Greg Osby - Symbols of Light
Greg Osby
Symbols of Light (A Solution)
2001 Blue Note/Capitol Records
Produced by: Greg Osby
Personnel:
Greg Osby - alto & soprano saxophones
Jason Moran - piano
Scott Colley - bass
Marlon Browden - drums
Additional personnel:
Marlene Rice-Shaw - violin
Christian Howes - violin
Judith Insell-Stack - viola
Nioka Workman - cello
www.gregosby.com
http://www.m-base.com/
Greg Osby is wicked. He has no fear, he does it his way, and he does it with the kind of conviction that is hard to come by these days. Several years ago I was talking with Mike Keneally (former Frank Zappa guitarist and an all around amazing musician himself, who had recently worked with Osby on a Miles Davis tribute) and he said that Greg was one of the most cool people in the studio; he just came in with no pretense, banged out a take with all the authority of a brass magus, and that was it. He didn't fret over things; if it was a good take, it stayed, if it didn't he would do it again (apparently multiple takes were rare though).
Greg is cool. When I first encountered Mr. Oztone was the late 80s and he had released an ambitous, if not dated album called 3-D Lifestyles, mixing New Jack Swing and Jazz to mediocre effect (he was one of the first to try, so kudos for going for his). But even then, it was clear that he had technique, a more than adequate sound vocabulary to express a lot of ideas. Over the years he has become more of a modern bop guru (along with other M-Base members like Geri Allen, Steve Coleman, and Marvin 'Smitty' Smith). This is not in any way saying he in typical...he is anything but! Unlike uber-sax weenie Kenny G and his copycat ilk (who I would like to corral into a barn and let folks like Osby beat over the heads with blunt objects), Osby has his own voice, and does not sit still. This release is no exception, and follows in the footsteps of other topline Osby platters (Zero, Banned in New York and Art Forum among them), as well as his production work.
Featured with his regular musical partner Jason Moran and a more than capable rhythm section in Colley and Browden, is a set of classical string accompanists (sometimes as a quartet, sometimes as a trio) that provide some new colours and variations in the sound and shows a real expansion of the Osby catalogue (he even wrote his own string charts). As is stated in the liner notes, Osby did not just want to 'carpet' jazz tunes with strings or overpower the sound with bombast. Rather the compositions are highly lyrical and flowing, and the string section(s) weave through and surround and disappear throughout. To quote from the notes "...I interviewed a few string players about various bowing techniques, tremolos, pizzicato, and the ranges...Some of the pieces feature 'voice crossing,' with the Cello on top, and the violin or viola in the ex treme lower register...I also wanted string players, who don't normally have the opportunity to improvise, to have melodic options during repeated cycles on the forms." And even though he claims to be big on Sonny Rollins and Von Freeman, I hear lots of Wayne Shorter-isms when Osby plays soprano (something he does not do as often as he should, as his intervallic playfulness and devilish phrasing work incredibly well with that member of the brass family. This is not to say he is derivative as much as one who knows the masters.
All of this plays into a stunning album by the way (did I mention this is a badass album? Oh yeah, and it's a great album too). The strings and Osby don't start until more than a minute and a half into the albumopener 3 for Civility...the piano and rhythm section just lead you along and then all of a sudden you notice Greg and Co. creep on in casually The Keep is dark and jarring, as it follows you down the inner alleyways of your ears and plays with you like a cat and a mouse. There are hints of Monk and Trane in there somewhere, but not in any obvious way. One Room isn't as polished a sound as you hear from a Branford Marsalis soprano, but the grittiness is welcome and adds immediacy to the tune.
Most of the compositions are Osby originals, including the recycling of one of his more popular ones, Ministrale, although redone as Ministrale Again (The Barefoot Tap Dance), as well as "M" by Masabumi Kicuchi, the Dimitri Tiomkin/Ned Washington tune Wild is the Wind, Andrew Hills popular Golden Sunset and Repay in Kind the sole contribution by Moran.
All in all this is one of the most impressive releases from the Blue Note label in 2001, and probably Osby's most mature and fulfilling work since Zero.
* Ministrale was initially from the Zero album, also on Blue Note.
