collections of revolutionary and evolutionary music (jazz or otherwise) ever assembled.
It can be found in the best stores or online at about half the price of most new cds. It is an affordable and enjoyable
entry into a brave and beautiful new world of sound.
Previews of the Latest:
Matthew Shipp-Harmony & Abyss (in stores Sept. 28):
I still think that some director like Michael Mann (Collateral, Heat) will come along and join together with Blue Series
visionaries and put the sounds heard herein on celluloid to join the musical visionaries with the performances of the
masters of modern acting like DeNiro, Pacino, etc. Shipp is a great music director and would no doubt be a great film
music producer, provided that he still had time to make his own records. Each of Shipp’s own recordings becomes a
new favorite. Where Thelonious Monk cut a mean dance on piano while Art Blakey set the speed on drums, Shipp’s
rhythms continue to owe as much to “Rockit” as any traditional jazz template. Just as Miles Davis was forever bitten by
the sounds of Sly & The Family Stone and Jimi Hendrix, Shipp has answered the call of Hip Hop flavored beats and his
music never stops moving because of it. There are times, however, on most of Shipp’s records, where the sounds are
like those of famous New York City jazz clubs, like The Five Spot, during the golden age of small combo jazz in the 50’s
and 60’s. To listen to “Galaxy 105” brings to mind the best in bebop from that time. Most of the spaces traveled on
Harmony & Abyss sound a little more contemporary, but all Shipp’s music looks into the future. His collage isn’t so
much the bridge between genres and eras, but a product of simultaneous inspirations. The final track, “Abyss” sounds
like a somber but beautiful memorial, perhaps about 9-11, perhaps not. In the film Say Anything, Ione Skye’s character
wonders “why do good things and bad things always have to happen at the same time?” Harmony & Abyss isn’t so much
an answer to that question, but a vivid, sonic passage through. Harmony & Abyss is especially for people who want to
hear the good news first.
***
The Yohimbe Brothers (Vernon Reid & DJ Logic): The Tao of Yo (in stores Oct. 12):
The Yohimbe Brothers joins the Blue Series. Yohimbe is the duo of Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid and turntable
master DJ Logic. The two join together for a gumbo of rock and roll, Hip Hop, jazz, hypnotic electronics, and then
some. Just as Herbie Hancock albums like Headhunters reflected the funk sounds of the era of Shaft, albums like this
reflect the era of the Matrix. The Tao of Yo is like The Art of Noise for the 21st Century. It catches the attention of the
ears and holds that attention. Like the philosophy of social conscience that moved the music of Living Colour, the
words and music here are a reflection on the turbulent times we are living in. Reid’s guitar blazes rock and roll with a
tone similar to progressive guitar virtuoso Robert Fripp of King Crimson. One of Fripp’s favorite pastimes is creating
‘soundscapes.’ Reid is a wise student of this technique as well. He and DJ Logic, with words and sounds offered by
friends, create a soundscape that travels across genre and beyond. Inside a little meditative headspace a auditory
letter to the editor will come in the form of poetry from a politically minded guest or two: From commentary on ‘the
president we ‘elected’ losing an election, to the closing of boys & girls clubs in our neighborhoods, to the wonderful
TV/talking head satire, “TV” featuring Bos Omega the chorus “I got a TV, I don’t need to read.” A great listen for those
who prefer CD to TV.