WALTER SMITH III & MATTHEW STEVENS - In Common 2
Whirlwind Recordings: WR4755
Walter Smith III: tenor saxophone; Matthew Stevens: guitar; Linda May Han Oh: double bass; Micah Thomas: piano; Nate Smith: drums
Recorded 14th and 15th May 2019 by Fernando Lodiero at Atomic Sound
Smith and Stevens have collaborated for many years. This is particularly apparent in the interplay on the opening track ‘Roy Allen’ and on ‘van der Linde’ (where the swapping of themes between Smith, Stevens and Thomas) creates a kaleidoscope of sounds that revolve around the rhythm section. They take a similar approach, with slow stately progression of theme, in ‘little lamplight’, track 8, where guitar, sax and bass, play a 2 bar repeat over shimmering piano. Over recent years, they have been working up a style of composing that they call ‘one page songs’, where the simplicity of the melody can be readily captured. But this is not ‘melody’ in the sense of a recognisable, repetitious ‘ear-worm’ so much as a phrase that everyone in the band takes and speaks in their own vernacular. This is music where the art of the improviser pulls the rug from beneath the melody, and unity of band playing where this never derails the rhythm and timing of the songs. Not only that, the pieces create the ebb and flow of tightly crafted short-stories, say by Grace Paley, where the meaning is always happening just off screen, but where the raw emotional intensity lingers. So, it wasn’t surprising that inspiration for a couple of the tunes in this set come from video games. Now, for these who might be a bit long in the tooth, don’t think of video-games as something you played in the arcade, but rather as immersive, interactive narratives in which the characters you play or watch have story-arcs. From this, ‘Clem’, track 4, (a zombie killing orphan) or ‘Van de Linde’, track 5, (from the game Red Dead Redemption) or ‘little lamplight’, track 8 (calling out Fallout 3), are about the visceral memories of living through these games. Other pieces carry with them a similar sense of the narrative and cinematic, coupled with that slightly uncanny sense in which a video-game world is almost real. The ingenuity of the playing, from all band members, is the way in which the music feels so absolutely spontaneous (as if they are riffing on tunes that they know inside out, but never need to state the verse and chorus) while also so completely composed. One change here, the introduction of Thomas on piano in place of vibes, has changed the dynamic of the band, allowing the rhythm section even greater presence and the beguiling riffs that Han Oh creates to nudge their way centre stage.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Whirlwind Recordings: WR4755
Walter Smith III: tenor saxophone; Matthew Stevens: guitar; Linda May Han Oh: double bass; Micah Thomas: piano; Nate Smith: drums
Recorded 14th and 15th May 2019 by Fernando Lodiero at Atomic Sound
Smith and Stevens have collaborated for many years. This is particularly apparent in the interplay on the opening track ‘Roy Allen’ and on ‘van der Linde’ (where the swapping of themes between Smith, Stevens and Thomas) creates a kaleidoscope of sounds that revolve around the rhythm section. They take a similar approach, with slow stately progression of theme, in ‘little lamplight’, track 8, where guitar, sax and bass, play a 2 bar repeat over shimmering piano. Over recent years, they have been working up a style of composing that they call ‘one page songs’, where the simplicity of the melody can be readily captured. But this is not ‘melody’ in the sense of a recognisable, repetitious ‘ear-worm’ so much as a phrase that everyone in the band takes and speaks in their own vernacular. This is music where the art of the improviser pulls the rug from beneath the melody, and unity of band playing where this never derails the rhythm and timing of the songs. Not only that, the pieces create the ebb and flow of tightly crafted short-stories, say by Grace Paley, where the meaning is always happening just off screen, but where the raw emotional intensity lingers. So, it wasn’t surprising that inspiration for a couple of the tunes in this set come from video games. Now, for these who might be a bit long in the tooth, don’t think of video-games as something you played in the arcade, but rather as immersive, interactive narratives in which the characters you play or watch have story-arcs. From this, ‘Clem’, track 4, (a zombie killing orphan) or ‘Van de Linde’, track 5, (from the game Red Dead Redemption) or ‘little lamplight’, track 8 (calling out Fallout 3), are about the visceral memories of living through these games. Other pieces carry with them a similar sense of the narrative and cinematic, coupled with that slightly uncanny sense in which a video-game world is almost real. The ingenuity of the playing, from all band members, is the way in which the music feels so absolutely spontaneous (as if they are riffing on tunes that they know inside out, but never need to state the verse and chorus) while also so completely composed. One change here, the introduction of Thomas on piano in place of vibes, has changed the dynamic of the band, allowing the rhythm section even greater presence and the beguiling riffs that Han Oh creates to nudge their way centre stage.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
