Dixon, Bill / 17 Musicians In Search Of A Sound: Darfur
Album: 17 Musicians In Search Of A Sound: Darfur   Collection:Jazz
Artist:Dixon, Bill   Added:Jun 2008
Label:Aum Fidelity  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2008-07-06 Pull Date: 2008-09-07 Charts: Jazz
Week Ending: Sep 7 Aug 31 Aug 17 Aug 3 Jul 20 Jul 13
Airplays: 1 1 1 1 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jun 19, 2010: Music Casserole
Darfur
4. Aug 15, 2008: Memory Select
Scattering Of The Following
2. Sep 05, 2008: Memory Select
In Search Of A Sound
5. Aug 01, 2008: The Tainted A-Word
Intrados
3. Aug 29, 2008: Memory Select
Darfur
6. Jul 16, 2008: Brownian Motion
Darfur

Album Review
Craig Matsumoto
Reviewed 2008-06-30
Ominous, lurking pieces for large band. Big, dark, bass-heavy tones, peppered with stretches of abstract group improv in the “conduction” mode (i.e., an orchestra-tuning-up kind of sound). Dixon’s kind of free jazz seems to focus more on flow than on fast scribbly soloing. The 13 tracks are part of one suite, so you’ll hear some recurring (or at least very similiar) themes. Tracks 4,5,10,11,12,13 are very short, composed of long tones that create an ominous (w)hole.

Faster, more scribbly stuff can be found on 4, kind of on 6, and on some of 9. Overall, though, this isn't a free-jazz blowing session; it's more of a *project*, an overall group sound crafted by Dixon. Challenging and dark, it won't fit the mood of every show.

1- Gradual surge that comes to a head
2- Slow moving; foghorns in pea soup. Builds to a wave that crests gently and fades quickly.
3- Big slow orchestral sweeps. Tiny curls of trumpet.
4- Lumbering notes, then fast chaotic band improv, scribbly.
5- A 10-second, slowly blooming outburst
6- Dark tones again, then an open group improv, abstract and well paced, with lots of sound but lots of space to breathe.
7- Ominous swells with a final outburst at –3:30. Later, a
heart-pounding rush of drums in a nice improv segment.
8- Trumpet: a bright improv solo over bowed bass. Big loud group sounds.
9- The 23-minute opus: Long, lingering flow of group improv. Engaging stuff; can be faded out at will for shorter edits. After –5:00, builds up to a loud avalanche. Applause at the end.
10.11.12,13 – Miniatures: Groany tones for < 1 minute. #11 gets real loud. #13 ends with long applause.

The band:
Bill Dixon - trumpet/composer/conductor
Graham Haynes, Stephen Haynes, Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet/flugelorn
Joseph Daley- tuba
Karen Borca - bassoon
Will Connell - bass clarinet
Michel Cote - Bb contrabass clarinet
Andrew Raffo Dewar - soprano sax
John Hagen - tenor/baritone sax
J.D. Parran - bass sax/bamboo flute
Andrew Lafkas - bass
Glynis Loman - cello
Jackson Krall - drums
Warren Smith - vibes/tympani/drums

Track Listing
1. Prelude   7. Darfur
2. Intrados   8. Contour Three
3. In Search Of A Sound   9. Sinopia
4. Contour One   10. Pentimento 1
5. Contour Two   11. Pentimento 2
6. Scattering Of The Following   12. Pentimento 3
  13. Pentimento 4