Search - Either/Orchestra :: Neo-Modernism

Jazz for the 21st Century!

J. Jackson | Charlottesville, VA United States | 03/12/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"New Year's Day 2004, I was listening to my local jazz radio station and heard a distinctive piano/bass progression in a long-long-short-short-short-short-short-short-quick-quick rhythm pattern. The saxes, trumpets, trombone, and drums added definition to the full band crescendo and I realized I was listening to my favorite obscure big band jazz ensemble. Hanging on through the 7:23 of "Los Olvidados", fearful that the dj would breeze right over the announcement and launch into another piece, he came on the air and confirmed my suspicion - I was listening to a new release by Either/Orchestra! I went down to my music store and bought the only copy they had in stock. Either/Orchestra is not for all tastes. Russ Gershon is not Kenny G, and continues to piece together an ensemble changing in personnel through the years but maintaining a clear vision of modern jazz."Baby Invents Monk" is based on a good natured, toy-piano, descending minor third riff that again builds to a complicated, but gratifying, conclusion that would certainly meet Thelonius' approval. "The Modernist" states the obvious and expounds on the idea for ten minutes. "Fast Edd" puts Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chick Corea, and Paul Hindemith in a mixing bowl with congas and comes out with an incongruous, yet interesting stew. "Heavily Amplified Hairpiece" sounds a bit like the accompaniment to a cop chase scene where the protagonists exist on different planes in the space-time continuum.My love for Either/Orchestra began with a pair of performances I witnessed in Charlottesville, VA in the 90's and subsequent meeting of Russ as he peddled his cd's and vinyl in the lobby. I notice this recording was made in 2001, though it wasn't released until 2003. I assume this is an indication of the place of jazz in today's market economy. The interior photo shows the Cambridge, MA band in Yaroslavl, Russia. Though I'm sorry they're not regulars at Carnegie Hall, it's heartening to think that these guys are still playing for places bypassed by the mainstream. What a privilege for those of us living in the Charlottesvilles or Yaroslavls of the world! This CD doesn't match the masterful "Calculus of Pleasure", but I give it 5 stars nonetheless for being some of the best jazz I've heard in years."