Junius Paul: Ism [2CD]

Modern Jazz / Indie Jazz
premiera polska: 16.06.2020
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: Jewelcaseowe etui
opis:
multikulti.com * * * * 1/2:
Juniusa Paula poznałem jakąś dekadę temu, dzięki Ernestowi Dawkinsowi i Kahilowi El'Zabarowi, którzy zaprosili go do swoich zespołów. Później przyszły nagrania z Corey'em Wilkesem, kwartetem Grega Spero i w końcu zespołem International Anthem All Stars pod przewodnictwem Makaya McCravena.

Junius Paul jest basistą i kompozytorem pokolenia, które tworzyło pod przemożnym wpływem muzyki, a właściwie 'religii' i atmosfery THE VELVET LOUNGE - klubu Freda Andersona, legendy Chicago. Było to miejsce ogniskujące zainteresowanie reprezentantów trzech dekad nurtu awangardy chicagowskiej średniego i młodego pokolenia. Muzyka Juniusa Paula, to wielki wpływ atmosfery Velvet Lounge i kreatywności Art Ensemble Of Chicago. To kolejny ukłon w stronę Great Black Music, z której narodził się przed wieloma dekadami AACM.
"ISM" brzmi niesamowicie!. Cierpkie, gęste i brudne brzmienie nagrań różnych składów Paula, napędzane energią free jazzu, jazz rocka, muzyki improwizowanej, afrykańskiego transu czy muzyki klubowej niesie wiele oryginalności.
Do tego ryzykowny pomysł na płytę, Junius Paul mianowicie pociął zbiór swoich różnych nagrań koncertowych w taki sposób, żeby brzmiały jak jedno, długie nagranie. Od razu warto dodać, że nie był pierwszym muzykiem jazzowym, który zastosował tą postprodukcyjną metodę. Wystarczy przypomnieć "Miles Davis At Fillmore", z tą tylko różnicą, że Miles w Fillmore występował w jednym składzie. Na "Ism" mamy sporą rotację z obsadami poszczególnych utworów. Kogo tu nie spotykamy, trębacz Corey Wilkes, który zastąpił Lestera Bowie w Art Ensemble Of Chicago, wiolonczelistka Tomeka Reid, współpracowniczka Nicole Mitchell, Tomasa Fujiwary, Mike'a Reeda i Jaimie Brancha, klawiszowiec Jim Baker, współpracownik Dave'a Rempisa, Kena Vandermarka, Marsa Williamsa, Michaela Zeranga i Matsa Gustafssona. Do tego Makaya McCraven za perkusją.

Korzenna, chicagowska muzyka Juniusa Paula oferuje nowe/stare 'spojrzenie' na bop, blues, afrykańskie wpływy i free jazz. Jednak mamy XXI wiek, większość amerykańskich muzyków jazzowych młodego pokolenia jest wychowana na hip-hopowej muzyce, jest ona częścią ich muzycznego dna, dlatego w naturalny sposób jest obecna w ich muzyce. Nie została jednak sztucznie doczepiona do jazzu, jest punktem wyjścia do tętniących życiem, bogatych improwizacji.

Pomimo strukturalnej niejednorodności "Ism" słucha się jak jednej, dramaturgicznie przemyślanej, spójnej całości. Jak Junius Paul tego dokonał?, to pozostanie jego słodką tajemnicą.
autor: Mariusz Zawiślak
Copyright © 1996-2020 Multikulti Project. All rights reserved

Editor's info:
Polychromatic low tone poems, free form funk flight & Great Black Music turn the page to a brand new chapter in the Chicago sound.

Liner Notes by Ayana Contreras:
Ism opens audaciously with the spiritual mic-check “You Are Free To Choose,” a track that features Junius Paul alongside Vincent Davis (drums), Justin Dillard (piano), and Corey Wilkes (horns).
This is by no accident. In many ways, “You Are Free To Choose” captures the spirit of Junius Paul’s artistic roots. Corey, Justin, and Vincent were among the multigenerational cadre of Chicago musicians present when Junius chose to follow his own path of creative discovery at the storied Velvet Lounge on the South Side of the city back in October of 2002.

Though the origins of his craft go back to playing in church, his creative instrumental voice really developed during jam sessions at clubs like The Velvet alongside members of the AACM, or Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. It was iron sharpening iron, the most natural form of knowledge transfer. He explained Velvet’s vibe in 2018: “It’s like in Africa.... If you had this society of diviners or medicine people, or you know, sages… The Velvet stuff is not secret; but there are certain aspects of it… if you weren’t there, you weren’t there.” The Velvet Lounge closed in 2010.

