Mood"help shape a beautifulperformance with inspired con,tributions from Griggs and guitarist
Petersen.Its obviousthat a lot of care went into every _aspectof this production,and it's paid off in an
easily recommendablefirst installmentof what was
evidently,a grand recordingsession.
'
Larry Nai

THE NOW ORCHESTRA,

wowow,

SPOOL107.
WowowI The Ye/lowSoundI The Tyrannyof Interest.73:41
C<?alCooke, ts, as, bari s, flt; Ron Samworth, g; Paul
Plimley, p; Kate Hammett-Vaughan, vcl; Graham Ord, ts,
as, ss, flt, pre; Saul Berson, as; Mark Nodwell, ss; Ralph
Eppel, tbn; Rod Murray, tbn; Brad Muirhead, b tbn, Iba;
John Korsrud, tpt, flgh; Bill Clark, tpt, flgh; Peggy Lee,
eel; Paul Blaney, b; Clyde Reed, b; Dylan van der Schyff,
d; George E. Lewis, tbn; Vinny Golia, rds, flt; Paul Cram,
cl, ts.11/14-15/97, Vancouver, BC.

The genrethat AnthonyBraxtoncalls"Creative
OrchestraMusic"is alive and well!This splendidrecording- commissionedto celebratethe 20th anniversary of Vancouver'sNOW Orchestra- is a rich
documentnot onlyof the importantVancouverscene
but of the vitalityof large ensembleimprovisationat
century'send.
Incorporatingthree very long pieces of multiple sections- by mainstaysCookeand Samworth,
as wellas by guestsoloistPaulCram- this datedemonstratesthe NOW Orchestra'ssynergy as well as
rtsknowledgeof the largeensemblecontinuumthat
stretches from Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and
Basieto Sun Ra,the AACMExperimentalBand and
Braxton'sCreativeOrchestra,all the way to Globe
Unity,LJCO,and ICP.Yes,I mean that.Yes,they're
that good.
Coat Cooke's"Wowow"is one of the best perfo_rmances
I've heardall year.It opens in invocation,
with clarinetand trombonedancingin open air,soon
ioined by a multitudeof voicessummoningthe spirits.The spmts are those of the great big bands and
trad1t1ons
mentionedabove,but this ain't no Lincoln
Center.Overthe bluesystrutof mutedbrass,George
Lewisgoes nuts,givinga clinicon his'bone and calling to mind the glories of classic big bands while
incorporating contemporary techniques, gestures
and sensibilities(joinedgleefullyby Plimley'satonal
cluster-compingand Samworth'shissingguitar).The
next segment is mournfuland spacious,anchored
by PeggyLee'ssuperbcello playing,a huge lament
that soon unfolds for clarinets and which abruptly
cuts off, leavinga duet of Lewisand van der Schyft
(who here recalls Benninkat his best).They cue in
t11enextsection,a ferociouslyswingingriffoverwhich
reeds and brass gliss crazily.Someone(Golia perhaps?- solosare unfortunatelyuncreditedin the liners) takes.a white-hot clarinet solo and whips the
ensembleinto chaos.And we reach the piece'sclimax: over an undulating,disquieting background,
Kate Hammett-Vaughanan_dCooke bark like dogs
and give a recItat1on
on the inspirationsbehindtheir
music.Most of this recitationdeals with music as a
%ponse to worldly pain, with the transformative
·9r of pure sound, in many ways a modern ver~k~ - jllllf'

2000

sionof whatWaltWhitmancalledthe "barbaricyawp"
(whrchthe two vocalists, in their fashion emulate
with their repeated howls and the in~antation
"wowow..."). Soon,they stir the bubblingnoiseagain
and the band is off into a defiant riff (which unfortunately fades out all too quickly).At first I wondered
whetherthis might all be a bunchof a neo-beatpap,
but these passagescontinuedto be stirring over repeatedlistenings.
"TheYellowSound"beginssimilarly,with a free
explorationby piano, cello, vocals and drums.This
?-sectionpiece makes plenty of room for individual
and collectivestatements,but it is rooted in a swelling chord progression reminiscentof Miles Davis'
"Aura."Whereastrombonesand clarinetsdominated
muchof Cooke'spiece, Hammett-Vaughan'svocals
and Lee'scello are responsiblefor muchof the main
thematic and melodic material here. Composer
Samworth takes his inspiration from Kandinsky's
"Blue _RiderAlmanac,"first in Hammet-Vaughan's
recItatIonsof the actual text and later in the way he
uses disparatevoices from the orchestra(primarily
Lee's cello but also notably trombones,guitar, and
drums)to experimentwith color,intonation,andform.
Fo_r
example,in the third sectionwe hear stringsand
voice statea compellingmelodyas the initialchordal
progressionis playedover a martial rhythm- an example of layering and juxtaposition that would do
the greatpainterproud.Acrossthe spanof this piece,
the number of voices increasesand decreases to
spotlightduos and trios (notablythe tenor,trombone
and drum feature at midpoint)but also to build tension as the ensemblebuildsto a powerfulclimax.
_The_final piec_eby Paul Cram chugs along
merrily,with alternatingblocksof sound for different
configurationsof reedsand brass.As ever,there are
several episodesof highly-caffeinatedopen improvIsatIon,combined with staccato ensemble bursts
that recall Mr. Braxton,big riffs tor guitar and trumpet solo_ists,and dizzy melodies.While balancing
composItIonand 1mprovIsatIonas adroitly as the
other pieces,this last featureallowsa bit more room
for spontaneouscreation - about midway through,
for example,there are knockoutpassages,first tor
baritone sax and then for cello and guitar. Sweet
polyphonyfollows these interludes, most of which
eventuallycoalesce into a formal statement by the
ensemble_
- Cram clearly delights in buildingup the
listener'sinterestand breakingit down, toying with
tile conventionsof composition.The daffy cop-show
funk towards the piece's end is delightful, particularly since it's brokenup by roaringstatementsfrom
Pllmleyand Hammett-Vaughan.
Thankfullythis isn't
donew1tl1the shruggedshouldersof an arch-ironist,
but rather as part of the composition'spiecemeal
construe/ion,whic/1careensmadly !awardsan exuberant finish.
I've narratedthe courseof these compositions
for a quitedeliberatereason,not just becauseI think
this is one of the tasks of a reviewer but because
I've alwaysfelt that one of the finest qualitiesof large
ensembleimprovisationwas its abilityto takethe listener on journeys just such as these. They're over
too quickly,and I was hungeringfor more of this fine
ensemble (who, to my knowledge,have only elsewhere been documentedplayingBarry Guy's Study

