Composance
from Cadence Music
"Bassist Michael Bisio, helped by Rob Blakeslee (brass) and Greg Campbell (percussion, French horn) represents one of the 'traits d'union' between freedom and scheme in modern jazz. His music possesses that leading edge quickening separation from stereotypes and gossip-like hypertechnical passages; on the contrary, his trio organizes ideas and intuitiveness with the same deadpan rigour of a small chamber orchestra, honouring their influences yet saluting new sights whenever they materialize. Extremely mindful of his performing strength, Bisio alternates his fingering sapience with cascades of royal arcoing, while his companions join the discourse lessening tensions and building intelligent examples of precise sound equipartition. Easy music it ain't; just listen without preconceptions and enjoy the rewards."
Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes
"Aside from the natural beauty, relative political conservatism (except for Portland, Eugene & Seattle), and high percentage of rainfall, one doesn't hear much about the Pacific Northwest, at least in regard to its homegrown creative music scene. (Wayne Horvitz and Bill Frisell migrated there from NYC, fyi.) Darn shame, that -- Michael Bisio, for one, is a one fine acoustic bassist and bandleader in an heir-to-the-late-master-Mingus fashion, and on this trio date, he's flanked by a most impressive brass-wielding TDWR (that's downBeat code for Talent Deserving Wider Recognition), Rob Blakeslee. Bisio has a round-sounding, heavy yet nimble tone (a la the Charlie-men: Haden & Mingus), and he's not shy about using his axe as a 'lead' instrument, playing melodic lines with judicious (& edgy) use of bowing. Rob B has his own sound, to be sure, but there are undeniable echoes of Lester Bowie and Bobby Bradford. Not to sleight the fellow in the drum/percussion chair: Greg Campbell plays with wonderful subtlety and restraint. The eight pieces here are rather spacious and fairly free, and while you probably won't be humming them in the shower, there's drive and focus (no excess or gratuitous improvs; the three play as a unit, not just 'at the same time') and lyricism, albeit of the abstract sort.(Though not vague or formless; there are hard-bop undertones here.) Those diggin' the goods served-up in the delis of the LA free music scene (i.e., Vinny Golia, Jon Rapson, etc.) and the AACM (especially Henry Threadgill's Air, W. Leo Smith & the aforementioned Lester B) are hereby urged to put this on their 'short list' of discs-to-invest-in."
Tracks: Charles Too!; Come Sunday; Pretty Boy, Pig Face & the Family God; four others.
Record Label Website: http://www.cadencebuilding.com
Reviewed by: Mark Keresman
Undulations
from Omnitone
"Part early Ornette mixed with a Mingus sensibility, Bisio's versatile band swings, floats and stirs things up...In the end, while influences are heard, the sound and approach are clearly Bisio's own." --John Ephland, Downbeat Magazine (four stars out of a possible five)
"Hopefully, this wonderful recording will not be relegated into a category befitting unknown or hidden treasures as Michael Bisio¹s invigorating project looms rather large within the big scheme of things."
Four and one-half stars (out of a possible five)
Glenn Astarita,
www.allaboutjazz.com
"Following on the heels of impressive, cutting-edge outings with the Silkheart and Cadence labels, Seattle-based bassist/composer Bisio has come up with a stunning debut for OmniTone. Both his solidly grounded basslines and his remarkable sense of musical architecture impress here. Overall, Undulations resonates with intelligence, emotional depth and probing virtuosity." -Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes
"Bisio's playing is top notch..." -Harvey Pekar, Bass Player
from the All Music Guide
Now living in Seattle but originally from the state of New York, Bisio has strong formative experiences in both free jazz (with Barbara Donald and Sonny Simmons, among others) and contemporary classical music (with clarinetist Bill Smith and trombonist Stuart Dempster). But on the sleeve are acknowledged the influences of David Izenzon and Henry Grimes, two bass players that surely were able to be true to the personality of the instrument while freeing it from any obvious support role. Bisio loves the sound of the bass, perfectly captured on this excellent recording. On two consecutive tracks, his sound is the first to strike the ear, first with a driving, blues-drenched introduction to "Golden Blue" and then with a light, suspended, dreaming meditation, rich in harmonics, that opens "Give Up the Chair." These tunes are penned by two members of the quintet, viola player Jim Nolet and trumpeter Rob Blakeslee, as Bisio seems to have a democratic stance for a leader; only three tracks out of seven are his own compositions, the others are given to the rest of the group, one each. The unusual front line of trumpet and viola is backed by Bob Nell on piano and Ed Pias on drums; each member of the group is free to improvise, and Pias keeps a free-flowing, dancing rhythm throughout responding to the improvisation of whoever is playing at any given moment. Nolet is an impressive player, authoritatively contributing to the group's improvisations. The musicians have very definite personalities, but to give a frame of reference, this is acoustic improvised music firmly rooted in the line