There are guitarists with "chops," and there are guitarists with "feel." These are not mutually exclusive categories, though the longstanding argument often revolves around the idea that a player with the former seldom has much of the latter. It's a pointless argument, especially when there are examples that go so far out as to destroy the boundaries of the discussion.
Meet David Torn. I'm sure that Mr. Torn has chops. Plenty of feel, too, but neither of those things is all that important as the secret ingredient is ideas. Sure, you're thinkin', plenty of musicians have great ideas. True enough, but none of them construct music like this.
Prezens marks David Torn's return to the ECM label after an over 20-year absence (I still can't believe Cloud About Mercury was release so long ago!). He brings with him a powerful lineup of Tim Berne (alto sax), Tom Rainey (drums), and Craig Taborn (keys and other sonic weirdness). If the words "jazz quartet" have formed in your mind's ears, be prepared to make a major adjustment in your thought process. And why not? That's exactly how this record was put together. From the hours of taped collective improvisation, Torn split, chopped, rearranged, enhanced, and reconstructed the parts to product an album that's both otherworldly and organic.
"Ak" fades in with a piano arpeggio the quickly dissolves into the distance, only to be replaced by a dark and spooky guitar figure. Taborn slides a bluesy B3-ish keyboard line in that sets the mood for the next several minutes. A call & response begins to form between Berne and Taborn, a sort of out-there trading of fours. When the intensity reaches its apex, Torn flings into some theremin-like guitar squall just before the whole band explodes into a metal-infused vamp. Totally unexpected, and just as quickly as that wall of sound appeared...it's gone. The song finishes out with a short return to group interplay, capped off with a long sax note that echoes into the background. Clocking in at a little over nine minutes, "Ak" has more ideas than many full length recordings.
Article comments
1 - Pico
Sold!
I simply must get Prezens.
2 - Josh
I'm pretty sure this would lose me, but it sounds like a fantastic way to get lost.
3 - Mark Saleski
i don't think so josh. there's a sort of Belladonna going on here.
4 - Michael J. West
How precipitous! I just made a comment on another thread about how this was one of the most exciting records of the year so far. Glad you (apparently) concur!
5 - Tom Johnson
I agree, Michael. Very exciting release. I haven't even begun to wrap my head around this one but I already know it's one for the ages.
And "getting lost" is absolutely the best way to describe listening to Torn's music. Sometimes lost is the best thing to be.
6 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.
7 - Dave
I concur.
This one has dominated by listening for about a week now.
There are a couple of unreleased live tracks by the Prezens band here...
8 - Pico
I simply went out and got Prezens ;&)
Listening to "Structural Functions Of Prezens" and Rainey is putting on a skins clinic. A wickedly beautiful record.