David Murray, Milford Graves – Real Deal CD:

Real Deal

Here’s a sprawling tumbler of dense & profuse riotous improvisation cascading outta’ conscienceness in furious detail. Milford Graves is a maniac, spry & multi-limbed, sprinting all over the drums with superb disjointed dexterity, asymmetry & propulsion (even on the more tempo-relaxed numbers). Murray slathers this high-velocity motion with plenty of hyper effusive billowing in his own very individualized vocabulary as a saxophonist (he plays on both tenor sax & bass clarinet). Most of the material is fast & erratic with the rest being in an emphatically Avant-Jazz format. Graves is presiding over a very unusual drum-set-up, only partly disclosed by the limited liner photography & the sound itself. The coils on his snare are un-activated for the entire recording & he seems to have a single standard tom-tom & two floor toms in close propinquity to his snare that allow him almost to play them as one for enhanced streamlined avalanche. There is I think, – one more small tightly wound tom that can be heard stuttering staccato on occasions as well as rare cameos from cow-bells & jam-blocks. He has a regular high-hat & it seems also (gleaning from the photograph) two bass drums & tons of cymbals, including what sounds like Chinese hand gongs popping shrapnel. It’s a pity that Avant-Garde drummers so seldom extrapolate the same theory/experimentation to their drum-kits/set-up (as in their choice of drums &/or there positioning & pairing), but here’s a great example of it successfully blustering at full frequency. His drumming is storm-steeped, constantly splintering & transmuting, terrifically fluid & spherical. Murray also really singes with some massive floral explosions & impassioned tumult. The album really kicks-up some shit, & all of it’s totally’ totally Off Road, Out Back with no standards & barely any contrition. There are eight tracks in total, the longest being 11.08 & the shortest being 4.10. the album was issued by DIW/Disc Union Japan & distributed by Jasrac (the album was however recorded in New York in 91). As a result, it’s hard to get hold of outside of Japan & will probably be bloody expensive. An MP3 version is available to buy online however so obtaining this burner couldn’t be easier.

Rekd: 1991

Label: DIW/Disc Union