MARTIN ARCHER – Story Tellers
Discus: Discus 57CD
Mick Somerset: flutes (C, alto, bass, meditation, geisha, drone), clarinets (bass, chalmeau), shawm. shruti boxes, shaman drums, bells, rattles, gongs, trine, jews’ harp; Martin Archer: saxophones (alto, sopranino, baritone), bass clarinet, bass recorder, B7 flute, shaker, chimes, loops, electronics; Kim Macari Stone-Lonergan: trumpet; Corey Mwamba: vibraphone; Anton Hunter; guitar, electronics; Peter Fairclough: drums, percussion.
Recorded Septemer 19th and 20th 2015 at Chairworks, Castelford and June 2016 at Discus Music, Sheffield.
The structure of this suite is provided by Archer in his liner notes: “Each book follows a common structure: a version of the Story Teller’s theme as introduction – then a rhythm piece – next a solo version of a character theme – then a piece made by combining various themes – and finally a coda , alternating between either a Shaman Song or a Dedication Coda.” The ‘dedication codas’ are called ‘Muhal’s Way’, ‘Leo’s Dream’ and ‘Roscoe’s Blues’ – and are named for ‘three of the Real Masters’ in Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) – Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith – and the Art Ensemble of Chicago - Roscoe Mitchell. While the music might draw inspiration from these giants of improvised music, stylistically it takes a more European route through the territory of improvised music. Harmonically and rhythmically, the sextet works a neatly balanced mix of clearly defined tunes and well-wrought improvisation. Referring again to Archer’s liner notes, “All the music is made from a small group of themes – the Story Teller’s theme, six individual characters themes, some rhythm ideas, some composed duets, and some improvisation instructions. These are combined in different ways with the players’ own free improvisations to make the entire suite.”
The Story Teller’s theme, repeated at the start of each ‘book’ (which, as Archer describes, is a set of five tunes), consists of a simple phrase that varies depending on which instrument plays it. This is followed, on book 1, by the shuffling groove of ‘Like it is’ (complete with chopped funky guitar lines and delicate flute soloing). This piece reminds the listener that the mix of composed and improvised music that Archer favours never eschews tunefulness. The structure of a song cycle, with the requirement for each player to solo as their character, brings out some strong playing in each of these musicians, both collectively and individually. Stone-Lonergan gives us what feels like a trumpet voluntary on her ‘The Barbarian’ solo, beautifully advancing the Story Teller’s theme into a fanfare that ebbs and flows, and then scurries around the other pieces. Somerset’s panoply of instruments, from bells and rattles to flutes, allows him to move across the pieces, offering but never quite bringing resolution to the themes – as befits his ‘character’. Hunter’s guitar and electronics scatter noise and distortion that fits his character ‘the rain maker’, with a gently melodious solo on his character’s book, and Mwamba’s vibraphone tends to provide a close reading of the tune, sometimes in harmony and sometimes at odds with it (in his character of ‘the river follower’). Across everything, Archer works to create the ‘argument’ in the themes that are played, while also subverting and twisting these, and Fairclough, the ‘wayfarer’s bastard’, drums up a storm, particularly in his stunning drum solo in his character’s book.
Given the title of ‘story tellers’, I was pondering what ‘story’ was being told here. Each player is given a character and takes a solo in one of the six books, which are: the river follower, the barbarian, the wounded healer, the casuist, the wayfarer’s bastard and the rain maker. At first, I thought the story might follow one of the ‘seven basic plots’ that Booker identified in his 2004 book (such as ‘overcoming the monster’, ‘rags to riches’, ‘the quest’ etc.), but even though there looks to be something of a journey implied in some of the books, this doesn’t seem to fit all of them. On the other hand, the role that Archer takes, of the ‘casuist’ suggested to me a modern-day political fable. ‘Casuistry’ is the form of argument which makes rules from particular instances, and then uses these rules to resolve moral problems – but it can also indicate dishonest arguing when the ‘rules’ or ‘instances’ have been selected with some ulterior motive. Given the current political climate, with false news, false arguments and broken promises, then one could interpret the titles in terms of casuist arguments against barbarians that cannot be resolved by a ‘wounded healer’.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Discus: Discus 57CD
Mick Somerset: flutes (C, alto, bass, meditation, geisha, drone), clarinets (bass, chalmeau), shawm. shruti boxes, shaman drums, bells, rattles, gongs, trine, jews’ harp; Martin Archer: saxophones (alto, sopranino, baritone), bass clarinet, bass recorder, B7 flute, shaker, chimes, loops, electronics; Kim Macari Stone-Lonergan: trumpet; Corey Mwamba: vibraphone; Anton Hunter; guitar, electronics; Peter Fairclough: drums, percussion.
