Saxophonist Larry Ochs and drummer Donald Robinson have played together countless times over the past three decades. They were both members of Glenn Spearman’s Double Trio and formed What We Live, a trio with bassist Lisle Ellis that recorded seven albums between 1994 and 2004. Then there’s the Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core, with Ochs, Robinson and fellow percussionist Scott Amendola, and more. Living not too far from one another has made it easy for them to spend many hours playing. No surprise, then, that the Ochs-Robinson Duo serves up a pungent and inspired helping of free jazz on A Civil Right. The pair dives right into an adept dialogue of tenor saxophone and drums on Arise the Poet. It serves as a richly detailed introduction to their conversational and improvisational styles. A beautifully developed Robinson cymbal solo starts off Yesterday and Tomorrow, which features Ochs on sopranino saxophone, an octave higher than an alto. The best moments of the piece come when Robinson switches to thunderous drums and Ochs takes flight with long, sinuous tones. Ochs’ gruffly vocalized and testifying tenor on Robinson’s A Civil Right is a showcase for the saxophone language that he’s developed over decades in the Rova Saxophone Quartet and myriad other projects. After an initial drum roll flurry, Robinson merely keeps time with bass drum and hi-hat for the entire piece. Ochs’ The Others Dream is a strong full-bore burst of sound, with some biting sopranino work, more powerhouse tenor and hard-driving drumming by Robinson, including a lengthy and absorbing drum solo. The doomy sound of mallets on tom-toms opens the finale, Regret, a ravishing melody by Ochs that’s emotionally rich and piercingly tender. Robinson, a minimalist at heart, keeps the rolling toms going for the entire performance, another gem in a series of superb performances. Absolutely recommended.
ESP-Disk’ ESP5052; Larry Ochs (ts, sop s) Donald Robinson (d); Oakland, CA, 2018-2019; Arise the Poet/ Yesterday and Tomorrow/ A Civil Right/ The Others Dream/ Regret; 45:58. www.espdisk.com
No comments:
Post a Comment