Search - Ches Smith :: Finally out of my hands

01. Anxiety Disorder --
02. Finally Out of My Hands --
03. Sixteen Bars for Jail --
04. One Long Minute --
05. Conclusion --
06. It Rained and the Tent Fell Down --
07. Disgust for a Pathetic Chorale --
08. Civilization -- -- -- "Ches Smith & These Arches release debut album Finally Out Of My Hands, featuring a stellar cast from the New York Composer/Improviser Scene. Ches Smith, one of the most inventive drummers in modern jazz, has assembled an unusual all-star quartet comprised of some of the most in-demand members of New York's creative music community. Finally Out of My Hands, the debut CD by These Arches, bristles with an electrifying vitality, striking sparks from the friction between memorable melodies and aggressive improvisation. The name These Arches - which consists of Smith, saxophonist Tony Malaby, guitarist Mary Halvorson, and accordionist Andrea Parkins, who also contributes electronics and organ to the album - was inspired by the traditional function of arches in bridge design, in which weight is supported by the horizontal tension at the arches' meeting point. "I was reflecting on bridges in music: bridges in compositions,bridges between improvisation and composition, bridges between the players' highly-developed individual voices," Smith explains. "The arch reminded me of how I was trying to deal with composing for these improvisers, and having improvisers deal with my compositions...Throughout Finally Out of My Hands, Smith configures his quartet in consistently surprising and novel ways in order to maximize the possibility for such contrasting pressures to sustain the music's vigorous strength. That includes subdividing the band into various configurations; on "Disgust for a Pathetic Chorale," the airy, sinuous duo of Malaby and Parkins are continually interrupted by the urgent assaults of Smith and Halvorson.