Search - Gerry Hemingway :: Double Blues Crossing

The Quintet Returns

Troy Collins | Lancaster, PA United States | 09/14/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Drummer, composer and bandleader Gerry Hemingway reformed his classic European Quintet for this session. Perhaps best known to casual jazz fans as Anthony Braxton's drummer in his 1980s quartet, Hemingway has a bountiful discography which his old European Quintet takes up a hefty chunk of. While now spending more time with his American quartet and other, smaller ensembles, Hemingway decided it was time to reform this classic group to tackle some new material with some new techniques. Although Hemingway has integrated sampling technology into his acoustic units in the past, perhaps most successfully on his "Perfect World" suite from 1996, (which also featured a similar quintet line-up) here he uses it with a newfound subtlety and nuance that borders on the sublime.



The album's self-titled centerpiece, a seven part suite, launches the album utilizing this technology. Beginning with the scratchy rhythm of an old vinyl record playing folksy fiddle tunes, this sample is embellished by loops and delays until Kermit Driscoll enters on electric bass with a line that complements the sampled phrase. The rest of the ensemble chimes in with a buoyant riff eventually leading into quiet improvisation, call and response sections and solo cadenzas. The suite features bluesy smeared trombone lines, frenzied cello work-outs, stately clarinet improvisations and the sort of written ensemble counterpoint that is typically reserved for advanced chamber music. The sampling makes a reprise at the close of the suite to conceptually bring it full circle.



"Night Town/Tent" is the most "classical" sounding piece on the record, its pointillistic classicism featuring delicate marimba playing and metered string responses. Frank Gratkowski's jaunty Dolphy-esque bass clarinet solo opens "Rallier" until the rest of the band gradually enters to build from soaring lines to a monstrous swinging riff. It is reminiscent of Hemingway's old quintet writing and a joy to hear again. Featuring an elastically modulated rhythm that veers from casual swing to manic flight, the piece is a tour de force for the ensemble including a phenomenal drum solo from the leader.



"Slowly Rising," closes the album on a pleasantly familiar note. A folksy African Highlife of sorts with a pleasantly laconic beat, poppy bass, simple cello ostinato counterpoint and gentle theme and variations soloing between the horns, it is becoming something of a tradition in Hemingway's discography. Both 1996s "Perfect World" and 2003s "Devil's Paradise" closed with similar pieces.



Hemingway's music is complex, but at its core, it is also heartfelt and truly beautiful. A welcome return and immediately enjoyable in a way that some advanced avant garde music is not, here's hoping that "Double Blues Crossing" finds the audience a talented artist like Hemingway deserves."