Disc two burns with like passion right from the start with the adrenaline rush of "Elder's Path". The contrast between the subtle timekeeping of Ibarra vs. the athletic fills of Drake is immediately obvious. What's interesting is that this doesn't necessarily make the music heavier or more intense...but perhaps drives the free play in a different direction. The midset "Sentient Compassion" puts the spotlight on Parker, who turns in an extended bowed bass solo as the band supports him with the tiniest hints of thematic fragments. Aural telepathy is an overused idea in my own reviewer-space but here, it just fits.
The final sculpture of this collection is the four-part "Freedom Suite". Ware seemed to be particularly inspired on that night in Milan as his runs had that careening quality of late-era Coltrane. The uninitiated might at fist hear a man without a plan running around in the wilderness. Give it a little time and the underlying ideas spawning the improvisations will make themselves known. Hey, I used to think that Coltrane had lost his mind on Interstellar Space. No, silly me, he was a genious. This last set contains more 'space' than the others, with ample room for more ambient group improv. Maybe not as intense as the rest of this four-hour marathon, but surely a fitting conclusion.
The fan in me has to admit that I've been cheering for David S. Ware ever since the release of 1998's Go See The World. To some, Ware's vision may indeed sculpt objects with a high "What the...?" factor. For the more adventurous though, it's a big 'ole world out there.
Go ahead, live a little.
Article comments
1 - Tom Johnson
Damn, I forgot this was coming out this week. I ran out yesterday at lunch after reading this, hoping to find it locally, but of course no one stocks new jazz titles around here, so I had to order up a copy. Boo on local music stores.
I need more Ware, that's for sure. I loaded Flight of I, Go See The World, and Threads onto the Ipod last night. It's been a while since I listened to DSW, actually, as he's in that nether region of my collection that sits piled up on my floor due to lack of rack-space - everything U-Z sits there, and I unfortunately have to actively remember to dig stuff out to listen to. Regardless, I'm re-aware of Ware and definitely need more: suggestions?
2 - Mark Saleski
definitely start with Go See The World.
there's some incredibly cool stuff on there, especially "Lexicon" and "Logistic"
3 - Tom Johnson
Sorry, Mark, I meant outside of the three I have (and the live one coming to me.)
4 - Mark Saleski
oh yea...duh.
i think Cryptology is pretty good too.
i've also heard that Flight of I is good.
hmmm, i can't remember exactly what i have at the moment.