Label: Brother Mister Productions, 2023

Personnel - Scott Robinson: tenor saxophone, trumpet, tarogato, alto clarinet, slide cornet; Matthew Shipp: piano; Kevin Ray: bass; Gerald Cleaver: drums.

The sophomore outing from East Axis, an enthralling quartet made of experienced liberal-minded improvisers, is called No Subject and showcases a pleasing contrast of tones and moods that is meant to be explored loud and with open views. For this 12-track release, the founding members - pianist Matthew Shipp, bassist Kevin Ray and drummer Gerald Cleaver - enlisted the colossal multi-reedist Scott Robinson, who sits in for the captivating saxophonist Allen Lowe.

Tearful tarogato cries appear on top of a lyrical, requiem-like accompaniment in the opener “At the Very Least”. This piece gains a certain thrust as well as some weightiness in the step, but that doesn’t refrain Robinson from expanding his taut prose. The group goes for a lighter conclusion, which opposes to the heavier measures on the ominous “Metal Sounds”, where Shipp shows his superlative technique and drive, and Robinson his command of interesting rhythmic figures over swinging patterns.

With “I Like it Very Much”, the quartet engages in a rhythmic game that includes, at its very top, boppish linearity and angular boldness. Their penchant for swinging brings to mind a mix of Monk, Mingus and Cecil Taylor (without the dissonant crashes in the lower register). “Decisions Have Already Been Made” brings the energy even further with fiery saxophone, ebullient drumming, and tangled bass threads. Shipp’s delayed entrance makes an impact via the chordal impetus. He becomes the protagonist halfway, when the group finds a lull, and then is the bittersweet tone of Robinson’s trumpet that finishes the proceedings, leaving us with a funny sensation of grumpiness.

The tensile title track pairs sinewy clarinet with racing drum clatters at the outset. Balancing the dynamics, the volatile piano playing infuses a third dimension in the flux, which is maintained with proper glow until the end. Both “Sometime Tomorrow” and “Word and Respect” evoke a different spirit as two static forms of contemplation. The former is filled with mystery, underscored by Ray’s arco and pizzicato work; the latter creates more pathos via solemn piano chords, ponderous bass lines cymbal stretching sounds, and lamenting saxophone.

No Subject is pure creativity; a respectable follow up to Cool With That (Esp-Disk', 2021), whose impact was tremendous.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - I Like it Very Much ► 05 - Decisions Have Already Been Made ► 06 - Metal Sounds

Label: ESP-Disk, 2021

Personnel - Allen Lowe: alto and tenor saxophone; Matthew Shipp: piano; Kevin Ray: bass; Gerald Cleaver; drums.

The new free jazz quartet East Axis explores different moods and forms of narrative in their music, and the fun of it, besides the incredible sounds that connect with artistic purpose, is that you are never sure exactly where it will take you. The group is comprised of Allen Lowe, a saxophonist and music historian known for associate acts with Julius Hemphill, Roswell Rudd and David Murray; pianist Matthew Shipp, whose originality, creativity and immeasurable energy have been marking the modern jazz for decades; bassist Kevin Ray, a former Reggie Workman’s protégé who is perhaps the less known of the four; and Gerald Cleaver, a formidable eclectic drummer with a penchant for alternative grooves.

The group opens the album with an intriguing mood, searching with expectation on “A Side”, where the mind-boggling pianism of Shipp stands out from the subdued backing rhythm of bass and drums. The saxophone, dancing confidently on top of the texture, swings in its own way, never by the books but also never stepping totally outside. Near the end, after a groove marked by percussive bass plucks and patterned piano stimulation, he conjures Monk with aplomb.

“Oh Well I Forgot That” finds the quartet in an impetuous rush created by relentless sounds mounted with jubilance and comfort. Conversely, the following “Social Distance” denotes a more cautious approach (as the title suggests) with sinuous sax melodies running over a controlled, if austere, rhythmic flux. This dispirited atmosphere is dismantled with the satisfaction conveyed on “I’m Cool With That”, a colorful blues populated with intrepid saxophone lines and a slowly built piano statement with less outside moves than expected but injecting some Monk angularity for accentuation.

All four members are focused on the communication and how to respond better to one another, and they finish off the record at their most inventive by crossing a sea of attractive textures and rhythms on “One”, a 28-and-a-half minute excursion developed with ambiguity and precision in its episodes. The poetic frisson of these proceedings often channels Ornette Coleman and Anthony Braxton and, occasionally, Steve Lacy.

With such players, a certain level of transcendence was expected, and the group delivers with both elegance and vitality.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - A Side ► 04 - I’m Cool With That ► 05 - One