There are a few albums that have been sitting on or around my desk that I've been meaning to write about here. Some are close to 12 months old. But I still feel like writing a few words about them in hopes that it might motivate someone to check them out. This is one of them.
Tim Berne/Tom Rainey/Gregg Belisle-Chi
Yikes Too
(Out Of Your Head/Screwgun) timberne.bandcamp.com/album/yikes-too
Tim Berne has been on a prolific roll over the past few years as a composer and performer, to the extent that a part-time music writer might find it challenging to keep up with the output. His list of collaborators continues to expand, with previously unreleased recordings by earlier groups like Bloodcount simultaneously hitting the surface with new things. Whole albums of his compositions have also been released by guitarists Marc Ducret, Gregg Belisle-Chi (who released a second one this year), Gordon Grdina and pianist Matt Mitchell in recent times. No small feat, these performance require as much originality from the performaer as it requires interpretive skill.
Drummer Tom Rainey has a history with Berne that dates back to the '80s and he appeared with the saxophonist in groups that included Big Satan, Hard Cell and several others. Belisle-Chi is a relative newcomer, yet he has spent a great deal of time learning Berne's unique writing style. Although the CD edition of Yikes Too doesn't mention it, press info for the album (which actually came out around the beginning of the year when Berne turned 70) stated they are now called Capotosta. It's no hyperbole to say this might be the most exciting band Berne has had since Bloodcount.
Yikes Too features two sessions, one studio (recorded during a tour) and one live (recorded a month earlier on that tour). The studio session took place at Firehouse 12 and the sound, to borrow a term used by engineers, feels rather hot from the opening moments. That's not a slight but proof that the trio sounds alert and focused and ready to drive the needles into the red.
"Oddly Enough" comes out of the gate roaring with a very Berne-like convoluted melody line that keeps everyone in close formation, until Belisle-Chi's solo descends like it slowing down. As he reaches a climax, Berne enters with a high wail, with Rainey propelling the two lead instruments with a punch. The song is repeated in the live set (recorded at Seattle's Royal Room) in a version that feels like it has a little more sonic space and adds a few more minutes of solos, including some more vicious string work from Belisle-Chi. Instead of trying to meet the guitarist in the frequency, Berne opts to enter in the lower register this time.
"Guitar Star," another piece that appears in both sessions, begins warm and contemplative in Seattle, with plenty of room for Belisle-Chi's slow lines to resonate, accentuated by Rainey's rolling cymbals in the not-so-distant background. It might not qualify as a ballad, but it sustains much of the the gentleness set up by the guitarist. In contrast, the studio version has more of a bite, with Rainey providing some strong snare rolls to the scene.
Each set has some tracks that don't appear on its counterpoint. In the studio, the trio played "Julius Hemphill," a tune written by the late World Saxophone Quartet member, with whom Berne studied when he came to New York in the '70s. It presents a subdued but equallty thoughtful side of the group, with Rainey's brushes guiding the gentle, clean theme which they all bring to life as a salute.
"Middle Seat Blues," an exclusive in the live set, doesn't exactly dig into the 12-bar format, instead beginning with an unaccompanied alto solo that flows into a rubato segment with guitar and horn coming together in a theme. Belisle-Chi's tone here straddles some bent southern boogie twang with a high lonesome tone dealing with a bit of sunburn.
Throughout both discs, each player seems to enjoy putting pressure on the other two, prodding them whether it be a more subdued piece ("Marmite Woman") or one with a long guitar/sax drone segment (the live "Trauma"). Rainey's long-term rapport with Berne and Belisle-Chi's devotion to fully digesting the saxophonist's music make this an ideal grouping of minds.
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