of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry. In it, clarity and space are more important than energy alone, and the improvisations are every bit as important as the compositions. The melodies play an important role; in the composition dedicated to Henry Grimes, the group quotes "Hi Fly" by Randy Weston: "Grimes was a high-flying guy," says Bisio. The record closes with a joyous celebration, "Legend," penned by drummer Pias, and even when the group wails at full force the music is not cluttered or compressed, every detail still clearly etched thanks to a recording that's as musical as the group itself. The track is a real swinger, perfect to be played to any friend who still has doubts about avant-garde jazz. Its focuses are an extended, exciting drum solo, a dialogue between trumpet and violin that first trades bars, then improvise together. Finally a fantastic, free-wheeling piano solo precedes the final exposition of the theme. Bisio, the leader, is heard throughout, propelling the music, but doesn't get a spotlight on him, thus perfectly summing up his attitude: the music first. (Francesco Martinelli)
and from Glenn Astarita, www.allaboutjazz.com:
Seattle-based composer/bassist Michael Bisio has crafted a sure-fire winner with this release titled Undulations. The bassist's well-orchestrated miniatures surge forward with the grace and zeal of a big band, especially on the steamy opener titled, "Doesn't Really". Here, West Coast trumpeter Rob Blakeslee goes head to head with viola performer Jim Nolet in concert with an enthusiastic swing vamp as the quintet renders darting lines atop pianist Bob Nell's blazing arpeggios and swiftly executed single note leads. However, the rapid exchanges between Nolet and Blakeslee are a source of wonderment as the band also melds a quiet fire with pristine yet at times loosely enacted motifs in conjunction with shifty time signatures and tempestuous interplay. The leader steers the band through intricate maneuvers, which is evident on "Give Up The Chair," where the radiant soloing and torrid pace coexists with subtle undercurrents and oscillating rhythms. Hence, the music breathes vigor and spontaneity amid cascading progressions and imaginative themes as the band finalizes the proceedings with the savage free-bop exposition, "Legends."
Undulations packs a mighty punch! All in all, Bisio's perceptive approach and upbeat implementations incorporate disparate elements along with a few nods to Ornette Coleman-like harmolodics and the soloist's keen reinvention of melodies via passionate improv and controlled discipline. Hopefully, this wonderful recording will not be relegated into a category befitting unknown or hidden treasures as Michael Bisio's invigorating project looms rather large within the big scheme of things.
MBEK
Michael Bisio / Eyvind Kang (Meniscus)
Review by Derek Taylor, www.allaboutjazz.com
An entire program of tandem string discourse may seem at first perusal like an unsavory offering. Few are the numbers of improvising string aggregations that can make such a combination work. Fortunately, as becomes immediately apparent once the music here begins Michael Bisio and Eyvind Kang are string stylists of the strong distinction and their collective mastery of pitch and timbre allows for an infinite array of sonic possibilities. Bisio has collaborated with some of the legends of creative music including Joe McPhee and Vinny Golia. Likewise Kang has kept similarly impressive company working with Bill Frisell and as a frequent participant in many of John Zorn’s projects. Their new offering on Meniscus provides them the space to fully plumb the sonorous depths of their instruments and it’s a challenging pleasure from inception to end.
The opening rendition of Coltrane’s Seraphic Light revisits all of the beauty of the piece’s angelic theme while retaining the underlying sadness inherent in the ensemble elements of Trane’s original version. Both players bring a stunning folk-inflected eloquence to the table that inculcates even the most tightly bundled harmonic passages. This is quite honestly one of the most moving pieces of music I can recall hearing in recent memory.
On After The Break Bisio’s serrated arco strokes cut thick harmonic slabs that swirl around Kang’s koto-like plucks. Later Kang’s bow builds a succession of subsonically etched scribbles as Bisio bounces his bow against his bridge and strings creating a rumbling racket of immense proportions. Even within the folksy groove figure of The Biszer the pair still finds immeasurable space to display their mastery of extended string techniques. Cardinal Waters works as the disc’s centerpiece both in terms of length and sheer volume of improvisational virtuosity. Spreading their collective ingenuity across a third of an hour Bisio and Kang cycle through a galvanizing array of thematic material. Both players put their respective instruments through a punishing series of paces and miraculously the level of musicianship never falters. Each piece is a harmonic feast that blends precisely into the next. All of them will require careful and contentious listens to completely grasp all that transpires between the two players. Attending to the dizzying heights these two effortlessly scale in one sitting becomes exhausting, but in the most satisfying way imaginable. Their work here deserves serious consideration as one of the top releases of 2000 thus far.
