The first time I heard Ray Anderson (1952, Chicago, IL) was probably on a Rickie Boger or perhaps Baird Hersey recording, 2 prominent artists of the mid‘70s who have now moved off the scene. But the first time I remember really hearing Ray Anderson was in 1978 or 1979 on his first leadership date and on others, often in the company of Mark Helias and Gerry Hemingway. Duly impressed, I wrote about this notable new trombone voice using terms such as tough, strong, conviction, humor, and irony to describe his virtuosity.
When Mark Dresser (1952, Los Angeles, CA) first arrived in NYC in 1975, Ray was the first musician he met. Mark had quit the San Diego Symphony and made his way to New York when fellow Californian David Murray extended an invitation to Mark allowing him to use his New York City loft while David was on tour. Arriving in Manhattan, Mark went directly to the loft, where he ran into Ray who was then sharing the loft with David. Later that year, Mark and Ray played their first duo concert in New Haven, CT. And indeed, from the moment we began (One Plate) this recording session, there was a comfort in the situation and a trust in the parameters in which these two individuals explore.
CIMP sessions are usually booked up on average of 6 or 7 months in advance. Occasionally we have a cancellation, as was the case about 2 hours before Mark called me in mid-summer of 2003 regarding the possibility of doing this date. Knowing we had the opening and because of my enjoyment of Ray's artistry and the confidence I have in Mark's artistic reasoning, I abandoned my usual cautious and purposeful approach and committed to the project on the spot. Only afterward did I have to think of a more reasoned justification for the project, about which I really had no sense. In hindsight, I realized this would be Ray's first full duo work on CD and the fact that I couldn't pigeonhole it with his previous work was in itself reason to support the efforts of these two fine artists. And, after 28 years, it's ‘bout time their duo work was documented.
Things were pretty relaxed before the session began. I was celebrating the arrival of autumn coolness, Mark was celebrating the new year, Ray always seems to be celebrating, at supper we all celebrated Mark's birthday (a day early), and around 10 p.m. we began formally celebrating the music. The music celebrated a broad spectrum, from the bold impressionism of Mark's The Five Outer Planets to what often seemed folkish themes to Ray's beautifully reflective Tapsfor Jackie. The relaxed relationship of these 2 artists segued easily between verbal and musical conversations, often with as much (or more) information about the music expressed in verbal graphics as in musical notation. And the dynamic range covered over the program is huge.
We finished up the first night's work at around 2 a.m. and, after a couple hours of warming up and working out strategies, we began the formal recording work, of the next day, around noon. One of the pieces worked on was Ray's Insistent during which they laid down a wonderfully dynamic take, near perfect in all its elements. After a remarkable solo, and very near the piece's completion, Mark made what he felt was a miscue, shouted an agonized expletive, and effectively brought the take to a halt. It's a reactive response, as spontaneous as the music. A second take was brief, equally strong in some elements,but a bit perfunctory. And so, a third take—different of course—which was the equal of the first. Then, out of that take, Ray and Mark worked a (walking) Blues variation into the composition, and another take was successfully completed, the fullest of them all and what you hear here.
This is really a set of assured inventions, deftly handled, and masterfully performed. Humor, joy, hipness, and careful thought runs through the whole set. Only two cooks, but what a full feast.
Robert D. Rusch - 9/26/03
