The first tune is called Sinews and it opens up with an almost funky-fusiony bass line. Then the drums come in with this really cool beat that is definitely not in 4/4 time. It almost feels like a progressive rock thing, with a funky bass line underneath the drums. The horns are playing lines over all this. It sort of reminds me of something Mary Halvorson would do, but infinitely better. At some point there's a break from the short staccato horn lines and Coleman's sax takes the lead. Then there's another break of silence for a few seconds. And then the trumpet takes a solo. The reason I said that it might sound a bit like Halvorson is that the trumpeter has played a lot of gigs with her. But this has more of a musicality to it, its not something that sounds completely random. It sounds improvised but still thought of before in advance. There's a lot of multi-horn lines going on but that funky bass line and sick progressive back beat controls the whole atmosphere. At the end there's one last final break of silence before the bass picks it up again. This first tune sounds like something that is played by college educated Jazz musicians but it has a sense of swing and feel to it.
The next tune is called Medulla-Vagus. This has guitar in it, which is very nice! The guitarist, Miles Ozkazaki uses an old straight-ahead kind of tone but it still sounds refreshing to my young modern ears. This one is a ballad that's slow and doesn't have drums in it. There's a lot of horn lines going here, there, and everywhere but the guitar seems to hold it all together nicely. But that ballady part was just an introduction! There's a break of silence and the drums come in with this almost like quasi-calypso style drum beat. And the horns follow it with more mathematical sounding horn lines, just like in the first tune. I must say that whenever Coleman is playing he isn't playing over the band as a soloist, he's always playing together with them, almost like they are all leaders rather than Coleman being the master. The horn lines are so mathematically correct. By that I mean that all the horn lines seem to resolve themselves. There's no clear cut melody anywhere, it just constantly flows.
This next tune is called Chemical Intuition. It opens with some pretty avant-garde horn lines. Almost sounds to me like a 9#11 kind of chord if I could spell it out in musical terms. One thing that stands out is how high pitched the bass sounds on this track. He's playing pretty high up the bass on certain notes here, really hitting those bass treble notes (all about that bass, but all treble). This tune stands out more than the first two because of the strangeness it reminds me of. It reminds me if like a question mark was a sound, this is what it sound like.
The fourth tune is called Cerebrum Crossover. All these tunes have great names and relate to nature and the body. This tune also has a kind of calypso type of vibe on the drums. It sounds fucking hard to play! Here we have more of the signature horn lines that's been going on, the kind that sounds like constant playing. Which sounds really hard to do because they're playing woodwinds. They gotta breathe sometime! There are melodies in the music but there are so many that I kind of get lost in it all, but in a good way. I hear one melody and then go the next right away without dwelling on it, if that makes sense. The bass has an almost reggae vibe to it, playing only a few notes and vamping it. If I could describe this tune in a more colorful way I would say that it sounds like a brain functioning, even though I have no idea what that sounds like.
Next up we have Limbic Cry. This one opens up with similar horn lines from the previous tune. But the saxophone does have a more independent line here. The bass on all of this stuff has been electric and it plays a lot of interesting bass lines. Like in this tune the bass plays this really interesting line where he's repeating notes but the rhythm is in some odd time signature. It sounds like a bitch to play and get it right. At this point in the record I've come to realize that a lot of this stuff all sounds similar. At some points when all the horns are playing at the same it reminds me of the Art Ensemble of Chicago. But then I realize the Art Ensemble would never play this cool, calm, and collected. This sounds like a scientist working in his lab patiently and methodically.
The next one is called Cardiovascular and it has this tribal drum beat on the toms with some staccato horn lines. Then Coleman's sax takes off, going into what is arguably the most interesting solo on the record so far. He goes so far with it, only to stop after a short while, letting the trumpet take a solo. Then the guitar takes a solo. This is only the second tune the guitar has been featured in and it sounds great with the rest of the band. More saxophonists should play with guitarists, it really changes things up.
Next up is a tune called Respiratory Flow and it begins with a solo saxophone introduction. Its beautiful and sounds straight-ahead, the first tune on this album that sounds this way. This sounds like something off the new Joshua Redman Bad Plus record that I have. Like something modern and new but still has a sense of traditional Jazz and Swing. This is probably the best song on the album so far because it could appeal to a lot of people more easily than the other stuff previous to this. It has a very somber but refreshing attitude about it.
Next we have a tune entitled Irregular Heartbeats. This one begins with bass and drums. The bass has a very rhythmic pattern doing a vamp while the drums are basically soloing. Then the horns come in. More interesting horn lines that sound cool and calculated. Then Coleman's sax takes a solo. I guess it would be easy to say it sounds like irregular heartbeats. The time signature is definitely not 4/4 but by now I've come to realize that almost none of this is in 4/4. It's all hard to play time signatures for the average musician. But for these guys improvising in like 17/8 wouldn't be too difficult.
I could write more about the rest of the tunes but I think you get the gist of what this sounds like. Its truly spectacular. All the songs sound a little similar, like they recorded them all within a short time span but that's ok because it all sounds good. I really like the parts with the guitar in it. The guitarist has a very unique style, which is important in playing this kind of free jazz style. Its like playing progressive rock, everybody puts their own individual style and stamp on the music. What I can say about this album is that even though I said earlier it sounds mechanical and by definition that means robotic, while it does that it also sounds completely natural and unrestrained. Every melody, lick, and line all sounds like something real. By real I mean it sounds unique and like nobody else. It's a great record! I'm glad I got it for my dad's birthday and eventually got to listening to it now. This album was released in 2013 and the crazy thing is that Coleman has only gotten better since. I heard that his 2014 release Synovial Joints is more great stuff, even on best new jazz album lists online and in jazz magazines. He's become quite the famous saxophonist and even got some awards not too long ago. "2014 was a remarkable year for alto saxophonist and composer Steve Coleman. Already acclaimed in jazz circles, he won wider recognition as the recipient of three prestigious awards: a MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship and Doris Duke Performing Artist Award." (https://pirecordings.com/album/pi57). This guy is on fire right now. Check out any of his new releases when you can.
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