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Liner Notes
Parsons/Lewin/Patitucci/Monder: Flip!
(Sons of Sound SSPCD014)
The
history of jazz is full of partnerships. Those
that are successful have in common the ability to
make
music that is greater than the sum of its parts.
We hold ourselves up to that standard. We share
a harmonic and rhythmic vision that the music must
be challenging but not inaccessible; creative but
rooted; embracing of diversity but focused; melodic
but the groove always in evidence. With this in
mind,
we have been collaborating as bandleaders and sidemen
for years, and it is the creative, improvisational
spirit captured on this recording that has kept
our partnership fresh and thriving after so much
time.
It is present on our first two recordings, Fundementia (SSPCD201) and A Whole Nother Story (SSPCD007). Flip! is our third release as co-leaders and it features
a group and material that afford us an elastic
musical
cushion and ample opportunity to at times initiate,
and at times react to, melodic and rhythmic impulses.
Much in this music was conceived with John and
Ben in mind. No one will argue that John Patitucci
is a legend. His sound and approach to the bass are
unique, beautiful, and inspiring in any context,
so it is no surprise that his presence in the Quartet
elevates the music. He is a true collaborator, a
pleasure to work with and to hear.
Ben Monder is one of a very few acknowledged young
innovators on his instrument, yet he deserves far
wider recognition than he has received to date. His
harmonic conception and technical execution are exceeded
only by his musicianship, and that is indeed a rare
trait. In the Quartet, his guitar slides effortlessly
between the functions of lead voice, orchestral cushion,
and rhythmic anchor.
On to the music! Here are some notes on these pieces
that might point you in the direction we had in mind…
"Flip" was written to commemorate a particularly
ungraceful end to a particularly undistinguished
mountain bike trip, during which the action of the
title resulted in a very battered saxophonist. The
quirky theme and development are meant to suggest
an over-confident, under-experienced rider and his
appropriate injuries.
"Alone in the Loveseat" is a tune we
have been playing off and on for years. It is one
of our
favorite set-closers because it affords lots of room
to relax and make things happen. The inspiration
for this one is the sad story of a New York City
dog who sat by herself night after night on a brand-new
piece of furniture. Time passed and she plotted her
revenge on her "owners." One such night,
she tunneled through the furniture, destroying it.
Her message was heard, measures were taken, and they
lived happily ever… well, happily for a while.
"Tookish" is inspired by the Took family
in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. “As
they sang the hobbit felt the love of beautiful things
made by hands and by cunning and by magic moving
through him… Then something Tookish woke up
inside him, and he wished to go see the great mountains,
and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore
the caves….” The tune has a challenging
harmonic structure, which John’s solo negotiates
with playful grace.
The title "Lot of Our Souls" is a play
on words. Enough said. It refers to no particular
thing
or experience, just a moment of pessimism. The track
showcases Ben at his dark, sinewy finest.
"Miss Conception" is a reflective essay
on childbirth. This music tries to portray feelings
that seem at odds, yet are harmonious: the weighty
worries of a new parent and a baby’s carefree
innocence.
The light, melodic "Year Out" is constructed
from a few musical fragments that aged in a dark
closet under generous helpings of dust for a long
time. In terms of elapsed time, this tune took years
to compose. Assembling those fragments was a winter
afternoon well-spent.
"East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" is
the one non-original on the record, and is a tribute
to Gene’s days as a member of the Princeton
University Triangle Club. Triangle is single-handedly
responsible for Gene’s less-than-stellar grade
point average in his undergraduate years. The challenge
was to take this 1938 composition, preserve its simplicity
and beauty, and give it a modern feel. To that end,
the melody is played fairly straight, while the bass
line snakes around it. We also opted for an odd meter
and a more open-sounding two-chord vamp for the solo
section.
"Which Thousand Words" plays on the familiar
phrase "A picture is worth…." It
is an ode to the daunting world of possibility in
a blank sheet of paper. It blends traditional jazz
chords and some unusual key changes that keep us
on our toes.
"Load Cycle" owes its name to John Irving’s
amazing and hilarious novel A Son of the Circus.
It is a perversely humorous act in an Indian circus
that involves piling several women onto a unicycle.
The soprano saxophone helps give it the character
of an all-too-serious clown.
We close Flip! with the one tango piece
in the Quartet’s repertoire. Each time we perform
it, "Sintigo" takes on a different character.
In the studio that day we played a single shadowy,
brooding version, and we liked it.
Thanks for listening.
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