Recorded Septemer 19th and 20th 2015 at Chairworks, Castelford and June 2016 at Discus Music, Sheffield.
The structure of this suite is provided by Archer in his liner notes: “Each book follows a common structure: a version of the Story Teller’s theme as introduction – then a rhythm piece – next a solo version of a character theme – then a piece made by combining various themes – and finally a coda , alternating between either a Shaman Song or a Dedication Coda.” The ‘dedication codas’ are called ‘Muhal’s Way’, ‘Leo’s Dream’ and ‘Roscoe’s Blues’ – and are named for ‘three of the Real Masters’ in Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) – Muhal Richard Abrams, Wadada Leo Smith – and the Art Ensemble of Chicago - Roscoe Mitchell. While the music might draw inspiration from these giants of improvised music, stylistically it takes a more European route through the territory of improvised music. Harmonically and rhythmically, the sextet works a neatly balanced mix of clearly defined tunes and well-wrought improvisation. Referring again to Archer’s liner notes, “All the music is made from a small group of themes – the Story Teller’s theme, six individual characters themes, some rhythm ideas, some composed duets, and some improvisation instructions. These are combined in different ways with the players’ own free improvisations to make the entire suite.”
The Story Teller’s theme, repeated at the start of each ‘book’ (which, as Archer describes, is a set of five tunes), consists of a simple phrase that varies depending on which instrument plays it. This is followed, on book 1, by the shuffling groove of ‘Like it is’ (complete with chopped funky guitar lines and delicate flute soloing). This piece reminds the listener that the mix of composed and improvised music that Archer favours never eschews tunefulness. The structure of a song cycle, with the requirement for each player to solo as their character, brings out some strong playing in each of these musicians, both collectively and individually. Stone-Lonergan gives us what feels like a trumpet voluntary on her ‘The Barbarian’ solo, beautifully advancing the Story Teller’s theme into a fanfare that ebbs and flows, and then scurries around the other pieces. Somerset’s panoply of instruments, from bells and rattles to flutes, allows him to move across the pieces, offering but never quite bringing resolution to the themes – as befits his ‘character’. Hunter’s guitar and electronics scatter noise and distortion that fits his character ‘the rain maker’, with a gently melodious solo on his character’s book, and Mwamba’s vibraphone tends to provide a close reading of the tune, sometimes in harmony and sometimes at odds with it (in his character of ‘the river follower’). Across everything, Archer works to create the ‘argument’ in the themes that are played, while also subverting and twisting these, and Fairclough, the ‘wayfarer’s bastard’, drums up a storm, particularly in his stunning drum solo in his character’s book.
Given the title of ‘story tellers’, I was pondering what ‘story’ was being told here. Each player is given a character and takes a solo in one of the six books, which are: the river follower, the barbarian, the wounded healer, the casuist, the wayfarer’s bastard and the rain maker. At first, I thought the story might follow one of the ‘seven basic plots’ that Booker identified in his 2004 book (such as ‘overcoming the monster’, ‘rags to riches’, ‘the quest’ etc.), but even though there looks to be something of a journey implied in some of the books, this doesn’t seem to fit all of them. On the other hand, the role that Archer takes, of the ‘casuist’ suggested to me a modern-day political fable. ‘Casuistry’ is the form of argument which makes rules from particular instances, and then uses these rules to resolve moral problems – but it can also indicate dishonest arguing when the ‘rules’ or ‘instances’ have been selected with some ulterior motive. Given the current political climate, with false news, false arguments and broken promises, then one could interpret the titles in terms of casuist arguments against barbarians that cannot be resolved by a ‘wounded healer’.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
