DARCY JAMES ARGUE'S SECRET SOCIETY - Real Enemies
New Amsterdam
Dave Pietro piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute, soprano sax, alto sax; Rob Wilkerson flute, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax; Sam Sadigursky Eb clarinet, Bb clarinet, A clarinet, tenor sax; John Ellis clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax; Carl Maraghi clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone sax; Seneca Black trumpet, fluegelhorn; Jonathan Powell trumpet, fluegelhorn; Matt Holman trumpet, fluegelhorn; Nadje Noordhuis trumpet, fluegelhorn; Ingrid Jensen trumpet, fluegelhorn; Mike Fahie trombone; Ryan Keberle trombone; Jacob Garchik trombone; Jennifer Wharton bass trombone, tuba; Sebastian Noelle acoustic & electric guitar; Adam Birnbaum acoustic & electric piano, FM synth; Matt Clohesy contrabass & electric bass, bass synth; Jon Wikan drum set, cajón, percussion; James Urbaniak narrator on “Who Do You Trust?” and “You Are Here” reprise; Darcy James Argue composer, conductor, ringleader
‘Polls show that 36 percent of Americans think the Bush administration either planned the 9/11 attacks or knew that they were coming and did nothing to stop them. A majority of Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine believe these theories.’ Kathryn S. Olmstead writes that in her book Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11. In 1964 Richard Hofstadter wrote an essay about the paranoid style in American politics.
That is not a paragraph that seems appropriate for a review of a jazz record. Yet it is appropriate. Darcy James Argue does not do what is apposite. Concerned by the issues shown by Olmstead and Hofstadter, Darcy James Argue created his latest composition. Like |Charlie Haden with the Music Liberation Orchestra he is using the big band format for a serious purpose. Argue is concerned that paranoia is being used for political purpose. Although the music was written before the last American election it does illuminate some of the issues that have been raised. The whole enterprise started life as a multimedia performance (co-created by Argue with writer director Isaac Butler and filmmaker Peter Nigrini). However, it works extremely well as standalone music. The musicians, many of whom have worked on Argue’s earlier projects, obviously enjoy working with a complex score. This is music that can, at various times, sound like Stan Kenton, Bartok, Machito. Conspiracy theories have been featured in many films such as: ‘The Parallax View’ and ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ and the musical scores have influenced the writing of Argue’s piece.
There is a coldness and precision and suppressed savagery about the writing. The angularity and the edginess of the writing sounds like Robert Graettinger. This parallels the stentorian voices that are occasionally laid across the music with quotations from the studies on political paranoia read by actor James Urbaniak.
The Enemy Within” has a strong bassline that is like a score from the film ‘Klute’, ‘Dark Alliance,’ is straight from the dance hall. ‘Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars’ features a lengthy group improvisation with Noordhuis and Garchik. Birnbaum’s piano’s repetitive notes thread through the background. ‘The Hidden Hand’ opens with the voice of Kennedy in 1961: ‘We are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings.’ This is a prelude to some dark sets of pieces that have menace at their heart.
‘A thrilling new direction for big-band jazz,’ someone wrote. I would not disagree.
The recording of Real Enemies by Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is available on the New Amsterdam label.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
New Amsterdam
Dave Pietro piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute, soprano sax, alto sax; Rob Wilkerson flute, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax; Sam Sadigursky Eb clarinet, Bb clarinet, A clarinet, tenor sax; John Ellis clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax; Carl Maraghi clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone sax; Seneca Black trumpet, fluegelhorn; Jonathan Powell trumpet, fluegelhorn; Matt Holman trumpet, fluegelhorn; Nadje Noordhuis trumpet, fluegelhorn; Ingrid Jensen trumpet, fluegelhorn; Mike Fahie trombone; Ryan Keberle trombone; Jacob Garchik trombone; Jennifer Wharton bass trombone, tuba; Sebastian Noelle acoustic & electric guitar; Adam Birnbaum acoustic & electric piano, FM synth; Matt Clohesy contrabass & electric bass, bass synth; Jon Wikan drum set, cajón, percussion; James Urbaniak narrator on “Who Do You Trust?” and “You Are Here” reprise; Darcy James Argue composer, conductor, ringleader
‘Polls show that 36 percent of Americans think the Bush administration either planned the 9/11 attacks or knew that they were coming and did nothing to stop them. A majority of Americans between the ages of eighteen and twenty-nine believe these theories.’ Kathryn S. Olmstead writes that in her book Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11. In 1964 Richard Hofstadter wrote an essay about the paranoid style in American politics.
That is not a paragraph that seems appropriate for a review of a jazz record. Yet it is appropriate. Darcy James Argue does not do what is apposite. Concerned by the issues shown by Olmstead and Hofstadter, Darcy James Argue created his latest composition. Like |Charlie Haden with the Music Liberation Orchestra he is using the big band format for a serious purpose. Argue is concerned that paranoia is being used for political purpose. Although the music was written before the last American election it does illuminate some of the issues that have been raised. The whole enterprise started life as a multimedia performance (co-created by Argue with writer director Isaac Butler and filmmaker Peter Nigrini). However, it works extremely well as standalone music. The musicians, many of whom have worked on Argue’s earlier projects, obviously enjoy working with a complex score. This is music that can, at various times, sound like Stan Kenton, Bartok, Machito. Conspiracy theories have been featured in many films such as: ‘The Parallax View’ and ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ and the musical scores have influenced the writing of Argue’s piece.
There is a coldness and precision and suppressed savagery about the writing. The angularity and the edginess of the writing sounds like Robert Graettinger. This parallels the stentorian voices that are occasionally laid across the music with quotations from the studies on political paranoia read by actor James Urbaniak.
The Enemy Within” has a strong bassline that is like a score from the film ‘Klute’, ‘Dark Alliance,’ is straight from the dance hall. ‘Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars’ features a lengthy group improvisation with Noordhuis and Garchik. Birnbaum’s piano’s repetitive notes thread through the background. ‘The Hidden Hand’ opens with the voice of Kennedy in 1961: ‘We are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings.’ This is a prelude to some dark sets of pieces that have menace at their heart.
‘A thrilling new direction for big-band jazz,’ someone wrote. I would not disagree.
The recording of Real Enemies by Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society is available on the New Amsterdam label.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