“It was very much like church. I had some unbelievable spiritual experiences there. You can feel this thing inside of you. There were moments at the Velvet Lounge that were so magical that I’d get scared. I remember a night with Vincent Davis. It was like, oh my God. He can play with that intensity for that long. The Velvet Lounge was the first time I experienced anything like that. I didn’t think that people could do that. And it scared me. You think you’ve heard [some things]… and then you hear something that completely destroys anything that you thought you knew.”

Back in the sixties and seventies, Chess Records’s Ter-Mar Studios was just a few blocks away from where The Velvet sat beginning in 1983. Chess was where some of Junius’s idols (like guitarist Pete Cosey and producer Charles Stepney) recorded some of his favorite albums. He sees himself as a part of that lineage. “I come from that... It’s special to be a part of that magic.” Junius still drives back to the club’s former location. “Every time I pass there” he notes, “the memories flood back.”

“Fred Anderson and a Half” and “Ma and Dad” were both were recorded at the first of two June 2016 sessions Junius led at Comfort Station (a historic trolley stop turned art gallery on Chicago's Northwest side). They both were also named in tribute to people who helped form him. “Fred Anderson and a Half” for the musician and proprietor of The Velvet, and “Ma and Dad” for his parents, who helped guide his musical journey from an early age. Both of his parents are musical, his father was at one time a DJ. Meanwhile, his stepfather was instrumental in introducing Junius to deep cuts by artists like Miles Davis and Jackie McLean, helping to shape his musical worldview. All of these influences are clear in the Comfort Station recordings. “For a while, I wanted [these sessions] to be the album,” Junius adds. “They are very unique,” and come “from the Velvet Lounge family,” featuring Junius alongside Tomeka Reid and Isaiah Spencer.

“Spocky Chainsey Has Re-Emerged” was recorded live one summer evening in 2016 at the Polish Triangle (the busy Chicago intersection of Division, Ashland and Milwaukee Avenue). The cut takes up a whole side of the LP, but stays lean, slinking and swinging for its duration. Junius notes that “the familiarity [of the players] showed itself… from playing together all of those years,” relationships that trace back to the Velvet.

On “Georgia,” a sexy, smoky bop featuring Junius’ casual slap bass technique and Justin Dillard’s lounge-bred organ is flipped digitally by drummer and friend Makaya McCraven.

“Baker’s Dozen,” featuring Isaiah Spencer on drums, Rajiv Halim on sax and Jim Baker on his outrageous ARP synthesizer, was recorded live at the second of the two Comfort Station sessions and flipped by Makaya McCraven, who highlighted the crunchy Funkadelic meets Water Babies funk of that session to great effect. Jim was a last-minute addition to the set, providing the backbone of what Junius calls an “unassuming headbanger.” Jim is also part of the Velvet Lounge Family.

But, of course, the spirit of the Velvet Lounge is not dead. “Tune No. 6,” recorded live at the Co-Prosperity Sphere in Chicago, is a sweet interlude here to remind us that jazz is alive and bristling with what’s yet to come.

“Paris” is another stand out track. It was born at The Hideout in Chicago, but developed (or “chopped”) by Makaya in Paris. The pair were working on a different project during the day, would head to a bistro for a meal (Junius favors duck confit and wine), then would work on edits at night. Junius notes that “Paris” is one for the clubs: “I want a 12” [extended DJ] cut!”

As Junius pushes forward as a creative musician, he is careful to carry with him the spirit and the knowledge he’s gathered from those who have come before him. He is very literally a bridge between generations of the Chicago vanguard, currently playing in Makaya McCraven’s combo and in the Art Ensemble of Chicago, in addition to fronting his own band.

One morning on tour with the Art Ensemble in Australia, Roscoe Mitchell called Junius’s hotel room and asked if he was coming to breakfast. He was. “That will never get old,” he shared with me on the other line. To play in the Art Ensemble of Chicago is the culmination of “a dream.” One that started at The Velvet Lounge nearly twenty years ago while watching his heroes. “What they taught me is that you can be yourself, as long as you’re badass at it.” Ism is a testament to Junius Paul’s journey towards himself. And he’s graciously invited us along for the ride.

Pitchfork
The Chicago bassist’s solo debut—featuring guests including Makaya McCraven, Isaiah Spencer, and Tomeka Reid—ranges widely, from free jazz to post-bop to meditative tone poems.

Lke the mighty jazz bassists that preceded him (Jimmy Garrison, Ron Carter, Peter Kowald, and Buster Williams immediately spring to mind), Junius Paul often makes himself felt before he’s actually heard. That’s him, buoyant and deep, shadowing Makaya McCraven, the perfect complement to the drummer’s rhythms—that is, when he’s not bending, wobbling, and prodding McCraven and group into new terrain. Paul also supports the likes of reedman Ernest Dawkins, Roscoe Mitchell Quartet, and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, where his bass work is as sturdy, supportive, and invisible as rebar. So when the Chicago musician steps to the fore on his massive, sprawling debut, Ism, it’s a thrill to feel and hear every contour, throb, and spontaneous spark across two pieces of wax.

