Spiderwebmandala

Reviewed: 2018-08-02
Genre: Jazz (X)
FCCs: none
Review: Liebowitz on piano & Payne on clarinet hold forth well on 9 segments of chamber jazz duet improvisation. Nothing was worked out beforehand; all was generated spontaneously as it was recorded live in concert. It is very imaginative music we hear, two equals giving each other free reign and equal interplay for a varied sequence of moods and inventions. They also invite their poet friend, Mark Weber, to join them reading his poetry on a few tracks.
If You Like: Matthew Shipp, Areon, Norbert Rodenkirchen, Roscoe Mitchell, Henry Threadgill
Track Review (favorites denoted by *):
1/ Deep Sky (5:07) – clarinet starts> slow duet swings uptempo & frenetic> drops to midtempo> fade
2/ Spiderweb Mandala Flower Explosion Poem: Drishti (4:40) – spoken word introduction> clarinet starts hard & fast> uptempo duet> spoken poem> wild & frenetic midtempo duet> slows to fade
*3/ Desert Dance (3:57) – clarinet starts> slow duet> swings back & forth between midtempo & slow tempos> fade
*4/ Secrets (4:44) – clarinet starts> midtempo duet builds to uptempo & frenetic> builds in volume & intensity> slows to quick stop
5/ Tempest (2:40) – clarinet starts> duet builds to crescendo, then keeps building in waves, like a cascade going backwards> quick stop
6/ Mixtures Of Aroma In The Smoke (4:24) – clarinet starts> slow duet> spoken word surrealistic poem> duet goes frenetic & fades
*7/ Notes On A Dream (7:04) – clarinet> slow hesitating duet> beautiful piano solo> clarinet solo> slow duet> quick fade on clarinet
*8/ Hidden Canyon (5:39) – clarinet starts> slow duet> piano uses heavy chords> morphs into midtempo duet> builds in volume & intensity> slows, then slows some more> slows to fade
*9/ Vanishing Point (4:44) – clarinet starts> fast tempo duet gets faster & more frenetic> slows to midtempo, swings to very frenetic & intense> slows to slow duet> quick fade