Search - Michael Bisio :: Undulations

And to think he's been in my backyard the whole time.

greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 07/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I came to a knowledge of Michael Bisio in a manner most back***wards. I found out about him from his playing on Joe McPhee CDs. I have long since learned that when one comes across a strong bassist, one who plays with genuine warmth, passion and skill, that their own CDs are almost always worth investigating. Let's face it- there have been a lot of great band leaders and composers who were great standup players. Just for starters- Mingus, Holland, Helias, Haden. I liked the instrumentation on this CD so I took a chance on it and I am glad I did. For I ended up learning about three people whose music is worth knowing about.
The players are Bisio on his stand-up, Bob Nell on piano, Jim Nolet on the viola, Rob Blakesee on trumpet, cornet and flugelhorn (Mr. Blakesee was my guarantee-to my knowledge he has never played on a bad project) and Ed Pias on drums.
These are fairly straight forward modal and post-bop compositions with nothing terribly unusual or complicated about their structure. They are all pretty much head-soli-head. The majority are written by Bisio with one each coming from the pens of Nolet, Blakeslee and Nell.
Here's the rub- these guys play the heck out of these pieces. Everybody sparkles although I would have to give the nod to Blakeslee. He has never sounded better to my ears. On several of the pieces he offers cogent proof that it is possible to play both with great economy of ideas and with great speed. Precisely articulated idea after idea all flowing from an overall architecture. Nell is a marvel- he seems to go in every direction. At times he uses the piano as a rhythm instrument as well as a harmonic or melodic one but he does so with a light touch. Every note is distinct. One of my next purchases will be his album on Amazon as well as one of Nolet's. Nolet has just found himself a listing on my Anti-Smooth Jazz: Violins, Violas and Celli, Oh My! list. A great edgy modern tone that he can turn into silk in an instant and an interesting solo style that seems to come out of many sources, not least Coltrane. What the heck is not to love about that?
And finally Mr. Bisio himself. Like his jazz heros, David Izenzon and Henry Grimes, Bisio hears and loves all the possibilities of his instrument. Bisio can keep time and play the supportive role but he can play his way free from those traditional constraints and step out as one of the melodic leads. Or he can play freely in and out of time behind the leads. Whatever he does on this CD, you can hear it because the quality of the recording is such that no one's voice is dominant or lost.
As for the title of my review- it turns out that Mr. Bisio has been working out of Seattle for years. It bugs me that I did not know of him nor his co-horts let alone that I have not been enjoying him live for all this time. A situation that I shall remedy.
Check this gentleman out. His music is well worth the effort and time to get to know."