Brooklyn Sax Quartet - Far Side of Here

Tanager · January-27th-2006, 02:50 PM

The Brooklyn Sax Quartet
Far Side of Here
Omnitone, 2005

David Bindman, ts
Fred Ho, bs
John O'Gallagher, ss
Sam Furnace, as
Rudresh Mahanthappa, as

I hadn't seen any mention of this one, so I thought I'd fire up a thread on it. I'm about halfway through my second listening - it's a fine and enjoyable disk. I wasn't familiar with anyone other than the oft-praised (and deservedly so) Mahanthappa, although it looks like Ho has a sizeable body of work to his name from perusing AMG. Furnace and Mahanthappa each appear on about half the selections (I'm still not sure which ones - I got my copy from emusic, so I have no liner notes to consult, and it's not immediately obvious to me from listening, since Mahanthappa's nonstop stoke-the-furnace style appears to have been sublimated to the group ethos) - Furnace played at a 2003 date that produced part of the album, then died and was replaced by Mahanthappa for the 2004 date that produced the rest of the material. There are two covers (a nifty "Night in Tunisia" and "Lush Life") and compostions by (mostly) Ho and Bindman, who served as co-leaders according to AMG. "The Black Nation Suite," a set of four compositions in the middle of the album, is to my ears the meat of the disk ("Free New Afrika! Boogaloo" features some nifty interplay and jaunty lines and contrasts really nicely with the darker harmonies of the following "Song for a United Socialist Pan Afrika," although the title makes me glad there aren't accompanying lyrics).

The obvious comparison is to the WSQ, from whom I think I own precisely one disk (buried somewhere in my rack, should probably pull it and some Blythe out to get some points of comparison), but I'll let others more knowledgeable comment on that. Anyone else heard this and like/dislike it? I was surprised that anything w/Mahanthappa didn't get sniffed out sooner around here.

Sergio Zamora · January-27th-2006, 03:44 PM

Sounds interesting. Love the titles. It seems I remember reading about Fred Ho a lot about five or six years ago, and then he just dropped off my radar.

Maybe it's time to get emusic.

Paul B · January-27th-2006, 03:59 PM

You might not find Ho as interesting as you think....He seems to be more about making political statements with his music than about, well, making good music.

Bye-ya

Tanager · January-27th-2006, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul B

You might not find Ho as interesting as you think....He seems to be more about making political statements with his music than about, well, making good music.

Bye-ya

That's what AMG implied about his solo releases, not a one of which I've heard. However, that may be largely a matter of taste. Aside from the bombastic titles, none of that seems to have carried over into this album - not that I could detect, anyway. I thought the compositions and arrangements were pretty uniformly good.

Mike Schwartz · January-27th-2006, 04:26 PM

Sam Furnace passed away late '04 early '05 who was a fine player.

The song "Keeper Of The Flame" om Marty Ehrlich's last CD is in memory for Sam

Tanager · January-27th-2006, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Schwartz

Sam Furnace passed away late '04

27. Jan. 2004

Paul B · January-27th-2006, 04:31 PM

Isn't Sam Newsome in the BSQ now?

And re: Ho, I only know his solo work on Soul Note (plus the piece he wrote for Rova which appears on one of the "Works" albums). I don't think he's a great player or writer, but in the context of a quartet such as this his skills may find the right showcase.

Bye-ya

Sergio Zamora · January-27th-2006, 05:17 PM

I actually have no opinion on Ho's music (never heard him). My interest in this recording is independent of my remark about Ho.