Label:
India Navigation – IN 1056
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: US / Released: 1982
Style:
Free Jazz, Free Improvisation
Recorded at
India Navigation Company, Nyack, NY., 1982.
Cover
Art by – Barney Zeitz
Album
Design by – Koji Morioka
Liner
photo by – Daryl Bradley
Composed
By – Anthony Davis
Produced
by – Bob Cummins
A
- Variations In Dream-Time ...................................................... 24:30
B
- Enemy Of Light ....................................................................... 22:01
1 Drones
And Clones
2 Enemy
Of Light (Romantic Interlude)
3 Fugitive
Of Time (Reprieve)
Anthony
Davis – piano
J.D.
Parran – clarinet, bass clarinet, flute
George
Lewis – trombone
Abdul
Wadud – cello
Rick
Rozie – bass
Pheeroan
AkLaff – drums, percussion
Perfection
in composition, textural work, timbres, interplay... What more can I say? This
is a masterpiece of modern jazz!
Anthony Davis / George Lewis
Though
it received far less public notice upon its release, Variations in Dreamtime is
in many respects a companion album to Anthony Davis' highly regarded Episteme
and, in fact, is just as superb. The two lengthy pieces on this recording
encapsulate many of his exciting compositional ideas from the early '80s:
highly complex, contrapuntal melodic lines; propulsive rhythms in unusual and
often overlapping time signatures, a number of which derived from Balinese
music; and inspired improvisation from a first-class ensemble, here including
the great trombonist George Lewis and the underappreciated clarinet master J.D.
Parran. The compositions percolate, roil, and swing, branching out into
unexpected territories but always feeling of a piece. There is a near Romantic
sense of melodic exploration and, indeed, several themes that Davis would often
return to in the next decade are heard here, especially the heartbreakingly
lovely melody which became known as "A Walk in the Valley." This
record captures Davis on the enticing cusp between avant-garde jazz and the
increasingly "classical" direction his music would take in ensuing
years.
Difficult
to find, Variations in Dream-Time represents Anthony Davis at the pinnacle of
his powers and is very highly recommended.
Review
by Brian Olewnick
Reading
Davis' liner notes - here for reference's sake - shows just how much thought
he's put into what could easily feel like collections of random bits of
improvisation. Knowing the underlying structure of the pieces adds a lot to the
listening experience.
Notably,
the way that Davis plays with rhythm during sections of the first track,
casting a constant 5/4 piano motif against parts written in 7/4 and 15/4 to
remarkable effect.
A
telling piece of the write up for "Variations in Dream-Time": 'I
think part of the composer's function is not only to create a roadway for the
improvisor, but also to construct roadblocks that force the performer to listen
and create.' In keeping with that, the improvised parts of the piece are even less
linear than you'd expect from avant-garde jazz and the piece is all the better
for it.
There
aren't as many roadblocks in "The Enemy of Light," but its themes are
so invigorating and complex that its more rigid structure isn't a strike
against it.
George
Lewis' trombone playing seems to be the focal point far more often than either
Davis' piano or J.D. Parran's clarinet, though Davis does a good job of letting
all of his players have their moments.
Of
course it could just be that Lewis' playing is so forceful that he commands
attention in a way that Parran doesn't.
Cello/bass
duets are my weakness, one that's far too infrequently exploited to really
cause much inflation on the whole but one that Davis milks just enough here to
put him even further into my favor.
The
end of "The Enemy of Light" is absolutely perfect. The rigid rhythm
of the bass meshing with the wild improvisations of every other instrument in
the sextet until thing coalesce back into the call and response theme between
the clarinet and trombone. It's gloriously foreboding.
Enjoy!
If
you find it, buy this album!
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