Michael Bisio: Inimitable

  The accomplished bassist Michael Bisio writes that he wasn’t entirely certain that Inimitable was a compliment when he was introduced that way at what he describes as a “very public forum of bassists...” But when you consider the passion, chops, and attention to detail that Bisio displays in the many contexts in which he’s performed, it becomes clear that there isn’t really anyone else quite like him. He’s made it the title of his new solo date, released on the Mung Music imprint from Korea, offering nearly an hour of his unadorned sound, finely captured by Brooklyn engineer Jim Clouse. It takes a certain measure of audacity for a bass player to record alone, but it takes an extra dose of chutzpah to start off with a tune like the fifteen minute tour de force Quintessence. With his prodigious imagination and energetic drive on full display, your attention is not likely to fade as the music flies by. Next up is the arco feature New One. It’s Bisio at his most romantic, with its gently flowing melody and carefully nuanced work with the bow. The beguiling Henry’s Tune is an absorbing piece of theme and variations, enhanced by the purity of the deep bass that Bisio employs on the track. Contrast that with what follows, Small Things Interrupted. It’s quite a trip as the intricate and insistent upper register damped strums of what sounds like a prepared bass result in a weird combination of clatter and string noise, like transmissions from another world. Renew One begins with the luxuriant sound of the bowed bass, playing a slow and peaceful melody before he sets down the bow to play a calmly reflective commentary on the theme. John Coltrane’s Wise One gets a respectful exploration from Bisio as he dissects the melody with deep logic and impeccable control. In another abrupt segue, Bisio picks up the bow again for the gnarly and assaultive Hear Now, the shortest piece on the set but the wildest. We’re back to a more soothing atmosphere with the rhapsodic Before Dawn Rising. The album concludes with Bisio’s meditative and entrancing look at the standard I Fall in Love Too Easily, a favorite of improvisers since it was premiered by Frank Sinatra in 1945. Inimitable is a superb showcase for the many stylistic approaches of Michael Bisio, an up-close look that’s really worth investigating. Definitely recommended. 

Mung Music; Michael Bisio (b); Brooklyn, NY, February 22, 2020; Quintessence/ New One/ Henry’s Theme/ Small Things Interrupted/ Renew One/ Wise One/ Hear Now/ Before Dawn Rising/ I Fall in Love Too Easily; 58:05. mungmusic.bandcamp.com