One of the corollary pleasures of producing inspired music for CIMP over the past 8 years has been watching artists develop and grow. Creative improvised music is a music of now, reflective of its time and space (if not, it's probably just improvised music, rarely creative), and any section of an individual's work is relative to the whole of the artist's body of work. Attention to any one part (if attention is worthy) is seen in terms of the ongoing whole development. I think for all artists whose work commandsour attention there exists a sense of artistic purpose, so that what might seem the most insipid of gigs is always a workshop, if not necessarily a meal ticket. I sense Tom Abbs (1972, Seattle, WA) is such a musician.
Tom, as is the case with all members of this quartet, began music very early: piano at age 6 then over to cello then tuba and, by age 10, bass. In 1997 he helped found JumpArts, a coalition active in presenting live music in the NYC area.
Tom first played in The Spirit Room four years ago (Jan. 1999) as a member of the Ori Kaplan Trio. Even then it was apparent to me that there was an assertiveness present in his (relatively recent) apprenticeship in the world of creative improvised music (he arrived in New York City in 1991 to school and study with the masters). It was evident that he clearly had ideas about form and structure which, when called upon, would transcend his often quiet, introspective demeanor. Also clear was a moody kind of passion that could encompass him while playing and soloing. The determination that I made note of in my producer's comments on CIMP 190 was evident when, mid-piece, Tom snapped his bow, but, without losing the beat, discarded the broken bow and continued to play. That determination has continued over the 4 years since and, with it, a growing substance of his own musical identity. (Incidentally, Marc repaired the bow by inserting the 2 wooden pieces of the broken bow shaft into a piece of copper tubing and Tom, as of this writing, continues to use the copper-shafted bow.)
During the 4 years after Tom's first CIMP recording (and perhaps even before that) he sent me a number of "demos" of various projects, often utilizing a recurring core of musicians. With one exception, all of them, in part, held some interest for me. As I wrote him once, they were pleasant, but a bit faceless, and needed to expand their scope.
Then, late in 2002, Tom put together this group of very strong and challenging personalities that expanded the dynamics of the music and we scheduled this session. The question to be answered is howthese musical personalities would come together with Tom's vision, a vision not yet clear to me.
Tom has been trying to "sell" (his words) me on Brian Settles (1974, Washington, D.C.) for some time. Brian, as a teenager, was enrolled at the Duke Ellington School of Arts (Wash., D.C.) before moving on to the New School and studies with Reggie Workman, Dewey Redman, and others. He has been working with Tom since the mid 1990s. This is his first issued recording.
Okkyung Lee (1975, Taejon, Korea), classically trained, began playing piano at age 3 then switched to cello, and moved to Bostonin 1993, getting degrees from Berklee and the New England Conservatory of Music. She moved to New York City in 2000 and became professionally involved in that city's so-called Downtown Scene. She has been working with Tom since 2001.
Chad Taylor (1973, Tempe, AZ) as a pre-teenager studied classical guitar, and percussion in high school. He began playing Jazz professionally at age 16 in Chicago. He is now probably best known as a member of the group Chicago Underground and recently began his own group, Active Ingredients. Chad has been playing with Tom since the early 1990s.
Most of the second part of the afternoon of the 21st was taken up by sound checks, nothing terribly energized but genteel melodies and improvisation. When we regrouped around 7:30 p.m. Tom decided to lead off with an improv; not an unusual strategy groups use to get things going. Expecting a subdued chamberish sound, I was at first taken aback by the force of Brian and Okkyung's declarations on Anti-torpidity and the band's subsequent full throttle sound. Following this there was a short pause while Okkyung replaced her A string, which had broken during Anti-torpidity.
Following this, the commanding vision of Tom began to present itself in composition and prominence of sound; it's exciting music and all the more compelling when you realize that this is a multi-faced debut. This was my real introduction to Brian, and his full-bore sound suggested an awareness of the heritage. After Redundant... Iasked him if he had paid much attention to Yusef Lateef. He confirmed the influence, that Yusef was one of the people he first focused on who was doing something past Bop.
On Diametric Escalation (which, Tom announced, was an "intense piece"), the music was augmented by a visual aid, copies ofwhich Tom considerately passed out:
A piece with strong construction and foundation, established early, it encouraged the fullest expression; encouragement well deserved and its promise was fullfilled.
As the evening drew on, the music stayed concentrated with little down time and, as it worked itself out, it became apparent to me that what was emerging was not just the expected concert of fine creative improvised music, but a powerful statement by a bassist and leader as well. During the first night's work I think it was apparent to Tom that this was going as well as he had hoped and, as his confidence was confirmed, he loosened up and the whole became tighter and even stronger. As Tom commented after Hypertension, this is a hell of a band.
The next morning it was still a hell of a band as Okkyung got things off to a spiritual start on Reconciled Dissolution, a piece from the previous night which, in multiple takes, managed only partially to succeed. For this morning's attempt Tom pretty much reconstructed the form of approach and made it one of the highlights of the recording and another reminder to me of the thin line between failure and success.
Four artists, a vision, execution, and voilà: a rewarding concert; the result of making the most of the opportunity and the talents. It's more than just magic, but there is magic here.
Robert D.Rusch - April 22, 2003
