Search - Greg Osby :: Symbols of Light

For a New Generation, A Kind of Blue

Paul Frandano | Reston, Va. USA | 12/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Invoke Kind of Blue and I suppose you've aroused a distinct category of expectations. EVERYone knows (and owns) Miles' masterwork (even if it's the only jazz disc in his/her collection). But apart from jazz devotees, who knows Greg Osby? If everything were right in the world, EVERYone would know Greg Osby as well.How tired are you of hearing Kind of Blue is "the most beautiful jazz recording ever made"? I surmise we all have candidates for that claim (and several by Davis sidemen from the Blue sessions). But listeners with ears trained for music of the year 2001 have Symbols of Light (A Solution), an adventurously ambitious, achingly beautiful jazz recording that is surely the loveliest I've heard this year (and I can think of few rivals from earlier years). Although I emphasize "jazz"-for it is such--all the references I want to make are to classical performance. Osby's music here contains passages of almost Mendelssohnian lyricism-or Mendelssohn in American dress, as in Barber's Adagio or Violin Concerto. It has agitated passages that are reminiscent of early and late Stravinsky (see track two, pianist Jason Moran's "Repay in Kind.") Its individual tracks have a shapeliness, an architectonic pleasingness, that I find rare in most contemporary jazz (that's not merely of the neo-bop, hard bop variety) or contemporary "classical" composition.Symbols of Light (A Solution)-and what IS it with this title? Osby tours this music as Greg Osby and Symbols of Light, so is the quartet Symbols of Light and the album title (A Solution)? We get no help from the liner notes-fits my colloquial understanding of "American Classical Music." It is idiomatically All American. It is serious without being self conscious. It is music to live with, to revisit and explore, and it rewards upon relistening, in different ways each time. It is deep, and contemporary-Osby makes few concessions to those who crave the sounds of yore--but accessible. It evokes "higher sensibilities." The players perform with uncanny precision-even in blistering improvisation, all the notes sound "just so," inevitable, perfect. And even as Osby and company swing like a (...)--thank you for that, too, Miles-"A Solution" brings to mind a range of classical references (I defy anyone who has ever listened to the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra to listen to Osby's "Northbound" (track 8) and not hear Bartok's opening paraphrased in jazz idiom.) A Solution would be as perfectly at home in a concert hall as in a jazz club (overpriced drinks, bad tables, condescending servers, and all).Above all, this for me is New York City music, which in the last month of 2001 has a very particular meaning. In my ears, it is Osby's sensuous vibrato, which seems to echo down empty rain-slicked, neon-reflecting streets, that most draws me into the sounds of the Great City. Osby seems to catche the complexity-the turbulence and peacefulness, beauty and brutality, the richness and, yes, the pain-of New York. The first track in particular, "3 for Civility"-which begins with the marvelous Moran, hesitant, picking his way tentatively through opening chords and bringing to mind the daybreak stirrings of the city-has in places a dirge-like quality, with strings moving powerfully through slow sequences of dissolving chords, but also moments of soaring lyricism, speaking to me of Great City's inexorable triumph over its inevitable sorrows. I suspect some may lose their way hereon a single unfocused listening, but I'll guess the first three tracks will convince most listeners they have something rare and beautiful in their possession, something that deserves respectful attention. The quality of musicianship alone is compelling: the players are all superb. Osby and Moran interact as though they share a mind-listen in particular to track 4, "The Keep." Both have the knack of mining inside of chordal structures and finding notes that seem not to have existed before their moment of discovery. And some of bassist Scott Colley's work reminded me of Scott La Faro's intuitive, technically brilliant runs against Bill Evans' piano. Marlon Bowden is a perfect complement and the most tasteful of percussionists (listen to his sweet cymbal work in the opening bars of track 6, "This is Bliss." Bliss indeed.)God, I love this record. I hope many, many others will as well."

An Important and Outstanding piece of work

Mark Turner | United States | 07/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been familiar with Greg Osby's talent for a short time. Primarily with his work with other artists: Gary Thomas, New Directions, and Stefon Harris. Greg has a unique voice which is smooth and intense. His talent, producing, and arranging skills are immense and are always evolving. Symbols of Light is fantastic new chapter in his evolving process. Don't expect Parker with Strings. Don't expect what you've heard on his other recordings. Do expect stellar musicians and music. This is a totally new and fresh approach. The strings play an intricate part and are not just a backdrop. The selections are, inviting, cool, driving, and beautifully haunting. Atmospheric. This should be a candidate for one of the best pieces of jazz this year. markT."

An excellent new direction for mr. osby

p dizzle | augusta, georgia, USA | 08/08/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"mr. osby has been giving his audience wonderful images of his developing and deepening talent over his last few albums. the brilliant "banned in new york" recorded straight to a portable digital recorder in a club was superb. last year's "invisible hand" continued the streak with gret guest performances by andrew hill and jim hall. now this year, we get an altogether different vision with "symbols of light," recorded with mr. osby's base quartet and augmented with a string quartet. the result is one of the finest chamber jazz sets, right up there with the best of the modern jazz quartet. the album gets a further nod for not being afraid to bend the frame with references to eric dolphy, ornette coleman, and arthur blythe. the strings serve as a collective fifth instrument for these arrangements,enhancing the tonality and showing some intersting motifs all their own. mr. osby sounds great on alto and soprano sax with solos on "m", "this is bliss," "wild is the wind", and "repay in kind" jumping out. jason moran continues his own growth with one of his best performances. all of his solos sing and swing in this edgy set. this set does swing, but with that off-kilter lilt of thelonious monk rather than the straight-ahead swing of, say, duke ellington. get it and enjoy it. and if you really like it, try arthur blythe's album, "basic blythe" (if you can find it, alas) where the overlooked talent of the alto sax is paired with another stellar string quartet."