Big Satan - I Think They Liked It Honey

Some things, no matter how wild and lacking in discipline, just make sense. Big Satan's sole album, I Think They Liked It Honey, is a perfect example of this. And before you get ahead of yourself, let's establish what Big Satan is: modern saxophone genius Tim Berne, skronk-guitarist Marc Ducret, and drummer Tom Rainey (I ran out of superlatives, sorry.)

Big Satan ply their trade in the kind of jazz that defies description and quickly divides listeners into those who like improvisatory jazz and those who don't. Those who don't are missing out. While improv-based music has gotten a bad rap due to artists who use it as a canvas for laying out their every lick and riff, the best transcend the pure-blowing nature to make music on a different level - free from the constraints of melody and structure, yet interacting in melodic and structured ways that constantly shift and twist. There's a sense that these players are connecting mentally, as no one is left behind and no one surges ahead - changes are made as a group with no hesitation. The pure joy these players exhibit in their individual playing is obvious from the moment the first notes of "Bobby Raconte une Histoire" skitter out of your speakers.

Because it's so difficult to actually describe this music, I'll state it in terms of two other releases that immediately come to mind: Bill Frisell's Live! (featuring Kermit Driscoll and Joey Baron - see my review) and Polytown's self-titled album (David Torn, Mick Karn, and Terry Bozzio.) If these two groups could somehow mate, Big Satan would be the offspring. Most obvious is the comparison between guitarists Ducret and Frisell, as Ducret is clearly inspired by Frisell's pre-Americana jazz-squealings, and Tom Rainey's drumming stems directly from the tuneful poundings of Joey Baron and Terry Bozzio. Tim Berne fills an odd niche as an additional soloing instrument on sax, but often mirrors the roles bassists Kermit Driscoll and Mick Karn did in their releases. Berne is unconstrained by the need to provide a strong accompaniment to the beat. When it's needed, the beat sustains itself in this kind of music and is more implied than explicit, which is one of the very things that turns many people off of it. Berne, like Karn and Driscoll, is free to color the background or foreground anytime he wishes. What they also share in common is music that, for those looking for adventure, will be cause for returning to many times in the future. Even with only three members, the relationships between players and the notes they play in response to each other is endless. It's not for the faint of heart, or the attention deficit, but those looking for something meaty to sink deep into and enjoy will find much nutrition in the music of Big Satan.

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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