THOMAS BUCKNER / Contexts
Thomas Buckner (voice); David Darling (cello); Borah Bergman (piano); Earl Howard (electronics); Gustavo Aguilar (percussion); Wu Man (pipa)
"At once ethereal and earthy, Buckner travels the poles of idiomatic borrowings, referencing European intellectual art music and spontaneous tribal trance, with an organic ease, achieving a marvel of impromptu, plastic form." - Paul Serralheiro , Squid's Ear
Baritone Thomas Buckner performs solo as well as duos with Borah Bergman and David Darling, as well as on Earl Howard's composition Ilex.
"I first played with Borah Bergman as a guest on his album with Roscoe Mitchell…. Borah is a true original, with a formidable technique and a fierce dedication to improvised music." -TB
Borah Bergman is one of the most underrated yet important stylists of modern jazz piano. He phrases on his instrument like a brass or reed player and has produced much of his best work in duos with saxophonists. Completely ambidextrous, he improvises horn-like lines with both hands, sometimes crossed, in a contrapuntal and polyphonic, multi-layered dialogue that allows pieces to be turned upside down without loss of rhythmic intensity or aesthetic shape. Although it is rigorous and in places rhythmically intense, his largely free, spontaneously improvised playing can be highly lyrical and delicate, with long periods of quiet precision; elements of the blues and of stride piano may be heard throughout his work.
"I've long admired the work of David Darling, whom I first heard in the 70s with Paul Winter's ensemble. I have always been struck by the deep humanity of David's work, conveyed with a beautiful tone and flawless technique on cello and electronics." - TB
"Maverick cellist" is the phrase most often assigned to David Darling, but it hardly captures the richness, diversity, breadth and sense of humor of a man who literally redefines the way the cello is played and the way music is taught. His prolific collection of recordings and innovative performance style represent an eclectic variety of musical genres. His playful and unconventional teaching methods have helped open the world of music and improvisation to thousands of individuals.
"My music merges textures with melodies, permutations of small structures and cadence to create a shifting mesh of sound images. Improvisation adds an element of spontaneity to my music, which is important to me, because it creates a magical empathy between the performers." -EH
TRACK LIST
3 Improvisations:
alone (13:18)
with David Darling, cello (14:14)
with Borah Bergman, piano (10:31)
and a composition:
Earl Howard: Ilex (27:06)
REVIEWS
Paul Serralheiro , Squid's Ear
This 2005 release contains four pieces, a triptych of improvised, contrasting segments, along with a 27-minute composition, all held together by Buckner's unique voice. At once ethereal and earthy, Buckner travels the poles of idiomatic borrowings, referencing European intellectual art music and spontaneous tribal trance, with an organic ease, achieving a marvel of impromptu, plastic form. The first of the three, a solo improvisation titled "Alone", is a 13-minute piece that sounds like Gregorian chant meets Schoenberg, establishing for the listener the tendencies of the voyage to come. This is no easy-listening entertainment by any means and requires the kind of concentrated attention one needs to give to any serious work to fully experience the nuances and intentions of the composer-performer.
In the second improvisation, Buckner meets his instrumental foil in cellist David Darling, whose playing has the same adventurous, yet velvety, soaring quality as Buckner's baritone. The two weave together an entwining counterpoint that is a delight to the ear, with unpredictable, supple twists and turns in the improvisational flow.
The third piece of the triptych features an encounter with pianist Borah Bergman that sounds like set of Schubert songs given free rein, the romantic struggling without a net to express himself with all the wordless wonders of the human voice.
The composition "Ilex" that rounds off the album is a little less interesting to these ears, but, having said that, one must acknowledge the interest in the textures that the composer, saxophonist Earl Howard brings to the piece combining Buckner's baritone with electronics, Gustavo Aguilar's percussion washes and the lace work of Wu Man's pipa, an intriguing-sounding Chinese counterpart to the guitar. The minimal means achieve grand effects in spots, with a slowly evolving form that arcs and spirals for nearly half an hour of captivating music.
