BEST

CDS OF
2010
★★★★★
MASTERPIECES

Bill Dixon Absolute Ensemble Liam Sillery

Tapestries for Small Orchestra absolute Zawinul Phenomenology
FIREHOUSE12 SUNNYSIDE OA2
february June october

Tapestries For Small Orchestra is the most persua- For fans of the late Joe Zawinul’s late-period mu- Trumpeter Liam Sillery’s Phenomenology is so
sive, comprehensive case for Bill Dixon’s iconic sic, Absolute Zawinul will surely satisfy. Over eight natural that only one word can be used to describe
status since November 1981 (Soul Note) and per- tracks, it brims with the same kind of energy that it: perfect. Hearkening back to the great outside-
haps even his 1966 landmark orchestra album, typified the keyboardist/composer’s effervescent leaning Blue Note recordings of the mid- and late-
Intents And Purposes (RCA). … This collection is style as he came to embrace so-called world mu- ’60s, Phenomenology gets better with each listen,
also the best document to date of the impact Dix- sic idioms more and more. Perhaps the reason as details and intricacies continuously come to
on has had on subsequent generations of trum- why the Absolute Ensemble’s Absolute Zawinul light that were missed previously. The music’s tex-
peters. … With Intents And Purposes decades out sounds so much like its inspiration is because he tures, rhythms and sonorities continuously morph,
of print and Dixon’s substantial Soul Note catalog played a major role in this, his last studio recording but not in a distracting, overbearing, or contrived
hitting a nadir, availability-wise, Tapestries For … a creation performed not just with [Estonian- way. There’s freedom and a relaxed ease in Phe-
Small Orchestra may well become the definitive born conductor Kristjan Järvi’s ensemble] but with nomenology’s every facet. —Chris Robinson
Bill Dixon recording for a new wave of listeners. members of Zawinul’s last Syndicate band. The
—Bill Shoemaker music is incredibly varied, evoking musical stories Michael formanek
from the titles alone but obviously more from the The rub and Spare Change
Miguel Zenón songs’ various incarnations. —John Ephland ECM
esta Plena December
MARSALIS MUSIC Sam newsome What begins as a kind of modal hymn with
March Blue Soliloquy “Twenty Three Neo”—complete with pianist Craig
(SELF-RELEASE)
From the percussive blastoff of “Villa Palmeras” Taborn’s mildly incessant five-note phrase, bass-
July
to the last jubilant notes of “Despedida,” Esta ist/leader Michael Formanek’s quiet and support-
Plena is a triumph. The smooth blending of Puer- Sam Newsome’s Blue Soliloquy is another ad- ive arco playing shadowed by alto saxophonist
to Rico’s plena music—with its oral tradition of mirable addition to the solo canon, surgically Tim Berne’s light, lyrical tone and drummer Gerald
“telling the news”—and contemporary jazz is the investigating the propensities of the soprano Cleaver’s soft percussive flurries—serves as an
next step from Zenón’s Jíbara, introducing lyrics saxophone for quarter-tone colorations, mimick- understated, dramatic backdrop to all that follows.
into the saxophonist’s standard toolkit. ... What ing Hindustani and Japanese flutes, Tuvan throat … Indeed, The Rub And Spare Change works on
elevates Esta Plena is the amount of variety that singing, Doppler effects (swaying the horn) and, you incrementally, to the point where you forget
Zenón introduces into this fairly tightly defined hy- with pitched slap-tonguing, the African thumb where you started and only know of what you’re
brid form. —James Hale piano. —Michael Jackson hearing at the moment. —John Ephland

40 DOWNBEAT JANUARY 2011

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★★★★½ historical
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42 DOWNBEAT JANUARY 2011