Tracks: Seraphic Light/ After The Break/ JGLag/ The Biszer/ Cardinal Waters/ Zebulon #3/ MBEK/ Cardinal Waters.
Players: Michael Bisio- bass; Eyvind Kang- violin.
Recorded: November 27, 1998, Flora Avenue Studios, Seattle, WA.
Dan Warburton, Paris Transatlantic, global coverage of avant-garde music and art
An artist as hard to classify as violinist Eyvind Kang (whose output ranges from the country jazz of Bill Frisell to the thrash/death funk of Dying Ground, via the utterly original Tzadik album "7 Nades" and the utterly unlistenable "Sweetness of Sickness" on the aptly-named Rabid God Inoculator (!) imprint) probably wouldn't give a damn for the free jazz vs. free improvisation debate currently smoldering in Europe. The fact that this outstanding duo album with bassist Michael Bisio opens with John Coltrane's "Seraphic Light" (on the "Stellar Regions" album just a few years back) would seem to indicate a closer affinity to jazz, however; Kang's violin playing recalls several generations of noble predecessors, from Joe Venuti and Stuff Smith to Leroy Jenkins and Billy Bang, with a healthy dose of Middle-Eastern and Oriental music and downright vicious noise thrown in for good measure. Bisio's big sound (imagine a fearsome meta-bassist synthesizing Oscar Pettiford, Charlie Haden and Peter Kowald and you're on the right track) is the perfect foundation for Kang to build his elaborate constructions on. Elaborate, but never flashy: one of the glories of this album is its refusal to indulge in technical display for its own sake: the music is strong and goes right for your guts. There are several killer violinists around today - Malcolm Goldstein, Jason Hwang, Phil Durrant, Phil Wachsmann - but few who have succeeded in making the hair on the back of my neck stand up as well as Kang does here. Strongly recommended.
Steven Loewy, All-Music Guide to Jazz
From the opening soulful rendition of Coltrane's "Seraphic Light," you know there is going to be magic on this album. The remaining seven tracks are originals, filled with plenty of free improvisation, but the underlying elements throughout are virtuosity, deep creative vision, and a remarkable anticipation of moves. A string duo might not seem like the best venue for the kind of exciting intensity found here, but bassist Michael Bisio and violinist Eyvind Kang are deliciously wild for every moment of the more than sixty-eight minutes of playing time. Cascading circles of sound collide with furious rumbles of unadulterated power, adjectives rarely associated with a string duet. Sometimes, the violin returns to a post-boppish geometric line, only to move outside again. The pieces are not all loud, though, as there is a shimmering beauty when the violin shows its graceful side, as it often does. By the end, you almost forget that there are such things as drums, piano, or horns.
François Couture, L'Inentendu
I don't believe I'd heard bassist Michael Bisio prior to this recording. On the other, I am getting familiar with violinist Eyvind Kang, as his work is being more and more documented and he seems to get the recognition he deserves.
The meeting that gave birth to MBEK took place within studio walls in November 1998, at what sounds like an intimate recording session. There is a feeling of communion between the two players, one of those musical encounters that move the listener, one in which we can almost touch Art (with a capital A, please). The lyrical, almost romantic playing of Eyvind Kang has a lot to do with this atmosphere. His warm sound with many long strokes of the bow and sometimes plaintive notes are (sadly) an exception in violinists of free jazz allegiance. "Seraphic Light" (a rendition of a John Coltrane piece) and the second take of "Cardinal Waters" both testify of Kang's sensitivity. His approach reminds me of another lyrical violinist: Mat Maneri.
The character of Bisio's contrabass completes the violin. Bisio is also from the lyrical end of the spectrum. He favors the bow and his sound is not unlike Dominic Duval's. Violin and bass converse with each other in very enjoyable way throughout the eight semi-written numbers found on this disc. Some more traditional elements can be found here and there (like a strongly bluesy line in "The Biszer").
MBEK delivers one of the good free jazz meetings to find their way on record this year. This is a strongly recommendable album, particularly for those not drawn to feverish (Peter Brötzmann-like) or noisy and abstract (the London school) free jazz.
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