Andrew Cyrille - Breaking the Shell

October 1, 2024

Label: Red Hook Records, 2024

Personnel - Bill Frisell: electric guitar; Kit Downes: organ; Andrew Cyrille: drums.

This remarkable musical collaboration between revered guitarist Bill Frisell, versed British organist Kit Downes, and veteran drummer Andrew Cyrille results in a uniquely original work with so much going on, that only repeated listenings will make you pick up the nuances and fully absorb the vibes. Pushing beyond the usual boundaries of jazz, this innovative trio ensures that nothing in their sonic landscapes feels predictable. The 11 tracks on Breaking the Shell were recorded in New York’s Church of St. Luke in the Fields, an acoustically rich space that enhanced the resonance of the group’s sound, particularly Downes' commanding pipe organ, with its 27 stops and 1,670 pipes.

We are pitched straight into “May 4th”, an experimental effort by Frisell and Downes, containing vibrant droning in an intriguing balance between expansive guitar and grounding organ. Equally penned by the duo, “Kasei Valles”, named after a giant system of canyons on Mars, continues the experimental vibe, using sinister drones, looping riffs, and distorted walls of sound that evoke a psychedelic, nebulous atmosphere.

Downes’ “Untitled 2023” offers a more grounded composition, but with loose, exploratory drumming prying itself out of inertia. There’s shoulder-to-shoulder work by Frisell and Downes who employ harmonics and floating beams, respectively, to give the piece its peaceful resolution. Also penned by Downes, “El” is a beautiful piece where a tangible, affecting melody slides on top of a steady atmospheric texture, complemented with Cyrille’s magnificent brushwork and a guest appearance by cellist Lucy Railton. Cyrille’s skill with brushes is further showcased in his own composition, “Proximity”, a ballad filled with wonder and heartfelt emotion, akin to a meditative prayer.

Frisell, who embraces guitar reinvention at each new recording, injects wonderful impressionism in his composition “July 2nd”, delving into a gravity-defying harmonic exploration. “Two Twins” sonically paints with avant-garde tonalities, with Frisell bending notes, loosening harmonics, and fingerpicking amid tranquil waves of reverb, while Downes wraps it all in a contemporary electro bubble.

The trio also interprets two traditional European folk tunes, one from Norway and one from Hungary. The Norwegian song, “Sjung Hjerte Sjung”, grows progressively deeper, moved by Cyrille’s bright command of cymbals and snare, and filtered by a slight Southern sound that includes snippets of ambient-rock and modal music. The Hungarian piece, “Este a Székelyeknél”, takes us to hypnotic states with its quirky timbral radiations.

Throughout Breaking the Shell, the trio demonstrates a constant fascination with sound and texture, creating a transcendental work of experimental jazz that is as bewildering as it is exhilarating. It’s a must-listen for anyone who seeks fresh vibes in creative music.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Untitled 2023 ► 04 - El ► 06 - Sjung Hjerte Sjung ► 08 - July 2nd

Andrew Cyrille / William Parker / Enrico Rava - 2 Blues for Cecil

January 13, 2022

Label: TUM Records, 2022

Personnel - Enrico Rava: flugelhorn; William Parker: double bass; Andrew Cyrille: drums.

I’m a long-time admirer and follower of the music put out by the Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava (here on flugelhorn only), the bassist William Parker, and the drummer Andrew Cyrille, as leaders. These brilliant musicians, who often write with improvisation in mind, are constantly open to ideas, remaining alert and responsive to every sound that surrounds them.

Although appearing together for the first time as a trio on 2 Blues For Cecil , they were all part of the groundbreaking Cecil Taylor Unit in the past, but at different times. Cyrille and Parker played in the cited group for 11 years each, 64-75 and 80-91, respectively; Rava appeared twice alongside the free jazz piano genius in 1984 and 1988. This dedication to the memory of the pianist comprises four collective improvisations, one jazz standard, one original by Parker and two apiece from Rava and Cyrille.

“Improvisation No.2” is way more reflective and sparse than “Improvisation No.1”, which opens the record with singing bass lines and likable figures, ever-sparking drumming filled with multi-timbral discernment, and crystal-clear horn playing that manages to be agile and searing. Also collective improvisations, “Blues For Cecil No. 1” and “Blues For Cecil No. 2” have different feelings. The former starts off slowly and then swings conveniently with Parker mutating rhythmic flows with vision; the latter is a more conventional 12-bar blues limned with expressive melody and groove.

