Label: Esp-Disk, 2022
Personnel - Larry Ochs: tenor and sopranino saxophone; Mark Dresser: acoustic bass; Vladimir Tarasov: drums, percussion.
The cooperative avant-garde jazz trio Jones Jones provides non-linear narratives rooted in collective improvisation that, pushing boundaries, compels us to search. At the vertex, veteran saxophonist Larry Ochs (from Rova Saxophone Quartet) makes a perfect foil for the two musicians at the base, bassist Mark Dresser, a stalwart of the improvised music scene, and the not so recognized Russian-born Lithuanian drummer Vladimir Tarasov.
Their newest album, Just Justice, comprises nine tracks recorded in the studio before Covid struck in 2020. The recording is launched with “Articulating Jones”, an abstract proposition that revels in dark-hued tenor lines, a mix of harmonizing bowed bass and fierce pizzicato, and navigable rhythmic fragmentation. The piece that follows, “Bali Hai Jones”, has nothing to do with the tune composed by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the 1949 musical South Pacific. It feels more like world music from an unknown distant place where dancing is a rule. Rhythms and conversations are dynamically updated along the way, and a similar vibe is felt on “RBG Jones”, which, referring to former Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the title, unspools into dexterous bursts of saxophone before ending pacifically.
“Jones Free Jones” takes in the three-way intersection of sounds to build a certain climax halfway. There’s beauty in the intervallic dissonance created by Dresser, whether he uses the arco or his fingers. “Call of the Jones”, where Ochs really cuts loose over anxious drum fluxes, is much more interesting to me than “Jones in the Sonar System”, where an irregular percussive mesh gives the thumbs up to fluttering sopranino moves. Ochs’ mournful cries and sighs are even more expressive in the humorously titled “The Further Adventures of Ms. Microtonal Jones”.
Creativity sometimes gets stuck in repetitive patterns and few changes in direction. Yet, the closing improv, “And His Sisters Called Him Jones”, expresses a more outlined sense of storytelling complemented by an intriguing droning footing. This explorative trio finds their path in ambiguity, rarely tapping into emotional territory. Even without exceeding expectations, their signature aesthetic should be enough to please enthusiasts of free interplay.
Favorite Tracks:
03 - Call of the Jones ► 06 - Jones Free Jones ► 08 - And His Sisters Called Him Jones