Liturgy of Ghosts, the
Reviews
johnn
Reviewed 2003-04-15
Reviewed 2003-04-15
Comprised of members from Chicago, Indiana, and North Carolina, the Unstable Ensemble combines contemporary classical with avantgarde jazz. Drawing upon the greats -- Schoenberg, Crumb – the group successfully creates beautiful textures and moods out of abstract melodies and noises, ranging from dark to poignant to playful. The vocabulary is largely from the jazz world, but the overall effect is very much in line with atonal and improvised new music. 4, 7, 9, 1.
1. baritone sounds, then jazz guitar solo. sparse, mysterious.
2. percussion pitterpatter with random noises and brass moans, then enter short plaintive melodic fragments from sax.
3. mostly random percussion sounds interspersed with blips.
4. quiet til 0:30. sparse, moody sax on top of gorgeous low rumble. some instrument on phaser (~didjeridoo). ends with static noises.
5. jazz guitar solo + wandering sax scales/mouthpiece noises. gets intense and then ends with a schoenberg-esque abstract sadness.
6. percussion/guitar noises + melodic blips from sax throughout.
7. latin guitar melody + sax solo throughout. the most tonal track so far, quite pretty in the last minute or so.
8. blips + noises, then guitar solo, then ends w/ beautiful dark texture.
9. slow baritone + sad sax/guitar melodies. high freq sine waves. midway, big buildup of mouthpiece warbles. ends with steady jazz beat and melodic fragments.
1. baritone sounds, then jazz guitar solo. sparse, mysterious.
2. percussion pitterpatter with random noises and brass moans, then enter short plaintive melodic fragments from sax.
3. mostly random percussion sounds interspersed with blips.
4. quiet til 0:30. sparse, moody sax on top of gorgeous low rumble. some instrument on phaser (~didjeridoo). ends with static noises.
5. jazz guitar solo + wandering sax scales/mouthpiece noises. gets intense and then ends with a schoenberg-esque abstract sadness.
6. percussion/guitar noises + melodic blips from sax throughout.
7. latin guitar melody + sax solo throughout. the most tonal track so far, quite pretty in the last minute or so.
8. blips + noises, then guitar solo, then ends w/ beautiful dark texture.
9. slow baritone + sad sax/guitar melodies. high freq sine waves. midway, big buildup of mouthpiece warbles. ends with steady jazz beat and melodic fragments.
Recent airplay
Flame Leaps Out
Memory Select — Nov 24, 2009
In the Fullness of Time
Umami Jazz Program — Oct 21, 2004
Flame Leaps Out
Memory Select — Jun 06, 2003
In the Fullness of Time
Memory Select — May 30, 2003
Thirty Spokes Share One Hub
Audio.Pulmonary.Recitation. — May 22, 2003
Mercy
sad and dangerous — Apr 17, 2003
Charting
2003-04-07 — 2003-06-09
Jazz
| Week Ending | Airplays |
|---|---|
| Jun 8 | 1 |
| Jun 1 | 1 |
| May 25 | 1 |
| Apr 20 | 2 |
| Apr 13 | 1 |
Track listing
| 1. | Beneath the Rafters | ||
| 2. | Needles, Hooks, Lit Aloft | ||
| 3. | Torque and Tungsten | ||
| 4. | In the Fullness of Time | ||
| 5. | Flame Leaps Out | ||
| 6. | Nots | ||
| 7. | Mercy | ||
| 8. | Thirty Spokes Share One Hub | ||
| 9. | To Speak, to Listen |