Eisenbeil, Attias, Taylor, Rosen

Eisenbeil/Attias/Taylor/Rosen

Opium

CIMP

Year: 2002
Style: Free Jazz / Avante Garde

Bruce Eisenbeil , acoustic & electric guitars; Michael Attias, alto and bass saxophones; David Taylor, bass trombone; Jay Rosen, drums, percussion.

This session, lead by guitarist Bruce Eisenbeil, is unique in that it's bass-less line up features both bass trombone and sax. They often lend a darker edge to the music, as on "Whale Booty Stomp." Both instruments come out dueling, with burps, squeaks, and frantic lines. Drummer Rosen piles on top of this with his cymbals and toms adding punctuation. "Kinetic Pimp" opens with small bells/cymbals and snare drum rolls over which Attias unloads his bass sax. Eisenbeil enters playing discordant lines and chords. This is a perfect example of the musicians reacting to each other in the moment. There's a lot of listening going on by the musicians as things build to a frenetic conclusion.

"Ode To Blind Joe Death" starts quietly with acoustic guitar and builds from there with the band sounding like a sort of acoustic "Last Exit." "Over" and "Climbing The Zoot Base" both feature multi-phonic playing from Taylor. Attias plays alto on "Oklahoma Sprawl." This lightens up the sound while adding more frenticism, as Attis and Eisenbiel work the same tone territory. The whole song is basically a series of traded solos. Rosen cuts loose with rim shots and accents punctuating his percussive forays. While gentler, "Whisper" is no less frantic as the musicians keep up the pace and intensity. "New Years Eve" is a free for all sounding not unlike a New Year's Eve celebration. Both horns mimic the cheesy party blowers and Rosen ads some chiming percussion sounds. Leader Eisenbiel streams chords and notes from his guitar at a frantic pace.

By Michael Bettine