Not just an opener, “You Are Free to Choose” serves as a mission statement from Paul and his assembled cohorts, some 14 in all; they leave no rhythmic idea unturned. The chase is everything. The frenetic, skittering rhythms suggest the volatile mix to follow, fully embracing that freedom to not choose, roving from free jazz to post-bop, meditative tone poems to hip-hop thumps (or “badoop” as McCraven put it recently, describing his bandmate’s sound). Recorded over a four-year span in various clubs and studios throughout Chicago, Ism reflects its many homes and the many sounds that feed into the music of the Windy City. Which might sound restless, except Paul exudes such confidence that no matter the session, his bass makes it all hang together.

“Bow Hit,” which follows, features Paul’s droning bow work, Isaiah Spencer’s rumbling kit, high tones from Jim Baker’s Arp, and a contemplative solo from saxophonist Rajiv Halim. It approaches stillness only to swan dive into “Baker’s Dozen,” a slippery mix of avant-jazz shot through with head-knocking drums and G-funk frequencies. “The One Who Endures” flips back into charging hard bop, Paul’s upright a flurry of quick-fingered runs.

It all leads to “Spocky Chainsey Has Re-Emerged,” a sidelong exploration from a quartet that toggles from modal jazz to fusion, like Bitches Brew set to boil rather than low simmer. About 13 minutes in, Paul lowers the temperature and space opens up for organ and trumpet to cool out. Just when you think it might drift off, turbulence enters, a Sun Ra-like dissonance curls around the edges, and Paul guides the band back up to speed again.

“Paris” is the other expansive piece, this time featuring a trio—one of three pieces where Paul is back in step with McCraven. The rhythm section slowly winds around trumpeter Marquis Hill’s unhurried lines, but there’s a tactile thrill when Paul’s stalwart bass coheres into a hummable figure and locks in. McCraven’s snare cracks and the piece achieves liftoff, the three moving at an inspired pace. Yet there’s still another point in the piece when Paul’s bass runs quicken again, somehow finding another plane for everyone else to vibrate on.

The last side of the album finds Paul in a more ruminative mode. His strings are in sweet conversation with cellist Tomeka Reid on “Fred Anderson and a Half,” as they pay tribute to the late tenor saxophonist, a founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and owner of the Velvet Lounge, where Paul honed his chops weekly. It segues into the most hushed piece on the album, “Ma and Dad,” full of the kind of reverentially small sounds that the Art Ensemble of Chicago plied a half century ago. Listen closely and a strange rumble arises. Is it Paul’s bass? No, just a motorcycle engine idling in the distance before roaring away. But it speaks to Paul’s conjured atmosphere that such an intrusion slots into Ism perfectly.
by Andy Beta

muzycy:
Tracks 1, 8, 9, 10 & 16 recorded January 9th 2019 at Decade Studios, Old Town, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Vincent Davis, Justin Dillard & Corey Wilkes.

Tracks 2, 3 & 4 recorded June 30th 2016 at Comfort Station, Logan Square, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Isaiah Spencer, Jim Baker & Rajiv Halim.

Tracks 5, 6 & 7 recorded August 23rd 2016 at the Polish Triangle, Wicker Park, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Vincent Davis, Justin Dillard & Corey Wilkes.

Track 11 recorded December 20th 2016 at The Hideout, Goose Island, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Makaya McCraven & Marquis Hill.

Track 12 recorded April 2nd 2018 at Co-Prosperity Sphere, Bridgeport, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Vincent Davis, Justin Dillard & Corey Wilkes.

Track 13 recorded July 26th 2016 at The Polish Triangle, Wicker Park, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Shanta Nurullah, Isaiah Spencer, Scott Hesse, Irvin Pierce & Makaya McCraven.

Tracks 14 & 15 recorded June 2nd 2016 at Comfort Station, Logan Square, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, Tomeka Reid & Isaiah Spencer.

Track 17 recorded December 13th & 20th 2016 at The Hideout, Goose Island, Chicago, featuring Junius Paul, William Kirk, Xavier Breaker & Makaya McCraven.

utwory:
CD1:
1. You Are Free To Choose 05:24
2. Bowl Hit 03:38
3. View From The Moon 01:40
4. Baker's Dozen 02:58
5. Asé 02:52
6. The One Who Endures 04:17
7. Spocky Chainsey Has Re-Emerged 19:45

CD2:
1. Georgia 01:46
2. Twelve Eighteen West 04:12
3. Collant Denier 03:19
4. Paris 11:51
5. Tune No. 6 00:45
6. Sprouts 03:19
7. Fred Anderson and a Half 05:47
8. Ma and Dad 05:43
9. Two Minute Warning 03:12
10. Outro 02:01

wydano: 2019-11-22
more info2: www.juniuspaulmusic.com