Respect Sextet - Respect in You

Nate Dorward · April-30th-2005, 11:16 PM

This one popped out of the mail the other day (twice, actually--once from the musicians, once from Cadence: I found a good home for the spare)--some of my favourite listening so far this year. Never heard of these guys before:

Josh Rutner, tenor sax, clave, metal bowls
Eli Asher, trumpet, clave, metal bowls
James Hirschhield, trombone, radio, metal bowls, toys
Red Wierenga, piano, accordion, percussion
Matt Clohesy, bass
Ted Poor, drums, percussion

It's a live disc from Rochester. Among other things, the recorded sound is really, really good for a live date. Despite the presence of "little instruments", radios, oddball percussion &c this basically a hardswinging jazz group with some serious chops but also plenty of imagination.

1) "3 on 2" by Fred Anderson (previously covered by the AALY Trio I believe; actually I've never heard Fred's version). Starts out with a nice tenor solo over a soft radio broadcast, before turning into a swirling Traney thing, & then a buttshaking groove. Hell of a way to start an album, all 15 minutes of it.

2) "Nation's Capital", an Ornettey tune by Asher. A scrabbling theme but I notice the pianist is doing some movie-music swirls behind it. A tenor/trumpet cadenza. Then there's a bad-dream piano solo with loopy percussion & soft arco bass, intruded on eventually by--detuned radio?, no, I think it's accordion. Yes, accordion. Then a little lyrical descending line from the tenor, repeated & varied with different tones (wry, angry, insistent, diffident). Rustling metal percussion introduces a groove for the bass which gradually snowballs... Sounds like (a la Sun Ra) just about everyone here except the bassist is clacking/tapping away on something. It fades away like it's going to fade out, then there's a big ramshackle return to the theme at the end, with calmly suspensive chord from the piano to give it a slightly strange flavour.

3) "Hypochrismutreefuzz", one of the great titles in jazz, by Misha Mengelberg. It's not obvious till near the end of the track that's what they're leading up to/playing: it starts with lots of fugitive improv, a little radio fiddling, & only gradually does an offkilter groove piecemeal assemble itself (drummer & bassist playing in different metres). A little Dave Douglasy here, I wonder if they have Four in One in mind. The tune only turns up 30 secs from the end, & with the B section they launch into it like the drummer's Han Bennink...... Great stuff.

4) "Postal (a.k. PB&J)" by Rutner. A little deceptive as it starts as a wacked-out blues that leads to a death-march a la "Black & Tan Fantasy" with the trombone mournful.... but then a light switches on & it turns out this is an upbeat blues with some extra changes in the manner of "Blues for Alice". - You know, it's funny, there are elements in the tenor solo here that make me wonder if he's listened intently to Art Pepper (not an influence you hear a lot). Anyway, this smokes & then some. Then a return of that death-march blues for the trombone solo, which is a slippery/singing Ray Anderson kind of thing with clanking percussion. -- Oddly enough when the tenor sax returns he's doing a similar set of variations on a naively descending line as in the previous track. Odd that the pianist doesn't get a solo; nice bass/drums feature though.

time to get a little editing done, I'll finish this later (one track to go) --

Captain Hate · May-3rd-2005, 08:19 PM

Wow, this is the first disc I've been this jacked about in quite a while. Nate nails it all on this one. Three on Two is off of the Dark Day/Live in Verona double disc on Atavistic's Unheard Music Series; there's a version on both discs. They may not play *quite* as long as Fred does (does anybody?) but they lean into this bad boy just like the master does. What a series of grooves and tradeoffs!!!

Everything these guys play is totally fresh; everything leads logically into the next but nothing is predictable or cliched. I haven't even finished the disc and I'm so pumped that I just had to write something good about this. I don't know who these guys are but they have to have played together a while to get this sympatico.

This is top ten for sure. You mooks are on notice: Get this or leave town.

Nate Dorward · May-3rd-2005, 09:44 PM

Yes, they've actually been around since 2001 (I'm going by the liner notes to The Full Respect, their previous disc), & have a few releases out: two CDRs, (Respect.) (covers--"from Tim Berne to Kurt Weill" it says here) and (Respectacle.) (originals); a 20-minute miniCD of a live version of "Call for All Demons"; & The Full Respect, which is all originals except for a rendition of, er, the Mentos breathmint theme.

I'll have to pop this in the changer again & finish the writeup--the last track is strong stuff too.

Captain Hate · May-4th-2005, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate Dorward

4) "Postal (a.k. PB&J)" by Rutner. A little deceptive as it starts as a wacked-out blues that leads to a death-march a la "Black & Tan Fantasy" with the trombone mournful.... but then a light switches on & it turns out this is an upbeat blues with some extra changes in the manner of "Blues for Alice". - You know, it's funny, there are elements in the tenor solo here that make me wonder if he's listened intently to Art Pepper (not an influence you hear a lot). Anyway, this smokes & then some. Then a return of that death-march blues for the trombone solo, which is a slippery/singing Ray Anderson kind of thing with clanking percussion. -- Oddly enough when the tenor sax returns he's doing a similar set of variations on a naively descending line as in the previous track. Odd that the pianist doesn't get a solo; nice bass/drums feature though.

Also at the end of this cut they throw in the theme from Mengelberg's "Rollo II". Strange that the piano is so understated on this disc (I think he sits out completely during "3 on 2") given their obvious fascination with Misha. According to their website, www.respectsextet.com, the bass player was just a "guest" on this performance; I would say sign him up immediately.

