ROBERTO OTTAVIANO QUARKTET - Sideralis
Roberto Ottaviano: soprano, sopranino, alto and baritone saxophones; Alexander Hawkins: piano; Michael Formanek: bass; Gerry Hemmingway: drums, mouth harp.
Recorded 14th and 15th May 2016 at Artesuono, Cavalicco.
The liner notes to this set begin with the sentence, “Four giants of post free-jazz offer their open-minded, creative matrix in a hypercosmos theater.” I sort of get each of the words in this sentence, but parsing them into something that makes sense is too difficult. Fortunately, the challenge of parsing disparate units of information into something that makes sense is what this quar(k)tet excels in.
Let’s deal with the name of the group and the title of the CD first. Ottaviano, in his notes on the CD cover, dedicates this set to John Coltrane, “in deepest gratitude to one of the first space voyagers.” Several of the track titles, make reference to ‘space’ (as does the punning ‘quark’ in the group’s name). So, track 2, ‘Berenice’s Code’, could refer to coma berenice, which is a faint constellation in the Northern Hemisphere (but also ‘Berenice’ is the title of one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most intriguing and mystical short stories), track 9, ‘Centaurus’, is the southern constellation with the closest star to the sun, and the title track, ‘Sideralis’ (track 10), possibly refers to sidereal, in which time is measurement by the movement of the Earth against distant stars rather than its movement around the sun. The other titles fit the broad sense of the celestial and jazz / blues, so ‘Planet Nichols’ (track 3 – with is jostling bop theme) and ‘Plant John Lee Hooker’ (track 4 – with its listless blues meandering) make perfect sense in terms of the wordplay of the group’s name and the CD’s title. These tracks also make perfect sense in terms of the approach to composition and playing that the group embody. Hawkins has, for many years, ploughed an intriguing furrow in which Art Tatum meets Cecil Taylor. I can’t think of any contemporary piano player who can play really modern jazz with the feel of early bop players in the way the Hawkins has mastered. The intricacy of his playing, particularly behind the other players, can be easy to miss, but he continually finds surprising edges and angles in his phrasing and rhythmic emphasis – and this becomes even more apparent during his solos. As a whole the set is dominated by the charisma of Ottaviano’s saxophone playing – he has a restful energy that, particularly in the higher registers, brings a whole ‘world music’ into a single being, so,for example, in ‘Vulpecula’ (track 1), you are not sure whether you are listening to jazz or taking a tour of African, Middle Eastern, East European or Far Eastern music – but each style is entirely assimilated into a unique sound.
The quartet also features Gerry Hemmingway, a stalwart of Anthony Braxton’s groups, and Formanek, who provided sterling support in Tim Berne’s and Dave LieBeman’s group’s (among others). In this quartet, the rhythm section giving such a solid grounding the other players that it is easy to miss the fact that they, too, are playing free and inspirational jazz. All in all, this is a superb recording.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Roberto Ottaviano: soprano, sopranino, alto and baritone saxophones; Alexander Hawkins: piano; Michael Formanek: bass; Gerry Hemmingway: drums, mouth harp.
Recorded 14th and 15th May 2016 at Artesuono, Cavalicco.
The liner notes to this set begin with the sentence, “Four giants of post free-jazz offer their open-minded, creative matrix in a hypercosmos theater.” I sort of get each of the words in this sentence, but parsing them into something that makes sense is too difficult. Fortunately, the challenge of parsing disparate units of information into something that makes sense is what this quar(k)tet excels in.
Let’s deal with the name of the group and the title of the CD first. Ottaviano, in his notes on the CD cover, dedicates this set to John Coltrane, “in deepest gratitude to one of the first space voyagers.” Several of the track titles, make reference to ‘space’ (as does the punning ‘quark’ in the group’s name). So, track 2, ‘Berenice’s Code’, could refer to coma berenice, which is a faint constellation in the Northern Hemisphere (but also ‘Berenice’ is the title of one of Edgar Allan Poe’s most intriguing and mystical short stories), track 9, ‘Centaurus’, is the southern constellation with the closest star to the sun, and the title track, ‘Sideralis’ (track 10), possibly refers to sidereal, in which time is measurement by the movement of the Earth against distant stars rather than its movement around the sun. The other titles fit the broad sense of the celestial and jazz / blues, so ‘Planet Nichols’ (track 3 – with is jostling bop theme) and ‘Plant John Lee Hooker’ (track 4 – with its listless blues meandering) make perfect sense in terms of the wordplay of the group’s name and the CD’s title. These tracks also make perfect sense in terms of the approach to composition and playing that the group embody. Hawkins has, for many years, ploughed an intriguing furrow in which Art Tatum meets Cecil Taylor. I can’t think of any contemporary piano player who can play really modern jazz with the feel of early bop players in the way the Hawkins has mastered. The intricacy of his playing, particularly behind the other players, can be easy to miss, but he continually finds surprising edges and angles in his phrasing and rhythmic emphasis – and this becomes even more apparent during his solos. As a whole the set is dominated by the charisma of Ottaviano’s saxophone playing – he has a restful energy that, particularly in the higher registers, brings a whole ‘world music’ into a single being, so,for example, in ‘Vulpecula’ (track 1), you are not sure whether you are listening to jazz or taking a tour of African, Middle Eastern, East European or Far Eastern music – but each style is entirely assimilated into a unique sound.
The quartet also features Gerry Hemmingway, a stalwart of Anthony Braxton’s groups, and Formanek, who provided sterling support in Tim Berne’s and Dave LieBeman’s group’s (among others). In this quartet, the rhythm section giving such a solid grounding the other players that it is easy to miss the fact that they, too, are playing free and inspirational jazz. All in all, this is a superb recording.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
