475 - Ellery Eskelin Andrea Parkins Jim Black : 12 (+1) Imaginary Views

Why the word "imaginary" you ask? Because these pieces barely exist, at least on paper. They exist more so in our minds and imaginations at the time we perform them. But of course as documented on this recording they exist in a very real way. As with all improvisation there is an element of indeterminacy that when negotiated in the spur of the moment ultimately results in definitive musical statements. And these pieces rely on improvisation more so than any we've played thus far. Each one is an idea, a concept containing some specific element that characterizes an otherwise open improvisation.

These twelve short pieces were conceived of and written as a suite and were developed in performance during our 2001 spring tour of Europe. Since the ideas and concepts were predetermined I think the use of the word "pieces" does apply. We're operating about as close to the border of pure improvisation as possible while still performing what could rightly be thought of as compositions. But just to throw everyone off balance a little bit I'll continue to refer to them as imaginary. In retrospect I can see that there is a certain trajectory that can be traced over the course of our our previous recordings that led up to this point. Our first recording, "Jazz Trash", probably had more to do with texture than groove while "One Great Day..." showed me that having musicians that could switch between itchy and scratchy texture improv to rock band in the blink of an eye was a great asset. On "Kulak 29 & 30" we kind of embraced our our "inner" rock band with a bit more gusto and on "Five Other Pieces (+2)" we introduced some cover tunes into the book. Then on "The Secret Museum" I began writing music that was a bit more open, partially inspired by a couple of tunes written by guitarist Eugene Chadbourne that we recorded on that project. After hearing our renditions of his music Eugene paid us a very nice compliment saying, "I like the way the three of you have such different personalities in your playing, but it holds together. You are the Beatles of avant jazz!" Looking back, I might have thought that this instrumentation was too limited to take us this far. In fact, one New York radio DJ (who seemed almost surprised that he even liked our first record) was sure that there would be nowhere to go after "Jazz Trash". But even to my own surprise there is still more to do. In many ways this music is a recapitulation of all we've done so far, but probably the most fundamental difference is the change in overall organization and presentation of the music. This suite of pieces can be seen as twelve imaginary miniatures, magnifying smaller more detailed improvisational ideas as they appear and disappear, shifting and mutating in and out of the musical foreground. The musical information on the page may be minimal yet the music that results is very different than had there been no "pieces" involved. From the beginning I always had the idea that this was a band of improvisers for whom I happen to write music in order to structure the sound and make sure that certain things occur in the music that I wanted to hear. This requires that we improvise more as composers than soloists.

Needless to say, putting these same pieces in front of any other musicians would result in something very different. So how does a dry, academic and overly analytical explanation of music such as this one suffice when one tries to reconcile this listening experience to the real world? Well, that's up to each and every listener. I don't espouse affixing specific meanings and connotations to music. The music is simply a catalyst for you to explore feelings and emotions that perhaps you've not thought about or felt before, wherever you are, whatever you do. Sometimes I worry that jazz and improvisational music seems destined to exist within a small and insular world.

I deeply appreciate every person who comes to this music but sometimes the situation frustrates me. I like to think that this music can communicate to anyone who wants to open up to it. No prerequisites, no secret knowledge for "getting it". Just an openness and a desire to experience something different. All the music that I like best in the world has a certain communicative power to it, from the introspective electricity of the Bill Evans trio to the intensity of a late John Coltrane recording. It could be the skronk of a kick-ass punk band, the emotional directness of a simple pop tune or the grandiosity a symphony, it's not really about style. So in the end this music may not be for everybody but it certainly is for anybody. Oh, and as for Thelonious Monk's rarely played composition "Oska T", which closes the program; given it's "minimal" quality on paper it simply seemed about as natural to us to play as anything we've ever done. And so we did and yet it finishes the recording with a slightly different "view"...

Ellery Eskelin November 2001 New York City Ellery Eskelin with Andrea Parkins and Jim Black 12 (+1) Imaginary Views

Ellery Eskelin - tenor saxophone Andrea Parkins - accordion, piano, sampler Jim Black - drums and percussion

1 opener 4:22 2 four chords 3:27 3 low(ly) 4:49 4 plastiche 4:06 5 grafik 6:11 6 hûm 2:02 7 modular 7:38 8 naked eye 7:05 9 combulatory 5:24 10 kicks 3:17 11 middle C 3:42 12 magnets 3:16 13 oska t 5:29 Total Time 60:48

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