Rava populates his hasty, if carefully calibrated, 1991-penned “Ballerina” with restless trumpet, but it’s his other composition, “Overboard”, that enthralled me the most. This Ornette Coleman-inspired piece was revisited many times before, but is built afresh here with beautiful trumpet lines and an enveloping rhythmic web consisting of sure-footed bass walks and intense tom-tom focus.

Whereas Cyrille’s “Enrava Melody” was written for the trumpeter, who, blowing with ascendant verve, combines sophistication and stamina, Parker’s open piece “Machu Picchu”, grounded on a three-time-feel bass ostinato, is a static yet dazzling showcase for Rava’s melodic impressions. The trio concludes with a brushed, harmonically broken reading of Rodgers/Hart’s “My Funny Valentine”.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Improvisation No. 1 ► 08 - Overboard ► 09 - Machu Picchu

Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The News

August 19, 2021

Label: ECM Records, 2021

Personnel - Bill Frisell: guitar; David Virelles: piano, synth; Ben Street: double bass; Andrew Cyrille: drums.

The News, the second platter offered by a quartet led by accomplished drummer/composer Andrew Cyrille, encompasses different flavors and spices that should be tried. There's one change in the group's lineup with the addition of Cuban pianist David Virelles, a logical replacement for the late Richard Teitelbaum, who died last year at the age of 80. Virelles had never played with guitarist Bill Frisell before but had enlisted Cyrille and bassist Ben Street to support him on his 2012 album Continuum.

The album opens with the imperturbable composure of Bill Frisell’s “Mountain”, which brings a sheen-polished dose of Americana to the table. Virelles opts for a deep and dark sonority here, but not on “Leaving East of Java”, a piece by pianist Adegoke Steve Colson where his adventuresome choices include an instinctive Latin tinge and a captivating avant-jazz nimbleness. The tune, previously tackled by Cyrille in the company of his Trio 3 partners - saxist Oliver Lake and bassist Reggie Workman - starts with a long intro before entering in that soft groove that gradually increases in speed while inviting to improvisation.

In addition to the album's aforementioned opener, Frisell contributes two other pieces: “Go Happy Lucky”, a blues where his mellow guitar licks go beautifully with the piano accompaniment that emerges from the low register, and “Baby”, whose genuine sense of bonhomie makes us rest in a clear sea of tranquility. At this spot, Cyrille’s just-right brushwork shows how poetically expressive his art form can be.

The bandleader encourages interpretive freedom with “The News”, an electronic-fueled avant-garde piece he wrote that favors collective interaction, and also “Dance of the Nuances”, in which he shared compositional efforts with Virelles, straddling genres through an amalgam of elements drawn from ambient, avant-garde, experimental and electronic music.

I couldn’t leave Virelles’ “Incienso” without a mention because those poignant piano chords laid over a sensuous rhythm caught my ear immediately. Not only the interplay between Frisell and Virelles provides a wider, often polyphonic scope, but also Street’s sense of restraint and Cyrille’s impeccable rhythmic embellishments become preponderant so that everything sounds pleasantly organic as it is.

Cyrille’s specialty was always free and avant-garde jazz but this quartet opens further possibilities, making his musical menu diversified. It’s also a perfect fit for the known ECM sound.

Favorite Tracks:
03 - Go Happy Lucky ► 06 - Baby ► 07 - Dance of the Nuances

Andrew Cyrille - Lebroba

October 29, 2018

Label: ECM Records, 2018

Personnel – Andrew Cyrille: drums; Wadada Leo Smith: trumpet; Bill Frisell: guitar.

Andrew Cyrille, 78, is a veteran jazz drummer that doesn’t need any kind of pyrotechnics to stand out. Instead, he instinctively hits the different parts of the drum kit with disentangled discernment, almost in a search of the perfect minimalism to rhythmically drive a tune.

On this new outing, Lebroba, he is joined by two other giants of the modern jazz scene: trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith and guitarist Bill Frisell. All three explorers contribute with compositions and there’s also an improvised number, “TGD”, signed by the collective. This piece unfolds in a crossing of spontaneous trumpet gusts, communicative distorted guitar, and refined percussive enchantment, all disturbed by electronic manipulation. Exhibiting an analogous posture in terms of abstraction of sound and unprompted communication is Wadada’s 17-minute “Turiya: Alice Coltrane/Meditations and Dreams: Love”. It’s definitely a ‘free’, changeable, and unpredictable journey. Whether with melancholy or frisson, the trumpeter is constantly seeking new avenues to explore; conversely, Frisell’s incredible harmonic work sometimes melds with folk and blues melodies; whereas Cyrille's thoughtful tom-tom figures encompass a mix of wet and dry sounds. He’s definitely not a timekeeper but rather a time breaker and rhythm explorer.

