Stories In Real Time

Jazz | Oct 2009

Reviews

Fo
Reviewed 2010-01-02
DARRYL HARPER: Stories in Real Time
HiPNOTIC, 2009

MODERN JAZZ – Harper’s C3 octet features four clarinets and voice for an unusual, agile, and highly organic sound. The first six tracks are a suite, lovingly constructed around poems of faith and lust by Terry Culleton, with the vocals out front. The rest of the disc includes pieces commissioned for this band from a range of composers, with a heavy dose of modern classical music and excursions into gospel, cinematic scores, world, even funk. Very good stuff, all tracks FCC clean.

Darryl Harper, Alec Spiegelman, Kenny Pexton - clarinets
Brian Landrus - bass clarinet
Marianne Solivan - voice
Lefteris Kordis - piano
Matthew Parrish - bass
Harry "Butch" Reed - drums

* * * * | All quite good. Fo’s Picks: 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13

1. 2:00 – spoken poem over walking bass & unison clarinet accents
2. 2:01 – winding poem sung over slow clarinet harmony
3. 1:55 – bright & swinging, with stabbing vocal; punchy sound
4. 2:07 – Gregorian chant-like vocal lines against slow reed harmonies
5. 6:09 – sparse intro; great bassline & solo; unsettling poem & pulsing rhythm
6. 6:44 – sexual poem; delicate clarinets, then a driving groove with scat vocal
7. 9:29 – clarinet quartet: slow, with exotic hints of tango & cascading breaks
8. 7:32 – cinematic: soaring, with odd meter, Ethiopian elements, handclaps
9. 5:36 – lovely ballad, again alike something from a film: sweet, lofty vocal
10. 2:01 – clarinet quartet: a thoughtful interlude, rich harmonies
11. 4:31 – uptempo hard strut: bass clarinet over cocky rhythm, piano soars
12. 6:39 – gospel: impassioned vocal; uplifting rhythm, warm clarinets
13. 4:46 – fun, playful: blends Duke Ellington with something more abstract

[ Fo ] 01/02/10

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Charting

2010-01-10 — 2010-03-14 Jazz
Week EndingAirplays
Feb 14 1
Feb 7 1
Jan 24 1

Track listing

1. Saints And Sinners: Bone
2. Saints And Sinners: St. Minim
3. Saints And Sinners: St. Dentwood's Confession
4. Saints And Sinners: The Novitiate
5. Saints And Sinners: The Secret
6. Saints And Sinners: We Both Know What It Comes To
7. Magnolia
8. Tilant, Zare, Nege (Ethiopia: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow)
9. Bliss
10. Pressing
11. Tore Up
12. A Prayer
13. Suite For Jazz (Swing, Blues, Walking Bass)