The term “big band” often brings to mind the work of legendary figures like Count Basie, Benny Goodman, and Duke Ellington – musicians and composers who set the standard for what large ensembles playing jazz do. But since the heyday of those folks nearly a century ago, the parameters have expanded, incorporating everything from free jazz to fusion to chamber music in the hands of forward-thinking players and directors like Maria Schneider, Darcy James Argue, and the late Carla Bley. One of the best and brightest names in embiggened jazz groups is the Webber/Morris Big Band, performing at full strength on their second album Unseparate.
While respectful of tradition, composers/conductors/saxophonists Anna Webber and Angela Morris don’t treat their big band as a dance group. Much like Ellington at his best, the pair see the bandstand like a paintbox, a set of colorful tools with which they can bring their ambitious compositions to life. Cue “Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band,” a four-part Webber suite that literally puts the ensemble through its paces with “Unseparate 1,” “Pulse,” “Timbre,” and “Metaphor.” The close harmonic bond of the fourteen-piece horn section creates a space for both riffs and atmosphere, setting up a bed from which the soloists can rise and give their best. The arrangements carry passages of calm that set up bursts of tumult, as free jazz soloing matches wits with orchestral flourishes, with post bop melodies encased in lush hard bop harmonies.
While the suite dominates the record right out of the gate, it’s hardly the only treat to be found. Morris’ melody-forward “Mist/Missed” provides an accessible entry to the Webber/Morris world, letting the band’s eccentricities find a plush home in a great tune. Her “Microchimera” threads the needle via rich sounds that incorporate dissonance and polyphony – a tricky balance the ensemble pulls off with ease. Morris’ restless “Habitual” leans harder into controlled chaos, but never loses its plot, while Webber’s closing “Spur 7: Metamorphosis” twists a march into funk, with horn imitating strings, a muscular guitar solo, and saxophones swirling through the arrangement like a cow in a tornado. Meanwhile, just keep us all on our toes, salvos of brass noise, like the Tasmanian Devil with a sax, punctuate the program as continuing sections of “Unseparate.”
Webber and Morris clearly adore free playing and encourage it at every opportunity, but listeners would be mistaken to think they’re ever at a loss for control. With every sound perfectly balanced, Unseparate is a new landmark in the evolution of big band jazz.