Symbols of Light (A Solution)
2001 Blue Note/Capitol Records
Produced by: Greg Osby
Personnel:
Greg Osby - alto & soprano saxophones
Jason Moran - piano
Scott Colley - bass
Marlon Browden - drums
Additional personnel:
Marlene Rice-Shaw - violin
Christian Howes - violin
Judith Insell-Stack - viola
Nioka Workman - cello
www.gregosby.com
http://www.m-base.com/
Greg Osby is wicked. He has no fear, he does it his way, and he does it with the kind of conviction that is hard to come by these days. Several years ago I was talking with Mike Keneally (former Frank Zappa guitarist and an all around amazing musician himself, who had recently worked with Osby on a Miles Davis tribute) and he said that Greg was one of the most cool people in the studio; he just came in with no pretense, banged out a take with all the authority of a brass magus, and that was it. He didn't fret over things; if it was a good take, it stayed, if it didn't he would do it again (apparently multiple takes were rare though).
Greg is cool. When I first encountered Mr. Oztone was the late 80s and he had released an ambitous, if not dated album called 3-D Lifestyles, mixing New Jack Swing and Jazz to mediocre effect (he was one of the first to try, so kudos for going for his). But even then, it was clear that he had technique, a more than adequate sound vocabulary to express a lot of ideas. Over the years he has become more of a modern bop guru (along with other M-Base members like Geri Allen, Steve Coleman, and Marvin 'Smitty' Smith). This is not in any way saying he in typical...he is anything but! Unlike uber-sax weenie Kenny G and his copycat ilk (who I would like to corral into a barn and let folks like Osby beat over the heads with blunt objects), Osby has his own voice, and does not sit still. This release is no exception, and follows in the footsteps of other topline Osby platters (Zero, Banned in New York and Art Forum among them), as well as his production work.
Featured with his regular musical partner Jason Moran and a more than capable rhythm section in Colley and Browden, is a set of classical string accompanists (sometimes as a quartet, sometimes as a trio) that provide some new colours and variations in the sound and shows a real expansion of the Osby catalogue (he even wrote his own string charts). As is stated in the liner notes, Osby did not just want to 'carpet' jazz tunes with strings or overpower the sound with bombast. Rather the compositions are highly lyrical and flowing, and the string section(s) weave through and surround and disappear throughout. To quote from the notes "...I interviewed a few string players about various bowing techniques, tremolos, pizzicato, and the ranges...Some of the pieces feature 'voice crossing,' with the Cello on top, and the violin or viola in the ex treme lower register...I also wanted string players, who don't normally have the opportunity to improvise, to have melodic options during repeated cycles on the forms." And even though he claims to be big on Sonny Rollins and Von Freeman, I hear lots of Wayne Shorter-isms when Osby plays soprano (something he does not do as often as he should, as his intervallic playfulness and devilish phrasing work incredibly well with that member of the brass family. This is not to say he is derivative as much as one who knows the masters.
All of this plays into a stunning album by the way (did I mention this is a badass album? Oh yeah, and it's a great album too). The strings and Osby don't start until more than a minute and a half into the albumopener 3 for Civility...the piano and rhythm section just lead you along and then all of a sudden you notice Greg and Co. creep on in casually The Keep is dark and jarring, as it follows you down the inner alleyways of your ears and plays with you like a cat and a mouse. There are hints of Monk and Trane in there somewhere, but not in any obvious way. One Room isn't as polished a sound as you hear from a Branford Marsalis soprano, but the grittiness is welcome and adds immediacy to the tune.
Most of the compositions are Osby originals, including the recycling of one of his more popular ones, Ministrale, although redone as Ministrale Again (The Barefoot Tap Dance), as well as "M" by Masabumi Kicuchi, the Dimitri Tiomkin/Ned Washington tune Wild is the Wind, Andrew Hills popular Golden Sunset and Repay in Kind the sole contribution by Moran.
All in all this is one of the most impressive releases from the Blue Note label in 2001, and probably Osby's most mature and fulfilling work since Zero.
* Ministrale was initially from the Zero album, also on Blue Note.
posted by theloniusfunk at 12:11 AM
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