Search - 774th Street Quartet :: Rare Thing

Feed your ears.

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 11/02/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one of those reviews that I approach with trepidation. This is a great CD of saxophone quartet music written and performed by a group of people who all deserve a better advocate than myself. As such, I will try to be informative but I am going to suggest to you the following: if you are curious/enthusiastic about avant-garde/contemporary classical/saxophone quartets you can hardly find a better deal on Amazon than this CD as these prices.

Part of the strength of this group is due to the diversity of experience that the individual members bring to the collective. Guillermo Gregorio (alto sax, clarinet) was born in Argentina in the 40s. He is probably the best known of the four members and has CDs available on the Hat label and on the Unknown Music series an the Atavistic label. He studied with Warne Marsh and played with Franz Koglmann. Aram Shelton (alto sax, clarinet) has come to my attention lately for all the fine work he has done on the 482 Music label. He is a mainstay of the Chicago scene at the moment.

As is Keefe Jackson who has recently released a couple of CDs for Delmark. On this CD, Jackson plays tenor sax and bass clarinet. In some ways my favorite of the group, Thomas Mejer, seems to be the least known or publicized. He studied very early on with Urs Leimgruber whose fascination with the mechanical and breath qualities of the saxophone I hear in Mejer's compositions. Mejer is Swiss and sticks to the contrabass saxophone throughout the CD. Contrabass saxophone. Pitched one octave below the baritone, weighing about 45 lb.s and standing 6 ft. 4 inches high! (My thanks to Wikipedia for those facts and for a wonderful picture of Mr. Anthony Braxton playing one). Mejer's presence throughout is a fascinating low growl that gives this grouping a sound unique to my ears in saxophone quartets (and I have CDs by 20+ such groupings).

Put all that data together. Argentina, Chicago, Switzerland, Marsh, Leimgruber, the influence of Vandermark, of Braxton, and the possible combinations of sound anchored by Mejer contrabass saxophone. Perhaps to be expected from all that, the compositions run the gamut of styles and possible experiments. The central grouping of compositions 4 to 6 is typical. One very beautiful and melodic almost chamber piece by Shelton (Rivera) bordered by two more experimental and demanding pieces by Mejer.

The first Mejer piece, Washburne and Woodlawn, is where the Leimgruber influence seems obvious to me. It starts off with the popping of pads and little stabs of notes from the bass clarinet. A couple of minutes into the piece, Mejer begins to push everyone with a low pulse. The others pick up the tension quickly. This piece is great on its own and as a seque to the Shelton piece. The second Mejer piece is perhaps the most outre on the CD. It is a long exploration of groupings of multiphonics. That can be grating or beautiful depending on what you bring to the listening.

I guess I have babbled on long enough. I will say it again. For these prices, you cannot find a better experiment for your ears on Amazon than this CD. This is original, daring and quite beautiful music being performed by musicians who simply should be better known. Let me know what you think.

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