You can hear the influenceof Carl Fontana,by way
of Frank Rosolino, although Herwig has cultivated
his own voice. Davis lacks the range of Herwig,but
as a musicaldescendantof Curtis Fuller,Davistells
a story with his horn - usually smack dab in the
middle of the clef. His solos flow logically,the result
of considerablethought.Like a consummatesculptor, he pays attention to form and emotion, so that
1) CONRAD HERWIG,
his performancesleave a satisfying taste. His disOSTEOLOGY,
tinct burred tone lulls, a lure and a siren. He knows
CRISS CROSS 1176.
how to effectivelybuild tension,and releaseit at the
Syeeda'sSong Flute! KennyK. I Devil May CareI First BornI Fire! ti
last moment.Jeff Wattscontinuesto show his prowAin't NecessarilySo/You Don't Know WhatLovets!Osteology.60:51.
ess as a poweriulsupportingdrummer.He kickshard,
Herwig,tbn;SteveDavis,tbn; DavidKikoski,p; JamesGewhenappropriate,as on Joe Henderson's"Fire,"and
nus,b; Jeff'Tain'Watts,d. 12/2Cl'98,
Brooklyn,NewYork.
lendsa subordinate,thoughcriticalroleon the slower
2) WYCLIFFEGORDON,
pieces. His extended solo on Gershwin's "It Ain't
SLIDIN' HOME,
NecessarilySo" should silenceany doubters.David
NAGEL-HEYER2001.
Kikoski, while a more than competent pianist, too
MoodIndigoI GreenChimneysI ti Don't Meana ThingI Do Nothin'Ti/1
oftenproffersthe kind of predictable,pleasant,someYouHear from Me+! Joily Jume Jumey (Wycliffeii) /New Aw/ins'"#I
times impressivefare that seems to till up spaceas
AmazingGraceI St.LouisBlues#I What?!I Blooz... FirstThaingh'dis
Moanin'/ Beauty'sIn the Eye•!The "Hallelujah"ShoutI My God.64:59
often as not. For evidencethat he is capableof burnGordon, tbn, tba; Victor Goines, ts, cl; Eric Reed, p;
ing with unmitigatedforce, just listen to him on the
RodneyWhitaker,b; Herlin Riley, d; Joe Temperly,ss',
Gershwinpiece. If only he always played with such
bs'; Randy Sa,1dke,tpt#; Milt Grayson,vcl+. 12121-221
finesse and excitement!James Genus' bass offers
98, NewYork City, NY.
(1) A familiarsetting:two trombonesin mostly powerfulsupport throughout.
The arrangements for trombone are usually
tight post-bopharmonyover a strong, if sometimes
right on the mark, with tight harmony the name of
undistinguishedsoundingrhythmsection.Soundfamiliar?In the liners, Herwigis quotedas sayinghe's the game.There are hints of JJ and Kai throughout,
but this is far from being any sort of retrospective.
tried to "update the vocabulary[of J.J.Jol1nsonand
Kai Winding]."In a sense, he has broughttheir clas- There are modern touches: counterpoint, slightly
sic '50s sound to the 1990s, with extendedrange, extended harmonies, lengthy improvisations,joint
blowing,and variety in rhythm.The Gershwinpiece
lengthiertracks (a function, in large part, of CD vs.
compares favorably to similar efforts by the older
LP), and at least a partial emphasison modes.
Herwighas a strong technique,one that rivals quintet. The three Herwig tunes, "Kenny K.,""First
Born,"and "Osteology"are all winners, the latter a
any of his peers.The criticism of his work has alstudy in bones of the higherorder rattlingat express
ways been a perceivedcoolness in his playing. In
the past, some have noted an off-putting,personal- velocity.
This entertainingset should satisfythosewho
ity-lessreserveto his blowingthat negateshis monster chops. Here, he is less restrained, showing enjoy the two-bone format combined with thoughtflashesof brilliance,although,to be sure, he some- fully conceivedarrangements.As Herwigsays, it is
times reverts to pre-programmedlicks. Herwig has "in the pocket."You should find it joyfullyossiferous.
(2) Wycliffe Gordon is, of course, best known
come a long way, and when he lets go, he bursts
notes forth like a machine gun (as on "Devil May for his association with Wynton Marsalis, and the
Care"),and soars into the upperregisters,not afraid trumpetercontributedliner notes to this release.As
with Wynton, there are few innovationsto be found,
to take chances and stumble. He rips through the
but there is an impressive handling of traditional
chords,and if he seems to be occasionallyon automatic pilot, there is no mistakinghis super chops. sounds.The thirteen tunes look backwards,as in

- Witch Gong Game).And perhaps the finest compliment I can muster,this music had me itching to
pick up my own instrumentand join in. By all means,
listen to this.
Jason Bivins

Conrad Herwig by Jimmie Jones
june 2000 - @~

- page 131