Soft Mountain - Soft Mountain (2007; recorded 2003)
In 2003, former members of British jazz-rock legends Soft Machine came together under the name Soft Works for a one-off album and tour. That August, while touring Japan, bassist Hugh Hopper and saxophonist Elton Dean took a day to jam with two of Japan's most creative musical personalities, composer/keyboardist Hoppy Kamiyama and drummer Yoshida Tatsuya. These completely improvised sesssions were finally released in 2007 under the name Soft Mountain.
Consisting of two lengthy, exploratory "suites" -- one clocking in at 30 minutes, the other at 27 -- Soft Mountain is an intelligent, challenging journey that never fails to stimulate. This music is Free with a capital "F," with zero composed reference points and a lineup that has never played together before learning how to push each other's buttons in real-time.
The first thing one notices as the disc begins is Tatsuya's immacuately produced drumming. Wreathed in a roomy, ambient acoustic environment, his kit sounds absolutely massive, and his insistent, constantly-changing whirlwind of fills and rhythms comes off as more force of nature than human musician. This encourages the rest of the quartet to push the envelope, taking a decidedly "heavy," rock-influenced approach as they move through the record's various grooves, moods and directions.
Like most free jazz, the emphasis here is not on individual solos but the ability of the band to spontaneously create something interesting in a group context. While there is plenty of free jazz-like dissonance on display, the group always manages to slink into a solid, riff- or groove-based idea -- usually based on one of Hopper's monster basslines -- before going completely off the rails.
There are also some surprisingly sensitive moments. Less than 20 minutes into Part II, the rhythm section slowly retreats, leaving Kamiyama and Dean to a gorgeous sax-piano duet in which Kamiyama seems to channel mid-'70s Keith Jarrett. This serves as a transition to the furious climax of Soft Mountain, a major-key fusion romp that is perhaps the record's most accessible moment.
Of course, music like this isn't for everybody. But for fans of early-'70s Soft Machine's free-jazz/rock stylings, this should be a no-brainer, and anyone looking for the missing link between rock music and free jazz will have their minds suitably blown. The fact that half of the musicians were well into maturity at the time of recording makes the record's aggression and energy even more incredible. A solid, worthwhile effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment