JIM RYAN'S
FORWARD ENERGY
Configurations 2002
Edgetone
EDT 4009
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, are
all highlighted on the more than two hours of this double-CD set by Bay
area saxophonist Jim Ryan. But the nuptials being celebrated here are
the successful marriage of some veteran players' post bebop improvisations
with those from a new generation of North Californian players.
That takes care of the old and new part. The blue(s) feature on a few
of these tracks, while the only thing that's really "borrowed"
is jazz music itself, which some would mistakenly deny to someone like
Ryan, who doesn't conventionally swing.
A poet, writer and philosopher, Ryan, who plays alto and tenor saxophones
and flute on this date, came to the music in Paris during the mid-1960s,after
rubbing shoulders with Beat writers such as William Burroughs and Allen
Ginsberg. Then he performed with American expats like Steve Lacy and members
of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. Back in
the states, and in the Bay area by the mid-1990s, he turned his organizational
talents to procuring new spaces in which to play for himself and the clutch
of young improvisers who had sprung up nearby. With their constantly shifting
cast of characters, these tracks showcase Ryan and his associates in a
series of free improvisations.
The veterans include Spirit, a drummer with hairspring reflexes, who is
the saxophonist's most frequent playing partnershere, and part of the
Positive Knowledge trio; trumpeterEddie Gale, who played with Cecil Taylor
and Sun Ra; and drummer Donald Robinson a long-time associate of saxophonists
like Larry Ochs and the late Glenn Spearman. Younger improvisers include
prodigious bassist Damon Smith, who has recorded with British saxophonist
Tony Bevan and German bassist Peter Kowald among others; Full Throttle
Orchestra leader bassist Adam Lane; drummer Peter Valsamis, who is in
the Trance Mission band; and keyboardist/electronics expert Scott Looney,
who has recorded on his own and in formations with scene organizer/saxophonist
Rent Romus, who also makes an cameo appearance here. Lesser-known West
Coast sax improvisers Alicia Mangan and John "Waveman" Gruntfest
also make the cut.
The tunes range from a low-key, three minute Spirit-Ryan duet, and another
even shorter one that adds Mangan and Smith, to one nearly 191/2 minute
blow-out with those two saxophonists, the rhythm section plus Romus and
Looney and an even more extensive, almost 31-minute color field examination
featuring Ryan, Mangan, Looney, Lane and Robinson.
Besides Ryan, it's Spirit, featured on 11 of the 13 tracks, who makes
the most of his face time. A minimalist and a timekeeper, rather than
a technician, at certain points he makes his presence felt more than heard.
Although he apparently uses a standard kit, the sounds heard could as
easily come from a bell tree, tam tam, conga drums, or a wood block. Additionally,
except for a distinctive cymbal ping, you often wonder if he's using his
palms rather than sticks or brushes and frequently can't link a sound
to a particular instrument. This is particularly noticeable on "Interchange
with the Unknown" in a trio setting with Mangan and Ryan on alto.
Merely suggesting the beat, he clears out enough space for the altoist's
Aylerian cries and mellow fanfares from the tenorwoman. Combing at points
like Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing two horn simultaneously, the carnal tones
of the two saxes at times recall Sonny Rollins' vivisection of "There's
No Business Like Show Business."
Just as prominent is Looney, who with his grab bag of keyboards and electronics
frequently earns MVP status. On the almost 18 minute "Roto Vision,"
for instance, constant electronic percussion and subtle drum rolls from
Spirit provide the underpinning for Ryan and Mangan playing ring-around-the-rosie
on reeds. More notably, "Hollow Moon" finds Looney as triple
threat, supplying at different times, synthesizer washes, internal keyboard
exploration and straightahead piano comping as the altoist and tenorist
display double tonguing freak notes, split tones and a dog's breakfast
of multiphonics.
Showcasing, right-handed, nervous runs on piano and matched by Spirit's
loose-limbed drumming, Looney and the percussionist come across as a 21st
century Cecil Taylor/Sunny Murray duo on "Contemplation." The
harmonica-like wheeze that opens the track could come from his keys as
well, or it could be a floating tone that escapes from the massed saxes
of Mangan, Ryan and Romus. Honks, trills, smears, broken clusters and
triple tonguing fill the air, with someone -- Ryan? Romus? -- tone-piercing
the sky and the other two swabbing the floor with deep tenor notes. Smith
has a longed-lined arco section here too, which, unfortunately, is one
of the few times he's clearly heard on the disc.
Mammoth, the almost-31 minute "History Lesson," which moves
from ballad tempo to finger-snapper, gains a lot from Looney's talents
as well. At times he punctuates the proceedings with serpentine electric
piano-like runs, straight from Chick Corea's early fusion musings, while
elsewhere he adds to R&B undertone of the main piece, with some bluesy
piano tinkles. Probably titled that way because the composition mixes
hard bop, new thing and fusion impulses, Robinson's rock solid beat keeps
the time steady enough for Ryan on alto to show that fealty to David "Fathead"
Newman and Hank Crawford soulfulness enlivens his avant-garde leanings,
while Mangan's overblowing honks of pure colored noise fool you into thinking
that more saxes than the two featured on the track were present. The only
disappointment is that Lane's low-key, rather mainstream solo is under-recorded.
On his only appearance on "Balls to the Wall" (sic) brassman
Gale proves that the California climate hasn't dulled his fire.
For someone who isn't well known outside his home base, Ryan has proven
that neither age nor isolation can slow down a good improviser. His cohorts
prove the same whether they're grizzled journeymen or still-evolving tyros.
Except for a bit of live-recording muddle, there's a whole lot to praise
here and the disc(s) should proclaim the saxophonist's name to a larger
public.
-- Ken Waxman
Track Listing: Disc 1. 1. Jump Start*@^$; 2. Shape Shifting*@; 3. Etheric
Cleanse*@$; 4. Light Breeze@; 5. Hollow Moon*@^$; 6. Little Dipper@; 7.
Contemplation*~@^$; 8. Flute Spirit@; 9. Interchange with the Unknown*@:
2. 1. Balls to the Wall+&; 2. History Lesson*^&#; 3. Roto Vision*^$@;
4. Turtle Boat*^$@
Personnel: Eddie Gale, trumpet+; John "Waveman" Gruntfest, alto
saxophone+; Rent Romus, soprano and alto saxophones~; Jim Ryan, alto and
tenor saxophones, flute, percussion; Alicia Mangan, tenor saxophone*;
Scott R. Looney, piano, prepared piano, melodica^; Adam Lane, bass&;
Damon Smith, bass$; Spirit, drums and percussion@; Peter Valsamis, drums+;
Donald Robinson, drums#