I have rhapsodized over the albums of this Los Angeles ensemble in the print BT. But this was even more special, as a segment of the L.A. contingent journeyed cross-country to team with some of the elite members of NYC’s downtown improvisational scene (cornetist GRAHAM HAYNES, violinist CHARLES BURNHAM, reedmen CHARLES WATERS, NED ROTHENBERG, and J.D. PARRAN; guitarists JEROME HARRIS and LENI STERN; trombonist STEVE SWELL, drummer REGGIE NICHOLSON, and more), giving New Yorkers a chance to hear the magic in person. The 25 players were conducted by ADAM RUDOLPH, a veteran drummer in genres including jazz, soul, and world traditions who has in the past few decades become a superb composer as well.
But Rudolph doesn’t write down everything, and his pieces don’t have completely predetermined forms. He seems to operate by mixing written sections of music that he cues using hand signals, more improvised but still directed bits, and room for his many superb soloists to take turns in the spotlight. Some trademarks: using sections as massed groups (a tactic that goes back at least as far as ‘30s big bands); building from sparely instrumented openings to denser moments through gradual addition of players; cueing a progression of contrasting preset accompaniments behind solo flights.
This mixture of planning and spontaneity is brought to life with such a high level of musicality that the “organic” part of the group’s name is always honored. It helps that many of the players are versatile, both in terms of genre and instruments—a drummer doubled on oud (the low-pitched Middle Eastern/North African lute), all the flutists doubled on piccolo (and one also played wood flute), the bassoonist doubled on a more exotic double reed, and the contrabass clarinetist doubled on flute. For even more sonic variety, there was a shakuhachi player and a string sextet. But no saxophones—clearly a deliberate choice.
After a mostly quiet opening to the second set, the energy picked up on the second piece. It started with wood flute, Burnham playing pizzicato, and a dab of percussion, but a bass vamp built it up and it blossomed into a fast groove with guitar, bass, and drums with the clarinet section adding cued accents. Later the strings joined, a guitar solo led into a mutation of the groove as it turned into free drumming, and collective directed improvisation peaked at a frenzied climax and a clean cutoff.
The third piece also opened with limited forces, two flutes and violin, joined by oboe, viola, and cello, then bassoon, clarinet, and alto clarinet, and gradually more, half emphasizing long tones. The bass and drums set up a slow, almost subliminal groove that became more apparent when the others dropped out. Oud joined the rhythm and then Burnham contributed a typically slippery, microtonally inflected solo that was half blues, half Eastern in feeling. When the guitars joined together, they sounded like electric piano chords. A contrastingly elegiac section then found Burnham at his most classical, complete with double stops.
Next came a piece that started with a polyrhythmic groove under a flute solo. Gradually many winds and strings joined in a twittering mode, and the grove became more clearly defined. Swell and Haynes traded solos as volume and intensity ramped up, then instrumental sections traded unison figures of rhythmic urgency. The groove dissolved and textures thinned all the way down to solo flute, bringing the piece full circle. The fifth piece sounded like modern avant-garde chamber music at first, even the drums, but then became steady for awhile and slightly looser before a stinger ending. The following piece, which if I didn’t mishear was titled “River Run,” was short and all quiet, a light 6/8 bass pattern and hi-hat under a quiet flute solo with occasional sting chords.
The evening came to a close with perhaps the set’s most amazing piece. A 15/8 rhythmic pattern may seem like a fairly abstract idea, but in this group’s hands it was a limber groove. Once the drums established the complex beat, bass and guitars reinforced and complemented it, as did the brass. Flutes and strings added two-note figures, then a unison melody. Haynes soloed high and trilly, then brayed expressively; Swell alternated with him again. Then it was back to two-note figures, building in intensity while first one and then both guitarists soloed. A new unison melody counterpointed the guitars and brought the set to a cathartic close.
Rudolph promises an “expanded version” of the GO ORGANIC ORCHESTRA at Roulette on December 3; between now and then, his octet will perform at Symphony Space on November 16.
