Search - Motion Poets :: Lose Your Mind and Come to Your Senses

Rare Rapport

Samuel Chell | Kenosha,, WI United States | 08/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although most people are aware of the demise of the big bands, fewer listeners seem to grasp that the economics of the jazz scene no longer support even small ensembles--at least tight, rehearsed, touring groups with a constant cast of personnel. Gone are the days of the MJQ, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Against these odds, the Motion Poets, six superlative young musicians based in Minneapolis, have not only remained together but have produced some of the most original, creative, cohesive improvisational music of the nineties and beyond. This is not your conventional post-bop band adhering to the familiar formula of play the head, solo over 32-bar cycles endlessly repeated by the rhythm section, repeat the head and out. The interplay of these six musicians is virtually psychic--they can change rhythms, tempos, textures in a split second yet leave no doubt that none of it is planned. In the spirit of the best Ellington and Mingus groups, they balance compositional interest with self-expression, democratic musical contributions with daring individual free enterprise.Trombonist Mark Miller's tune, "Lose Your Mind" (he also supplies the album's closer, "Come to Your Senses") is a touchstone to the group's refreshing, unpredictable approach. After an atonal polyphonic section accompanied by synth, the group gives way to Doug Little's playful but swinging, forceful alto solo, supported by organ sounds right out of the Jimmy Smith songbook. By contrast, Miller's "Phases" is an improvised jazz round, a neo-Elizabethan madrigal, with keyboardist Nate Shaw this time offering Bach-like counterpoint on piano. Yet the musical proceedings are never overly refined or restrained, especially when trumpeter Matt Shulman gets his say. On this track as well as several others, Shulman makes it clear that, even on the current competitive scene, his is a horn to be reckoned with, a name likely to become recognizable on a much larger scale. His fullness of sound, daring imagination, range and articulations all invite comparisons with a young Freddie Hubbard in his prime.I agree with a previous reviewer's observation that Chris Bates' "Solid/Liquid" is a highlight of the album, combining expressive Ellington voicings in the winds with bass and percussion underpinnings akin to the support the Maestro once received from the likes of Blanton and Greer. Almost as engaging is Nate Shaw's "Berger Time," featuring a torrid, up-tempo Woods/Pepper-like alto solo by Little and a feisty Rollins-like motivic construction by Miller. The transitions between the soloists and the ensemble, moreover, are seamless--almost as though the 5 melody instruments are capable of improvising flawlessly as a single voice in unison should the occasion demand it (make that 6 melody voices, given the lyrical approach of drummer J. T. Bates, who is treated as another soloist in the group's concept of the instruments' roles).Only one caveat: Were it not for the sincerity, empathy, and genuine originality of the group, this listener would be more than a little impatient with its omission of any "standard" tunes and dominant-tonic chord progressions (which were not perceived as confining by Louis, Duke, Bird not to mention Coltrane, Bill Evans and latter-day Keith Jarrett!). Moreover, the harmonies on this recording are primarily octaves, 4ths and 5ths structured on a single tonal center or minor modality (the introduction of most of the tunes by Bates' bass also invites an air of sameness). The fact that the group overcomes this consistency of programming and harmony, producing music of undeniable variety and freshness, is further testimony to the level of musicianship to found on this recording. Finally, the audio mix is exemplary if not rare in this day and age. No overly "spiked" bass or cymbals--like the music itself, the recorded sounds represent an equal meeting of creative minds."