Search - James Emery :: Luminous Cycles

As good as anyplace to start on this fine artist

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 06/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I always find myself somewhat intimidated when I set out to write not only the first review on a particular CD but on any CD of that particular artist. So the first thing to do is step back and just give you some factual background.
James Emery is a wonderful acoustic/electric guitarist who works primarily in two formats. In the first, he holds down the guitar chair and is a co-founder of the String Trio of New York. He is also the leader on a fine series of CDs that typically feature such sidemen as Gerry Hemingway, Marty Ehrlich, Drew Gress, Joe Lovano or Kevin Norton.
On this particular CD, Emery is joined be Ehrlich on alto and soprano sax and clarinet, Gress on the bass, Hemingway on the drums, Norton on marimba, vibes and bowed tam-tam(?) along with Chris Speed on tenor sax and clarinet. With a group like that, you can hardly go wrong. The soloing and ensemble sound is outstanding. The sounds of the clarinets playing off each other or a saxophone against the backdrop of the marimbas gives the music an unusual richness that sometimes is reminiscent of Ellington (Beyond Words) or Zappa in his Hot Rats days (the title piece). And Ehrlich and Speed have rarely sounded finer on their respective saxs.
A large part of the pleasure of this CD are the compositions. They can be very whimsical (again- the title piece) or jauntily abstract or quite traditional. It is an impressive array of styles of composition and arrangement.
And there is Emery's guitar playing. I mentioned earlier that he plays both acoustic and electric. On this CD, there are times where his tone is somewhere inbetween the two instruments. The result along with his articulation is that every note, even in the middle of a incredibly fast run, is very clear and precise. He also seems to be one of those guys who would be a superb rhythm guitarist. When he punches out a chordal run the rhythm is so clear that he could dispense with a drummer. And his soli fascinate as benefits a man who for the past 25+ years has played with the likes of the above sidemen as well as Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, Maurice McIntyre, Franz Koglmann, John Zorn, and Muhal Richard Abrams.
Several jazz publications voted this one of the year's best for 2001. I am not sure that should mean much to us but I would claim that James Emery is definitely an artist you should know about if you love contemporary jazz. This CD along with Standing On a Whale Fishing For Minnows is a good place to start."