Search - Cecil Taylor :: Jumpin' Punkins

The Perfect Balance

David E. | Holon | 09/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is my favorite album in Taylor's candid series. In Jumpin' Punkins, the Mercer Ellington brilliant theme composition, you can discover all the basics of Cecil Taylor's genius. Every time I listen to this track I hear it in a different way. The interpretation of the tune is like some kind of a prism in which the light passes through to the eye in various angles and hence can be seen in many ways. So many hues emerging out of one dazzling light - taylor's music. Like a prism, one can hear sometimes Taylor's piano side as a lead, sometimes Rudd's trombone melody is the more obvious side, perhaps Lacy's soprano or Shepp's tenor or Davis's baritone or the combination between them are at the top of playing. There are no regular role plays and everyone of the musicians can surprise you. After a long time listening I am still bewildered. To try and describe the Neidlinger bass part in this simple-complex musical situation or the drums of Higgins would be waste of time and space. They are the corner stone of the piece in this master trickery of taylor to the human ear. The mirage playing of Cecil Taylor is even stronger in his solos. But I always come back to this particular album and to this particular mainstream tune to understand better his latter, avant-garde way. A perfect balance surrounds me when I hear this music and this balance emanates from the octet/quartet playing. It is a very rich album in textures and colors and although it consists of only four pieces it is a complete album and there is no need in supplements. This album can stay in your cd player for weeks and you won't even notice."