Label: Pi Recordings, 2020
Personnel - Liberty Ellman: guitar; Steve Lehman: alto saxophone; Jonathan Finlayson: trumpet; Jose Davila: tuba; Stephan Crump: bass; Damion Reid: drums.
Guitarist/composer Liberty Ellman keeps trailing a path of glory in modern jazz with his unorthodox approach to music. An indispensable member of Henry Threadgill’s Zooid and Myra Melford’s Snowy Egret, Ellman is no less impressive when leading his own projects. A major step forward in his career is taken with Last Desert, his sixth outing, whose title refers to the world's leading endurance footrace known as the 4 Deserts Ultramarathon Series. Here, Ellman amazes us at every turn in the company of the same dream sextet that had recorded Radiate five years ago - alto saxophonist Steve Lehman, trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, tuba player Jose Davila, bassist Stephan Crump, and drummer Damion Reid.
The album opens with “The Sip”, a composition where a musing guitar narrative repeats with clever instrumental fillings in the back. The mood is both relaxing and involving, inviting us to float in the infinity of the space. Finlayson and Lehman show their contemplative side, while Davila and Crump hold to the ground with resolute weighty notes that collude while sinking deep into the Earth.
“Last Desert I” gives Finlayson the melodic lead, and he opts for a simple, effective way to move around, enjoying sax and tuba in sympathetic support. In a first instance, Ellman punctuates discreetly over a suspended scenario, but the ideas gain extra dimension and exquisite harmonic color after Crump and Reid lay down a groovy rhythmic avenue that invites him to stroll along. Finlayson brings an oddly swinging irreverence, seeing the tail of his impetuous solo being caught by backing unisons, right before the final statement is declared. After an atmospheric start, “Last Desert II” enforces a pedal-like groove that inspires Lehman to wrap his dazzling phrasing in an alluring timbral variety. Subsequently, is Davila who stretches out unaccompanied for a while, prior to be joined by trumpet and a sweet, viscous funk-rock groove.
The infectious, bouncing bass lines heard in the previously described piece also take effect on “Doppler”, where the relentless staccato texture admits counterpoint and parallelism alike. The energy expands in connection with hooky solo turns from guitar, sax, and trumpet.
On “Rubber Flowers”, the group keeps the momentum flowing after a sturdy head filled with punctilious parallel lines. The bandleader exchanges fresh ideas with Lehman, but while the former attains a cerebral angularity in his tasteful aesthetic, the latter pours out searing lines built with intervallic awe. Following Finlayson’s speech, there is still time for Reid to magnify procedures in a vamp.
“Liquid” is an essential element in this ambitious desert journey. It makes for a beautiful conclusion, with Ellman showing off his soloing genius before the tune veers into an accessible pop-like passage comprised of dulcet chord voicings.
All instruments find the right place where to live, and they blend so well together that it’s hard to stop listening. More often than not, this advanced music informed by an amalgamation of jazz, funk, and avant-garde styles, relies on grooves set with intricate glossiness and off-centered abandon.
Ellman keeps pushing against conventions with his daring artistry, and we thank him for that.
Grade A
Favorite Tracks:
01 - The Sip ► 03 - Last Desert II ► 07 - Liquid