Douglas/Sclavis/Lee/van der Schyff, Bow River Falls

[Nate Dorward]

This was recorded in Banff during one of their jazz workshops (in 2003). The title refers to a piece of the local scenery:



As for the music, I'm a bit ambivalent about it: it's as intelligent & handsome & well-done as you'd expect from these guys but it never really seems necessary. Most of the tracks are fairly short (5 minutes, usually), & maybe I'm too weaned on the traditional head-solos-head format but I found the habit of letting the pieces just end quietly rather than leading to an emphatic restatement & windup a bit frustrating--somehow the pieces always seem to get reined in early & rather anticlimactically. Still, there's nothing wrong with what's here: it's just that it often left me wanting a bit more.

Anyway, it's nice to see Douglas in this spare format--this is definitely not a disc he could have released with RCA Victor--even though it's not exactly stirring. Favourites so far are a brief but good cover of Steve Lacy's "Blinks" (this was recorded before Lacy's demise so it's not an elegy, but it's nonetheless quite timely of course) & the revisiting of "Woman at Point Zero" from Witness (which is so far my favourite of thoise of Douglas's albums I've heard). Most of the tunes were written for previous projects, so anyone who's followed these guys will likely know some of the material already. Not a bad disc but it slips by pleasantly without making a big impression (I've heard it 4 times now & I still can't remember any of it except the Lacy track).

[Captain Hate]

That's very well-stated faint praise. One thing you don't mention is the individual playing. Is that because nobody really stands out or because the cuts are primarily ensemble playing with nobody really featured? Or something else.

Based on what you wrote I'll probably steer clear of this; which means I'm in your debt since based on the lineup I'd almost automatically buy this on sight (good thing my to-get list is so huge 'cause I'd have done it already).

[Nate Dorward]

Oh, it's worth hearing, so if you're curious about it, go ahead, but I wouldn't expect it to scale the heights, no.

[mke]

Originally Posted by Nate Dorward

As for the music, I'm a bit ambivalent about it: it's as intelligent & handsome & well-done as you'd expect from these guys but it never really seems necessary. (...) Still, there's nothing wrong with what's here: it's just that it often left me wanting a bit more.

I listened to it once and felt by turns that it was nice or exhibited a rather conventional zaniness.

[Nate Dorward]

I think it was the Canadian atmosphere. Niceness & rather conventional zaniness: a pretty good summary of the defects of 95% of Canadian jazz.



But what do I know. So far every review I've seen of this is positive, sometimes very positive.

[Mike Schwartz]

I think that Nate is pretty close to the pulse of how this session came together.

I don't have it in front of me, but the liner notes talk about the relaxed vibe in the amazing setting, a state of the art studio in the midst of Banff park blending with the time spent teaching and playing together.

Not memorable, yet pleasant at every listen, has been my experience with this CD.

[MRS]

. . .really accurate comments above. That Lee composition 'Window' is the highlight, as it's the first time things settle down, everyone's broken a sweat. Van der Schyff is in wonderful, soft mood as always. The cello's a bit low in the mix, and Douglas plays too much, whereas Sclavis really picks his spots on this one (is it fair to say he's loquacious much of the time elsewhere?)

not bad, though--you folks are spot on, Whistler's national anthems

(not as good as the Moore/Lee/Van der Schyff, which is so one-off and matter-of-factly good nor the husband/wife duo These Are Our Shoes, this is just too scripted)

[Nate Dorward]

FWIW Jay Collins waxes very enthusiastic about it at OFN:

http://www.onefinalnote.com/reviews/...iver-falls.asp

His tasteless pun on "Balkanized" makes me wince, though.

[Jay]

RE: the term "Balkanized" - most folks familiar at all with Douglas' discography/comps will know its meaning.

[Nate Dorward]

Yeah I'm sure people will grasp the pun, I'm just not a fan of the pun.

[Jay]

That's the point!!! - there is no pun. It is a reference to the source of inspiration for the music (a source which he and his cohorts have been mining for years). You are reading far more into this than there is.

[Sergio Zamora]

Originally Posted by Nate Dorward

Yeah I'm sure people will grasp the pun, I'm just not a fan of the pun.

Since the word is capitalized, I'm not so sure it was meant as a pun, though you could be right. Of course, if it wasn't, Collins might have found a better way of stating it.

[Nate Dorward]

Well you can't simply disregard the connotations of a highly politically charged word like "Balkanized", which in ordinary usage means something completely different (M-W: "to break up (as a region or group) into smaller and often hostile units").