The sonic architecture of ‘Unseparate’ serves as a profound interrogation of harmonic purity and collective vibration. Within this expansive work, co-leaders Anna Webber and Angela Morris move beyond the traditional hierarchies of the jazz ensemble to treat the big band as a single, breathing organism. Recorded at The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn by Aaron Nevezie, the album is a rigorous exploration of just intonation, a system of tuning that favors mathematical intervals over the standard tempered scale. This choice creates a shimmering, translucent quality that defines the opening “Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band – Unseparate 1,” where the ensemble’s unity feels more like a physical phenomenon.
By utilizing just intonation, the Webber/Morris Big Band accesses a specific acoustic clarity where the frequencies of different instruments align in perfect integer ratios. This eliminates the slight interference or “beating” found in standard Western tuning, resulting in a sound that feels preternaturally still yet vibrating with immense internal energy. In “Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band – Pulse,” this phenomenon is palpable; as Ryan Easter (trumpet), Nolan Tsang (trumpet), and Yuhan Su (vibraphone) navigate the rhythmic grid, the harmonic overtones stack with such precision that they generate combination tones, phantom pitches that exist only in the ear of the listener.
The record moves forward with an intellectual curiosity in “Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band – Timbre,” a piece that showcases Morris’s deep understanding of texture and resonance, allowing the brass and woodwinds to merge into a singular, unidentifiable voice. In “Just Intonation Etudes for Big Band – Metaphor,” the spotlight shifts to Tim Vaughn, whose trombone contributions ground the ephemeral nature of the compositions with a sturdy presence. The album then pivots toward the more atmospheric “Mist/Missed,” featuring a striking dialogue between Kenny Warren on trumpet and Zekkereya El-magharbel on trombone. Here, producer Nathaniel Morgan ensures a clarity of sound that allows the listener to perceive the delicate friction between the notes.
The subsequent “Unseparate 2” leans into the collective strength of Jake Henry (trumpet), Adam Schneit (alto saxophone/clarinet), and Reginald Chapman (trombone), emphasizing a polyphonic density that remains remarkably lucid despite its complexity. One of the record’s most ambitious moments arrives with “Microchimera,” a commission from the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth. This track features a fascinating exchange between Henry and Webber, where the flute and trumpet lines weave together in a display of technical brilliance. This spirit of discovery flows through “Unseparate 3,” anchored by the percussive intelligence of Jeff Davis and the lyrical alto saxophone of Charlotte Greve.
The sequence concludes its thematic arc in “Unseparate 4”, where Jen Baker and Webber engage in a duet that feels like an intimate conversation whispered in a cathedral. The final movements of the album offer a different kind of intensity. On “Habitual,” the piano work of Marta Sánchez provides a sophisticated harmonic floor for Lisa Parrott’s baritone saxophone to explore. The closing “Spur 7: Metamorphosis”, originally written for the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, is a sprawling epic that allows bassist Adam Hopkins, multi-instrumentalist Jay Rattman, and guitarist Dustin Carlson to stretch the boundaries of the big band format. It is a fitting end to an album that refuses to take the easy path. Webber and Morris have not simply recorded an album of jazz; they have constructed a new language that values the resonant truth of the interval above all else, leaving a lasting impression of intellectual rigor and sonic beauty.
Learn more by visiting Out Of Your Head Records and Bandcamp.