The remaining trio of compositions is utterly melodic. Frisell’s “Worried Woman” is a charmer, displaying trumpet phrases echoed by guitar in a spiritual communion, while the drummer sounds magnificently offbeat as only the masters can do. It’s stunning how everything comes effortlessly into focus both rhythmically and melodically.

Cyrille’s 8-bar blues “Lebroba” has some melodic connotations with Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and suggests a march, which the drummer never validates overtly. The luminescent muted trumpet of Wadada, who offers plenty of long notes, combines with Frisell’s witty comping to design poetic sketches. Following the same parameters, the closing piece, "Pretty Beauty", also a product of the drummer's mind, is a sheer delight - a rubato ballad infused by plaintive chords and poignant melodicism, almost channeling John Lennon’s “Imagine” in slow-mo and having Cyrille coloring it beautifully with brushes.

Cyrille already made history in jazz, but keeps enriching his discography with great recordings and marking the scene with his grandiose presence and availability. His collaborators here are equally outstanding.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Worried Woman ► 03 - Lebroba ► 05 - Pretty Beauty

Andrew Cyrille Quartet - The Declaration of Musical Independence

February 5, 2017

Bill Frisell: guitar; Richard Teitelbaum: synthesizer, piano; Ben Street: double bass; Andrew Cyrille: drums.

andrew-cyrille-declaration-musical-independence

As one of the most considered avant-garde jazz drummers, Andrew Cyrille, a 77-year-old living legend who played with Anthony Braxton, David Murray, Muhal Richard Abrams, Cecil Taylor, Marion Brown, Carla Bley, David S. Ware, among others, doesn’t disappoint in The Declaration of Musical Independence, his first album on ECM Records.

To be front and center in most of the tracks, the drummer called the guitarist Bill Frisell, who never stops to cause admiration with his rootless voicings sank in delayed/reverbed effects. The quartet is rounded out by the subdued-yet-influential keyboardist Richard Teitelbaum and the prominent bassist Ben Street, who already had recorded with Cyrille in a trio project of the Danish pianist Soren Kjoergaard.

The veteran’s snare rat-a-tat can be heard in the first minute of “Coltrane Time”, a ride for freedom whose dazzling intensity takes us to cosmic surfaces. While the bandleader sticks to his astute rhythm patterns, the tune seizes a mix of atmospheric and electrifying components due to Teitelbaum and Frisell’s approaches.

Frisell’s “Kaddish”, more contemplative and less amorphous, is so melodiously yearning that could make me cry. Its wistful, penetrating melody causes assorted sentiments to unclasp.

The celebrated world-class guitarist shows once more his compositional mastery and passionate literacy in “Song for Andrew No. 1”, a composition he likely wrote for Cyrille. This one is put up with beautiful, serene ambiances and contrasting polyrhythms.

Experimentalism integrates “Sanctuary”, an exquisitely percussive number composed by the collective, which brings up the intimacy, interplay, and control of the quartet.

Besides Frisell, with three tunes, also Teitelbaum and Street contributed with one composition each. The latter’s “Say…”, a languorous piece of glacial tones, is marked by a repetitive melodic suggestion implanted by Frisell on top of Teitelbaum’s sparse keyboard voicings. An adventurous Cyrille, impressive in the art of brushing, combines in perfection with Street’s suave harmonics.

The longest and perhaps the most abstract tune on the recording, got the title of “Dazzling (Perchordially Yours)”. It’s an anatomically diffuse, nearly dismembered experience of textural intermittence boosted by electric guitar bends.

The Declaration of Musical Independence is a spacey and highly hypnotic adventure. All the four insightful musicians put their own individual style in favor of the band’s sound. Their sense of time is volatile, their temperament falls in introspection, their chemistry is on-the-spot, and their moves, precise and compassionate.
As a consequence, we remain suspended in the air for a long, long time.

Favorite Tracks:
02 – Kaddish ► 04 – Say… ► 09 – Song for Andrew No. 1