The site has a number of samples from past releases (including some cdr's that are oop, which makes no sense to me and I'm starting a thread on it after this) which I'm ready to sample; not as many as Geof Bradfield, but who else does? Full Respect will be purchased shortly.

If I would change anything about the group it would be their name. It just sounds completely uninteresting.

Nate Dorward · May-4th-2005, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Hate

If I would change anything about the group it would be their name. It just sounds completely uninteresting.

What, and lose all those excruciating puns?

Nate Dorward · June-7th-2005, 10:00 PM

Thought I'd belatedly finish my job & comment on track 5. Hm, no-one else but me & Steve yet heard this one? I think it's one of the year's finest releases.

5: a hymnic call & response out of Ayler: tenor singing alone & the congregation (band) raising their sweet/raucous responses in return. Then straight into the chaotic thick of this, with horns latching onto simple melodies among all the madcap drumming. I think the following passage is a series of quotes; then there's a jolly passage recalling Ayler's celebratory shouts or the oompah passages in a Breuker performance. Aha, this is like a theme-&-variations--now it's a calypso version of the oompah theme, or is it habenera? whatever. I certainly hope that this was the last track of the original concert because it's the kind of irresistably joyous groove that would send patrons out happy. But circa 8 minutes in it's squeezed down & squeezed down some more until it's just a bare drum tattoo... & you're wondering how things are going to end, if maybe it'll just die away into silence...... & then the joyous brass-band call-&-response returns, a big "AMEN".

stonemonkts · June-8th-2005, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate Dorward

Hm, no-one else but me & Steve yet heard this one? I think it's one of the year's finest releases.

I have it, fwiw, having purchased it after reading the earlier posts in the thread. I've only listened to it twice, and need more listens to form an opinion.

Actually I think I'll read your synopses the next time I spin it.

stonemonkts · June-8th-2005, 12:57 PM

Nate - Very well done. Believe it or not, reading your summary while listening greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the session (which just ended a minute ago). It's definitely a keeper.

Nate Dorward · June-8th-2005, 01:18 PM

stonemonkts--thanks for the kind words! Funnily enough I missed noting on my running commentrary a moment where two of the players drop into the end of "O Canada", bizarrely enough...! (I just asked the pianist Red Wierenga about this & he said the piece was in their repertoire because they'd done an arrangement for a concert at Toronto's Distillery Jazz Festival. Though they didn't end up using it at the gig. Waste not want not...)

stonemonkts · June-8th-2005, 07:36 PM

That's funny, because I was wondering why you failed to mention the O, Canada snippet (I chalked it up to Canadian discretion, whatever that is).

Nate Dorward · June-8th-2005, 08:57 PM

Oh, I just missed it. There's, uh, a lot going on on the disc....

Nate Dorward · June-13th-2005, 05:31 PM

One of those "Is he listening to the same disc?" moments:

http://www.onefinalnote.com/reviews/...ll-respect.asp

Captain Hate · June-13th-2005, 09:30 PM

No accounting for taste.

Nate Dorward · June-14th-2005, 02:26 AM

Hm, maybe, but if you're a jazz critic you're nonetheless an accountant of taste.

John B · June-29th-2005, 09:18 AM

Nate, great review! It convinced me to buy a copy of the disc, for which I am grateful. Great album!

Jesse · June-30th-2005, 02:49 AM

Cappy has again served as my point man on things "jazz"-based, & I dig both Respect In You & Full Respect, the former decidely the stronger outing for me.

Nice write up, Nate, you get at how mercurial the change ups can be in the Sextet's arrangements, & how strong a soloist each player is.

I don't usually think about stuff in terms of these cats can play both inside & outside with skills & panache to spare- but if that's your cup, this is your poison.

gnhrtg · June-30th-2005, 03:15 AM

I just placed an order for this, the nice price helped (and you can also pay via pay-pal).

Nate Dorward · June-30th-2005, 11:08 AM

Thanks for the responses, guys: nice to know the word's getting out on this one.

Quote:

I don't usually think about stuff in terms of these cats can play both inside & outside with skills & panache to spare- but if that's your cup, this is your poison.

yes, I'd put it a little differently than the italicized bit (because I share some of the hesitations over the way that such claims of diversity/competence/covering the bases are often used to package music)--the attraction to Respect in You is just that it's very honest & distinctive music, sophisticated without being "high-concept".

gnhrtg · July-17th-2005, 08:13 AM

Let me just chime in and thank Nate and the good Captain for bringing this album to our attention. Yes, great recorded sound, lots of fun, strong solos (all good though so far the sax player stands out), and a lot going on - especially during the course of each track, and notably all the tracks are strong.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Hate

Also at the end of this [the 4th] cut they throw in the theme from Mengelberg's "Rollo II".

There's that quote which is either followed or preceded by yet another quote from a Mengelberg tune (forgot the name but it's on the recent quartet disc with Douglas, Bennink, and Brad Jones).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Hate

Strange that the piano is so understated on this disc (I think he sits out completely during "3 on 2") given their obvious fascination with Misha. According to their website, www.respectsextet.com, the bass player was just a "guest" on this performance; I would say sign him up immediately.

And I agree with all the points above.

mke · May-14th-2006, 08:35 AM

There are a couple of tunes to be heard on their MySpace page that aren't on the album Nate reviewed. I hadn't heard the Respect Sextet before, sounds very good.