JANE IRA BLOOM - Wild Lines: Improvising Emily Dickinson
Outline OTL143 (2CD)
Jane Ira Bloom (soprano saxophone); Dawn Clement (piano); Mark Helias (bass); Bobby Previte (drums); Deborah Rush (voice)
Recorded April 1, 2017
Following hard on the heels of last years superb Early Americans, soprano saxophonist, Jane Ira Bloom does it again with another fresh and compelling album (and this time a double to boot!), taking as her source of inspiration the work of one of America's most idiosyncratic and reclusive poets, Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) she captures the spirit and musicality of Dickinson's unconventional writings. So unconventional that much of Dickinson's early published works were heavily edited to conform with accepted poetic rues of the time. It was not until nearly seventy years after her death that a complete, and mostly unaltered, collection of her poetry became available for the first time when scholar Thomas H. Johnson published The Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955.
And it is from these completed and unabridged works that one assumes that Bloom works her magic with her own unique and unconventional sense of rhyme and song in a set that follows on from the Early Americans album in terms of content and style, and yet also continuing with her forward motion and development as an artist. So much is learned and developed from the aforementioned album that Jane reworks no less than five compositions from Americans to weave into the fabric of the two discs that make up Wild Lines, and each are heard on both discs that make this double album. This duplication, however, is cleverly used to introduce new voicings and a new voice, giving each reading a life of its own.
Adding pianist Dawn Clement to the core trio of Bloom, Helias and Previte was a smart move, and no little credit to Clement that she not only finds a place in the music but positively enhances the group sound , with the chordal instrument not hampering the flow of the saxophone lines or the established rapport between bass and drums. Another good decision was made in making this a double album comprising of one disc of music, and a second with an almost identical running order that includes the poetry of Emily Dickinson read by Deborah Rush.
The quartet work through the music as one, each musician establishing their own role in the music, and whilst there are solos by all, it is the collective identity of the four musicians that make this such a memorable set. All the compositions are cleverly worked to encompass interesting thematic material, swing, and a relaxed intensity that brings out the singing quality in the soprano that is uplifting and by turns sympathetically mournful as was much of the poets hermetic existence.
The second of the discs with Rush's readings disturb the flow of the music in a manner that stops one in one's tracks and stop to listen intently to the words of Dickinson, and after the words come the music that is evocative of the lonely and singular life that the poet confined herself to. A perfect example of this is 'Mind Gray River' with Dickinson's words intoned by Rush and the baleful tone of the soprano over the bass and piano motif.
Once again, Bloom has triumphed in producing fresh and original music that reflects both the literary and musical tradition of her native land. What next from Jane Ira Bloom is as always subject to speculation and anticipation in equal measures.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
Outline OTL143 (2CD)
Jane Ira Bloom (soprano saxophone); Dawn Clement (piano); Mark Helias (bass); Bobby Previte (drums); Deborah Rush (voice)
Recorded April 1, 2017
Following hard on the heels of last years superb Early Americans, soprano saxophonist, Jane Ira Bloom does it again with another fresh and compelling album (and this time a double to boot!), taking as her source of inspiration the work of one of America's most idiosyncratic and reclusive poets, Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) she captures the spirit and musicality of Dickinson's unconventional writings. So unconventional that much of Dickinson's early published works were heavily edited to conform with accepted poetic rues of the time. It was not until nearly seventy years after her death that a complete, and mostly unaltered, collection of her poetry became available for the first time when scholar Thomas H. Johnson published The Poems of Emily Dickinson in 1955.
And it is from these completed and unabridged works that one assumes that Bloom works her magic with her own unique and unconventional sense of rhyme and song in a set that follows on from the Early Americans album in terms of content and style, and yet also continuing with her forward motion and development as an artist. So much is learned and developed from the aforementioned album that Jane reworks no less than five compositions from Americans to weave into the fabric of the two discs that make up Wild Lines, and each are heard on both discs that make this double album. This duplication, however, is cleverly used to introduce new voicings and a new voice, giving each reading a life of its own.
Adding pianist Dawn Clement to the core trio of Bloom, Helias and Previte was a smart move, and no little credit to Clement that she not only finds a place in the music but positively enhances the group sound , with the chordal instrument not hampering the flow of the saxophone lines or the established rapport between bass and drums. Another good decision was made in making this a double album comprising of one disc of music, and a second with an almost identical running order that includes the poetry of Emily Dickinson read by Deborah Rush.
The quartet work through the music as one, each musician establishing their own role in the music, and whilst there are solos by all, it is the collective identity of the four musicians that make this such a memorable set. All the compositions are cleverly worked to encompass interesting thematic material, swing, and a relaxed intensity that brings out the singing quality in the soprano that is uplifting and by turns sympathetically mournful as was much of the poets hermetic existence.
The second of the discs with Rush's readings disturb the flow of the music in a manner that stops one in one's tracks and stop to listen intently to the words of Dickinson, and after the words come the music that is evocative of the lonely and singular life that the poet confined herself to. A perfect example of this is 'Mind Gray River' with Dickinson's words intoned by Rush and the baleful tone of the soprano over the bass and piano motif.
Once again, Bloom has triumphed in producing fresh and original music that reflects both the literary and musical tradition of her native land. What next from Jane Ira Bloom is as always subject to speculation and anticipation in equal measures.
Reviewed by Nick Lea
